There is a long section in the book about riding the trains. In high school my friend Jay and I came so close to doing it. There is a train track that runs right through my family's farm. We had a good plan. We never quite did it though and it is something that I have always regretted.
In the book, she rides the rails though. She rides the rails with these characters I call the misfits. Really, they are the Sirens from the Odyssey. In my book though they are a group of freak show performers with golden hearts who take her in. I have toiled over this section for almost three months, waiting for it to reveal itself. This week was amazing. In three five hour, virtually uninterrupted, writing stretches, I finished the Siren section. Instead of a ship though, she is riding the trains in the 1930s. Much of the hobo culture evolved from this era, people out of work and desperate to travel and find it during the Depression. The culture and the stories are fascinating. I could go on and on about the nicknames and death-defying experiences, the danger, the endless random acts of kindness. I have researched it endlessly and finally the story emerged for me. I could cry I feel so relieved. I bled for this section.
Hobo culture is fascinating. It is a community of outcasts but organized with strict rules and language. They care deeply for one another. They love without judgement.
Here is the code of ethics they decided upon (this is universal for all hoboes):
1 Decide your own life, don’t let another person run or rule you.
2 When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
3 Don’t take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hoboes.
4 Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but insure employment should you return to that town again.
5 When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
6 Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hoboes.
7 When jungling (camping) in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.
8 Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
9 If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
10 Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
11 When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
12 Do not cause problems in a train yard, Another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
13 Do not allow other hoboes to molest children, expose to authorities all molesters, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
14 Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
15 Help your fellow hoboes whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
It's a fascinating code for many reasons. What I want to focus on, as always, though is the vulnerability and the love... and trust. Theirs is a complex matrix of vulnerability, love and trust and it's what makes the whole thing work. They all agree to offer love and support. It's boils things down to its essence. no belongings just love.
From the section of my book-
"Like a room full of obstreperous children, Virginia was chasing Coote swinging her bag. They were laughing. Sweet P could see that he was angry with Virginia for dancing with another man. But instead of showing his anger, he teased her. Teasing, she knew, was a potent form of love.
She felt at home with the misfits. She noticed how other people would stare, and while she took umbrage to the rudeness of the judgements of others, it made somehow made her feel more secure. The misfits would never wallow in the scrutiny or unkind words. In many ways, she could see that through their dancing they were more at home in their bodies than the others. Like the hoboes, being outside is what made them the most free. She was intoxicated by the freedom."
They are malformed and outcasts and they teach her to decide her own life, to not let another person run or rule her and to love without restraint or fear of judgement.
Sweet song that became the anthem of my writing week-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRbKzumSPVw
In the book, she rides the rails though. She rides the rails with these characters I call the misfits. Really, they are the Sirens from the Odyssey. In my book though they are a group of freak show performers with golden hearts who take her in. I have toiled over this section for almost three months, waiting for it to reveal itself. This week was amazing. In three five hour, virtually uninterrupted, writing stretches, I finished the Siren section. Instead of a ship though, she is riding the trains in the 1930s. Much of the hobo culture evolved from this era, people out of work and desperate to travel and find it during the Depression. The culture and the stories are fascinating. I could go on and on about the nicknames and death-defying experiences, the danger, the endless random acts of kindness. I have researched it endlessly and finally the story emerged for me. I could cry I feel so relieved. I bled for this section.
Hobo culture is fascinating. It is a community of outcasts but organized with strict rules and language. They care deeply for one another. They love without judgement.
Here is the code of ethics they decided upon (this is universal for all hoboes):
1 Decide your own life, don’t let another person run or rule you.
2 When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
3 Don’t take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hoboes.
4 Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but insure employment should you return to that town again.
5 When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
6 Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hoboes.
7 When jungling (camping) in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.
8 Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
9 If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
10 Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
11 When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
12 Do not cause problems in a train yard, Another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
13 Do not allow other hoboes to molest children, expose to authorities all molesters, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
14 Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
15 Help your fellow hoboes whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
It's a fascinating code for many reasons. What I want to focus on, as always, though is the vulnerability and the love... and trust. Theirs is a complex matrix of vulnerability, love and trust and it's what makes the whole thing work. They all agree to offer love and support. It's boils things down to its essence. no belongings just love.
From the section of my book-
"Like a room full of obstreperous children, Virginia was chasing Coote swinging her bag. They were laughing. Sweet P could see that he was angry with Virginia for dancing with another man. But instead of showing his anger, he teased her. Teasing, she knew, was a potent form of love.
She felt at home with the misfits. She noticed how other people would stare, and while she took umbrage to the rudeness of the judgements of others, it made somehow made her feel more secure. The misfits would never wallow in the scrutiny or unkind words. In many ways, she could see that through their dancing they were more at home in their bodies than the others. Like the hoboes, being outside is what made them the most free. She was intoxicated by the freedom."
They are malformed and outcasts and they teach her to decide her own life, to not let another person run or rule her and to love without restraint or fear of judgement.
Sweet song that became the anthem of my writing week-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRbKzumSPVw
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