1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always for 3 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: tuning in. Now picture this If you have chanced to 4 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: cross this podcast and you are looking for a sign 5 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: about whether or not you should listen, Imagine in your 6 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: head a circle with an arrow pointing to the right. 7 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: That arrow and that circle together mean go this way 8 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: and something called hobo code. Uh will make sense of 9 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: this all later. I hope Hi. My name is Ben. Hi, 10 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: my name's Noel Squeaky Chair Brown. That's my hobo name, 11 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: and I also have a squeaky chair. I've been listening 12 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: back to the episodes occasionally and noticing the dulcet tones 13 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: of my squeaky chair. I think it's time for a 14 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: replacement there. But yeah, it's true, Ben, A hobo code 15 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: is something we've delved into in the past in our 16 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: other life as as conspiracy realists on stuff they don't 17 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: want you to know. In fact, the very first live 18 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: tour we ever did um was a live episode on 19 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: that very subject. It was sort of a grab bag episode, 20 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: but hobo code was one of them. And in fact, 21 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: I promised myself and my daughter that I was gonna 22 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: get a tattoo of this one hobo code that's like 23 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: a I with like some kind of lines around it, 24 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: like almost like an a frame, and it means safe harbor. 25 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: I never did that thing, and my daughter won't stop 26 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: ragging me about it. Um, But it's true. Ben hobo code, 27 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: it's a thing. It is a secret language, which is 28 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: why we covered it and stuff they don't want you 29 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: to know. But today we're talking about the man, uh, 30 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 1: the myth, the legend, the hobo King himself, super producer 31 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: Casey Pegram. That's right, that's right. Oh no, no, no, 32 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: you're talking about Leon Ray Livingstead. I am Casey Pegram. 33 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: Is is his own kind of hobo king. Um. But 34 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: the original hobo King, maybe not the original, but the 35 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: self proclaimed hobo King a k a. A. Number one 36 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: born in eighteen seventy two, died in nineteen forty four. 37 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: Was what you'd call a bit of a rambling man. 38 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: I know you hear about that in songs a lot. 39 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: I was born a rambling man, and all that. The 40 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: idea of making a living, doing the best you can, 41 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: going from place to place. It's not that this is 42 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,399 Speaker 1: necessarily being homeless or being in any way some kind 43 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 1: of derelict or some kind of you know, no good nick. Uh. 44 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: The the edge of the hobo back in those early 45 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: days was almost one of reverence. Uh. It was this 46 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: idea of someone who kind of made their own way 47 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: in the world and was able to just go where 48 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: they wanted to and do what they wanted to and 49 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: live this really freewheeling kind of lifestyle. And you think 50 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: about the image of the hobo from cartoons and books 51 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 1: and things like you know, the Grapes of Wrath. A 52 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: lot of this revolved around migrant labor, work that would 53 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: be seasonal perhaps, or work that would be um, you know, 54 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: a particular project like building a bridge or um you know, uh, 55 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: harvesting a crop and then you move on to the 56 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: next job. Livingstone, however, wasn't really didn't really fit that 57 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: image of the merry tramp with his bendle and his 58 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: you know, his toe sticking out of his shoe, roasting 59 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: his can of beans over the open fire. He was 60 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: actually a pretty well dressed man. He owned a fancy 61 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: suit and kind of passed for a like a middle 62 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: class leave an upper class gent right, let's bust some 63 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: myths or I would like to at least bust some 64 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: base about the word hobo. So if you if you 65 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: hear the word hobo nowadays in the West, you're going 66 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: to associate it with the stick and bendle with maybe 67 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: a lovable tramp hat, uh, some something like the chimney 68 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: sweep and Mary Poppins plush of freight train writer. However, 69 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: the word hobo or the concept of uh hobury, I 70 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: don't know. I'm church if I'm words here. The concept 71 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: there comes from the idea of migrant workers who had 72 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: to travel like vagabonds from one work site to the next. 73 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,840 Speaker 1: There is am I would say there's a discrepancy in 74 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: some of the research here because you'll hear the the 75 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: da the life of a migrant worker somehow romanticized. Uh. 76 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: This was very much not the case. The rise of 77 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: the hobo is a very old story. So in post 78 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: Civil War America, hobo's were seen as somehow a bit 79 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:25,559 Speaker 1: of metonymy for the US at large. They were seen 80 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: as avatars of this rugged identity, this pioneer lifestyle. Everything 81 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: west of the Mississippi right you light out for the territories, 82 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: as Mark Twain said, you're taking on odd jobs. You're 83 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: chasing that dream somewhere on the horizon. But during the 84 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: Great Depression, many people who would not just uh hop 85 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: on a train and work odd jobs for fun were 86 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: forced to because the economy crashed, and so the idea 87 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,239 Speaker 1: of being a hobo was at that time replaced. Uh, 88 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: the romantic ideal was replaced by a clear picture of 89 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: a nation in crisis. And we're getting some of this 90 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: from a great Mental Floss article that has a contemporaneous 91 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: quote about the hobo lifestyle. It says, the hobo lifestyle 92 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: is one that requires skill, adaptability, and both a sense 93 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: of place and lack of identification with a specific home. 94 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: It's not a lifestyle everyone can follow. But no, maybe 95 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: we can. Maybe we can explore a little bit more 96 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: about the relationship between the railroads, the Civil War, and 97 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: what we call hobo's. Absolutely, they really are kind of 98 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: two sides of the same coin. I don't know if 99 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: that fully applies here, but I'm working with what I got. 100 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: It's a little earlier than we usually record. Um, it's 101 00:06:54,880 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: true because as the railroads continued to kind of spread 102 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: throughout the country, uh forty five thousand miles before eighteen 103 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: seventy one to around two hundred thousand miles by nineteen hundred. UM, 104 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: it became pretty easy for folks to you know, hit 105 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: your ride. Something we see today. Ben, you always talk 106 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: about your fascination with the train hopping lifestyle and like 107 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: train kids songs and you know you're here in Atlanta, 108 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: um and little five Points. That's a place where a 109 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: lot of these these folks kind of gather and hang out. 110 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: And that's a lifestyle choice largely as well, we have 111 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: to remember that these individuals weren't necessarily destitute. They were deciding, Okay, 112 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: I'm not going to have a stable home situation in 113 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: favor of this kind of freewheeling, you know, by the 114 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: seat of our pants kind of lifestyle. So it very 115 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: much was something that people were doing very consciously for 116 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: the most part. Um And so the interesting I was wondering, 117 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: I was trying to look up like hobo seems like 118 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,559 Speaker 1: a portmanteau of some sort, like a combination of two 119 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: sounds that are from two different words, but it's not 120 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: really not. Nothing that I can find indicates that it's 121 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: just sort of a word that came around to describe 122 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: this type of person. Uh And there is a female 123 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: equivalent called a boet, which is which seems a little 124 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: diminutive and kind of sexists, sort of like a mini hobo. 125 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: But yeah, that's what the the Internet Dictionary of Hobo 126 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: Slang has to say about it. But this is something 127 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: that really began to kind of take hold in popular 128 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: culture in the nineteenth and early twenty centuries, um, because 129 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: this really was kind of you know, people who considered 130 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: themselves kind of work a day, you know, Joe's and 131 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: and and Jane's. There was something to kind of envy 132 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: in this lifestyle, the ability to not be tied down 133 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: and to be able to go where where you wanted to. 134 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: And folks like Jack London and W. H. Davies were 135 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: actually you know, followed along with a lot of these 136 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: types and wrote books, uh kind of you know, romanticizing 137 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: this whole lifestyle. And even the character of Charlie Chaplin, 138 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: his most famous character, the Little Tramp, which was just 139 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: that a little tramp wearing that kind of hobo garb um. 140 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: That became his absolutely most popular and recognizable character. Um, 141 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: probably one of the most recognizable characters in all of 142 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: cinema in the twentieth century. There are three people who 143 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: could pull off that mustache. Uh, there's Michael Jordan's, there's 144 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: Charlie Chaplin, and then of course there's Hitler, who shows 145 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: up inevitably in any history show. It's true. I would 146 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: say out of the three, Charlie Chaplin is the best 147 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: person to wear what's called a toothbrush mustache. His best film, 148 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: by the way, is The Great Dictator. I recommend people 149 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: watch his very rare speaking role. It's a fantastic monologue. 150 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: It's almost like a precursor to mel Brooks, you know, 151 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: and its satire like. It's really really great. I will 152 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: add a one more name to the toothbrush mustache pull 153 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: off club. That's a weird sounding thing. Um the keyboard 154 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: player for the band Sparks. If you're not familiar, he 155 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: has rocked that mustache since the seventies. Uh, probably despite 156 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:17,959 Speaker 1: multiple style in stelling. I mean maybe I ought to 157 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 1: go in a different direction. I want to be very 158 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: clear about The Great Dictator. Uh by Charlie Chaplin. Now, 159 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: as any fans of Charlie Chaplin, no, uh, he was 160 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: you know, the tramp character, and often he was doing 161 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: silent film. However, in these times especially, I recommend everybody. 162 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: Check out the final speech from the great Dictator. I 163 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: would say it is prescient. I would say it's well 164 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: written and it should frighten you. Uh, this is this 165 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: is a tangent and let me not get too political here. 166 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: But as he said, no, Charlie Chaplin dubbed himself the 167 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,839 Speaker 1: little tramp. He never dubbed himself King of the Hobos. 168 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: And that's something that Leon Ray Livingston actually did. We 169 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: have to be careful with the phrase hobo king again, 170 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: not to be confused with Hoboken, New Jersey, because Leon 171 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: Ray Livingston was not core, he didn't have a coronation, 172 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: he was not set like the other the other itinerant 173 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: workers in the population did not say Leon Ray Livingston 174 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: in his forty dollar suit, he's our emperor. No. It 175 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: turns out that Livingston dubbed himself King of the Hobos. 176 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: Mr Livingston, I presume no, that's a different Livingston. I 177 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: presume yeah. He was born to a pretty well off 178 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: family in San Francisco on August in the year of 179 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: Somebody's Lord seventy two. His dad was French, his mom 180 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: was German, and he claims that he was able to 181 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: speak both German, and French fluently at a very early 182 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: age by grade school. Uh, and that he also learned Spanish, 183 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: so he was like he was a very worldly gent. Um. 184 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: And we we know most of what we know about 185 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: Livingston from this book that he wrote, which is actually 186 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: in the public domain. I listened to a little bit 187 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: of an audiobook version of it for this episode. You 188 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: can find it on YouTube. It's like six hours long. 189 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: You can hear the whole thing. And this book in particular, 190 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: I think he wrote a few is called The Tale 191 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: of the Tramp by Leon Ray Livingston, and um, it's 192 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: there's a couple of different parts. It's actually I'm sorry, 193 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: it's not six hours four hours, but you can find 194 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: that all on one part on YouTube for free right now. 195 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: Highly recommend giving that a listen. Yeah, it's interesting because 196 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:59,199 Speaker 1: just like his self Coronation, self proclamation, all of what 197 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: we know of of Eingston, or probably the majority of it, 198 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: is based on the books that he wrote. So he's 199 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: at best a biased source, and he's kind of he's 200 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 1: got some braggadoc show. He's he's sort of building his 201 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,199 Speaker 1: own mythology, which is a very American and very cool 202 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: thing to do. I'm sticking up for him a little 203 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 1: bit because like Casey, like Nolan, like yours. Truly Livingston 204 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 1: has an August birthday. Uh it's weird, no, because he 205 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: says he was born in San Francisco, and he actually 206 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: was not born into penury. He was born well to 207 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,839 Speaker 1: do and at age eleven, acting out raging against the machine, uh, 208 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:49,079 Speaker 1: pulling his whole pink Floyd the wall kind of uh 209 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: scenario led him to a life on the road. The 210 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: story goes that the day after his eleventh birthday, so 211 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: the twenty August, his teacher sent him home with a 212 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: note said, this kid is behaving poorly and your father, 213 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: young Livingston, has to sign this note. You have to 214 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: return it to me. So eleven year old Leon Ray 215 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: Livingston one did not show his father that note. And then, 216 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: according to his book, this was in a philosophy of tramping. 217 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: He spotted his teacher heading towards his house. The next morning, 218 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: he snuck out of the house and then he just 219 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: kept going. That's his origin story. That is an extreme 220 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: reaction to a bad note home from school. I have 221 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: to say, I remember running away from home. I'm doing 222 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: quote fingers here. When I was a kid. I made 223 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: it as far as put putt golf, which was maybe 224 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: a mile from the house, and just was like playing 225 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: video games and and realized, like, I'm out of money now, 226 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: I should probably just go back home. Uh but no, no, 227 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: our boy Livingston went the full mile. Uh, well, the 228 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: the figurative mile. I went a full mile and then 229 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: a full mile back home. Um. But yeah, it's your 230 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: quick question, Ben. Side note, did you ever get a 231 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: bad note at home from teacher or like something along 232 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: those lines and you tried to bury it? You tried 233 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: to like, you know, keep it from your parents with 234 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: the like the misguided notion that they weren't just gonna 235 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: like call I'm a revolutionary at heart. So any behavioral 236 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: disagreements I had with an authority figure I one double 237 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: down on and was fairly assertive about voicing with my parents. 238 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: So I see no use in hiding uh that kind 239 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: of stuff. But you know, it's a very terrifying situation 240 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: for a lot of us when we're young. Right here 241 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: in the US, a lot of kids are graded on 242 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 1: a one to one hundred scale for objective measure of success, 243 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: but especially in early grades, a lot of kids were 244 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: graded on let me ask you guys this, Uh did 245 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: you ever get the uh satisfactory not satisfactory ratings for 246 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: behavior as a child? Casey smirking, you get it. You 247 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: know we had like s S plus you It was 248 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: like a thing hanging up on the wall. This is 249 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: like first grade or maybe even kindergarten, and like it 250 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: was it was kind of like soccer rules, like if 251 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: you you know, one one violation, they like pull the 252 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: first card out and like as you go, like you 253 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: would get down to that U card, which would be 254 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: kind of like the yellow card or the red card whatever, 255 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: and and and that that would be it. Like you 256 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: would be dreading the rest of the day because you 257 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: know you're gonna go home with it, and uh, there 258 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: would be a price to pay, Casey on the case. Uh, 259 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: and our boy Livingston definitely paid that price. So he 260 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: was a you uh probably a U plus or you 261 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: minus whatever you want to whichever direction you want to 262 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: go with that, which means the worst. Um and he 263 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: decided he'd had it with school, so he packed up 264 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,479 Speaker 1: twenty two caliber rifle and uh a little bit of 265 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: cash while he could stuff in his pocket some that 266 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: he had stolen from his mom. Um for shame uh 267 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:17,159 Speaker 1: and uh and some that he had gotten as a 268 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: birthday present from an uncle. Um. He boarded a steamboat 269 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,360 Speaker 1: uh in San Francisco Harbor um and made it to Sacramento, 270 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 1: where he apparently booked the most expensive hotel in the city. 271 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: He was unaware of this, so he burned through that 272 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: cash that he had very very quickly during this four 273 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: nights stay. Um he had like twenty bucks I think. 274 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: And then there's an interesting, uh, little little tidbit of 275 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: currency exchange here, Ben that I was look confused when 276 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: I first read, but you kind of set me straight. Well, 277 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: it's okay, I'm gonna be honest. I think the guy 278 00:17:54,560 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: is at best embellishing, at worst lying. Maybe he's got 279 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: a bit of barnum to him, and fans of the 280 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: circus you'll understand the reference there. Uh. So he says 281 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: he stayed at the most expensive hotel in Sacramento and 282 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: it costs him twenty dollars for four nights. That's a 283 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: lot of money back then. But then he talks about 284 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,680 Speaker 1: how he left a one d franc note with a 285 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:28,679 Speaker 1: bank cashier uh, and he he essentially ran out of 286 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 1: the bank because the teller we can only presume said, hey, 287 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:38,959 Speaker 1: you're eleven, what are you doing with one franc? And Uh. 288 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: The weird thing about this is that I don't know. 289 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: It doesn't match up. Far be it for me to 290 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: be a hater. But at this time, it's safe to 291 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 1: say most eleven year olds did not have twenty U 292 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: s dollars, much less one hundred French dollars or equivalent thereof. 