I remember mom always telling me and from a very young age, never to ride with men I did not know well. We were going to school on foot till age 11 and then bicycle and bus, so there were several occasions where I said no, ,even to neighbors I did not know well. ONe told mom how proud he was of me, refusing a ride, because I did nor recognize him (he turned out to be the dad of a boy about my age but we had still girls schools and boys schools so not very familiar)
It coulda gone so wrong. Good story. I was hitchikin with a male friend on the southside of chgo once and the driver flipped down the sun visor to show us a buncha straightrazors up there. We jumped out at the next light.
Well, we and even sometimes I have picked up hitchhikers with no evil intentions! We used to drive a Renault 5 and our German shepherd took up most of the backseat. We were on a back road somewhere and a black guy was hitchhiking and I give him kudos for being brave enough to get in a small car with a big dog and two white people! I would pick people up when I lived in another rural part of Maine. Oddly I had better experiences picking up men than trying to pick up women who apparently did NOT want to be picked up by a woman. The men were usually just trying to get to work; I don't want to think about what the women wanted.
What a great (if somewhat disturbing) story! I grew up in the 60s and, looking back, it amazes me that we survived. Outdoors unattended all day, getting up to all sorts of risky mischief, and no-one had a clue where we were. I can well remember at least three encounters with pervy middle-aged guys, but we just shrugged them off and moved on with our day. And never, ever told our parents.
I’ve had quite the hitchhiking experiences myself …had some very close calls but not as close as my kids sister, who picked up some guy on their way to work at the Banff hotel. They let him stay overnight because he didn’t have anywhere to sleep the next day they smoke, dope together had some laughs then all went to sleep, and eventually he left…. Next day, they had cops questioning them because he was apparently wanted for murder.ing a girl
Good grief ! Not a happy future there….yah never know, holy moley….Some naïveté on my part back then…okay, my roommate and I had a great, if a bit of a rascal friend older than we. She had several guy friends who were cyclists. We didn’t know them. Early afternoon they all put putted to our little house, and one of them asked if I would like a ride. I think I might have had my hair in curlers though am not the tyoe for that in Public, but those were the days! Also probably wore flip flops. Or barefoot? So I got on the back, and he took off. I thought he was going around a couple of blocks, but instead we left the main neighborhood and ended up in some rural hilly area, you know, where the grass grows down fhe middle. He got off the cycle, went to a little tree, lay down and lit a cigarette. And said, We’re not going anywhere until…..hmmm, so I sat there. It was about 1:30 pm, sun shining, birds chirping and no one in sight, no houses, nothing. If I moved well, too bad, so I sat. Then behind me I heard a put put put….coming from back in the woods. Turned out to be another cyclist who had been out target shooting birds I suppose. I waited until he was nearing us, slipped off the bike and stood in the road and he stopped. Can I help you? I said Yes, this guy wants me to, and I don’t want to, can you give me a ride home? He said Sure, hop on. So he gave me a ride home. ….And did that friend read the riot act to those guys! Don’t you ever do that again with my friends!!…. I think we were on time to work, but I can’t imagine how bad it could have been. Early 20s I was. Not dating Yah sure never know….I once drove home six blocks with my lights out so a car full of goofed up guys couldn’t follow me. Another time I led them down by fhe police station—they zoomed off !! Lordy Lordy….I had the sense by then for sure
Wow…..I had wanted only to leave the word “yeeeeeup”. Close call there you guys I guess intuition leaps forth for some people. You sure remember the details. Stark, I must say. ……Many years ago in my 20s I went back and forth from San Jose and Santa Cruz on the twisty mountain road with my roommate. We worked swing shift and often were still wired after work so we would drive to San Jose for coffee., breakfast. Others came from all over, on weekends to the beach. I remember asking a teenager why she would hitchhike to the beach with no protection, and she answered, “We have our hair brush.” I always drove home alone, after being with my coworkers after work,, who yes, did drink. But I always had 7-up or coffee, and slipped off the stool for home, when he ordered another drink. More of a sure thing! When you think of the stuff happening now??!! Yikes, and poor family left behind. Sickening and all that stuff
Keeping in mind that those parents had no clue how things had changed. Wherever the parents had grown up, they thought values must be the same. They would have thought that anyone most people, would be careful of picking up a couple of teens to help them have a great day at the beach. So many stories since then…….I was pretty skeptical of compliments, even back then too ;-) Yeah sure!! Not really a follower for everything.
