The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #57664 Message #908401
Posted By: Fortunato
12-Mar-03 - 03:26 PM
Thread Name: Obit: Buzz Potter--hobo poet (1937-2003)
Subject: RE: Obit: BUZZ POTTER--hobo poet
Well, you know, Art. It's funny you should mention hobos and freight hopping. I was just talking about that with my dad on Monday. He's 91. During the depression he road the freights back and forth from Alabama to Maryland, following the crops and jobs and such. He was telling me about the time he and my Uncle Allie road the blinds on coal cars from Birmingham to Richmond. He said that the long tunnels were the worst part; a man could hardly breath for the coal dust. He joined the army when the war broke out and never went back to that life. His stories have given me a strong impression of that life and given me a soft spot for the songs and stories of Bruce Phillips, et al. thanks for the news of The Prince Of Peru. When I sing "All Around the Water Tank" I think of my dad. cheers chance