In my early teen years in Rockville my buddies and I would hitchhike along Rockville Pike on Saturdays —just down to Congressional Plaza, a couple miles south on Rockville Pike, or sometimes to Washington, D.C. It was something to do for restless, suburban kids. Hitchhiking was safe in those days, as was picking up hitchhikers. If we ended up at Congressional, we would hang out at the People’s Drug Store, buying Slim Jims or cherry-flavored cigars—Swisher Sweets—or White Owl Tiparillos. Usually I would go with Dave Kizler or Kevin Seavey. The drug store also had a lunch counter (later, when I turned 16, I would work there as a short-order cook). Rockville Pike, as now, was lined with car dealerships and all kinds of stores. We would go to the Plymouth and Dodge dealer to check out the muscle cars—RoadRunners, Barracudas, Chargers. Belby’s liquor store was near First Street at that time, further north from where it is today. We would go there to buy candy