Saturday, May 20, 2017

Friendlies

Hitch-hiking was, in my youth, a way of life. I put so many miles on my thumb it still felt natural to extend it. But I was astonished when people actually stopped.

The first guy took me to Little's Diesel, the shop where Phoebe was getting worked on, and waited while I conferred with the mechanic. He then took me back to town and dropped me at the laundromat.

Walking "home," a young woman stopped to inquire about my destination and tell me about the Cowboys' Bunkhouse, a low-cost place to hang one's hat. Fifteen minutes later she came by and said, "I'll give you a ride if you don't mind riding in the back." of the pickup, she meant. I clambered aboard and when I got out I offered to help with the gas. Her emphatic "NO!" left no room for discussion and with smiles and waves I strolled down to camp.

The next time a man who'd worked at BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY for ten years told how the founders were a group of 30 or so who, in the sixties, lived communally. Some were heirs to industrial-era fortunes, but all had an interest in animal rights. Some still live on the property though the organization is now, as a non-profit, controlled by a Board of Directors.

Lastly came Rolene.



Raised in the LDS tradition, her daughter was one of many selected for "elite training" in Texas. When her daughter returned and tried to convince her she'd been sexually abused by the Bishop, her mother refused to believe her. Finally convinced, she lost both her children for a year for spreading heresy. When she got them back she left the community and moved to Kanab.

I was flabbergasted that after enduring so much she had the courage to stop and give me a ride. It's people like her, and the others, that give a BIG lie to the paranoia the media promulgates.

And it inspires a sense of gratitude that, for me, is priceless.

Thank you all for your help and kindness!




Thank god I'm not in Cleveland.















7 comments:

  1. Sorry about the cat. I know you're going to miss her. In May 2015 we spent three weeks in our motor home in Mike Little's parking lot after we lost a fuel injector. They are a good shop. As they worked on the engine, they kept finding more broken things, and fixing them. It was a very expensive three weeks!

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    1. Billy is in charge of the automotive repairs. He discovered the clutch pedal had broken due to a poor (previous) weld. They had to remove the pedal in order to grind and weld it properly. They then crafted a bushing (parts are mostly no longer available) to assure it functioned correctly. The bill was IMEO (In My Esteemed Opinion), $200.00 too low, a reflection of their archaic shop rate (for auto repairs) of $75.00/hour. I insisted he add an additional $200.00 (basically, a 20% tip). I drove away with confidence, a nice feeling for someone who spends as much time FAR from the madding crowd as I. It sounds as if your experience was, in spite of the expense, equally satisfying. Thanks for stopping by!

      I'm sure Smith is MUCH happier. She enjoyed the cold and very much disliked heat. It was blizzarding in Cedar City the other day and is currently 99 degrees here in Coalinga, California. But it's true, I miss her.

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  2. I love it how you make the best of the experience, and me too i don't see hitch hiking as particularly dangerous.

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    1. Ah, but you are a brave and fearless Yukon woman, Jozien! And Dutch, besides!!!

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  3. Replies
    1. How's the painting coming? I'm jonesing for an art fix. When're you gonna post some samples?

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    2. Soon, I hope. :))
      Da mood has to hit me...

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