how long do travelers last?

[ironman]

I keep a vehicle . I been doing it so long I am known with lot big construction company so I can get around when I want to leave I just make few calls someone offer me job in another state . Having made lot of friends in the workforce helps I just work hard follow the rules and be decent to others.when I have my fill and pokets are full I park at friend house get on my bicycle and ride for many months living how I can .I always have strong trade to fall back into when I want to fatten up
If I run low on money I look for labor jobs wherever I am

When I am working I help as many people as I can I kicked down gear and food and cash smokes rides to whoever i meet on road when working . And it all comes back to me when I'm off. I don't ride trains I ride bicycle cause I'm not in hurry when I'm off

 

[creature]

a lot of travelers just find stuff more important than traveling..

a good train jumping daddy will sit his ass down for a baby, and once that happens, mom or dad, it doesn't mean you 'didn't last', it just means yer balls are bigger than a choo choo..

@Hillbilly Castro & myself were talking, just yesterday, about not the fact that not too many idealistic older folks remaining on the road, and that was the only answer i could come up with..

most of you lovely smarmies are less than 30 or 35..
imma almost fucking 60..

you do one of two things to keep traveling, at least as a goddamned guy, & still keep yer goddamned fucking balls..

but.. nevermind...

y'all know..

that thing between yer fucking legs is either a friend or an enemy, and you answer to it by either lie or commitment..

the journey may be the fucking same..

sooo...

it isn't a matter of 'lasting'..

it's a matter of remaining honest..

if you aren't a person whose word can be trusted, you aren't a goddamned traveler.

my poppa sat in a fucking building for 30 fucking years because he loved us, and for some reason or other that poor bastard married my mom, who dragged his ass to.. i dunno..
a zillion fucking countries & every continent save antarctica..

maybe not jumping trains, but if my daddy said he was yer friend, he'd pull a knife out between you & whatever, & i know this for a goddamed fucking fact..

& more than goddamned once..

sooo..

who lasts for what?

if yer some old tooth busted smell stomper who shares his last can of fucking beans with no more than a handshake, i suspect you've lasted..

goddamned fuck..

one of the holiest fucking bastards i ever met was a goddamned fucking ancient dirty fingered, trash can scrounging, deep deep deep northwest sub-freezing winter crawling vegetarian sonofacock who wouldn't accept a can of soup because it had fucking chicken in it.

i dunno how you measure 'lasting', but if i can die with his soul, i think i might miss the next turn of the wheel..

don't be pridefull because you travel.

yer just a human doing your thing, and as long as anyone else can keep a promise to others, based upon the fact of the honor needed between guest and host, then they continue to last..

those whom open their doors to us, in holy fucking trust, are certainly at least our equals, unto the the death they find, when they can, no longer...

 

[Notmyname]

a lot of travelers just find stuff more important than traveling..

a good train jumping daddy will sit his ass down for a baby, and once that happens, mom or dad, it doesn't mean you 'didn't last', it just means yer balls are bigger than a choo choo..

@Hillbilly Castro & myself were talking, just yesterday, about not the fact that not too many idealistic older folks remaining on the road, and that was the only answer i could come up with..

most of you lovely smarmies are less than 30 or 35..
imma almost fucking 60..

you do one of two things to keep traveling, at least as a goddamned guy, & still keep yer goddamned fucking balls..

but.. nevermind...

y'all know..

that thing between yer fucking legs is either a friend or an enemy, and you answer to it by either lie or commitment..

the journey may be the fucking same..

sooo...

it isn't a matter of 'lasting'..

it's a matter of remaining honest..

if you aren't a person whose word can be trusted, you aren't a goddamned traveler.

my poppa sat in a fucking building for 30 fucking years because he loved us, and for some reason or other that poor bastard married my mom, who dragged his ass to.. i dunno..
a zillion fucking countries & every continent save antarctica..

maybe not jumping trains, but if my daddy said he was yer friend, he'd pull a knife out between you & whatever, & i know this for a goddamed fucking fact..

& more than goddamned once..

sooo..

who lasts for what?

if yer some old tooth busted smell stomper who shares his last can of fucking beans with no more than a handshake, i suspect you've lasted..

goddamned fuck..

one of the holiest fucking bastards i ever met was a goddamned fucking ancient dirty fingered, trash can scrounging, deep deep deep northwest sub-freezing winter crawling vegetarian sonofacock who wouldn't accept a can of soup because it had fucking chicken in it.

i dunno how you measure 'lasting', but if i can die with his soul, i think i might miss the next turn of the wheel..

don't be pridefull because you travel.

yer just a human doing your thing, and as long as anyone else can keep a promise to others, based upon the fact of the honor needed between guest and host, then they continue to last..

those whom open their doors to us, in holy fucking trust, are certainly at least our equals, unto the the death they find, when they can, no longer...

