good neighbor or bad ? cont.

Good neighbor or Bad (cont.)

 city owned land in the distance

       The condition of the creek continued for years as daily we would ride our school bus over the concrete bridge heading into East Sparta and hardly ever do I believe when I was growing up, you could ever see the bottom of the creek. This was the norm for almost forty years and the sad part was it was not always coming from the farm instead from the city of Canton’s new sewage plant in North Industry that was pumping raw sewage into the creek at times of high water to clean out there tanks or for whatever insane purpose they decided it was necessary. The Nimisilla Creek was Cantons dirty little secret and for years they abused it and the wildlife that depended on the creek with reckless abandon. Knowing full well if that creek was running like that through Monument Park surely they would be moved to find the culprit. For some reason oddly, our area accepted it as the norm. Never complaining much as it was something we grew up next to and felt I guess we were helpless when it came to complaining about something like effluent runoff.

       I guess we were helpless when it came to depending on our Stark County Health Department who must have turned a blind eye to the problem for years as well as to a lot of other violations that surely would have landed the ordinary individual into hot water now. Or maybe they just lacked the power to do anything about it. Not sure and pointing fingers at past administrations is a lot like running out of toilet paper so to speak. You can sit and cry all day on the pot but if no one hears you still have a mess to clean up and fortunately the EPA(Environmental Protection Agency ),  a larger and more powerful governmental body stepped in and handed Canton a roll of toilet paper metaphorically speaking and told them to clean up their act.

      At this time the city had workers who would tend ditches and these ditches stretched from one end of the farm to the next and at times would extend on to other farms including ours. Along these crap ditches they would cut openings with a shovel and allow the raw sewage in most cases to flow over the hills until it would head for a stream then they would close it off, if they didn’t fall asleep in one of the many shacks they would use to sleep or read their dirty books in. We knew as we would visit those shacks and also check out their dirty books also when they were not there. That was their job to tend the ditches. At times I wondered what they had done in their life to get such a glorious job. When seen working they never moved very fast or became excited about to much but instead just plodded along oblivious to the obvious smell .

     When my grandfather purchased this property in 1943 they were doing the same thing as they were in 1968 , twenty five years of pumping sludge all over that farm. When Grandpa and Grandma moved in a city truck followed them in the lane and told them not to drink the water as it was contaminated by run off from their sewage operations. In the more than a quarter of a century of spreading their sludge over their farm and grass growing up through the sludge , it  created  ground so soft your legs would ache from walking over it.

       One day  somewhere up on that hillside ,  maybe someone  lying on that soft grass smoking a cigarette  after a good ditch cleaning and smoking a cigarette,  or maybe it was set on purpose as it was never determined, but anyhow, who ever and whatever happened  there was a fire that started over the hill and raged out of control over fields that had repeatedly been doused with crap and then would grow again and soon an area of about ten acres was completely an inferno and raged so bad that they had to hire a dozer to come in and build a fire wall completely around the area to prevent the neighbors from losing their properties as the local fire departments were completely helpless to extinguish the fire. This fire burned out of control for at least a week and subsided into a smoky but more manageable fire as it was burning all the crap that they had placed there in the over thirty years they were doing this. Like buffalo chips human waste will burn and it burned for over 6 months as this happened in the summertime, and when me and my brother visited it in the winter it was still burning and it looked like a lunar landscape and could have easily been the place that NASA used for their staged moon walk if you believe the conspiracy theories. My brother and I would walk out across this ashen landscape and would sink to our waist in the resulting ash piles as the crap apparently had been that deep and burned to that depth and it only made you wonder just how much of that stuff was really placed there on that farm.

      No matter where you went on that farm you had to watch what you were doing as hazards of the worst kind may befall you. The worst part may be that you live to tell about it. Open lagoons of crap existed everywhere and ditches filled with crap and were often hidden under lush vegetation.

