Random Thoughts of The Wanderer

... hope springs eternal

Of what is he thinking when he is moving away from the home, family and friends that he has known for all of his lifetime?

Actually, of course, there are many ideas to chose from. Some of the
estimated millions who floated around the country were men and some few
women. Out of work because of the depression, they were looking
for work but there were no jobs to be found in the whole country.

An occasional job of one day, or even one hour, did help one retain
his personal dignity but it didn't help his family back home who were on
welfare.

It didn't take very long to realize that, except for the "soup
kitchens" run by some cities, the Salvation Army, and churches, a hobo
simply had to accost strangers and ask for an assist.

Between cities and towns was sometimes a long and lonely walk but
hope springs eternal in the human breast and one carries on as best one
can.

Riding freight trains is another story altogether.

If one chooses to ride a freight train, you can only get on or off
when the train is stopped and, sometimes the stops are not near a town
where food is readily available, so two and sometimes three days passed
with no food and that certainly gave one pause for thought.

The new, modern freight cars in use today are constructed with steel
and they are kept locked and there are no cat walks on the tops of the
cars.

I don't know what I will use for transportation when the next depression comes around.

Previously published

March 3, 2000