Abridged journals - excluding some names and personal feelings

[Diagaro]

December 10th 2010 (Friday evening)
Wow so much to backup! Well I just gave some old man A bike that I stole from A rich area called mandarin Where I waited on someone day and night for what I believe to be to be a week.
My laptop broke shortly after arriving from JAX beach - I am still going through withdraws.
Having left my USB/AC adapter with Neo My PSP is at the mercy of the availability of USB's on the road = RARE My poor laptop, Rest in pieces
Hard drive and RAM removed I dealt it a bit of the ultraviolence with knife and crowbar that would have made Alexander DeLarge cream his jockeys!
All in all I hate Florida.
Rode that stolen bike a good distance out of JAX at twilight with 18 inches of of shoulder sweating bullets, being allergic to chrome and paint I'm more than happy to pass the damned thing off to a needy aging ghetto-backwoods-elder gentlemen.
Shortly before I had panhandled A family man at the dollar store for change for a drink, on purchasing my drinks he overheard me say to the cashier that I was going to California, when the family man came out of the store I was greedily sucking down one of my two drinks - a mountain dew, in the company of my humongaloid pack handed me fifteen dollars proclaimed that it was all he had, Seeing as he had a wife and two daughters I felt bad But I knew I would need if not want to have that money rather that not have it so generously took it and thanked him from the bottom of my heart.
A little further down the road I encountered a decent sized shopping center with yet another dollar store where I bought on my way I panhandled someone for a pen, ask and thau shalt receive right? did not want money I wanted a pen, why pay 1+ dolalr for one? continued on and found a notepad of good size for my longhand journals.
I will not taint these journals with someones details, she was a waste of time . . .
As of now my loose plan is to mosey carefully west, to niland, to slabcity, the tramps paradise in the sweltering deserts of south east California - east of eden . ..
when its too hot to bear anymore make my way north (to Alaska!) - LULZ! NOT! (well not yet anyway) back to Seattle. What I do there I don't know, maybe job and place, maybe car camp, maybe get restless and hit the road again - who knows!
one thing is for sure I need to ship all my memorabilia and hard drive to my dads so it will stay safe. If my journals are lost or destroyed I would be devastated! "one cannot know ones self and where they are unless one knows whence one came from"
. . . or something like that - dunno where I get that from.
I'm hungry, I still have 6$ left over but I want alcohol maybe I can hustle one of these restaurants in this plaza . ..
I like not having the anchor that that laptop was to me!!!

 

[Diagaro]

December 11th 2010, Friday night/Saturday morning, drunk
I feel the weight of years but something more to come I still have a full head of hair but so many handfuls wrung my feet hurt, my heart aches my eyes moisten with mournful waste.
This tramp it leaves a bitter taste, My life and love laid to wastes it these moments of clarity that fuck up my dreams, or is it that I walk corroded scaffolds in blackened dreams.
Will I up and disappear like 'bos of yesteryear? or will I go down in history like so many more? Time will tell, time that evil thief in the night. Like so many cats taking tidbits and scraps. I sit in my little hobo squat, I drink to my youth tears of woe and of maddened length of tooth, though I weep for my loss I remind myself of my freedom so callous, selfish and far from the truth - LIED

 

[Diagaro]

