have you ever picked up a hitchhiker?

[911boost]

I have, once. It was about 1998 and I was driving from Minneapolis to Duluth. It was cold as a witches tit, and I saw a semi driver with his flashers on get out of his truck and start walking. I pulled over and took him to the next exit where there was a service station. Guy was really nice and appreciated it.

I figured if I ever broke down in the middle of the winter up there, someone would pick me up too. Of course thats the midwest, and people are a lot nicer there it seems...

Bill

[matt f]

I had two cops pick me up hitchhiking. Was HH'ing to U. of Pittsburgh from NE PA (approx. 300 miles) and got dropped off on the interstate and walked down the off ramp into the city. Within 15 seconds these 2 cops pull up next to me and ask " Are you stupid or have a death wish?" Apparently I was not in a good section of the city. They told me to get the f.ck in the car and proceeded to bust my chops about having a death wish and being too stupid to have children,etc. They finally asked me where i was heading and they dropped me off in front of my brother's dorm. 1980

[on2wheels52]

In the '70's I picked up hh's often. Everyone had a story.
The only time I hitched was in the mid '80's after arriving in Arkansas. I left my (then) wife and kid and 1/2 with our van while I headed to Iowa where my truck and trailer were stored. I remember it took a lot of rides, slept in a ditch in MO, then grabbed a box car that ended up in Des Moines. Another ride got me to a buddy, who took me home the next day.
Jim

[kaisen]

I have, and they'll never be able to prove it

[Buckterrier]

I picked up a guy the next thing I i know I wake up in a hospital with internal injuries and a broken jaw. I guess, which I found our months later after seeing him in a bar, I picked this guy up and gave him a ride home. On the way back down the road on the way to work, (3rd shift), I wrapped the Pinto around a telephone pole. Posted a pic of it on Shaun's accident thread. I guess I fell asleep at the wheel

[rcecale]

Don't recall if I've ever had the opportunity to pick up any hitch hikers, but back in the day...early 80's...young Marine...stationed in SoCal. Buddies and I used to leave the base Saturday mornings and hitch hike up to Huntington Beach, or even Long Beach. Then we'd cruise the beaches all the way down the coast, snagging rides from anyone that heading south that we could. Met some cool people, had some great times, did some things you'll never get me to admit on the innerwebs!

...and then there was the time I was standing on a corner, in Winslow, Arizona. It's a well known tale...perhaps you've heard it...

Randy

[esample]

Charlie Daniels and Mylon LeFevre picked me up outside the Fox Theater in Atlanta one night and took me all the way home to Decatur. Long story, but I thought it was mighty nice of them.

-e.

[Rick Lee]

I was hitchiking to eastern Germany right after the fall of the Wall when I was about 19. An elderly couple picked me up and, upon learning I was an Ami, the old man said he had been a POW near Erie, PA during the war. He went on and on about how he had never lived so well in his life up to then. They dropped me off in Magdeburg and I had a long walk to the train station to get to Halle. An old lady on a bike came up to me and said I looked like I wasn't from those parts and asked if I needed directions. Hearing my then accent (I have none now), she asked if I was an Ami. Then she said her husband had been a POW in Chesapeake, VA during the war and always raved about how much he had to eat and what a great time it was. I have had countless experiences like this in those parts.

[nota]

Once had to move a sailboat and a car a 1000 miles up the east coast

sail a day or two hitch back to get the car repeat ect

the more rural the quicker the rides
big city people do not give rides

last hitch was across alligator ally after my volvo turbo blew a head gasket
I was towing a parts car on a dolly in 05
I got a ride back to miami by hitching next to the broken car

these days if she is cute she gets a ride

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

My wife & I picked up a lot of hh's in Cuba where it is prevalent. Grandmothers with grand kids, teenage girls etc. Perfectly safe. In the US or Canada? No. Not since the 70s when it was common. I used to hh all the time as a teen. Often at night. Often high. I had a girlfriend who lived 200 miles away.

And yes, I have stories. One night, I was propositioned by an ex-con who just got out of the pen. Middle of nowhere & he thankfully took my 'no' kindly.

Ian

Ian you might get a kick out of this, in the early 80's I would hitchhike home/cottage from the Young St./ 401 on ramp, to almost Bancroft (Apsley, Chandos Lake 130+ miles)just about every Friday night after class. Always dressed neat as a pin with a sign I'd often get a ride right to the village, a few miles from our place and dad would come and pick me up. For about 3-4 weekends the same couple picked me up each time. I always got a ride back to Toronto on Sunday with a neighbour , not having a car in college was never a problem for me and saved me a poopload of cash.

Last time I picked up a hitchhiker was in the late 80's, it was an old school chum, he was already in the car when I realized he was now a mentally ill bum who smelled like poop. I kicked him out half way and I've never picked up a hitcher since.

[Rick Lee]

I was trying to hitchike from Leverkusen to Munich once and a guy picked me up, said he was only going as far as Bonn, but that I'd have better luck there. The catch was that I had to help him deliver a bunch of hymnals to a church first. Man, that was a long day. I finally gave up near Frankfurt and hopped on an ICE train.

[targa911S]

"Gas, Grass, or ass...nobody rides for free." Who here remembers that?

[944Larry]

I can't remember picking a HH up but me and a couple of buddies got stuck in a Jeep and was walking back when a guy stopped and gave us a ride. Found out later he had just murdered a guy.

[manbridge 74]

Best to pick em up, remain silent for a few minutes, then ask; "How far did you think you were going?" Or, "Hang on, I'm going to try something. I saw it in a cartoon once."

These usually keep things on an even footing. Helps if you are built like a wookie.

[Monza_dh]

Never did and never would. This MF'r near Boston killed the innocent kid who was nice enough to pick him up:

Fugitive

In the 80s I hitchhiked from Deefield beach to Miami. Picked up by a few different freaks. A drunk pool guy, a queer business guy that i told if his hand touched my leg again I would kill him then two college kids who fed me beers and weed the rest of the ride. last time I did that.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by targa911S

"Gas, Grass, or ass...nobody rides for free." Who here remembers that?

Sure do.

Strange. Back in the day I hitched everywhere, and when I had wheels myself, I always picked up hitchhikers.

Today, not so much.

As Dylan puts it:

People are crazy and times are strange
I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range
I used to care, but things have changed.

[kanadary]

when i was in school i use to study in the library till late and once in a while i would see girls hitching a ride back to the city, university of british columbia was in the stick back in the 80s, well there wasn't 24 hr bus service atleast. i don't do that now.

[Evans, Marv]

Hitch hiked all over the place in the '60s & '70s. I used to hitch to school at S.D. St. College. One year a guy would pick me up almost every morning. I'm still friends with the guy.

[A930Rocket]

HH'd a lot as a teenager to get to the beach, work, school, etc. Never really picked up anyone, but teens on the way to school.

[look 171]

Hitched hiked right out of high school across the Sierra back in the mid 80s. In the foothills, it was a long wait, then this old man finally picked us up and took up up the mountain. Once we were in the hills, people picked us up all the time in their pick up trucks. We started in Mariposa and ended in Lee Vining, then Mammoth in more then 10 days.

Ever since then, I picked people up in the mountains only, but haven't done it in a very long time. Now that I have kids, I don't do that stuff any more. I did pick up a couple of Mexican guys sitting by their big old dump truck in our terrible summer heat a couple of years ago. I gave them a ride to the gas station (in the back of my pick up)and back to their truck. They were dirty and tired, so we got a big thank you from them. I felt pretty good about that one, because I know no one will do anything for them in LA.