BREAKING NEWS ! BREAKING NEWS !

BREAKING NEWS !  BREAKING NEWS  !

WATCH THIS BLOG FOR THE STORY OF LISA AND BARRY "LUCKY" DAY.

RELEASE DATE BEFORE VALENTINES DAY 

THIS IS A MOVING AND TOUCHING STORY

I URGE YOU TO ALERT CLASSMATES AND ANY WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED.

THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE COLD CASE LIE (Part 3) See 1 & 2

Edgar Allan Poe' classic short story seems to sum up this entire su:bject: Brief summary of the Tell Tale Heart follows:  From WIKIPEDEA)

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a first-person narrative of an

unnamed narrator^[1] who insists he is sane but suffering from

 a disease (nervousness) which causes "over-acuteness of

the senses". The old man with whom he lives has a clouded,

 pale, blue "vulture-like" eye which so distresses the narrator

that he plots to murder the old man, though the narrator

states that he loves the old man, and hates only the eye. The

 narrator insists that his careful precision in committing the

murder shows that he cannot possibly be insane. For seven

 nights, the narrator opens the door of the old man's room, in

order to shine a sliver of light onto the "evil eye". However, the old man's vulture eye is always closed, making it

impossible to "do the work".

 

 

On the eighth night, the old man awakens, interrupting the

narrator's nightly ritual. But the narrator does not draw back

 and, after some time, decides to open his lantern. A

single,thin ray of light shines out and lands precisely on the

 "evil eye", revealing that it is wide open. Hearing the old

man's heart beating loudly and dangerously fast from terror,

the narrator decides to strike, jumping out with a loud yell

and smothering the old man with his own bed. The narrator

then dismembers the body and conceals the pieces under

the floorboards, making certain to hide all signs of the crime.

Even so, the old man's scream during the night causes a

neighbor to report to the police. The narrator invites the three

 arriving officers in to look around. He claims that the

screams heard were his own in a nightmare and that the man

 is absent in the country. Confident that they will not find any

evidence of the murder, the narrator brings chairs for them

and they sit in the old man's room, on the very spot where

the body is concealed, yet they suspect nothing, as the

narrator has a pleasant and easy manner about him. The

narrator, however, begins to feel uncomfortable and notices a

 ringing in his ears. As the ringing grows louder, the narrator

comes to the conclusion that it is the heartbeat of the old

man coming from under the floorboards. The sound

increases steadily, though the officers seem to pay no

attention to it. Terrified by the violent beating of the heart,

 and convinced that the officers are aware of not only the

heartbeat, but his guilt as well, the narrator breaks down and

confesses. He tells them to tear up the floorboards to reveal

the body.

The Cold Case Lie (Part 2)

           PLEASE READ PART 1 FIRST

A large number of CW songs, and popular music, deal with  this subject. To me, none express it better than Hank Williams' classic:

                    Your Cheatin' Heart

                                          Your cheatin' heart will make you weep
                                           You'll cry and cry and try to sleep
                                          But sleep won't come the whole night through
                                          Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

                                          When tears come down like fallin' rain
                                          You'll toss around and call my name
                                          You'll walk the floor the way I do
                                          Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

                                           Your cheatin' heart will pine some day
                                           And crave the love you threw away
                                          The time will come when you'll be blue
                                          Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

                                         When tears come down like fallin' rain
                                         You'll toss around and call my name
                                         You'll walk the floor the way I do
                                         Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

                                     Hank Williams Your Cheating Heart Lyrics:

THE COLD CASE LIE ( Part 1)

These 3 Posts will not be understood by all. Yet, it might let the hurting few know they do not stand alone !!!!

