Hello all ye traveling buskers out there. I was wondering where a busker that travels from city to city usually stays. I'm sure there are vast differences here but would like to hear

"Home, is where you hang your underpants."

Before I get on, about how we're traveling 'now';
I'd like to share a bit of the 'past'.

I left the stable with a canvas backback
and a net hammock.
I used to hang it, between the spanners,
under bridges.
,...I sleep soft!

In bigger townes,
I would check into 'flop houses'.
$2.50/night.
,..you had to have a Chest X-ray(!),
to check in!
,...TB blues.

Quickly,
one pack
became,..two, three,...six(!).
Books. Tricks. Souvenirs(!).
There were rainy days, when I felt like a puddle.
Hot days, when I felt like a raisen.
Stashing the treasures between Shows,..
S, S, & S..?,....(shit, shower, and shave),..??
,my hoddle was,...
"trying".

I bought a small old truck.
Post Truck!,...GMC.
Probably had 2,000,000 miles on her!
Nö heating.
Nö bath-tub.
Nö electricity.
Nö problem!
A rolling-roof over my head!
Paradise.
My 'umbrella'.

Then I met Monika.
Then I met our first child.
Then our second.
Then our third,...
'Paradise Lost'.
The biggest stress,
....the kids fighting over a 'window seat'!
,there were only two.

We paused for the cause.
Bought an old barn.
An old fire truck.
And an old farmer's wagon.

Two years later,
the fourth child in our arms,
we rolled off all together.

IT DOESN'T START LIKE THIS!
Go slow.
Let it grow.
Make plans.
Dream(!).
,..hold your Dreams.
Go for it.
The 'road' takes you,
(up and down,..)
shows you,
gives you what you need.
Take it slow.
Grow.
'It' comes.

. . . . . . . . . . ö. . . . ß. . . . . , ! .. . . .

'Rolling your own',
you pick your neighhoods...
https://flic.kr/p/LBLkfP
'downtown' Danzig, earlier this year.


https://flic.kr/p/LBLkfZ
Lost.
We went to bed.
Drank a coffee the next morning.
Then drove farther,
...still lost(!).

You pick your neighborhoods,..
and neighbors...
https://flic.kr/p/KEKUbu

I woke up next to this guy,
one morning.
,...made my day.
https://flic.kr/p/LBLkh2

On the other side, of the 'house',
"she" was waiting for me!
https://flic.kr/p/LBLkhT

Rainy days,....
you can 'practise',..
https://flic.kr/p/LBLkft

,or cook Marmalade.
https://flic.kr/p/LuNa4a

42 glasses,..!
https://flic.kr/p/LuNa4v

Blackberry. Picked by virgin hands.
https://flic.kr/p/LuNa3P

A rolling home takes up-keep,
but I swear,..
it keeps YOU up!
https://flic.kr/p/KEKUcm

https://flic.kr/p/KEKUf7
(after this, I tell you,
I could pick any safe, in towne!)

Moni-angelo,..
https://flic.kr/p/KEKUfs

And when the ''Hat's" not deep enough,
you can cook your own grub.
https://flic.kr/p/LuNa3i

As a Street Performer,
I find it advisible,
to keep as mobil,
self-sufficient,
and flexible,
as possible.
('Speed', I have not found to be a neccesity.)
This bit of stablity,
,.."place to hang your underpants";
is really helpfull,
in the world of,...
instable,
un-predictablity.
,...but,
would we want it any other way? 🙃

gallagher

p.s.: Keep it slow.
It's easier to keep it focused(!)
It will come.
Enjoy the process.
,...share your stories.

p.p.s.: I truely started off,
with one full backpack,...and one empty head.
I was clueless.
You learn, along the way.
You collect, along the way.
Knowledge.
Experience.
Friends.
For those "who must",
....you can.

I enjoyed the journey!!

thank you

Wow. Thank you very much for sharing your story Gallagher, it was a wonderful journey. Also you have a very beautiful home.

Wow Gallagher, you posted those pictures at the right time! I've been feeling a bit "under the weather" the past couple of days with a chest cold... your pictures and a little more insight into your "life and times" have really cheered me up and made me smile!!! It's awesome what you've done and created for you and your family...

You are an inspiration to many, I'm sure. Thanks for posting...

Very nice Gallagher....always enjoy your posts and live when you have pictures.

Hey guys,
thanks for reading,
and taking a peek.

Mike, hope you're feeling better(!).
Yeah, lots of folks say, my writings are like medication,..
an Enema.
,....now if I only knew what an 'Enema' was,...
Where's Doc Yoder when you need him?!?

Imac, I hope your summer is going good for you.

Actually, there are a couple more 'rolling-homers', here;
who probably have more miles under their seats, then I!
Dick Oslund comes to mind.
His book title,..says it all!
I hope he checks in.
I'll bet he's some stories under his hood.

Eric Evans, as well.
An old 'mini-van-dalizer'.

Nick W. used to travel around,
on a super tall bicycle!
City to city,...
rode thru a part of China on one!!

I hope they drive in.

take care folks,
gallagher

Wow what a great post Gallagher! I don't busk at all, 90% of my performances are on stage but I really enjoyed your post.! Love to hear any of your stories from the road and about the places you visited if you get a chance!

Cheers!

