Another Hitchhiking Post

I am thinking it was early 80's, and the purpose of the ride was to get home from school. I was going to Phoenix College ...and finances being what they were...I had no personal transportation. It was the public transit bus, or hitchhike.

Home was my brother's house at the time. On this particular day I was thumbing it.

A middle aged lady picked me up in an aging convertible, and agreed to take me all the way home.  Fine. I did not get many of those door to door excursions.  The lady looked somewhat disheveled, and had a cough and a bit of a runny nose. But a ride is a ride.

Soon, as we traversed the city, I learned there was a catch. The lady herself was homeless, and asked if I could spot her some cash.

Fine.  I was sooooo naive at the time, and somewhat tender-hearted, so I said 'ok'.  Only, see...I mentioned finances being what they were...I had no cash. None.

I had a few bucks in checking, so I told her I would need to run in and write her a check. And she took me up on it.

So, as we pulled up in front of my brother's house, I ran in and got my checkbook. I wrote her a check for $15.00.

Only....

I soon found out that the $15.00 was sufficient funding for me to qualify for certain carnal benefits. I had accumulated sufficient credit to supplement the ride.  Or to say, there are different types of rides.

OK, so technically speaking, I had just paid for services, in advance. Unbeknownst. I mentioned to you , the reader, that I was naive. I also mentioned to you something about the runny nose and the cough.

To some degree of disappointment for my benefactor, further services were declined.

Thus ends the story of the first and only time I ever 'paid' for it.

Cheers...nca