It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, however often you look into eyes and see nothing of the soul. The Old man taught The Boy how to look behind what the eyes deny to the person inside. It is not the soul the eyes reveal, but who contains a soul. Many times there is no soul.
The Boy was older now and had become a capable person. He would work with many different people from all over The United States. Some of these folks had agendas that had nothing to do with the job at hand. It would prove interesting in encounters with what The Old Man would call soul less people.
The Dad would travel for an unknown job. In-between his job teaching at the local High School and periods of rest, The Dad would quietly disappear to places unknown. Occasionally either by USPS or an other carrier a package would arrive for The Family that would contain trinkets, small toys, and short notes from places all over the globe. The Family never knew what form of work The Dad was involved in or how he got from The Property to wherever, only that he would disappear then reappear without notice, usually during a time of rest from school. This part time employment lasted for more than 10 years.
Not often, but occasionally the part time employment would travel back with The Dad. He would spend time drawing small sketches of airplanes, tanks, riflemen, and other war looking pictures that he called his therapy. Then He, The Old Man, and The Boy would go into the garage, or the back yard and practice the art of toss The Boy. This was great fun for The Old Man and The Dad, however is was becoming more and more difficult to toss The Boy as he was now closer to a 200 pound man that would toss back. The Three enjoyed this time and were very good at the game. The Dad would always thank The Old Man and The Boy. It seemed the game was cheaper that visiting a professional therapist.
The Boy visited a tournament in Billings with The Grandma as moral support. The Grandma had an old student competing in the tournament that was a "Rotten Boy" and said to The Boy, "Put him in his place he is a bully and deserves a good lesson." Then she smiled up and The Boy knowing she had just instigated a certain amount of mayhem.
The Boy said, "Yes Mam." And when the two met in the center of the ring He looked beyond the eyes of the bully to the person behind them and filled the bully with fear. The whistle blew and The Boy reacted swiftly and rolled the bully into a Head In Arm followed by a rear choke. The Bully slapped out. The Boy won the match and the honor of The Grandma. He came home with the tournament.
The Grandma smiled and said, "That was an important lesson." They drove back to Havre and The Property stopping off at the CM Russel camp ground for a picnic. This was The Boy's favorite part of the trip. The Grandma always had the best picnic lunches packed. Sandwiches, lemon cakes with butter frosting, boiled eggs, and a home made fruit drink that was sweet and fulfilling. The Boy was in food heaven. The Grandma could cook.
The Boy turned right onto the gravel road leading to The Property and could see some cars in the distance parked in the driveway. The closer they drove to the driveway he could see what looked like The Old Man standing over a man dressed in black with his arm twisted in what looked to be an uncomfortable position. They drove closer and turned into the driveway. The Boy opened the door to the pickup and heard the fellow on the ground screaming in agony and The Old Man telling him to quit complaining. Where was The Dad?
The Grandma said, "Go" and The Boy was off like a shot. He ran to the Front of Winston and found The Dad face to face with a largish young man about a head taller than The Dad, who at his 5 foot 5 inch stature was still an imposing man.
The closer The Boy moved to The Dad and his assailant He could hear the largish fellow making various insults and threats. The Dad had a gleam in his eye and a slight smile on his face, he was enjoying the battle. The Boy heard The Grandma's voice come from the pickup, "Look out!" she said.
The Boy felt movement and ducked. A body flew over the top of his shoulder and rolled into a pile in the dirt. A man stood up and looked at him. The Boy looked beyond his eyes at the person standing there and the man froze in place for a brief moment then lunged forward. He was stopped in an instant when The Dad's hand grabbed the back of his collar which elevated the man into the air. He landed so hard a very loud crack could be heard above the screaming. The man was done fighting. The Old Man had his foe tied into a knot and came over the help. He was laughing, and The Boy looked over the battle ground. Three assailants, three injured foe. He recognized one as a kid He knew from school. The other two he didn't know. The Mom wasn't home.
When the deputies arrived The Grandma was administering some first aid and the Three broken assailants were all crying and in pain. The deputies handcuffed the three and were stuffing them into the back of a couple cruisers when another vehicle pulled into the driveway followed by a van with bars on the windows. A few rather large gentlemen dressed in black emerged from the van and one walked over to The Dad and saluted him. That was a first for The Boy, to see The Dad receive a salute from an unknown man dressed in black. The Deputies were complaining saying something about jurisdiction when The Dad whispered something to the deputy sergeant. The complaining stopped and the sheriff department left the scene. The Three broken bad guys were then piled into the van.
The fellow that talked to The Dad stuck his hand out to The Boy and shook his hand. He asked a few questions and The Boy told him he recognized one of the three as a boy from school. The Man In Black said "That's interesting." Talked more with The Dad who seemed to be in charge, then got back into the black truck and the rest piled into the van with the three broken bad guys, then drove off.
The Boy just stared at The Dad for awhile and The Old Man shook his head and said something about not bringing work home with him. The Dad nodded and said, "Lots of paperwork, lots of paperwork." Then The Grandma stuck her head out of Winston and said, "Dinners ready." The Mom just pulled into the driveway pulling a horse trailer behind her blue Chevy Truck.
Peace and Balance,
John
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