Listening to the Beatles with Susie.
Susie & I ride to Petersburg, Virginia today.
“Breathe. Let Go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” – Oprah Winfrey
Meet Susie.
“Your not going to kill me or anything?” Susie gets right to the point.
From Kings Dominion to Petersburg, VA.
It was 2pm when Susie picks me up in the parking lot of the All-American Truck Stop near the King’s Dominion amusement park.
“Where are you heading?” She ducks her head to look at me.
“Um… Where are you heading?” I always try to ask the person where they are going first. Susie looks harmless though.
Plus, today I am tentatively planning to head to Petersburg, Virginia, where my phone says there is a Department of Motor Vehicle. I am planning ahead and getting a new driver’s license now.
I put my rucksack in her backseat and we are off.
Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker?
Susie is young. She tells me later she is 20. I commend her for picking me up and ask if she picks up hitchhikers often? I am her first. “You look harmless.” I have heard this before. “Plus, I think I could take you, if it came to it.”
I think Susie picked me up, because as she is waiting to leave the truck stop, I flash her my goofiest, sheepish grin and point to my SOUTH sign, very cheesy, car salesmen-esque.
La Salle Motel on the outskirts of Petersburg.
The Beatles.
Susie talks like my Aunt Peggy. She grew up in North Jersey.
Susie has lived in Jersey all her life. Susie smokes Kool cigarettes and has a rose tattoo behind her ear.
“You can play what music you want.”
Susie’s ’93 Taurus has a tape deck. She points behind her to a cardboard box of tapes. ”Tapes!” I rummage through and select Van Morrison. Susie says Van Morrison doesn’t work.
We collectively settle on “The Beatles.”
A Simple Life.
Susie is headed to Florida to live with her boyfriend. Her beau did not like North Jersey. Susie is headed to be a waitress in Florida, although she is not fond of this job. What does she want to do, I ask?
“I just want a simple life.”
She wants to have kids.
Petersburg.
Petersburg is a small city south of Richmond about 20 miles. I direct Susie to the DMV. “I wonder if I could hitchhike?” She ponders as we pull in and she reaches for another Kool. I shrug my shoulders. My belief on hitchhiking or any endeavor is that you will know when it is your time.
We part. As she drives away, she flashes me a cock-eyed, Peace sign out her window. I smile.
Create Our World.
Ben
“Do not dwell in the past, do not concentrate on the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, roadtrip around the USA
Categories:
Hitchin Stories., People.