12-11-2010, 7:something AM
19905 beaver street, pump house squat
Had walked into a Chinese place last night and got turned down in the plaza, then grudgingly into the neighboring home cooking kitchen, half a dozen families and a half a dozen cops all stared in unison at my entry through the humidity fogged glass facade of the restaurant, pack on my back like some Disney hunchback bell ringing mutant. I accosted the host and asked my crazy question, she got the manager and I re-asked it to her she had me take a seat right behind the feasting police officers, they no longer started at me, no body did now, I felt a little better but still perversely out of place.
The manager asked If meatloaf was acceptable for a meal and I said that would be awesome, to my left was a family with a 2 or 3 year old daughter with golden blond tresses, stuffing green beans into her mouth, staring at me with wonder, I smiled and gave her a friendly wave - she never faltered, just kept monching her green beans, the tears threatened to come as my heart and mind wandered to Zoey, this little girl had a newborn little sister that was just now stirring, the father soothed the newborn infant but she stirred more, I said something towards the couple we had a brief exchange and then my food arrived, I was enamored with my plate of food and set into it like a man who had eaten dirt and sand for 20 years. It was so good -two huge slabs of meatloaf and a side of homemade mac-and-cheese, green beans (like the little girls) and sweet tea. it took everything I had to use my flatware and not just tip the plate up into my waiting mouth. the manager and host bothered me a few more times with questions of how I was doing, how was the food as if I was a paying customer. The family got up and paid there meal ticket and as they passed by my table the woman put a 10$ on my table and wished me a merry Christmas, Once again I was thankful for the money but felt guilty, they had two young mouths to feed, I had walked away from my Kayo V.V
I saddled up and made my way to the road and walked for a wile before coming to a liquor store and bar where I bought a pocket flask of Bacardi rum and sauntered back into the night along my route to Baldwin.
I had passed a small town called white something, and a truck stop then finally a closed down, boarded up liquor store came into view, with a semi trailer sitting in the middle of a sizable field, I decided to call it a night and kick it down behind this trailer in the soft grass. I cracked my rum and ruefully sipped it and listened to the radio, when it was gone I was not happy with my state so I went across the intersection and bought a Florida 40 right in time the place extinguished its lights, locked up and the clerks drove off not 30 seconds after I walked out the door. I went back to my camp, and proceeded to get drunk, some time later I decided to get some cardboard from the store dumpster and cop a squat in this little shed on the property housing a well pump, as it was misting something good and Id rather not carry a wet sleeping bag.
I had to wait for about 20 minutes for some fucking people to leave that pulled up in the parking lot before I could run back across the intersection to my shed as I didn't want any of these backwoods people to know some bum was sleeping around here. they left finally and I sprinted back with an armload of beer boxes and such, I watched a bunch of rowdy big-truck-driving-good-'ol-boys congregate in the parking lot for a wile and went to sleep.
A westbound IM woke me empty reefers! that means this is the westbound juice lines route!!!

 

[Diagaro]

12-11-2010 3;50 Pm
Baldwin, FL travel plaza
Yard has been dead all day 'cept some unknown horn from the east didn't see jack shit move on the west end of the grid. killed my PSP on 1chan and facecrack, someone tried to sucker me back into there bullshit again - DERP! so done with that bullshit.
The yard tower is on the east end of the yard right next to the highway the build shelter is at the west end, don't know how visible I will be at night in the yard. Ill take a tour of the yard tonight ninja style with my pack dumped off in a ditch somewhere. theres a lot of homebums here milling about and panhandling and such this might be hot at night dunno yet, time will tell.
the idle tramp trick works here, stood for about 20 minutes and some dude gave me 2 bux, I was like whats that for? he looked so embarrassed and shuddered over saying something about me being homeless and needing money, I said ok sure thanks. poor guy!
good for buying a pack of smokes seeing as how I lost my tin of snipe tobacco and papers. at the pump house.

 

[Diagaro]

12-12-2010, location unknown! 1:30 PM
Just woke from a chest chill to shiver the dead. A siding for an opposing train, I booted my feet and climbed out of my condo, compass says I'm steady westbound, control box I rolled by said "DYSON" Got a hard rock station on the radio on my zune no state handle yet battery dying fast, sure my thermometer is retarded: it says its 55 degrees, when I know its nearer 35, its freezing, theres shaved ice in the air. I'm ok. I'm warm as of yet, think this schlumberger coat is a good one. theres more brown leaves here, the dirt is a deep red, and smooth rollin' bran' new cement ties under truck. ford commercial for some place in auburn Alabama . . . SHIT! weather projected for 20's tonight!!! I hope I can weather this!!!

never mind still in Georgia, Maulk Georgia but close to AL

5M
Sided for several hours. Snowing. nothing here at all. a county road, and the trax A few trains have passed us but we don't move, nothing. I'm freezing to death here!
I got off and about 20 feet off the track light a fire, to regain circulation in my extremities, but after about 20 minutes a train approached so I burred the fire and returned to my car, I did this in case my train aired up and took off wile the passing train passed, leaving me with no gear.

