To travel is to learn

Zach Zablosky went to the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston after graduating from high school. He plays guitar and he plays guitar well. However, he told me, “I just could never find a fit – you know? I just couldn’t make it work. I was unsatisfied.”

After quitting a heroin habit and dropping out of Berklee, he hit the road. He headed to California in hopes of starting a band. There, he made new friends and went to his first Rainbow Gathering.

A Rainbow Gathering is a community of people who meet in different forest annually celebrating peace, love and harmony. The gatherings last anywhere from one week to multiple weeks. In describing it he said, “We built our own stoves with rocks, everything is free.”

After his Rainbow Gathering in the Golden State he saw the Grateful Dead in concert and then ventured to New Orleans followed by Florida. From Florida he met a new friend who taught him about the rail lines.

From Jacksonville to Pensacola he traveled by train, which was over 350 miles. Zablosky didn’t travel in a stylish passenger car or even a boxcar, but instead a gondola. A gondola is an open air train car that hauls scrap metal.

From Florida he traveled to Austin, Texas by way of train hopping. He then caught a ride with a friend in a real vehicle, eventually finding his way to Louisville. After a short time in Kentucky, he went back to the East where he made his way to his home state of Pennsylvania. He visited with his parents for a spell before heading to Vermont to spend a summer. But, one summer did not slow the 32 year old down.

I asked if he ever had bad experiences while traveling on the trains and he said, “No, but I have met some people that were some less savory characters.”

After a brief hiatus he hitched back to the west where he rode in a train car along the famous Route 66. “I rode that on Thanksgiving,” he told me. After sleeping through the night on a train he ended up in a small town where he met a man who invited him to a Thanksgiving meal at a small church. In describing the church he said, “One of the Hippie churches around, you know, a biker church or whatnot.”

He had a homemade warm meal and then jumped back on a train and traveled to Los Angeles. After spending time there, he again decided to head south, which is where I met him and his dog. He was drinking coffee on a sunny, but cool February morning in Birmingham, Alabama.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” ― Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

"I'm a Dirty Kid"

“Hey man, you’re going to Nashville,” he asked as he helped to unload a few cases of water and Gatorade from my truck while under a bridge in Murfreesboro. “Can I hitch a ride,” while looking over at my homeless friend Kevin? “I looked to Kevin for his approving nod, “I guess,” I said, “But, we have several stops to make in Murfreesboro and Nashville to hand out water.”

After I was finished unloading at stop number one he hopped in the passenger side and with a handshake he said, “I’m David.” We then stopped to see Red, Beverly and Hal to drop off more water, Gatorade and chips. Then, we were Nashville bound. As we neared Interstate 24 he told me that he has been in Murfreesboro for about one week.

“I think meth is safer than heroin,” he told me while showing me scars from shooting up. “I don’t do either one anymore though,” he said while gazing at the road in front of us. Every once in a while he would belt out a song or a rap and then laugh. “I’ve been to 14 states so far, I wanna’ hit at least 48,” he told me. “

Are you 420 friendly,” he asked. I jokingly told him, “As long as it’s not in my truck.” We then talked about alcohol and we both agreed that alcohol contributes to more pain, heartache and death than marijuana ever has, in our opinion. I asked, “Have you ever smoked synthetic marijuana?” He told me, “I have.” He then recited some of the ingredients that are used to make it even acknowledging the chemical compounds that bind the chemical together. I then told him how dangerous the fake weed is on most people. He smiled, “I think Dennis Leary was right in stating that different drugs react differently on the user, I’ve never had adverse reactions.”  Although, I think he was talking about Timothy Leary who was known for advocating psychedelic drugs

I asked him why he was homeless and he dived into his years spent at over 30-foster care homes and programs. “They say I have PTSD and a long list of other issues, but I don’t buy into it.” He later said the PTSD was from the suicide of his step father. He did not fully elaborate on the other problems that may exist, but did talk about finding peace and a future soulmate. “I’ve met three soulmates, one died,” he said. I asked what happened and he told me that it was a heroin overdose and he was with her when it occurred.

When we got to Nashville he was excited to help hand out water and a variety of other drinks and chips. He loved it and called the homeless men and women he met “friend.” He told me that doing this made him feel good as he has done so much “bad” in his life. “I have made tons of bad decisions,” he told me.  I reassured him it was okay, we all make bad decisions all the time and we will continue to do so. I don’t know if he felt reassured by that or not?

David spoke intelligently about living on the street and how he was not concerned that he was in Nashville without a place to stay or even a change of clothes. “These jeans have been in so many creeks and rivers I lost count,” he said with a laugh. He asked if there were other "Dirty Kids" in Nashville. David said that "Dirty Kids" is a word for young travelers who train hop and move from place to place as he does. 

Before I dropped him off on Broadway in Nashville he told me his mother’s name… Amanda Leigh Rice Bishop Calvert. He does not know where she is today.

The road we travel is what makes us who we are today. 

"My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso." - Pablo Picasso