 

[Hillbilly Castro]

one of the holiest fucking bastards i ever met was a goddamned fucking ancient dirty fingered, trash can scrounging, deep deep deep northwest sub-freezing winter crawling vegetarian sonofacock who wouldn't accept a can of soup because it had fucking chicken in it.

i dunno how you measure 'lasting', but if i can die with his soul, i think i might miss the next turn of the wheel..

don't be pridefull because you travel.

yer just a human doing your thing, and as long as anyone else can keep a promise to others, based upon the fact of the honor needed between guest and host, then they continue to last..

Alright, I'm gonna bite down on this little chunk and make public a train of thought I've had for a while.
Are we "just humans"?
Or does something amounting to "superhumanity" exist?
We live in an age where there are more human beings than ever before. In medieval times, the human population was ONE SIXTEENTH of what it is today. That was only about 700 years ago. Humans are at least 200,000 years old, probably older. The human population is increasing exponentially.
Does this not make humans redundant?
Does this not demand that the individual now exists in a climate where they must prove their "ownness" against the backdrop created by "the masses", now more than ever?

I tend to think that there are certain classes within human society who manage to achieve what we could responsibly call "superhuman". Special forces soldiers are an excellent example. They'll learn a new language in sixty days, they can survive in any conditions, neutralize any threat to the safety of their person or to their unit, and establish US hegemony radically quickly in almost any environment. High criminals are another example. To be able to pull off a massive heist requires brilliance, physical agility, and a dead-eyed calculation of risk.
I think maybe, just maybe, there are some of us on here who make that same mark in traveling.
Do most of us make the cut most days? I sure as fuck don't. I drink too much, I'm often idle, and I don't have the skills or the accomplishments under my belt to sit around and say I'm superhuman.
But there are days in my travels when the situations I put myself in, and was put in, demanded 100% of me. I had to survive and to defend myself, I had to think quickly, I had to present myself in novel ways to wedge my way out of tough situations with wingnuts and the law. And I found that after so many days of this sort of thing, my entire consciousness elevated to such a degree that I wasn't the same. I became a survivor, or learned that I could stay ahead of the pack when the shit hits the fan.

And oh, how the shit will hit the fan.
This massive human population is literally crude oil brought to life. When a massive population glut is forced into existence by artificial means, collapse looms. When the grid rusts and big portions of it fail, situations will unfold which will require us to stay ahead of the pack to survive. We'll have to tap into the superhuman within or else get comfortable with maggots in our skin and symphonies of hunger and infection - possibly, anyway.

I think to say "I'm just a little 'ol human doing my thing" downplays the qualities of a survivor. The meek shall inherit the earth, but not if too many of the meek fail to overcome insane circumstances by force, creativity, and subversion.

I want to tap into myself as my higher power through my capacity to resist and survive - so that I can aid others in tapping into the superhuman within them. A soldier-survivor-criminal lays dormant in most humans I've seen. Very very few are lost causes, maybe none. I agree we shouldn't be prideful, but we should perhaps also not be so humble that we fail to remember that as you've said before Creature, we're soldiers. We must tactically aim to be a cut above the others in order to survive. But why survive to stand alone, or only to stand with other travelers? I hope to survive in order to aid others in their path, so that the havoc of systematic failure of civilization is not as unlivable as it currently can be.

In short, that cold-weather vegetarian saint you met is probably worthy of the title saint - but how is his pistol shot?
My hope is to be just that saint, but with just enough hubris, tactical creativity, and will-to-power that I and my kind will last.
Shirtless in broken sandals, on a motorcycle, with only a steel cup and a flintlock rifle, and a moonshine still in the desert, totally silent except for laughter... something like this vision is why I hope we can create a culture which allows travelers to last longer and to comprise a culture. I think we can bring back the ways of the old nomads, by figuring ways to raise babies on the road.

there's my early morning rant... misguided as it is...

 

[WanderLost Radical]

You mean in bed, or...?

 

[maddeningcrowds]

Alright, I'm gonna bite down on this little chunk and make public a train of thought I've had for a while.
Are we "just humans"?
Or does something amounting to "superhumanity" exist?
We live in an age where there are more human beings than ever before. In medieval times, the human population was ONE SIXTEENTH of what it is today. That was only about 700 years ago. Humans are at least 200,000 years old, probably older. The human population is increasing exponentially.
Does this not make humans redundant?
Does this not demand that the individual now exists in a climate where they must prove their "ownness" against the backdrop created by "the masses", now more than ever?

