15 miles from Ft. Wayne, Indiana I call Saagar on Clarence’s phone. It was Friday afternoon around 3pm. To this point, the story I had in my head and acted on was that I was going to visit Saagar in Indiana and then move on to Michigan. Saagar however had no idea of my plan. The only thing he knew was I was going to be heading towards Michigan at some point in the more or less near future. My ‘plan’ was based in Saagar’s long ago off-hand invitation to visit Ft. Wayne should I ever be able. Well, here I was able. Should the plan not work out, and Saagar be… not around, I would simply work my way towards GR. My ride was heading to White Pigeon, MI right off 131. This being the case, it would be easy to catch a ride North on 131, run right into GR and get home. Whatever the outcome, I was ready for whatever. Hitchhiking since Madison, Georgia, going with the flow and embracing circumstance had become my only option. Aware of the various outcomes, I used Clarence’s phone to call Saagar.
Unaware of what time it was, I had failed to realize Saagar would likely be working. The phone rang a couple of times and indeed, he was working. The terrible employee (and amazing friend) he is though, he picked up. I was thrilled. I was calling from a West Virginia number he had never seen before. He could have dismissed it as a wrong number and called back later if the person happened to leave a message. Had he been in a meeting, playing Frisbee (he does that during lunch), or occupied in some way that did not allow him to pick up his phone, I would have had to decide if I should continue on to Michigan with Clarence, or get dropped off at a gas station hoping I could connect with Saagar later.
Given Saagu (pet name) picked up, all the various scenarios mattered for nothing and the most simple set of circumstances were upon me. Aware of his being at work, I cut right to the point and asked if he’d be around for the weekend. He would. I asked if he would mind having a visitor. He didn’t. We chatted for a bit and set up a plan for him to pick me up from a gas station after he got off work. This conversation marked the end of this excitingly tumultuous hitchhiking journey.
Clarence was the 20th person to give me a ride between Madison, Georgia and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. This marked the end of a week long journey unique in the spectrum of my life experiences. I experienced kindness and generosity beyond anything I’d imagined. People’s capacity to embrace a total stranger moved me to tears more times than I cared to count.
My motivations for pursuing this course are many. By many measures it demonstrates absolute recklessness- an act of gross irresponsibility. Things could have gone very wrong. When hitchhiking, you have no control over who stops to pick you up. The only thing you control is what car you get in to. Alex (friend I made on the farm in Florida) dropped me off in Madison, Georgia on Saturday, November 27 around 1pm. When he drove away, I had a feeling unlike any I’ve had before- that of absolute and total freedom. This new feeling bordered on terrifying. I went in to the Pilot Travel Center to purchase the last two things I would need before I could start hitchhiking. Wearing my big blue Kelty backpack, I approached the cashier with a Magnum Sharpie permanent marker and a $6.99 Rand McNally 2011 Road Atlas. These would be my reliable traveling companions- all I needed now was cardboard from a dumpster to make a sign and the brass to actually act on my intentions. Momentum had been building towards this day for nearly two years. The day was here. The time was now. Every moment from here was mine to embrace.
It took me awhile to mentally get into the place I needed to be. I walked out of the Pilot with the Atlas and Sharpie in hand. I wandered over to a sidewalk area behind the Pilot and wrote in my journal for awhile. My head was in a unique place and I wanted to explore and capture the things going on in my brain. As I wrote, I realized I was procrastinating. I was scared. I was at the tipping point. All I had to do was find some cardboard, write a sign, find the entrance ramp of my choosing, fly the sign, throw up my thumb and look non-threatening.
Tanner was about 20 years old. A nice girl from South Carolina heading to a hotel to spend the night there alone. She was driving East on 20 towards Augusta to visit family. It was about an hour West and my only ride of the day. She stopped shortly before sunset to pick me up. Had she not, I would have likely had to set up a stealth camp somewhere tucked away in the woods of Madison. Given this ride, I ended up tucking away in the woods of Augusta feeling grateful. Within my first hour hitchhiking, a man drove up to me in a pick up truck, rolled down his window and gave me a bag containing two cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. Later, a woman at a stoplight gave me a Dr. Pepper and a trucker pulled over on the entrance ramp to hand me $3 for food. Night fall put me in an abandoned industrial area sleeping in a tent behind a compactor overgrown with ivy. In Augusta, Tanner initially drove me to her Grandpa’s property where I could set up for the night. It was too far away from the highway though. Had I slept there, I would have had a long walk back to where I could catch a ride. This being the case, she drove me back to where the action was. Note to anyone reading this- should you be driving alone to spend the night alone in a hotel, I would not advise letting strangers you pick up on the side of the road en route to your hotel know that this is your plan.
With Tanner as my first ride and Clarence as my last, I find myself sitting at Saagar’s dining room table while he is at work earning our keep. He invited me to stay at his for the week. I accepted. Looking ahead, the plan (as of today) is to drive to Grand Rapids on Friday night to hang out with Kelly, Owen and whoever else is down to chill in the GR. Saturday morning, we will drive to Ann Arbor. I’d like to see if I can’t crash on Ann Arbor couches/floors for a couple/few days to visit with friends before heading home to spend the holidays with family. I know it is finals time so I may find people short on free time. We shall see. If you will be around and want to catch up, hit me up on Facebook- my phone has been persnickety. Ta-ta and muuah!
