A genre of stories, tales, novels, and movies is the “on the Road” variety. Before I began my life as a Pius Itinerant, I consumed lots of the genre in movies and television. The series Route 66 was required viewing for any young teen at that time who had dreams of adventure on the road. It provided the seed for many fantasies of what you’d do when you left New York City in the dust.
The reality of hitching around, working shitty jobs, and playing in church coffeehouses where you weren’t expected to play “that sort of music” was a lot different. Instead of riding in a sporty vehicle, you traveled in whatever presented itself when it pulled over. Instead of interesting adventures, it was you hustling up a meal on whatever you could earn on that casual job washing windows. Then you hurried past the no trespass sign to where the local kids said the cops never got out of their cruiser. Behind the trash cans was a dry spot you could spend the night. In the morning, early, you hit the highway and hoped to find an early traveler who’d stop for breakfast and offer to feed you what might be the only meal of the day. You know that old saying that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”? Well, that is literally true when it could be the only one.
Why would anyone do this when a settled life offered so much more security? Well, if the settled life was so much better in some of the places I landed in, why were so many interested in tips from me on how they too could go on the road? When your career path after high school is the local textile mill, the enchanted life on the road looks real good. Words from a master Itinerant might seem to be veritable passwords to the “Kingdom”.
A sub-trope in this genre is how the Pius Itinerant successfully gets off the road and becomes a respected member of the community- a great-looking girlfriend, a good job at the mill, and a generally respected member of the community. This story thread has real appeal in the community of Itinerants as well as casual readers and viewers. Among the reasons you are on the road is that you are seeking a better place to be in and seeking respite, respect, or just trying to get away from something.
For the most part though while you keep on rambling you fail to develop the skills, contacts and attitudes you need to turn that dream into a reality. Eventually I and many of my friends got off the road by creating the space and situation we desired, not by lucky circumstance.
Think about some of these things next time the allure of the road sings out as you read a book or watch a Netflix special. It ain’t like the Roger Miller song:
Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain’t got no cigarettes
Ah, but two hours of pushing brooms
Buys a eight by twelve four-bit room
I’m a man of means by no means
King of the Road
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What is a Pius Itinerant?
A Pius Itinerant is a road bum, a long-distance hitchhiker.
I googled it and your blog popped up!
ahhhhh. We are famous!
I think that trope gives people vicarious access to a life they saw as romantic but would never choose. My family traveled RT 66 a lot when I was a kid. Then, when I was teaching international students, and they were all excited about the moment school was over and their English was flawless, and they could go “on the road.” Many had read Kerouac. I taught an elective class about Route 66. The class included a map and history. At the same time, Depeche Mode covered the song. It was a very popular elective and fun to teach.
There was a certain “elite class” on the road; they were no better than tourists. One or two of my friends saw them as rip-off targets. Offered to show them the “ropes”. OK, OK, in Boston, at our Beacon Hill apartment we’d occasionally throw parties for them, get them to pay for the beer, grass, food and such for the privilege of associating with the likes of Mike the Vike, the Monk, Captain Zero, The Teahead of the August Moon, or even Wes Carson.
Even Wes???
I know it does seem strange, but hey, there’s no accounting for taste!
What I meant was Wes was true pius itinerant royalty. Getting an audience with him must have been a real challenge!
I was no slouch, but my friend Bill ( Captain Zero in the stories) was my mentor and had even hitched in Iceland and Greenland. He had some interesting stories about hitching in the south that purely put me off some states so much that I wouldn’t hitch in them unless the ride was going clear through.
I believe it. Hitching in Iceland and Greenland would have been amazing.
I learned that song from Boxcar Willie, and as a kid I used play it on guitar and sing it for my dad’s buddies in a bar just outside of town. Some things learned as a kid stick with you. We could duet.
Ha ha, now it’s stuck in my head.
I knew every engineer on every train
all of their children, and all of their names
and every handout in every town
and every lock that ain’t a-locked when no one’s around…
You learned it from Willie himself??? Wow that’s some real Cred, Crystal!
Sweet! Two more points for Crystal in Lou’s book. 🙂 Just to be clear, it was on an 8-track tape, not in person.