Am I a Bum? So what?
 

I have had the "wanderlust" since I could crawl. I have always been adventurous and enjoyed seeking out new people and places and doing mad things.

Although I have a home (sort of) in NZ, I just can't seem to get settled. The longest I've ever stayed in one place is a massive three years - I get very itchy feet.

I would be quite happy just wandering the globe for the rest of my life with no consideration for the future...

...does this make me a bum, waster, crusty, good for nothing scumbag... and if it does, does it matter?

I don't care what Mr and Mrs Conventional think, I have had enough of their opinions, put downs and words of wisdom... and I know that I should have a degree, good job, wife, 2.4 kids, Volvo and a nice house with the white picket fence blah blah blah - the Westerners ideal, the American dream...whatever, it ain't for me.

I would, however, be very interested to hear what my fellow Hubbers think. Most travellers I've met are of the agreed view that the Bum's lifestyle is both addictive and rewarding... but should we be ashamed?

I know the feeling; as long as you ain't hurting anyone, how you live is your business - as for those who criticize, **** the whole lot of 'em.

SW

I have had some the "American dream", odd to see most of the people want this are white and have came from Europe. I think this IDEAL life is beaten in to your head from berth. All your schooling reinforces it, the TV, collage promotes it as the goal, work demands it. Its what most people the world over seem to want. In the end most are happy with it.

Then there are the few odd balls, the roges, the malcontents, ADHD in the extream as the world brands us. We do not want or cant fit in. We are not normal, we know comfort but dont cling to it.

Ashamed, fellings of low self esteem? Oh I got them (not as bad as most people want me to) Its the price I pay to do what I want to do. To feel what I feel.

Like in the USA right now brink of economic collapse, banks, wallstreet, housing, jobs, ext... bahh dont bail them out let them burn. But NOOOOO USA is going to piss away $1 trillion to top people in the wold so they can run there bussnes in the ground all the more. All that money and peoples time and lifes flitterd away just so they can "live the dream". Work my self to death so the rich can be dam fools and still make billions off me? With all baby boomers retiring and jobs shiped over seas where is that money comming from? The worker that must stay working to keep up. here is a good clean english saying I feel fits. So* off to you all.

What dose a wold riding bum do? eat, sleep, ride, talk, mabey a bit of work, There strees comes from the need to get by another day to get food and get away from problims.
The hard worker the one your dad and mom wants? sleeps but not enof, work but not enof to get much ahead eat what ever he can stuff down befor he gets back to work. His stress is non stop he will never get far enof ahead his sleep will not keep up his helth will be the next thing to go.

In the end the worker will retier and try to do what you do now he may live a year or 2 longer but not any better.

The hell im I working for? when all I realy want to see some place else.

About time
 

Having frittered away large portions of my life with all kinds of adventures.Episodes with booze,drugs,motorcycles,travelling etc.Now coming up to 43 I feel the time is about right to settle down.Wife,kids etc having been about the only adventure I haven,t been on yet.So screw being a bum,been there done that.
Give me the Volvo etc cos I now think maybe being a family guy and raising some well balanced kids coul be the most challenging adventure of all.
Al theturtleshead

I think its more what your travels and being a bum have done for you, seeing lots of other peoples lifes doesnt mean you have had one yourself.

But having towed the line for the last 8 years, being a partying waster for many more before that, doing the family[it came free with the x,not into breeding] thing, the house, the morgage,the respectable job and all that entails and now having to decide to either start it all again or sell the house and head off into the world I dont know if I would class myself as a bum by doing that.

I also wonder if its better to be a "bum" and travel in your early twentys or late teens like a alot do or to do it once you have seen a bit of life and can apply that to what you see on your travels. Are you going to have such a good time when your 30+ or just remember more as you party less.

Besides you can still be a bum and stay at home but I guess I would rather be a well travelled one.

"well balanced kids" Do they exist? or are you referring to not bringing up mass murderers

Yep
 

Yes! As a bar owner I frequently got to see people at their worst and I,d have to say most people behave pretty well and most of the youths who,ve started their drinking careers with me have been pretty well behaved as well.
A great surprise I can tell you.So yes I think most kids are ok despite all the bad press.
So yes,get all your Bum stuff done in your 20,s and 30,s Then use your worldly experience to have some decent kids.
Al theturtleshead

I think you're hollering into a mud puddle asking if the pigs are ashamed of being pigs. I hope you're also asking the same question on some sort of non-wanderlust forum. I'm sure aol has a chatroom about it.

That sounds bitchier than I meant. I think you're asking for reinforcement for beliefs that don't need any back-up. If you wander, you wander. When I see that bumpersticker that says, "Not all who wander are lost" I think, "I'm wandering and I'm lost, but I wouldn't have it any other way".

