Journal Three from Bryan Bryden

         So far the reading has been going very well.  I find many of the stories to be very interesting.  The book does a great job at telling the story from the perspective through those who experienced it.  I find hearing the characters own words to be more influential then hearing it in third person.  I like that the author didn’t search for known named people to put in the book.  It makes the stories much more personal when you read about every day individuals, who work hard to accomplish something that they are very passionate about.  A weakness in the book is how short the stories are.  I become vested in some of the characters and find myself wanting to learn more about them and their motives.  When reading I find that I am most active when I go back and reread some of the story to pick out important passages.  I also try to write down things that the characters say in which I find to be powerful or interesting.  I do sometimes find myself to be passive in the literal sense when I become preoccupied in thought while reading.  Then I have to go back and reread so that I can comprehend what I missed while in thought.

         I find that I am able to relate a story best with “Steam Train” Maury Graham.  I believe that everyone has a side of them that wants to be utterly free from rules and requirements at some point in their life.  One time that I can most relate to feeling such a sense of adventure was my sophomore year in high school.  I was carpooling with my best friend at that time, and one day while on our way to class we decided that it would be fun to skip our first class and get breakfast in a nearby town.  We had only intended to just be late for class.  However, as we were returning to school the urge to continue our adventure became more enticing.  I had remembered that when students would come in late they would still remain marked as absent on the teacher’s attendance list.  We quickly concocted a plan to arrive late and then after receiving our tardy passes, leave again so that the school wouldn’t call our parents.  The teachers would all assume that we were absent because the attendance lists would not get updated.  We both knew that we were taking a huge risk by boldly walking in to the office and signing in late, only to then walk right back out the door and leave again.  The rest of that day was the most liberating day I had throughout high school.  I can easily relate it to the freedom a hobo must feel when they know not a care in the world.  They know they are breaking the rules, yet at that moment they stop caring about the consequence.  We didn’t really do anything that would be considered exciting by normal standards, but it was the thrill of knowing we got away with it that enticed us.  The next day we felt pretty great about our flawlessly executed plan and by third period we were sure we had gotten away with it.  My friend and I shared a biology class during fourth period, and as we walked in I immediately noticed the teacher seemed a little too excited to see us.  As we approached he immediately inquired about our absence.  We each gave our cleverly planed separate “excuses” and he just smiled even bigger.  I knew before the words even left his lips, we were busted.  In the end I think that it was worth taking that risk.  I believe that we all need to embark on our own “hobo” adventure at some point in our life so that we can explore what true freedom can feel like.