       Once when I was young , Carl Poole , a friend of our family ,  was hunting coon with us and I tired from walking through the lush vegetation, and it was dark ,  I was  quite young so he lifted me on his shoulders and as we were walking along with my brothers when all of a sudden we almost ended up in a sewage lagoon . In the dark knight with the black of the crap looming even darker below that edge of the pond , Carl weebled and he wobbled on the edge of that lagoon but he didn’t fall down and I was glad because I would have landed face first in that mess. And surely would have died a horrible death as no one in my family would have jumped in to save me. Maybe it’s a wonder I am still here to tell you any of this.

Part 2

The clean up

      The EPA sued the City of Canton and stopped all building permits until they dealt with the overflow problems of their overused sewage system. This was a tragedy to the developers of the Belden Village and other areas around Canton that depended on Cantons city sewers to dispose of waste.

       Not permitting any additional building or attaching anything to the sewage system was an economic down fall to the City of Canton. Also they had to construct an emergency reservoir to hold temporarily the excess sewage that was formally being flushed down the Nimisilla creek till it could be properly processed.

    These actions required the City of Canton to construct a large six acre lake of crap formerly called by the locals Lake Cmich, in honor of the City of Cantons then mayor. I as a youth was involved in the daily going events, as again the City of Canton saw fit to build this lake on their property in Pike Township or the City of Canton farm which our lane was right next to and I passed daily for years afterward to get on the bus. My brother and I had secured jobs with the contractor W.G.Lockhart for the cleaning of cleaning the tracks of the equipment when they were constructing the resulting structure or levee built under contract to the City of Canton.

     Daily both my brother and I would go to their work trailer and learn the technical aspects of such a huge project and in fact it was both my brother and I who alerted a local official about two of the deficiencies of construction that resulted in delaying Canton’s newest waste project. One was that they were starting to pump sewage prior to even finishing the lake. The earth work was barely four feet out of the ground and Canton was already pumping sewage into it. The second problem was that Lockhart construction hampered by severe cold weather had turned to placing four foot high frost balls in the levee as a fill, which when thawed would create voids that could possibly lead to a levee failure. Just what you want a six acre lake of crap rushing across St. Rt. 800 to the Nimisilla creek. After informing the official of this, work was halted at the site and my brother and I  were finally singled out as the source of information causing delays and our jobs as track cleaners were eliminated .

     The frost ball did cause damage and eventually that area of levee had to be repaired. Work resumed after us and eventually they were allowed to resume pumping waste while they added capacity to their plant. Another set of ponds was built by Beaver Excavating, and these were supposed to work as settling ponds and the waste in the final pond would then be sprayed onto the surrounding hillsides through irrigation equipment. It seemed all the effort of the city to eliminate a problem only tended to exacerbate the problem instead as apparently the powers in charge were never satisfied with allowing something to work the way it was supposed to or the crap was backing up and they needed to have a place to go. This resulted in them spraying one area till the crap was dripping off the trees and was running down the hillsides and ending up in the ditch going to Nimisilla Creek as again they found a way to again pollute the creek. Finally the lake was finished and they filled the lake and then the ditch cleaners were given a new job and that was riding around on a pontoon boat and spraying for gnats over the top of that six acre lake.

      We would kid each other as we would say we thought we saw them fishing in the lake as they trawled around. Geese would winter over in the winter time and ducks soon found homes there year around as wildlife tended to accept the temporary lake. Or so Canton called it. originally it was only supposed to be there ten years but instead ended up being there over twenty five years and still exists on Google maps as evidenced by clicking on my website at kevscarvings .com and looking at the map you will see a blue outline of a lake so big that in absentia it is still located on a major map. It is called the city of Canton sludge pond, and it is  just what you would use to describe your location.  The city of Canton was in no hurry to flush their crap instead letting it linger in that six acre bowl until it underwent a metamorphism and transformed itself into a wildlife sanctuary of sorts.

     People could be seen actually fishing in the water and as well as hunting around the lake. Thankfully though someone figured out that they needed to finally live up to their word and eventually it was drained and then the resulting effluent was hauled to a landfill and the area was reclaimed and is now an open field where it is nothing to see turkey or deer running wild through it. The migrating geese have found other ponds and creeks to land on and most traces of anything that Canton used to do, as far as pumping of effluent over the hills has been discontinued thankfully and the area was allowed to restore itself naturally except for the daily dumping of waste from the screens which eventually was also discontinued and is now taken to the landfill as it should have been all along. Next came the raping of resources and the eventual cover up of some of the crappy remains of what they accomplished in an effort to receive the good neighbor award. (to be cont.)

bad neighbors?

