Chapter 19: The Dad's Other Job

 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

 

Chapter 16: To Cold To Run

 The Boy grew from an almost 5 foot 5ish kid to an almost 6 foot monster in a course of a little over a summer.  At the beginning of the summer he was 5 foot 5 or 6 and began eating like a horse, working hard and working out hard.  Being a fan of the Jack Lalanne show on TV he began using Lalanne's method of body building and exercise  to gain the fitness that every teenager desires.  The Boy began a routine of pushups, pullups, and various versions of sit ups in the morning and in the evening.  It was at this time that The Boy also began running. Road work is always the best way for a fighter to increase stamina and lung capacity.  The Boy was becoming addicted to the working out part of his life.  

The summer past and the work was hard.  Throwing 50 to 100 pound hay bales around in multitudes is good for the bod.  At the end of the summer The Boy was almost 6 feet tall and 200 pounds.  He was doing hundreds of push ups every day, and could do almost as many pull ups.  A thousand sit ups every morning helped build a strong trunk.  The Boy walked into the varsity center position on the Foot ball team, not many of his team mates could do a hundred pushups at a time.  The coach was impressed.  

The Football season melted into the Wrestling season and The Boy sweat down to 180 pounds to wrestle for the AAU, Amateur Athletic Union.   Because of his Family practices The Boy was becoming a world class Greco Roman Wrestler.  Greco Roman Wrestling is in many respects very much like competitive Judo or Jiujitsu.  Both, The Boy was intimately familiar with.   

The Winter was here and The Boy continued to run.  He would rise early in the morning head out the back door of the Bel Aire, down the road to the Highway.  At the Highway He would turn left and run toward town.  Each morning The Boy would add just a little more distance in his run then turn and run back to the Bel Aire.  Every morning after his run he would shower, shave, eat breakfast, and be reminded by The Dad to get to school on time.  Often He would catch a ride to school with The Dad, most the time he would drive himself.  He always arrived early enough at school to visit the weight room for an hour or so before school started.  Lift, pushups, pullups, sit-ups, shower, then classes began.  After school, practice, which meant rolling around the mat, running the halls, and building his repertoire of usable moves.    A good competitive wrestler only uses between 4 and 6 moves. 2 to 3 take downs and 2 to 3 pinning moves, but He gets very good at them.  The Boy was.

The winter of 1976 in northern Montana was harsh.  At times it was almost warm, at other times is was cold enough to keep everything still.  When the wind blows in the desert and it's 30 degrees below zero nothing alive will move until the sun warms the land.  The thing about that winter was the changes in temperature.  The body will get comfortable in almost fall temperatures, then the temp. will drop below zero, way below zero.  

The day before a morning run it was warm.  Snow was melting, and even birds could be seen in the trees.  It felt like a fall or spring Friday, the beginning of a fantastic weekend.  The Boy went to a movie, Logon's Run was playing at the Cotton wood in Havre. The Boy liked Science Fiction, and Logon's Run did not disappoint.  After the movie He drove home, fed the horses, milked Bessy #5, ate some dinner and went to bed.  

The alarm woke The Boy early and He crawled out of bed, put on his winter running gear, and headed out the door.  He forgot that this was Saturday or he would have stayed longer in bed, but the addicted habit kicked in.  He ran down the road to the Highway, it was cold, something in the air didn't feel right, but he kept running.  He took a left down the Highway and ran towards the Angus Ranch down the road.  He felt off, this was as cold as he ever remember feeling cold.  The Boy turned and began running his way back to the Bel Aire.  He had a headache and his vision was blurring.  "This is not good," he thought to himself.    

