I thought this Hitchhiking thing was a little too easy.

“Be Where You Are, otherwise You Will Miss Your Life.” – Buddha

Sahar and Hope.

I ate a big breakfast the other day, with my new friends, Hope and Sahar, in East Lansing.  Then, leisurely got on the road about 10:30am.  My old high school friend, Michelle, had scheduled some facials for us later that day in Grand Rapids, MI.  They were Free, too!  I had visited her earlier (Eat with Your Hands!) and I was thinking I would have an easy day of hitchin’, only a little over 60 miles.

Then, the Universe spoke.  

No Rides & Walking 10 miles.

I needed to get around Lansing, yet the only rides that stopped were headed into the middle of the city.  After I let the third ride go, the next person going into the heart of the city that stopped I decided to take the ride and try to get another ride there.  

Sherry dropped me off on Martin Luther King Boulevard near the expressway.  I was not feeling good about the hitchin’ spot (no shoulder and some scurvy looking characters nearby) so I walked a mile or so to the next exit.  This exit had a wonderful vibe.  I was sure I could snag a ride in no time.

The minutes ticked by and the cars zipped past.

Veronica was a welcome breath of fresh air, when I stopped for a break and an apple at Tim Horton’s.

 ”There are just so many beautiful places in the world.  You just want to see them all.” 

She has done a lot of traveling with her husband and can not understand why anyone would want to go to Florida every year.  

I hit the road again, refreshed; Again, no luck.  I ditched the spot and decided to walk a few miles to the next exit.

Nothing there.

I gave up after an hour and planned to walk to the major exit.  It was another few miles.

By the time, I reached the exit, it was about 5pm and I was beat.  I had walked over 10 miles and been standing in the sun since 11am.  I took a short break and then hit the exit.  I was determined to get to the facial at 8:30 pm.

No dukes…

There are no guarantees with hitchhiking.

I relate it to Life;

You can look presentable and happy.  You can be at a spot where many, slow cars are passing you and there is plenty of room to pull over.  BUT, you can’t control whether they will pull over.  

***

I slept in a shed in Lowe’s parking lot near Grand Ledge, MI.  I am not proud of it.  But the skeeters forced me to abandon my tarp within minutes.  An employee tipped me off, that no one checks there.  I picked up some trash in the shed to pay my dues.  

***

Out early in the morning, I hit the same spot.  But, I was tired and gave up after an hour.  I could feel disgruntled-ness and even peeved-ness rise up!  I had forgotten one of my major guiding principles.  I was lost thinking about sitting on the beach at Lake Michigan or getting pampered in Grand Rapids.  I forgot that, There is no where better than where I am.  Everywhere has a jewel!

It wasn’t worth it too feel bad.  I went to Burger King.  Hah!  I worked on my website and caught up on sending emails, posting photos, and I put some finishing touches on my documentary.  It is 4pm now.  I may hit the road.  I may look for the jewel of West Lansing.

Create Our World.

Ben.

“Be Happy for this Moment.  This Moment is your Life.” – Omar Khayyam

Tags: Buddha Quotes, create our world, East Lansing, hitchhiking, Inspirational Quotes, Omar Quotes
Categories: Hitchin Stories.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Hitchin Stories.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.