Hobos, Tramps and Homeless Bums

[Guest SIVIK]

Re: Thanks, Sivik

 

Originally posted by KaBar

I'd like to hear whatever you've got to say about trainhopping in Australia. I've heard that it is extremely difficult, but it doesn't seem like it should be. What would make trainhopping more difficult in Australia than here? Is it some kind of major felony or something?

 

 

Our system isnt all that hard but the size of rail services is alot smaller than yours.We only have a coupple of main freight yards in melburn.It isnt a fellony down here or looked upon as as erious offence like any where u gotta do ur home work & u should be right.

 

Question Kabar why arent u in the marines anymore??Also when troops are deployed 2 say the gulf how much does there pay increase do they get extra cash depending on there positioning??

[KaBar]

Sivik

 

I wrote you a long reply about this last night and fell asleep on my computer keyboard about 0200, LOL. To answer your questions briefly, the reason I'm no longer an active duty Marine is that I decided that being a professional soldier was not what I really wanted to do with my life. I thought long and hard about it. Several of my friends from the Corps became "career Marines", and two acquaintances were studying French and making plans to join the French Foreign Legion--they said the Marine Corps was too tame, they wanted to go to combat and they didn't want to wait twenty years to do it. Last time I saw them they were trying to arrange passports, travel schedules, etc. They were getting close to their Marine Corps ETS, and intended to fly to Marsailles and attempt to enlist in La Legion.

 

The Marine Corps is a hard life for a family man. There is a saying "If the Corps wanted you to have a wife, they'd issue you one." I knew several NCO's who had "a hook" in town. Basically, their family life consisted of a long-term arrangement with an attractive prostitute. I also knew plenty of Marines (even young ones) who married their high-school sweetheart and were living in newlywed bliss---until the first overseas deployment when she is left by herself for six months or a year on a base with 40,000 young, single Marines with no girlfriend....

Most career Marines have been divorced a couple of times, drive a decent pick-up truck or sporty car, drink more than they should and are trying to make it the last of their twenty years to their retirement. A few did the smart thing and saved their money, or bought property or something like that, but most are just living from paycheck to paycheck and living the life of a professional soldier. The hours are long, the work is hard, it's lonely and once in a while, it's dangerous.

Young Marines suffer low pay until they make rank.

http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/2003paytable.pdf

Here's the U.S. military pay scale.

 

Hazardous duty pay is $100 a month, all ranks, all services. If you are serving in a combat zone, I think that rule doesn't apply. Everybody knows, if you join the Marines, you are serving in a hazardous area at least part of the time.

 

Anybody may enlist, if you meet the requirements. I served with a number of Marines from foreign countries--Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Columbia, Phillipine Islands, UK, Ireland. The vast majority of Marines are U.S. citizens of course, including U.S. territories, like American Samoa, and Guam. It's a hard life. You earn your money, without question.

[zen]

Frieghts in my state are unpredictable, often run at night, long pointless rides, few and far between, arent box cars, dont run to any where interesting, plus the whole law thing, the government is terified of terrorists, plus kids sneaking around frieghts at night dosent instill the security with alot of confidence.

 

Having said that, this is purely second hand information, I myself have never felt the need to hop trains, if I was ever homeless there are lots of places to go within my city without threat of hunger or danger.

[KaBar]

Crackatinnie

 

I don't think most people would choose hopping freight trains as a primary means of transportation under normal circumstances. During the so-called "Golden Years" of trainhopping (the 1930's and the Great Depression Years, here in the States) there were very few alternatives. If you wanted to go from one place to another and had no money, you could walk, or your could hop a train. Even a bicycle was often beyond the means of the tramps of that period. If they had one, they'd probably try to sell it for food money. (This is why so few tramps are armed with firearms--they are just too valuable as pawn items. Better to have $100 in your pocket that you need desparately than a pistol that you might never need.)

 

If I lived in Australia, I believe I would be a sailboater. I've often considered building a welded steel sailboat. My Dad had a friend who built one in his back yard over a period of about five years. It was a 54-foot ketch, all built from re-cycled 10 gauge steel plate and angle iron. It was a beautiful boat--you'd never guess in a million years that the guy that built it had such an artistic soul. He was your typical crude, redneck hill billy type, but underneath that hick exterior was the soul of a sailor. Last time we saw him, he was anchored at Chocolate Bayou, south of Houston. When we went back, his neighbor in the next slip said that he had left a few days earlier, headed for the Panama Canal.

