What Would You Put On A Sign If...

[Rooster_Bedlam]

I fly "Random Acts of Kindness Accepted", and "Do Onto Others..."

[dmm1287]

[quote:802cfa2cc9="DryGrain"]when i have a destination i usually put:


CITY (in real big letters)
--------------
EVERY MILE COUNTS

every mile really does. i hitchhiked from ogden to salt lake in four different rides. (and thats like, 15-20 miles.)

in wisconsin dells, wi, in the middle of the night, someone pulled over for

WONT KILL YOU

and gave us a ride to madison.

sometimes i put railroad tracks across a bottom corner of my sign just on the offchance that i get real lucky and some other trainhoppers with a van or something recognize it and pick me up...

ive noticed i get a lot more rides when i'm by myself than with other people. in tennessee i didnt even make it to the freeway before i was picked up, fed, showered, drunken, given a place to sleep, dropped off at a truck stop the next day where i didnt have time to pick up my pack before a trucker told me to meet him at the flying j.

with other people i wait days for rides.[/quote:802cfa2cc9]

[dmm1287]

I'm actually from right around the area you're talking! How crazy is that?

[brianhall]

I use that one in areas like Colorado Springs, where there are a lot of religious people. If I don't immediately get a ride I at least get a lot of laughs.

My other favorite is "FREE Counseling." As an economist I've also tried "I'm the Demand, UR Supply."

[fiftyfivefalls]

"Bored?"

"hitchiker!" ...which I'm thinkin would be good for places where there arent many hitchhikers, Michigan, for example. Shows ya got a chipper attitude & plays into the fact that a HH is a rare sighting for the driver. Combine the two, they just may go for it.

You know, its real interesting, this social relationship between you and those behind the wheel. You have a sign, your person, and a few seconds to establish your nobility to a complete stranger. The words you chose for the sign are limited to what the drivers can see and read in that small period of time. You're really a bit of a slave to the stereotypes of the world. For example, a band I like called Pentagram I have a shirt of. Its got a big pentagram on the front. Now walking down the street with this shirt on I got no problem with, but theres no way Id be wearing it hitchin - no one in there right minds gonna let me in with that on, I'm a damn devil worshipper lookin for some ripe virgins for a ritual, obviously. When you've got your own transportation you can let your beard grow to the floor, hitchers, they gotta keep it in check. Its like a job interview - yea man, its just like a job interview, 'cepts its a damn quick job interview. Your paychecks a ride and they get to not feel guilty/converse/feel like they did good, etc. I havnt any experience in the HH arena, pickin up or hitchin, but what it seems like is people go with there instincts on these things, so it would seem the key is in putting out a positive energy...with your sign, the way your standin, if your smiling. Do that, and just wait.

[Sparrow014]

Most if these made me laugh and would definitely make me want to stop for someone if I saw it in person. The two that I use the most are 'That Way' with arrows pointing everywhere and 'zebras'. I often find it funny that no one gets the zebra reference and I have a lot of fun explaining that it's for people playing the alphabet game. Normally I then have to explain the game and it usually starts a ride off nicely. I think I might be borrowing some of the ideas I've seen on here too.

[mxnnz]

just a big sign saying PLEASE, worked for me

hitching with a bike is even better
they think it is broken down, and you turn down more offered lifts because they just do not have the room, saying thank you that no you will wait for a truck or tailer or caravan or boat or van...

I use to use my PLEASE sign and have two other double sided that had EAST, WEST, NORTH, SOUTH .

some of the best rides I had were arranged even before getting to the hitching road. I would ask at a shop for a piece of cardboard and write on it 6 inch high 1 inch wide what my destination was, explaining what it was for. Then fit it onto my pack and walk or bus or train to the hitching road. This then was a walking advert. sometimes in the shop those around that saw or heard what I was doing, could see the NZ painted onto my pack, would say "you seem a decent chap, I will give you a lift to the main road".

MUST thou, look back at your hitching location on the side of the road, and your sign, as though you were the driver from 60m, 30metres away. If you cannot see you bag and sign clearly then how do you expect a moving driver to see it?

max

[Lightfoot]

[quote:91b5607099="mxnnz"]just a big sign saying PLEASE, worked for me

[/quote:91b5607099]

One of the rules of salesmanship is never beg for an order. While PLEASE may work, it also sets the hitcher up for some weirdo who may think you owe him something now. It's unfortunate but there are people who prey on desperation. PLEASE and WILL PAY TOLLS can end up biting a hitcher in the ass.

[mxnnz]

oh times have changed. and yes it is a different world from the 1970s.

and it is very different around the world.
and it is working out what works for you, the location and the time.
it is about doing some homework.
but the best lifts I experienced were ones where people came back to me after driving past and said, "we just had to come back, ever seen a hitch hiker say please".

I see PLEASE as being polite. In the sourthern hemishere, many people will only pick up travellers, and not those seen as "bumming a lift" as the term used here.
this is an excepted way here of having your countries flag or letters on your bag and a sign just saying please.
max

[Gobo1]

I found that I have gotten good with cardinal directions "East" is a good one.