293 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: And so he says that he still had a rifle, 294 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: and he still had a couple of bucks U s dollars, 295 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: we assume, and because he had lost one d frunc 296 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: with the bank hash here he was at his wits end, 297 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: at his young wits end. So he walked to a 298 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: spot along railway, a spot where the train would stop 299 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: for water, and at the train he gave his rifle 300 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 1: to a to an employee of the train of Brakeman, 301 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: specifically in exchange for the ability to stow away on 302 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: a ride to truck Ee. No no, uh truck e 303 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,439 Speaker 1: t r U c k e E. That's not a 304 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: big metropolis, is it. Yeah? I do think I think 305 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: it's still around. It kind of makes me think of 306 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:52,160 Speaker 1: places like Barstow or like Modesto, not to malign any 307 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: of these places. But there's sort of a little more. 308 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: You think of California in terms of its metro areas 309 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,159 Speaker 1: in terms of like, you know, a lot of affluence 310 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: and hustling, hustle, but there's a ton of very small, 311 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: kind of more dusty, kind of one horse towns all 312 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: over California. Listeners from California, let us know, have you 313 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: been to truck Ee. We did look it up. It 314 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,479 Speaker 1: does still exist. It looks kind of charming. Actually, it's 315 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,679 Speaker 1: sort of like a little old timey downtown area. Probably 316 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,719 Speaker 1: hasn't changed much since the the time of this story. 317 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:27,159 Speaker 1: But he actually didn't make it to truck It. He 318 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: got put off by uh under a brakeman. I guess 319 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: which is the guy that like breaks the train, um 320 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: and win a Muca win Amucca. Gosh, we're gonna get 321 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: emails about this one. I'm gonna go with winn Amucca. 322 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: Uh Nevada. That's in the desert. So he got put again. 323 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,439 Speaker 1: You're right, then we gotta keep taking grains of salt 324 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 1: with this stuff, because like the whole idea of and 325 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: then I was ejected from the train in the middle 326 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: of the deserts and I had to fed with nothing 327 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: but my pocket knife, and I traded my rifle, and 328 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: I had to you know, red so giants scorpions with 329 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: my bare hands. That's not in here. But you know, well, 330 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: let's just double down on on dude's fantabulism. UM. So, 331 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 1: around four fifty miles from San Francisco is where he 332 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: was let out here. Uh So he decided that he 333 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,120 Speaker 1: wanted to kind of hone his survival chops even further. So, 334 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: you know, he didn't have the best luck in this 335 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: first run. He realized he was, you know, he was caught, 336 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,679 Speaker 1: and he needed to do a better job of hiding 337 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 1: himself and kind of learning some of the rules of 338 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: the road or the rails as it were. Um. But 339 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,119 Speaker 1: he liked it. He got a taste for it, and 340 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,640 Speaker 1: he decided that he this is the life for him. 341 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,119 Speaker 1: He was going to start in earnest a career, I 342 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,639 Speaker 1: guess as as a hobo. UM. And that's when he 343 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: really just went ham on on, hopping the rails and 344 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: writing all over creation, taking these itinerant jobs that we 345 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: talked about, UM, crossing the country right as the industrial 346 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:04,680 Speaker 1: rev alution was really taking hold. UM again, a lot 347 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: of his braggadocia would come out and in his writings, 348 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: and he uh did boast that he traveled five hundred 349 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: thousand miles on trains while only spending a little over 350 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: seven bucks on fairs. Five hundred thousand. I don't know 351 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: about that. What do he come on? That's wow? Yeah, yeah, 352 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: that's the thing. His experience was not the average experience 353 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: you know of many itinerant workers, many migrants. But you're right, Noll, 354 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: he spent decades on the road, that part is true. 355 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: He also took to writing about his uh, writing fanciful 356 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: stories about his time on the road, and he eventually 357 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: published about Baker's dozen books concerning his travels. The most 358 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 1: through one, I guess the compendium is a book called 359 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: Life and Adventures of a Number One, America's most celebrated tramp. 360 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: This was published in nineteen ten. At that point, he 361 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: had been on the road for almost thirty years, and 362 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: it includes a lot of early tales of his hobo origin. 