 

The Gulf of Mexico would also be a pretty good place to live as an anchor-out. I've often considered it.

[Guest SIVIK]

Cheerz 4 the info Kabar.

[wiseguy]

this thread should be stickied.

 

i have to say thank you KaBar, for the best, most informative post that i have ever read on 12oz. I have had some kind of fascination with trainhopping for quite a while now. i guess stemming from my latent railfan tendencies. Have you ever heard of trainhopping occurring in any other countries? I am from Australia, currently visiting the US, and i was curious as to whether trainhopping existed or does exist outside of the US. In queensland at least there is quite a lot of freights carrying produce(sugarcane, bauxite, coal, and other raw materials) from the north and west of the state where there is a lot of mining and agriculture. I am without a doubt that they would be considerably less comfortable than boxcars, But queensland is big and without some kind of transprt it would be horrid to travel around, so at soume point trainhopping must have been used to travel about the state.

[KaBar]

WISEGUY

 

I've been kind of interested to discover whether hopping is common in other countries as well. In Peru, they used to let the poor people ride the decks (the tops of passenger cars) for a few cents paid in cash (no ticket) which, I suspect, went straight into the conductor's pocket. Hopping freights is very common in Mexico (it's a major method of illegal immigration into the U.S.) but since the 9/11 attack, the U.S. security on the southern borders has just gotten extremely tight. There was also an incident where two FBI agents investigating cargo thieves on the very edge of the border area (like 200 meters from Mexico) were attacked and beaten, disarmed and dragged into Mexico itself. Since that occurred, you can't spit on a Sunset Route train without hitting the FBI. We hear tramps complain about being thrown off trains and/or arrested for trespassing by squads of heavily armed INS agents, Border Patrol officers and FBI agents.

 

There are a couple of other Aussies on 12 oz. that talk about riding trains there, but in general, they don't sound very optimistic. I bet it's possible, but considering the extreme weather conditions found in the Australian outback, you'd better be a DESERT SURVIVAL EXPERT if you get on an Australian train headed into the outback. If you were to get "set off" out in the middle of nowhere (perhaps if the train crew was unaware of your presence) you'd be in big trouble. When headed into the West, American hobos carry lots of water--several gallons is minimum. I once knew two tramps who carried a big plastic 5-gallon military water can, which weighed about 40 pounds. No matter where they went, they had water.

Before I caught out in Australia, I'd THOROUGHLY RESEARCH TRAIN ROUTES, MAPS, SCHEDULES AND CREW CHANGE POINTS. There is an American book (a hand-made book) called the Crew Change Guide. Copies of this book are extremely rare. You might consider taking copious notes, and printing an Australian version of it. It includes routes, companies, stops, crew change points, yard locations, buses and IRT trains that service the yards (what city bus or subway or El train to take to reach a certain yard), costs and so forth. Most of this information can be had through rail fan magazines, clubs and publications. A railroad timetable is a very valuable asset to a railrider. It has times, scheduled trains, arrival times, etc. If you know what time you departed a particular junction, and approximately how long it should take the train to reach the next junction, you can determine where you are "now," even if there are no signs. In the U.S., there are milepost signs along the railway ballast ("MP 236", etc.) This usually tells you how many miles away from corporate headquarters one is. If corporate headquarters is in Kansas City, and you are at MP 236, you should be able to locate your approximate position on a railroad map. Assuming that you have a map, and that you know the location of the railroad you are riding. Respectively, the headquarters are: Burlington Northern Santa Fe (Fort Worth, Texas), Union Pacific (Omaha, Nebraska,) Kansas City Southern (Kansas City, Missouri) and so forth. I have no idea if this is true in Australia or not.

 

I think that much of the information in Duffy Littlejohn's book would be applicable more or less anywhere. Find out what laws and penalties apply in the various states in Australia. For all I know, trainhopping might be a serious crime there. Find out, before you hop.

 

"Hopping Freight Trains in America" by Duffy Littlejohn.

