My name is Gerrilyn Shively, but feel free to call me Gerri if that is easier. I am currently a freshman and majoring in criminology and criminal justice. I live in lewis center, Ohio, which is where I have lived for all 18 years of my life. I went to Olentangy Orange High School and am proud to be a Buckeye! A few "fun" facts about me; I love the performing arts, especially the theatre, I have two jobs, and my favorite color is grey. To be completely honest I am horrible at picking things to share about myself, so I am going to stop while I am ahead.
Maury Graham:
In the profile of Steam train Maury I found the difference between the hobos and the bums to be very interesting. Throughout the entire profile we learn the differences between the two groups, but what really surprised me was the amount of distain that the hobos had for bums. I imagine that the occasional turf war is to be expected but between two groups of human beings in very similar situations I would have thought that there might be a little more professional courtesy. Now, don't get me wrong, I completely understand the frustration behind putting in effort and some elbow grease, and getting the same out of it as the next guy who comes along only doing half as much. Maybe this is only intriguing to me because I can relate it to my every day experiences, or maybe it inspiring because hobos work so hard so that they can have the life that the love.
During my independent investigating of hobo culture I found quiet a few slang words commonly used by hobos in the 1940's as well as the meanings of some symbols you might encounter.
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| common symbols used for communication among hobos |
Road kid – A young hobo who apprentices himself to an older hobo in order to learn the ways of the road
* Road stake – the small amount of money a hobo may have in case of an emergency
* Rum dum – A drunkard
* Sky pilot – a preacher or minister
Grease the Track – to be run over by a train
* Gump – a scrap of meat* Honey dipping – Working with a shovel in the sewer* Hot – (1) A fugitive hobo. (2) A decent meal: “I could use three hots and a flop.”* Hot Shot – train with priority freight, stops rarely, goes faster. synonym for “Cannonball”* Jungle – An area off a railroad where hobos camp and congregate* Jungle Buzzard – a hobo or tramp that preys on their own* Knowledge bus – A school bus used for shelter* Main Drag – the busiest road in a town
* Bone orchard – a graveyard
* Bull – A railroad officer
* Bullets – Beans
* Buck – a Catholic priest good for a dollar
* Bone polisher – A mean dog
I think it is amazing how these traveling individuals created a unique way to communicate and over all made it possible to make their lives a more fluent adventure.
I found the symbols to be absolutely fascinating! Makes you wonder how something caught on with every single one of them across the states, you know? You'd think that somewhere, somehow someone would have started up their own lingo and designs that might have shaped and reshaped some of these images we're looking at right now. Food for thought!
ReplyDeleteI like that you have included this visual resource of the symbols they used. It is interesting that the hobos have their own language.
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