Place I worked once, for some years. They hired a new janitor out of a prisoner reform program. As I tended to work later than most, I would sometimes be in my part of the building alone. I looked up one evening to find this guy staring at me around a doorway with a crazy smile on his face. That happened one more time, a few days later. I really did not think much about it, then, I was about 30. A few days later the shop foreman (who had hired him) told me that he had not been told the severity of the guys crime before he was hired, but once he found out, he immedidately 'removed' him from employment. Whatever the ex convict had done was so bad, the foreman wouldn't even tell me. Then I got the chills.
I laughed reading your story as we were a group of 13-14 year old girls and we took rides from strangers all the time. We thought we were safe together even though we knew that the older ones were perverts and the younger ones hoping to get lucky. I have many clear memories of walking around a young teen and being constantly leered at, even by old men. Always just thought they were gross and didn’t think much of it.
One time we got picked up by some young guys and the car was so full I sat on some guys lap, (lol yuck). I realize now how even though we knew we were breaking the rules, we had no idea how dangerous it could be. I spent my teenage years being pretty reckless and I consider luck being the only reason I didn’t end up raped or worse.
yeah same here, but I also think we have a sixth sense if we listen to it. Not to put too much on that, but I remember times where I just instinctively avoided someone.
I also had a couple scary hitchhiking adventures, including one where I punched the driver as he was driving on an interstate. Brave, but not so bright. I could have gotten us all killed. But he was so shocked (I wasn't very big, and I was a girl!) he managed to pull over and let me & my girlfriend out, in the middle of nowhere. I think during Henry Miller's time, hitchhiking was more common & less dangerous. But by the 80s, it was prohibitive.
But I do have to say, I prefer no cell phones & security cameras everywhere. I don't think those things have prevented crimes at all. Just made us all feel more desperate & frightened.
and I think (i don't remember too well) I was also screaming like a banshee, and I'm LOUD when I wanna be, so that probably had more to do with the guy letting us go than the punch!!
Can't remember the plot details, but this reminds me of the movie "Mystic River", this time with Tommy's face looking back at you while driven away, in an alternate timeline.
Thank you for sharing. A good experience, since Tommy and Ratt also made it safely (looking forward to this streetwise punk's story!)
Close call! That's quite a hair-raising encounter—and the best way to develop street smarts. Ratt was inspired when it mattered greatly.
Thanks, James! Ratt definitely came through in the clutch. I'll eventually write more about him but he was quite the legend back in the day.
I got nervous reading it.
Wow! What a story and a close call! Can’t wait to hear more about this Ratt fellow!
It's funny how I didn't fully grasp the "close call" part until much later.
I’m sure. Kids don't think about that stuff especially back in those days.
I remember mom always telling me and from a very young age, never to ride with men I did not know well. We were going to school on foot till age 11 and then bicycle and bus, so there were several occasions where I said no, ,even to neighbors I did not know well. ONe told mom how proud he was of me, refusing a ride, because I did nor recognize him (he turned out to be the dad of a boy about my age but we had still girls schools and boys schools so not very familiar)
It coulda gone so wrong. Good story. I was hitchikin with a male friend on the southside of chgo once and the driver flipped down the sun visor to show us a buncha straightrazors up there. We jumped out at the next light.
Ratt was a good guy.
Whoa...what is it about people who choose to pick up hitchhikers?
Thanks, Marilyn!
