To most people the though of living in a small box only three feet wide, four feet long, and five feet high would be enough to bring on an attack of claustrophobia, the fear of confined spaces. Yet this is exactly how one Englishman, Alexander Wortley, chose to live until his death at the age of 80 in 1980.
The Man Who Lived in the Box
By Mansor, June 12, 2010
The Man Who Lived in the Box
To most people the though of living in a small box only three feet wide, four feet long, and five feet high would be enough to bring on an attack of claustrophobia, the fear of confined spaces. Yet this is exactly how one Englishman, Alexander Wortley, chose to live until his death at the age of 80 in 1980.
The green box Wortley called home looked like a minitrailer. Except for an arched metal roof, it was made of wood and sat on four small wheels. Inside were an old bus seat-with an extension for Wortley’s feet-and a few shelves for his food and possessions.
Despite the apparent drawbacks of such a small home, to Wortley it had its advantages. For one thing, he was able to pull this bizarre, homemade structure all over the country, stopping wherever he pleased. By adopting this alternative lifestyle, Wortley could also avoid the unwanted attentions of government. A fiercely independent man, he had no wish to pay local or national taxes; in return, he expected no welfare or pension benefits.
Wortley was a man of singular ideas. His many idiosyncrasies included a deep suspicion of zippers. He would invariably take them out of any trousers he was given because he did not relish having a lightning conductor near any sensitive area.
His eccentricity also extended to his speech, since he suffered from a disorder known as Klang Association. The sound of one word would remind him of another, usually unconnected, and his conversation would veer off in strange directions, making little sense to anyone but himself. On one occasion, when asked why he did not like telephones, he answered: “It’s all that copper wire, all those coppers, all those policemen; it’s all those poles, all those foreigners. Then it’s the numbers, puts you in mind of black Humbers-police cars again, you see.”
Wortley spent the last 20 years of his life as the caretaker of a secluded cottage in Buckinghamshire. Having a regular job did not make any difference in his lifestyle: he simply parked his box at the bottom of the garden.
Welcome to Authspot, the spot for creative writing.
Read some stories and poems, and be sure to subscribe to our feed!
