Ch. 23 (cont.)
We all sat around the fire pit that night after supper
talking over days gone by. We had baited and placed our fishing poles in a deep
area of the river and were watching them as we talked. There were no bites but
we hoped it would improve as the night went along. Lee’s leg was hurting him
and he would walk stiff legged hoping to not pull the threads in his stitches. Ann
had left the bandage off to get some air to help with the healing and applied a
topical antibiotic to keep the area moist. In my opinion it looked like bloody
hell , but years ago I passed up the opportunity to become a doctor instead
followed the sage advice of my mom who insisted I get a real job that wasn't
going to cost me a fortune to get , and it should be something I knew about. Like farming. Ha! I ended up
going to a 2 year associate degree junior college that told you the ins and out
of farming . Everything, except how to get more than minimum wage out of the
miserly bastards who own farms, and offer little in compensation , like my
parents and other farmers I have worked
for.
They never
have any money, and are always going broke and never have a good day. Just
could never understand how they stayed in business so long or better yet why
they would want to. I mean if all you ever was or will be is miserable and
broke and never having any fun and can never find anyone who can’t appreciate
good hard work and live off minimum wage then why are you in the business.
Anyhow I was never able to find a good long lasting job on a farm unless you
consider that in my spare time over the years I spent a lot of time helping my
parents for free on their farm. By the time they were ready to release the
reins of the family farm I already had a bad back. I should have bit the bullet
and became a brain surgeon and then I could maybe understand Lee’s obsession to
climb these trees he definitely won’t be climbing for a few weeks. And maybe I
could give him my opinion of how nasty that leg looks. But in some ways the
swelling was coming down some.
Ann still
complained of a slight headache and I convinced her to have an x-rat herself,
and have her neck and back checked out. Why they didn't do it at the hospital
in Oxford , I will never know. Seems to me that would be standard operating procedure
when hit in the ass by moronic truck drivers with no sense of color detection and
with a bad case of cellphoneitis from having head up their butts and cell phone
in their ear, all this leading to virtually eliminating any chance of being
able to operate a vehicle the size of a semi successfully.
I guess
conclusions are easy to jump to, maybe the truck driver saw the impending crash
and suddenly called the 911 operator knowing help was needed. That he had
really screwed up this time. Chances are he was probably checking on the wife
at home with her part time lover as they would take advantage of the trucker
being out of town as they try to find time to get together in a love tryst. All
three of us had subscribed to different theories as to why the trucker managed
to kill Lee and Ann’s dreams for a moment. But Lee and Ann seemed determined to
get back on track after this little setback.
I recalled as
we at around the fire retelling stories of woe about past wrecks we had, of a
time when me and this girl I was dating were rear ended in Marietta Ohio just
down the river from where I live now. It was late and I had just visited a Dunkin
Donuts and had hot coffee on the dash. My
sweetheart at the time was on the bench seat in the front of the old Grand Torino
boat I was driving. a 4 door family special I had picked up which offered semi
reliable transportation . Actually it was running great that night as I
attempted to make a left hand turn. My girlfriend was getting ready to give me
a bite of cream stick when we heard tires screeching and felt a terrible thump
in the rear of the car pushing us through the intersection into the path of an oncoming
car. The coffee that had ben sitting in the dash suddenly ended up in my crotch
hot and scalding and the cream stick was smashed all across my face as well,
since she was sitting in the center of the seat while attempting to feed me. The
seat went backwards as it broke its mounting and we ended up in the back seat.
We were not hurt except for our pride and I ended up driving that beast with
crinkle marks clean-up to the rear wheel wells for at least 2 weeks till they
finally settled for a pittance of what they should. I believe the guy to be drunk,
but at that time he knew the officer writing the ticket and nothing was done
about it. It was a different time in our lives and things like that were let go
at times depending on who you knew.
After telling
that story we noticed the poles a jumping a little bit signaling a bite on one
of them. Lee concentrated on his pole as Ann went on about her story. Actually
it wasn't her story but one about her friends in this house she shared as roommates
at college. These 5 girls had planned to get some off campus housing at the
college Ann went to. They planned on sharing the cost, and being able to save
some money for having a good time. Unfortunately fate played a role in their lives,
as one girl lost her life after drinking a fifth of whiskey with a male friend
and smacking into a tree head on. Another lost her life after leaving her job
on a lunch break at night and hitting a semi backing cross ways onto a highway
and decapitating the friend she was with and her, both in her car as it went under the trailer
of the semi. The third had slipped while hiking in a local park while drinking
and fell over 100 feet to her death. This left Ann with some heavy baggage and
little use for drugs or alcohol in her life. We were all silent for awhile
after her story, not knowing what to say until Ann spoke again of the how it
had affected her and probably saved her life and the other friend who was left.
Although she never kept in touch with
her other friend, both had quit drinking and using drugs. The other girl left
for her hometown and never spoke to Ann again; Ann supposed she only wanted to
forget that portion of her life when so many young souls were taken away from
her so violently. Martyrs as Ann described them to serve as a reminder to how
fragile life is. To be sitting talking about boyfriends in the morning over
coffee and preparing for another funeral at night. Ann felt the house was
haunted and just wanted out, so moved back to campus to finish her degree. Lee
said he had never heard that story and in some ways I am sure Ann would rather
not have had the opportunity to tell such tragic tale. It makes one wonder why
one life was spared and others taken in this random world. Ann said in two of
the deaths she was supposed to go with them but had other plans that prevented
her from going. She was supposed to go with the first girl who ended up in a tree
and the third girl who slipped hiking. This also had a profound effect on her
and made her question her existence.
Lee said he was
lucky he had her in his life and noticing her suddenly somber mood arose and
walked stiff legged to her chair and bent over and kissed her and hugged her
and said it all would be alright. And he said that Ann was spared because
someone knew he would need an angel later in life. Ann kissed and hugged him
back as she fought back tears.
Lee took a turn
at telling a tale of woe as he told of a time when he narrowly escaped death by
car when the 1969 mercury cougar convertible he was in flipped over and threw
him from one side of the car to other then landed on top of him and drug him up
a gravel road not more than 200 yards from his house. And to top this off a tow
truck driver attempting to lift the car off of him almost backed on top of him
in the confusion of everyone trying to get him out quick. They still had to pry
the window frame off of this same banged up knee to free his legs to get him
out of the car. The only thing Lee had in injuries that time was a road burn
where he picked gravel out of his side for weeks to come. This was even after a
nurse used a sandpaper block or at least it felt that way to clean the wound at
the hospital. He was able to walk slowly away from that one.
We finally gave
up on catching anything and was pulling our lines in for the night when Ann
realized she had a fish on and when she pulled her line in after a little
struggle, a six inch catfish was to be found. Not even large enough to do anything
but eat the bait. We laughed as Ann won the bet of first fish caught and we paid
her a dollar both Lee and I owed her. Then I wished them a good night as they
headed off to the little house for some sleep.
I lay in bed
with my dog babe laying on the floor beside me and thought back to how crazy
and spent our youth was doing and accomplishing nothing but fun and at what
expense. I thought of Ann and her story and felt for her and her burden she
carried for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment