Defying a Judgment

Nicole Van Drunen- 100093500

     I drive from Wolfville to Baddeck to visit my boyfriends parents almost every month and during my travels I commonly spot a hitchhiker on the side of the road, one hand with its thumb up, the other holding a sign, smiling away, attempting to look as friendly as they possibly can in hopes of someone putting their right blinker on and offering them a ride.  

     From a young age, no matter how well I knew an area, I was never encouraged to pick up a hitchhiker. A hitchhiker was viewed as dangerous and I was told countless horror stories of people picking them up on a dark country road and being abused by these road travelers. I would only ever see headlines involving hitchhikers if it was something negative that took place, “Hitchhiker Steals Car” or “Girl Beaten by Hitchhiker”. Never witnessing anything myself, I couldn’t understand how every hitchhiker was such a bad person. There seemed to be a lot of mystery and negativity associated with hitchhikers, yet each time I was in the car and we past one, I was overwhelmed with a sense of excitement, in wonderment of who these people are, where they were coming from, and why they were on the road. 

     I spent many years abiding by the rules and passed by each hitchhiker as I encountered them on my journeys but of course, with each passing, my curiosity grew stronger. 

     It was a rainy day in Nova Scotia, nevertheless quite a typical day in the province, and I was once again headed on my way from Wolfville to Baddeck. The drive began like any other; I followed the windy road through a series of orchards and vineyards admiring the spring’s countryside, everything in blossom, soaking up each drop of water as it came trickling down to the earth. 

     I headed North on highway 101, set the cruse control and sipped on my hot coffee knowing it would be my only means of successfully completing this drive. As I hit Halifax area, the rain grew stronger, making increasing amounts of noise as it hit my front window. I merged onto highway 102 which soon turned into 104 and the rain had not let up, it was as if I was moving at the exact speed of this huge rain cloud. At this point my coffee cup was empty and I was getting tried of driving. I continued to try and focus on the road, only getting full vision of what was ahead of me for 3 seconds before the rain had once again covered my windshield, the wipers seemed unable to keep up. After 3 hours of driving in the rain, my frustration was beginning to get the best of me but this time as the windshield wipers cleared the rain from the glass, I spotted something in the distance on the side of the road. With each wipe of the glass I tried to figure out what it could possible be. My first assumption was an animal, I figured no human in their right mind would possibly be out on such a day, yet as I got closer and closer and began to slow down, I could see that it was indeed a human: it was a hitchhiker.  

     I had slowed the car so much that I knew this hitchhiker had high hopes of me pulling over; how could I not at this point, it was pouring rain outside. I shrugged off any thoughts that came into my head about how bad hitchhikes were and how dangerous it would be to pick one up and I convinced myself that that it would be ok to help this person. I put on my right blinker, unlocked the doors and offered the lady a ride. 

     She jumped on the offer and hopped into the seat next to me. She was middle aged, her hair was long, dark, tangled and dripping wet from the rain. She had, smearing down her face, what seemed to be two days worth of makeup. She had on a grey wool sweater that was tied together with a piece of fabric at the front, the wet wool seemed to be irritating her skin which caused her to itch a lot. On her legs she wore a pair of black pants, so wet that I was unable to tell what they were made of, and a pair of clog-like boots that were better meant for the winter but served to keep her feet warm. She carried with her an old stuffed nap sack that now rested between her legs. It was stitched with an array of colorful patches, almost creating a collage like pattern. She gave off a free spirited, earth based energy that gave me a sense of ease, a sense that she was a good person. She was not the type of hitchhiker I had heard so much about. 

     In seeing the state that she was in, I got out of the car and grab the blanket I had stored in the trunk. I gave her the blanket to wrap herself in and turned on the heat. I had no idea what to say, I had year’s worth of unanswered questions about hitchhikers but at the same time I still contained a sense of fear. I knew that this woman was in no condition to have a conversation with me so I just simply asked her where she was going. In a soft, shivering voice, she replied “Sydney Mines”. I put the car into drive and headed on our way. 

     We drove in silence. The rain was beginning to lighten; I had figured the rain cloud past me by when I had pulled over. I had two hands on the wheel but hardly one eye on the road; my attention was on my new traveling partner. I was dying to ask her questions but felt that everything was going ok and maybe if I kept quite I wouldn’t get myself into any “danger”. 

     I could see that she was getting warmer as she allowed the blanket to slip down off of her shoulders and rest on her lap. She didn’t seem to be in any discomfort anymore, her face was showing signs of contentment and she was beginning to look around in observation. At this point I figured she would be willing to talk. I asked her who she was. 

     Her name was Natasha, Tash she said I could call her. She had been hitchhiking for 3 days now. Originally from Newfoundland, Tash wasn’t new to hitchhiking, she had been a tattoo artist and in her twenties she had traveled around the country as a hitchhiker attending different festivals and attempting to make money in different artistic ways. Most recently however she had been in PEI on a vacation with her father. Unfortunately her father had been an alcoholic for years and while they were vacationing, he had received bad news about his business that led him into an alcohol binge. This was nothing new for Tash who said she had seen him go through this many times. After the second night, he had had enough and left with their vehicle. With no way to get in contact with him, Tash waited for his return but after six days, she hardly had any money left and was left with only one option; she had to resort to her old ways of traveling in order to get home. 

     We were moments away from arriving in Baddeck. The time spent in the car with Tash had passed by so fast I hardly noticed that the rain had stopped. I was so fascinated by her story and so thrilled with the fact that I had found a hitchhiker that wasn’t a threat to me, I had a sense of enjoyment that I had proven the media wrong. I felt that in a way, my day was made better once I had picked Tash up.

     The clouds had cleared and the sun was just starting to come out when we arrived at the Baddeck exit. I pulled over, said my farewells to my newfound friend and wished Tash all the best with her travels. She expressed her gratitude for the ride, closed the door, and stepped to the side of the road. As I drove off, peering through my rearview mirror, I could see her standing with her thumb up, smiling away, attempting to look as friendly as she possibly could in hopes of someone putting their right blinker on and offering her another ride.