                         The Cold Case Lie

Scientist tell of the half-life of radio active elements

Lies are easy but keeping them covered is hard

But a lie may be cut up, buried & cemented hard over

Sooner or later the truth surfaces that reveal the lie

It is probably a dead heat as to who is hurt the most

The liar has constant sleep problems so to the lied to

From break of dawn the broken heart silently bleeds

Darkness brings no relief for either hurting parties

Each plays a noble part that buries their deep pain

Yet each knows the other knows and that hurts more

Death will not keep the secret silent it will be known

Heirs will marvel at the lie and how each pretended

                                                         Glenn C. Peck, 2013 <><

The Feminine Mystique: Time to confess

The Feminine Mystique: Betty Friedan,  I read this ground breaking book shortly after graduating from Purdue University. A good portion of the book dealt with female freedom in the area of sexuality (That’s why I read the book!) Hey, at age 21 I was driven by different forces that at my current age of 71. Friedan’s book, and 50 years of marriage---anniversary Jan 24, 2013, has not resolved the wonderful God-given mystery that distinguishes women from men. OK, I got the biological part without much difficulty. It’s the emotional and mental part that still has me stumped. Neither space or time permits me to discuss all of the areas that baffle me (e.g. clothes, shoes, Christmas shopping when its 100 degrees outside, moods that defy cause or calendar, etc.) This Post will deal with just two areas: 1.    Beauty Shops (aka Salons): Please note: I understand completely the female desire, and in many cases the need, to enhance and maintain their beauty. What I don’t understand is the internal atmosphere of a beauty shop. Because of my wife’s medical condition, I take her everywhere and often stay until her appointment is concluded. a.     The discussions between patrons and the stylists---Everything, I mean everything, is discussed. Topics cover the waterfront (medical, marriage, misery, money, in-laws, work outside the home, children/grandchildren, personal relationships, religion and an unending list of other topics). Stylists make good counselors----most of the time. On one occasion, I passed a chair while I was in route to help my wife from her chair to the front door. The stylist was telling her patron how to take care of her hair while engaged in the most intimate of husband/wife relations. Maybe the stylist was really Dr. Ruth in disguise!  Guess I got too close; however, neither the patron or stylist seemed embarrassed.that I could over hear them.   The noise level seems to grow exponentially with the addition of each new patron. Maybe it is an unwritten rule to talk loud to drown out the conversations of other patrons and stylists.  b.    The smell. I do not understand how any woman can tolerate this week after week. It’s awful---really awful. 2.    Jewelry---OK, some jewelry is fine. But why collect rings, ear rings, watches, broaches, necklaces, and bracelets like a 4-H member collects leaves for a forestry project for the county fair? I guess it will be Heaven before I understand this baffling aspect of women. For the record, I wear a $17.00 Wal-Mart Casio wrist watch. While I do not understand a lot about the feminine mystique, I know and love a woman that does. And at the end of the day that is good enough for me!

Life is Like a Mountain Railroad--Lyrics you wanted

I am amazed at the tremendous interest in Posts dealing with Hobos and the Railroads. You keep asking for them I'll keep Posting them. (BTW: We sing this song in the church I am privileged to pastor.)

LIFE IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

Life is like a mountain railroad
With an engineer that's brave
We must make the run successful
From the cradle to the grave

Chorus: Blessed Saviour thou wilt guide us
Till we reach that blissful shore
With the angels there to join us
In God's grace forevermore (2x to end)

Heed the curves and watch the tunnels
Never falter, never fail
Keep your hands upon the throttle
And your eye upon the rail

Chorus here

As you roll across the trestle
Spanning Jordan's swelling tide
You will reach the Union Depot
Into which your train will ride
There you'll meet the superintendent
God the father, God the son
With a happy joyous plaudit
Weary pilgrim, welcome home

HOBO BILL LYRICS---In Response To Blog Hits

The song Hobo Bill was written for Jimmy Rodgers (not the Honey Comb guy) Go to You Tube many artists have covered this great tune. What follows is the original long version (BTW: I have a second cousin who is an engineer on the Southern Railroad)

Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was fighting for his life.

The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul,
As he raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was taking his last ride.

No warm light flickered around him, no blanket to fold.
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

Well he heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The hobo seemed contented, for he smiled there where he lay.

Outside the rain was a-pouring on that lonely boxcar door,
And the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

He heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The smile lingered o'er his face but Hobo passed away.

Yodels

It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo's head,
The smile still lingered on his face, but Hobo Bill was dead.

There was no mother's longing to think of his weary soul,
He was nothing but a railroad bum who died out in the cold.

This Song Says Volumes About Today--Please listen

"Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?"

Sung by Merle Haggard (aka The Hag)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ9OzIn9-o4

"How Long Has It Been Since.................................??

During Uncle Coleman's viewing and funeral I met a good number of our classmates, other PCHS students, and/or spouses. Here is a brief summary of my meetings:

1. Much concern for deceased former students and thanksgiving for being among the living.


2. Most were in remarkably good health. Some looked years younger than their actual age.


3. Many were continuing to work for a variety of reasons. All seemed happy with their work.


4. Stories about former classmates and sports teams. I had to brag about the night I went 18 for 23. Got the ball  23 times and shot it 18 times. I did not remind anyone how many actually went in.


5. A goodly number spoke of their active, personal and dynamic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!


6. Most had missed out visiting the great State of Oklahoma. If all of the people I invited come at the same time I'm in trouble.

7  Everybody wants to tell you about their grandkids!!!

8. Some had experienced relationship problems. Some had been victims of spouses who did not keep their marriage vows. Addiction is all down hill.

9. One woman who I had honor of dating once (no guesses please) in PCHS days still maintains a beautiful figure and her voice could still charm honey bees off of roses!!!!!


10. The conversations under the most difficult of circumstances proves good often comes from bad.T

"KING OF THE ROAD"---Roger Miller

THIS POST IS IN RESPONSE TO THE UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR HOBO RELATED MATERIAL.  BY THE WAY ROGER MILLER WAS FROM OKLAHOMA !!!!