He arrived at the back porch of the Bel Aire and wiped his face.  He had a bloody nose and could not see well.  The door flew open and The Dad grabbed Him and pulled Him into the house.  He was going in and out of consciousness, and He could not see what was happening.  The Dad wrapped Him  in a wool blanket, put him in the back seat of the 1968 Chevy Impala Super Sport.  The Old Man was in the driver's seat and The Dad crawled into the back seat with The Boy.  The Old Man tested the engineering of the small block formula 409 in the Chevy and headed balls to the wall towards the Northern Montana Hospital in Havre.  Dr. Elliot the team Doc. was waiting for them when they arrived.  This was early enough in the morning that no Highway Patrol were on the road.  It took less than 15 minutes for The Old Man to drive that car an excess of 12 miles to the Hospital.  The Boy was unconscious when they arrived.    He was not breathing.

The Boy woke to the sound of Deep Purple playing, "Smoke On The Water." from a small tape deck that The Sister had brought to the Hospital.  He could not talk, there was a tube going down his throat.  The Sister told him that Dr. Elliot had to have him intubated so he could breath. She had been crying.  

The Dad, The Old Man, The Mom, Grandma, and Dr. Elliot all walked into the room at the same time.  The Boy thought to himself, "Who's dying?"  The Old Man looked down and him, smiled and pointed at him.  The Old Fart was always reading his thoughts.  

Dr. Elliot spoke, "Well sir, you are lucky.  You managed to frost bite your upper lungs.  Your body responded to protect itself and shut down before you died.  Your eyes will be fine, you had moisture freezing in them.  The next time look at the weather before you go running, it was 60 below zero last night. You'll stay here a few days and heal.  It'll be good for you."

The Old Man was shaking his head and laughing, The Dad patted him on the shoulder, The Mom kissed his forehead, The Grandma hugged him, and The Sister punched him hard in the arm, "No more running in the Dark." She said.  

Peace and Balance,

John  

Chapter 14: A Trip To Edmonton With The Old Man And Jerry Reed

 

When The Boy was about 12 or maybe 13 he went on a long haul delivery with The Old Man.  It was summer time and The Mom thought it would be a good idea for The Boy to spend the summer with The Old Man, and The Old Man agreed. And why not. This time The Dad was chuckling.  All he would say is, "Good luck fellas, and have a good drive."

The Boy helped The Old Man load up the rig and checked all the fluids in the truck.  The oil was good, the coolant was good, the fuel tanks were topped off, and the tires all had proper air pressure.  All was good.  The Old Man said goodbye to The Grandma, and The Boy Hugged The Mom.  The Dad just smiled at the two as they crawled into the cab of the truck and started her up.  A puff of black smoke, then boom the engine was purring like a tame tiger.  "We're going to Cut Bank to pick up a trailer, then off to Edmonton to make our delivery." said The Old Man.

The road to Cut Bank traveled west on Highway 2 for about 2 or 3 hours depending on your speed and if you stop to view the river.  The highway winds around the front of the Milk River in that spot, the very top of the Missouri, and has a pull off that makes viewing pleasant and a convenient place to stretch the legs.  The Old Man always made an excuse to pull off here.  The Boy enjoyed watching him stand facing the rising sun quietly talking to himself.  At the end of his self speech he always raised his arms high and said an out loud, "HO."  

"What was that for?" The Boy asked.  

"Oh, I promised Your Grandmother I wouldn't forget the Pelicans."  

"Huh?" The Boy pictured Pelicans over the ocean, not in the middle of a desert.

The Old Man explained that as far as he could remember back, and that was a long time since The Old Man was, Old. As far back as he could remember the American White Pelican has been  migrating to this section of the river and nesting in the middle of spring, and by this time of year, early summer the parent birds were teaching the young how to fly.  As he said that The Old Man pointed high over the river and The Boy saw a couple huge white birds with black and red markings at the mid point of a very long wing.  "These fellas are responsible for much of The Peoples Lore and Mythology." The Old Man explained. They became messengers from afar."  Which made perfect sense to The Boy as Pelicans fly all the way from the Ocean to get here.  As it turns out, these birds come from Lake Superior.  The Old Man knew the migratory habits. "Interesting", thought The Boy.

