The Hitchhiker

So we see this solitary figure, standing along the side of the road, arm out, thumb up.

It's 2011, my far-out friend.

I can't remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker, but it was probably 1979.

Do people really still hitchhike?

I can think of two songs about hitchhiking and they both were recorded in the '70s — Vanity Fair's "Hitchin' a Ride" in 1970 and Boston's "Hitch a Ride" in 1976.

It was in vogue then, I guess.

I hitched. I picked up hitchers.  So did my friends. We were young and stupid, a lethal combination most of us survive.

It's just odd to see it today.

It's like stepping into a time capsule, a ghost on the side of the road, conjuring images of Jimmy Carter, Walkmans and Farrah Fawcett.

"Where ya headed?"

Days gone by.

Comments

[Brenda]

I used to hitchhike and I think back on t now how stupid it was and how lucky I am that nothing bad ever happened. I think the world was a different place back then.