Rolling Nowhere

[Fox Mulder]

anyone read this book. if so what did you think about it? i'm reading it now.

[imported_EL MASKO]

Reading a good book is like having the author right there in your room telling it to you. That's why I don't read good books.

[CROW RA]

the book im reading is called
freight train cars....:)

[ASER1NE]

Originally posted by EL MASKO
Reading a good book is like having the author right there in your room telling it to you. That's why I don't read good books.

HAHAHA

[imported_DEADONE]

i started reading a friends a while ago, i just picked up my own copy the other day. the book is really good, i reccomend it!!

[Fox Mulder]

i just finished it last night.

[hobbesv2]

can we get some more info?

[fu]

no but im about too

[fr8lover]

i just got it. ill let you know.

[me IS cool]

Get yourself a book called BOMB THE SUBURBS, it has a good segment on the fr8 movement... I read it and it wasn't the best but you do learn some useful information... well I did anyway. :D

[Raw fish]

I have also read freight train cars... decent stuff, even though it feels like a childrens book....

also I am currently reading: classic american railroads and the rail lines of southern new england and a book about sailor tattoos... all at the same time

[rolldafukout]

i hate big books with little words! hah

[baLLeRplAyA]

bobmb the suburbs is more about the idea that kids should invade the suburbs with graff....the freight section was weak at best.

[professor poopatronic]

can we get any author names?

[Mige]

Rolling Nowhere is by Ted Conover, an excellent book. He even mentions one of his riding buddies doing "phantom strikes again" streaks on boxcars, some of that guys stuff is still visible on old southern pacific cars. The book came out around 1981 and is still probably the most up to date book written about factual hopping experiences.

[fr8lover]

im about halfway through the book and its really interesting...but i cant get it out of my head that a lot of it seems like he may have embellished in parts, as far as conversations and people go it seems like theres quite a bit of creativity going into it...who knows.

[professor poopatronic]

do they carry it in major bookstores? and would it be in the fiction section or something else?

[fr8lover]

i got it in the borders sociology section under anthropology i believe

[kinkosnerd]

If you want a neat book about the railroads...

www.deskmap.com (http://www.deskmap.com) check out the Professional Railroad Atlas of north america.. its fucking expensive, but its got a ton of good info.. and maps.. maps .. maps.. Me and some freinds pooled money to get it, and I can say its been semi worthwhile.. the best part is being able to look up the call #'s on anything and find out where its from. (what company that is)

[455]

check out "The Mole People" and "The Guide to Riding Trains"..no joke.it shows you the do's and don'ts...very interesting.

[KaBar]

Just took a trip down to my local suburban wasteland mall and ordered "Rolling Nowhere," by Ted Conover. Barnes&Noble don't carry it, but they can get it, unlike "Hopping Freight Trains in America," which I had to order from the publisher. My wife was back in the Music Section while I was perusing some books about the 1968 Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. She bought a Travis Tritt CD ("Down the Road I Go") that has some pretty good cuts on it. I know that probably very few of you guys listen to country & western, and frankly, I find a lot of it pretty boring. But I do enjoy the really old stuff (Bob Wills especially--western swing) and "crossover" country. Here in Houston there is a country station that plays ten songs in a row that "Sound Like Texas"--every song has either some direct connection to Texas (Texas artist, recorded here, the subject is about Texas or SOMETHING) and they play blues, rock'n'roll and '60s and '70s tunes that "sound like Texas." They play the hell out of old Travis Tritt. One of these tunes, "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" has some haunting ass Dobro licks. I like a couple of the other cuts too, especially a hot rock 'n' roll version of "Southbound Train.". Anybody out there like bluegrass? I love bluegrass music. I was astounded to discover bluegrass musicians in Okinawa and mainland Japan, and damn good ones, too.

[Mige]

Kabar, have you read Rolling Nowhere in the past ? If not then you're gonna love it. I know it was out of print and hard to get for a while but have heard its recently become available again. Conover's other books are also very interesting, especially "NewJack" and "Coyotes". He always places himself in these forbidden and/or most undesirable situations, lives through them (luckily),and then proceeds to write extremely interesting books about them. Definitely one of my favorite authors.

