Hitchhikers and the 70's

[IanC]

Anyone ever pick them up ? In the 70's, many, many people hitched across country. Now I rarely see any - on the east coast anyway. But then, the 60's and 70's were safer , gentler times.

I looked and smelled like hell most of the time but always got rides - the Canadian border control guy at some middle of nowhere crossing at North Dakota even brought me home and his wife fed me and washed my clothes - I was an 18 year old ragamuffin without even an I.D.. When people talk about greater tolerance these days , I don't think so. You sure couldn't have Woodstock today without 5,000 police on duty.

Remember the scene from 'The World's Fastest Indian' where the cop stops Burt while he's pulling a trailer with one wheel replaced by a wooden board as a skid? The cop just shook his head and walked away. That's how it was. Today there would be handcuffs , fines and impoundment. There weren't vehicle inspections and insurance was optional. Kids could drive a sh/tbox until they could afford something better .

Every day for the last 40 years thousands of legislators have gone  to work every single day to dream up new ways to confine us. I think living today is like walking on eggshells - there will always be a permit you forgot to renew, always another page of fine print for idiots like me not to understand.

Of course there were bad parts too, but I'd love to go back to the 70's. I could never explain the difference in the way we felt to kids today. And the sad part is that it is my generation that grew up to make the laws that have robbed people of their freedom . I was talking to a guy who was my best friend when we were 19. He became a successful home builder, but he said he would trade everything to go back to those days when , if we could scape together 2 bucks it meant an evening of pinball with enough left over for White Castle.
Actually he's bought a boat and is planning to live on that.

Us old farts are allowed to be nostalgic - aren't we?
And a little atmosphere as I remember the old days

 

[flying kurbmaster]

It is becoming more difficult to be a law abiding citizen with every new piece of legislation..

 

[Mobilesport]

I think when we get older we're walking on eggshells but the young people feel the same way we used to e.g  I see these young kids racing around in there cars squealing there tires with not a fear in the world of getting a ticket , I was the same way when I was young but the older I got the more aware I am of paying out my money for nonsense. 
Right now as I type there's some young ones blasting there subwoofer extremely loud right next to me

 

[Oberneldon]

Once in awhile I'll give a hitchhiker a ride. I too yearn for days gone by when life was simpler.

Brent

 

[Canine]

Thanks for reminding me of "The worlds fastest Indian".Helluva good movie.

 

[IanC]

I think when we get older we're walking on eggshells but the young people feel the same way we used to e.g  I see these young kids racing around in there cars squealing there tires with not a fear in the world of getting a ticket , I was the same way when I was young but the older I got the more aware I am of paying out my money for nonsense. 
Right now as I type there's some young ones blasting there subwoofer extremely loud right next to me

Every day on the highway that runs past my house I see cops pulling people over and 9 times out of ten it's Puerto Rican kids who, because they live in a poor, high crime area pay almost 2 thousand dollars a year in insurance. These are the kids who work at McDonald's and  probably make peanuts and can least afford heavy fines. Kids will be kids but the draconian punishments in place, supposedly to tame children is what is crushing the life out of them. No wonder there is a sense of hopelessness in young people. No wonder we consume more anti depressants than the rest of the world combined. It's the non stop punishments that the mommy state imposes that has created the sense of impending doom.

 

[GotSmart]

In 1975 I bought  new Chevy.  I traded in my old Corvair for the downpayment.  $95.31 a month on a 4 year loan. $32 a month insurance.   Pay was $2.10 an hour.  .65 cents a gallon for gas.  

The SLA was shooting up places.  Nixon, Gas lines, Viet Nam. Heroin epidemic, 55 MPH speed limit, Betamax, Elvis died, Microsoft, Commodore, Atari...  Carter, 3 Mile Island.

20 20 Hindsight.  It is not as good as you remember.   :dodgy:

 

[highdesertranger]

it's all in how you look at it. in 1975 I graduated high school, drove a 68 Nova to Wyoming and backpacked the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I have fond memories of 1975 and Nixon was not president. he resigned in '74. all that bad crap is still here today, like I said it's how you look at life, make the most of it and don't dwell on the bad in the world. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

i think its pretty much illegal to hitchhike today isnt it?

 

[flying kurbmaster]

it was illegal back then as well especially on freeways in cities, never stopped me I hitch hike 40,000 miles in 1979 without incident. 10,000 miles in 1986 also without no incidents,

 

[NeedAnEscape]

But then, the 60's and 70's were safer , gentler times.

Luckily violent crime is on a downward trend. It peaked in the 90s

 

[IanC]

In 1975 I bought  new Chevy.  I traded in my old Corvair for the downpayment.  $95.31 a month on a 4 year loan. $32 a month insurance.   Pay was $2.10 an hour.  .65 cents a gallon for gas.  

