Friday, March 5, 2010

The Issue: San Diego has no shelter for half of its 5000
homeless people. At the same time, the city is persecuting and prosecuting

homeless people for sleeping in their vehicles or falling asleep in public
places. Homeless vets, women with children, & other innocent vulnerable
people are being criminalized for simply being poor. Homeless protesters

began a sleepout and 24-hour vigil on March 15th to demand shelter and an
end to harassment.

The Protest: In May the protest moved to Horton Plaza--a
commercial area, part of which included a park with benches and

restrooms, which were removed in an "economic cleansing" plan to drive the
poor out of the downtown. Police have begun harassing the 100-200
protesters, threatening citations for "camping" or "blocking the

sidewalk". One man has already been falsely arrested for peaceful
protesting at the anti-homeless U.S. Grant Hotel nearby.
A specially-organized anti-homeless goon
squad, the San Diego Ambassadors of the Alpha Project are routinely

rousting isolated homeless people at Horton Plaza, though they have avoided
protesters, for fear of publicity and opposition.

Background: Mayor Susan Golding and other city politicians have
had no problems squandering millions on a football team (the San Diego

Chargers). Now they are proposing to spend millions more on a baseball
stadium, while ignoring elementary health & safety for the poor. They
recently suggested protesters "relocate" to the outskirts of town.

A prior protest successfully potty-trained politicians into opening
long-promised 24-hour bathrooms at City Hall. PROTESTERS CAN WIN IF
ENOUGH PEOPLE RAISE THEIR VOICES!

CONTACT THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL: "Less Talk and More Shelter Now!"

Mayor Susan Golding, 202 C St., Suite 11A, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-236-6330 Fax: 619-236-7228 E-mail:
mayor@sdmayor.sannet.gov
Councilman George Stevens, 202 C St., San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-236-6644 Fax: 619-236-6529

CONTACT THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: "Respect the Constitution!"
Police Chief Jerry Sanders 1400 Broadway, San

Diego CA 92101
Phone: 619-531-2000 Fax: 531-2530

TELL THE ALPHA PROGRAM'S AMBASSADORS: "Stop Harassing the Homeless!"
Mr. Bob McElroy 299 17th St. San Diego CA 92101

Phone: 619-234-3041 Fax: 234-3064

GO TO THE PRESS: "More News about Folks in Need & the City without
Pity!"
Write a Letter to the Editor to the San Diego Union-Tribune:

P.O. Box 191, San Diego CA 92112-4106 phone:
619-293-1847
fax: 619-293-1440 e-mail: readers.rep@uniontrib.com
Contact the News Department and ask them to cover the protest!


SUPPORT THE PROTESTERS: "Stand Your Ground! We are Behind You!"
Street Light, 935 E St., San Diego CA 92101 (open M-Sat 9 AM-4
PM) Ask for Roger.
phone: 619-338-9081 fax: 619-338-8048 e-mail: forest@cts.com

The Protest needs funds, legal support, ideas, publicity,
and bodies!

Flyer by HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) 309 Cedar #14B,
Santa Cruz, CA
phone: 408-423-4833 fax: 408-429-8529 5/14/98




I'd like to take this opportunity to say both to
11 Mr. Aguirre and to Plaintiffs' counsel that this is an
12 extraordinary work on behalf of the citizens of San Diego.
13 I recall years ago reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln,
14 and a cabinet member had asked him an issue about slavery,
15 to which he responded, the issues are complex, and good men
16 disagree. Here we have a situation, regardless of the
17 complexity of the issues, good men agree. The City can
18 only benefit profoundly from, one, the leadership you have
19 demonstrated, and the example that you have set for the way
20 that difficult issues can be resolved. It could not have
21 happened without Mr. Aguirre's leadership at the City. It
22 could not have happened without the Plaintiffs' attorneys
23 cooperating so unselfishly to bring about this result. I
24 especially commend them. They would have the right under
25 various acts to seek reimbursement for their attorneys'

