RIP Hobo Shoestring

I live up in NE Tennessee and he was low key celebrity. He lived life his way. RIP

quote:

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He was found in a lake behind his apartment in Johnson City, TN.

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Foul play?

Used to see shoestring's graffiti on quite a few freight cars. I have photos of a few.

The little marks made by hoboes are interesting. Shoestring's are in the top five for frequency (at least around here).

ETA: The marking was 1992. The photograph was like around 2008.

Very interesting, I had not heard of him. (I watched the video and read the obit) Seemed like he lived life on his own terms.

I almost always have a camera with me, and have taken train graffiti photos when stopped at r crossings. I would have passed over the tags shown in favor of the colorful, block letters taking up half a car. Now, hearing this story, I will look more closely for the small personal tags instead of the larger gang tags and in-you-face urban art.

I loathe graffiti in most instances, especially on natural rock faces in the wilderness, or when someone else’s (other than the tagger) personal property (fence, house , business, car) is vandalized. However, I have always loved train graffiti. It makes sitting at an endless train crossing much more interesting, and as long as they don’t cover the bar codes, I don’t see it as a big deal. Personal hobo tags are new to me, I will look harder. I always found the Depression Era stories of hobo tags on picket fences, indicating disposition of homeowners, interesting….whether lady was likely or not to give you a meal…

In SLC there is a large boulder structure called Suicide Rock that had been graffitied over and over for generations. It is always changing, and can be seen from the interstate at 1-215 and Parley’s Canyon.. For years I passed by and loved seeing it change but the last few times I noticed creep onto more nearby areas, That could get out of hand and no longer be ignored by the city. (Lots of articles and photos online)