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Hitchhikers offered a different viewpoint

Contributed by: Warren Dowling on 9/27/2006

Where I lived, in Arcata, Calif., the climate was very much like San Francisco. We seldom saw the sun in summer or winter, except late in the afternoon. When we got in our car and headed east, within 10 miles we would be in sunshine. There was a small town of Willow Creek, 35 miles over the mountains. There were many people, including my wife and I, who had what we called summer homes in the vicinity of Willow Creek. Our summer home was a 25-foot-by-60-foot three-bedroom mobile home.

My wife always seemed to have something to do in town, so I made lots of trips by myself. It wasn't hard to find an excuse to go up and do little odd jobs. One of my things was picking up hitchhikers. I knew there was a risk involved, but I was willing to take it just to hear their points of view.

I want to make it clear that I never picked anyone up unless I was alone. If I wanted to take the risk, it was one thing. I didn't have the right to risk anyone else.

It seemed that just about everyone who I picked up thought he owed me an explanation as to why he was hitchhiking instead of working. I remember one fellow told me he had a physical condition that precluded him from working. I thought that was pretty fancy language for a fellow thumbing his way down the road.

There are two fellows who stand out in my mind who I want to include in my story. Once, I had barely left Arcata when I saw this fellow standing by the road with his thumb out. I pulled over and when he opened the door, I asked him if he had a weapon. He said no, then told me something I hadn't thought of before. He said, "You fellows picking us up don't realize that we take chances, also." Then he told me this story:

He said he had been picked up the previous day by some people in a van that had Oregon license plates. They were driving along the highway when suddenly there was a roadblock of police cars. He said he wondered what it was all about but soon found out. The people in the van had robbed a bank in Oregon the day before, so the roadblock was for them. The first thing he knew, he was on the ground, flat on his face, with his hands handcuffed behind him.

He said he turned his head to look around to see what was happening and looked down the barrel of a shotgun. The officers took him and the other four people into town and locked them up in a jail cell. He and the fellows who were accused of robbing the bank tried to tell the officials that he was just a hitchhiker, but the officers didn't believe them.

It seems that when people committed a crime and got arrested, they would have a designated person they said was only hitching a ride. He then would be free to be their legman to get them out of jail. The innocent man's father was a school superintendent in Los Angeles County. He had the police get in touch with him to identify his son, but it still took him 24 hours to get out of jail.

That gave me a new slant on life. After this incident, I started watching the paper and found out the people on the road were frequent victims of violence. A common thing was to pick someone up and make him ride in the back of a pick-up. When they got to the hitchhiker's destination they would stop and let him out. The person driving the pick-up would then take off with all the passenger's possessions.

Another time when I was going to my place in Willow Creek, I picked up a man standing along the road. After a little small talk, he said, "You seem like a nice guy, so I would like to tell you how to make some money." I said, "When it comes to making money, I am always willing to listen." These were his instructions:

He said, "You go to the bank and borrow $100 for 30 days. After about two weeks, you pay it back. You keep borrowing more money and paying it back before it is due until you get up to $10,000." I got lost in his instructions somewhere. In my mind I owed the bank interest. Somehow he came out $3,000 to the good.

I said, "Now, let's wait just a minute. You are riding in my car, using my gas. By your own admission, you are headed to Alaska with 20 cents in your pocket. What qualifies you to give me financial advice?" After a little hesitation he said, "I have been out of circulation for a while. I have spent the last eight years in prison for defrauding the federal government."

When I came to Denver and told my family about picking people up along the road, my son and family were horrified. They made me promise not to do it again. At the time I was doing it, I knew it was wrong. I guess the Lord takes care of people like me who aren't smart enough to take care of themselves. The people I picked up did add a little spice to life.

Warren Dowling is an 86-year-old Arvada resident who wrote this piece for a writing class.



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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
Submitted By: Gladys Mercier
posted on 8/4/2007 @ 10:42:11 PM
Rated Story
A friend of mine used to pick up hitchhikers so that he could tell them that God loves them!
[Report as objectionable]
Submitted By: Brendan Leonard
posted on 9/27/2006 @ 11:58:32 AM
Rated Story
This is a cool story. Hope to see more.
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Submitted By: Dot the Dog
posted on 9/27/2006 @ 11:57:56 AM
Rated Story
Excellent story, Warren.
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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
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Seth Davis has posted 1404 stories and 211 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Seth Davis's average story rating is 4.69.
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