Zephyr Rhoades Press

P.O. Box 1999

Silver City, New Mexico

88062-1999

 

telephone 505-534-1888 fax 505-534-2888

email: dlittlejohnZRP@zianet.com

 

As a side note, my buddies Stretch and Texas Mad Man are headed towards the hobo gathering at Amory, Mississippi. I dropped them off at the KCS yard in Beaumont, and within fifteen minutes, Stretch had made friends with a yard worker and had an approximate departure time for their train. The world-famous hobo dog, Burlington, was happily eating dog food out of his side-saddle packs last time I saw him. Raised on a freight train, he is "most at home" in a freight classification yard. I'm going to miss them, but I expect I'll see them at Amory.

[wiseguy]

thanks for the info KaBar, if i do attempt to trainhop in australia, i will make sure that i stick to the more populated, temperate east coast. im also gonna research some info about the workings and timetables of freight system here...

[stretch]

Still rolling

 

Hi Kabar, tex and i are here in Meridian,MS heading for Tupelo,MS this evening. This library sucks cause due to the war you cant even check yahoo here but mabee in tupelo. see ya soon and dont forget to bring your bindle.

 

stretch and burlington dog K-9

[KaBar]

STRETCH

 

My mother is ill, she is going in for a heart-valve replacement on Monday, 3/24/03. This may screw up my plans to come up to Amory early, but I'm still going to try to make it. If Mom is doing okay, and we have plenty of nursing care from my sisters and other family and friends, I'll try to be there just like I planned. I haven't heard back from Derek, I don't know if he's coming with me or what.

 

Tell Tex howdy, give old Burl a "tweat" for me.

[stretch]

Amory

 

:confused:

Well hope things work out with your mom and we will keep in touch here in tupelo where i have internet acess.

 

stretch

[KaBar]

Heard from Backwoods Jack

 

Hey, I got an email from Backwoods Jack, from Litchfield, Illinois. He says he's going to try to make the Amory gathering. He also said that some idiot bow hunter shot his dog, Patches, in a deliberate attempt to kill him. (Apparently Patches survived the murder attempt.) It would be great to see him again. Man, the guy has GREAT HATS. I never met a man with such crazy fucking hats as Jack. The last night at Britt he showed up at the campfire with a huge Mexican sombero. The thing looked like a tent!

 

Anybody from Litchfield? Jack owns an auto junk yard there.

[LungFactory]

Wow, i have to say, that on all of 12oz, this is probably the most intelligent post that has ever been done. Ive read this whole thread, and learned alot. Kbar, youve got quite the cornicopia of know how racked up, you seirously should publish something. One of those how to for dummies books maybe. Good stuff, keep it coming...

 

*Bumps*:king:

[KaBar]

LungFactory

 

Well, thanks, bro, it's always nice to hear a compliment. Truthfully, though, the information on here is not really all that unique or anything. Most of it is readily available from other sources. Look up the stack for the address for Duffy Littlejohn's book "Hopping Freight Trains in America." It's a great book--the information is absolutely required before anybody attempts a long-distance hop.

 

There is a class of trainhopper called a "forty-miler." I never appreciated this when I was younger, but now, as a confirmed adult, it makes a lot more sense. These guys travel back and forth between two places that they know well. They like riding trains, but they don't want to go long distances for one reason or another. So they just ride forty miles or so to the next junction or yard, get off, and then ride back.

 

I used to feel sort of superior and disdainful towards them, I thought they were just barely a cut above "homeguards," but I understand their motivation a little better now that I am older.

[ghostvandal]

I started reading your post last night and im only at the half of page 2 but its really interesting. I have 2 questions though: You said its not respectful so shit in a boxcar but what if your on a long trip, the train is going fast and you really have to shit?

My second question is do you build a small shelter with trees for when it rains or you just dont care about getting wet all night long, or for a week long?

[KaBar]

GhostVandal

 

Both good questions. The first one "How do I take a dump if I'm on a boxcar?" is pretty obvious. Always take some cardboard, or railroad plastic or Thousand-Miler Paper with you whenever you hop. Take a dump on a chunk of the cardboard, then carry it carefully to the door and pitch it out without getting any on you. A package of "Baby Wipes" is a good idea in addition to plenty of shitpaper. They come in a small plastic dispenser, and they are good for cleaning your hands and face, as well as personal hygiene after taking a dump and using regular shitpaper. Having a raw, itchy ass is hell when you cannot take a bath or shower.