8
1 fees. They have waived that right. In the highest
2 tradition of pro bono service to the community have they
3 waived that right. It is remarkable that they have waived
4 the right, and it is so commendable that their interests in
5 the community so override their personal financial
6 interests that they would voluntarily, not under
7 compulsion, and not under the Court's suggestion, that they
8 would voluntarily say we waive our right to attorneys'
9 fees. How marvelous that you would do so.
10 The City is so strengthened and benefited by
11 efforts like this. It makes the Court just want to throw
12 up its hands and shout. This is often the thing that
13 people don't see, and often the thing that the press won't
14 publicize, because there's no conflict. There's recon-
15 ciliation and resolution.
16 So my highest praise to all of you, and to the
17 clients who were involved, because if you did not have a
18 heart to get involved with this issue, it would die or it
19 would sink in ugly public rancor, which doesn't benefit the
20 City at all. So you make me proud to be a citizen of San
21 Diego. I thank you so very, very much.
22 With that, we're off the record.
23 MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS VOICES: Thank you, Your
24 Honor.
25 //
_Hobo_Joanna d'Arc_

show doggystails 10/13/09

Greetings, from San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, the Un-Stable America (USA) I enjoyed reading your op-ed piece, and shall I admit that I WAS HOMELESS/HOBO in TORONTO when Pierre Trudeau Passed on, & the INDEPENDENT FILM CONVENTION was happening, I PLAYED GUITAR & SANG for MAYOR MEL, & slept under the Foot Bridge from Roncensvalles to the Park. I still communicate with friends in Toronto, and I Went to The Big Mental Hospital on Queen Blvd. for meals, as well the BUS by the Rail road.
I LOVE CANADA. I am a HILL BELLY from the "ARKANSAS" State (Picture MA & PA KETTLE" or "JED of BEVERLY HILLBELLYS"
" hill bellies...
I am 100% CERTAIN that HOMELESSNESS is the UNINTENDED DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCE of STUPID IDIOTIC "URBAN RENEWAL" of the 1960's ff. I know not how old you are, but even were you MY AGE (Born 12 12 1949) your perspective would not be able to SEE as I see. There were always "BLIGHT" in areas, BIG cities, And SMALL TOWNS. There POOR "TRASHY" FOLKS LIVED, in HUMBLE FRAME HOMES...generally they OWNED the lot, and yards were filled with JUNK CARS, OLD APPLIANCES, GOATS, CHICKENS, etc. When Better-off people drove by, they Clucled the Tomgues and made a Dissapproving noise, WE CHILDREN GOT THE MESSAGE. BUT THERE WERE IDIOT FEDERAL PROGRAMS, BILLIONS of DOLLARS to "REMOVE BLIGHT!" They CONNED the TAX PAYERS "People Shouldn't Be Forced To Live Like That" HAW! The SEIZED the Property, (BLIGHT!) Tore Down FAMILYS HOMES, & Put them ON THE STREETS! Damn Right....SKID ROW HOTELS & SKID ROWS APARTMENTS filled up with FORMER HOME OWNERS, next these CRETINS razed Skid Row, (EYE SORES!) NOW WE HAVE tens of millions of HOMELESS and THE POLICE in AMERICA ARE TAUGHT THAT "BEING HOMELESS IS IN AND OF ITSELF A CRIMINAL ACT!" They CLAIM it is NOT, but ACTION SPEALKS LOUDER than PLATITUDES!
Hey, I spent years in STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS, they SHUT THEM DOWN, the PREDITATERS STEAL the MENTAL INSANES LIVING CHEQUES here! I seen GANGS BEAT LITTLE OLD LADIES TO DEATH in SAN FRANCISCO for the Social Money!!!! The PROPTECTERS who HANDLE INSANE PEOPLES CHEQUES in America are ALWAYS CROOKS! CONTROLLING a LOONIES MONEY to TOO TEMPTING, WAY TOO TEMPTING!!!! Watch FEDRECK WISEMAN'S 1966 DOCUMENTRY "Titicut Follies" and REALIZE that HIS DOCUMENTRY was BANNED for v40 YEARS! I juat recently was able to PURCHASE IT ON DVD!
CAN YOU SEE, that EVEN THO BRIDGEPORT INSANE ASYLEM was BAD, these people ARE NOT DYING ON THE STREETS!

