EARTH PEOPLE

I've seen them quite often once the snow had melted. "Earth People" I say to Craig, as we drive by them. They sit and walk along side the highways, often times with a dog, looking as if a shower was the last thing they have seen in a very long time. Their clothes are dirty, their hair unkempt, their backpacks seemingly the only thing weighing heavy on their shoulders. Back in the day, they were called "Hippies", but I think "Earth People" suits them better.

Today, pulling into the truck stop in Biggs Junction, OR, we saw numerous "Earth People" milling around. From our first parking spot we occupied, I watched as a couple of them were carrying large yellow containers, which at first I thought was water. Craig and I had observed their old painted over school bus, filled to it's capacity, not only with property, but with bodies. At least 6 of them were sitting in what shade the bus provided, on the asphalt, their dreadlocks hanging in their faces, making it at times difficult to decipher the males from the females.
When we moved to our final parking spot, the one near the fuel island, where we are always entertained by watching the comings and goings of the truckers, we spotted the "Earth People" now in pairings of a male and a female, heading back with their large yellow container, wandering in and out of the fuel islands. It was then that we realized what they were doing. They were not stocking up on water for drinking or for bathing, what they were doing, was walking up to the drivers on the fuel island and asking for fuel.


Now you would think, in this day and age of high fuel prices, that they would have been turned away without much thought, but we counted at least 8 times since we had arrived, that they lugged a now heavy sloshing container of fuel to their bus. I truly was amazed at the generosity of the drivers, but then also knowing it was most likely being done on the driver's company fuel card.

They must have gotten as much as they could, because before I could focus my camera to frame the shot, they were heading out the parking lot and onto the Interstate. Probably going as far as the fuel would take them, stopping to enjoy where they ended up, and then going about the ritual of asking for "donations" to get them yet further down the road.

I guess the truck drivers who were donating to their cause felt a kindred spirit with these "Earth People". After all, they too travel the roads, from one destination to another, never quite knowing where they will end up from one week to the other. As they drove off, I had to admire their basic belief in the good in their fellow man to offer assistance when needed. I guess there's something to be said for doing unto others as you would have others do unto you.