Picking up hitchhikers . . . .
- Thread starter Yaworski
- Start date
I started hitchhiking after school in the third grade. Hitchhiked a lot until I turned 16 and got my own car. From there I picked any and every one up I could. Went out of my way many a times to get them to where they were going. It has been a year now since I have even seen anyone hitchhiking, but I tend to travel at night when traffic is light and temps not so hot.
As a young man In the early 30s my grandpa was hitchhiking to a new job in another town. He was picked up by 2 guys and soon regretted it. They were drunk. One was shooting a gun out the car window and said that he may kill him, but he hadn’t decided yet. They got to a town and stopped at a store and he jumped out.
As an old man, he would pick up any and everyone. Take them wherever that wanted to go. Even feed them on the way if they were hungry. Brought a few home to eat and stay at the house next door, giving them free room and board and payed them for work that they would help him with while he helped them find better work and accommodation. A devout Christian, he would use these opportunities to tell them about Jesus. Some asked to be let out, so he did.
As a boy, I saw on the news where a man had picked up a hitchhiker and the hitchhiker had murdered him. It shook me badly and I asked him to stop picking people up. His reply was, “sonny, if a man kills me while I’m telling him about Jesus, then I’ll die doing what he put me here to do.”
5 or 6 years later, he was asked to speak at a prayer service where he gave his testimony. When he finished his last words were “Dear Jeasus” and he died.
As an old man, he would pick up any and everyone. Take them wherever that wanted to go. Even feed them on the way if they were hungry. Brought a few home to eat and stay at the house next door, giving them free room and board and payed them for work that they would help him with while he helped them find better work and accommodation. A devout Christian, he would use these opportunities to tell them about Jesus. Some asked to be let out, so he did.
As a boy, I saw on the news where a man had picked up a hitchhiker and the hitchhiker had murdered him. It shook me badly and I asked him to stop picking people up. His reply was, “sonny, if a man kills me while I’m telling him about Jesus, then I’ll die doing what he put me here to do.”
5 or 6 years later, he was asked to speak at a prayer service where he gave his testimony. When he finished his last words were “Dear Jeasus” and he died.
A classic hitch hiking scene.
Bill McKinney: Burt Reynolds put an arrow in him in Deliverance, Eastwood ran a sword thru him in The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Eastwood knocked him out in the great movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. He never could catch a break LOL
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when I was in school in the 50's I used to hitch a ride now and then. Never a problem. in later years I picked up hikers but the last time I picked up two girls and they must not have bathed in several months. Smelled so bad they must haved a hard time getting a ride. I was afraid the stink would never get out of my car and I quit picking up hikers.
Not to put a damper on things- but last week there was a situation here that illustrates the dangers of picking up hitchhikers.
A driver on the freeway saw a person on the shoulder that wanted a ride. He pulled over and after the person entered his vehicle, they proceeded to stab the driver multiple times and steal his car. The driver died on the side of the road. The murderer/thief was picked up a short time later. ( note: the news did not tell the entire story, this comes from a friend of the man murdered. He was the kind of guy that always reaches out to help someone.)
And then there’s this, from October 23 in WA:
A 60-year-old DoorDash driver, Melvin Swaggerty, was stabbed multiple times in the neck, back and head and carjacked near Sequim after he stopped to help a couple and their seven children. Melvin saw them on the side of the road offered them a ride.
He just got out of the hospital and his family says he needs your help. A gofundme has been started for him. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-for-christinas-dad-stabbed-while-helping
Detectives say the father of the children suddenly stabbed Melvin in the neck and head and pushed him out of his car.
Deputies in Kitsap County later found the couple passed out in the front seat of the stolen car with their kids.
Nicholas Well and Rosario Lopez Castro have been charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and other felony crimes.
They are being held in the Kitsap County jail.
It’s not the same world as when we grew up. There’s no way I would ever pick up a hitchhiker.
A driver on the freeway saw a person on the shoulder that wanted a ride. He pulled over and after the person entered his vehicle, they proceeded to stab the driver multiple times and steal his car. The driver died on the side of the road. The murderer/thief was picked up a short time later. ( note: the news did not tell the entire story, this comes from a friend of the man murdered. He was the kind of guy that always reaches out to help someone.)
And then there’s this, from October 23 in WA:
A 60-year-old DoorDash driver, Melvin Swaggerty, was stabbed multiple times in the neck, back and head and carjacked near Sequim after he stopped to help a couple and their seven children. Melvin saw them on the side of the road offered them a ride.
He just got out of the hospital and his family says he needs your help. A gofundme has been started for him. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-for-christinas-dad-stabbed-while-helping
Detectives say the father of the children suddenly stabbed Melvin in the neck and head and pushed him out of his car.