Roger Miller King Of The Road Lyrics

Songwriters: KRISTOFFERSON, KRISTOFFER

Trailer for sale or rent 
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom 
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road

Third boxcar midnight train 
Destination Bangor Maine
Old worn out suit and shoes 
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found 
Short but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road
I know every engineer on every train 
All of the children and all of their names
And every handout in every town 
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around
I sing trailers for sale or rent...

Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom 
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road

Trailers for sale or rent 
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom

King Of The Road lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Tribute to Coleman Frederick

I have just returned from a very quick visit to Indiana to help with Coleman Frederick's funeral. I saw so many of the PCHS gang. Really was heartwarming to see so many. Here is the Eulogy I shared during his funeral:

Coleman Frederick has changed his Zip code. He has moved to a mansion whose builder and maker is a Thrice Holy God. We gather here today to celebrate his long life which had so much meaning and purpose to so many people. We also gather as family and friends to share our love and support for each other. Most importantly, we come here to hear a Word from the Lord.

(I want to say a few words especially for the younger children present. This is not Grandpa Coleman. This is just the tent he lived in while he was here. He has gone home to Heaven.)

Sometimes you hear folks say “Those senior citizens sure hate to change.” I contend that senior adults, especially those who have celebrated 97 birthday days are all about change. Consider what Coleman experienced: He lived to see the Wright Brothers AND the Super Mario Brothers. In communications he saw the change from the telegraph to Text messages and Tweets. In the area of transportation he saw the transition from mules to moon rockets and Mars’ rovers. When he was born the US Flag had just 48 stars. Seventeen different presidents served this great nation during his 97 years.

He spent his life leaning forward in the saddle and he drove looking through the windshield with only an occasional look into the rear view mirror.

But he was much more than just adaptive to Change. He was a man of Character.

Maybe you've seen the church signs that define character as “What you do in the dark when you know no one is watching.” Another said, “Character is what you do when you know there is nothing in it that benefits you.” Those are not bad, but isn't character more than just what you do, or don’t do, it is what you ARE. Coleman Frederick was a man of his word. Honesty was not a policy with him, it was his way of life. Integrity, reliability, hard work, and a ton of other descriptions all apply to this man of solid character. He was dependable for his family, friends and neighbors and his Lord.

Coleman Frederick is the only person I have ever met who could tell you the time of day with a laugh and a smile. His voice was honey laced. I do believe he could just smile and stop an argument. His self-depreciating humor and his humble understatement reminded me of a combination of Gary Cooper and EF Hutton. When a grandson was named after him, I remarked, “That ought to have happened a long time ago.” He said, in his low voice wrapped in a chuckle he smiled and said, “Glenn, that’s kinda what I was thinking.” He knew how to laugh and he helped others to respond in kind.”

He was an involved citizen in the political affairs of his community, county, and country. I don’t know if Guiness keeps records on the oldest person to regularly write letters to the editor. If they do Coleman Frederick should be at the top of the list. He did not shy away from delicate or controversial issues. Our Founding Fathers had Coleman in mind when our Republic was established. An informed, involved citizenry made this country strong and will keep it strong.

He was a much sought after counselor for family and friends alike. Most of us here can give examples where he has listened and suggested ways to solve some of life’s most challenging issues.

But it is his compassion that enriched the lives of his large family, his community and his church that I will forever remember. He and Aunt Corene ran the Frederick Hilton for many, many years. They took in blood kin, friends of their children, and others who needed a night or several months of food and shelter and some old fashion love.. Somehow they could stretch a pot of beans and cornbread to fed the multitude. They even took in some stray dogs.

At night sleeping pallets and spare beds seemed to fall from the sky. Unannounced visitors never saw a “No Vacancy” sign. There was always room for one more. The Bible says we entertain angels unawares. In the case of Uncle Coleman and Aunt Corene the angels ran the Hotel!!!!

I don’t know all the songs believers will sing in Heaven. It could be that on the all eternity Gospel Singing program there is smiling guitar player singing “On the Jericho Road there’s room for just two, no more and no less, just Jesus and you…” and I suspect there are others there and others coming that will sang about Coleman Frederick, “Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed…”

Coleman Frederick you have fought a good fight, finished your race, and have kept the faith.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I sure will miss him. He was my second Dad,

WOW !!!! NEW PAGE VIEW RECORD SET !!!!!

OVER 135 PAGE VIEWS OF THE POST BELOW THIS ONE IN 48 HOU RS!! MUST BE LOTS OF INTEREST IN RIDING THE RAILS. MAYBE WE CAN ALL FORM THE PCHS HOBO JUNGLE.

           (I know a few HOBO songs I learned from my kinfolks. "All around the water tank waiting for a train--- Hobo Bill the railroad bum.....)


       THE AWESOME RESPONSE TELLS ME I
       STRUCK A MAJOR HOT BUTTON!

      LOOK FOR MORE POSTS ABOUT RAILROADS, HOBOS, AND SURVIVING HARD TIMES. HEY, WE ARE ALL IN THIS THING TOGETHER !!!!!

     

Just In Case You Need To Know---HOBO LINGO

I AM NOT A PROPHET OR A SON OF A PROPHET. HOWEVER, HARD TIMES MAY BE COMING. THIS POST JUST MIGHT HELP YOU SURVIVE. DON'T HOP MY RATTLER!

HOBO TERMS, SLANG, AND LINGO (LIST COPIED)

Note the references to "HOOSIER"

Accommodation - A local freight train. It may carry passengers.
Adam and Eve on a raft - Two fried eggs on toast. "Wreck 'em" if they are scrambled. "With their eyes open," if not.
Alligator bait - Fried or stewed liver. Too costly now for hobos.
Anchor - A pick. Companion tool of the shovel or banjo.
Angel - A person who gives more than you expect. One who takes an interest without trying to reform you.
Angel food - Mission preaching about the Bread of Life.
Angelina - Punk or road kid acting as a hobo's companion.
A-No-1 - A famous tramp who writes his name "on everything like J. B. King." He writes books about his alleged adventures. Many young hobos write this monicker on water tanks
Auntie - Angelina grown older.
Axle grease - Butter. Sometimes called plaster.
Baldy - Generally an old man "with a high forehead".
Balloon - A roll of bedding carried on the back; a bindle.
Banjo - A short-handled shovel.
Barnacle - A fellow who sticks to one job a year or more.
Bazoo - Mouth. A term of derision. "Shut your bazoo!"
Beefer - One who whines. Sometimes an informer.
Belly robber - A boarding boss who tries to save money on food.
Benny - An overcoat. A vest used to be called a ben.
Big four - A duck egg omelet. See chapter on food.
Big Ole - The fellow who tries to show the boss how strong he is. He'll do all your work if you praise him.
Big school or house - The state penitentiary. (The stir.)
Bindle - Bedding roll slung on the back.
Biscuit shooter - Camp waiter or hash slinger. Also a flunkey.
Bit or jolt - A term in prison. A long stretch is the opposite of a short term or sleep.
Bitch - A tin-can lamp with a shirt-tail wick. See bug. Also more recently a lamb or preshun.
Black bottle - Poison allegedly given hobos in hospitals. Many hobos believe this bottle exists.
Blanket stiff - Western type of hobo who carries his bed. He is also called a bindle bum.
Blinds - False door at end of baggage car. Hobo ridingplace.
Blinkey - A blind hobo
Block
Bohunk - A Polish or other Slavic laborer.
Boil up - To cook one's clothes
Bone polisher - A vicious dog. Also called a tailor's helper.
Boneyard - Any graveyard. Also refers to a hospital
Boodle - Cheap grafting
Boodle jail - A jail that may be worked for a good winter's lodging.
Boomer - A hobo who is always on the go. He has a travel itch.
Boston bum - One of those superior fellows
Bottle wagon - An iron coal-car.
Bouncer - The strong man who throws the sleepers and drunks out of the mission. He is usually a mission stiff.
Bowery barometer - Curbstone philosopher from the New York main stem. General information bureau but not a highbrow.
Bridal chamber - Flop house where the guests lie on the floor. It is also a mining term meaning the miner's workplace.
Broad or brod - A woman
Browning Sisters - The Angelina sorority. "He belongs to the Browning Sisters" or "to the Brown Family."
Buck - A Catholic priest good for a dollar.
Bug - Same as bitch. These are lamps for the jungle.
Bull artist - A hobo with the gift of gab. Becoming a parlor term.
Bull cook - Camp flunkey doing the heavy work for the chef.
Bum - Amply defined in the book. It is a term of many meanings
Bumpers - Couplings between freight cars upon which hobos sometimes ride if there are no empties on the train.
Bundle tosser - Hobo harvest hand who pitches bundles or bouquets.
Butts - The stem of a cigar picked up on the street.
Cacklers - White collar workers.
Cages - The cubicle rooms in the cheap lodging houses.
Cake eater - The nice boy of the town. Not used much by hobos.
Calaboose - The police station or the village lock-up.
California blankets - Newspapers when used to sleep on.
Call - Hobo dish: Baked potato mashed with butter and served with liverwurst and onions.
Candle eaters - Term sometimes used for the Russians.
Candy - Candy kid is the fellow who gets the good breaks. Candy job is the pleasant job. Candy team is the favorite span of mules in the outfit.
Cannon ball - A fast train. "The Wabash Cannon Ball" is the mythical hobo train that travels everywhere.
Captain - Hobo salutation of the head man or big shot.
Card man - A union man or a hobo with a red I. W. W. card.
Carry the banner - To walk the street all night for want of shelter. Sometimes it is called to lead Bruno.
Cat house - A brothel
Cat wagon - A brothel on wheels visiting the chaste villages of the middle west or following the harvest crews.
Checker-board crew - A mixed gang of white and negro workers.
Cheesy - To be filthy with dirt.
Chicken in the clay - Fowl rolled in mud for roasting. See chapter on food.
Chow - Becoming now a common word meaning food.
Christ killing - To speak from the soap box giving the economic argument.
Chuck a dummy - To pretend a fainting fit.
Coffin nail - A vanishing term for cigarettes.
Collar and shoulder style - Everything is put on the table and the hobo guest helps himself.
Combination stew - An ordinary jungle dish of vegetables and meat.
Combination train - A mixed passenger and freight local train. Is also called an accommodation
Come to Jesus - A come-to-Jesus manner means to feign piety. A come-to-Jesus collar is one worn by a preacher.
Come-on guy - A fellow who boosts things along on the job
Con - A con is a tubercular person. The con is the conductor on a train. An ex-con is a former convict.
Con game - This refers to any kind of graft involving trickery.
Con man - A grafter or trickster. It may mean ex-convict.
Connect - To make a touch. The reward for good panhandling.
Cookee - The second in command to the main stew-builder.
Cousin Jack - Generally refers to a Cornish miner
Croaker or croacus - A member of the medical fraternity
Crooked arm - Signal the boss gives when he wants more speed.
Crum boss - Man who builds fires in the bunk houses.
Crum up - Same as boil up.
Crummy - To be lousy. Also refers to the caboose on a train.
Crums - What the hobo may get but never keeps: lice. Also called gray backs and seam squirrels.
Cushions
Damper - Cash till or cash register.
Dead one - A drunken hobo. Also a hobo who has just spent all his money.
Dead picker - A yegg who robs a drunk or dead one. He kicks him first to see if he is dead to the world and then robs him.
Dead soldier - An empty whiskey bottle lying beside the road.
Deck 'em - To ride the top of a passenger train.
Decorate the mahogany - To buy the drinks; to line the bar with thirsty throats and brimming glasses.
Dick or fly cop - A detective either in public or private employ.
Dinkey skinner - The man who runs a dinkey engine on construction jobs.
Dipsy - Workhouse sentence. See give him the works.
Discard artist - One who carries around or wears picked-up clothes.
Dog robber - Boarding house keeper
Doughnut philosopher - A fellow who is satisfied with the price of a coffee and feed. He does not object to the doughnut hole getting larger because it will take more dough to go around it. He is the original breadline optimist.
Drag - A long
Drag - Hobo term for the main street of the town
Ducket - A ticket
Dump or joint - Hobo hangout or gathering place. It also applies to a restaurant or flophouse.
Dyno or dino - A rock man who handles dynamite. On the Coast he is a front and back man who carries his blanket on his back like a western hobo and his cooking cans in front like an Australian tramp.
Eat snowballs - To stay up North during the winter.
Economic argument - Soap-box talk about economics. Generally opposed to the religious argument called angel food.
Evil eye - Some people are supposed to have an eye for wishing bad luck. Panhandlers try to avoid such.
Exhibition meal - A handout eaten on the doorstep. The madam wants the neighbors to witness her generosity.
Extra gang - A crew that works on the railroad track.
Eye doctor - A panhandler who can catch the eye of his client and hold it without quailing. Also a pederast.
Eye opener - An early morning drink
Faded bogey - Negro acting as an informer.
Fagot or fag - A road kid with homosexual tendencies.
Fall guy - The goat. The fellow who gets caught. In the world of crime he is one who takes the rap without squealing.
Fanner or fan - To be hit on the soles while sleeping on a park bench. To get a fanner is to be moved on by the police.
Fink - A scab. One who takes a striker's job. Good hobos frown upon this practice.
Fish - Jail term for new prisoners.
Fisheries - Missions along the main stem.
Flagged - It may mean to be driven out of town
Flannel mouth - An Irishman. Sometimes called a chaw.
Flicker - To faint or simulate fainting.
Flipping a rattler - Boarding a moving box-car.
Floater - Same as boomer
Flop - To sleep or a place to sleep. To prone the body.
Flop house - A cheap lodging house or any hobo hotel.
Flunkey - Camp waiter. Always male. A woman is a hasher.
Fly-away - A deserter from the army or navy.
Forty-fives - Monicker for navy beans
Frisk or shakedown - To search. It usually means search by the police. But train crews also go through the hobos.
Frog or frog eater - A Frenchman. A Canadian Frenchman is a pea soup.
Front - A whole layout of new clothes. "Put on a front."
Fuzz tail - Name for unpopular fellow. He is also a ring tail. Such hobos are often under suspicion.
Galway - A priest.
Gandy dancer - Hobo track laborer
Gandy gumbo - Hobo dish described in the chapter on food.
Gay cat - Tenderfoot among the hobos.
Gentry - The leading natives of a place
Ghost story - Plausible tale told to the housewife.
Gin mill - Very old hobo term for a speakeasy.
Give him the works - To be given a job by a social agency
Glauming - Refers to crop gathering. We have berry glauming
Go with the birds - To go south for the winter.
Go-getter - Hobo who worries the social workers by writing to or calling on the wealthy contributors.
Going by hand - To walk. Hiking to the next water tank.
Going on the farm - When a train goes on the sidetrack. Also a railroad term.
Gooseberry bush - The clothes line. Gooseberries are the garments that adorn the line in the moonlight.
Goy - Hobo who can work the Jewish agencies. Plural
Graveyard shift - Night work
Graveyard stew - Hot milk and toast.
Gummy - A hanger-on. A bum who goes along with the crowd but never contributes. A sort of dead head.
Gunnells or guts - The rods or trucks of the train where hobos ride.
Gyppo - A sub-contractor with poor equipment
Handout - A parcel of food given out by the housewife. A lump.
Hard tails - Mules
Harness bull - A policeman who wears a uniform.
Haywire - When everything is balled up. A haywire outfit is something that is all tied and patched together.
Head end - The front of the train. In front of or near the engine.
High ball - Signal for a train to pull out of town.
High diver - Yegg who picks pockets.
High jacker - Yegg who robs hobos with a gun or by brute strength.
His Nibs - The police magistrate.
Hit the ball - To speed up on the job.
Hitch - Prison term or army term. Same as bit.
Hitting the grit - To be forced off a fast moving train.
Hobo - The highest form of the genus vagrant.
Hobohemia - Universe of the hobo.
Hoghead or hogger - The engineer. This is also a railroad term.
Home guard - A fellow who always stays in town. Some live their lives on a single block in the main stem.
Honey dipping - Working as a shovel stiff in a sewer
Hoosegow - Same as calaboose. Often called the can.
Hoosier - The natives
Hot - A person is hot when he is wanted by the law. No hobo will travel with a man who is hot.
Hot shot - A fast freight or passenger train.
Hot stuff - Stolen goods. Something that must be dropped.
Hotel de Gink - A charitable or a municipal lodging house.
House dog - A fellow who goes about hunting jobs
How strong are you? - Meaning
Hump - "Over the hump" means to cross the mountains to the West Coast. It also refers to the elevation in the freight yards for switching cars
Hundred proof - Meaning whiskey of the purest.
Hunkydory - Everything is fine. The term is getting into popular usage.
Hunt a wampus - A wild goose chase. The wampus is a black cat with a white tail and it lives in the tall timber.
J. B. - J. B. Stetson hat. Prized among hobos because the band may be sold for half a dollar.
Jail bird - A fellow who brags about his vag record.
Jake or George - The same as hunkydory.
Jawbone - Credit. To buy in the company store against one's pay.
Jerries - Men who work on the section gang. They do maintenance work while gandy dancers work on contract jobs.
Jesus guy - A mission stiff. Sometimes called a faith man.
Jocker - A hobo who goes about with a road kid or punk.
John Family - This term is sometimes applied to the farmers
Jungle - Hobo's summer home. See the first chapter.
Jungle buzzard - A bum who loafs about the jungle begging from the hobos.
Junker or junky - A fellow who uses drugs
Kangaroo court - Mock court held in jail for the purpose of forcing new prisoners to divide their money.
Keister - A suit case. Not often carried by hobos.
Kick - A pocket in the trousers.
Kicks - Shoes. Also called slides.
Knowledge box - Country school house where hobos sometimes sleep.
Lamb - Boy tramp or road kid. Boy companion of the wolf.
Lambing - To herd sheep
Leather poke - A wallet.
Lee of a reefer - The ice-box in a refrigerator car.
Library birds - Down and outers who loaf or roost in libraries.
Lighthouse - Stingy person. A procurer for a house of sin. Also one who is placed to watch for the bulls.
Limpy - A cripple. If he has a wooden leg he is peg.
Little red wagon - A dump wagon. Driving one is a favorite job.
Little school - Reformatory or house of correction.
Lizzie tramps - Sometimes refers to the hitch-hikers and again to wandering families traveling in automobiles.
Louse - A fellow who will steal the shoes of a hobo who befriends him.
Lump - Food received at the back door; a handout.
M. & C. - "Marmon and Cadillac," meaning morphine and cocaine.
Main guy - Same as captain. Refers to the person in charge.
Main stem - The chief hobo street in town.
Making a riffle - Same as to connect
Manana - Spanish for "tomorrow." Means put it off and embodies the spirit of postponement.
Man-catcher - The shark's assistant who urges a job on the hobo - usually to fill a shipment of men.
Manifest - Fast freight carrying fruit or cattle.
Mark - A mark is a person or place good for food