-Dave

Fritters
 

Makes me think of a lovely comment of George Best, great footballer, Idol, womanizer, drinker and individualist. "I spent most of my money on fast cars, fast women and booze and wasted the rest." Just be a lovely person. And **** the rest, they're wrong. (Joking). Linzi.

Some interesting views so far...
 

I think you could be right there Al, I have yet to find out... if I ever do. Family has never been high on my list of priorities, but maybe some day.

That's an interesting point, but surely spending lots of time with a wide range of people and cultures in different places is enough experience to qualify as a "life"? But then it's all relative.

Indeed. Not sure about your analogy though.

Now, why would I want to do that? As I said; I am interested in what fellow travellers, adventurers and bums think of this way of life. Not the good, stable, well balanced folk that reside in AOL chatrooms. Not to say, of course, that folk here are unbalanced...well...umm!

Today, I put "hobo" when I'm asked for my occupation here in bee-yoo-tiful India. I ain't been kicked out.

I'm not good at analogies. It's part of what makes me think different than most. I think that anyone who reads this site either does it or is Walter Mitty. Neither of which I have a problem with.

I also have a theory about life that everyone is insane. It combines with Dante's levels of hell. One is fine hanging out with people that are a layer or two more insane or a layer or two less insane, but if you go too far, then you avoid them.

Bum till you die?
 

Quick follow up to mister turtlehead's point, for those who look at the idea of settling down and getting the volvo as a frightful thing, what do you see yourself doing when your arthritic hip won't let you swing a leg over a bike? Some other form of bum-ism, a sudden late in life conversion to the "norm" or perhaps just going out in a blaze of glory?

"Hobo" - I like that one. It must be a yankee saying - I remember hearing it on The Simpsons.

That's an bizarre theory. Possibly true though.

In an earlier post, Dr Evil (DLbiten) talked about being taught about an "acceptable" way of life from birth - I couldn't agree more. Social conditioning and media propoganda is becoming more and more powerful and more and more scary (that's somthing to be aware of when you raise your sprogs Al). People are sheep (now who's using crap analogies?) and they always have been. Then they just get scared or angry or both when a black sheep (no racial motive intended) breaks the mould. I'm no anarchist but there are too many rules, regulations, and resitrictions of freedom in the modern Western world. That is, I think, why more and more people are getting frustrated at life and selling up and buggering off elsewhere.

BTW I dislike the term "Western" world, but it's hard to find another word that describes the democratic civilisation that dominates the western hemisphere. Damn, "democratic" and "civilisation" that's bollocks too. Oh, well maybe I should just call it what it is: extreme capitalism being run in an almost dictator like fashion...:offtopic: ...hang on, I digress. After all this is the Bar and we all know it's not proper pub etiquette to talk politics or religion - we just have to talk bollocks instead!:D

Blaze of glory sounds good to me. I always knew I'd die young.

I have mates who have families etc etc, and they all tell me that it's the best thing that ever happened to them, and that I won't understand until it happens to me. They also tell me (down the pub, away from the missus) that they wish they could have some of the freedom that I have - even if it's only a little bit every now and then.

I don't care how happy they look - I wouldn't swap.

My old, decrepit future is a distant bridge that will be crossed eventually. And, who knows, I maybe a millionaire with a hot young nurse by then.:thumbup1:

Whats wrong with living? Just do what you want and sod everyone else. People either understand or they dont and if they dont do you really want to be mates with them anyway?

Im not exactly a bum I have a job and a house and a girlfriend (no kids yet though) but I can still have fun out the bike and go travelling.

I've done ok so far and toed the line. I managed to keep myself out of jail in my teenage years. Did a stint in the Army and kept myself dutifully employed and paying tax ever since. After 30 years of work I really need some time off! My plan was to sell up and piss off to Europe on the proceeds. With the current financial climate I think I'll wait a little while until things settle down but I'm off for sure. Butch you're not a bum you're what I aspire to be, you're a role model!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

I just want to say that I agree 1000% with everything Butchdiamond has said here!!
Kindred spirit... maybe!!

Genius or sarcasm on the HUBB!
 

Me. A role model? Are you taking the piss? :nono: If not - you must be a genius! :smartass:

Sarcasm, Moi? Ha ha.

"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" :rofl:

But Jimmie Rogers says it best:

the littlest HOBO ruled, but would have made a better tv series if he rode a bike and had rabies.

I tend towards the Nomadic, myself. A Bum suggests a person who can't financially support themselves, but if you can afford the basics that our collective interest require i.e. a bike and the running costs needed by such, then Bum hardly suffices. And if your chosen lifestyle doesn't negatively affect people around you, then Crack On - and enjoy!:mchappy:

Yeah, Nomad is a good expression, but some people seem to think of it as a fancy term for a bum!

