The Slice: A thumb goes up, a car goes by

Slice readers shared hitchhiking stories.

Here’s a small sampling.

“In the late 1940s my future husband was a young Marine, stationed on the West Coast and sent to the East Coast for some training in his field,” wrote Marilyn Othmer. “Due to another long story which I won’t go into now, his and others’ paychecks were not issued, and so he was broke and Christmas was coming soon. He was determined to be in Spokane for the holidays, so decided to hitchhike across the country from Aberdeen, Maryland, to Spokane.

“Luckily he caught rides from people in cars and trucks and everyone was so kind to him. He was taken to one person’s home for a meal, another gave him money and in general folks were so good to him that he has never forgotten his adventure. Of course, he made it home on time and everyone was so happy.

“We have often wondered if that could possibly happen today. I would be worried about a son of mine doing that in this day and age. However, there are some wonderful people out there, I’m sure.”

Ann Hesse-Hutton shared this.

“My first experience hitchhiking was in 1967. Small town girl (Republic) goes to college in San Luis Obispo, California. Boyfriend and I had tickets to Jim Morrison/Doors in Santa Barbara. Our first ride, all the way to the concert, was in a Bentley. Ride back was in a small car with a stick-shift which the driver kept grinding every time he shifted. I finally remarked on this and he replied, ‘Still having trouble with the gears, just stole it a couple of hours ago.’ ”

Nancy Avery married her husband, Dale, in Wisconsin in 1973. They honeymooned in northern Minnesota. One day while there, they decided to drive to Manitoba. They picked up a hitchhiker before crossing the border.

The Border Patrol engaged in a thorough search of their vehicle and extensive interviewing. Nancy and Dale each had one thought: I hope the hitchhiker is not carrying drugs.

He wasn’t. He later confided that he was working on his college thesis, about the types of people who pick up hitchhikers.

Valerie Adams recalled that, back in the late 1960s at least, hitchhiking was an accepted way to travel between Pullman and Moscow.

And Wayne Sanders remembers routinely hitchhiking and picking up hitchhikers back in the 1970s and early ’80s. “Simpler times for sure.”

Today’s Slice question: What’s the best thing about using a reel-style lawn mower?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Pinpoint the essential difference between Hoopfest and ArtFest.