 

I know you guys will laugh like hell at this last information. I didn't learn that riding trains, though, I learned it in the Marines. Spend a month in 29 Palms, California without a bath, running up and down desert mountains in the same stinking, filthy set of cammies and shitting in the open and you'll get creative about ways to attain a high degree of personal hygiene. (How does it go? "Please Believe.")

 

As for personal shelter, a little two-man pop-up tent would be great. I never carried one back in the day, but I do carry one now. I have also rigged rain shelter from scavenged Visqueen plastic from dumpsters, Army rain ponchos, tarps that blew off of loads on rail cars and so forth.

 

ONE OF THE ABSOLUTELY BEST SURVIVAL TRICKS I EVER SAW---I learned a month or so ago from Texas Mad Man and Stretch. They found a large inflatable packing bladder used to cushion a load of red bricks alongside the tracks here in Houston. It made a great air mattress, then they cut it open and it made a great sleeping bag, then they completely removed it's paper cover and made it into a large plastic tarp by cutting down three of it's four seams. VERY tough plastic, and durable as all hell. It could easily save your life in cold weather, especially as a "sleeping bag" with a couple of blankets.

 

Carry 505 shock cord wherever you go. It is great survival stuff, cheap, and lightweight. You can use it to rig a tarp or tent anywhere. I met one guy who wove a hammock out of thin shock cord. You can attach it to a piece of plastic or a tarp by placing a rock on a corner on one side, and "pushing it through," then tying shock cord or rope to the OTHER side, "trapping the rock" within the plastic. I did this once in the face of a big thunderstorm blowing in off the Pacific. My girlfriend was freaking out. I used our four bootlaces and a large piece of Visqueen to produce a storm-worthy shelter in about ten minutes. I tied the bootlaces to the limbs of a small tree, making a little tent. We jumped inside, got in our sleeping bags and pushed the loose edges of the plastic sheet underneath the weight of our bodies just as all hell broke loose with the storm. Lightning crashed, it rained like a motherfucker, flooded all around us (we were on high ground) but we barely got damp. My girl looked at me with shining eyes and said "You are the most resourceful man I have ever met in my life." Too bad I only had about twenty bucks to my name, LOL. That was a good day.

[ghostvandal]

haha nice! thanks for all the infos. now back to my reading im at page 4 hehe

[ghostvandal]

Re: Monikers

 

Originally posted by KaBar

TeeRase---Actually, I only started using "Kabar" as a moniker relatively recently. I never thought that much about using an alias when I was hopping full-time. I was young, and inexperienced. A "moniker," or nick-name, is supposed to be given TO you by older, wiser riding companions, you see. The idea of some twenty-year-old naming himself "Tennesee Pass Paulie" or 'Thousand Miler Mike" or some such thing is pretty funny to me. Rufe used to call me "Prospect" all the time, as in "Hey, PROSPECT, go get some fucking firewood! This ain't no hobby!" but I wouldn't consider that a moniker. More like an epithet. (If you don't know what a "prospect" is, it's some young guy who is trying to join a motorcycle club, more or less like a recruit. Below the level of "prospect" is "hangaround." Hangarounds aren't even included in stuff like beer runs, they are considered to be unworthy of much consideration at all. I once saw a patch-holder decide to get rid of a bunch of hangarounds. (A patch-holder is a full member of a motorcycle club, someone who has completed his time as a prospect and has been "voted a top rocker", i.e. voted into the club and given the "top rocker" to his colors. The top rocker has the name of the club on it, like "Hells Angels", "Bandidos", Satan's Slaves" etc.) Anyway, the hangarounds were sitting around at this bike shop out behind a patch-holder's house, and one of the bros decided to "clear out the light weights." He came out of the shop with an M-1 carbine and fired about ten rounds into the ground, pow-pow-pow-pow-pow. ZOOM! All the hangarounds except one hauled ass running. The only guy that just sat there calmly drinking his beer got promoted to "prospect" at the next meeting, and the guy with the carbine sponsored him.

