Vernon, 75, is a native of Aberdeen, Washington - the third youngest of 11 children. His parents split up when he was six, so his memories of family life are more about the angry break up than anything warm and fuzzy. Still, his parents were unique individuals, which shaped his own trajectory and make for dynamic storytelling. Late in the afternoon on the first day of the month, when anyone who gets a check is wisely spending their money on a motel room for as long as that paycheck lasts, Vernon is leafing through a copy of Time Magazine’s Year in Review edition, open to a double truck spread of the famous image of the airborne Tahitian surfer and his similarly airborne board, on the back side of a wave during the Olympics.

Last year sure was a strange year, he admits, turning a few pages in the magazine; but at 75, Vernon has seen strange years before.

A couple of tourists walk by and ask directions to the nearest dispensary. A man with no shoes walks the other way and asks if we can spare a cigarette.

In a gravely voice, his back to the street, he related a steady stream of life episodes full of conspiracies, identity theft, property theft, unusual career choices, flirtations with theatrical stardom, and a penchant for both martial arts training and proficiency in Russian ballet. His stylishly all blue outfit and broad toothy grin seemed in contrast to the mountain of belongings on wheels at his side. The mountain was a bit higher the day before, he said, but when he ventured off for a few hours to share a meal with a few friends, he returned to discover most of his blankets and many items of clothing had been stolen. Over the years he’s had five different guitars stolen, as well as numerous tents. He spends up to $400 each month replacing essential survival items that have been stolen, he said.

While Vernon has to watch out for his belongings, he is not so worried about his personal safety. His training in martial arts - something he first got interested in while working at a lumber mill in Salem, Oregon - often takes a would-be assailant by surprise. Over the 34 years he has been on the streets in San Diego, Vernon has earned a reputation that it is best to leave him alone. His father had the same reputation, Vernon said. As a welterweight fighter in the U.S. Army, his father set the example that a man should know how to defend himself and his family. He would often take down unruly drunks in bars or nightclubs that harassed women. Heaven help the man who wouldn’t take no for an answer from Vernon’s mother when she turned down an invitation to dance. That confrontation was usually over with the first punch, Vernon said.

Vernon bought a motor home and traveled from the lumber mills of the Pacific Northwest to Palm Springs, California where he started his own wallpaper and paint business while performing in the occasional theater production. He rattles off the names of famous people whose homes he has painted: Linda Ronstadt (canary yellow with white trim), Howard Hughes (everything green), etc. After selling his business he returned to Washington to spend time with his father, then eventually returned to the desert. He landed in San Diego in 1991 after he lost his motor home to a scam that involved drugs, identity theft of a reverse mortgage on a home he shared, and a few other nefarious goings on. The current camping ban has made it more complicated to live peacefully on the streets, he said. One woman keeps running out to get photos of him when he is setting up his tent, threatening to turn him in to the police. He waits till she goes away, then quietly moves his tent further out of public view.