like avoid cities. “The whole
point of hitchhiking is to never
go near a city,” he said. “You
want to be picked up after a city,
not before. You never want to
go into the city because local
rides are your enemy. They’ll
take you to a worst place that
you already are.”
One of the most amazing aspects of the trip is that Waters —
a man known for living life with
a rigid schedule for each day
— was able to give up control of
his schedule. He says that giving up control was one of the
reasons he did the trip in the
first place. Although technically
he still had a schedule for the
day (wake up, find a ride, find a
motel, go to sleep, and repeat),
he was basically flying blind.
“The weird thing was I only
gave myself two weeks and
during the first couple of days I
thought it could take a year!” he
laughed “I did hitchhike to San
Francisco, but I flew back with a
limousine both ways and a firstclass air ticket to speak and give
awards to Johnny Depp at the
Fashion Oscars. So, I came the
lowest way and went back the
highest. I am comfortable with
either; it’s the middle (coach)
that I have trouble with. I’d rather hitchhike!”
An Evening With John Waters
April 12 @ BergenPAC
Englewood, NJ
Photos of John Waters by Greg Gorman
New Jersey Stage
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