363 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: And if this were an album, one of the breakout 364 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,360 Speaker 1: tracks of Life and Adventures of a Number One is 365 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: this story about him working on a British trade ship 366 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,719 Speaker 1: that left New Orleans for Belize. Uh. And the idea 367 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: here is that he took the job, but then he 368 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 1: eventually jumped ship and began working at a mahogany camp, 369 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: meaning a camp that was set up to harvest maha. 370 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: A Guinny would also going back to what we said 371 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: in the beginning of this episode, A number one is 372 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:13,239 Speaker 1: his hobo name, and it plays a big part in 373 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: our ability to prove that at least some of his travels, 374 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: In fact, many of his travels actually happens. So the 375 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: guy is not just sitting at home in San Francisco 376 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,359 Speaker 1: writing some sort of fan fiction about an alternate version 377 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: of himself. He really is on the road, and some 378 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: of his details actually makes sense, even if they are fabulous, 379 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: as you said, even if they are a bit embellished. 380 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: But believe Central America, that's pretty crazy, right to get 381 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:50,119 Speaker 1: to there in the late eighteen hundreds, early nineteen hundreds, 382 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,199 Speaker 1: A man after your own heart, Ben, I mean, you 383 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: had some kind of tramp like days in Central America 384 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: yourself or South America. You tell some great stories about 385 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: about those years in your life that that I don't know. 386 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: It seems like you've got a kindred spirit here in 387 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: Mr Livingstone, No comment, no comment, Okay, fair enough, And 388 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: this period in Livingstone's life really made for some fantastic tales. 389 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: His time in the British Mahogany camp. Um, he even 390 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 1: you know, was able to kind of report on some 391 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: of the conditions in these camps, which, as we can imagine, 392 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: you know, if you know anything about this time in um, 393 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,959 Speaker 1: the history of of labor, uh not good, not a 394 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: lot of oversight. Uh, And he was able to kind 395 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 1: of report on some of that. He apparently multiple times 396 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: attempted to desert his employers and uh and kind of 397 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: extort them, uh for the money that would get him home. Um. 398 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: Talked about things like eating roasted baboon and uh a 399 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 1: sort of maybe a drama to over aramatized version of 400 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 1: malaria that he referred to as the black swamp fever. Uh. 401 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: Never heard that used anywhere outside of this this gentleman's writing. UM. 402 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: And you know again it was all this kind of 403 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: really you know, cartoony, romanticized, really flowery writing, very self aggrandizing. 404 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 1: Who knew that a guy that dubbed himself the Hobo 405 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: King and a number one would potentially have an overinflated 406 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,800 Speaker 1: sense of uh self? But it makes for some really 407 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: entertaining writing. And this is some of the stuff he 408 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:38,400 Speaker 1: wrote about some of the really tragic socio economic conditions 409 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: of life in this Mahogany camp um, making references to 410 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: the food that he was forced to eat as well. Quote. 411 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: I became acquainted with roasted baboons, fried parrots, turtle at 412 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 1: armadillos Stew's uh tap here steak tape tap taper t 413 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: a p I R. I don't know that tap here cool. 414 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 1: Should have just quite while I was had iguan uh 415 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: an enormous and ugly tree lizard. He says, monkey, soup, etcetera. 416 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,760 Speaker 1: And he describes one particularly let's say, treacherous journey that 417 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:16,440 Speaker 1: he took up river. He says, we embarked in dugouts, canoes, right, men, women, children, dogs, 418 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: household effects, provisions, etcetera. He's fond of this, etcetera. And 419 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: paddled up the Rio Hondo. After several hours, passing through 420 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 1: mangrove swamps, we came to higher ground and then we 421 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: only could use poles as the river became crooked, shallow 422 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,480 Speaker 1: and full of rapids. Alligators and enormous turtles slid from 423 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: the banks as we approached them, and at night, when 424 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: we camped on the river bank around the fires, we 425 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: could hear the cries of panthers, mountain lions, wildcats, monkeys, 426 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: and coyotes in the dark jungle. Good stuff. So the 427 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: problem with that passage, I think what you read starts 428 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:59,359 Speaker 1: with we embarked in dugouts and ends at coyotes in 429 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 1: the dark. Goal. So that whole thing is is one quote. Uh. 430 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: The problem with that quote is that it I'm not 431 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: going to say plagiarizes, but it echoes on earlier account 432 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,879 Speaker 1: made by a guy him Trade or Horn about a 433 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 1: river trip in Gabon, in the Agoe River or on 434 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 1: the Agoe River. So we don't know how true it is. 435 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:33,400 Speaker 1: We we know that he went to Belize, probably, but 436 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: we don't know if he actually ate monkey soup or 437 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: if he's quoting another book that he read. According to 438 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: the story. While he's in this Mahogany camp, he gets 439 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: his first letter from home, which means that he is 440 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 1: still somehow in contact with his family and his kinfolk 441 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: as they say in the South in San Francisco, and 442 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: his parents are giving him the equivalent of a five 443 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: star rating or casey to your point, they're giving him 444 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 1: an s plus for his disappearances. Uh, they say, we 445 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: are so delighted to hear from you. We thought you 446 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: were dead, but you're super cool. Good job, kiddo. And then, 447 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: according to his story, he writes back to them and 448 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: he says, yeah, I'm having adventures. I ate monkey soup. 449 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: I would have been sailing around Central America and rivers 450 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 1: and the ocean and such. Also, I need a little 451 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: bit of scratch to make my way home, even though 452 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: I'm having the time of my life. And he writes 453 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 1: these incredibly uh evocative descriptions. He details his day to 454 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: day life to his parents, where he says, I'm eating 455 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: all kinds of new fruit. Have you heard of java? 456 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: What about breadfruit? Etcetera. Look at these butterflies I saw. 457 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: The birds are awesome. People have treated me like the best. 458 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: It's amazing here. All my coworkers are cool. And I 459 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: made myself popular by making everybody else fat. That's basically 460 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: what he says. And Uh, I also gave people a 461 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: deal at the company's store. And so now I've got 462 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,840 Speaker 1: all these souvenirs. Mom, dad says a number one. I'm 463 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: having an amazing time. Also, give me money so I 464 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: can go home. You see the discrepancy there, You see 465 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: how the story doesn't quite add up if you're having 466 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 1: that much of a good time, I one hundred thousand 467 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: million percent do. And I gotta say I can't even 468 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: fault him for it, because the stuff really is pretty 469 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,959 Speaker 1: fun to read. And I could see this absolutely catching 470 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: the American kind of zeitgeist by storm. Um. And there's 471 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: so much more are left to tell about this guy, 472 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: Ben to the point where we didn't really know this 473 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: going in, you know how we roll. But we have 474 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,760 Speaker 1: decided to cut this into two parter um, and we 475 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: we teach some stuff at the top of the show 476 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: about hobo code and about you know, the stuff that 477 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: we had researched into that with stuff they don't want 478 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: you to know, um, And and we're gonna kind of 479 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: leave you without following through on that, but we promised 480 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: that we will in the next episode, and I think 481 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: you're going to really enjoy it in the meantime. Huge 482 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: thanks to super producer Casey Pegram Alex Williams, who composed 483 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: our theme. Christopher hasciotis here in spirit. Yes, that's right. 484 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: This is the first part of a two part series. 485 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: We are leaving Livingstone in Belize, which I'm gonna start 486 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,160 Speaker 1: using as a catchphrase for different things. So leaving Livingstone 487 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: in Belize, learn more about his further adventures, learn why 488 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,640 Speaker 1: he is called a number one, and learn how he 489 00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:01,240 Speaker 1: coordinated himself as the quote unquote hobo King. Big thanks 490 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: as always to our main man or magnetic North of Research, 491 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: Gay Bluesia, who still refuses to tell us how to 492 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: pronounce his last name. I respect that, and big big 493 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 1: thanks to Eaves Jeffcoat, our peer podcaster. Big thanks to 494 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 1: the trains, which are imperfect but play a huge role 495 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: in the development of these United States. I mainly run 496 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: on time. Um, who else? Anybody else? Thanks to Jonathan Strickland. 497 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: Where's that guy? I hope he's okay. He seems so 498 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: lonely last time. UM, we got you, Jonathan. We will 499 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,840 Speaker 1: we We did change up the zoom code, but we 500 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 1: will send you those new digits very soon. Uh, and 501 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: hope for you to to zoom bomb us in the 502 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: very near future. I look forward to it, honestly, because frankly, 503 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: I'm feeling a little isolated to we're back to lockdown 504 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: here in Atlanta. Um, so a little bit of healthy, 505 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,840 Speaker 1: mischievous ribbing from the old quister himself would probably do 506 00:32:55,960 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: us all good. We'll see you next topix. For more 507 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 508 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,719 Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.