[KaBar]

My copy of "Rolling Nowhere" finally showed up, and I think it's a great book. Conover did a good job. I'm about halfway through it, and so far I'm enjoying it immensely. The only drawback is that Conover is essentially a tourist with good camouflage, but that still doesn't detract from the story. While many of the guys I knew (including myself) could have probably written a book like this, I doubt any of us could have successfully gotten published. Thanks for the suggestion---it's WELL WORTH the cover price.

[imported_suburbian bum]

I actually really like bluegrass. Most people find that weird that a 15 year old skateboarder would. I like ralph stanley, doc and richard watson, e.t.c. Doc watson is one of my favorites.

[wakassOATH]

Originally posted by KaBar
Just took a trip down to my local suburban wasteland mall and ordered "Rolling Nowhere," by Ted Conover. Barnes&Noble don't carry it, but they can get it, unlike "Hopping Freight Trains in America," which I had to order from the publisher. My wife was back in the Music Section while I was perusing some books about the 1968 Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. She bought a Travis Tritt CD ("Down the Road I Go") that has some pretty good cuts on it. I know that probably very few of you guys listen to country & western, and frankly, I find a lot of it pretty boring. But I do enjoy the really old stuff (Bob Wills especially--western swing) and "crossover" country. Here in Houston there is a country station that plays ten songs in a row that "Sound Like Texas"--every song has either some direct connection to Texas (Texas artist, recorded here, the subject is about Texas or SOMETHING) and they play blues, rock'n'roll and '60s and '70s tunes that "sound like Texas." They play the hell out of old Travis Tritt. One of these tunes, "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" has some haunting ass Dobro licks. I like a couple of the other cuts too, especially a hot rock 'n' roll version of "Southbound Train.". Anybody out there like bluegrass? I love bluegrass music. I was astounded to discover bluegrass musicians in Okinawa and mainland Japan, and damn good ones, too.

hey kabar.. i saw on one of yer posts that you were in the marines.. did you fight in the vietnam war? man it was fuked up. im in saigon at the moment

[KaBar]

WackassOATH-- Yes, I am a former Marine; but no, I did not serve in Vietnam, although I am about the right age to have done so. Two of my brothers-in-law did serve in Vietnam---one as an Army helicopter door gunner and one as a Marine Corps infantry platoon and company commander. It was a very difficult time. In many respects, I think the Vietnam War had similarities to the Civil War, in that it severely divided the United States and that the division lasted a long time. I was against the war in Vietnam, but in retrospect, if I had it to do all over again, I would have volunteered to serve. I have an acquaintance with whom I attended high school, who enlisted in the Navy and became a gunner's mate on a "brown water Navy" PBR (Patrol Boat, Riverine), and who was decorated for his service. He told me privately that he and his shipmates went on patrol high as a kite most of the time. My brother-in-law who served as a door gunner said that he was a ground pounder for the first couple of months he was in-country, and hated the heat, humidity and insects so badly that he volunteered for door gunner duty, one of the most dangerous MOS's in Vietnam. The combat life expectancy of a helicopter door gunner was less than a week. He did it for a year, and came home unwounded, although I cannot say "unharmed." My other brother-in-law was a Marine lieutenant who led an infantry platoon in numerous engagements. He was wounded slightly in the head by shrapnel from an RPG rocket. He lost five young Marines killed in action and a dozen or so wounded. Of the Marines who were killed, he once told me tearfully, "My Marines will be 18, handsome and brave, forever." He mourned them and agonized over his combat decisions, worrying that it was some miscalculation on his part that resulted in their deaths.
People think of combat soldiers as calloused brutes. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My brother-in-law who was a door gunner married while stationed in Asia, and has two Asian-American sons, my nephews, who grew up in rural Washington State, in a cowboy town.

[imported_suburbian bum]

what kinda of drugs were the people in vietnam doing. did they take them with them or something? or did they buy them from locals?