Dark fall.
Still sided. on the fringe now . ..
the nothing sux ass, road, trax, and my two headed hydra, heads up track sputtering and deep pumping hearts of steel and fire. My car a jail cell. cars pass, leaves dance in the light winds, fleurys flutter in the freezing winds and here I sit, shivering to stay warm, the wind chill is too much to even brave the open space to do any in place running to keep warm.
Stores: 40 oz's sweet tea, 20 oz's H2O, a handful of chips, 5 cigarettes.
Her belly is full . . . sand? bark?? gravel??? whats the cargo aside from this cold hobo?
wearing every scrap of wool I have, and the cold still seeping through from the steel under my ass.
Lost count of how many trains have passed - 3? 4?? I hear another horn. is it another passerby? or is it my snake calling out to the night its intention to slither away?
I see light, hear pumping diesel. another passerby - damn!
Low and slow she passes us, bell clanging like a warship in the southern polar express night, two heads, half a dozen auto transports, closed topped grainer's, either it was a shortie or it stopped I cant tell, flashlight shows nothing in the darkness, I'm not crawling from my bag to investigate, its heading the other way any way, fuck em!

12-12/13-2010 Time unknown . . .
sided again.
We took off nearly five minutes after my last entry was finished up. I lay there grateful to be moving again though hungry, tired, and cold and we stopped again!!!
All the pictures of riders in the rear facing unit came to mind tales and rumors of riding in the power, well enough was enough and I'm 13 cars forward from my gear, its weird in here I brought only my book and journal with me leaving my pack and bedding in the condo grainer, its like a tank in here, not that I have ever been in a tank, but I imagine this is what a tank would be like!
I dunno though Its nice
its a hell of a lot warmer in here though I can still feel the cold from outside If I can just figure out where the heater knob is in here . . .
Ok I think I found the heater knob, set to "low heat" Scared to touch it though, what if Its mislabeled? what if an alarm goes off? what if . . . .
radio chatters sometimes, don't understand most of it . ..
if only I had some bacon cheese burgers and a friend to steal some body warmth from .. . .

GO Time!! A bell goes off like a high school period bell and the previously blackened screens come to life like a dummy in a fortune telling machine and show esoteric digital representations of guages and percentages that on closer inspection are readouts of critical systems, brake pressure, engine rev, MPH and some other shit. I watch the engine power spike to something like 70% mph low as hell, I hear our tail stretching behind us like your relaxing spine when you hang from some monkey bars and relax your vertebrae - A tapering teeth rattling jerk - the engines cumulatively controlled by the unknown crew in the neighboring engine pushed to there limit the snake greases her way uphill and away.

Soon I get restless about my gear being separated from me and begin to plan for a siding.
As if in tune to my thoughts brake pressure rises and engine levels fall off, even go into reverse adding to the stopping, the vertebrae compress with a violent jolt to my ride and we stop. nowhere again. Hydros dump and the sputtering begins, I step lively and get out and make my way to the car containing my pack and sleeping gear packed it quick and started making my way back to my engine ride . . .SHIT ON COMING TRAIN!!!
Over to the other side (stay off the knuckles) and ran my ass off, roar of the passing train on the other side of mine, felt so exposed climbing the deck totally expected a voice from the other engine to say "hay you get off the train fucker!!"
no voice came. I wiggled through the narrow opening to the main chamber of the cockpit overstuffed pack catching on the door frames.
Someone would have long since given up, this has fast turned into a survival game, and I'm losing thus far, nearly frostbitten and half mad from loneliness But I will survive though!
Can't wait for my next meal!! so hungry!

Seems were going through some mountainous region steep grade, low speed, high engine rev.
I think we're K-820 north I keep hearing that On the radio if this bucket of bolts is northbound I want off!!!
and soon too one cigarette left and I'm gonna smoke it now!

