accordingly , he was standing on the shoulder of route 26 at a quarter of four that afternoon , dressed in jeans and a loud plaid sport coat , his thumb out , a paper bag in his other hand . he looked mean enough to bring down a moose , and wise enough to know better . i was an only child , but my mother desperately wanted more . we went through the vents for hours . `` if you 're going to shoot me , use mine . she frowned with her eyes closed and yawned again . 