People on You Tube are raising the alarm about the unexplained disappearance of a unique traveler, named Hobo Shoestring. He travels across North America by hopping freight trains. Somebody else told me about him a year ago, and I became a fan of his.
Let's hope his disappearance comes to a happy ending, and that all is well. But even if the worst has happened, his travels can still be considered a success. It helps to see it this way if you look at how other travel-styles have evolved over time.
Hobo Shoestring tied into a piece of Americana. There has long been a romance about trains. The Coen brothers' movie, "O Brother, Where Are Thou?", featured a scene at the beginning of the movie about the main characters hopping a freight train. They saw other hobos on the train. What a collection of faces that was!
In the 1960s, one of the episodes of the "Virginian" featured a humorous encounter between the Virginian and a young woman who was seeking adventure by hopping freight trains. I really enjoyed the episode, so I followed the end credits to learn that the story had been written by a fellow, named Gene Roddenberry!
Further back than that, Jack London wrote a story, called "The Road," about his experiences as a hobo.
There was a time only, say, 15 years ago when "van life" was seen as a real adventure: simplistic, uncomfortable, off-beat, and barely legal. But it quickly became a cliche' that, largely, features competitive over-improvement and fake glamor. At the time I was astonished at how industrious and relentless people were at destroying the lifestyle they claimed to love.
But loving something to death until you destroy it, is not without precedent. The other day some noisy Harley riders came into my camping area. Like most people, I rolled my eyes at the noisy, obnoxious fools. But there was a time, say, 50 years ago, when the early ones in that lifestyle were still exploring it and falling in love with it. Today, you just go into the Harley store and squander money on black leather and chrome parts. Everything is a ridiculous stereotype.
Or think of mountaineering in the Alps around 1850. "Alpinists" were a close-knit, informal group of gentlemen, who pursued mountain climbing with a passion. They probably corresponded with each other, sharing maps and tips. Equipment had to be invented. It was all hides, leather, and wool. A couple generations later, any consumer could walk into an REI store and just buy all the crap they needed.
So even if the worst has happened to Hobo Shoestring, he at least escaped seeing his style of travel become a standard, consumer-like, tourist experience that was just an exercise in using a credit card.
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