John MacDonald's story starts in the early part of the Great Depression. Although he was a combat veteran of World War I, he likens the difficulty of enduring this tumultuous time as being harsher than a literal battlefield. It was a period of hardship for most everyone in the United States at the time, and the uncertainty it brought to the status quo was the same impetus that began John's own travels.Having no particular reason to stay where he was, and seeing no future in his employment prospects, he made the decision to simply leave his life behind for a measure of freedom. This is the start of his experience as an honest hobo, riding the rails across America.