Kristie hitchhiked three times across country. Always the southern route. Sometimes alone and sometimes with a partner. The thing she learned was never sleep between rides, truckers go the long haul, and EVERYONE will ask you for head or a screw.
You have a goal… to get where you’re going. Do not waver, take your time, or dawdle. Stick your thumb out and get going. Things will happen along the way which will be interesting, frightening, fun, ridiculous, and purposeful. Accept your fate and go with it.
Lots of people who she didn’t know were nice to her offering places to stay, meals to eat, traveling money. There are lots of good generous people all over the country. One time a younger couple picked her up and took her out for a steak dinner and then drove her way out of town like 60 miles into nowhere. They said they were sorry, but couldn’t go any further and let her out.
It was dark, VERY dark! She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. She heard this tsk, tsk, tsk, purrrrrrr…. tsk, tsk, tsk, purrrrrrr…. No cars were coming and she couldn’t see if she was almost falling in a ditch or what, so she stood very still listening to this frightening sound continue.
When a car finally stopped, she could see that she was standing in an agricultural area and the sounds she was hearing came from water birds watering the fields. She got a ride from the band members from Black Oak Arkansas. They smoked some killer weed, drank some beer, listened to a tape of their music, and she didn’t get hit on for once.
(First published 7/28/11)
