Wednesday, December 27, 2006

THE HITCHER, Part II — by Steve Nadis

Last month, our readers met “the Hitcher”–a well-dressed man, sporting a big smile and a necktie, trying to thumb a ride on a quiet residential street (Ellery Street, to be precise). Today, exactly one month later, I saw the hitcher again. Evidently he had some success in the intervening weeks and had made his way from mid-Cambridge over to the MIT area (Sidney Street, to be precise). He was still sporting that same smile and necktie, but now I’m starting to wonder whether I was wrong about the “well-dressed” part. Maybe the guy is not as prosperous as I had originally thought, which makes sense because then he’d be hailing a cab, right?

Today, as was the case last month, he was hitching on a dubious street, one that ran no more than a mile in its entirety, and I couldn’t imagine he’d have any luck. Who would pick up a guy like that on a street like that that essentially went nowhere? (Sorry to the people who live or work there; it does go somewhere. But, I think you’ll agree, it does not exactly offer the most expeditious ticket to the open road.) After watching him for a minute, I ducked into the bank and then the Star Market. Fifteen minutes later, when I came back to the corner to retrieve my bike, there was no sign of him. I wonder where we’ll see the next appearance of our favorite new character, The Hitcher, who is perhaps coming soon to your very own street.

Posted by Snake at 03:31:33
Comments

5 Responses to “THE HITCHER, Part II — by Steve Nadis”

  1. Turd Blossom says:
    December 28, 2006 at 8:16 am

    Snark: If you are anything, you are precise.

  2. Digory says:
    January 3, 2007 at 10:52 am

    I must say, and this is the honest truth, I do believe I have sighted the same gentleman. I live in the Central Square area and I was walking down Harvard Street when I saw a man in a sports coat and faily decent pants sticking his thumb out into the road. It may be another “hitcher” but I smell similarity.
    -Digs

  3. Snake says:
    January 5, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    Thanks TB, I’ll take precise over other adjectives I’ve heard. Digs sounds like a possible sighting.

  4. Robert Winters says:
    April 10, 2007 at 7:08 pm

    The man you call “The Hitcher” is almost certainly Don Saklad. I’ve given him rides on several occasions over the last 25 years.

  5. Snake says:
    April 10, 2007 at 10:40 pm

    Thanks Robert. I can’t believe he’s been hitching for the past 25 years and I’ve only noticed him for less than a year.

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