PUNK NOMADS
O, for the life of a 21st century gutter punk—the endless miles of railroad tracks, the STDs contracted at secluded squats, the distinctive terroir of moonshine varietals sampled at regional Rainbows, and the omnipresent itch of wanderlust and hatching head lice. One can only wonder what happens where they and their bandana-wearing dogs disappear to after they’ve stopped flying cardboard or busking off-key covers for whatever change they can get out of sympathetic ex-punks. Well, they go online, most of them. Even the poorest of runaways and homeless teens—up to 62% of them, according to a study done by the USC School of Social Work—own a cell phone and will spend the money on their data plan over food or shelter, since they can often find that for free. And they’ve got each other, as well as Punk Nomad, to fall back on.
