I tell you there is something for everyone on Youtube. I've been bored lately, it seems the same stories just constantly come up, and that is partly my own fault, all I look at is watches and political crap. I'm not sure why, but Hobo Shoestring popped up on my feed and I couldn't help but to go along his adventure. He is a literal hobo, climbing on trains and going across the country. From a reality standpoint, there is no way I could do this and if confronted by a hobo, much like a bum on a street corner, I would rather not interact, but from the safety of a monitor screen, I can't help but be entranced by the way this man is living, so free and without fear. Compared to his way of living and from his vantage point I can see that I am the one living the sad, caged life.
We picked up with Shoestring as he is choosing the right train box to jump into as a train is slowly picking and dropping boxes at a train yard. These trains seem to go on for miles, they just seem endless. Unfortunately for our hobo, most of the boxes are oil tankers and can't really fit humans, as there is no place to get inside. Lucky for him, there are always a few boxcars, and in this case covered hoppers, which hold stuff like sand or corn. He didn't describe them as such, but looking where he rode on, it looked like he found a safe cubby corner on the back of what looked like a covered hopper (these boxcars are so big and built to withstand the load that the shapes just have nooks and crannies where a man can hide from the elements). He actually did miss the first train he was looking at, taking too long to describe that it was going South, and then telling us he had left his backpack behind and was going to go back and grab it. By the time he was making his way back to the one rail car he liked, it had already started moving. Maybe in his younger days, ole Shoestring might have run and jumped on like in the movies, but in his 70's I don't think this was an option (if that is even a possibility in reality). He was very calm and just casually said "there is always another train coming." He then added that he really preferred to be headed North, so I don't think he was headed anywhere specific, he is just roaming.
I am a little confused here. My goody-goody nature says these guys are not supposed to be on the train and they are a nuisance, but on the other hand, trains weigh tons and tons, the weight of one man is not going to make that train any more inefficient and if they aren't hurting anyone, why should we care if they do this, for fun or lifestyle? Obviously, Hobo Shoestring is not out here trying to commit some sort of crime, or he wouldn't be interested in filming his adventures. I find this sort of thing way more interesting than watching regular scripted TV nowadays. This one man is living a real life and because of the internet and where we are with technology, he can basically produce and provide an account of what his adventures encompass. I can't help but think in a weird way that I am a little jealous at the freedom this man gets to enjoy daily. I know I couldn't do it, but I am glad there are people who can and do this sort of thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment