Heard this one today behind the bowling alley by the train tracks. Thought I'd share.
Said one tramp to another, "I think I'm going to quit smoking. It's becoming too dangerous."
"Really?", asked the other.
"Yes," replied the first, "Twice today I picked up a cigarette butt and someone nearly ran me over!"
Ha!
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Blog Title Card
Friday, December 28, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Daidi na Nollag!
Donga Dai!
Nollaig Shona Duit!
I spent all last night placing my hand-made ornaments on people's doorsteps. Happy Christmas!
Now this old elf needs some Christmas sleep!
Nollaig Shona Duit!
I spent all last night placing my hand-made ornaments on people's doorsteps. Happy Christmas!
Now this old elf needs some Christmas sleep!
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Op Ed: "A Tool Most Useful & Dangerous"
There has been a lot of buzz on social media since my post this afternoon, wondering whose today's guest essayist would be.
It's been a long time since we heard some words of wisdom from my old friend Gumball, noted Hobo Historian and legend of his craft. His offering this evening certainly does not disappoint and will well worth the wait. Enjoy.
I've walked the hallowed streets of transiency for near four decades.
Before that, I knew the life-style through my brother, my uncle and my great-grandfather, who were proud vagrants of the train & way-fare variety. I don't bring these topics up to boast, oh no. There are men who have been living the lifestyle a lot longer and more effectively than I, who consider myself a mere steward of this earth.
A student, never more.
Instead, I bring up my years ingrained in this lifestyle as credentials to comment on some of the changes I've observed, both in the short- and in the very long-term.
Technology is a tricky thing. Used modestly it allows us some beautiful advances, such as chicken hock that can last, unrefrigerated, for months. Or a way to make an egg be fully cooked yet so deliciously runny. But when abused--well, you know what happens when it's abused, friends. When abused we have a populace that locks itself behind four walls and reinforced doors, or travels in the tight-packed insulated bubble of an automobile. We end up with children who have never had opportunity to look up at a star-soaked sky, or old men who lie down in their death bed without ever watching the sun rise over an unknown horizon.
Technology has it's place in a transient's life--we're much better off than our fore-fathers in a goodly number of respects. But there is a reason we choose to live this life, friends. Let us not forget that.
There is a reason we choose to live without the clutter of so-called modern convenience always at our fingertips. There is a reason we abstain from the cutthroat rat-race of today's society.
For full disclosure, I freely admit that I am writing this essay from behind the glow of a computer's screen. I sit here in the New Haven Public Library at 6:30 PM on a cold Wednesday evening, although the temperature in here is a comfortable 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I rationalize this--perhaps presumptively--by using my time on-line to advocate for the Transient Lifestyle. And (to me, most importantly), when I leave this warm building at the end of my hour, I will return to a bridge or the underside of a boat dock, build myself a fire and share stories of times past with my vagrant brothers of the night.
As we move forward into the future, we are bound to see more transients with access to technology--be it cellular phones, lap top computers or even television and radio hook ups. Some will accept this as part of the changing culture, and others will despise such sights. I only ask that you all, as individuals, periodically assess your technology use and make sure that you are staying within your own self-imposed boundaries.
As with any other luxury technology can be used to the point of abuse. Let us never forget our purpose, friends, and not allow our way to be deluded by the unneeded use of technological tools. Our way of life is not easy, but it is important.
It always has been.
Keep the flame, my brothers.
GB
In solidarity,
Train Tom
It's been a long time since we heard some words of wisdom from my old friend Gumball, noted Hobo Historian and legend of his craft. His offering this evening certainly does not disappoint and will well worth the wait. Enjoy.
I've walked the hallowed streets of transiency for near four decades.
Before that, I knew the life-style through my brother, my uncle and my great-grandfather, who were proud vagrants of the train & way-fare variety. I don't bring these topics up to boast, oh no. There are men who have been living the lifestyle a lot longer and more effectively than I, who consider myself a mere steward of this earth.
A student, never more.
Instead, I bring up my years ingrained in this lifestyle as credentials to comment on some of the changes I've observed, both in the short- and in the very long-term.
Technology is a tricky thing. Used modestly it allows us some beautiful advances, such as chicken hock that can last, unrefrigerated, for months. Or a way to make an egg be fully cooked yet so deliciously runny. But when abused--well, you know what happens when it's abused, friends. When abused we have a populace that locks itself behind four walls and reinforced doors, or travels in the tight-packed insulated bubble of an automobile. We end up with children who have never had opportunity to look up at a star-soaked sky, or old men who lie down in their death bed without ever watching the sun rise over an unknown horizon.
Technology has it's place in a transient's life--we're much better off than our fore-fathers in a goodly number of respects. But there is a reason we choose to live this life, friends. Let us not forget that.
There is a reason we choose to live without the clutter of so-called modern convenience always at our fingertips. There is a reason we abstain from the cutthroat rat-race of today's society.