Of course you are CORRECT about the INDUSTRY of HOMELESSNESS...but wait, THESE PEOPLE ARE PROFITEERING off "SERVING" the "REAL NEEDS" of "HOMELESS HUMAN BEINGS!"
As opposed to AMERICANS who FREELY GIVE 30,000,000 or more IN DRIVES in SAN DIEGO for "Homeless DOGS!" But THREATEN ME WITH TAZERING TO DEATH for pointing out how THEY WILL NOT EVEN GIVE a HOMELESS HUMAN a GARBAGE CAN to DIG FOOD OUT OF!!! (It is a FELONY in CALIFORNIA to DIG IN DUMPSTERS for FOOD, or to RECYCLERS)

What Created the UNGODLY HATRED of HOMELESS PEOPLE? LIBERAL WEEPING SOB sISTERS & RANTING IDIOTIC RIGHT WING HATE RADIO SHOWS>

You & Rush share the LOCAL TALK RADIO stations (KOGO-San Diego, KFI, Los Angeles) WITH VITROLIC HATEFUL MONEY-SUCKING PEDANTIC SHIT-STIRRERS! Roger Hitcock,OOPS, Fruedian Slip..HEDGE-COCK...John & Dabve, others "JUST EARNING A LIVING" RANT ABOUT HOMELESS DESIEASED RIDDEN CRIMINAL DERANGED...

Look, I AM A LICENSED RADIO OPERATOR, I WENT TO BROADCAST SCHOOL, HAVE TELEVISON ENGINEERING WORK in my DISTANT Past...

I KNOW GOOD RADIO, ARBITRON RATINGS go hand in hand with KEEPING THE LISTENERS ENGAGED. But when PEOPLE ARE REDUCED TO ANIMALS then KILLED BY DERANGED POLICE OR TEENAGERS SET THEM ON FIRE to "LIVE OUT THEIR GRAND THEFT AUTO 3 GAME FANTISY" and PEOPLE BLAME HOMELESS PEOPLE while GRIPING ABOUT COST of RENT, $2,500.00 PER MONTH here, + ELECTRIC, GAS, WATER/SEWER, Home Owners Assn. ETC. THOSE WHO BECOME HOMELESS are EVEN HATED BY THEIR FAMILY NOW, and TO RENT A APARTMENT is FIRST+LAST+SEC> thats $9,500.00 FOR ONLY THE DWELLING, then BUY FURNITURE, APPLIANCES, DEPOST on UTILITIES...and of course, if a person is HOMELESS for a Year..OR FOR 35 YEARS LIKE MYSELF, you gotta be (1) A MENSA LIFE MEMBER & (2) Blessed By God to swing getting off the HOBO TRAIN, HOMELESS LIFE STYLE!


I AM BOTH. But I AM ALSO STILL ANGRY EVERY DAY at the AVERSION, THE INTOLERANCE and ABJECT HATRED towards the ABSOLUTE POOREST HUMANS---while GOING CRAZY TO HELP HOMELESS KITTY CATS!

A DISCLAMER- I lost my HOUSE in ARKANSAS because I KEPT 8 DOGS, lots of CATS, Chickens, etc. on 5 Acrea...THE CITY GREW OUT & ATE MY HOME! I WAS TOO DAMN STUBBORN TO CHANGE. So they LOCKED ME UP, KILLED MY ANIMALS, BURNED DOWN my 100+ Year Old HOME, and I WAS SCHIZOPHRENIAC for 8 years!!!`
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Joanna d'Arc
to letters

show details 10/13/09



On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 9:30 AM, Joanna d'Arc wrote:
SAN DIEGO POLICE WEB PAGE-DEALING WITH DANGEROUS WILD BEASTS
Dealing with Homeless People

Homelessness is an extremely complex social problem that impacts the quality of life in our community. There are no easy solutions. The SDPD and elected officials in the County and City recognize that there is a fine line between homelessness as a social issue and a criminal issue. Many homeless are on the street because of substance abuse, mental illness, or both. Often the disorder issues associated with homelessness are criminal in nature but difficult to enforce. To assist the City and County provide better service to this “at risk” population the SDPD has created the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). The team consists of police officers, County Health and Human Services specialists, and psychiatric clinicians from the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), a private non-profit organization. The HOT is available to assist the community with homeless related issues. Its phone number is (858) 490-3850.

