“Everybody has a life. So many people have stories. You don’t have to be a celebrity to have a memoir,” Julianna Porrazzo-Ray explained why she wrote her story.
To the hobo community, riders of the rails, she’s Minneapolis Jewel, a bit of a celeb, five times elected their queen at the annual convention in Britt, Iowa over a span of 40 years. The book, “Wisdom and Nonsense – My Adventures as a Train Rider and Hobo Queen” explains a lot about hobo culture. The hobo code of ethics includes not getting stupid drunk or abusing handouts, and not causing trouble in train yards, so as to not prejudice the public against future hobos who will need help more than you do.
But the quirky ordinary-ness of Porrazzo- Ray’s anchored life in Northeast struck me most. Raised in North Minneapolis, a single mom who cooked for a living when the story started, she raised a bi-racial daughter who now lives nearby with her own family. As a grandma with her third husband (Tuck, a hobo 12 years her junior who came in from the cold after 25 years), Minneapolis Jewel has been continuously involved in the kids’ schooling and life.
And Porrazzo-Ray’s extended family and neighbors have been involved in her life which for 35 years revolved around providing adult foster care for various people whom Northeast readers will likely recognize.
Tuck (Darrell Ray), passed away June 20, 2019; there is a beautiful photo of him on page 145. Also particularly poignant is then 9-year-old granddaughter Angelina’s list of things to like about her grandma, something that a 55-year-old “Jewels” did for her own grandma. Angelina’s number one: “She gives me money,” Jewels guffawed.
Minneapolis Jewel often hosted visiting rail-riders (she lives not far from the BNSF) and said she knows some of the current homeless people in this area. Some who are mentioned in the book have since died.
“I wrote it because people said I should. I’ll be 73. When COVID started I started writing and it all flowed out,” hand-written, Porrazzo-Ray said. “I did have my book agent proofread and put it in better chronological order.” It is a lot of work, she said of the self-published quick read (about three hours). “But you do it to pass on stories to your children and grandchildren, and ruminate on where you’ve gone and what you’ve done. There’s a lot of problems in life, a lot of joy, too.”
“Wisdom and Nonsense” is available in print and e-book through Amazon. Also, it’s at Sentyrz Market and Eat My Words Bookstore or request by mail at P.O. Box 18495, Minneapolis, MN 55418. ISBN 9780983198789.