Anyway, Rufe used to call me "prospect," but I wasn't really a prospect, I was just younger than him. Actually, having someone around as young and strong as I was back then was a real advantage for Rufe. If anybody had tried to hurt him, I would have kicked their ass into next week. He would have never admitted that to me, of course. "What the fuck--are you asleep at the switch, or what? You're lucky I'm here to show you the ropes, or you'd be dog meat for these fucking streamliners, no shit. Listen up, prospect! I shit you not, these guys are assholes!" He was a cool old guy, and to hear him tell it, he took care of me, not the other way around. I figured I'd just humor him. I learned a lot from him, especially about how the railroads do business.

 

this is funny, I thought the hells Angels gang started in my neighborhood . I never thought they would be in texas or something

 

I was wondering..do you know if Dufy Littlejohn's book has been translated in french.

[KaBar]

The Hell's Angels MC is concentrated mostly in the California-Nevada area and the New York area, with some penetration down into the Deep South.

 

The Bandidos MC was founded in Houston (the "Mother Chapter" is here in Houston) and they very aggressively moved north and east into Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, South Dakota and so on, trying to cut the U.S. "in half" to prevent the HA's from effectively controlling the central part of the U.S., in terms of 1%er motorcycle clubs. They also moved into the Washington State area and some parts of Oregon.

 

Both these organizations have affilliated clubs (The Bandidos have the Amigos MC, Honchos MC, Mongols MC, etc.) They have a strategic alliance with the Outlaws MC, long-time enemies of the Hell's Angels.

 

Not too long ago, there was a big fight between Hell's Angels and Mongols in a casino in Reno, NV. The rumor I heard was that these particular Mongols were trying to make their bones with the Bandidos, and they were sent to attack the HA's. The HA's won the fight, but lost several members trying to retreat back to California--supposedly there was a running gun battle on the highway. I don't know--it's just a rumor.

 

The HA's are in big trouble. They have been bullying smaller clubs and treating people like shit for years. They only have around 800 members, total. The Bandidos, on the other hand, while very ruthless about business, tend to let smaller clubs "affiliate", keep their colors (patches) and their pride, and become "allies" (subservient allies, of course) with the Bandidos. By doing this, the Bandidos have built a very large and powerful organization. The HA's have always been extremely tough, and very select, which translates as "small." The Bandidos have been building alliances and plotting on being #1 for a long time. Eventually, there's going to be a Big Showdown, and the HA's are going to be in some deep shit.

[Dick Quickwood]

what do you know about F.T.R.A. ?

[KaBar]

FTRA

 

There is a lot of rumor and boogey-man bullshit perpetuated about the FTRA. They've been around quite a long time. Founded in Libby. Montana, in a bar, in 1988, they started out as a self-protection organization for hobos faced with aggression from gang bangers, local thuggy kids, redneck assholes and so on. Originally, the story goes, FTRA was made up mostly of "Vietnam veterans." This isn't very likely, but there might have been some Vietnam vets, anyway. Rather quickly, the organization began to attract ex-convicts, scam artists and so on. Like their philosophical brothers-in-arms, the 1%er motorcycle clubs, it's less about train riding and more about getting by without working. Basically, you'll almost never see an FTRA guy working day labor. Running drugs, yeah. Squeezing welfare payments out of three or four different counties (or ten, or twenty) yeah. Stealing shit, yeah. They "ride the circuit" and collect welfare benefits in places all over the country.

 

They do not have the clout and organization that a group like the Hell's Angels or Bandidos does. They do not stake out a particular town or area of a city and claim to be predominant, but they do ride certain rail lines and try to dominate them. They lack personal mobility (no cars, no motorcycles, etc.) They try to blend in with the tramp and "homeless" population, but at the same time, they wear clothing that makes them readily identifiable--"gang colors," if you will. A good example of FTRA behavior is someone who looks homeless, has a dog, carries a light pack and a sleeping bag, but is carrying a large sum of money, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of dollars, in cash. He will always be armed, either with a goon stick, a knife (or both) and often with a pistol. FTRA members travel in small groups, rarely less than two, sometimes as many as six or eight. Like 1%er bikers, they often share "ol' ladies" or have a "mamma" who sleeps with anybody from the organization. This is sort of a groupie situation--the FTRA provides drugs, alcohol and force protection, the girl provides sex.