 

[Diagaro]

12-14-2010, Besemer, AL
8:30AM

My train terminated in Birmingham, AL and I found a salvation army and ate, then went to intercept the westbound line in favor of avoiding the confusion of the B-ham yard, I took a buss to the extreme western end of B-ham The name of the place being Bessemer.


Defiantly freezing now my water is frozen. -not totally though, just ice floating in the bottles.
Bessemer's a suburb of Birmingham both ghetto as fuck. tried to fly a sign last night unsuccessfully, intent on 7$ for some fleece pants, -nothing but a invitation to some goddamn homeless feed in Birmingham, yea right like I'm going back there! fucking assholes!
Hasty set up tent, not spiked down, and a 6 inch stack of cardboard and Styrofoam and still shivered all night long, light sleep, not total REM.
Bones grinding with the cold of the morning though I am exhilarated and full of life!
I am a stone cold survivor!!!

 

[Diagaro]

12-14-2010 9:30 PM
Tuscaloosa, AL -College area
Well I musta done something right I got a ride out of Bessemer after no more than an hour at the on ramp, however one driver when asked how far he was going told me "a couple of exits down" I asked if there was a Truck stop or something there he said no, So I turned the ride down, next guy took me about 10 miles out to a loves truck stop, where I didn't falter and kept wit the thumb act and almost immediately got a ride from some college kids.

Bessemer was kinda fucked up, no real money to be made but I was able to get some gloves kicked down at a thrift store, complements of some mission called the foundry, and some military sweat pants from some sweet old black ladies at a army navy surplus store.

So here I sit in Tuscaloosa No rails within walking distance, lotsa nice folk though, walmart netted a pretty penny, witch I blew instantly on grilled stuffed burritos and crunchwrap supremes!
tomorrow I find some city bus downtown and find the rails. If I can be in Texas by midweek or Friday that would be just fine.
Two weeks to cross the country on the tramp aint bad!

I had found a garden shed on some LaQuintas property to kick it down in for the night, It took some work to re-arange all the 5 gallon paint cans to make a suitable space to lay my bed out. slept like shit, but it filled fast with my body warmth and I didn't even need my sleeping bag covering me.
The next morning I made some more good money at the same walmart and thumbed my way into downtown Tuscaloosa with some black dude, who I literally had to beg to let me ride in the back of his pickup truck bed
downtown I found the library and looked at my options for a rail, it was close by as ever, I bought a 375 of E&J brandy and made my way to the yard . . .

 

[Diagaro]

12-15-2010, somewhere in Tuscaloosa
Not really sure where I am.
Followed the rails out of the yard that I researched at the 'caloosa biblio - the yard was dead,. Not one IM came through there was just a bunch of crap there nothing moved not even any junkers!

I sat in an open boxcar and sung stupid songs about California and Intermodals and hid from flashlights when it was obvious I had an audience, I shut up and let them forget my song and they fucked off.

So I walked in the direction of train horns that I repeatedly heard to the west. bottle of E&J brandy packed I found a NS crossing and saw a sign with a big W on it so followed that and found my way to a yard and backtracked to a sitting Winnebago missing the transmission and filled with junk on some property with a bunch of junk all over it right next to the trax several eastbounders sped by, I had some food kicked down to me by some arab in a corner store (chicken and rice) by the yard. I holed up in the RV and drank and ate, soon got very drunk and fell asleep, I was woken some time later by a sputtering train on my trax pointing in the right direction - A two headed AT sided and sputtering, I felt a sense of urgency about this train so I went to get my shit together and upon standing found the world was spinning and fell on my face in a puddle I had made earlier . . .

 

[Diagaro]

12-15/16-2010, west out of Tuscaloosa
Riding my Auto Transport train after staggering my drunk ass out of the RV saw that the AT cars were empty, but how the hell do you get in them?
The last Engine I rode in was an SD60
this was a GE and its a lot more cramped, I feel more of the engines vibrations my writing is jittery from it.
As I ascended the front porch I stuffed my gloves into my pockets, fumbled and dropped one so I sent the other with it as the train was speeding I could not rescue the dropped one, perhaps some other train rider will happen across them and have again!
I am so fucking drunk, Gonna finish my brandy anyways fuck em!
Its a Union Pacific train (uncle pete!) there really moving, justa bunch of empty car transports there doing about 60 average! Id like to think this will put me in Dallas by morning its just not so though.