[KaBar]

Marijuana was available in great abundance and very cheaply in Vietnam, in fact, the Viet Cong often were the dealers. In their opinion, it was a two-fer. They not only made a lot of money for "the cause," but they got to addict stupid American druggies to harder and harder drugs, Heroin and opium was available there very cheaply as well. Many returning G.I.'s had a habit that cost about $500 a day to maintain, here in the States. There, it cost perhaps $5 a day or less. The heroin and opium were of very high quality. Along with the drugs, prostitution was rampant. Nearly every base had it's "Dogpatch", a small settlement outside every base peopled by prostitutes, barbers, drug dealers, shoe-shine boys and so forth.

[wakassOATH]

yea lotsa drugs are still easy to get in vietnam..and well hookers are pretty much everywhere.

damn man that war was fuked up.. i went to the musiem.. like babys in jar of formaldihide(sp?) with like 2 heads and shit from the chemicals the u.s dropped on em
now i know both sides were doing fuked up shit.. but there were alot of u.s G.I in that war that should have been in a metal house
what kind of dip shit.. would gather everyone in a village.. full of women and children.. line them up next to a ditch and mow their asses down with m16s.. then procied to de capatate their heads off.. and get there photo taken with the heads of children in their hands

[KaBar]

What kind of person would do such a thing? A very sick person, probably someone who was high as a kite when he did it. Here's another question though. What kind of officer would permit his troops to behave in such a manner? Answer: One not in control of them. The Marines were involved in a lot fewer of these sorts of atrocities than the Army. Army troops tended to be more "out of control" than the Marines, but even that is no excuse. If you are referring to Lt. Calley and the massacre at My Lai, the troops were out for revenge for the deaths of some U.S. soldiers ambushed by Communists operating from a village nearby My Lai. Some of them tried to stop the massacre, but the men who did the shooting were so filled with a murderous rage that they threatened to kill even G.I.'s that protested. Calley got a cream puff trial and "took the fall" for higher ranking officers. It was a cover-up.
In addition to that, there were plenty of atrocities on both sides, with wounded Americans often getting blinded and castrated, etc. War is a horrible thing. Once things become revenge-filled, and people's behavior revolves around hatred, "horror" takes on an entirely new dimension. During WWII American troops routinely used flame throwers on Japanese positions that refused to surrender. Hundreds of Japanese, perhaps thousands, were sealed alive in caves on Okinawa by demolishing the entranceways to the tunnels. People can do some awful things to one another in war time. And grudges last a long time. You be careful in Vietnam, fella.

[metallix]

Originally posted by baLLeRplAyA
bobmb the suburbs is more about the idea that kids should invade the suburbs with graff....the freight section was weak at best.

get a clue. (nothing personal)

[wakassOATH]

yea i can totally see why the marines would be less into that shit.. well for one they are trained alot better
i went to saigon (im in bankok now) after the war they re named the city ho chi minh city(the communist war leader).. anyway the people in saigon are anti comunist so they are pretty happy toward americans when they whipe their ass they say "im sending a letter to ho chi minh"
i really coundent give a fuk cause im a cunuk

[KaBar]

WackassOATH---Umm, I'm afraid that the enemies of the United States aren't all that discriminating, dude. If you're white, round-eyed and a Westerner, that's close enough. Black American Marines have been attacked in various countries as well. There are plenty of Canadians in the U.S. Marine Corps. Best watch your ass in Asia. North Americans don't fare all that well in Asian prisons, although I know an American former Marine who survived six years as a POW of the Vietnamese. He said the prison conditions, the brutality and the torture were very difficult to even adequately describe. I know a guy who did five years in a Mexican prison for drugs (in Baja California), until he could arrange a bribe large enough to spring him. All I can say is there is nothing like a trip to a foreign country to make you realize how much you love your own. I've been to Ireland, Spain, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Okinawa, Japan, South Korea and the Phillipines. When our plane landed at El Toro MCAS, I came down the embarcation stairs, dropped to a push-up position and kissed the asphalt. MAN, was I glad to be back in the States. I've never left since. I ain't lost nothing out there, and unless we have to go make war on somebody, I don't intend to ever leave again, (and that ain't too likely, old as I am.)

