Following the recent economic changes, you may have seen some of the bums of Second Life at the Welcome Area in Ahern. I know I have. Orhalla Zander, who is one of them, has been a familiar sight, not to mention the same guy who rated me over a dozen times because of some weird bug. Moreso than that though, he's always been nice to me: and my heart goes out to him and his plight of poority.

The other day, myself in black, Jadey, Launa, and Kei took it upon ourselves to visit one of my favorite new places in SL, the Hobo Railroad. It's been climbing steadily in traffic as word-of-mouth spreads about this village of kindly bums. Resident hobos Orhalla, nimrod, and Flyingroc were present, and greeted us cheerfully (with what spirit they had remaining in their broken av-bodies). They then proceeded to?give us a tour around their dwellings.

Not unlike a certain chaotic?trailer park, the Hobo Railroad oozes with a lot of grit and grime and the organic filth that is not necessarily "bad", but is unquestionably a part of our reality.?It can make some uncomfortable and is?unsettling to deal with, but it's there. There are other tangential pathways leading out from this thoughtline, including how comedy in social commentary can help us to address issues without being so scared, and how this might additionally be?considered a type of performance art. Speaking of art: might I note how well-crafted the cardboard box home?textures are? Or how minute details have been observed, from the stench wafting outwards from the outhouse (why dontcha have a peek in?) to the trains flanking the encampment. Try to find the voting booth too!

Some Many?on SL choose to portray themselves as ultra-wealthy, far materially richer than their offline selves, complete with mansions, half-a-dozen cars, and so much bling that a whale?would wear?it and be a gangsta rapper.?This?home of the hobos?is an inverse?instance (so I hope).

My heart reaching out to them, I offered these non-Hellraiser derelicts the nutrition and sustenance that only a gargantuan watermelon slice can provide. Following some antics, including deploying my Saedaku Flamebringer to keep them all warm and enjoying a musical performance, we bid these fragrant vagrants and victims of L$25 ratings a pseudosolemn goodbye . . .?teleporting back to whence we came.

You can visit the Hobo Railroad at Crescent (20, 32).?