Welcome back to my ORANGE ROOM. In this corner of cyberspace, we can relive memories, moments and mayhem. Tales from when days were psychedelic and beyond. Today's tale comes from the the highway.....the highway to hell!
During my years in the ORANGE ROOM, I was going to high school and then later college. When I moved out for the first time 40 years ago, I was 20....and I painted my bedroom to be identical to my Orange room at home. I was very poor during these years and drove VERY CHEAP cars! In one such car, coming back from a gig I had recently played, I ran into the HITCHHIKER!!!
Now, I was very aware to NEVER pick up hitchhikers but on this particular night, I may have been a bit tipsy, or just concerned for my fellow man. It was a very short drive but extremely chilling in every sense of the word.
It was raining and I had just crossed the SHADE LOHMAN bridge. Off to the right side of the road was a small older man with a duffle bag of some sort... just waiting in the rain for a kind soul to help him out. it turns out that kind soul was me in my piece of shit car. Against my better judgement, I pulled my Oldsmobile, which I had recently purchased from my grandmother over and rolled down my window. You need a ride buddy?
The scruffy man stuck his head in my car and cackled in a high screechy voice, " can ya give me a ride?" "Get in" I said, and before I knew what I had done, the old bird was in my car and his soaking wet duffle bag dripping on my floor board. The man looked like a cross between, a gold prospector of the old west and CHARLES MANSON!!!! The passing street lights would illuminate his facial features every few hundred feet. He kept rocking back and forth, staring at me with a side ways look like a parrot on acid. His cackling continued as he lit up a Marlboro red and took a long drag.
"Where are you heading mister?" I finally managed to blurt out. " Ha Ha Ha...I'm going to the HIGHWAY TO HELL BUDDY ha ha ha". And with that, he let out the most Charles Manson laugh I had ever heard. All of a sudden, it became clear that I HAD PICKED up CHARLES MANSON'S double!!!!! I couldn't believe the resemblance. Oh shit I thought!!!!
HIGH WAY TO HELL!!!! Ha HA HA !!!!! No sooner that those words came out of his mouth a second time, I decided to turn on my radio to calm the tension in the front seat.. The volume knob was down all the way and and I slowly tuned up the music. OMG!!!!! AC/DC?????
I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!!!!! I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!!!!! CHARLES MANSION became delirious and rocked violently back and forth screeching and cackling, "SEE....SEE BUDDY? I TOLD YA!!! I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL. HAHAHAHA!!!! "
Shit this is too weird, I thought!!!! This guy is crazy and we are both on a direct crash course to HELL!!!!! Now mind you, this all happened in the time frame of about two minutes but it seemed like it was much longer!! As soon as I got
into Bartonville, I pulled over and told Mr. Manson that we had arrived and Hell was just down this street!!!! He took a last pull off his cigarette and grabbed is wet bag. "You coming with me buddy?" " No sir", I said. I gotta get home.
And with that, the stranger fell out of my car and continued down the road singing HIGHWAY TO HELL!!! Now what are the chances of that AC/DC song coming on the radio at just that particular moment in time????? I'll never know....but it happened and it's just another tale from THE ORANGE ROOM.
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