On The Road - 3

This is a little story about drinking and driving, it was scary, it was stupid, and it is a mistake I will never repeat.

Shaun, our friend James, and I, where on the road hitching as usual. We where on a little used highway that runs through the redwoods, in the pouring rain. Cars are driving by at a steady enough rate for a road of it's size, But no one wants to pick up 3 soaked people with 3 large, and equally as soaked, backpacks so we had been there awhile.

When a van drives by on the opposite side flashing it's headlights and honking. We have no idea what to make of this spectacle, but a few minutes later the same van is on our side of the road (So happy!).
Now this is one of those nice travel vans, It has a raised roof, Lights lining all the walls, koosh captains chairs, and wood inlay on everything ... A welcome sight after standing in the rain all day.

The occupants are 2 older (I would guess 45ish) women, who bear a slight resemblance to Courtney Love (When she is high ... and if she was beaten up a bit) and they are super stoked to be giving us a ride. Immediately they start hitting on James (To which me and Shaun just laugh of course), and they offer us a drink of a newly opened bottle of Canadian Mist (whiskey for those who don't know) ... I'm fine without it, But James and Shaun are all about it, So they take a few shots, and we continue on our ride.
Well, They get off the highway and explain we are making a stop and then they will drop us at the next exit. We stop at a pleasant enough little house, are welcomed warmly and invited to watch a movie with the guys that live there. The women disappear for 5-10 minutes, and we go (I still haven't finished watching 28 days later to this day.)
So while they where gone those minutes mentioned above, we learned they where doing shots (Not to forget a few from the bottle offered us earlier) and prior to that (and picking us up) they had drank an entire HALF GALLON of whiskey to themselves. We drive roughly 5 miles or so, and the driver starts to swerve, and I put my seatbelt on (This is possibly the smartest thing I have ever done) ... Just as the seatbelt goes *CLICK*, The van hit a guardrail, and being as coordinated as the driver was the guardrail just caused more swerving.
Ultimately, We ended up in a field, upside down in a stack of brush, and I was the only one wearing a seat belt. My friends hit the roof, all of our stuff went flying (save my guitar, it was in my hands), and the passenger hits her face into the dash harder then any other force I have seen in my life.
We all pile out any door we can find, and the passenger is going nuts. She is crying and hysteric, and covered with blood. I have my first aid/CPR certification so I felt a responsibility to at least feel around for breaks or anything major (anything I would be able to notice anyway), and as I was doing this she slips a bag of marijuana into my pocket (Which goes un-noticed until Colorado 3 months later, where I was arrested, and police found it in my pocket INSIDE the jail ... Thats another story) and says "keep this, the police are gonna come, keep this." ... I pay it no heed, look at my friends who are clearly thinking the same thing ... They already have their packs on, It's time for us to go ... Hitchhikers don't stick around for s**t like this.

Having no idea where we are because these ladies took us off of our route, We need directions, and all that is around is houses, So we pick the nearest one, and I am voted (great thing about 3, Voting always works) to go ask. So I walk to the door and knock, and this little girl (maybe 11 or 12) answers and just stares (I am filthy, shaky, and have some of that woman's blood on me from checking her) and turns around and yells "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!" and her mom comes, and what do ya know? That same stare! ... I explain we just got in an accident in a field,told her where, and asked if she new the way to the freeway we where on. She politely told me a few ways to get there, I thanked her and we set off. we weren't even walking 5 minutes when a pickup stops, pulls along side us, and ask where we are headed, we tell him and he takes us to the exit. He buys us coffee,breakfast,food for later, tells us places around here we can sit and eat (maybe even sleep) and explains jesus in one of the nicest ways I have ever heard. He said "Jesus was a traveler, and you boys needed a ride. I don't want to force this on you, But I want you to know that I picked you up because Jesus has been in your situation, and he would have wanted help too. People love you and you are loved, I hope to see you later in life." and we parted ways.

And that is the end of part 3. I will never ever get in a car with anyone who has been drinking, even if I just suspect it. And no matter how bad stuff gets, I always remember, I could be in a van with 2 drunks, hanging upside down, in the middle of a field, in the pouring rain.