as i was out walking the corner one day

 I spied an old hobo, in a doorway he lay

His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor

And I guess he’d been there for the whole night or more  (Dylan)

if you did not know the man you might think him to be a Hobo perhaps. I assure you he was not.

Big Jim as he was known one to his friends in Hoboken, Spring Lake and everywhere in between.

The Consigliere of the Coastline.

The Richard Little of the Rails.

A lawyer, a Scholar, and Avid sports fan, a walking Encyclopedia , a beer drinker extraordinaire and a dam good friend. 

For those who only observed him and did not engage in conversation with him...well....he probably seemed to be maniacal creature of the night......hopping on and off the train at a different stop every night . For those who knew him it was a carefully planned voyage, matriculating down the coastline and taking brief respites in the taverns along the way.(depending on whom was tending bar on that given day of the week). Some may have thought him to be homeless when he plopped down 4 or 5 bags and countless newspapers in a 4 seater "apartment" on the train and proceed to crack a beer, pour it into his Thermos and open the NY Times. Some may have thought him to be a simpleton or deranged when he would spend a 90-minute ride talking in his Ronal Reagen Voice. I had the good luck or misfortune to ride the train with him on Christmas Eve 4 or 5 years in a row.....that was a different Jim, reflective on his life, his childhood, his deceased parents and his siblings.....he let his guard down and would speak openly and i could see the wheels spinning.....the other 364 days of the year he was smart enough to know that nobody cared....and he was just crazy enough to entertain a trainload of angry commuters.

He attended one of my BBQ's once....he only stayed an hour........he had his own beers in his knapsack and was drinking out his thermos.....i won't remember him any other way.

God Bless Big Jim Hill.....rest in peace....Slainte'

Only a hobo, but one more is gone

Leavin’ nobody to sing his sad song

Leavin’ nobody to carry him home

Only a hobo, but one more is gone