Pete

I have no idea what an enema is, Mr Gallagher, since my doctorate is in flimflam and not medicine. Now if you need some of Doc Yoder's Egyptian Powders with powers so strong that the bottles are permanently sealed to protect the weak, that I can help you with.

Hey Gallagher,

I heard your call through the ether.

having traveled in vans over the years, I've now graduated to a pop up camper. Largely for the fact that I have a daughter who travels (as much as I can talk her into) with me now. The pop up sits in the bed of a pick up truck and has many more amenities than a simple mini van does; a sink, a refrigerator as well as a stove, not to mention two beds instead of the simple "bed" that a van affords.

It still allows me to park in a conventional parking spot, though alas, parking garages are largely out of the question due to clearance. A sidebar, our first voyage to christen our new craft was to Burning Man 2015. A horribly delightful experience I wouldn't recommend to anyone but the most ardent devotees of the road.

I hope y'all are doing well and keep on trucking.

Eric Evans(!),
it is such a pleasure to read,,..HEAR,
what you are up to!
A pop-up camper!!!
,traveling with your daughter,...
some would say you are crazy(!).
But we know,...
life don't get better then that.

A pop-up camper(!).

I'm just cutting an old panty-hose off,
to hold my hair up,..
I'm going under the truck today,
..changing oil and greasing.
I have to get her thru inspection,
before the winter.

Canvas backpacks, DO have there advantages!

Eric, I wish you adventure(!),
and misquito-free parking spots!
And a "smile", for your daughter.
Pop-up Campers and a 'Busking-pop,...
she's lucky.
gallagher

p.s.: I sent you a pm.
,..

Thanks Gallagher. Yes, it's good to be back at it. Finally! It's taken a long while to rekindle my love of the street, or even magic for that matter, but performing is, has, and probably will always be what I enjoy most in this life. Besides enjoying the company of those that I love most of course. There's no reason for doing anything in this world, if we can't enjoy each other's presence.

As to the Pop up, I'll try and post some pics here if I can figure out how. One performer friend of mine said it was the best looking performer's rig he's ever seen. I initially envisioned spending more time in Colorado than I ended up actually doing, so I overcompensated on its trail worthiness for Texas. This beast can go practically anywhere a Jeep can. It's comfortable and capable though, on the highway or city streets.

And the 4WD helps negotiate the potholes that litter the streets of New Orleans that otherwise can swallow lesser vehicles.

All the best my friend and enjoy your winter.

I remember when I was a kid, we lived in California. On my way to work, I used to pass a Volkswagen dealership where they had a "camper vanagon" on display. I used to think it was cool and really wanted one. Of course, it never happened.

I was looking for a picture of one. I found a picture in an article describing the possibility of the camper vanagon making a comeback with an electric engine;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a......RIC.html

I always wanted to convert a school bus into an RV. I lack the mechanical knowledge, but they look so fun.

Wow I love that van camper. It's beautiful

I began touring for the school assembly bureaus with an "El Camino" Chevrolet pick up. I had a "cap" installed over the truck bed. I think I uses that two seasons. Then, I got a good deal on a big Chev. station wagon. Both vehicles worked out just fine, but, I was doing more tours in the "wide open spaces" of western America. Sometimes a motel meant extra road time!

RVs were becoming nicer and nicer. I bought one. A 22 foot Travco. It had all the conveniences! I put well over a hundred thousand miles on it. Finally, it was time to retire it. I couldn't find what I wanted. Occasionally, working small towns, the Travco motor home wouldn't fit in the repair shop!

I bought a 3/4 ton pick up and a pick up camper. thinking that I could remove the camper if the truck needed maintenance. It was nice, BUT, it was top heavy! I found a slightly used motor home, and had more room again! Gas prices had ESCALATED! I bought a van conversion. It was a "little" motor home, and a lot easier on fuel! That van crossed the USA, "east and west, and north and south"! I used it for five years!

Finally, I bought a fifth wheel trailer, and a pick up truck, my last "on the road RV". I had "found it" !!! It was the ideal vehicle, and, "home" on the road! I used the fifth wheel until I retired, and, for a year after retiring!

I finally quit being a sneaky, underhanded, devious, and surreptitious itinerant mountebank, and, now have a nice little apartment with a "million dollar view", overlooking Lake Michigan.

I DO miss the "road" though................

I've always wanted to do that with what they call a "short bus," I really don't think I could drive a regular school bus.

Would be hard to get into a city.

Are you talking about traffic or the legalities of driving a school bus without actually being affilitated with a school? I know that's against the law in Rhode Island.

Would it be all right if I painted the school bus so it no longer LOOKED like a yellow school bus.

Ed...Except for the first 3 years, I used an RV for school assembly tours from coast to coast to coast and, border to border. I "did" a lot of big cities, but, never toured with the Antrim bureau. Antrim was located in Philadelphia, and, their territory was mostly NEW ENGLAND! Those old cities with narrow streets, etc. would have made it tough to travel with a big rig! (parking, few RV parks in those days, difficulty with small school parking lots! (some of those inner city schools didn't have parking lots!!!.) In the '70s, finding a source for propane, was often a challenge, too!

I remember Hoxie Tucker, a circus owner who had all his semi trucks painted PURPLE, so they could be easily "found" by police, in case the driver got lost on a jump.