TRUE STORY

UNFORGETTABLE INCIDENT

Beverly-CA

Neither my "brother" nor I ever pick up a hitch-hiker, but...

My brother travels all of northwest California as an outside sales- man. With a brother in such a situation, that is away from home a good bit, many opportunities are available to do that thing we like best and to "be" that which we all dream of.

It was on one of these trips that this incident, strange but true, oc- curred. Brother has traveled this territory for so many years that he became tired of motels and restaurants and, of course, the parting of the curtains, wondering where the room service maid was, and won- dering if anyone would associate that fellow who had registered, with the girl who came and went from the room. So, possessing a very nice and most complete travel trailer, he started using it as a motel, res- taurant and mobile dressing room. The restfulness and enjoyment of tooling down the road in those long stretches between populated areas in a chic pants outfit or in a sports dress, became a tranquilizer supreme. While on one of these interludes, it happened and became indelible in my memory.

Upon returning over the long miles from way up north to home base, I had stopped in a small town off the freeway for brunch. Re- suming my journey after a "Thank you, come again, ma'am," I started to enter the freeway and noticed two things. First and most evident, was the long climb to the top of a hill that would require second and possibly low gear from my slow start. Second, I saw a young man with a small satchel at the side of the road with his right thumb in the air. He was dressed in levi's, dark turtle neck sweater, warm jacket and desert boots. The long, high hill meant that very few would interrupt

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