Hobo Bob

— Hobo Bob in "Another Story About Socks"

* McCauley
* Schick

**Hobo Bob** is a character in the *Wayside School* books. He does not appear in the cartoon. He is a hobo that is befriended by Sharie, and brought in for show-and-tell in "Another Story About Socks."

## Appearance

Hobo Bob is, as his name implies, a hobo. He has long dirty hair and a scraggly beard. His shirt is covered in stains, his pants are covered in colorful patches, and his coat is too large for him, but not as large as Sharie's coat. He wears black shoes that look too big for him, but possibly only because he doesn't ever wear socks. He does not believe in socks.

## Personality

Hobo Bob lives life as a hobo, and as such, seems to have a humble outlook on life, making the most out of what little he has. In "Another Story About Socks," he reveals many details about his life, showing that he usually eats Mulligan stew prepared by himself and other hobos, only cleans himself by walking outside when it rains, and gets around by riding on trains to wherever has good weather at the current time of year. He only gets money by asking for spare change, but refuses money from children, because he cares about children a lot. After all, he was also a child once. It is likely for this reason that he is willing to share so much about his life with Mrs. Jewls's class and quickly befriend Sharie. According to himself, he never got in trouble, implying that he is well-behaved.

Hobo Bob is not unintelligent, actually getting first place during a spelling bee when he was young, regularly finding ways to survive, and somehow correctly identifying that Mac's sock would've been in the refrigerator, but isn't able to get a job due to his superstitions regarding socks. At the time he won the spelling bee, he wasn't wearing socks, and since Albert Einstein never wore socks either, he believes that socks make one stupid. He easily gets upset when people pester him about his lack of socks too much, eventually snapping, shouting so loud that is scares the rest of the class. However, he is able to calm down relatively quickly, and is able to convince the rest of the class to remove their socks during the next spelling test.

## Relationships

### Sharie

Sharie befriended Hobo Bob on the way to school, offering him a quarter, which he subsequently refused, as he refuses to take money from kids. Bob, however, decided to join Sharie for show-and-tell, talking about his life as a hobo to the class. When he leaves, Sharie helps him find his way out, and warns him not to enter the basement.

## Appearances

Hobo Bob appears in one chapter, and is mentioned in another. Major appearances are in **bold**.

* "**Another Story About Socks**"
* "The Lost Ear" (mentioned)

## Trivia

* Hobo Bob enjoys the taste of ice cream and pulling girls' pigtails, as seen in his responses to Maurecia and Paul's questions.

## Gallery

"Another Story About Socks" (1989)"Another Story About Socks" (2003)"Another Story About Socks" (2004)"Another Story About Socks" (2010)
### Other designs

Peter Allen design (British edition, 2004)Satoshi Kitamura design (Japanese edition, 2010)Ramona Bruno design (Italian edition, 2021)
## References

1. ↑ "Another Story About Socks"