Why Being Homeless is Fun

While I was reading Box Car Bertha (what a clever name), I decided that it had been a long time since I had read something so ridiculous. Being homeless is probably not fun, but Bertha makes living out of a boxcar with no food or money seem better than Disneyland. All this from Ben Reitman, the self-described “hobo, gynecologist, writer, anarchist agitator and birth control activist” who learned about the joys of life after spending quality time listening and learning from “gamblers, muggers, prostitutes and thieves.” Unfortunately, I don't know a lot of hobo/gynecologists, especially ones that seem so happy and well adjusted after being imprisoned, beaten brutally, and forced to be, well, homeless.

Ben L. Reitman: Anarchist/Hobo/Gynecologist extraordinaire

I don't know for certain, but it seems like Reitman himself wrote the afterword to the book, which is not so much an afterword, as an upbeat retelling of his life story. He basically praises himself for seeing the good in people and having such an adventurous life. I found this part especially enlightening: “Reitman loved to hear the life stories of the people who visited his practice or whom he met in the bars and clubs: the gay hoboes who tried to hide their sexuality, the tramp who loved children yet murdered a young girl, but also of the humor and quirkiness of road life.” I can think of a lot of people who may demonstrate the humor and quirkiness of road life, but a tramp who murders young girls doesn't really strike me as one of the. I don't know about you.

So, after reading this delightful romp in hobo funland, I felt inspired to create this list:

Reasons Why Being Homeless is Fun! (According to the lovely Boxcar Bertha)
1.Spending quality childhood time with prostitutes and pimps!
2.Having a mom in jail and brother and sisters from different fathers!
3.Bathing in the river!
4.Learning how to spell from reading boxcars!
5.Making toys out of train yard scraps!
6.Wearing hand-me-down overalls! YAY!

As you can see, from the list, Bertha is either delusional or way too positive. I really don't understand why publishers would market a book to the public like this that claims to be an autobiography but is actually fictional. It really is a blatant misinterpretation of homelessness. Maybe it was created to make upper class people feel better about not donating money to the homeless, because obviously they are having too much fun as it is.