The SLA was shooting up places.  Nixon, Gas lines, Viet Nam. Heroin epidemic, 55 MPH speed limit, Betamax, Elvis died, Microsoft, Commodore, Atari...  Carter, 3 Mile Island.

20 20 Hindsight.  It is not as good as you remember.   :dodgy:

Nixon actually accomplished a great deal - started the EPA, signed the Equal Rights Ammendment, ended the Vietnam War , began normalization of communication with China and the Soviets, signed RICO. His crime of wanting to cover up eavesdropping by his campaign staff was actually miniscule compared to what politics has become.
And the rest of it ,cyclical. I believe that anything that has happened in the past, since time began  - world wars, depressions, famines , huge natural disasters , can and will happen again. No generation is so blessed as to avoid them.
My hindsight includes many horrible memories too, but expecting Nirvana in any era will always be disappointing.

 

[IanC]

Thanks for reminding me of "The worlds fastest Indian".Helluva good movie.

It was , Bob - so much more than just a bike flick. The story of the crazy guy living in his shed to work on his dream , snickered at by the locals and going on to fulfill the dream, despite ridiculous obstacles strikes a chord.

 

[TMG51]

I still pick up hitchhikers. I'd rather do it than worry about it. I picked up one when driving back across the country recently, he was the type no one would stop for, scruffy, toothless, middle aged dude with a duffel bag. I took him over 250 miles to St Louis. He just wanted to get East of the Mississippi because there's no way to walk across it.

Luckily violent crime is on a downward trend. It peaked in the 90s

Thank you for being the first person to say this. Most people believe that the world today is more dangerous than it used to be even when it isn't. I blame the media and the perception it has caused. Every news story is hyped up and sensationalized to get people pissed off and afraid because that's what keeps you glued to the TV and drives up ratings. The media has no incentive to objectively report the news, it has an incentive to sell you the news.

I think this has directly created situations that would not otherwise exist. For example school shootings. Every angsty teenager came to know he could be infamous for shooting up his school because it's been sensationalized on media. Instead of sensationalizing these things should be reported factually: "This happened, it was horrible, let's move on."

There's my rant for the day.

 

[Patrick46]

I don't know where you guys are at, but we have LOTS of hitch-hikers out here in Oregon. I see them daily.



I too long for the 'old days', but alas, I was young and didn't have any responsibilities, other to take care of myself. Life was simple.

But now, I've got a mortgage, home maintenance, insurance premiums, utilities, property taxes, ad infinitum, and I have to provide a means to cover all those crazy expenses. So naturally, life isn't as simple as it 'used to be'.

I can certainly understand (and are definitely jealous of) those of you who've made the 'big break' and have sold off or given away most of your belongings for a (there it is again...) 'simpler life', with no real estate to bind you down, no 9 to 5's, no monthly utilities to bind you down.

(personally), I'd gladly sell off ALL THIS JUNK of mine to live life on the road, and regain the simple life again...but there's one sacrifice I'm not willing to make to do it, and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

 

[ArtW]

The 70s may have seemed a gentler time, and in a way it was, but mostly it's a perception caused by media
Back in the 70s we didn't have interwebs, a 24 hr news cycle, etc, so when one of thiose happy hitchers just...vanished (or made someone else vanish), it wasn't a thing
I do think for the most part though there were fewer separations between people on the average than now
I agree with TMG that media today is indirectly causing a lot of bad things to happen, so they have blood to report on

 

[highdesertranger]

I agree with Patrick there are lots of hitchers in Oregon, at least on the wet side. highdesertranger

 

[cyndi]

The 70's seemed like a wonderful time to me. But, I remember I was on drugs 99.9% of the time. Of course, it was. Everything looks better through a haze of hallucinogenics; so colorful!!!

 

[IanC]

The 70's seemed like a wonderful time to me. But, I remember I was on drugs 99.9% of the time. Of course, it was. Everything looks better through a haze of hallucinogenics; so colorful!!!

There have been drugs since humans discovered which roots to chew and how to ferment grapes. Even animals partake when they come across the right plant or fermented fruit. Seems to be a thing in our nature.

I'm trying to recall any time period in my life when there wasn't some sort of 'drug epidemic ' going on. LSD, pharmaceutical drugs, heroin, powered or rock cocaine, chemicals, and of course the perennial alcohol - all have had their day. People know the risks they take, whether it's surfing in shark infested waters, climbing mountains or putting needles in their arms, yet they do them. Perhaps it's all part of the path many people choose to take.

Cheers to everyone who has managed to break free of self destructive paths.

 

[cherterr]

Shoot, I'm 'nostalgic' for remembering when YouTube videos started right up WITHOUT COMMERCIALS!! lol

EDIT:  OH YEAH.. and remember when FM radio and CABLE TV started?  No commercials, either (because you Paid).

tsk tsk