For full disclosure, I freely admit that I am writing this essay from behind the glow of a computer's screen. I sit here in the New Haven Public Library at 6:30 PM on a cold Wednesday evening, although the temperature in here is a comfortable 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I rationalize this--perhaps presumptively--by using my time on-line to advocate for the Transient Lifestyle. And (to me, most importantly), when I leave this warm building at the end of my hour, I will return to a bridge or the underside of a boat dock, build myself a fire and share stories of times past with my vagrant brothers of the night.
As we move forward into the future, we are bound to see more transients with access to technology--be it cellular phones, lap top computers or even television and radio hook ups. Some will accept this as part of the changing culture, and others will despise such sights. I only ask that you all, as individuals, periodically assess your technology use and make sure that you are staying within your own self-imposed boundaries.
As with any other luxury technology can be used to the point of abuse. Let us never forget our purpose, friends, and not allow our way to be deluded by the unneeded use of technological tools. Our way of life is not easy, but it is important.
It always has been.
Keep the flame, my brothers.
GB
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Featured Guest Essay to be Posted Tonight!
It's been ages since we had a guest writer for The Transient Way. Well tonight I expect that to change!
I can't give details on who it is yet, but I guarantee you'll be thrilled. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
QOTW: The Clothes Make the Man
I open the mail bag, and what do I seek?
Here in my right hand, the question of the week!
Do you have a question? Come pass it along!
TrainTomOtt@Gmail.com!
Hello friends, today's Question of the Week comes to us from Cathy J. of Spring, Texas.
Cathy writes:
"Do you people just wear the same thing every day? Because that's just nasty."
Well, Cathy, personal commentary aside, sometimes it's just a matter of function when a vagrant chooses to employ the use of the same clothes from one day to the next. As the brisk fall transitions into a frigid winter, many of us elect to simply keep adding to our layers. The opposite is likewise true as the weather gradually warms again. So while we may well technically be wearing "the same clothes", our wardrobe is constantly evolving on account of need and function.
One hobo secret that I'll let you in on is how to store clothing items that are unneeded for the season. I once found a wonderful, thick woman's wool coat
out behind the bowling alley. She must have been a big lady, because that coat wrapped around me easy. Boy oh boy was that a fine coat. Wealthy woman, too, no doubt, on account of her throwing it out on account if just a few pinworms.
Anyhow, I wore that warm coat all through that winter and kept oh so toasty warm.
That spring, as the coat became heavy and uncomfortable in the warm rain, I employed an old hobo trick for storing items of seasonal value...I buried it!
It took some time to find her again, but it was sure worth the effort. That beautiful wool coat had eight full months to marinate in the earth, acquiring a near waterproof membrane of tight-packed dirt and mildew on the outer surface. What a great old coat that was.
I buried her again the following spring, but never could recall where I'd left it. Eight years later I still go look for her when I'm back that way. By now, I imagine, she'd be just about the ultimate barrier against the icy winds and snow.
Thanks for the question, Cathy J.! Keep them coming, everybody!
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Monday, December 17, 2012
A Hip Shimmy and a Leg Shake
Friends,
One interesting way some of my transient bretheren have chosen to keep warm is through dance. While I am a little leery of any activity that burns excess calories (epecially during these cold winter months), it is gaining popularity.
What occurs is that a group of five or more vagrants will gather together in a central location, preferably out of the wind and near a fire. Between two buildings in a downtown district would be a good location, especially with a burning trash can in the center of the alley. Otherwise under a bridge or somewhere with a brick wall you can get good and hot would work fine.
One will crouch and bang two tin cans together, and at least one other will clap in time. The rest will dance gaily about, exercising their muscles and building body heat to dispel the cold.
I was walking along 53rd Ave the other day looking for bottle caps. There, to my left, near the post office, was an old transient dressed warm and dancing away. What a sight!
It's a good idea, I suppose, but you'd best ensure you had a good meal to replace those calories.
In solidarity,
Train Tom
One interesting way some of my transient bretheren have chosen to keep warm is through dance. While I am a little leery of any activity that burns excess calories (epecially during these cold winter months), it is gaining popularity.
What occurs is that a group of five or more vagrants will gather together in a central location, preferably out of the wind and near a fire. Between two buildings in a downtown district would be a good location, especially with a burning trash can in the center of the alley. Otherwise under a bridge or somewhere with a brick wall you can get good and hot would work fine.
One will crouch and bang two tin cans together, and at least one other will clap in time. The rest will dance gaily about, exercising their muscles and building body heat to dispel the cold.
I was walking along 53rd Ave the other day looking for bottle caps. There, to my left, near the post office, was an old transient dressed warm and dancing away. What a sight!
It's a good idea, I suppose, but you'd best ensure you had a good meal to replace those calories.
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Cold Out There Tonight
Huddle with your fellow 'bo and dress warm tonight, friend. The cold will cut to the weary bone tonight.
In solidarity,
Train Tom
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Brrrrrrr!!!
It's a good night to be close to a warm flame, with a pair of heavy mittens and a tin can full of bubbling hot water!
I add a squirt of maple syrup that I find in packages outside the movie theater, and a little nip of Hobo Whiskey to help me sleep!
In solidarity,
Train Tom
I add a squirt of maple syrup that I find in packages outside the movie theater, and a little nip of Hobo Whiskey to help me sleep!
In solidarity,
Train Tom
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