While being homeless is not a crime, many kinds of public conduct are illegal and should be reported to the SDPD. These include being intoxicated, loitering, prowling, fighting, trespassing, aggressive panhandling, soliciting, urinating and defecating, consuming alcoholic beverages in certain public places, camping or sleeping in parks, littering, obstructing sidewalks, living in a vehicle parked on a public street, disturbing the peace by loud and unreasonable noises, using offensive words, behaving in a threatening manner, etc.

* Citizen's Arrest
* Avoiding Problems

Citizen’s Arrest

Because many of the crimes involving homeless people are misdemeanors, a police officer can only arrest a person if the offense is committed in his presence. However, a person who witnesses the offense can make a citizen’s arrest by doing the following:

* Calling the SDPD and provide details of the offense. Call 911 if it is an emergency, i.e., if the crime is in progress or about to happen, and involves serious personal injury, property damage, or property loss. Otherwise call (619) 531-2000 or (858) 484-3154, the SDPD non-emergency number.
* When an officer arrives to take physical custody of the suspect, sign the arrest form stating that the offense was committed in your presence and that the officer is lawfully making the arrest. You must also be willing to appear and testify in court.

Note that you do not have to physically take the suspect into custody. For your safety, such action is discouraged by the SDPD.
Avoiding Problems

The following tips will help you avoid problems with homeless people.

* Talk to your SDPD Community Relations Officer in your area about any problems with homeless people and if warranted, submit a Letter of Agency to the SDPD division that covers your area. The letter authorizes the SDPD to enter the site to investigate suspicious activity and to arrest people who trespass or commit any crime in and about the property. A copy of this form can be obtained in the FORMS section of this website. Your signature must be witnessed by a SDPD officer or a notary. SDPD division addresses and phone numbers are listed under IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD on this website.
* Avoid confrontations and maintain a safe distance. Use caution is dealing with them.
* Do not offer food or money. It may encourage more panhandling. If you are inclined to help the homeless, it is better to contribute to local charities, missions, food banks, or social service organizations that assist the needy.
* Do not permit anyone to camp or loiter on your property.
* Do not allow anyone to store shopping carts, bedding, or other personal belongings on your property.
* Restrict access to sidewalk overhangs, alcoves, or other areas protected from inclement weather.
* Lock or remove handles from water spigots.
* Keep trash dumpsters locked when not being filled or emptied.
* Secure outside storage sheds or containers.
* Lock or turn off exterior power outlets.
* Lock gates after hours.
* Install motion-activated exterior lighting after hours.
* Trim landscaping to eliminate hiding places. Canopies of mature trees should be maintained at least 8 feet above the ground. Bushes should be trimmed to less than 3 feet except where privacy or environmental noise mitigation is a primary concern, or where higher plants would not block any views, lighting, or camera coverage, or provide hiding places.
* Keep property free of trash, litter, junk, etc.
* Use graffiti-resistant paint or anti-graffiti coatings on the sides of the building and any other design features that could be vandalized. (The San Diego Park and Recreation Dept. specifies the use of Vandlguard TEN non-sacrificial anti-graffiti coating with a three-coat system by RainGuard International or the equivalent on park furnishings and buildings.) Additional protection can be obtained by planting vines, bushes, etc. along the sides of the buildings. They help keep vandals away from the walls and cover areas that might otherwise be vandalized. Report graffiti and other vandalism, and clean up promptly after the officers have taken pictures, etc.
* Design public amenities to discourage misuse, e.g., shape benches and other seating to be comfortable for sitting but not for sleeping.
* Have plants at sidewalk level. If raised planter boxes are used, the sides should be at least 4 feet high or their tops should uncomfortable for seating, e.g., by making them very narrow, allowing plants to grow over them, etc.
* Establish, post, and enforce rules of conduct for public use of private property. Include signs of nighttime curfews and prohibitions of loitering, illegal lodging, drinking alcoholic beverages, drug activities, etc. The signs should state that persons engaged in prohibited conduct will be asked to leave the property, and that failure to cease the conduct or leave the property will result in a call to the SDPD.
* Install surveillance cameras to cover public areas. Have security personnel monitor these cameras and ask persons engaged in prohibited conduct to leave the property. Security personnel should also patrol the property at random times.
* If security personnel are not available or if it is not practical to monitor the cameras all the time, install video analytics or intelligent video software in your camera system. It will alert you when something suspicious occurs. Lights could be turned on at night when motion is detected, and audio announcements could warn trespassers that the police would be called if they do not leave the property immediately.
* If signs stating that security or surveillance cameras are installed are posted and the cameras are not monitored all the time, the sign should also include that caveat. This is important in keeping people from having a false sense of security and expecting help in the event they are attacked.

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_____________________________________________________________
California Homeless Civil Rights Action Network

ALERT SAN DIEGO
Police Menace Homeless Vigil/Sleep-Out
City Stonewalls in Shelter Crisis, Tries to "Relocate" Protest

______________________________________________________________

The Issue: San Diego has no shelter for half of its 5000
homeless people. At the same time, the city is persecuting and prosecuting

homeless people for sleeping in their vehicles or falling asleep in public
places. Homeless vets, women with children, & other innocent vulnerable
people are being criminalized for simply being poor. Homeless protesters

began a sleepout and 24-hour vigil on March 15th to demand shelter and an
end to harassment.

The Protest: In May the protest moved to Horton Plaza--a
commercial area, part of which included a park with benches and

restrooms, which were removed in an "economic cleansing" plan to drive the
poor out of the downtown. Police have begun harassing the 100-200
protesters, threatening citations for "camping" or "blocking the

sidewalk". One man has already been falsely arrested for peaceful
protesting at the anti-homeless U.S. Grant Hotel nearby.
A specially-organized anti-homeless goon
squad, the San Diego Ambassadors of the Alpha Project are routinely

rousting isolated homeless people at Horton Plaza, though they have avoided
protesters, for fear of publicity and opposition.

Background: Mayor Susan Golding and other city politicians have
had no problems squandering millions on a football team (the San Diego

Chargers). Now they are proposing to spend millions more on a baseball
stadium, while ignoring elementary health & safety for the poor. They
recently suggested protesters "relocate" to the outskirts of town.

A prior protest successfully potty-trained politicians into opening
long-promised 24-hour bathrooms at City Hall. PROTESTERS CAN WIN IF
ENOUGH PEOPLE RAISE THEIR VOICES!

CONTACT THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL: "Less Talk and More Shelter Now!"

Mayor Susan Golding, 202 C St., Suite 11A, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-236-6330 Fax: 619-236-7228 E-mail:
mayor@sdmayor.sannet.gov
Councilman George Stevens, 202 C St., San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-236-6644 Fax: 619-236-6529

CONTACT THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: "Respect the Constitution!"
Police Chief Jerry Sanders 1400 Broadway, San

Diego CA 92101
Phone: 619-531-2000 Fax: 531-2530

TELL THE ALPHA PROGRAM'S AMBASSADORS: "Stop Harassing the Homeless!"
Mr. Bob McElroy 299 17th St. San Diego CA 92101

Phone: 619-234-3041 Fax: 234-3064

GO TO THE PRESS: "More News about Folks in Need & the City without
Pity!"
Write a Letter to the Editor to the San Diego Union-Tribune:

P.O. Box 191, San Diego CA 92112-4106 phone:
619-293-1847
fax: 619-293-1440 e-mail: readers.rep@uniontrib.com
Contact the News Department and ask them to cover the protest!


SUPPORT THE PROTESTERS: "Stand Your Ground! We are Behind You!"
Street Light, 935 E St., San Diego CA 92101 (open M-Sat 9 AM-4
PM) Ask for Roger.
phone: 619-338-9081 fax: 619-338-8048 e-mail: forest@cts.com

The Protest needs funds, legal support, ideas, publicity,
and bodies!