I tend to think that there are certain classes within human society who manage to achieve what we could responsibly call "superhuman". Special forces soldiers are an excellent example. They'll learn a new language in sixty days, they can survive in any conditions, neutralize any threat to the safety of their person or to their unit, and establish US hegemony radically quickly in almost any environment. High criminals are another example. To be able to pull off a massive heist requires brilliance, physical agility, and a dead-eyed calculation of risk.
I think maybe, just maybe, there are some of us on here who make that same mark in traveling.
Do most of us make the cut most days? I sure as fuck don't. I drink too much, I'm often idle, and I don't have the skills or the accomplishments under my belt to sit around and say I'm superhuman.
But there are days in my travels when the situations I put myself in, and was put in, demanded 100% of me. I had to survive and to defend myself, I had to think quickly, I had to present myself in novel ways to wedge my way out of tough situations with wingnuts and the law. And I found that after so many days of this sort of thing, my entire consciousness elevated to such a degree that I wasn't the same. I became a survivor, or learned that I could stay ahead of the pack when the shit hits the fan.

And oh, how the shit will hit the fan.
This massive human population is literally crude oil brought to life. When a massive population glut is forced into existence by artificial means, collapse looms. When the grid rusts and big portions of it fail, situations will unfold which will require us to stay ahead of the pack to survive. We'll have to tap into the superhuman within or else get comfortable with maggots in our skin and symphonies of hunger and infection - possibly, anyway.

I think to say "I'm just a little 'ol human doing my thing" downplays the qualities of a survivor. The meek shall inherit the earth, but not if too many of the meek fail to overcome insane circumstances by force, creativity, and subversion.

I want to tap into myself as my higher power through my capacity to resist and survive - so that I can aid others in tapping into the superhuman within them. A soldier-survivor-criminal lays dormant in most humans I've seen. Very very few are lost causes, maybe none. I agree we shouldn't be prideful, but we should perhaps also not be so humble that we fail to remember that as you've said before Creature, we're soldiers. We must tactically aim to be a cut above the others in order to survive. But why survive to stand alone, or only to stand with other travelers? I hope to survive in order to aid others in their path, so that the havoc of systematic failure of civilization is not as unlivable as it currently can be.

In short, that cold-weather vegetarian saint you met is probably worthy of the title saint - but how is his pistol shot?
My hope is to be just that saint, but with just enough hubris, tactical creativity, and will-to-power that I and my kind will last.
Shirtless in broken sandals, on a motorcycle, with only a steel cup and a flintlock rifle, and a moonshine still in the desert, totally silent except for laughter... something like this vision is why I hope we can create a culture which allows travelers to last longer and to comprise a culture. I think we can bring back the ways of the old nomads, by figuring ways to raise babies on the road.

there's my early morning rant... misguided as it is...

Gotta get to work so I can't type a long response but you should read Nietzsche... he dabbles in alotta the same ideas that you're talking about.

 

[Stinkyyy]

I've been on road just over 5 years now and I'm 25. No intention of stopping any time soon however my man and I are looking into getting our trailer back and setting up a more chilled little life and a family n shit..

 

[DrewSTNY]

Shirtless in broken sandals, on a motorcycle, with only a steel cup and a flintlock rifle, and a moonshine still in the desert, totally silent except for laughter... something like this vision is why I hope we can create a culture which allows travelers to last longer and to comprise a culture. I think we can bring back the ways of the old nomads, by figuring ways to raise babies on the road.

Now, that's my kind of living! ::drinkingbuddy::

Now, if my body would cooperate. Oh, and I would need to break free of being a serious pack-rat. :ldman::

 

[Bryan Swift]

That's hilarious. Yeah I'm used to being the 'older guy' in a group but I can still pass for about 27 most of the time

You don't look a day past 26.. ::woot::

 

[GhostWithTheMost]

I was out on the road/street from 1996-2011 the only break I took was three years due to being in Prison...but if it had not been for that would have been 15 straight, but I dont have any family other than A grandma who ripped me off for nearly 10 grand while I was in Prison which I had to pay back to SSI...So Until i met my mate that helped me get out in 2011 I was pretty much out 24-7 with the random hotel nights.

