Vagabonds

"A man without money is but a vagabond and a rogue," Rembrandt's peers judged as he walked out of bankruptcy court. That was wrong on so many levels. Rembrandt was neither a vagabond nor a rogue. He rarely, if ever left his native Holland. If not a saint, he was certainly an honorable man. A man can be a vagabond without being a rogue. And vice-versa. Being a vagabond is a state of mind not based on monetary status. There are plenty of rich vagabonds and there would be even more vagabonds if more people had money. A person ought to live according to their nature. If a person's nature is that of a vagabond then that is the path they ought to travel. Willie Nelson is a master vagabond. That is his nature. He follows his nature and he is a happy man. If he was a poor man he would probably still be a vagabond. That is his nature.
I recently enjoyed some time on the road myself. I drove down to Virginia with Buster to visit some “old hobo friends.” Duffy, my songwriting friend from our old Nashville days was glad to see me. He had written a song entitled “My Old Hobo Friends” years ago. While there I visited my singer friend Chris Woodrow. As soon as I entered his house I was made comfortable by the site of a wood stove with an old kettle on it. My mind went back to happy times at the old house on the rez and I felt at home. I later stood in front of the stove with my sketch pad. I stood there looking down on the scene and sketched it in ink without any preliminary work. The next morning I took pictures of Chris for his next CD cover. One of the songs he is going to record is Duffy’s “Old Hobo Friends.”