I was bored this morning, so I thought I'd hit the random button on Wikipedia, and see where it brought me. It took me to this page about Hobos. And I have more respect for these guys than I ever thought I would.
See, a lot of people can't make the distinction between a Bum and a Hobo. A Bum is someone who doesn't want to work, and doesn't want to roam about, they are content with just staying where they are, and getting their money or food through begging. A Hobo, on the other hand, just doesn't feel the need to pay rent on a home and stay in one place, when they can roam around the country, and get to see everything and go anywhere that they want to, for free, and at no cost to anybody else. And not only that, but when they need money for one thing or another, they work, instead of begging for it. They never keep a single job for too long though, just as long as they need before moving on to their next destination.
It reminds me a bit of Jack Kerouac and On The Road. In a sense, he was a bit of a hobo wasn't he? I mean, sure it was a different generation, and he didn't dedicate a life time to it, but that whole beatnik free roaming mindset wasn't that different from what Hobos believe, so it's pretty difficult to deny the connection. And hell, going back a little more you could relate it to John Steinbeck's books, although that connection is a little more obvious.
After that, I wanted to read up some more on Hobos, and I came across a website about the National Hobo Convention. Essentially an annual gathering of Hobos and people who admire them, all living for a week or so in a "Hobo Jungle" made of tents and shantys, sitting around camp fires telling stories. They even crown a Hobo King and a Hobo Queen every year, and they ride on a float in the Hobo Day Parade.
I was doing some more digging, and I came across a couple of websites that I found terribly fascinating, and I thought you guys might too.
An article about the death of a hobo named "Steam Train" Maury Graham, who had been named King of the Hobos 5 times.
A website featuring a set of Hobo symbols that they would use to communicate from town to town.
A site that details a guy who went "Hoboing" not too long ago. A pretty short read, but pretty interesting.
Anyway, all of this reading about hobos has made me want to write something. I don't know what, maybe a graphic novel or something about Hobos. I wish I had the guts to live like that.
I was born to ramble
Born to rove
Some men are searchin for the
Holy Grail
But there ain't nothin sweeter
Than ridin the rails
-Tom Waits
Born to rove
Some men are searchin for the
Holy Grail
But there ain't nothin sweeter
Than ridin the rails
-Tom Waits
7 comments:
I agree completely. Bums suck but hobos/drifters are really cool. They always make interesting people to talk to.
My dad hobo'd all of North and South America. I once asked him, "Where do you eat and sleep when you run out of money?" His answer was either to find some loose women willing to take you back to their place, or sleep under a highway overpass and go hungry.
The second of which apparently only happened once.
How is it that your dad is simultaneously the coolest motherfucker alive and hitler?
I don't know, but it pisses me off.
Hobos are awesome! Reading this post made me want to listen to "King of the Road" (by the Proclaimers, I think, unless they were doing a cover... were they doing a cover?)
It was totally a Roger Miller cover.
But it was still awesome
oh my god you sound exactly like me- I'm hobsessed lately, they are so cool! My husband and I went on a hobo safari this weekend near our house, here's the blog:
http://fish-outta-water.blogspot.com/2008/07/hobology-101.html
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