Part One 

                                     Friends or Neighbors ?                                           

Entrance to City of Canton owned farm land. 

      I forget who actually quoted or in this case doctored the quote to fit their need. But this does sound appropriate as it is derived from another quote as it says; ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. The derived quote goes something like: ‘Forget your enemies it’s your neighbors you have to worry about’. At times this isn’t always true and for most people your neighbor would be part of an extended family.

    In the old days of farming, we depended on our neighbors as collectively they would gather and help bring in the crops. Come take care of an aged person when the family traveled. A variety of tasks could easily be exchanged between you and your neighbor while heading down life’s way. This wasn’t for cash but for a mutual unspoken trade of labor and this extended to watching the neighbor’s kids and advising the parents when someone was acting up. This stopped a lot of trouble as kids had nowhere to go that they were not singled out for their actions unlike today where at times we don’t even know who are neighbors are or how long they had those poor girls locked in the basement in chains as in the Castro case in Cleveland.

     More to home , I am speaking in terms of one of my neighbors and the environmental tragedy that unfolded over there across the fence in a time when we had no EPA( Environmental Protection Agency) and we left things up to the powers that be assuming they had all the answers of what was right and what was wrong.

    The authorities I am speaking of are the representatives of the city of Canton (Canton, Ohio) . Home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and at times the murder capital of the world, albeit that second claim to fame is only evidenced and surpassed at times by their insensitivity to anyone downstream from them, they at time s were less than responsible in accepting what should have been the norm at least and opting in favor of profit of individuals to achieve a moderate growth of unregulated population. These representatives were from another time and consisted of the mayor and city director , planners and whoever else was responsible for the unregulated housing and the inability of the city to maintain a healthy sewage system instead decided to allow for unregulated growth and an overflowing sewage system , that not only permitted unregulated releases of raw sewage into our public water system, namely Nimisilla creek but also advocated and encouraged unregulated waste disposal through raw sewage releases onto property they owned in Pike township on the farm next to us. This also became a dumping ground for the screens they used to filter the sewage that was processed by their inadequate and overflowing plant . this cake material consisted of spent condoms and seeds and whatever else would pass through a humans body that would become trapped in the screens and eventually would end up on the farm beside us only to be eventually be buried but not until it had laid there a considerable amount of time collecting flies and wild animals that would eat the crap vegetables and whatever that would sprout from the rich organic waste.

     I imagine somewhere in someone’s mind this may have started out as a good idea to finally utilize some of the waste streams that a young city the size of Canton Ohio , would create. Considerable effort and expense was used to utilize these resources as a new sewage plant was built on the side of the Nimisilla Creek convenient to both the creek and the farm , which required construction of a sewage pipeline I imagine that still exists today in some form and may still actually be used which scares me from a environmental view as it was antiquated in my youth. This new sewage plant built back in the 1940’s I assume or even earlier was located on the now City farm as it is called by locals. It was a collection of farms that the City of Canton purchased when they built the plant that was supposed to pre-treat the sludge as they called it and then distribute this sludge on to nearby farms and fields they acquired through a series of ditches and pipes, maintained by city workers who would flood certain portions of fields and allow a controlled runoff of waste to accumulate before moving to the next area. Efforts were made to farm and utilize this waste stream as humans eat quite well. Even the poorest of us and still have a high nitrogen content of our feces that encourages plant growth. But along with this is a thing called pathogens or harmful bacteria that arises as a result of mismanaged and unprocessed sewage,

     Thousand’s of workers came flocking to the city of canton during world war two  and places like Hercules and Timken were hiring in mass and a housing boom was created . overflowing the capacities of the existing sewage system   and at the same time allowing for unregulated dumping of waste products into our sewage system from industrial sources that utilized heavy metals such as zinc and lead which cannot be filtered out of the sewage and was eventually either spread on their farm or dumped into the Nimisilla Creek turning all fish belly side up in protest.

