Hobo Jungle

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've been given to taking naps since attending college, indulging in them at around 4pm each day, after classes. My naps don't need to be long, either; sometimes 20 min. is enough, and I awaken totally refreshed and energized, to this day.
Murph

I tend to get one in the recliner myself about that same time of day just to recover from commuting home on the DC Beltway. Thereafter, I'm generally good until midnight to work in my office & shop.

[rogruth]

Hmmmm.Me too.Seems to be a wierd connection here.

[Will]

Hey, 'bos. What's happening? I can't believe this camp is still here. It's been many years since I set foot in here.

I'm back up north now, been holed up in my studio. Tramp, congrats on finally getting that book published. Doing any painting?

Dirt, I've been meaning to call you. I may come out and see you this fall, if that's okay.

I'm hoisting a beer to all of you.

[webenda]

Hi will. Welcome back. I think I'm the only one here still awake. Everyone's either flopping (as you can tell from posts immediately above) or has traded in their bindlestiff for honest work. It may be a while before you get a response. Keep checking back.

[rogruth]

Welcome back,Will.

Unlike Wayne some of us do need to sleep.It seems to be a terrible,but neccessary,waste of time.

[ANG retired]

Hi will. Welcome back. I think I'm the only one here still awake. Everyone's either flopping (as you can tell from posts immediately above) or has traded in their bindlestiff for honest work. It may be a while before you get a response. Keep checking back.

Wayne, the NERVE of using such foul, obnoxious language! Almost as bad as that other really bad four-letter word.
Snow.

[webenda]

Bob,

Hold on there sonny, don't get your panties in a wad. That there language is secret hobo language.

Flop - To sleep or a place to sleep, as in "flop house," or in this case, the hobo jungle.

Bindlestiff - An American slang word from the German words “bundle” and “stick”. Many jobless Americans travel the United States with their possessions tied in a blanket carried on a long stick. Those traveling by train or “riding the rails” were called hobo's, Kings of the Road or Bindlestiff's. Respected and generally warmly welcomed by potential employers, since they were generally on the lookout for honest work.

Those who consider WORK a dirty word are not hobos, they are bums.

Bum - A worthless or dissolute loafer who would rather beg than work for goods or services. Lowest in the “hobo hierarchy.” It is a term of many meanings, but in its most authoritative uses it refers to the lowest of vagrants.

And don't be insulting my friends who have good fortune to find employment. Honest work is not a four letter word as you define it.

(Youngsters!)

Wayne Benda (Officially a bum, having been unemployed since 2008.)

Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes

Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whUjCqCEYBo&feature=fvst

[rogruth]

Wayne,

I learned the difference from my grandfather 70 years ago.Somehow he could tell which was which with one look.The hobo always got a sandwich,something to drink and a sandwich to take with him.The bum got half a sandwich and was told to leave.My grandmother did the same.If it was cold they would also get soup.My grandfather would also tell the hobo who wanted work where he could find a little.My grandmother did not like for me to talk to them but I found the 'bos fascinating.
I was raised by my grand-parents.

[ANG retired]

Bob,

Hold on there sonny, don't get your panties in a wad. That there language is secret hobo language.

Flop - To sleep or a place to sleep, as in "flop house," or in this case, the hobo jungle.

Bindlestiff - An American slang word from the German words “bundle” and “stick”. Many jobless Americans travel the United States with their possessions tied in a blanket carried on a long stick. Those traveling by train or “riding the rails” were called hobo's, Kings of the Road or Bindlestiff's. Respected and generally warmly welcomed by potential employers, since they were generally on the lookout for honest work.

Those who consider WORK a dirty word are not hobos, they are bums.

Bum - A worthless or dissolute loafer who would rather beg than work for goods or services. Lowest in the “hobo hierarchy.” It is a term of many meanings, but in its most authoritative uses it refers to the lowest of vagrants.

And don't be insulting my friends who have good fortune to find employment. Honest work is not a four letter word as you define it.

(Youngsters!)

Wayne Benda (Officially a bum, having been unemployed since 2008.)

Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes

Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whUjCqCEYBo&feature=fvst

Well, I guess I'm also a bum, since I've been out of gainful employment sinec '08 also

Youngster? Thank you

[webenda]

Roger,

There might have been one of these signs near your childhood home.

Food.png (24.68 KiB) Viewed 2266 times

Bob,

I recognized your first response as humor. My retort was meant as humor too. If you think of something funny, blast me with it. Or you can be serious if you want. A lot of bums here in Tucson are homeless beggars through no fault of their own. Some are too sick to work, others have a mental handicap. We have homeless shelters here but the organizations only get the homeless on their feet and sometimes a job, then turn them loose. Many leave the shelter or job and show up back at their favorite begging site. Seems sad to me, but never having been there, I don't really know.

Then there are those like Will and Tramp. Hoboing is/was their chosen lifestyle (imaginary or real.) When I see a hobo camp on a model railroad, I imagine I could find them in the camp.

[rogruth]

Wayne,

Yes there were "signs" at our house.My grand-father apparently could read them.
I always wondered what he did before he got married.

[ANG retired]

Bob,

I recognized your first response as humor. My retort was meant as humor too. If you think of something funny, blast me with it. Or you can be serious if you want. A lot of bums here in Tucson are homeless beggars through no fault of their own. Some are too sick to work, others have a mental handicap. We have homeless shelters here but the organizations only get the homeless on their feet and sometimes a job, then turn them loose. Many leave the shelter or job and show up back at their favorite begging site. Seems sad to me, but never having been there, I don't really know.

Then there are those like Will and Tramp. Hoboing is/was their chosen lifestyle (imaginary or real.) When I see a hobo camp on a model railroad, I imagine I could find them in the camp.

Oh, I saw the whole exchange as funny!

As for the homeless, sad part is, some are in need of help, for whatever reason they can't fit in society, but from what I have seen, a lot of them just want to be "bums".
<semi rant mode> When the hobo lifestyle came about, mostly in the First Great Depression, the hobo was a skilled worker, displaced by the economics of the time. He moved, not for the love of movement, but for the necessity of finding gainful work. Today, in the depths of the Second Great Depression, the "bums" are there more of choice, they didn't want to work "menial" jobs, and would rather suck off the system, or look for pity.
<semi rant mode off>

[rogruth]

Bob,

You are making too much sense.

[webenda]

I could go on and on about people I know or have known, but I think I will end with this instead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmwOWmd7c98&

[rogruth]

Hmmmm.Things haven't changed much IMHO.