Generational question
skibum609
Massachusetts
I operate under the assumption that some things that older guys have done many, many times, are things that younger guys may have never even done once. Today's generational question is have you ever hitchhiked, and if so how often and how far? For me it is yes, I couldn't possibly count the number of times, and 1435 miles.
36 comments
If you grew up in the 70s, you hitchhiked.
The one time I did hitch a ride was almost a disaster. My car was broken and I was coming home from my girl friend's house about 5 miles from mine. I got a ride with a big guy that turned out to be a queer. I felt his hand moving across the seat towards my leg and he kept taking the stop signs in second gear. I decided that I had to take a chance and when the next stop sign came up I opened the door and jumped out. I rolled over and got scratched up, I remembered yelling at him "Get away from me you fucking queer". My girl friend's mother drove me home after that until I got my car running again.
Another time when I was 21 I lost my license -cardboard - no picture. A few months later I got a $5 ticket in the mail for hitchhiking on the Connecticut Turnpike. I hadn’t been in Connecticut in years. I ended up paying $5 and never found out who’d taken my license
I grew up being taught hitchhiking was an invitation to getting kidnapped, raped, or killed.
Not directly part of the topic but I feel it is rested, I also never picked up a hitchhiker.
The only time I got in a stranger's car was in my 20s when I had a roadside breakdown on Christmas Eve, before cell phones were so common. I got my first cell phone soon after.
I hitchhiked a little in College in Philly (no car) but got spooked once or twice and that was it.
Hell, on our HS senior skip day, couple of us hitch hiked from the beach back to town, got some beer, then back to the beach. Guy who picked us up was drinking beer, but was unhappy we teens had some too. But he took us to our destination.
A 95 year old woman pulled over and offered a ride, and I took it.
She was awesome.
I always had my best luck getting rides when I had a guitar with me. It was a totally different scene back then. Easy to get rides, and very safe, though I did get picked up by drunks now and then. Once my girlfriend and I hitched from Boston to Amherst Mass and got picked up by some guy with space in the back of his open-bed pick-up. At one point, I glanced through the window and saw the jerk was going 100 mph. At least it wasn't raining.
Would I do it today? Gotta be kiddin' me.