     Chippy Brothers, a well-respected principal I had at East Sparta Elementary once remarked to me in his old age ,  that when in his youth the Nimisilla was once one of the most prized trout fishing streams in the state of Ohio . Most of my youth I saw it as a lifeless stretch of stench punctuated by trash overflows and varied from brown to black depending on how much sewage was released. ( to be cont.)

back to the farm - followup on novel

Back To the Farm 

      Above is a lace vine i planted last year but continue to hold on to and enjoy watching it grow and bloom. Need to take some cuttings off of it to start more . I have also have an elephant ear plant in the greenhouse and need to start cuttings off of it too. i currently have a wide variety of seedlings for sale and now is a good time to buy trees to plant for windbreaks and in some ways fall is a better time to plant trees than spring as the moisture necessary to sustain young trees is more readily available them time to establish new roots. it is also a good time to fertilize and prune for growth all your trees as you can. 

Spider plant w/ elephant ear on side of stand. 

2 new carvings available. 

    Well I kinda got used to writing in Microsoft word and doing all my editing through it so this I what I plan on try to do in the future. In a way it kinda works for me allowing me to say what I want much easier. The book is done and it was an accomplishment for me and I plan on selling it so far. I also have plans for more books along the way, just not now. Instead I plan on giving you some insight as to how the farm has been coming along, my future plans, and carving events I have coming up.

     It has been quite the experience getting up daily and writing four to five pages of manuscript daily. The novel ‘Trip to Sequoia’ was 452 typewritten manuscript pages and took me approximately 3 months with only 2 days I missed that I didn’t write daily. That is kinda why I am writing now at 6 am. I couldn’t sleep and I was lying in bed wondering what I was going to write about now. I had never planned to try and sell the book in its present form understanding the early chapters were a little rough.

       I received a lot of complaints from people who wanted little things like maybe some editing while I was just trying to get my thoughts down on the puter. So I have an editor in place and editing should begin soon. Following that I plan on marketing the book if I can through a publisher. Granted I shared it all with you but still have a limited amount of exposure as compared to publishers who can market it much better. Should that fail I still plan on selling dvd’s of audio and the typed manuscript and will attempt to see what it takes to make an mp3 file that will allow you to download the book from my website to your tablet or pc. Of course if you followed the story then you may not need any of it.

      I would like to thank all of you for following my story as I went along on my ramblings. I was inspired by a certain person to write it from the beginning being told I would never be able to write a page a day consistently, at least not long enough to write a fiction novel. Thanks certain person for your negative inspiration as telling me I can’t do something is a challenge I have always appreciated more than most. You remind me of my dad. His negativity had inspired me to do all he did in life and more. And if in the future I need a positive role model I know now where not to turn.

    Maybe it’s those thorns in the side we need at times in our lives though that shape us and make us better people. Adversity through failed marriages, relationships, hard times, is unfortunately the impetus we need to change our lives in positive ways. Knowing you have been that way before and have no intention of returning down that path has inspired many a more lives than positive influence I truly believe.  It also inspires intestinal fortitude or the guts to make your life better and to take chances to resolve to change your life permanently in the positive way that the negative person could never believe. Forever changing how they may feel about you.  Unfortunately that person I cared so much about is no longer in my life but is in my book and my memories, and shall  forever remain there as a memory . I wish her the best and dedicate the novel to her. And also want to say thank you for being negative. I guess in some ways we all need to hear it some time.

    Wow I guess I kinda went on here and will save some thoughts for the blog as I go on in the coming days. I would like to thank my readers and those 20 or so of you who deserve a signed copy of a the dvd I plan to distribute to you when completed . This will be my home version. All I need is for you to write to my email at kdavis3051A@gmail.com. This is not my regular email but one I use for things like this. After I complete my editing of the book and attempt to sell the manuscript I will delete all of my entries regarding ‘ Trip to Sequoia ‘ . So if you haven’t read all of the book and intend to I would suggest you get after it . If you would like a signed copy and were in your best conscience daily readers, please leave your email and tell me what you thought of the book bad or good. Remember negativity inspires. Lol -kev

     

trip to sequoia - ch. 46 and 47 the end to the book

Ch.46

Conclusion

      “The end for the general Sherman tree is sometime in the future as all good things will end. Of course history says if it lasted thirty five hundred years then chances are it may last the same amount again if we humans will allow such an event to happen. It may easily be one of the last living things standing on earth. I mean after all, look  at us as humans, we  have easily manipulated the weather and now are threatening the polar bears with extinction, we will soon open up a northern passage between Canada and the North Pole to more easily and efficiently ship oil and LP gas to China.thanks to global warming. So what is in store for the next 100 years?”  I said as I was toasted at the Waksuchi Lodge. I could see a person grimacing as the reality of what I was saying was coming to light.

