He crisscrosses the western part of the U.S. riding freight trains. His adventures take him down a spiraling path of life-altering events. It’s a brutal life, especially for a 13-year-old kid alone. He must learn to fend off sexual predators that are all too happy to befriend a hungry, tired young hitchhiker, as well as the infamous train cops hired to keep bums off the trains, the “Railway Bulls” who beat him to within a few breaths shy of losing his life. But when it almost seems too late, his spirit dares to reawaken when it seems there just might be a faint glimmer of hope left that could change his life…”

He soon meets up with JESSE a child hobo like himself. Jesse is an African-American. The two boys team up to help each other survive as runaways.  Charlie’s ready for adventure but has no idea of the hard knocks that lie ahead… Charlie and Jesse meet

up with a group of older hobo’s of the rails. They have many life-threatening adventures together, and from them he learns loyalty, survival, and resourcefulness.

An excerpt

I was sitting on top of a boxcar, somewhere in California, fourteen years old at the time. It was getting dark and as the train was slowly going by a town, there were Christmas tree lights and decorations around the eaves and in windows children were playing; I was sobbing uncontrollably, as I always wanted a happy Christmas day when I was a child.

From Freight Trains to Airplanes is a story to inspire youth today about the struggles of their forefathers and family, without whom, their cars, cell phones and cable TV could not have been made possible had we not followed our dreams. He learned that through hard work and determination, and believing in him-self despite his upbringing and circumstances, dreams really do come true.

  An abused teenager leaves home at age 13, he jumps up on a boxcar with dreams of being a “cowboy.” His romantic delusions of grandeur are quickly dashed when he finds that the life of a 13-year-old hobo is anything but carefree.