Mission stiff - Man who gets "saved" for food and a flop.
Mix me a hike - Meaning "pay me off," or "give it to me."
Moll - A woman who pals with hobos. This term is not used much by the hobos.
Monicker - The hobo's informal name
Monkey chasers - West Indians or other Negroes from the tropics.
Mooching - A low form of begging. See chapter on subject.
Mop Mary - A scrub woman.
Moper - A bum who is even lower than a moocher.
Mouthpiece - The name the yeggs apply to lawyers.
Mud - Strong coffee mixed with weak milk.
Munie - Familiar term for a municipal lodging house.
Mushfaker - A go-about repair man. He may solder pots or mend umbrellas. Sometimes hobos follow the art.
Nickel note - Five-dollar bill.
Noch - Hebrew shelter for homeless men. From hochnosis orchim
Nose bag - Lunch handed out in a paper sack.
Nuttery - Hospital for the insane. Also a nut factory.
O. B. U. - One Big Union. The ideal of the soap boxers.
Odd fellows - Fraternal symbol: three doughnuts and coffee.
On the hummer - Being on the bum but not down and out.
On the uppers - Being on the bum and nearly down and out.
One-Eyed Connolly - A gate crasher. Term refers to the famous no-pay fight fan by that name. He has hobo imitators.
P. K. - The principal keeper of the little school.
Packing the mustard - Carrying the hod.
Padding the hoof - Going by foot. A practice good hobos avoid.
Palooka - A roving boxer who lives in the past.
Panhandling - Read the chapter on the subject.
Paul Bunyan - A chronic
Pay station - Social welfare agency that gives out money. Very rare.
Pay streak - To have a job that pays well.
Pea soup - French Canadian or Canuck. Often a lumber jack.
Peanut farm - Workhouse where the inmates crack stones.
Peddler or bob tail - A short local freight train.
Peg house - A place where
Pennsylvania salve - Apple butter.
Peoria - Thin soup. Generally potato water with salt.
Phoney man - Fellow who peddles cheap jewelry.
Pie card - One who hangs around and lives on a remittance man or some other person with money.
Pig's vest with buttons - Sow belly
Pile driver or Java - Coffee
Pill peddler - The camp doctor. The label may fit any M. D.
Pogey - The workhouse. Sometimes the poor farm.
Poke - A leather wallet. Also a gin mill.
Possesh - Road kid. The hobo's boy companion.
Possum belly - The boxes under passenger cars where hobos sometimes ride.
Potatoes and with it - Western jungle dish. See chapter on food.
Pound your ear - To sleep in a bed.
Preshun - Same as punk or possesh.
Prone the body - To lie down and rest.
Punk - Bread. Southern bread is called pone.
Punk - Road kid. Often used in derision.
Punk and gut - Bread and sausage.
Punk and plaster route - Traveling among the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Pusher - The straw boss. One in charge of the job.
Rank cats - Lowest of the genus bum.
Rattler - A fast train
Razor back - Circus roustabout. Also an Arkansas hog.
Read your shirt - To examine your clothes for crums.
Red ball - Fast fruit train. Good for long rides.
Reefer - A refrigerator car. Like many another railroad term it also belongs to the hobo's lingo.
Remittance man - Hobo paid by his family to stay away from home.
Road kid - The boy apprentice among the hobos.
Robbing the mail - Snatching food and milk delivered at the doorstep early in the morning.
Rods - The nether structure of a freight car. Modern cars do not have rods. A rod is a gun.
Roll - To roll means to rob a sleeping drunk.
Roll in the sawdust - In the barrel house
Sagebrush philosopher - Gabby fellow from the West.
Sallies - Salvation Army hotels and industrial workshops.
Salve eater - A snuff-chewing Swede. He is also a roundhead.
Sap - The policeman's persuader. To get sapped means to be clubbed by the bulls.
Scissorbill - Hobo who believes he can become President. He never gets next to himself
Scoffing - To eat. To scoff regularly means to miss no meals.
Scrape the pavement - To get a shave.
Scrapers' school - Barber college where students practice on hobos.
Screw your nut - Get wise to yourself.
Sea food - A sailor.
Set-down - To eat with your feet under the table. The reverse of the handout.
Sewer hogs - Ditch diggers.
Shack - A brakeman. Railroad term.
Shack fever - Tired feeling that comes in the spring. It is also called itching feet.
Shakedown - Same as frisk.
Shanty man - Same as gyppo contractor.
Shanty queen - Wife of the shanty man. Any woman around a camp.
Shark - A man who sells jobs to the hobos. His assistant is called a man catcher.
Shatting on the uppers - To be broke
Shavetail - Young mules. See hard tail. A young army officer of low rank is also a shavetail.
Sheets - Newspapers for a bed.
Shellacker - Booster or promoter who puts on the varnish.
Shine - A Negro. Also called a burr head.
Shiner - A ten-cent piece.
Shiv - Razor. A blade but never a safety razor.
Shoo fly - A railroad detour
