BUMS!

[Sertile]

Yeah, so I ran into a couple of homeless people one time who were living/hanging out under the street in front of the Hotel of Terror, right in front of the Jordan Creek tunnel entrance. They were a real couple of characters, and had a lot to say about the tunnels. I was kind of scared at first, but they turned out to be pretty decent (albeit drunk) people. Plus it was just an old lady and old man, and as I was not alone I really didn't have anything to fear from them. So, has anyone else ever ran into any bums doing UE? It seems like you would, sooner or later. Got any stories you'd like to share? There's more to mine, but I thought I'd just post some picture then give someone else a chance.

[White Rabbit]

That's awesome. I wish I'd run into bums like that. I'm sure I'll run into someone eventually, though.

[KingMAB]

I live downtown, and I walk that little greenway between Founder's and Jordan Valley park all the time. I've encountered bums under the Martin Luther King Bridge quite often. Once, with a friend, we mosied under the bridge towards the railroad tracks, and i peered over one of the concrete partisans and saw a sleeping bag and a pigeon that was busy dying terribly. When we looked up we saw a bum with a bycicle staring at is, and when we greeted him, he shrugged his shoulders. Then, just a few days ago I was looking for the building that collapsed downtown (the "buiilding" hadn't even been finished yet, so that couldn't really count) and on my way back, under the bridge I smelled something rotten. I looked up, and leaning against the wall was an overstuffed black trashbag. I was hoping to find something interesting to take pictures of, maybe a dead body or treasure, but as I walked behind the mural I heard a gasp. I had stumbled on a bum that was leaning down to take a hit off of a little pyrex pipe. I apologized for bothering him and walked off giggling. I try not to take pictures of the bums when I'm alone, as I don't want to get mugged or killed for "stealing their souls".

Also, there are tons of hobocamps all throughout downtown. They are pretty dense in that bigassed open trainyard (that will soon be parkland). I like to think of them as a tribe of noble savages, the Hoboho tribe. They live off the land, drinking boones and cooke's beer, gathering cans, women's clothing, and baby shoes into nests where they can live out their transient lives. If anything, that could be a good gallery, braving the hobocamps of downtown springfield.

[TR146x]

My family used to own three buildings on Trafficway. We call the Jordan Valley are Hobo Junction. When they kicked us out, the city said “Oh, we’re gong to take care of that when we build the park.� Yeah right.


One guy in particular used to bug us about twice a month to buy his thermos.

[KingMAB]

Why didn't you buy his thermos? I bet that it had gold in it--or at least something yellow!

[TR146x]

My mistake! I didn’t have the foresight to realize it might be gold!! This guy was one Salty Hombre, I bet it had the other stuff in it.

[Sertile]

Are you guys for real? I've found evidence of numerous habitations downtown over the years, but only a handful of actual, verifiable homeless. The thing is, I've been hearing for as long as I can remember that there's supposed to be some kind of shanty town somewhere "down near the tracks," but I could never find it. Mab, you think you could be a little more specific with the directions to these camps? I've always wanted to see this place with my own eyes.

[gimpface]

I don't know about a "shanty town", but you can find lots of hobo campsites in "the bigassed open trainyard" by Jordan Creek. Just walk all over the place and you'll find the camps in clusters of trees. Went looking a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't find any hobos. Found a plastic bag full of tampons and a fine hobo thunder bucket though(containing actual hobo poo!).

[KingMAB]

Some of them might not be Hoboho camps, but might just be frequented by the local youth, however, you can occasionally find bums mulling about around there. The Hoboho seem to be pretty solitary most of the time. If you walk the south tracks (near jordan creek) and head west, you will, if you keep an eye out, notice several little encampments to your left. If you cross the creek into the big asphalt dump, there are a dozen or so little dumps littered about. Several of them center around mattresses (which may be worshipped in their culture). If you go directly north of the spot where there are three human-sized piles of concrete, there's a pretty sizable camp--including a folded over mattress that has been filled with broken bottles. Go directly east from there (although you'll probably have to go around the jungle like foliage) there is a really good one with a firepit. Maybe I should take up a project of photographing Hoboho villages downtown. You don't see as many of them downtown as you used to, when I was in high school they were all over the place down around there, but I think that they've been driven closer to Commercial Street. Sure, they sell blood downtown, and Manpower is down there, but the recycling center will be moving, so we'll lose a lot of dumpster divers.

Oh, and another sighting!
Last night a friend and I were going to check out Jordan Creek underground, but there was a cop camping out near there with a spotlight, (we believe he was in his car masturbating furiously) so we headed back. Not being kids anymore, being arrested for tresspassing is scarier than it used to be. On our way back we crossed through the park, and went up to the street under the MLK Bridge. Lo and behold in the usual spot, there was a body cowering under a filthy blanket. I didn't see his face, but I believe that he is the one I have named "Bald-head-long-beard", not to be confused with "smokes-the-crack" who is balding, but has no beard, and the wisps he does sport are blonde.
I think I might start to post some pictures of bums and/or Hoboho encampments, and their locations.

[KingMAB]

Oh, yeah there's a place almost behind the Watershed Committee building that sports a good Hoboho pueblos in the cliffs to the south. The bum that resides there has a shoe fetish (i saw some nice sandals there, tons of other shoes) and probably sleeps under the board shelter he's made there. I'll start posting pictures pretty soon.

[Willard]

Be careful walking under the Kimbrough-Benton Viaduct after, I believe, 11:30pm That's when the park is closed and that walkway under the viaduct is part of the park. Some friends an I were walking through there late one night and some cops walking tword us informed us of this and gave us a warning.

[TR146x]

The largest camp I knew of used to sit about 20 yards to the NW of the quarry at Trafficway and National. Obviously it is no more, but they cannot be too far away.

[Anne]

For awhile they had a couple couches under Grant street near the water street tunnel entrance. But one of the couches got torched not too long ago, dunno how or why but it was just a heap of ashes last I knew. I know if you walk further down close to the creek there's all that concrete rubble, I think that's what KingMAB was talking about. There's a LOT of clothes when I went, so if you want to go really cheap goodwill shopping, there ya go! Course you might get some fleas or ticks mixed in...

[TR146x]

Course you might get some fleas or ticks mixed in...

If that's all you're lucky!!

[Willard]

Mmmmm... Pestilence...