Thirty, forty years ago, there were lots of hitchhikers, college students, bent old men and old women, and none of them seemed fearful of being out there on the highways at the mercy of strangers. All that's changed, and nobody wants to get in a car with a stranger. Here Steven Huff of New York tells us about a memorable ride.
Safe
You used to be able to flag a ride in this country.
Impossible now--everyone is afraid
of strangers. Well, there was fear then too,
and it was mutual: drivers versus hitchhikers.
And we rode without seat belts,
insurance or beliefs. People
would see me far ahead on a hill like a seedling,
watch me grow in the windshield
and not know they were going to stop until
they got right up to me. Maybe they wanted
company or thought I'd give them
some excitement. It was the age
of impulse, of lonesome knee jerks. An old woman
stopped, blew smoke in my face
and after I was already in her car she asked me
if I wanted a ride. I'm telling you.
Late one night a construction boss pulled over.
One of his crew had been hit
by the mob, he said as he drove, distraught
and needing to talk to someone.
We rode around for a long time.
He said, I never wore a gun to a funeral before,
but they've gotta be after me too.
Then he looked at me and patted the bulge
in his coat. Don't worry, he said, you're safe.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 2007 by Steven Huff, whose latest book of poetry is "More Daring Escapes," Red Hen Press, 2007. Reprinted from the "Chatauqua Literary Journal," Issue 4, 2007, by permission of the author. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
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I remember the days that we didn't have to be so afraid and we even left our door unlocked.
You have shown how the world has changed not for the better.
Sometime i long for the days of old.
Great writing!
~Lisa~
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Nice...
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This is wonderful... it's so true... everyone has their paranoia..and it's well deserved.
♥
whisper
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Society and progress
I am regarded as an old man now and can remember when you could leave the pub too drunk to walk home , and a complete stranger would help you make it. The rapid progress we have made worldwide in technology, transport and science has taken up so much of the worlds endeavours that the man next door is now almost a stranger. Sad that courtesy, friendship and the willingness to help when needed is now 'out of date' -
Enjoyable read, Kevin. Thanks for posting it.
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I was born & raised in Kansas & I once attended church camp in Nebraska. There was a sign on the highway, "Do not pick up hitchhikers - may be escaping felons". There was a prison nearby. That'll put the fear of God into a young girl just learning to drive. 
Thank you for posting this, Kevin. It's always a pleasure to discover real life combined with true art, as you well know. Wanda
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Reads like prose to me
But an interesting tale nevertheless. We are all watching our freedoms recede in the rear-view mirror here and elsewhere. The '60s and '70s might as well have been a hundred years ago. Thank you, hate radio! -
Very imformative, and a good read. Thanks
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Kevin, thank you for bringing this material and the information to the attention of AP readers and poets. I have lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, off and one for forty years. I have two degrees from the University of Nebraska, one in English, one in Political Science with a Russian minor. I have taken classes taught by Ted.
Again, thank you for bringing this information forward. Lincoln is a vibrant, literary art community, full of small drama groups, a community playhouse with deep interactions into Broadway, New York City ... Lincoln ... a small, vibrant and upscale city.
Thank you!!!! -
Kevin your words are so true here.
Thanks a lot for sharing this column!
Jeremy0826 -
thank you, Kevin, for taking the time to share these offerings, they are appreciated. - ~r.
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