 

http://www.ftra.org/TrampCam/BoxcarBertha.html

 

FTRA members share pretty much everything in common. There is no such thing as "private" property. In a sort of bizarre spin-off of the old Frisco circle, everyone who associates with them is required to pony up whatever resources are available all the time. A well-known story about them is that a "yuppie" hobo who wanted to ride the rails with the real McCoy hooked up with the FTRA. He smoked dope with them, got to be pals, and rode some trains. The FTRA doesn't dumpster-dive, they have plenty of money. He is sitting around the campfire, eating their steaks and drinking their whiskey, and they decide to do another beer run. Everybody just opens their pocket and throws down their money. The yuppie pulls out his wallet and like leans way back, so nobody can see what's in it. This is a gross insult to the FTRA guys. He's eating their steaks! Drinking their whiskey! So they just beat his ass right there and take all his money, his equipment, whatever they want. Fuck him. He ain't a bro--he's a sorry-ass cheapskate yuppie.

 

If you hang with the FTRA, you are riding the tiger.

 

NEVER disrespect a girl or woman travelling with FTRA members. It could very easily get you killed. There are very few women willing to ride with people like the FTRA. If you insult one, or harm her in any way, they will hurt you for real. This is a big ego booster to the girls. Keep your distance from their women, seriously.

 

They attack en masse. If you get into a fight with the FTRA it is "One on all, All on one." They will take on any number of attackers cheerfully, and think nothing of the entire group stomping the crap out of one single adversary.

 

Like the 1%er bikers, they have a "prospect" process. To join, you must prove you are worthy and dedicated. Often this requires that one commit a crime, so that the organization "has the goods" on you, and if you fail to do what is required, or if you inform, you will be facing them ratting you out for the crime. If one informs to the police, you are a marked man.

 

I have met several members and "ex-members" ("Once in, never out.") of the FTRA. They were nice guys, and generous. The problem arises if you are vulnerable to them. I carry a knife, a deadman and a pistol. It is a somewhat false sense of security, because if I had to defend myself, most likely the next stop would be jail. One-on-one, they are okay. If they are drinking or drugging and in a group, LEAVE and go somewhere else. If you are not a member or a prospect, you are a potential target. DO NOT ACCEPT FAVORS FROM THE FTRA. It makes you "obligated", in their eyes.

 

The "real" FTRA no longer exists. In the 90's, the heat got so bad that they took off their colors (they wear a bandana rolled "cowboy style" with a silver concho as colors) and went underground. Many of them were arrested and sent to prison after the Sidetrack Murders. However, there are a lot of "Sinner's Camp" hobos who have that bad ass 1%er attitude who are still riding trains. You'll know these guys when you see them. They are hard asses--hard drinking, hard-fighting, drug-using haters. Many of them act and talk like convicts. They look a lot like 1%bikers and most of them are racists, because of serving time in prison. This is not to say "all" of them, because not every FTRA member fits the above generalization, but many of them do.

 

The "unofficial" FTRA web site is http://www.ftra.org/welcome/hpl.

Use "ftra" and "ftra" as passwords.

[fr8lover]

jaks is a weird cat, but ive read ftra.org and deadtrainbums from front to back. lots of interesting (mis)information to be had there...

 

it appears to be down now, however.

[KaBar]

Eric made a lot of enemies over the years, and yeah, you're right, he is pretty wierd. Several people I know "broke in" with the FTRA, but no longer ride with them. They ought to know. I avoid them for the same reason I avoid the Hell's Angels and the Bandidos. If you hang around with them long enough, eventually something bad will happen.

[fr8lover]

he was always nice to me back in the day when i had stupid questions to ask...ive never met ftra in person but have heard a lot of stories, whether true or not.

 

i think the "hopping solo and a guy shares a car with you then pushes you off" is one of the ones ive heard the most.

[PUNKASSBITCH]

Hey Kabar, can i use your writings for school? Ill say where and who I got it from.