Flyer by HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) 309 Cedar #14B,
Santa Cruz, CA
phone: 408-423-4833 fax: 408-429-8529 5/14/98








=====================================================
Catching Out 2002 Sarah George
=====================================================
Shot over several years, Catching Out follows several main rail-riding characters - Lee, Jessica, and the tramp couple Switch and Baby Girl (who lived at Black Butte in the early 1990s) - and explores their changing relationships to trains and nomadic travel. A bit too focused on formal interviews on living room couches if you are looking for lots of good train riding scenes, but still with some good insights. The film includes some classic scenes, including of Hobo Lee in his long lost tree house in the redwoods and in earlier television footage during a confrontation at hunt saboteur campaign action.

Compass in the Blood 1999 Bobb Hopkins and the National Hobo Association

Mainly shot at and around a small gathering in Marquette, Iowa, this "hobo documentary" features recreational train riders (or non-riders) pretending to be hobos. Afterwards if can safely be assumed that most will get in their RVs and minivans and head back home. More cheese than substance. Exceptions include a brief interview with Train Doc, some good musical footage, including of Spider John Koerner, and some decent train shots along the Mississippi River in Iowa.

Emperor of the North 1973 Robert Aldrich

A Hollywood classic starring Lee Marvin as A#1, a famous hobo, and Ernest Borgnine as "Shack" a cruel railroad bull. With lots of dramatic scenes along the way they battle each other from one end of the high line to the other. And of course the good guy wins.

The End of the Line Dana Mozer

A well-done but hard to find satirical look at the Britt Hobo Convention in the late 1980s by a then Portland-based film maker.

Free Ride 1997 David Murphy

An insider's look at the emerging punk/activist trainriding phenomona of the mid-1990s. Murphy follows the kids out to the Britt Hobo Convention, up to Minneapolis for some classic scavenging scenes with "Dumpy" and friends, out to an Earth First encampment in Oregon, and to an Active Resistance anarchist conference in Chicago. I don't know how well this film has stood the test of time, it feels a bit dated but still provides a good look at that time and place in train riding culture.

Fruitloop and Arwegian Rick Jeffery Shroyer

A hilarious animated short film featuring Iwegian Rick and Fruitloop by a North Carolina-based film student. Can be found on the Net.

The Great American Hobo 1994 Bob "Santa Fe Bo" Hopkins (director and producer)

A video produced for PBS by the National Hobo Association. More cheese than in all of Wisconsin.

Here Among the Sacrificed

An obscure film companion to the 1984 book by the same name written by Finn Wilcox with photographs by Steve R. Johnson. It documents the travels of some tramps along the West Coast in, I think, the late 1970s.

Hobo 1991 John T. Davis

Well done documentary by an Irish filmmaker. He follows "Beargrease" on a trip over the high line from Minneapolis to Seattle, stopping in many towns along the way.

The Journey of Natty Gann 1985 Jeremy Kagan/Disney Films

A fictional depression-era tale of a teenage girl who is abandoned by her father in Chicago when he goes to look for work in the Pacific Northwest. Eventually she decides to ride freight trains west to find him, befriending a wild wolf in the process. Great train scenes, this movie is said to have inspired more than a few young women to hit the rails...

Long Gone 2003 Jack Cahill and David Eberhardt (co-producers)

Over the course of almost seven years Long Gone follows the intertwined lives of several tramps - Joshua Long Gone, Horizontal John, New York Slim, and Dog Man Tony - as they careen around the West encountering various up and downs in their lives. Over a briefer time span, the lives of several younger and less interesting riders are also portrayed. A compelling documentary, one of our favorites. With original soundtrack by Tom Waits and additional music by Charlie Musselwhite. Excellent cinematography by Greg Yolin and the co-producers. To date Long Gone has still not been released for sale in any form in the US.

Rail Kings 2005 Bobb "Santa Fe Bo" Hopkins (director and producer). Superchief Films. First released a few years earlier as "Derailed."

A fictional on-the-rails murder-mystery movie featuring a "spoiled trust fund baby" off to find the rail-riding killer of his parents. Despite production values and dialogue reminiscent of a 1970s B-movie porno, Rail Kings has become a cult classic. No matter where the "rail kings" catch out to, they always seem to end up in Dunsmuir... Short guest appearances by Ernest Borgnine and Roadhog USA.