Well, we and even sometimes I have picked up hitchhikers with no evil intentions! We used to drive a Renault 5 and our German shepherd took up most of the backseat. We were on a back road somewhere and a black guy was hitchhiking and I give him kudos for being brave enough to get in a small car with a big dog and two white people! I would pick people up when I lived in another rural part of Maine. Oddly I had better experiences picking up men than trying to pick up women who apparently did NOT want to be picked up by a woman. The men were usually just trying to get to work; I don't want to think about what the women wanted.
Thanks, Susan, for adding a new angle or two to this comment thread!
I got chills reading this.
As a mum to a young man with developmental disabilities, who is also growing up very handsome, this is a constant concern.
I can only imagine, Jaye. May your son be protected by favor. 🙏
St Michael the Archangel was his confirmation saint, so...
🙏🙏🙏🙏
This has much the tone of my own Brooklyn younger days
I can imagine. BK and Queens were similar, right?
What a great (if somewhat disturbing) story! I grew up in the 60s and, looking back, it amazes me that we survived. Outdoors unattended all day, getting up to all sorts of risky mischief, and no-one had a clue where we were. I can well remember at least three encounters with pervy middle-aged guys, but we just shrugged them off and moved on with our day. And never, ever told our parents.
Thanks, Caroline! I relate to your entire description.
But it’s weird how people used to hitch hike and not think anything of if and now no one would even consider it.
I concur. It's as if we're simultaneously more aware/wise yet more governed by fear these days.
Exactly which is also very sad
Thank God for the Ratts of the world
Thank God for the ‘Ratts’ of the world
Indeed! I learned the majority of what I know from "wise" guys like that.
I’ve had quite the hitchhiking experiences myself …had some very close calls but not as close as my kids sister, who picked up some guy on their way to work at the Banff hotel. They let him stay overnight because he didn’t have anywhere to sleep the next day they smoke, dope together had some laughs then all went to sleep, and eventually he left…. Next day, they had cops questioning them because he was apparently wanted for murder.ing a girl
😶
I may have embellished that story a little. I’m waiting to hear back from my kid sister
🙂
Just heard back from my little sister. She said he had murdered a girl was not a serial killer so I edited that.
Good grief ! Not a happy future there….yah never know, holy moley….Some naïveté on my part back then…okay, my roommate and I had a great, if a bit of a rascal friend older than we. She had several guy friends who were cyclists. We didn’t know them. Early afternoon they all put putted to our little house, and one of them asked if I would like a ride. I think I might have had my hair in curlers though am not the tyoe for that in Public, but those were the days! Also probably wore flip flops. Or barefoot? So I got on the back, and he took off. I thought he was going around a couple of blocks, but instead we left the main neighborhood and ended up in some rural hilly area, you know, where the grass grows down fhe middle. He got off the cycle, went to a little tree, lay down and lit a cigarette. And said, We’re not going anywhere until…..hmmm, so I sat there. It was about 1:30 pm, sun shining, birds chirping and no one in sight, no houses, nothing. If I moved well, too bad, so I sat. Then behind me I heard a put put put….coming from back in the woods. Turned out to be another cyclist who had been out target shooting birds I suppose. I waited until he was nearing us, slipped off the bike and stood in the road and he stopped. Can I help you? I said Yes, this guy wants me to, and I don’t want to, can you give me a ride home? He said Sure, hop on. So he gave me a ride home. ….And did that friend read the riot act to those guys! Don’t you ever do that again with my friends!!…. I think we were on time to work, but I can’t imagine how bad it could have been. Early 20s I was. Not dating Yah sure never know….I once drove home six blocks with my lights out so a car full of goofed up guys couldn’t follow me. Another time I led them down by fhe police station—they zoomed off !! Lordy Lordy….I had the sense by then for sure
Wow…..I had wanted only to leave the word “yeeeeeup”. Close call there you guys I guess intuition leaps forth for some people. You sure remember the details. Stark, I must say. ……Many years ago in my 20s I went back and forth from San Jose and Santa Cruz on the twisty mountain road with my roommate. We worked swing shift and often were still wired after work so we would drive to San Jose for coffee., breakfast. Others came from all over, on weekends to the beach. I remember asking a teenager why she would hitchhike to the beach with no protection, and she answered, “We have our hair brush.” I always drove home alone, after being with my coworkers after work,, who yes, did drink. But I always had 7-up or coffee, and slipped off the stool for home, when he ordered another drink. More of a sure thing! When you think of the stuff happening now??!! Yikes, and poor family left behind. Sickening and all that stuff
Thank you, Sharon. I appreciate the stories everyone is sharing. Life requires risk but, I dare say, calculated risk!
