NATCHEZ — Shane Pierce reckons he has learned more in the last year than in the previous 20.

But there are a lot of lessons — some of human kindness, some of just how tough the world is — to be learned when you’re living on the streets.

When The Dart found Pierce on the Natchez Bluff Saturday, he was there with two friends, Bugzy Jones and David Earl, who like him live on the streets.

While all three freely used the word “homeless” to describe their living situation, they said they preferred to call themselves “travelers.”

They all met in Natchez; Jones had bicycled in, while Pierce and Earl had walked.

Pierce said he’d worked in the oilfield for 20 years, but after a divorce and a stint in rehab, he ended up living on the streets.

“My first thought when I landed on the streets was I had to get off the streets,” he said. “Now I don’t necessarily think that way. When I was working, I was quite wealthy, but I was working away the entire time my kids were growing up, and I sold out is what I did.

“I have chosen to start a better life — a life with less, but better.”

Earl’s story was similar. He took to the road because he lost his job and his home.

“I decided I have always wanted to travel, so I decided I can be homeless anywhere,” Earl said.

Jones’s story was a little more winding, but it boiled down to one thing — he likes to drift.

“My goal is to sit under as many trees as I can with my dog, Sparky,” he said.

“There’s different kinds of homeless — there’s what we call ‘homebums’ and travelers. The homebum is the guy who sleeps in your park, sucking on a fifth of vodka. A traveler is someone like us who is moving through. When I go to a place, when I feel like I am achieving homebum status, I decide to move on.”

The three met up in Natchez and formed a temporary trio because homeless people can often provide information to each other that others cannot — things like safe venues of travel or where best to sleep, Earl said.

“As travelers, we have to talk to each other,” he said. “We have to share information.”

Being on the streets forces you to learn how to judge people’s character quickly, Jones said, whether they’re going to be helpful or rude.

Most complex in terms of interaction may be their relationship to law enforcement, Jones said, which sometimes tries to stop homeless people from doing legitimate business but also helps them out.

“I was on my way to the hardware store to buy something to fix something on my bicycle, and this cop stopped me, telling me I couldn’t ride my bike on the road even though Mississippi law allows me to,” he said.

“But another time, I was sleeping on the porch of this business, and a spotlight comes and shines on me. Usually when that happens, there’s a pair of silver handcuffs and a (jail) bed to sleep in. But when I walked over, he handed me a Wendy’s chicken sandwich.”

Earl said an officer bought him a bicycle, and “they check on me to make sure I am alright, even to make sure I am OK when other people are around me.”

Earl said his goal is ultimately to get to the West Coast, get settled and write a book about his experiences that can hopefully help other people avoid some of the mistakes he made.

“I am going to teach about homelessness, how to live with nothing,” he said. “If I can travel across the country with no money, I can teach you something.”