[wakassOATH]

i dunno ive never had to many problems in asia with shit like that.. people usualy ask if im a yank . when i say im canadian they usually say there sorry for acusing me of being american
any racial situation ive been in it like "hey im canadian" and then its over
but yes you still gotta watch your ass some westeners act like dumb asses and deserve to get a beat down.. and those are the storys people usually hear about. some times the natives are the ass holes
in india for exaple.. people say the wrong things or get into a argument over a small fare at a taxi stand lets say.. they will throw gass on you .. flick a match and watch you burn
well im not doing anything offensive or illegal so im ot worrying about jail time
ive been to india nepal south korea vietnam thialand in asia alone.. ive spend way over a year of my life in this part of the world (not too bad for someone who has just turned 17) so i prety much know the rules of the game

[wakassOATH]

another thing people who get into these racial problems or jail sentances .. theres usually a a reason
your friend who did five years in mexico for drugs. well did he have anything to do with dope?
alot of people go to these countrys thinking they can get away with the shit they do at home.. like "oh im canadian i can smoke a joint in public and if i get caught they will just take it away from me or give me some bull shit fine"
or they wounder why they get frisked at the airpot just cause they are wearing short shorts and some hippy-pot leave tanktop "ohh they cant do that just cause of the way i dress.. wha wha wha im such a victem" shut the fuk up alot of these places have no tolerence for arrogant minds and un formal cloths
6 months-life-death penality for dope in thailand .. so if you dont want trouble dont do it..dont be around it and dont look like a suspect.
ive seen westeners talking mass amounts of shit,loudly and openly in public about others and touchy subjects.. then they wounder why bad things start hapeneing and they blame natives.. well no fuking shit .. i dont walk through compton talking about niggers and touchy policts and then wounder why i got fuked with

when i travel i respet other cultures.. i dress respectably i dont mess around with the illegal shit and stay away from officals..and nothing has happened to me at all(touch wood) flukes happen and bad things happen to "good people" but the other 99% is above

[imported_Tesseract]

WakassOATH....[img]http://www.12ozprophet.com/ubb/icons/icon26.gif'>
I'm glad you'll be around dude, thats all i wanted to hear....thats the atitude that guarantees a good time.

Its true however...i can verify what wakass said...I live in a country with mad tourism...People never get fucked up because they're american or canadian or guatemalian...they get fucked when they sport the "I own the world" attitude...

[wakassOATH]

^^^^^^
thanks tess .. i relize that in europe that prolly close to if not NONE of that anti-u.s hate .. asia is pretty different i must say but it not just anti u.s
i was in a bank in india a few years back and all the torists were just sitting and waiting in line.. and a official shows up asks all the foreniers for their passports .. i dont know the polotics between india and isrial(sp?) but there was a couple of israilies there.. the oficial see the pass ports tells most of us to stand in line.. and the isralies get straight throwen out of the bank.. just like that "get out and dont come back"
pretty shocking and scary to say the least

thats pretty much when i figured out that where you come from means so much

[wakassOATH]

oh yea .. tess
how much are sovlakies over there?
they are my favoirt :)

[KaBar]

The problem is when wealthy, priveleged, naive Americans get into a beef with locals they forget that they have ABSOLUTELY NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OR PROTECTION in a foreign country. My friend got suckered by a cool, young, English-speaking taxi driver. All these foreigners whine and snivel about getting arrested for ILLEGALLY sneaking into the United States, but bud, if they get your young ass in a jail in their country, you better get ready to GIVE IT UP. The rest of the world sees Americans, and especially American young people, as a big paycheck just waiting to be cashed. Back home in Cleveland is a rich American Daddy who will pay and pay and pay and pay to get little Suzie out of a phony narcotics trafficking charge. Once you step one foot out of the United States, you are FAIR GAME.

[KaBar]

By the way, I passed "Rolling Nowhere" on to my wife to read. She read it about half way through and said "I think this guy Conover is some kind of a pussy. Didn't he have any sense at all? Why would he allow himself to get involved with all these rip-off artists and creeps? I would have shoved a pistol up that one guy's nose and made him give me back my railway maps. He was a liberal college kid, so I guess he didn't think he had any choice. To hell with that. No man I've ever been married to would have stood for that, and certainly neither one of the Marines."
My old lady is pretty bad ass. She don't take any shit, LOL.