Deputies in Kitsap County later found the couple passed out in the front seat of the stolen car with their kids.
Nicholas Well and Rosario Lopez Castro have been charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and other felony crimes.
They are being held in the Kitsap County jail.
It’s not the same world as when we grew up. There’s no way I would ever pick up a hitchhiker.
It has gotten to where I am afraid to stop and help anyone on the road, which is a shame, some people are genuinely in need of help. But you never know. I am sure there are more stories that turn out with a positive outcome, but you never hear about those.
Nor would I pick up a thumber these days.
Nor would I pick up a thumber these days.
ex13F
Single-Sixer
A friend of my mine picked up a hitchhiker in town one evening a few years ago. On the way to the hitchhiker’s destination he stopped at a Casey’s to pick up a lottery ticket, came back out and took the hitchhiker to where he wanted let out. The next day my friend noticed that the pistol he kept in his car’s center console was missing.
Most people today own a cellphone. If you want to help a stranded person, you can call 911 and report the issue. Then keep on truckin".
Long time ago, before cell phones . . .
A friend and I were out just tooling around very late at nite and suffered a flat tire out in the boonies. No spare tire. We realized that we were looking at at least five miles on foot to the nearest town and that knocking on a farmer's door at o-dark-hundred might be a bad idea , so we started walking. After a long while a car approached from behind us, and we thumbed it down . . . got a ride to the next town. In retrospect I've wondered why a lone person would pick up a couple of hikers in the boonies in the middle of the night.
Another time a friend and I were hunting and when we returned to the car realized the keys were locked inside. So we started walking, shotguns in hand. We thumbed a pickup truck down and the driver said he'd take us to town but we had to ride in the pickup bed, what with the guns and all. It was cold so we gladly accepted those terms.
These days, we'd probably have to walk the entire way.
A friend and I were out just tooling around very late at nite and suffered a flat tire out in the boonies. No spare tire. We realized that we were looking at at least five miles on foot to the nearest town and that knocking on a farmer's door at o-dark-hundred might be a bad idea , so we started walking. After a long while a car approached from behind us, and we thumbed it down . . . got a ride to the next town. In retrospect I've wondered why a lone person would pick up a couple of hikers in the boonies in the middle of the night.
Another time a friend and I were hunting and when we returned to the car realized the keys were locked inside. So we started walking, shotguns in hand. We thumbed a pickup truck down and the driver said he'd take us to town but we had to ride in the pickup bed, what with the guns and all. It was cold so we gladly accepted those terms.
These days, we'd probably have to walk the entire way.
Not specific to hitchhikers, but more for road incidents. Do you know just how fast a person can bleed out? And yea, I have stemmed bleeding with y hands long enough to reach an ER.
Very sound advice.
KIR
Sparks, NV
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When getting off work one night, three girls approached me and asked if I could give them a ride downtown. Since it was in my direction, I agreed. When we arrived at their destination one of the girls told one of the others to "go ahead". So before she exited my car, she pulled up her tee-shirt and flashed me with her bountiful endowment. I was speechless as the girls walked away. The next night I was relating what happened to me to my boss and after I described the girl, he told me that was his son's girlfriend. His son was spending a year in the local jail and she had come up to see him as the jail was only a few blocks away.
Most interesting P.U. I ever had...
Most interesting P.U. I ever had...
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- Alabama, in the bend of the Tennessee River
My dad was in the Navy, active duty 1955-58. He was stationed in Norfolk, VA, and told about many times he hitchhiked back and forth between Norfolk and Sheffield, Alabama on just a weekend pass. People were inclined to pick up servicemen back in that time period.
He said one night a guy picked him up and pretty soon afterward said, "I'm really tired. Would you drive for a while?" Dad got behind the wheel and they were on mountainous roads in East Tennessee somewhere around Bristol, I think. Dad said they topped a hill and encountered an 18 wheeler jackknifed in the middle of the road, no room on either side and going too fast to stop. Dad took the high side, went up an embankment and around the truck, back onto the road and barely missed a beat. The sleepy car owner had woken up and seen the whole thing and said "if I'd still been driving we'd both be dead."
He said one night a guy picked him up and pretty soon afterward said, "I'm really tired. Would you drive for a while?" Dad got behind the wheel and they were on mountainous roads in East Tennessee somewhere around Bristol, I think. Dad said they topped a hill and encountered an 18 wheeler jackknifed in the middle of the road, no room on either side and going too fast to stop. Dad took the high side, went up an embankment and around the truck, back onto the road and barely missed a beat. The sleepy car owner had woken up and seen the whole thing and said "if I'd still been driving we'd both be dead."
