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it is high time that the transients and vagrants (past and present) of DU get some recognition! i was out on the road for 6 months, before my adventures were cut short by a broken collarbone (jumping off a moving train, long story), so now i'm staying with some family while i recover (and then it's back out on the road).
i know there's gotta be a few of us out there...so share some stories - what you did, where you went, how long you were on the road, the best experiences you had...i want to hear.
the best hitchhiking experience i had was in el centro (way way southeast) california. after spending a couple hours talking to an old tramp (75 years old, 50 years riding the rails) about trains and life and everything else, he suggested that i (and my friend who was with me) hitchhike out of town instead of wait for a freight as they weren't too frequent in that town.
so after walking to the highway towards yuma, AZ (our destination), and waiting almost a day and half, me and my buddy got picked up just before sunset by a van full of mexicans who had been working in the area all day and had seen us standing out there in the hot sun, all day.
despite not being christians, while waiting for a ride my buddy and i were talking about what jesus would do if he drove past. of course, he would pick us up, feed us, help us get cleaned up, and give us a place to stay.
so what happened? this mother, brother, and her two sons pulled over, and were headed straight to yuma. on the way there, we stopped at a hot springs that they go to when they work in the area to do what? get cleaned up. in the interim between the hot springs and yuma, it was decided that me and my buddy were coming to their place so they could feed us dinner...the best mexican food i've ever had in my entire life. and as the night drew to a close, and me and my buddy were preparing to go find a field to sleep in, two of the people living there (7 people in a 2 bedroom apartment) laid out some blankets on the living room floor, looked at us, and basically forced us into one of the bedrooms so that the two of us could sleep in a bed that night.
the next morning, they drove us 10 miles out of their way to get us to the next highway we needed to be at, to get to our final destination.
as far as trains go? best one ever - 28 hours phoenix to LA, through the middle of the mojave desert. to make a long story short, therewas a span where there was NOTHING for hours, no roads no power lines no buildings, no signs of human civilization except the tracks. and when the stars came out at night...jesus christ i've never seen anything like it.
so share some stories, road dogs...
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