you can get people to give you a
ride when you’re hitchhiking!”
Waters hitchhiked across I-70
to Denver and then down to
California by standing by highway entrance ways with a sign.
It generally said “I-70 WEST /
SAN FRANCISCO” but changed
several times as he struggled to
find the wording that was most
successful. One sign that clearly
didn’t work mentioned that he
was writing a book. That made
people very nervous - too nervous to stop. He tried other
phrases including a sign that
said, “I’m not psycho.”
“I found the direct appeals
were better,” he noted. “Signs
about where you were going.
Humor didn’t work. Everyone laughed, but they never
stopped. I thought ‘I’m not psycho’ would work.”
Waters had hitchhiked throughout his entire life, but rarely covered a distance even remotely
as far as the cross-country trip.
It didn’t take long for him to remember the tricks of the trade
Take a look inside the baltimore home of John Waters
March 2015
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