 After a short bite to eat The Old Man and The Boy climbed back into the rig and headed west for Cut Bank which was about 45 minutes away from the pull out.  "An empty semi tractor is the most dangerous vehicle on the road." explained The Old Man, "Driving one of these things is taking the responsibility of the whole road into your hands.  You are the king of the road." The Old Man then popped a cassette into the stereo on the dash and Jerry Reed started singing, "King Of The Road."  The two laughed all the way into Cut Bank.  The Old Man had impeccable timing. 

Cut Bank is not a very big place.  Then again nothing in Northern Montana is big, just spread out.  The Old Man turned the Truck down a street that said, 2nd Ave. NE on the sign.  He muttered something about hiding things in out of the way places then pulled up to a grain elevator sitting outside a small apartment complex called, Buffalo Grass Apartments.  Parked in front of the elevator was a trailer that had a yellow and blue stripe painted down it's side.  He backed the tractor up to the front of the trailer until the hitch clunked into place.  Then he pulled forward just a couple feet to set the pin.  The Boy and The Old Man got out and The Old Man showed The Boy how to set up the airlines for the brakes and the final setting of the trailer.  After walking the trailer and thumping the tires with a ballpeen hammer The Old Man checked the brakes, all was good.  He checked a list on his travel tablet and said, "Ok, Let's go."  

The Old Man turned the truck north on 213 toward Medicine Hat in Alberta Canada.  The Old Man said, "It'll take about 3 hours to get to Medicine Hat then we'll get some dinner.  Then He plugged in some more Jerry Reed and they sang stupid songs all the way to Medicine Hat.  Songs like, "When You're Hot Your Hot, East Bound and Down, Amos Moses, and the Bandit.  Jerry Reed was one of the preferred musicians of the long haul trucker, according to The Old Man.   The Boy just thought he was eccentric.  After all he's been known to do the weirdest things just for kicks.  The Grandma would tell The Boy that he was just like The Old Man.  "When You're Hot You're Hot, When You're Not You're Not."  The Boy heard The Old Man sing, then laugh.  He knew what The Boy was thinking. 

For the next two and a half hours Jerry Reed became the tool The Old Man used to torcher The Boy.  The two where laughing so hard at one point He had to pull the truck over to regain his composure.  After he started driving again in the distance a low building could be see with a light going across it that was shining red.   The Old Man stopped the rig and got out.  The Boy followed him out of curiosity.  This was The Wild Horse Border crossing into Canada. The customs officer came out of the building and checked The Old Man's books.  They traveled to the back of the truck and opened the doors.  The Officer looked in and said, "Ok".  He gave the books back to The Old Man and took a set of metal seals out of his pocket and wove them around the door lock and the ring holder at the bottom of the door.  He stamped The Old Man's book with a red stamp and said, "You're all set."  

The Old Man said, "Thank you sir." and they got back into the truck.  Off again,  Medicine Hat was just on the horizon.  The Old Man took a left on The Canadian transcontinental route 1 and the Truck steered toward Calgary in the west.  3 hours to drive and they will arrive at the Home of the Calgary Stampede, one of the worlds largest rodeos.  Which is more like a national fair than just a rodeo.  It attracts over a million visitors every July with it's 10 days of rodeo, festivities, concerts, stage shows, agricultural exhibits, and cultural exhibitions of the First Nations People.  A good time had by all.

 The Old Man drove through Calgary and headed out on Canadian Route 2 north heading towards Edmonton, "3 more hours and we'll be there." he said.  The Boy wondered how he manages to drive so long without stopping.  They've been on the road for a good 9 hours so far.  The Boy crawled into the sleeper of the truck to take a nap.  He was tired.

