In the Great Depression a new cultural figure emerged: the Hobo. They were different from bums. Hobos chose a life devoid of care or responsibility, had a code of ethics, a king, and a great recipe for stew. Hobos, all kids knew from cartoons, were unshaven but not too bearded; they carried their belongings in a red kerchief tied to a stick; they smoked cigar butts pierced with a toothpick, pinky extended in a parody of upper-class affectation. Their shoes were missing the nails required to keep the tip attached to the sole, so they always flipped open to reveal a toe protruding through a hole in a sock. This was the Hobo Dress Code. They looked like clowns in search of a circus. We were always on the lookout for the Classic Hobo, but none ever passed our house.

Hobo replaced Tramp. (You can blame Charlie Chaplin for that. Everyone probably expected tramps to be winsome and clever and do that funny hop when they turned the corner.) Eventually hobos became Transients, which sounds like some strange species from the planet Trans. Now we know that folks who ride the rails or drift from town to town aren't cheerfully disheveled bohemians, but people with troubled histories, addiction problems and other personal plagues that knocked their life askew. But that's not all that's changed.

A story in the paper described a recent crime that involved two transients, and since we don't wish to make light of it, we'll omit the details -- except for this one, which showed how life has changed since the previous Depression.

During a search, police found that the assailant had taken the victim's iPod and Nintendo DS.

In the old days of riding the rails, hobos had a lexicon of symbols they'd chalk on fence posts or mailboxes -- they contained pertinent hobo info, such as "stay away: man with dog" or "nice lady in blue house will give lunch for work but will make you listen to Bible."

If we do have another Depression, and men take to the rails again, you wonder if they'll have a symbol for "will let you recharge."

jlileks@startribune.com • 612-673-7858 More daily at www.startribune.com/buzz