He chose to drift from town to town, stumbling into one adventure after another. Alone, he traveled along “a road without end.” But this dog didn’t mind, and this this is what I admired about him. I never felt at home or connected in the real world – just like the littlest hobo. ![]() Most were created with the aid of only a stick and a string that I’d vigorously spin to help conjure up the desired images. I spent an enormous amount of time alone in an imaginary world, conjuring up narratives that centered on airplanes, trains, soldiers, dinosaurs and angels. I’m not sure I would have had much of an audience even without this impairment. ![]() I felt things deeply, but I stuttered terribly and so couldn’t communicate what was going on inside of me. It always struck me that this single fact rendered most of the stuff “normal” people worry about pretty meaningless. I concluded that they just didn’t get it, and that I was the only one who really understood that we all come to an end. Perhaps because my real mother died when I was so young, I thought about death constantly and was always amazed people didn’t talk about this. I lived in a pretty hostile environment with a step-mother with whom I felt no bond and who was sometimes physically abusive. At the age of five and six, when this show was running, I felt completely alone. The “me” of 45 years ago – this old friend - found a soul mate in the littlest hobo. Why did I love this show so much as a child? Why did my five and six year old heart treasure this image of a wandering dog along with this tune and these lyrics so profoundly that I could recall them perfectly 45 years later? It brought a sense of completeness.Īs I’ve listened to the song several times and thought about it over the last several days, it’s answered several questions. It felt like connecting with an old, familiar friend. Hearing this song for the first time in 45 years hit me in a rather profound way. (The series was remade in 1979, but I never watched it or even knew about it.) You can hear the original 1963 song here. Within a couple of minutes Julie discovered the show was called The Littlest Hobo. Then my friend Julie Ross –internet research hound that she is – got out her computer and said, “Let’s look it up!” It never occurred to me that I might be able to track the show down on Goggle just on the basis of a couple of lyrics. I shared my recollection of this haunting song and image, and once again no one had a clue what I was talking about. ![]() Well, this last Memorial Day I was enjoying a cook out with some friends and we somehow got on the topic of old television shows. Several times throughout the years I’ve mentioned the song and show to others, but no one has ever shared my recollection of it. They evoke an eerie, melancholic feeling that is sort of enjoyable just because of its familiarity. I just have a vague memory of a dog walking alongside a highway by himself as the song plays.įor some odd reason, this tune, these lyrics and this image have always had a special place in my heart. ![]() In fact, I don’t even remember watching any particular episodes. (We only had one television and were only allowed to watch one show a day – which we all had to agree upon). I couldn’t watch it much, I recall, because I was the only one in the family who liked it and it competed with programs everyone else liked. It was about a dog that traveled from town to town. I knew this song was associated with a black and white television show I loved as a very young child. I’m travelin’ along the road without end. All my life there’s been a haunting song that would pop into my head now and then.
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