I am waiting for Justin to load the Tamper.

“Every day is a fresh beginning, every morn the world is made new.” – Sarah Chauncey Woolsey

Leaving Oneonta, New York.

After 7 days in the City of the Hills, I finally decide it is time to thrust out my thumb and lace up my boots again.  It is getting colder and if I want to see more of New England, I have to get a move on.  Laced up and packed, Trevor gives me a jug of coffee in an Honest Tea glass and off I go.

“Wanna Convert?”

Crisp light, but I am feeling melancholy as I begin.  I have made some good friends here, that have been very gracious to me.  Seemingly in response to my mood, I pass a cluster of folks wearing black clothes and yamakas.  Ted motions to me as I walk past, he is laughing and acting like a hitchhiker.  

“Where ya headed?”  He seems surprisingly happy to be attending a funeral.  Sid Levine, an important man in the synagogue just passed away.  He is waiting for a police escort.  He is interested in my trip and is intrigued I am not really sure where I am going.  ”Following God?” That is exactly what I am doing.

As I leave, Ted asks me if I would like to convert with a large grin.  “Maybe,” and I am off.

Illegal to Hitchhike in New York.

Interestingly, I see a policeman I had made friends with a few days back.  He had told me that it was illegal to hitchhike in the state of New York, but “we don’t care.  We have better things to do.”  As I walked to the expressway, I was hoping any John Laws would have the same attitude as my friend.

Within thirty minutes of putting my thumb in the air, an Oneonta Police SUV pulls up and tells me that it is illegal to hitchhike here.  I asked him if he was sure, and he said he was.  But, then he just drove off.  Well, I kept sticking my thumb out anyways, hoping he wasn’t to return, when Justin pulls up in a big pick up truck.  He is only going a few miles up the road, but maybe that will get me out of this policeman’s territory.  We ride.

“Let’s Rock this Lunch!”

Justin is from around here.  He grew up here with his 3 brothers and 3 sisters.  He is working on a concrete job for the local State University of New York in Oneonta.  He is picking up some protective sunglasses and a tamper.  

“I wanna rock and roll all night!”  

Justin is jammin’ to the classic rock station and their lunch time rock hour.  “Rock this Lunch,” is their motto.  He says we are riding in style, as he pats the dashboard and tells me this is a Hemi.  A 5.7 Hemi.  I know little about automobiles so I take his word for it.  Justin likes snowmobiling too.  “I got a 600 V-Max Yamaha!”  That is a type of snowmobile and it sounds pretty fast, according to Justin.  We discuss the different snow conditions between New York and Michigan.  New York comes out the winner.  

Back to Oneonta.

Justin is only going about 5 miles out of town and I decide it is in my best interest to go back and have Justin drop me off at the local truck stop.  I can hope for a long term ride Northeast, as opposed to what will probably be a number of locals only going a few miles.  

I get his number and he says, if I am ever around, give him a call.

***

I am at the Wilton Travel Plaza, outside of Sarasota Springs, New York, right now writing this.  ”We Never Close” is their motto.

 Tommorrow, I will tell you about Tom, a positive-attitude Air Forcer, whom is about to turn 25 years old and then, Pete, whom smokes 5 Marlboro Reds and sets off my Strange Vibes Intuition-O-Meter.

Create Our World.

Ben

“The indispensable first step to getting what you want out of Life is this: Decide what you want.” – Ben Stein

Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, Oneonta New York, roadtrip around the USA
Categories: Hitchin Stories., People.

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