Hobos and two-faced gods

It’s Google’s fault I was poking around the United States National Security Agency website this week. It brought me to this text from an exhibit on hobo communications from the National Cryptologic Museum:

One trait hobos have in common is that they travel and work. They take pride in this attribute and often travel with the implements of their trade. In the 1880s, they began to distinguish themselves from "tramps" and "bums." Hobos have a work ethic. They willingly work for pay or food. In fact, they travel around the country as workers, not only because they enjoy the freedom, but also to earn a stake to get them through the winter.

I felt seen.

When you’re on a ferry in Greece but you also have a deadline.

Some believe the term hobo was first used by soldiers returning from the Civil War, a shortened form of “homeward bound.” A hobo is both a person without a fixed address and a person who is going home? That theory, if true, makes hobo a contronym, a word with two opposite meanings.