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california or bust!

A pretty girl once told me to be free…….

This is a story about my quest to find the freedom the girl promised me. It's a story about how I left Utah in hopes of finding salvation in the land of gold, the land of California. Although I learned that the freedom the girl told me about doesn't really exist I did have a hell of a good adventure trying to find it.
I haven't edited it so if it sucks Im sorry.

I packed a few bags and waited at the sugarhouse off ramp with a sign saying California in one hand and a book about Buddha in the other. In a few short moments a street soldier came stumbling through his life of rebelled confusion. He told me California was a much better place than salt lake and that the Mormon culture had bred an entirely society that was afraid to see the other side. He left as quickly as he entered. Where he went was anyone's guess.
In about an hour a hick named Toby picked me up. He was a poor high school dropout who found his identity in hard work and things with loud motors. He was nice guy but he ended up taking me far south when i told him i was heading west. Stupid hicks never know do they?

So now I was out of sugarhouse but stranded at on ramp 40th south. I sat down put my sign up and started reading more Buddha... did I mention I had my skateboard too? So anyways in about an hour I got picked up by a group of skaters from LA.

" Hell, I couldn't pass up a skater man ," the driver said.

They were both Mexican, cool as hell and working on some Disney movie in the desert. They took me to the borders of Nevada and Utah but had to ditch me so they could make their movie in the sand. I thanked him and the driver gave me his card and told me he was starting a skate company and if I wanted on I could shout.
So now what? I was in the desert with my bag, sign and skateboard. I decided to just skate down the road and put my hand out hoping for a ride to California. I skated for about a mile and met up with a bunch of mutants from Oregon. They were idled on the road because their trailer broke and sent their belongings flying. I helped them gather their consumer surplus but when the time came, there was no room for me to join the trip out west.
So once again I was stranded in the hot Utah desert miles from nowhere in the hot sun, with nothing but a skate board, a bag a book, a sign and a dream of freedom.
I decided to just skate some more and went about a mile until Johnny law flashed his lights and asked me some questions. I was lucky to get a warning but he told me I had to get off the road or go to jail. Knowing full well what jail tastes like I ditched the highway and headed down a service road. I never told you this but my bag was heavy as hell cause I thought I was going to be gone for a while. I never planed on long skates in the desert. It never crossed my mind. It was hard work for sure skating with my heavy in the hot desert sun down a lonely service road. I was sweating and running out of water. In the distance I saw I man doing something odd on off ramp and I figured if I could sell my personality and he liked it, he would take me back to salt lake and I could try to get to Cali the rich kid way.
As it turned out the man was really old and time had warped his mind into the confines of what some people would call crazy. One flew over the cuckoo's nest. He was picking up cans with a spike and mumbling about gangs in the city and all the useless wars. My ride was bested on my sale, so I acted crazy too and told him I would help him if he could give me a ride home. He must have been startled by my brashness but hey man I'm T.O and everyone loves me.... right? Well regardless the old man and me became friends and he agreed to take me to a gas station on the edge of the city limits.
On the ride back he told me about chasing my dreams and how important it was to find something you love to do.( ...... ummmmm. I love girls with pretty eyes and skiing. So maybe that's what I need to do. ) We also got into some good talks about gangs, politics and picking up garbage as a means to stay healthy. You got to love old people, they are crazy but beautiful in how they perceive the world. So blind they are, yet so true.
It was sad to see the old man go but that's life, just little tastes of other people and then they are gone into the abyss of another world beyond your own. God speed Tim, you old crazy fart!
So now I was at a gas station at the edge of town. I learned a very important lesson while I was there. There is a reason why truckers chose a life of isolation behind the wheels of masculine thunder. Truckers are a bunch of angry misfits, without social skills or the tools to get laid. The truck symbolizes their frustration and gives them in edge .Every encounter was the same when I asked for a ride....
" No get lost kid." they would all say. Many times they would look at me as if I they wanted to kill me.
After about an hour of failure a Mexican working at the gas station told me to get the fuck out of there. So I left for the promise of a homeless man walking across the street. He was like so many other homeless people I had met. He was dirty as hell and his hair and teeth were products of forgotten hygiene. He was dumb but full of character and living on the streets because of a few too many mistakes. He was from mt Shasta Oregon and we discussed how hard it was to get out of salt lake.

" Yeah man," he said
"It's fucking hard to get out of this shit hole. I can't get caught in Nevada either cause I got warrants."

" What is the warrant for?" I asked

"Ohh, you know. Drinking in public. 500 dollars can you believe that?"

" Yeah! The cops suck man." I said as coolly as I could.

The man and me walked for about a mile and he told me about his hopes of getting to New York and how a girl once sucked his dick in Vegas. He also told me about a fag that picked him up once and wanted to suck his dick.

" Fuck man! The dude looked cool, and then he was like can I suck your dick? I mean I'm down for fags or whatever just don't try that shit on me. I told him to let me out and I haven't hitched hike sense."

To be continued.