The Boy woke and found that the truck was parked outside a truck stop café, The Old Man was no where to be seen.  The Boy crawled out of the cab of the truck in search of a bathroom and found a row of porta pottys lining the outside curb of the parking lot  relief was at hand.  He then went in search of The Old Man, who he found in the restaurant sitting at a table talking to a waitress drinking coffee.  The Boy walked to the table and The Old Man introduced him to the waitress, "I'd like you to meet your cousin Thelma." He said.  The Boy was astonished not knowing there were relatives north of the boarder.  But, of course it makes sense The People didn't just stay in Montana or the northern reaches of The US, they traveled to Grandmother's Land, the nick name of Canada coined by Sitting Bull in the late 1700's.  He called Canada grandmother's land because that's what he referred to Queen Victoria.  "Nice to meet you." The Boy said.  The family is getting bigger.

"Tonight we stay here at the rest stop.  Tomorrow we'll drive into Edmonton and deliver the trailer then head back into Montana.  Maybe we'll see some sights on the way.  What do you think?" asked The Old Man.  

"Cool" was the all The Boy could muster.  He was reaching the age of non conversation.  All Boy's go through this stage.  This is the Ugh, and nod stage of development, adult conversation hasn't evolved yet.  So he Ugh'd and nodded.  The rest just sort of fell into place.

The Boy stayed in the sleeper, and The Old Man stayed in the Rest Stop.  There were tiny sleeping rooms there for over night truckers that the restaurant rented for cheap.  The Boy actually slept very well in the rig.  The Old Man locked him in when the sun began dropping and showed him how to use the small black and white TV in the sleeper cab.  The Boy was in heaven.  He slept like a rock.  

The Boy woke with a start after The Old Man unlocked the cab door and crawled into the truck.  He handed The Boy his bag and pointed at the Truck Stop, "In there you'll find showers and a bathroom.  Clean up and we'll get some breakfast and head out."  

The Boy took the bag and headed to the shower.  His newly found cousin met him at the door and led him to the bathrooms and left him to his business. The showers were cold, the floors concrete, and the toilets clean.  The Boy woke up quickly and headed back out to the truck.  About half the way there he was met by an ugly looking rather unsavory fellow that spoke to him in an American accent.  He was from Washington State heading East.  The Boy's instincts were telling him to get away from this person as fast as he could, but the ugly guy wouldn't let him pass.  The Boy ducked and ran around him toward the truck.  The ugly guy was following him.  The Boy managed to get to the passenger side of the rig, but the unsavory fellow had beaten him there.  The Boy was beginning to panic, just a bit, when he heard a familiar clearing throat behind him.  The Old Man had moved like a Big Cat and pounced on the ugly guy in an instant.  He had the guy by the front of his jacket with his left hand and his right hand was lodged under the fellows throat holding onto the lapel of his coat.  The Old Man had his right thumb forced under the ugly guy's adam's apple and the guy could not talk.  The Old Man was whispering to him very close and The Boy noticed that the unsavory fellow was dangling feet in the air.  The Old Man had him in a position where his mortality was in question.  After talking to him The Old Man let him go and he dropped to the pavement.  The ugly guy got to his feet and ran as fast as he could away from The Boy and The Old Man.  The Old Man said, "Ready to eat?"  And they went to the restaurant to get some breakfast.  

The road to Edmonton was a very nice ride.  The Old Man and The Boy didn't talk about what had happened at the truck stop at all.  When they arrived at Edmonton they delivered the trailer to a housing complex on the outskirts of the city.  The Old Man backed the truck into a long driveway, unhooked the hoses, wacked the locking plate a couple times with a sledge and pulled away from the trailer.  He spoke to the customer who cut the seals off and signed The Old Man's book.  They crawled back into the cab of the tractor and started the journey back.  The Boy looked at The Old Man and said, "Thank You."  

 The Old Man put a hand on his shoulder, smiled and said, "That guy was a real creep. It was my pleasure."  

They played Jerry Reed on the way back and sang stupid songs..  The Old Man had saved The Boy's life...

Peace and Balance,

John  

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