Lives lost to COVID-19
A voice-over actress, a true “Hobo,” a beloved dad are remembered.
Leland “Hobo” Goodsell might have just been another homeless man on the streets of Goleta, but he had gained something of a reputation over the 14 years he’d lived there. His dog, Dreamer, might have had something to do with it. Or it could have been the 946 citations he received for living on the streets. But no matter what, he was easily able to charm passersby into becoming friends.
He was helpful with his mechanical skills, repairing bicycles and wheelchairs for other homeless people. “He created and repaired anything with chewing gum and string,” said his friend Deborah Barnes, an outreach worker who ran an advocacy group for the homeless. “Always helpful and always paid a person back. He expected that of his cronies too.”
Although his outreach friends provided for him on occasion, he always checked in on them too. His nearly daily calls started with, “Hey, sis, this is your Hobo, and has anyone told you ‘I love you’ today?” he would ask Barnes. “Well, there you go. I just did.”
Hobo was dropped off at an orphanage with his two sisters in Missoula, Mont., when he was 3. He was only 11 when he jumped a train and headed west. The other train hoppers called him the “littlest hobo.” The name stuck, and he would correct anyone who called him by his birth name. “Don’t call me Leland! I’m a hobo and I’m proud of it,” he would say indignantly.
A Labrador-ridgeback mix, his dog, Dreamer, was the only family Hobo had left, and it was a miracle the two had lived so long. They had endured attacks by unwelcoming neighbors and street gangs and survived a serious accident with a gas tanker truck that split Hobo’s head and broke his leg. Hobo was never the same after that.
Alcohol brought out a different side and often interfered in his relationships. “He would go through phases where you’re the best person ever in his life, and then he hates you, and then he goes to the next one,” said his friend Gabriela Ferreira, a lawyer in Goleta.
After the accident, Ferreira’s colleague helped Hobo with a lawsuit, but he never stayed sober long enough to go to court, so they settled the case. Barnes attempted to get him into housing for years, but he was resistant, especially with places that wouldn’t allow dogs. “It was the most awful situation,” Ferreira said. “He had money, but he couldn’t have housing.”
Hobo eventually bought an old 1987 Ford truck to sleep in during the rainy season, and to keep safe from late-night attackers.
The last time Barnes or Ferreira saw Hobo was in March, before the state went on lockdown. When he got sick, it was difficult for them to help. He refused to go to a hospital for fear of leaving Dreamer behind.
He was already delirious by the time he went into the hospital. After five days in intensive care, the doctors didn’t understand what he was trying to communicate. Over the phone, Barnes told them, “Do me a favor, walk in there, and tell him ‘Dreamer is fine. Dreamer is doing really well.’ ”
He died April 4, an hour after they told him. He was 66, and the first COVID-19 death in south Santa Barbara County.
His ashes were returned to Montana, where his sister still lives, while Dreamer still lives in Goleta with another of Hobo’s friends, Tino. When Dreamer’s time comes, his ashes will be reunited with his master in Hobo’s hometown.