Freeway Hitchhiker
While inching my way home this afternoon on a busy local freeway I noticed a man standing in the median between the slow lane and a crowded onramp hold both arms extended with thumbs up. Desperate for a ride, his squinting eyes furtively scanned the faces of each driver as they passed by, hoping his desperate, animated pleas for a ride would convince a good citizen to stop and pick him up.
As I slowly approached this roadside apparition, two cop cars sped by me in the emergency lane with lights flashing and sirens wailing before finally coming to a screeching halt in front of the hitchhiker. They quickly emerged from their vehicles with guns drawn and began barking orders. In my rearview mirror I could see the man on his stomach with both cops pinning him to the ground.
I’m unsure if this guy had just committed a crime and was trying to get away, but that was an unusual and highly dangerous location to be thumbing a ride from.
If nothing else, it was a surreal way to end a busy work day


