Emma’s Note: 15 years ago, Tom Dyson came to work with Bill. He had been inspired by Bill’s writing in his daily newsletters. But, as Tom found out, even offering to work for Bill for free didn’t get him in the door. So he quit his job in London and traveled across the world… with no money and no credit cards… He’s been telling us about that adventure over the last few days.

Today, in the final installment of this short essay series, he tells us how – having traveled halfway around the world – he got his lucky break…

Over the last few days, I’ve been telling you about the adventure that brought me to work for Bill Bonner… about how I left my job in London and flew to Mexico … and traveled across Mexico by freight train … arriving in Mazatlán on Mexico’s Pacific coast… From there, I traveled as a stow-away on board a large cargo-only ferry to Cabo San Lucas… hitch-hiked to San Diego… caught a ride from my brother to Las Vegas… and boarded an eastbound freight train …

The cop stands on the platform above, pointing his gun down at me.

Big railyards have cops patrolling the yard, keeping the drunks and thieves out. Typically, when they catch a hobo, they administer a beating and then throw the hobo in jail.

They’re railroad cops, but hobos call them “bulls,” and they’re the hobos’ worst enemy.

The bull made me sit on a rail while he checked my background. Then, he checked my pack to make sure I wasn’t a thief or a graffiti artist.

“Now get the f*ck out of my freight yard,” he said finally. “If I see you again, I’m going to put you in jail.”

Job Offer

So I went to the Greyhound bus station and caught a bus to Birmingham, Alabama. I had a friend there who could put me up for a few days.

While I was there, I got an email from Addison Wiggin, Bill’s managing editor. I had been sending email newsletters about my adventures back to my friends. I called them the Dysman Diaries. And I had put Addison on my email list.

“There have been some changes,” it said. “We need a new managing editor. The job’s in Baltimore, but you’ll need to come to Paris for the interview. Are you interested?”

To get to Paris, I’d need to hitchhike from Alabama to Mexico City, fly to London, shave, put on a suit, and take the Eurostar train to Paris.

“Yes!” I replied. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, walked onto the westbound on-ramp to Interstate 10, and stuck out my thumb.

Final Leg

First, I got picked up by a man drinking whiskey from a big Styrofoam cup. He was towing a big boat. We swerved all the way to Tuscaloosa.

Then, I got picked up by a long-haul trucker in an 18-wheeler. He spent 24 hours – all the way from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Brownsville, Texas – trying to seduce me. Oh… and somewhere in Louisiana, he confessed to me he’d murdered his second wife.

I doubt I will ever hitchhike again after those two rides. But I did make it to Paris.

And that’s the story of how I came to work with Bill Bonner 15 years ago…

Regards,

Tom Dyson
Editor, Postcards From the Fringe

P.S. In 2004, I set off around the world with nothing for the first time. Today, I’m in a camper van heading to Alaska with my ex-wife and our three kids. And I’ve got $1 million invested in a simple strategy that I believe will set my family up for life.

It’s a strategy I learned from Bill Bonner himself. When he told me about an investing idea that was so simple, I knew it couldn’t fail, I went all-in. And I’ve planned it out so that my family never has to worry about money ever again.

To watch the special online briefing Bill and I hosted recently, in which I reveal the all details of my life-changing strategy, just click here now.

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