Nomad suggests I should have sheep or something, and I don't just cats.

Yeah, but I'm from New Zealand - I don't go anywhere without a sheep, gum boots and a pair of velcro gloves... It can get lonely out there!

Pushing
 

Hey, variety is the spice of life--try it at the edge of a cliff. The sheep'll push back. (Or so I hear). Linzi.

Rudyard Kipling, born in India to English parents, spent a lifetime traveling to far off places. He once wrote, ‘There are only two kinds of men in the world: those that stay at home and those that do not.’

I think it's easier to be a female bum. Or is that bummet? One of the huge reasons more men don't take to the road I think is the huge expectations placed on them about how much their yearly income is supposed to be. Men who can emotionally bypass this obstacle are brave indeed. And for us women, often far more interesting and exciting than those working 9-5 plus overtime.

Lorraine

Yep
 

Dear Lorraine, probably true words, but from an enlightened one. Here in Sussex I can't help but notice that women seem ONLY to be interested in a guy's worth money wise. Very superficial and I feel sorry for them. Male or female, Rudyard Kipling was right, but sexist. Have you read the short gem of a book called Johnathon Livingstone Seagull? Written by Richard Bach it's touching and spiritual. Then again there's Bruce Springsteen's line Baby We Were Born To Run. My personal jinggle sometimes. Linzi.

Linzi - if you're not a Kiwi, you must be Welsh.

Nationality
 

The lovely Scottish couple who brought me up said I was their son but how can I know? Took their word for it. So I should be Scottish, but have a UK passport in which is written, "Nationality: British". Now the Uk is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (plus some islands etc), I am just as confused as the rest. And I must admit I DO have a preference for blonds! Linzi.

Damn, you have blonde sheep? All we get down under are plain old black or white. I'm seriously jealous.

Black Face
 

Not only that, our blondes have black faces. Now that has caused some confusion all round after closing time--darkness and a few whiskies and... No wonder Scottish sheep leg it if you so much as look at them! You'll never catch one in your wellies mate. Linzi.

...where the hell is that blonde wool-coat, damn...i know it's here somewhere (sounds of frantic scrabbling in a closet!)...:funmeteryes:

Closet?
 

Closet? You'd better come out! Linzi.

That depends on how horny I am and how sexy your scottish sheep are... I reckon I could move pretty fast for a blonde ewe.

Visit
 

You should go and have a look. It's one of the few countries that has a lot in common with parts of New Zealand. It is an awesome place to tour on two wheels. The distances in the highlands between towns leaves a feeling of grandeur to the views. Few public conveniences it is true but the roads have clearly marked passing places--nice touch! Come to think of it there are also signs showing sheep. Thought-provoking or what? Linzi.

Nah, the Public Conveniences are very common - they're walking around, often they're called Baaabara or Maaary! And the Authorities have even provided places where you make passes at them... i grew up in Cumbria and we had to run like hell after them for our Fun, bah!!:stormy:

What has happened to this thread?
 

I don't know quite how we got so involved with sheep... I think it's Alex le Brit's fault - he started it!:innocent:

Ahem
 

For a change of subject, there are some lovely Alpakas in Sussex and you can even rent one for a picnic-I jest not! But they spit!!! Linzi.

That's a shame, I prefer my Alpacas to swallow.

Yuk!
 

Ok I give up. That takes some beating. Linzi.

Ahh, don't be like that, I was having such fun.

These Alpacas seem more refined than some women i've known! But the Kiwi's aren't so daft, why do they have the world's highest sheep/bloke ratios - so they don't have to try too hard catching the Wooly delights. And don't forget that most Kiwi blokes are originally Scots, so that explains their outlook, he, he...?c?

Hairy Question
 

Well, on one hand Scots sheep being so obviously scared would imply either a lot of attention from the local lads or perhaps poor technique. Whisky again? The time to worry is when there are a lot of Kiwis seen with long, wavy blonde hair. Scots are still safe on that count. Are there many sheep in Iceland? Linzi.

No more animal talk ...
 

:offtopic: Ok, this thread has seriously lost the plot. I think we're going to have to :ban: sheep, alpaca (or any other beastiality) talk from now on... I don't want any complaints! :stormy: If we must discuss such things, maybe we should start another thread: "Sheep or Alpacas - which is the better lay?"


Anyway, to get back on track: There have been some good points about the so call "bummy" life style, and I have formed the conclusion that I shouldn't be ashamed. As long as my life is fun and rewarding for me, and doesn't do any damage to other people or the environment, then I will keep doing it. I am a person who breaks the mould, and it has never embarrassed me not to be rich, with a family and surrounded by lots of nice things. I don't need that kind of life.