Reading Canada Backwards 1995 Steve Topping

A short arty film, Topping took over 12,000 photos while riding a series of trains across Canada all the way from Vancouver through Winnipeg to Montreal on CP, and then on CN out to Halifax. The photos are presented rapid-fire style over the course of nine minutes.

Riding the Rails 1997 Michael Uys and Lexie Lovell

Originally broadcast as a PBS documentary, Riding the Rails is the story of the children the either ran away or were forced to leave home during the depression. In most movies the hobos riding the rails are shown as grown men and as bums. This movie debunks that myth and shows that most of the rail riders were teenage runaways. The story is told very effectively in a series of interviews with the survivors from this era and shows footage from old movies and newsreel. Most of survivors are now in their late 70s or 80s but were as young as 13 when they first ran away. These are very personal stories about children who had no hope of a better life at home and how they hopped boxcars trying to find something better. www.ridingtherails-themovie.com

Sin Nombre 2009 Cary Fukunaga

A well-done fictional portrayal of a family of Central American migrants traveling north through Mexico on the trains towards the US border. They encounter police, MS13 gang members and tragedy along the way. Very realistic photography on and around the trains.

Slack Action 2005 Shana Lawton

Train on the Brain 2000 Alison Murray

Alison Murray returns from Britain to her homeland of Canada, hooks up with some friends, and goes off on a cross-country rail trip through Canada and then the US. In the process she meets lots of riders and local wingnuts, enjoys the scenery, gets rained on and beat up by cops, takes some wrong turns, and finds her way to the Britt Hobo convention in Iowa before heading back to the West Coast. Some nice portrayals of the up and down rhythms of trainriding. As of 2008 available for sale on DVD.

The Tramp 1915 Charles Chaplin (director and writer) - Essanay Films, 20 minutes, black and white, 16 mm.

In this comedic film, Chaplin portrays a persnickety tramp who rescues a beautiful woman from robbers and then falls in love with her. Upon discovering that she loves someone else, he takes to the road. The cast includes Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Bud Jamison, Leo White, and Paddy McGuire.

Wedding Train

This film is so poor that the producers were apparently too embarrassed to put their names on it. Reportedly, they encouraged a lot of the violence they filmed by buying the kids whiskey and egging them on�a totally unethical approach to filmmaking. Sickening shots of violence towards animals and women. The one redeeming feature is the opening action scene when the kids and film crew are riding on a piggyback train getting pursued by both two cop cars and a helicopter�and they still get off the train and make a run for it! Can be seen on You-Tube.

Who is Bozo Texino? 2005 Bill Daniel

This film is mainly about railworker and hobo boxcar graffiti artists. In the course of his explorations, Photo Bill plunges into the train riding world, visiting hobo/tramp gatherings and camps, talking to workers, and eventually tracking down famous boxcar taggers such as Palm Tree Herby, the Rambler and, finally, the elusive Bozo Texino. Great cinematography with lots of atmospheric shots of railroading and riding in the western US. Good narration and soundtrack too. Highly recommended. The DVD is available from several sources, including www.billdaniel.net.

Wild Boys of the Road 1933 William Wellman

This is a black-and-white Hollywood depression-era film about a group of teenagers (despite the film title, boys "and girls") forced onto the rails in the midst of the Great Depression. It has been described as the "Reefer Madness" of trainriding - apparently, a goal of the film was to dissuade teenagers from leaving home to ride the rails by highlighting the potential dangers and difficulties. But in reality its dramatic traveling scenes seems to have had the opposite effect, inspiring even more kids to head out on the road.

The Wobblies 1979 Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer - The Center for Educational Production with Support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. 90 Minutes.

Fascinating documentary about the early years of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a radical industrial union which by the late 'teens was dominated by hobo labor. The film uses lots of first hand testimony of old time "Wobblies", recounting their youthful exploits as "harvest stiffs", "timber beasts", and "apple knockers", riding freight trains from job to job, dealing with "high jacks", railroad bulls, and hostile train crews. It becomes readily apparent that the IWW had a profound effect upon a generation of hoboes nearly a century ago now, and that this legacy can still be felt today.

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