Reviews

The Hitchhiking Years by Don White

anarag's review

4.0

I've been thinking lately about hitch-hiking, remembering times when I stuck out my thumb or picked up a stranger from the side of the road (in my Volkswagen Bug, of course!) On a trip from Minnesota to Vermont, that same Bug broke down in every single state and Canada. It finally blew the oil seal just outside of Manitowoc, Wisconsin as we headed west again. We left the VW at a garage and had to hitch back to Minneapolis. It was a Sunday and the only spots open were churches and bars. Some folks who picked us up were eager to convert us to their own brand of religion; others were hoping we we'd get high with them. If you're nostalgic or curious about hitching, I recommend The Hitchhiking Years, a story about life on the road in the second half of the 1970s, as Don (a singer-songwriter whose work I have followed and enjoyed for years) and Theresa thumbed their way up and down, back and forth this big country of ours. If you didn't live through those times, it may be hard to imagine the level of communal trust that was involved in this interchange between total strangers: you give me a lift that gets me closer to where I'm going, I'll be a good traveling companion for you. Sometimes, wonderful meetings of the mind and heart ensued. Other times, the driver's agenda was made clear. Or the hitchhiker had to endure hours of terrible music. The spontaneity of those years continues to fuel Don's music and humor, as well as this satisfying read.