Hitchin' at the Crossroads

"Hitchin' at the Crossroads" is an excellent example of a human interest story. The story does a good job of seeking ordinary people and telling us how they are being affected. We are introduced to four different types of people and are shown a piece of their life. However, I feel like the story leaves the reader wondering what the long-term affects of hitchin' are. We are told why the people are hitchin' and how they are affected in the moment, but we are never told what happens to them in the end. It is clear that the reason the story is being written is for human interest. People are interested in different types of lifestyles and want to read about how other people live. There are no real bureaucrats in this story; the hitchers in the story are the only sources. Key questions raised by this story are why do these people feel they have to resort to hitching, is it safe, and how are other people affected by these hitchers? Overall, I enjoyed reading the story but felt that it seemed a bit irrelevant to most readers. Readers want to read about other people's lives in relation to their own lives. I think the story could have done a better job of letting the reader know how they could empathize with these hitchers and how hitchers can affect their personal lives.