Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Totally OT-- Point of information-- Hobos Work!
The original phrase "Hobo" referred to "Hoe-Boys"
The man with a Hoe over his shoulder, and his belongings tied in a bundle hanging off it.
Go up to a farm-house and offer to work for some grub and maybe crash in the barn.
Then catch the next train looking for Greener Pastures and Work! (There was a Depression goin' on)
Old Hobo told me, back in the seventies--
"There are three kinds of Street People; Hobos, Tramps, and Bums.
Hobos ride the Rails, and they Work!
Tramps hitch-hike and panhandle, although they might ride the Rails, and they might Work... They might even travel in an old Car.
Bums don't go anywhere, and they Don't Work! You can come back three years from now, and that bum will still be on that same corner!"
Just my defense of Honorable Men with an Honorable Calling...
(None of that applies to the FTRA, or similar modern-day folks who claim to be Hobos) |