Category: Hobo Stuff

From Britt,  Iowa During the National Hobo Convention!

Songbird and Cindy Lou

If you have ever bought roses for a loved one on Valentine’s Day you have likely noticed that roses are significantly more expensive on that day than they are at any other day of the year, upward of $70 – $100 on average. This fact alone may make you think that a great Valentine’s Day gift has to be expensive. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. You can find really inexpensive gifts that your loved one will greatly appreciate. This article will provide some tips for how traditional, expensive Valentine’s Day gifts can be  unique in a way that makes them more affordable.

Consider the roses we previously mentioned. Buying your loved one a dozen roses on Valentine’s Day can be extremely expensive. However, there are other ways to give flowers without emptying your bank account. One way to make giving flowers more affordable is to consider giving a gift of a single red rose. This is not only an incredibly dramatic gift but it is also very affordable. Another way to make giving flowers on Valentine’s Day more affordable is to consider flowers which are not so popular on Valentine’s Day. These types of flowers are likely to be much less expensive. As long as it is a flower your partner enjoys it will make a great gift for Valentine’s Day.

There is another unique and inexpensive way to give a flower related gift on Valentine’s Day. You can give your loved one some seeds or bulbs of her favorite flowers and pots to grow these in. This is a great gift idea because it is original and it shows that you really know what your partner likes. It is also extremely affordable.

Ordering Italian and renting a few movies is another inexpensive gift idea for Valentine’s Day. You can even present your partner with a gift basket filled with a couple of movies, microwave popcorn, candy and a bottle of wine. Then the two of you can spend the evening together watching movies, snacking and just generally spending quality time together. Going out on Valentine’s Day can often be stressful not to mention expensive. However, you can save a great deal of money and have a more relaxing evening just by renting a few movies and spending an evening in with our loved one.

One final inexpensive gift idea for a Valentine’s Day gift is an elegant journal. You can find journals in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles basically anywhere books are solid. You can search for a journal in a style you know your partner will really love. Many journals come with a picture or a quote on the front and if you select one of these you should take care to ensure the picture or quote is something which will be meaningful and special to your partner. However, if you opt for a journal without a picture or a quote you should still seek out a style which will be visually appealing to your partner. This is very important because although a journal is essentially a book filled with empty pages, your partner is more likely to fill up these pages if she likes the look of the journal. Finally, you should fill the first page of the journal with a heartfelt note letting your partner know why you selecting this particular gift and encouraging your partner to use this book for whatever purpose she desires.

Someone sent me a question about, “why do a lot of Hobos have dogs?”

I guess the main reason a lot of Hobos have dogs is that being a Hobo is a life of solitude. It may sound strange to some but it’s for companionship. I think we all want to have someone there for us, and some want someone to care for. May sound stupid but someone to love and be loved.  I’ve known people to love their dogs why more than any other person in the world. Even to the point that they split their food 50-50. To them their dog is part of their family or all the family they have. Having a dog while traveling is a big burden so when I see someone who has traveled all over with theirs I salute them.

This one guy, Worker Bob, love this little mixed breed dog named ‘Scraps’ more than I’ve known some to love their kids. If he got a cheeseburger so did Scraps. If he drank a beer, Scraps got a little bowl of beer. He would take Scraps to the vet and wouldn’t see a doctor himself. He talked to Scraps as if he was a person and sometimes I’d almost expect Scraps to answer. Worker Bob came down with cancer and he checked himself out of the hostpital because he didn’t want Scraps to be alone. Scraps passed away suddenly and Worker Bob lived two more weeks and died himself. I really believe he wanted to go to the afterlife with his dog. If I had died a came back as a dog I’d wanted to have been Scraps. Ol’ Worker Bob wouldn’t have taken a billion dollars for that ol’ ugly loyal dog… Rest in Peace (both of you)

It is odd that all Hobos (or most) chose the solitude way of life and then choose to get a pet. Oddly enough though people trust a person who has a dog with them more than the ones without pets.

That’s my 5 year old border collie, Merlin. My previous border collie, “Hobo” died 7 years ago. Both dogs are super sweet and very intelligent. Hobo had hip displashia and I spend a couple thousand dollars on him trying to fix him up. Poor dog lived in a lot of pain there at the end.

I saw this old Cadillac, I found this at a local high school,  with the “Nixon for President” sticker on it! Being a Hobo I love it when people get their moneys worth out of things. The car needs some TLC but all in all it’s in great shape! I have a 2005 Ford Truck and I’m going to see how long I can drive the dang on thing. It’s ready for a new paint job and some seat covers but mechanically it still runs and drives great.

What sad is that most kids of today’s generation don’t know who Nixon / Agnew were.

I was asked, “who’d want to be a Hobo or even CyberHobo?”

All I could think of is someone who didn’t want to be on someone else clock all the time. Someone who didn’t want the responsibility of owning a home, or worry about the IRS taking everything they have. Someone who wants to decide where they’d like to sleep, eat, work, and play every day. Somebody who didn’t just want a vacation 1 week per year but in this short life was on vacation every day. Someone who doesn’t want to hear their electric payment is late or their water might get shut off, or the cable company threatening to shut of the cable TV. Someone who doesn’t want a cell phone and can read all day. WOW… only Bill Gates can live like that. Nope Hoboes around the world wake up every day with the world as their back yard. We’ll fish for dinner, sing some song around a fire, listen to someone recite some poetry, and laugh till we cry.

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Great stories about the Hobo camps…