On hitch-hiking

[oldefool]

I just had the interesting experience of finding a piece of my writing on a website that I totally forgot I had written, just a few years ago. It was a brief essay on hitchhiking in America and the sorry state it has fallen into, over the past few decades. A bit more than that, but that was the framework over which I hung what I had to say. And

Comments

[le_kisse]

WOW. That was amazing Irv. I'd have never shared your view of hitchhiking because like you've already stated, society has taught me to fear it. It's so strange but I envy people that have the guts to do it. Being raised in a fearful era, I just wouldn't do it as I'd worry about being hacked to pieces and left by the roadside.

My mother hitchhiked, she was a hippy and to me very, very brave - but to her it was the norm and she didn't have so much reason to be afraid of doing such a thing as hitching for a ride. Those days were amazing, a sense of community and no real fear but instead the willingness to reach out, try new things and therefor, have an adventure. And that's what I admire, that they could do it.

It makes me sad so many hippies sold out to the greed that instills so much of its own kind of fear into society. Maybe someday another generation will come along and kick all this fear away, leave it in the dust and people can begin to live as humans again.

Thank you for this wonderful post.

*gentle hugs and kisses*

Marni

[paperhurts]

I've picked up a few hitchhikers in my time, something I would never, EVER tell my mother, because she would KILL me. It's actually illegal where I live, which is silly, because I think I have a better chance of being murdered by someone I know than a complete stranger. In terms of community...that's something I hardly ever see, and have never really experienced, in my 25 years so far.

[nordic_thora]

A lovely piece as usual, Irv! Thank you so much for sharing it. I especially like and agree with this, and I think I will quote you on it:

"Fear is the emotional product of living entirely for personal gain, and the measure of alienation that inevitably grows from that way of life."