The story of 73-year-old former millionaire David Glasheen is quite fascinating, to say the least. The man has been living on a deserted island for 20 years now - just like Robinson Crusoe. The difference is that he went there willingly and has no intention of ever going back to civilization.
Glasheen's only companion is his dog Quessi. Since 1997, the two have been happily inhabiting the deserted island off the coast of northeastern Australia.
The reason he decided to turn into a modern-day Robinson Crusoe was bankruptcy. David Glasheen was born in Sydney. He was successful in building a gold-mining empire that operated in Papua New Guinea but the worldwide financial crisis at the time led to a complete collapse of his company. Glasheen lost his $28 million during the stock market crash of 1987. Shortly afterward, his wife left him, leaving him alone and broke.
But David would find hope. He came across the story of a girl who wanted to leave civilization behind and move to a deserted island. The former affluent tycoon looked into the matter and found, to his delight, that this was indeed possible. It did not take Australia's Robinson Crusoe long before he found his island and moved to it.
Today, David lives a decent life on the island. He sleeps in a small hut that he shares with his dog Quessi. He calls his home "Heaven on Earth" and plans on living there until the end of his days.
But "Robinson" is in no way cut off from the outside world - quite the contrary. He has a generator and solar panels that provide decent Internet access, allowing him to watch his favorite Britain's Got Talent and web clips. Once a year, he heads to town to buy essentials - rice, oil and chocolate.
David is at peace with himself in his Heaven, although he does have his dreams. That which he says he misses is intelligent conversation and physical contact with other people. Robinson wants to have a partner who would live with him or at least a lady that would visit him from time to time. To pretend he's not completely alone, he has bought himself a female mannequin, whom he often takes around the island.
David has no daily routine. For him, every day is a little adventure. Wild animals and outside influences are dangerous, but not for him. He absolutely loves saltwater crocodiles - as beautiful and deadly as they are. David has become quite adept at protecting himself from spiders and snakes and describes them as much less dangerous than our civilization, with all of its terrorist attacks and other modern-day threats.
