wow. thanks guys for the Dope on hitchhiking…and the towel thing, i had no idea…
My father and uncle hitched all over the US in the 50’s. This alarmed my grandmother, as she thought someone would murder them, but my grandfather just said you could be sitting on the porch and get killed by a meteor while doing nothing, so why not let them have some fun.
They did have a few misadventures–in South Carolina they were arrested for hitching and the sherriff just decided to buy them a bus ticket out of town. Then somewhere in Ohio they accepted a ride from a guy who said “Take me to the woods and tie me up and beat me.” They declined the offer and got off at the next stop. Other than that they didn’t have many problems.
I generally only accept rides from strangers in emergencies and since I don’t have a car I can’t give rides.
I used to hitch between college and home on occasion. It was almost always with a friend (I’m a guy) so there wasn’t much to fear. I remember one time being alone (my friend and I had separated since he was going somewhere else) at one of the busiest turnpike exchanges. I actually saw someone I knew from my hometown as he went through the toll booth. I guess he just didn’t see me. Anyway, a guy picked me up and asked me to take my shoes off since he didn’t want dirt on his new-car floor. Weird. He got off at the next exit (not mine) and said that he had to do something at a local motel and asked me to wait in the car as went inside. As soon as he was out of sight I bailed out. I think I hid until he was long gone and then hitched the rest of the way home but that was a long time ago.
A couple picked me up many years ago when my car broke down. That’s as close as I’ve been.
My girlfriend and I were roadtripping through rural Nebraska last summer and we stopped to pick up an old man. From his farmerly mode of dress (overalls and everything), we assumed his car or tractor had gone kaput and he was hoofing it back to town. Turned out he was pretty much an old drunk who walked several mile to the nearest bar as a matter of course. I guess a little enabling once in a while is good for the soul.
Many times when I was poor. Only got picked up once by a guy who offered me money to do me. Should have taken the money and got the nut. Young and dumb. And yes, he was jerking off while he drove.
I generally try to pick up hitchhikers whenever they are actively proclaiming it, despite hitchhiking being “illegal” here in Ohio. Also if someone is walking along a highway I’ll stop to see if they need a ride to an exit etc.
When I was younger and driving craptastic cars I was stranded more then once on the side of the road and was EXTREMELY grateful to the old ladies and family guys that took pity on me walking.
Although… Now I drive a souped up Firebird and it’s immediately obvious I’m carrying a firearm… So only the ones that actually need help tend to get in, so I’m not worried about psychopaths much these days.
Big smile.
Cool. I have been in the city too long.
If you are hitchhiking here, you’re up to no good. Girls looking for “dates” (prostituting) are the only ones sticking out their thumbs here.. I have offered rides to women with children, groceries, or compromised mental status who were in need of help.
I started hitchhiking when I was 16, and I was a girl, so I always got picked up.
Did get a pervert on my way to school once.
Hitchhiked from Phila. to Virginia when I was 18 or 19, and then, out West, all over the place. We picked up a lot of people too. We kept our house on the shore of Humboldt Bay supplied with firewood for an entire winter solely through the kindness of strangers who picked us up–hitch-hiking! And once, my husband hitchhiked off the top of the mountain into town, with the transmission of a '79 Ford van. Forty miles. Four times. Because they gave him the wrong tranny.
One regret. Never rode freight trains.
Picked up a couple once somewhere in Colorado. Dawn and her man, Moonshine. They were vegetarians, and really hungry. My provocoteur friend pulled over at a store, came out and handed them a couple hotdogs. Sigh. (Shakes head).
I know about Ted Bundy, but could someone explain the towel?
I’ve never hitchhiked, I’m not against it, I’ve just never needed to do it. It largely died out here in the 1970’s and it seems most hitchhikers you see now are either foreign backpackery types on cheap holiday or leftfield types.
I asked the same question upthread. It was answered in post 25 and 26.
You and I need to head to the bookstore. 
There’s a common practice here in the Washington DC area that amounts to a form of hitchhiking. Coming up from south of the city (in Virginia) during rush hour, it’s usually highly advantageous to be able to use the carpool lanes. Certain spots near the highway became known as gathering places for commuters, colloquially known as “slugs,” who wait to be picked up by a driver heading inbound. The driver picks up a few people off the slugline, heads in on the uncrowded carpool lane, and drops off the passengers at a downtown subway station. Process works in reverse in the evening. As far as I know, there has never been any slug-related crime.
Have hiked and hitched and indeed given lifts to hikers in the Scottish Highlands. Oftentimes you want to do a long ridgewalk and cannot get back to where you car is parked.
Have also hitched and given lifts when visiting family in South Island, New Zealand and when in Namibia (where for poor local people it is expected to give them lifts as they cannot afford the public transport - even if there was any in the rural areas).
Basically then the poorer the local transportation is and the more rural it is then the more likely it is I will fall back on hitching, and reciprocate in giving lifts. Would never do it in urban areas or motorways - too much risk of weirdos, drunks etc. - although me and mate did hitch back from Glastonbury Festival once back when it was full of hippys still in the mid-80’s. We leave the guys at the next fuel stop, who had been popping pills whilst at the wheel, when he started talking about seeing snakes.
I’ve seen a couple of hitchhikers in the past year. At a guess, I’d say they had no car and were trying to get to a job. This is in California, in an agricultural area. Didn’t pick them up.
I don’t think I would have the guts to try hitchhiking.