Hitchhiking

Stealing pink ladies was one of the milder of her adventures. Even more daring were our hitchhiking jaunts around the state. Today, it would be unimaginable. But this was in a more innocent time, a paradox, really, since it was during The War.

The point of traveling by thumb was to get to see interesting things. Mom always loved traveling and seeing new sights, and she wanted to share that with me. We couldn’t drive; we had no car and even if we had, we’d have had no rationed gas for joyrides. But when other people were going our way, we might as well go along, right?

Once we hitchhiked out to Palm Springs. It was not a hugely memorable trip then. Now, however, the little black-and-white snapshot in my photo album shows us alongside a road in the low desert awaiting our next ride. Under the picture is written “Calimesa.” That makes it memorable in hindsight, for Calimesa is where our daughter and her new husband made their first home. How ironic how our own paths in life sometimes cross each other, even if years apart! . . . .

Purchase your copy of InnerViews at Amazon for only $8.00 if you act now!