{"id":805,"date":"2022-07-25T17:23:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T17:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justonelittlehitch.com\/?page_id=805"},"modified":"2022-08-13T21:08:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T21:08:30","slug":"the-people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/justonelittlehitch.com\/?page_id=805","title":{"rendered":"The Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The people, far more than the places, are the real reason to travel<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the benefits of hitchhiking is meeting so many new and unexpected people on the road. Why\u2014and you have to ask yourself this question\u2014why would a driver stop his car and let a complete stranger hop in and invade his space? Some people, it turns out, are just wonderful human beings. And then there are those that you just meet here and there\u2014at a hostel kitchen, in a campground, on a train or a bus, even just standing at a corner. Here are a few of the crazy, wonderful, delightful folks who played a role in Just One Little Hitch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Whitman,<\/strong> the brilliant, visionary, and crotchety owner of the fabled Shakespeare and Company in Paris, whose bookshelves pulled away from the walls to reveal Murphy beds for traveling writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not leaving, are you?\u201d George asked, as if I\u2019d hurt his feelings. \u201cWe have beds, if you need a place to stay. I\u2019d sort of taken to you.\u201d  <\/em>\u2014George Whitman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack and Jackie,<\/strong> the nouveau-riche couple who gave the author a ride in Devon. Jackie’s smile shined like a beacon. Jack’s accent was unintelligible, but his generosity was unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYa loik da Too Fowzenee, moi \u2019ansum?\u201d he asked, impenetrably. \u201cScot upgri\u2019ed trim, i\u2019 \u2019as, one \u2019n\u2019 six mo\u2019er, reckangle \u2019eadlamps, body strips, vinyl roof. Classes whudda is, ass roi\u2019.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Jack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mal and Geoff,<\/strong> young Australian architects who shared with the author the beauties of Moorish design, the ridiculousness of trying to ride a camel, and the pain of losing everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAck! Bloody ankle biters! Get \u2019em off! Geoff, save me!\u201d<\/em> \u2014Mal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Hobson<\/strong>, “a right pit-yacker” from County Durham, doomed to an early death and eager to live his life to the fullest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll ride from the tip of Denmark to the toe of Italy\u2019s boot. Then I\u2019ll ride from Portugal to the Iron Curtain, and if they\u2019ll let me in I\u2019ll just keep going to Red China.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Steve Hobson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Udo Kortz<\/strong>, the German Army lieutenant who kicked off the author’s hitchhiking journey by giving him his first lift, and much more besides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen a man is twenty and not a Communist, he has no heart. When a man is fifty and still a Communist, he has no intelligence.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Udo Kortz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mabel,”<\/strong> the gorgeous young hiker who was fascinated by the author (who returned the feeling).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known each other for eight hours and already you\u2019ve forgotten my name is Mabel,\u201d she said in mock indignation. \u201cI don\u2019t think I like you anymore.\u201d <\/em>\u2014”Mabel”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ted Joans<\/strong>, the Beat Generation poet and artist, friend of Dali and Kerouac, who held late-night chat sessions with the author and others in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know the cat from seeing him in New York,\u201d he said of Ferlinghetti, \u201cbut I\u2019ve never actually been to San Francisco. Crazy, right?\u201d <\/em>\u2014Ted Joans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwyn and Jane<\/strong>, the pretty Welsh girls who charmed the socks off the author with their looks and lilting accents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s share a room, save the extra money.\u201d <\/em>\u2014Gwyn and Jane<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Didress<\/strong>, the Westernized Moroccan who knew every alleyway in the dark heart of the Fez medina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe man was not angry with you. The boy who sold you the <\/em>djellaba gave it to you very cheap because he planned to keep the money and not record the sale. He was stealing from the owner.\u201d  <\/em>\u2014Didress<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry Luck Twelvetrees and his sidekick Gordon<\/strong>, two veterans of World War I\u2014one of whom targeted the author as “Sonny Jim,” and not in a nice way…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When you killed a man back in our day, you had to look him in the eye, face-to-face. That\u2019s the kind of war we had to fight, Sonny Jim.\u201d<\/em> \u2014Gordon <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so many, many more…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The people, far more than the places, are the real reason to travel One of the benefits of hitchhiking is meeting so many new and unexpected people on the road. Why\u2014and you have to ask yourself this question\u2014why would a driver stop his car and let a complete stranger hop in and invade his space? … <\/p>\n

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