Have You Seen Mr. Hobo Lately?

Mr. Hobo
When I was a young boy, the hobo was a hero to me. Being able to take off at any time and travel to new places on the railroad tracks was an adventure and freedom.
I loved the idea of being free even at a very young age. I had a young crazy imagination that was enviable by all my friends. I would tell them I was someday going to hop on a train boxcar and ride it to who knows where. Not knowing where until the train made its final stop. Well, that notion never came to pass. I outgrew that desire, but the hobo still remains as mystical and adventurous to me today.
Whatever happened to the hobo, vagabond, tramp?
I suspect the hobos are traveling along the lonely railroad tracks today. I believe in this day of electronic crazies everyone has simply forgotten about them. They just don’t get the exposure like they used to. This is so sad because they have been forgotten. I would also think the hobo chose this way of life not because he was literally homeless, but because this way of life was filled with wonder and freedom.
I remember that old railroad that was located through the woods and over the hill a mile or so from my home. It ran parallel along a river for miles. I loved walking along the railroad tracks in the peaceful backcountry. There were no modern day sounds to interrupt the calming scenic countryside. I would walk along the rails for a few miles and along the way I would discover campsites that had evidence of a traveling hobo that had stopped there to rest. Cold fire ashes, evidence of a campfire, and a few old rusty empty food cans were strewn about. I would wonder how long ago this old hobo had been there and where Mr. Hobo is now.
Memories of those long-ago days come to mind and a wave of yearning to return to that old railroad track that runs parallel along a river. Maybe, someday I will walk through those woods and over the hill and hike those railroad tracks once again. And, maybe, I will be honored to meet a wandering traveler and he or she will invite me to sit down by their campfire to enjoy a cup of coffee with them.