 

[Alrats]

Personally, I'm 32 and I've been doing this on and off for at least 13 years in a variety of different ways.
I think there's a number of different factors that come into play.
Like family life, where you come from, what your end goal is (or if you have one), what kind of support network you have, mental health, physical health, addictions, privilege, assumed privilege etc etc...
Half the time that I've been doing this shit, I'd like to say it was by choice, the other half of the time, I had no other choice.

Now that I've been on and off for so long, it's my only constant. It's also the only way I know how to center myself, sort of like a living meditation.
I've struggled with everything from abuse to addiction to homelessness and, for me, the best thing I've been able to do is let go and "re-set" by going right back into traveling and taking a running start at, well, whatever happens.

There are no rules. There is no blue print.
If you're looking for an answer in regards to the longevity of a hobby, then you're on your own. If you're looking for support in the idea that this might be the mainframe that your life is based on, well, there's a lot of us out here. But, in my opinion, there are a lot of things that I have let go of to be in this life position and feel ok about it.

Society likes to tell us a lot of things, and it's not until we start trying to unlearn them that we realize how deeply we've been scarred.

 

[anterrabae]

Personally, I'm 32 and I've been doing this on and off for at least 13 years in a variety of different ways.
I think there's a number of different factors that come into play.
Like family life, where you come from, what your end goal is (or if you have one), what kind of support network you have, mental health, physical health, addictions, privilege, assumed privilege etc etc...
Half the time that I've been doing this shit, I'd like to say it was by choice, the other half of the time, I had no other choice.

Now that I've been on and off for so long, it's my only constant. It's also the only way I know how to center myself, sort of like a living meditation.
I've struggled with everything from abuse to addiction to homelessness and, for me, the best thing I've been able to do is let go and "re-set" by going right back into traveling and taking a running start at, well, whatever happens.

There are no rules. There is no blue print.
If you're looking for an answer in regards to the longevity of a hobby, then you're on your own. If you're looking for support in the idea that this might be the mainframe that your life is based on, well, there's a lot of us out here. But, in my opinion, there are a lot of things that I have let go of to be in this life position and feel ok about it.

Society likes to tell us a lot of things, and it's not until we start trying to unlearn them that we realize how deeply we've been scarred.

excellent post, sir.

one question. how long would you say it took before you got an inkling of that last part, about scars, and began unlearning all the bs we are programmed with? How old were you?

 

[Alrats]

Probably in my very early 20's when I started thinking about stuff like that. It was always something I thought about, I just didn't have the information or exposure to subversive culture to start understanding things in a way that would push me forward.

 

[Notmyname]

There are no rules. There is no blue print.
If you're looking for an answer in regards to the longevity of a hobby, then you're on your own. If you're looking for support in the idea that this might be the mainframe that your life is based on, well, there's a lot of us out here. But, in my opinion, there are a lot of things that I have let go of to be in this life position and feel ok about it.

Society likes to tell us a lot of things, and it's not until we start trying to unlearn them that we realize how deeply we've been scarred.

Thanks for posting. You know, I don't really know why I made this thread or what I was hoping to get from it. Just kinda made it in a bit of drunken existential conflict. But I feel what your saying, idk how long I'll do it, and I can't plan on doing it forever. I once had a "plan" of a career and a family and that never happened so I'm clearly incapable of commiting to a long term idea. But I can say that this(so far short) chapter in my life has been more fulfilling than any other, and I want to keep it going as long as possible. Maybe I'll be on the road in 10 years maybe I won't. I can't predict the fucking future. And here I am drunk rambling again haha. Anyway I appreciate you're insightful response to a pretty insane question.

 

[Deleted member 20975]

I trust my gut first but after that i give everyone a chance. Any real traveller knows the deepest and realest conversation you will ever have with another random soul is probably under a bridge with a 40 and a cold can of beefaroni.

Im a huge believer in the duality of man. That we have a dark and light side. The road is raw, unforgiving, filled with magic and lore. It brings out the worst and best in us. It makes us stare into the abyss and the deepest hidden caves of our souls. But once a traveller always a traveller.... or you never really were.

This was some inspiring shit.

 

[Deleted member 14481]

There's no set time limit of a life style, last I checked.

 

[sub lumpen filth]

It usually turns into an on/off knida thing. Cant ever get it completely out of your blood.

 

[Anagor]

does anyone outside of Charles Dickens use the term 'fortnight'?

In England I heard it quite frequently.

Like "I'm getting paid by the fortnight" or "that will last a fortnight or longer" ... common word there.

 

[OBIWAN616]

Idk most of my friends I met on the road ether are dead or ended up having kids

 

[Deleted member 24782]

Idk most of my friends I met on the road ether are dead or ended up having kids

Dude, its so true.