On my very first day of Traveling on Kindness, I got picked up by eight different people.  Of them, two of them would be considered “bible bangers.”  These types of people are the kind of person who will pick up a hitchhiker with the intention of pushing them towards (typically) Christianity.  I was warned about this phenomena, but I don’t really understand what the big deal is.  You’re getting a ride from them, if part of the criteria for that ride is to hear about that person’s faith, so be it.  I’ve got nothing against religion, and enjoy conversations about it.  I’m not religious myself, but I’ve explored faith and just haven’t ever found what I’m looking for.  I also love to accept prayers, because you never know – maybe they do get answered.

Which leads me into what happened with my last two hitches of day one.  I was standing at a spot for quite some time, most people were kind of smiling and thinking “what the heck is this guy doing?” as they passed me, but I kept my head high, maybe danced a little bit to keep myself busy, and continued to wait with my thumb held high because I was “Going South.”  Eventually this gentleman picked me up and after I explained what I was doing he immediately asked if it was religious in nature.  Here we go.  Of course, my intentions are not religious in nature, so then he started giving me the spiel.  I appreciated the information and liked how finding out how accepting Jesus Christ as his personal savior changed his life.  I guess he used to be a criminal and found the lord and changed his ways.  When he dropped me off he asked if he could pray for me.  I kindly accepted; hitching sometimes relies on miracles.  He said a prayer and hoped I’d find Jesus and to have him watch over me.  I thanked him and I went on my way.  He dropped me off at an exit on I-83 and I went to the on ramp to find my next ride.

It was starting to get late and the sun was setting over the trees.  The spot he dropped me at wasn’t very good.  There wasn’t much traffic and I was starting to think I’d be stranded there for the night.  A pretty significant amount of time went by (how long I didn’t keep track of) and I started thinking “so much for that prayer.” To top it off a state policeman came up the ramp and pulled over.  He wanted to chat.  I went over to the vehicle and started talking to him.  Every other police officer who drove past me that day was very friendly and just oiwaved and drove off.  He wasn’t exactly friendly.  He asked me what I was dng and I explained to him that I was hitchhiking.  I told him I knew hitchhiking on the interstate is illegal so I was making sure to stick to the on ramps.  He asked about my shirt and I explained that I started in Reading, PA and had been hitchhiking all day.  He continued to ask questions in such a manner as to try and get me to admit to doing something wrong, which I hadn’t.  After the third or fourth time I answered a question he asked in just a slightly different way, a car pulled up right in front of the officer and reversed quite close to the officer to really say “hey, look, come over here dude, I’m ten feet away!”  The officer asked me if I knew who that was and I told him, “No, I don’t, sir.  I believe he is offering me a ride though so I’m going to go over there and speak with him now.”  I then asked if that was alright with him, he unhappily said okay and I went over to the vehicle.  The driver was a younger guy who seemed really cool, he was going pretty far south and told me I could tag along.

I told my ride about what I was doing  and asked him why he decided to pick me up.  He told me he could tell I was a hitchhiker and that his parents met hitchhiking back in the 70s.  He knew the cop was giving me a hard time and wanted to help.  I was really appreciative of it all and he was kind enough to take me about a half hour south into Maryland – which was the farthest ride of the day.  I didn’t quite get to where I was trying to go, but he dropped me off at a good spot for where I was trying to go.  Oh, and his name was Noah.

So yeah, I got a prayer from a guy about finding Jesus and then got saved from an unpleasant police officer by a guy named Noah an hour or so later.  That’s just totally a coincidence.

…Totally.