Here's an example of a "Bum": There's a fellow on the South Island of NZ who got sick of the modern way of life (ON THE SOUTH ISLAND! Imagine what he would have been like in New York?), so he packed up his meagre belongings and went bush. He has been living in his tent somwhere down near Fjordland, I think, for the past 10 years. He hunts for food, sells the odd possum hide for money so he can buy toothpaste etc. He does no harm to anybody and he has almost cut himself off for society completely... Respect. He has no job, doesn't pay taxes and probably smells, but so what?

?c?

I guess you won't find any Anti-Bum sentiments on this site, we are Bikers after all - a marginalised minority, certainly. So Carry On, that Man, and no need to feel "Sheepish" :oops2::offtopic::ban: about it :innocent:

Diamond in the Rough...
 

Butchdiamond, thank you for creating, what has become a very interesting thread. Originally you asked for our opinions. Here is mine.

Upon reading your initial post, a ride down the west coast of Mexico came to mind. We camped, mostly on our hammocks, slung up on the beach, near beach restaurants, or just on the beach under the stars.... with innumerable "surfistas." These surfers were of every nationality, economic and social class imaginable.

A few had the latest SUVs, cutting edge surfboards and were kitted out with designer surf gear and clothes, many more had low end or hand crafted gear and no SUVs, still others wore little or scraps of clothing, surfed on broken old surf boards, and still others hung around and accepted the loan of boards from fellow surfers.

Many were really hardcore surfers. They went to bed very early, woke up before dawn and constantly studied the ever present waves rolling in from lands as strange as they were to us. We really liked these "surfistas" they were the most dedicated and diverse group of people I have ever encountered.

They talked little or not at all, to each other, or us. They were generally polite to newcomers and had an established system for catching waves that mostly prevented them from surfing over each other. They ate healthy, some worked menial jobs near the beach for food, were all very clean and tan and did not litter, period.

If I had to characterize these fine folks, the word "bum" would never come to mind. They watched out for each other and the last surfer in, before dark was never alone, someone, friend or stranger, would lag behind until all surfers were on the beach for the night. It was heartwarming.

The surfers (with very few exceptions) got along very well with the locals, most of the the hardcore surfers had made a good attempt to learn passable Spanish, and many found love and/or lovers on the beach with each other or Mexicans.

Within the context of the "surfistas" the surfers played by the rules, and worked very hard at improving their craft. Most waited on the beach, staring at the sea, until surfable waves rolled in and then surfed until dark or until there were no more surfable waves, they did this at least 8 hours a day and overtime on weekends.

What also came to mind was that they were very nomadic, traveling with the weather and surf conditions up and down the west coast of Mexico. Perhaps the hunter/gatherers of the past are the "surfistas" of present. Instead of hunting and gathering food, they surf.

Just be the best "Motista" (over lander) you can be, and know in your heart that I, a fellow Hubber, would never consider you a bum. It's a lot of work. xfiltrate

An afterthought, I have read again this thread and have to ask: Would a good quality plastic blow up sheep sell?

Sounds like a plan to me.. I have another 12 years until I hit 40 and start "Fertilising"

Roll on the madness :)

As I get older, I can't imagine wishing I had traveled on my motorcycle less and spent more time working and amassing material possessions that tie me down. Being a vagabond and a nomad is a noble lifestyle. Less is more. It takes a lot of commitment, a stubborn nature and focus to thread through life having a good time and traveling when and where you like. People will try to make you fit into their idea of how life should be lived. Don't be a sheep. Ignore them. Get on your bike and go have some fun. Let them call you eccentric. Sounds like a compliment to me. I have noticed that some people are more nomadic and less materialistic than others by nature. When I was visiting the south island of your fair country on an organic farm I remember borrowing an old honda dirt bike to go to a swimming hole outside Nelson. There was an older woman there who had never been to Wellington or Christchurch much less traveled the world. Holy sheepdip! It made me feel so fortunate to be able to bum around the world.

Just some thoughts,
John

This thread is still alive!
 

The past couple of months I have been particularly bummy - I have been staying with a friend in Southern England and doing some work here and there. Everyone I talk to about what I'm doing has been extremely responsive, positive and even envious. More encouragement to just carry on and have fun.

I must admit, I wish I was rich though. This country (UK) is sooo expensive and work is hard to come by. It's going to be an interesting few of months!

Drop out/ Drop in?
 

If you're anywhere near Brighton why not drag yourself along to the HUBB minimeet?

Its BLOODY gr8.
I'm exactly the same.
Stopped for three yrs(present).
And i'm gonna get ready to set off again and bumble about.
Try to add something to wherever i go.
But be it a bum whatever.
I think it's more like.
Freedom.
Which sounds good
But tastes better.....

How can any one be ashemed of being free..:funmeteryes::clap: