Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Warm Heart in Cold Weather

            When we hear stories in the media about hitchhiking, more often than not it is a story about violence, robbery or sexual assault. Hitchhiking has become associated with distrustful people that pry on the ignorance of unsuspecting civilians trying to lend a helping hand.
            But occasionally a story comes through that shows the decency of mankind.  A story that rewards the trusting nature of some and shows that human kind is not as dark and cynical as today’s society would have us believe.
            This is one of those stories.
            Ira Conn (as introduced in ‘Hitchin The Valley’) was driving on his way home to Ellesworth, Maine in December of 2008 when he saw an older man on the side of the road who clearly didn’t belong there.
            “He was really poorly dressed,” said Conn. “He had on dress pants and shoes, a light windbreaker, small leather gloves and no hat.”
            This is never proper attire for the costal areas of Maine, but particularly bad on this day. It was overcast, getting towards night, and nearly 20 degrees below zero.
            Conn was driving by himself so he pulled over to give the man a ride because he could tell the man had no idea what he was doing. He was standing still on the side of the road, no thumb out, and in a peculiar place to flag down a car.  Conn pulled to the side of the road to try to talk with the man, but as soon as the man approached the car Conn understood why he didn’t know the roadside culture. He couldn’t speak a word of English.
            When the man got into the car, he handed Conn a note saying that his daughter was giving birth in Bangor, about 40 minutes away. He had a family member write the note for him and had apparently been using that to get him this far.
            It seems to have been a very spontaneous decision because the man had no baggage or means of transportation from the airport, but he was determined to be there. Conn never did figure out how he had gotten this far or why he didn’t have anything with him.
            Conn tried to explain that he would take the man the whole way, but with the language barrier he couldn't and the man was hesitant. Fortunately, Conn has an English-speaking uncle that teaches Chinese for a living. Conn got his uncle on the phone and handed it to the man, who lit up in surprise when he heard a voice on the phone he could understand.
            The man explained to Conn’s uncle that he was a professor from China and had come to the states to be with his daughter, who worked at a research lab in Conn’s town.
            The ride to the hospital was pretty quiet, the two didn’t have much to talk about. They drove silent through the dark, now knowing they both had the same game plan.
Conn took the man to the hospital, which was out of the way but he didn’t mind. He took the man up to the room where his daughter was and left him there.  He stayed long enough for the daughter to get his name and contact information but that was all. Although the father couldn’t actually say thank you, he was clearly grateful.
            A few weeks later Conn received a package in the mail. It was from the daughter in the hospital, thanking Conn for helping her father get to her. The package was filled with Chinese ornaments, chocolates, teas and other goodies.
            “I still put those ornaments up on my Christmas tree,” said Conn. “I don’t think that’s what they’re made for but they look good in the tree.”
            Conn said he sees the daughter occasionally when he goes back home, and that she always remembers him and what he did for her family.
            Its hard to rely on the kindness of others. We rely on ourselves and expect others to do the same. But sometimes when you open your heart to another and help out someone in need it can come back to you in a good way. Odds are you won’t get a care package like Conn for picking up a stranger, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t still be a rewarding experience.  Conn will never forget the story of the Chinese professor who got to watch his daughter give birth, all because he was willing to stop for a stranger.
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            At this point it’s time to put theory to practice. I’ve been researching hitchhiking for the past five weeks and now it’s time for me to have my first real hitchhiking journey.
            I’m attempting to hitchhike from Gunnison to Denver and back in one day, which is about 400 miles according to Google Maps.
This story was published before my trip, so your guess is as good as mine how it turned out. To read the results, read ‘Adventure of the Greenhorn Hitchhiker’ in this blog.

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