So Miriam Webster defines a hobo as:
- A migratory worker;
- A homeless and usually penniless vagabond
But, in light of the economic situation in North America, methinks there ought to be an update to that antiquated term. My new definition would be something like:
Hobo (noun)
- A person who, inspite of his/her education and his/her best efforts cannot find full time work so is forced to take short-term remunerated work wherever he/she can find it.
- A talented, intelligent individual who is unconnected to wealthy or powerful people and so survives on income from odd jobs.
- A person who has no job security or dependable income but is not on the public dole
Something like that would be more suitable, and in my humble opinion, is going to come in very handy in the years to come.
You are invited to postulate your ideas for additions to or fine-tuning of this defintion in the comments section, or at least read a few more thoughts from a modern day hobo after the jump..
I entitled this post "Just Been Fired" because I have been. This on its face would lead the reader to believe, I suppose, that I am new to being a hobo. After all, it seems I've just been let go by The Man after living comfortably on a salary of some sort. And that is the case. However I only held that post for three months, and before that my husband and I knew only too well that the hobo lifestyle isn't an easy one. We had breathed a sigh of relief when I got the job and were devastated when I lost it. Back to the scraping and scratching, back to the insecurity and sleepless nights. Back to hobo'in.
There are likely many modern day hobos out there. People who, like me, in spite of (or maybe due to) their higher education are not employed full time. People who are doing two, three, four or more jobs in any week just so that they can earn enough money for the necessities that keep them healthy enough to even have a job in the first place.
There are many people who, in spite of their experience and talents are wondering sincerely, "How am I going to pay for heat this winter?" "What will a loaf of bread cost this time next year?" "Can I afford to drive to my job anymore?" and "Is it too much to ask for health benefits?"
Luckily, hobos are friendly, jacks-of-all-trades and skilled survivalists. We may not ride the rails anymore, or carry around our belongings in handkerchief knapsacks tied to sticks, but we're still out here looking for money enough for our next meals, doing whatever our backs will allow us to do. Now, however, we may be raising children and trying to pay mortgages as well. The romance of life on the road as a "man of means by no means," total self-reliance and the ability to say that we answer to no one have all been scratched off of the "Pros" side of the modern hobo's lifestyle checklist. It isn't a choice anymore, it's a necessity.
Are you a hobo? Do you know any? Look around you. I think you'll see that there are so many of us that the phenomenon of the odd-job income-seeker needs a name, if only for the purposes of solidarity. Naming situations allows them to be discussed, it creates community, it empowers. I can't think of a better word for it - one that encompasses both the hard-luck aspects of the situation while simultaneously celebrating the salt-of-the-earth willingness to do what it takes to pay your one's own way - than "hobo."
So I carry on. A little writing work. A little bartending. Two hours of pushin' broom...