My White Rabbit story from 1970

I was just reminded of this old story of mine from way back in the hippie 60s by another post in another thread where the member suggested following the White Rabbit. Rather than muck up that intro thread with this, I am just putting this tale out there for anyone who might find it amusing.

In 1970 me and Bruce were headed to Chicago from our pad in the East Bay of SF. We had an old Chevy pickup and stopped at University Ave in Berkeley to pick up some hitch hikers. Well, in those days that spot in town was the mecca for hippies hitching rides everywhere so we had our pick of hundreds.

We picked up 5 who were headed East and with three of us in the cab and the other 4 in the back we headed out.
As we crossed out of Nevada and into the Great Salt Lake Desert, I was driving and for a moment felt like the old truck was wobbling a bit. I let it pass.

Then about 10 minutes later I thought I felt it again and asked Bruce if he had felt anything and he said no. I thought that maybe I was getting a little woozy so I told him I was going to pull over and let him drive for a while. As I slowed from 75 to 65 and on down to 25 to pull off the highway I felt the wobble again and as we pulled up to a halt on the side of the road and stopped, the right front wheel hub finished cracking and the wheel fell off. Had we been traveling at 75 mph we all would have been dead.

As we put on the spare, and were ready to take off again, we found a toy stuffed white rabbit laying on the side of the road, and as the song by Jefferson Airplane was still hip among our crowd at the time we picked it up and skewered it with the radio antenna and called it our good luck piece.

Miles later as we neared Salt Lake City we were cruising again at around 75 when the rabbit flew off the antenna and I decided to pull over, go back and get it again. As we slowed from our fast pace down to about 15 mph, outta nowhere the left front tire blew out causing the truck to swerve dramatically. Had we been driving at our normal rate of speed there is a good chance we all would have been dead again. So we picked up the rabbit and put it back on the antenna and the rest of the trip continued with no concerns.

Two years later I was back in California and had made a trip up to Yosemite Valley with a gal I knew. We had spent the week camping and were headed home again. We had a full size mattress in the back for sleeping and as we pulled out of the valley, we picked up to hitch hikers who were headed out also. They hopped in the back with our gear and their gear an off we went. About an hour later we were cruising along when all of a sudden the white rabbit flew off the antenna so once again I slowed down and pulled off to pick it up. As I got out of the truck and passed the bed I found that the two hippies had lit a joint and that a spark had landed among the luggage and bags at the back of the bed and the whole thing had caught on fire. Had I driven for another minute or two that whole kit and caboodle would have gone up in flame, but as I caught it in time only a couple pieces of luggage were ruined along with the mattress. Put out the fire and retrieved the rabbit.

Finally about a year later, the old rabbit was torn and shredding so we removed it, dug a hole and gave it a proper burial.

Just sharing here on a cool afternoon while taking a break from splitting wood for the winter. I had not thought of these events for a decade or two so thanks for reading should you have gotten around to it. NOW, back the the wood.

Dude how can you post without including this!



BTW: Nice story

Maybe even the same years as your events took place, myself and a couple of friends were doing much the same as you, we were in a Sunbeam Alpine, the driver said somethings not right, suddenly we were swerving all over the place, when we finally managed to stop and got out to take a look we found one of the front wheels had come of and by some miracle it layed flat under the hub and acted as a skid, had it not done so we too may have died.

Those were the days

Feed your head.

Remember the guy with the red beard and the beat up Gibson, with the plump little blonde girl? That was me....

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I hope you're not driving the same old Chevy.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Not much to say really other than great story. You will get those closed minded claiming coincidences. However I feel these kinds of situations show either someone is looking out for you or you are looking out for you (theory of creating your own reality).
Either way you are here to tell the story which is obviously part of your path you are taking.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Great story! I'm embarrassed to say...I thought this was going to be about the sexual aid still popular amongst some today

a reply to: VoidHawk

They sure were Void. I had for years and years an old black and white picture of Grace that I had snapped up close at an early 'free concert' in Golden Gate Park. I blew it up into a poster that hung on the wall for years. That girl could belt it out. Sad that general history does not remember her as well as it could.

a reply to: olaru12

Not the guy or the Gibson, but the little plump blond, well, that's another story.

a reply to: liteonit6969

That's pretty much how I have taken it Lite. I don't know who or what, just that that is how is feels to me also. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It felt good remembering and telling it again after all these years.