Despite my horrid introduction, and a stint and community alcohol and drug support, I was not yet to give up on my newly obtained hobby. In fact for the last few months of summer I would hitchhike daily for the remainder of the year.

Although I was not brave enough to hitchhike intercity for quite some time.

I used to hitchhike out to a neighbouring beach town to smoke weed with a particular circle. The crazy thing is that I didn’t even have anything in common with any of them. Besides weed smoking I mean.

The main difference between us outside of sense of humour, style and being was that they all lived in this beach town. Meaning that after we were all done getting blitzed more often than not I’d have to hitch hike back home at some ungodly hour.

My favourite hitch hiking spot was at the gas station at the edge of town. I’d hitchhiked from there more times than I can count.

But this particular time was proving troublesome. There had not been a single car drive past for half an hour and I was beginning to think that I’d have to walk 10kms home again.

I noticed an older gentleman with long surfer curls loading a lawn mower onto the back of his Ute. He was across the road from me, cloaked in darkness. He looked across at me and asked, “You need a ride?”

I began walking over, “Thanks mate, legend.”

The man dusted grass off his rugby shorts, pulled off his gunboats and tossed them in the back. As I got closer I could notice something was on his upper lip. In the night it looked to be a scab, but it could also have been a burn.

This man didn’t look dangerous. He looked calm. Maybe too calm. Nothing extraordinary about him. For better or for worse.

We made our way in his tired Ute in silence at first. But when we reached the rural roads he asked me, “What do you do for a living young man?”

“I go to course.” I answered quickly. I was used to using the course as a way to convince adults I wasn’t a complete dropkick.

“What do you wanna do after that?”

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“I wanna get into creative advertising.” This was complete bullshit. Even if my course did have university entrance, I didn’t know the first thing about marketing, hell, I didn’t even know what marketing was then. Truth was that I sounded cool, and I knew it paid big bucks.

“Creative advertising? True? That’s what I do man.” The older man shared.

“Oh really? What kind of advertising do you do?”

“I came up with the stick man for Pak’n’Save, I did the no more beersies for you ad…”

“Damn man, so you’ve been around the block a couple times?”

“You could say that. But I wasn’t always the sharp savvy businessman that I am today. No, I used to be a dropkick druggy just like yourself!”

I paused, “Really?”

“Yeah man, absolutely. Just an absolute dropkick stoner surfer bloke really. Complete munter.”

I looked at his grubby hands as they shifted his gear stick, the stench of shit lingering in his vehicle, “Really man? I can hardly tell.”

“I tell you what man you give me your number and I’ll write your name down and I’ll save it in my phone and we’ll get to talking about some new concepts. I can tell just by looking at you that our minds are on the same wavelength.”

Not in your wildest dreams buddy, I laughed to myself.

We talked some more shit until he parked us outside of a block of shops in my hometown. I was about to say thanks and hop out but the strange man wouldn’t stop talking.

“Do you believe in God, brother?” He asked, unpeeling an orange that he grabbed from a bag on the dash.

“I’m not sure, maybe.” I said as I watched his grubby grass stained fingers slip an orange slice into his gummy mouth.

“You’re not sure?” his eyes wide, “I tell ya what man, I’ve seen some shit. Some crazy shit. I shouldn’t even be cursing it’s so fucked up.”

“Oh yeah?” I replied, settling into my seat.

“Right on man. Just think about it, you ever seen a human brain?”

“A brain? Yeah.”

“You ever wonder how that thing is capable of doing what it does?”

“I don’t know…electricity or some shit. Things firing. Something like that, right?”

“Nah man, it’s the power of god. You know what it says in the bible? The temple of god is within you. Yeah, whaaaat!”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“The temple of god is within you.” The strange man cocked his index finger next to his forehead, “The temple is your temple cuz and that’s…” He pointed at me as if fishing for an answer.

“I don’t know man.”

“Shit man, the temple is inside your brain. Your brain is the temple. Everything you need is within you because God is in you.” He rattled with a toothless smile.

I nodded my head, “I see. That’s great, man. I gotta get going.” I opened the car door and began walking home. No way in hell was I going to ask to get dropped off home.

“Remember what I said to you cuz! The temple, look after your temple! Here! Have an orange!”

“Ugh! Fuck!” Something smacked me in the back of the head as I was walking away, I turned around and noticed a partly crushed orange laying on the footpath.

I picked it up, tossed it and caught it. Then threw it back.