Side door pullman - A box car. Hobo's home en route.
Skinner - One who drives mules. Especially on construction jobs.
Skinner's delight - Hobo jungle dish. See chapter on food.
Sky pilot - A highbrow preacher. Not one of the mission kind.
Slave market - That part of the main stem where jobs are sold.
Sleep - A short term in the workhouse or jail. To be buried deep is a long term.
Slob sister - A moocher who weeps to his clients.
Sloughed - To be arrested; pronounced "slowed."
Slum - Derisive term for an uninviting stew or slumgullion.
Smoke - Strong liquor. Denatured alcohol.
Smoke wagon or gat - Same as rod
Snake - Hobo and railroad term for switchman. A snake is more friendly than a shack to the hobos.
Snapper rig - Second-hand suit of clothes.
Snipe - Section hand or jerry. A section boss is a king snipe.
Snipe or navy - Butts of cigarettes and cigars.
Snipe shooting - To hunt for snipes in the gutter.
Snowbirds - A junker
Son of Adam - Hobo willing to do a chore for a handout.
Song and dance - To give the madam at the backdoor an interesting and entertaining argument.
Soup - Liquid explosives for blowing safes. Used by yeggs.
Spearing biscuits - To fish food out of garbage cans.
Speed balls - Sherry wine. These days it may be any wine
Spider - A small frying-pan with a long handle. It may be an improvised one.
Spittoon philosopher - A hanger-on about the gin mill or along the curbstone
Splinter belly - A man who works on bridges and trestles.
Stable dog - A man who looks after the camp stables. He is often called chambermaid to the mules.
Stack of bones - Cheap hash-house dish
Stake - Money in the pocket after leaving the job. The pile.
Stall - Any excuse that meets the difficulty. It also refers to the yegg assisting the high diver or pickpocket.
Stemming - Panhandling or mooching along the streets.
Sterno - Dangerous alcoholic drink made by heating sterno can.
Stew builder - A hobo camp cook
Stew bum - Booze fighting bums that never leave the stem.
Stiff - A hobo worker. There are harvest stiffs
Stir - State prison. The big house or big school.
Stool pigeon - An informer
Straight and narrow - The way to eternal life and salvation.
Sugan - Bed comforter. Usually the old style quilts.
Swamper - Fellow who cleans out the bar-room.
Sweat board - Concrete mixing by hand.
Sweet back - Hobo sheik who is only sampling hobo life.
Tallow pot - The fireman on the train.
Tally - Meaning
Tear baby - Fellow who bums women or men with women. Often puts up a pitiful story
Thin ones - Small coins; dimes
Three Star Hennessy - Good old brand of liquor.
Throw your feet - Same as stemming or panhandling.
Throw your guts - To squeal. To give information to the bulls.
Tie pass - Fictitious permit from the railroad president to walk over the ties.
Timber wolf - A worker in the woods
Tin horn - A petty sport hanging around the main stem. He is sometimes called a rustler.
Tin roof - A free drink. So-called because it is "on the house."
Tip the office - To warn a fellow hobo by giving some signal.
Toot the ringer - To ring backdoor bells.
Toppings - Dessert. Something toothsome to touch off a meal.
Town clown - The village constable.
Tramps - Migrating non-working vagrants. A grade higher than scenery bums
Trapeze artist - A hobo who rides the gunnells or rods.
Trombenick - A Jewish hobo. They are scarce as hen's teeth.
Trombo - Refers to a hobo pugilist
Turkey - A bundle
Twist a dream - To roll a cigarette.
Underslung - To get underslung means to ride under a train and have the shacks throw things at you
Vag or vag 'em - To be jailed or fanned out of town for being a vag.
Wagon tramps - Families who travel in covered wagons or schooners.
Wallies - Town bums who never lose sight of the city walls.
White mule - Old-fashioned white corn whiskey.
Willies - The Good Will Industries of the Methodists.
Wingey - Hobo with one arm or crippled arm. Also army.
Winoes - Those who drink the dago red wine of California.
Wobblies - Hobos who belong to the I. W. W.
Wolf - Older hobo exploiting the road kid. The pair is known as the wolf and the lamb.
Wood butcher - A carpenter. A hobo who can do odd repair j obs.
Wood tick - Same as timber wolf.
Woolies - Sbeep. Going with the woolies means to take a job as sheep herder.
Working for Jesus - The job of being a mission stiff. To be actively engaged around the fisheries or missions.
Y. M. C. A. - You Must Come Across. The hobo expects nothing from the Y. M. C. A. that is not paid for.
Yahoo - A hoosier who has no apologies for his ignorance.
Yard dick - Private policeman of the railroads who makes it his business to keep hobos off the trains.
Yeggs - The crooks of Hobohemia; too mean to be bums and too lazy to be good tramps.

 

 

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VERY OLD YET VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE !!!

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