Morning.
Now in meridian Mississippi.
My train stopped and did some seesawing motions in the yard waking me from my hungover slumber in the pilots chair, then they detached the cars and I spooked and split real quick retreating to some garbage pile and laying down on some mattress to watch my yard.
found my way to a store called "Eddy's" and got some Dew and a monstrous sausage in a bun loaded with chili and cheese for only 2 bux!!!
Followed a water flood way and found my self under the yard trestles in a jungle, lotsa monikers most stating they are headed to nola. One moniker I remember with a certain measure of mirth was "homebums are child molesters" I laughed heartily at that one and sat down and crammed chilly and cheese soaked bread and meat down my throat and washed the knots I got in my windpipe down with huge schwills of mountain dew.
Found a dental floss dispenser with a needle nestled in its belly and was grateful for some other kids loss as I needed one.
Wish I was in the company of others
climbed back on the trestle and darted to my garbage pile and had a lay down among the broken glass and shredded tires "there was a day when a dump had class - garbage in this country sure has gone to hell"
A black boy came up and eyed me with caution but he still went up to a boxcar and tested the hasp tag, looked around curiously and came over to me "did you ride the train" "yep" I replied. He stated that he sees us ryders all the time down here. He started in asking all kinds of questions about riding, witch I answered good naturedly just grateful to have some company. He bummed a cigarette from me and I thought about the consequences but figured fuck it contributing to a minor is not jailable and I'm sure theres no sting going on here. I gave him one and he told me about him and his brother and his brothers "gang" come down to the yard at night and break into boxcars "thay be robbin all kin' a shit out tha boxcars: guns, drugs, electronics, food" I asked what about the cops? he said "my niggah just got killed last week by a fuckin pig, they be packin down here - they fuckin kill yo ass if they see ya down here"
Shit so I'm tryin' to hop out form a yard where the cops are armed and looking for shadows to shoot at and gangbangers are robbin the trains - SHTI!SHTI!!SHTI!!!

It started to rain and the kid ran off home I guess.

I figured it a good idea to take my full belly and get on a train fast. I found an open boxcar and settled down and waited, musta been over an hour and a half and nothing happened, just a east bound Amtrak witch I saluted the passengers with a double standing middle finger array.
I soon got bored of waiting and disembarked and went east through town, got a shitlaod of fried catfish and cut fried potatoes and bought a 2 liter of faygo and spanged till I got the 3 and a half bux for a pack of pall-malls and returned to my yard, it was dark now and I had forgotten all about my conversation with the ghetto boy earlier that day. My train with the open boxcar was gone, it had sat on track 4 there had been a grainer train on track 1, now both were gone and an IM was on track 2, I saw what I thought were yard workers on the other side of it and crept to the IM, climbed the rungs and peered around the containers watching the two shadows with there flashlights, they faltered and turned back to me seeming unsure of what exactly to do or where to go, but then they seemed to decide to continue in there original direction, I was about to get down and search for a better ride when I heard a voice call out to me from track 1 about one car length away asking "Do you work for the railroad" as I clambered down I answered "No sir" I was then instructed to walk slowly towards him and not try to run or make any sudden movements or he would release his dog, and did I understand. I answered that I understood and did as I was instructed, I approached the man he was probably in his late 30's struggling to hold back (or seeming to for show) the German Shepard, though the dog was wagging his tail I knew he was not interested in fucking me up probably - licking my hand and going for a facial lick, about the same time as 3 other officers converged on us one very large black man with a pump combat shotgun leveled at my head, a smaller Latino cop with tazer aimed at my balls, and the other dude seemed retarded but waiting to be lead by the others. the cop with the dog was definatly the ring leader and started asking me for things like Id and explanations as to my presence on Norfolk Southern's property, I told him I was not there to steal or tamper with any equipment or cargo. He said it was ok to tell him if I was a train rider, I admitted that I had come in earlier that day and what I was told by the ghetto kid, I am sure they meant to beat the hell outta me at gunpoint at first but then I made myself valuable to them by offering information. they asked how old and the ethnicity of the person that told me that. I lied. the old guy instructed me to slowly put my pack down, I complied, he asked for Id a second time reaching his hand out I turned and lifted my jacket to show my knife on my hip and said "I'm going for my wallet not my knife just so you know" the Latino grabbed and unbottened the sheathe and took my knife and let me retrieve my wallet, I handed it to the senior officer and the other three cops handed my knife around there improve circle and admired it, at some point they all looked at the senior officer and he shook his head to them barely noticeable - but I noticed it, he turned to me wit a snap of his neck that startled the dog and Called out my name far too abruptly and loud and proclaimed "Norfolk Southern Does not want your on the property - Do you understand?" I said "yessir!"
He said "If you are found on NS property again you WILL be subject to arrest, If I CATCH you trespassing again, you can guarantee I WILL take you to jail for trespassing - Do you understand?" "yessir" a long silence "should I leave now sir?" "yea get out of here now" "may I have my knife back sir?" they stuck it in my pack and told me don't remove it till I'm out of sight, "yessir. Thank you sir. Be careful out here guys"

