You Fucked Up!

veggieguy12

The Captain
Just read a post that reminded me of this tiny tale of some kids I know.
Names have been changed to save them any possible ID and embarrassment, because, I dunno, I'm in a good mood so I'm gonna be generous.

Sally and Bill were ultimate punk rock. You know what I mean, or if you don't you'll just imagine that to be whatever you think it is. And that's fine.
So, they hadn't ever ridden freight trains, but they wanted to (and who doesn't?).
Well, while in a northwestern city one day, they see a train sitting idle with and open box car. They wait around for it to get going, hiding in the bushes so they don't get caught by the poe-lease!
When it starts going - and this was an easy catch-out, like north is N and south is S - they run to it; staying close alongside, they each throw their packs onto the floor of the boxcar.
(Do you see where this story is going?)
The train is moving, they're running with it, their gear is on board, but they can't get up onto the floor of the boxcar to ride! And, sure enough, it isn't much longer before they're out of breath or the train picks up speed, whatever.
So they're stuck in [city] while their gear rides south over a hundred miles; luckily trains don't run too fast, so they potentially have a few hours to get down to that destination city and find their shit on that train as it comes in. And even more luckily, they know that their friend "Casey" has gone out of town and left his car with his housemates, so they ask Casey's friend/roommate Angie to give them a two-hour ride (four hours round-trip drive for poor, compliant Angie), which she does.
And apparently their karma was good or something, 'cos they actually do find that boxcar with their packs. But the packs never reveal the adventure that the kids missed-out on...
 
Sweet, always loved a watery, tear-filled reunion.

Or, y'know, drunken debauchery celebrating an epic return.
 
Don't laugh, my pack talks to me all the time! Or at least I think it's my pack, but the voices are always behind me. Wow...way worse than my first ride. At least they didn't half way get on, and get dragged a ways before they had the sense to let go. (not that i ever did that)
 
At least they didn't half way get on, and get dragged a ways before they had the sense to let go.

Well, that didn't quite happen, but you remind me that Sally did get a few scratches and scrapes, perhaps falling onto the ballast or banging a knee jumping up on and trying to get up in to the boxcar. There are worse ways to learn... but easier ways too!
 
I have forgotten lots of gear on grainers too, but that's just forgetfull stupidity, it's so easy to check before you get off.
 
haha ide piss myself if my pack went riding down tracks without me! i think i might even cry if that happened. lol
 
Well since I sometimes hop with a dog I don't normally catch on the fly but if I did I would never throw my gear on first. It just reminds me of a cartoon or something. Some hobo throwing his gear into a boxcar and the train speeds up and pulls off without them.
 
...I would never throw my gear on first. It just reminds me of a cartoon or something. Some hobo throwing his gear into a boxcar and the train speeds up and pulls off without them.

Yeah! It's totally a joke from a movie, right? But these kids... bah!

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go asking someone to use her roommate's car to drive me a couple hours south. As much as it would suck to have lost that pack, I'd try hitching or maybe calling the RR or something, but I dunno if I could go to someone and tell 'em how I fucked up like this and ask that they take the roommate's car and drive for four hours to help me.
 
Yeah I don't know if I'd be able to ask for a ride like that. I mean I guess I would since I would really like to get my stuff back but if your not totally comfortable getting on trains then you shouldn't be trying to get on something moving. I mean just a few weeks ago I had to give someone a hand getting in a boxcar after he had already threw his gear in. I mean he has ridden a bit and caught on the fly but boxcar doors can be high especially if the ground slopes down from the tracks.
 
I've only lost stuff when I forget to check my pockets after rolling on the ground when I've gotten off a train that's going too fast.

If you flub your landing (and are still in one piece) check to see if anything of yours is on the ground!
 
Man! I jumped into a boxcar today and there were already packs inside next to mine! (Where'd these come from)???
 
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