First impressions of Spokane/hitchhiking

Pullman’s Bill Brock shared this story.

“Roughly 35 years ago, I was thumbing from Bozeman out to the coast.

“I caught a lift to Spokane with some Gonzaga students, who put me up for the night. In the morning, one of them drove me to an I-90 on-ramp and dropped me off.

“It was a terrible place to hitch, but there I was.

“Finally, a guy pulled up in a hefty hunk of steaming junk — an old, green Buick, as I recall.

” ‘I’m going to Ritzville,’ the driver barked. ‘If you want a ride, you’ve gotta jump in, fast!’

“Eager to get outta there, I hopped in without a second thought.

“As we accelerated onto the freeway, I noticed he was wearing a terry cloth bathrobe. That was it — just a bathrobe. And fuzzy slippers on his feet.

“Determined to avoid any sartorial discussion, I kept the conversation light and free of awkward inquiries about, er, lifestyle choices.

“After a few miles, my chauffeur said, ‘I’ll bet you’re wondering why I’m wearing a bathrobe and slippers, aren’t you?’

” ‘Well, I was curious,’ I allowed.

” ‘My wife threw me out this morning,’ he explained, adding, ‘I’ve got a brother-in-law in Ritzville who’s about my size ….’

“I lost interest at that point but, like a car dieseling on a hot day, he kept rambling on about ‘borrowing a pair of pants,’ and ‘driving back home,’ and ‘standing up to my wife.’

“This was among my first impressions of Spokane and it’s given me many a chuckle over the intervening years.”