As I shouldered my pack the senior officer raised a night vision ocular and spied up and down track, these guys are not playing around

FUCK!!!that was fucking close, down the street I was talked to by a older fella that said he tried to warn me but it was too late I asked him was he there, he said that he was right there watching it all happen and was too late warning me that they were comming for me. He told me that going down some road to some other road would be a good palce to hop out from, that he sees "kids like you" all the time there, I found my way to where he spoke of and found a split in the trax just shy of the bridge that I was gonna sleep under, one pointed south and one west. the dude had also told me that the KCS trains went west and the NS trains went south, lotsa south trains came by, neary a west bound train though I slept under the bridge and woke at every train that moved, none west . ..

 

[Diagaro]

12-17-2010 - friday 3m
Westbound outta meridian, MS

woke up hungry as hell, wandered into town to find a pizza place I think it was dominoes, no food for me, then I tried a Chinese buffet with little hope for any thing - but alas they put me to work surprised the shit outta me and then abruptly told me to stop and go get me some food, I was reverent as ever and gorged my self, the waitress gave me 5 dollars, And I went off to my bridge stopping at McDonald's first to filly with my Facecrack.
Returning to my shit I was surprised to see a very slow moving KCS IM on the westbound, picking up speed, I vaulted over the bridge and rushed putting my shit together, and down the cement hillside passing the monument to the train gods erected in the dirt out of broken glass, railroad ties and stones. I approached the train and though daunted was not about to stick around this goddamn town, so I started running sideways with it not nearly matching its speed and it was speeding up rapidly, shot out a hand and grabbed a rung, it spun me around and threw me not nearly to the ground, I went for it again this time getting both hands on the rung, and barely kicking my feet in time to the uneven rock trestle under my feet, she threw me again - I nearly went under feet first, BITCH! CUNT! FUCK YOU!!!
This time I moved quickly and decisively just in time to miss a break in the trestle over a creek that would have plunged me 40 foot onto rock. I finished climbing up and into the the wellcars scant porch, stuffed my bag in the crook and sat with my back against the flexing double stack, and screamed in victory saluting Meridian Mississippi with both fuck fingers proudly singing there song.
Across western mis'sippi I watched the sun peek out from under the cloud cover for a few minutes then sink in to the western lands, It got cold. The train stopped somewhere I don't remember where but I took the chance to scout for a better ride, about 10 cars back there was double length spine cars with semi trailers on them and I played dodge the yard engine and gathered my shit and ran back to the spinecars with it, I got situated under the axles of a semi trailer and a van sped up the steep side of the trax changing my trains crew, not long now. soon we left, not sure how long but the sun had gone down and it got cold as to be expected. it sided again under some bridges putting me just in sight of a roaring bonfire in the lot of a building that could only be a construction contractors home base, lots of utility trucks, and hardhat wearing people danced, drank and smoked like chimneys around there fire - I wish I could risk going over there, so cold, so lonely, sober - fuck I want a fire damnit!!!
after about an hour or more the train took off and sped through the dark countryside, came up on a huge city - Jackson it turned out, and she stopped again, but this time only for about 20 minutes and I was getting pulled off hardly an hour later by G

