Three times in my life (before I had an AAA Plus membership) I had to hitchhike when the old beater cars I was driving broke down on remote highways, back when I lived in California. This would have been the late 1990s, years before I owned a cell phone, so I had to hitch a ride to the closest phone which was typically a gas station in the nearest town. I remember those experiences vividly and still appreciate the kindness of those people, but have never had the courage to pick anyone up myself (and I do harbor some guilt over that, even still).
I remember one time being picked up by a middle aged woman in a mid-1970s F-250 with one of those camper bed conversions. She was super nice and I made the mistake of asking her why she was comfortable enough to pick up a hitchhiker. She reached under her seat and pulled out a 9mm Glock pistol and said 'that's why.'