And I almost moved to Santa Cruz back in the 90s!
No kidding! That is still my heart home, many wonderful memories
I hitchhiked from Santa Cruz to Big Sur and back (a handful of times)! There were some rides I said "no thanks" to, even when standing in the rain!
🙏
Keeping in mind that those parents had no clue how things had changed. Wherever the parents had grown up, they thought values must be the same. They would have thought that anyone most people, would be careful of picking up a couple of teens to help them have a great day at the beach. So many stories since then…….I was pretty skeptical of compliments, even back then too ;-) Yeah sure!! Not really a follower for everything.
Place I worked once, for some years. They hired a new janitor out of a prisoner reform program. As I tended to work later than most, I would sometimes be in my part of the building alone. I looked up one evening to find this guy staring at me around a doorway with a crazy smile on his face. That happened one more time, a few days later. I really did not think much about it, then, I was about 30. A few days later the shop foreman (who had hired him) told me that he had not been told the severity of the guys crime before he was hired, but once he found out, he immedidately 'removed' him from employment. Whatever the ex convict had done was so bad, the foreman wouldn't even tell me. Then I got the chills.
I'm grateful to hear that this situation was resolved before it could potentially escalate, Jacquelyn.
I laughed reading your story as we were a group of 13-14 year old girls and we took rides from strangers all the time. We thought we were safe together even though we knew that the older ones were perverts and the younger ones hoping to get lucky. I have many clear memories of walking around a young teen and being constantly leered at, even by old men. Always just thought they were gross and didn’t think much of it.
One time we got picked up by some young guys and the car was so full I sat on some guys lap, (lol yuck). I realize now how even though we knew we were breaking the rules, we had no idea how dangerous it could be. I spent my teenage years being pretty reckless and I consider luck being the only reason I didn’t end up raped or worse.
Thanks, Genevieve...I appreciate you sharing! And I'm grateful that it appears there are far more stories out there that don't end in tragedy.
yeah same here, but I also think we have a sixth sense if we listen to it. Not to put too much on that, but I remember times where I just instinctively avoided someone.
Engaging true story and well-told. Looking forward to hearing more about Ratt. Thank you, Mickey!
Much appreciated, Alice! I'll soon share a story in which Ratt was the centerpiece of a legit rumble.
I also had a couple scary hitchhiking adventures, including one where I punched the driver as he was driving on an interstate. Brave, but not so bright. I could have gotten us all killed. But he was so shocked (I wasn't very big, and I was a girl!) he managed to pull over and let me & my girlfriend out, in the middle of nowhere. I think during Henry Miller's time, hitchhiking was more common & less dangerous. But by the 80s, it was prohibitive.
But I do have to say, I prefer no cell phones & security cameras everywhere. I don't think those things have prevented crimes at all. Just made us all feel more desperate & frightened.
Bravo, Lorie, for kicking ass...even when it was risky. Thanks for sharing and I sadly agree with your closing lines.
and I think (i don't remember too well) I was also screaming like a banshee, and I'm LOUD when I wanna be, so that probably had more to do with the guy letting us go than the punch!!
💕
Can't remember the plot details, but this reminds me of the movie "Mystic River", this time with Tommy's face looking back at you while driven away, in an alternate timeline.
Thank you for sharing. A good experience, since Tommy and Ratt also made it safely (looking forward to this streetwise punk's story!)
Thanks, JR...much appreciated!
Was "Mystic River" the one with Sean Penn?