Once, he spent twenty-two days walking across Texas with nothing but a bedroll, a flashlight, and a rifle, from Big Bend, in the west, to Houston, where he was going to deliver a paper at a biology conference.

NEWYORKER: In the Air

He was given four sheets, four towels, a blanket, a bedroll, a toothbrush, toilet paper, a tall clear plastic cup, a bar of soap, seven white T-shirts, seven pairs of boxer shorts, seven pairs of socks, plastic slippers, a pad of paper, and a ballpoint pen.

NEWYORKER: Hellhole

Many of them have been commandeered by the city's large homeless population, who slip away in the light of day but leave behind evidence of their existence dirty clothes scattered about, a bedroll where they slept, empty cans and plastic foam containers from what passed for a meal.

NPR: New Orleans: A Tale Of 2 Cities Since Katrina