Vicksburg, MS
The train slowed and I saw a good bit of the area, covered by gray kudzu vines, I saw a river and a bridge in the distance once then a truck shining two lights all over the train standing next to his truck with a radio in one hand and his other hand resting on a holstered gun - FUCK!!!!! not again!!!!!
The train stopped so quickly I thought the semi trailer would come loose and squash my ass
The truck pulled up to me and The guy told me to get off the train, saying that "we cool right?" I said "oh yea we cool, I'm cool if your cool" he said "no problem then" but he still unsnapped his pistol, A monstrous machined steel revolver that musta been a 357 magnum just like dirt Harry's
This was not a dude to fuck with, Lucky for me he was not a hardcase. he told me to put my shit in the back of his truck, I figgured jail would be a welcome warmth and food place after this journey, but he was taking me to a mission he told me, and that if they would not take me in that he would show me where to catch out again, that he just couldn't let me ride the"PIG" as he called it, he meant InterModals thats fine I said thanks for bein so cool with me, we spoke of the world and bein "cool" with people.
The mission took me in, gave me food, shower, the bed was one of 6 in a tiny room but the place is like a motel, seemingly clean, more homey than facility like, I hardly sleept, it was too warm, too quiet, but the snoring eventually sounded like a chugging train and put me to sleep, the breakfast was steak and eggs with grits and fruit, all you can eat, no limit, I even took a ziplock bag of each with me, and headed down to the trax to find my way out of dodge, nice place but I'm westbound, no time for hanging out.
I found my tracks and to an old site littered with construction type equipment, I erected a little shelter of a 4 foot PVC drainage pipe about 10 foot long, covered the front with some material like gillisu and backed the back with a piece of particle board and stashed my pack inside it.
I walked up track to see what comes next, some underpasses under the freeway, two bridges across the muddy mis'sippi river. I went to a near gas station and bought a 22oz of malt liquor, though it was only 9:40 or so I figured what the hell, drinkin before noon wont kill me.
On my way back to the trax I came upon 2 unopened steel reserve 16oz of a 4 pack, and returned to my shit, made a fire and got drunk, I had my own little party, thinking back to all those cold rides, nights and sobriety.
beer gone and the sun warm enough to extinguish the fire, I made good and sure it was out emptying my bladder on it, and went back to the mission for lunch, after I ate I talked to an old timey for a bit, turned out he used to ride when he was younger, told me about ther being security on the bridge that would make it hard to ryde across it or something.
then another older guy pulled up said hi to the old timey (joe) and asked me If I wanted to make some money, I said no thanks about to leave town, he said something else about tomorrow and I said sure If I'm still here tomorrow I'll go and work with you for a few bux knowing full well that I would be getting on a train in the next 4 hours and be long gone.
Back to my spot and I took a nap in the tube waiting to be awoken by a train, but It was a voice that woke me, not a coughing sputtering train, it was the dude that offered me work earlier, I thought about it it was about 4, I figgured fuck it, I could use some bux and maybe he'll let me hook my hammock in his back yard.

Still aint left. have a van now. a couple of laptops, a phone, a kickass job offer with a beautiful rent free building and minimal responsibilities - but its all a lie, I hate this, I don't want any of it, I miss starving, freezing and fearful of life, limb and liberty.
Fuck the American dream!!!
Fuck having shit and responsibilities . .. . goddammit what have I done .. . .

 

[hshh]

thanks for posting thsees, i enjoyed em. i rode the same line from jackson to dallas then onto elpaso with out problems until yuma got pulled off 3 times trying to catch out back east about 2 months ago and it brought back memories. helps to get through the winter