(image by Alyssa Schukar from here)
This is my confession: I've never been terribly obsessed with hobos. When I was somewhat young, I was familiar with the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Not being aware the song was something of a joke - not quite a parody, but maybe a little of a satire - it seemed very odd to me that in the perfect world of the hobo, there would be jails & railroad bulls & mean dogs, etc. Again - I wasn't a terribly perceptive kid.
Mostly though I never dreamed of running away, hitchhiking, riding the rails, etc. I found all that incredibly terrifying. & I felt that way because my mother was terrified of the world so she warned me & all my siblings about every possible danger all the time, & every disaster was a "told you so" moment. In fact, she would make things up just to terrify us. Listen:
When my little brother & I were kids, she refused to let us go to the men's room alone in places like movie theaters. She said, "There's a man in there waiting to cut your go-go off!" (My mother called penises "go-gos." I don't know why. It's something my sister & I laugh about all the time.) Despite being unable to understand not just why someone would want to do that, but also why that would be allowed, I dutifully followed my mother into the ladies' room with her. Deeply embarrassing for everyone except my mom.
The best thing about this week has been listening to lots of songs & reading about hobos. Am I more into them now? A little. Would I consider riding the rails one day? No way. My mother still lives in my head. & I suspect her voice will get even more insistent the older I get.
Mostly though I never dreamed of running away, hitchhiking, riding the rails, etc. I found all that incredibly terrifying. & I felt that way because my mother was terrified of the world so she warned me & all my siblings about every possible danger all the time, & every disaster was a "told you so" moment. In fact, she would make things up just to terrify us. Listen:
When my little brother & I were kids, she refused to let us go to the men's room alone in places like movie theaters. She said, "There's a man in there waiting to cut your go-go off!" (My mother called penises "go-gos." I don't know why. It's something my sister & I laugh about all the time.) Despite being unable to understand not just why someone would want to do that, but also why that would be allowed, I dutifully followed my mother into the ladies' room with her. Deeply embarrassing for everyone except my mom.
The best thing about this week has been listening to lots of songs & reading about hobos. Am I more into them now? A little. Would I consider riding the rails one day? No way. My mother still lives in my head. & I suspect her voice will get even more insistent the older I get.
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