After attending a Gospel Meeting near Carthage, TN, I saw a woman with a backpack walking on the side of a rural highway at 10:30PM at night.  I know this because I almost hit her had she not be on the shoulder of the road.  It was a rural stretch of road and there was no commercial areas near this area.  There was a house a few hundred yards away.

I see two scenarios.  One is that it was planned.  Someone who had no car was walking home from a party or other engagement.

The other is that it was unplanned.  A car broke down or some other accident and this person was forced to walk to her next destination.  Hence the unusual nature and timing of the event.

I could have stopped, but I make it a rule never to stop for hitchhikers.  She could have pulled out a gun from that backpack.  She wasn’t exactly thumbing a ride….or maybe it was too fast for her to get my attention.  In any case I still wonder about her background, and if she made it to her destination.