This reproduction by vintage Americana artist Jim Daly was a gift from an aunt who bought it for a few coins at a thrift store. She thought I'd like it.
It's battered and water-stained and has been owned and handled.
It's kitsch -- and is in abundance like those Guardian Angel prints from the 1800s -- but I like it, quite a lot.
I like that the hobo is reading a newspaper, and that it's the WSJ and that it costs 15 cents.
I like that he's a financial stumblebum, but he's not bummed out. I like that he's on-the-move, as his suitcase suggests. I like that he's dressed up and giving the day a go.
No, he's probably not reading that day's edition, but it doesn't matter. He's putting something in his head, something that might prove useful.
I like that the drawing speaks to a lot of former journos who believe newspapers were a public good and worked hard at newspapering because folks outside the newsroom valued them, too.
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