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| "Scoopshovel" Scotty McDougall & Boxcar Betty, Hobo King & Queen |
Iowa
used to have a steady flow of uninvited guests, and nobody considered it a
problem.
They
arrived by freight train, usually without a ticket and with a pretty casual
attitude about schedules. They stepped off somewhere near town, stretched, and
drifted in like they belonged.
People
called them hobos. It wasn’t an insult. Just a job description without the job.
You
didn’t have to go looking for them. They were just… around. Sitting near the
tracks. Walking the gravel roads. Cutting across a field. They had a way of
moving that didn’t match the rest of town—slower, but not lazy. Like they
weren’t in a hurry because they didn’t have anywhere to be.
You’d
see one now and then, rounding the corner or on your front step.
