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| "Dude, Google Maps won't tell me which overpasses don't leak." |
On the other hand, maybe Portland hobos don't have laptops. Maybe the guy has a home, but only has the one pair of trousers, 'cause even Mike Rowe would be tearing at those and screaming "Get 'em off me!"
He's been eating too good to be a hobo. Unless he's eating other hobos.
ReplyDeleteDid you get to see the campers over by City Hall?
ReplyDeleteCar tags optional in Oregon??
ReplyDeleteA homeless person who doesn't get stupid drunk can get nine meals in one day by visiting different shelter programs in the downtown and near eastside area.
ReplyDeleteFreegeek gives old refurbed laptops ( with linux loaded ) to anyone that asks for them and agrees to do a few hours of scut work, and there are a lot of free hotspots downtown.
The sedan in the picture has a temporary tag ( the white 6"x8" sticker ) inside the rear window on the lower right side.
A real "Hobo" which don't exist much anymore would go from place to place looking for small oddjobs to do. Most of them worked pretty hard- we used to get them at the lumberyard when I was a kid, they would work like a rented mule for a day's pay, then buy some canned goods and roll on down the road. Mr DampDrawers there is just a bum.
ReplyDeleteThe jacket's too clean. The dirty pants are a "fashion statement", I'm betting. He's definitely not homeless.
ReplyDeleteWhich doesn't, of course, undermine og's characterization of him even a little bit. :)
Actually, "hobo" is a contraction of the French haute bois, high wood.
ReplyDeleteCanadian big woods timber toppers. Who would ride the truss rods out of snow country when the big cold hit, seeking warmer jobs in the US.
Hard working ginks, who would generally give you the shirt off their backs. Most people who needed hard work done were glad to see the 'bo's. But WWII pretty much marked the end of the hobo's.
The other brand was the "railroad bum," a shiftless type who would not work. Although his woman might. The railroad bums are still around - but make sure your life preserver will not stick before you give one the high sign. Some I have run into are extremely flaky.
Stranger
I guess I am not seeing it...
ReplyDeleteI see a guy wearing saggy blue jeans with a laptop and headphones. The shirt is clean. I can't tell if the jeans are dirty or not, even when the picture is full size. What specifically am I missing?
BCFD36
No lie...for a time there was a 'homeless camp' under the I-84/I-5 interchange with several of those Harbor Freight 45-watt solar panel kits set out..right next to the 'sidewalks' made from well placed old pallets to keep from churning up what little naturally occurring grass was there. It was actually very orderly and well maintained.
ReplyDeleteIn PDX, even the Hobos are tree-huggin' bunny-luvers!