[Dick Quickwood]

thanks

[KaBar]

Alka-Zelter

 

You can quote my stuff for school if you wish, so long as you agree that you will not use anything I wrote to make trainhoppers, hobos, tramps or graff writers look bad. People always seem to take anything written about hobos or trainhopping and twist it to make the entire thing look sinister and anti-social. This is far from true. Even the guys riding the colors for FTRA are not monsters. They just choose to live a lifestyle that uses a different set of rules than the rest of society. The One-Percenter bikers are the same way. They are very much obedient to the rules that they accept. It's just that outside of that subculture, these rules seem sinister and dangerous.

 

For instance, both 1%ers and guys in the FTRA place zero value on legal contracts and normal business agreements. I have seen $10,000 motorcycle sales conducted on nothing more than a handshake. YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND. If you promise to purchase a motorcycle from a Bandido for $10,000, on the appointed day, if you don't show up with the money IN CASH, you had probably better be headed for a foreign country, because the penalty for failing to honor your word is considerably more severe than a lawsuit.

 

Among regular, normal trainhoppers this is also true, to a lesser degree. If you promise to do something, and fail to carry out what you agreed to do, or if you violate a trust of any kind, the result can be very unpleasant. The minimum you can expect is to be permenantly banned from camp, and your reputation ruined forever. I know of a tramp who allegedly stole from people who trusted him, and the coast-to-coast social vendetta against him has been ongoing for some time.

 

Someone who intended to misuse what I write on 12 oz. is unlikely to ask permission to do so. I trust you will do the right thing.

[PUNKASSBITCH]

^^ thank you SO much, Id like to let you know that I myself would NEVER portray or give a bad image of an activity or lifestyle. I do graffiti, and it carries a load of negative images instead of the positive images, although it would be much better for the images to be neutral, but the world we live in is a zero-sum world. To add to that, Im a Muslim, which contribtes even more to me knowing how shitty it is when the media or whoever makes us look bad. Muslims are as American as apple pie, and to guarantee that I will not manipulate your words, the only editing I will do is the curse words, where Ill add a #!@** to replace them. Is there any specific name you would like me to use instead of KaBar? Is there anything you would like to be kept private about yourself? Anything at all you want ?

[KaBar]

Obviously, people who use a psuedonym on the Internet do not want their actual name to become known to the world. There are plenty of young hackers on 12 oz. who could figure out people's real names, I suppose, and cause them grief. I'd prefer to keep the anonyminity of my handle. Other than that, I feel pretty sure you can tell the difference between information likely to be a problem and information unlikely to be a problem. Exercise good judgement, and be a stand-up guy, that's all.

[KaBar]

Amory Railroad Days festival a success

 

I just heard from Texas Madman, who reports a total of 35 tramps and hobos arrived at the Amory Railroad Days festival in Armory, MS. He says it's the first time in eight years that it did not rain during the festival, that nobody got in trouble, and that a grand time was had by all.

 

He especially complimented the food, and says that the local cafe owners (one cafe, two owners) have "adopted" he hobos. Several tramps apparently worked at the cafe during the festival, providing extra hands to help deal with the increased business, and taking their pay in meals. The cafe also fed the assembled hobos at least one meal, down at Hobo Corner in Amory's Frisco park.

 

Tramps that attended Amory (many of these people are nationally known or even internationally known hobos):

 

Miss Charlotte

MAD Mary

Grandpa Dudley

Stretch and Burlington Dog

Texas Madman

Steamtrain Maury Graham

Wanda

Knotman

Namakogin Kid

Red Dust

Milwaukee Mike

Leo the Limper

Hobo SLC

Redbird Express (King of Hobos 2003)

Lady Nightingale (Queen of Hobos 2003)

Liberty Justice

Brender

Get Along Eileen

Be Gone Norm

Katy Flyer

Rock Island Red

Doodle Bug

Pearl from Indiana

Dickie Miller

Loco Larry

Redlight Kramer

John John Bellow

Ohio Tom

Collinwood Kid

Bojangles

Virginia Slim (this guy has the best accapella tenor I've ever heard--find the National Geographic video "Trains"--Slim is the last shot on the video, he sings "I've Been Everywhere.")

Hobo Spike

Oops

Emma

Lady Marie

 

This may not be a complete list. Tex, Stretch, Burlington, Emma and Opps are headed towards Memphis via freight train.

 

Man, I sure wish I could have gone. Unfortunately, my mother is in Intensive Care and I needed to stay here with her and my family.

Sounds like they had a good time, though.