Rule of Thumb

Usually it was no problem getting a ride back to town from Owen Sound, but this evening we were not getting any takers. After standing with our thumbs out for almost an hour, a car stopped. And it only took us as far as Allenford. It was about 8:00 at night, but I swear the entire village had already gone to bed. We did not see lights on in any of the homes. And it was ages before another car came along. It stopped. We got in. We would have taken a ride with Freddie Krueger at that point.

For a couple of years my best friend and I hitchhiked everywhere. Sometimes just for fun, with no destination in mind. You often met interesting people. But after a couple of dodgy rides that got us thinking about safety, we gradually lost interest in it. And, in my late teens my parents bought an old beater for the kids to bomb around in, so it was no longer as necessary. My hitchhiking career ended firmly when I moved to Toronto and discovered standing by the road with your thumb stuck out was a signal that you were open for business.