    We had left the General Sherman and all the fires were out as they scoured the area around the general Sherman for anything that would spark a fire. And then they wet down the whole area around the base with a fire hose after the crowd died down. All our gear was stored back in the  Jeep and I wrote Deb a check for the work done on the Jeep and asked her to join us in our dinner celebration at the Waksuchi Lodge. Ann also gave Deb the Ford Escape, saying she no longer felt the need to escape with Lee anymore as they were headed back to Ohio . There they would find them a place close to mine around Stockport and would start another farm with Lee as he was tiring of living in hotels and the high life. All he wanted was a new John Deere with a buddy seat for Ann. Darla and I are still commissioned to spend Ann’s money and accumulate farm land and preserve it. I am sure we will have some down time since seeing the Sequoias and the General Sherman tree we deserve some time to run home and grab Babe, my dog  back from my friends .

     It all seemed like it was coming to a close as we finished our dinner and I shook hands with people.  Darla and I went outside to our fully laden Jeep complete with our equipment , to head down the mountain to the Road Warrior at the Potwisha Campground. Deb stayed at the lodge as she was going to take Ann and Lee to the airport and then return to her house after they spent a couple of more days exploring the Sierra Nevada’s.

     Darla and I climbed into the Jeep and started heading down the mountain and soon we were pulling into the Potwisha Campground. As we came around the corner to where we had left the Road Warrior, the lot was empty. I had to stop the Jeep right in the middle of the road and check the lot number.

      Darla says. “Oh no, they stole all my flannel!”

      As instantly she realized the Road Warrior and all our clothes as well as Ann’s computer and everything was gone including any pictures we took. It was all gone. And all she was worried about was her warm fuzzy night clothes. Just didn’t seem right.

    Someone had stole the complete Road Warrior this time, took everything while I was hanging in the General Sherman tree saving it. The only thing we had left was the climbing equipment and that was because we were using it. A thought came to mind as I imagined Darla with her new bed clothes as I strap her in a climbing  harness naked since she lost all her flannel  and suspend her from the ceiling on hooks . Hmmmmm this may not be all bad. Darla sees a big smile come to my face. As I say to her.

     “Let’s head back up the mountain and call the police from the Waksuchi Lodge I doubt we will see that thing again tonight. “

     Darla says. “Aren’t you mad?”

     “Darla they can have it all including your flannel your flannel. All I need is you.” I said.

     “ But they will make more.” Darla warned me.

      “I guess I just need to keep you so busy you won’t have time to shop for more. Or want to.”I said as I kissed her,then pulling her to me tight against my body. 

    We laughed as she knew what I meant and soon we were headed back to the Waksuchi Lodge.

Ch. 47

Road Warrior’s Demise

    “Wow it’s a good thing I found you.” Dealing Dan says.

   “Shut up and just give me that damn money you promised me. I had a hell of a time getting that damn thing and I don’t know why you would want it, it has been through hell.” Said Leann

    “I have my reasons. It seems when my wife and I was visiting Mexico, I found out they had stashed drugs in the frame of that thing and I sold it to Ann before I knew what they did. It supposedly has over a quarter million in cocaine in the frame.”

     “You mean I have been driving around in a stolen vehicle with a quarter million in drugs in the frame. How much are you paying me ? A lousy ten thousand dollars for all this. Wow I think the price just went up. “

     “Damn Leann you are hard to deal with.” Dealing Dan said.  

    “Well I have doctor bills to pay. Life moves on.  Fuck it all.” Leann says.

The End

   

     

trip to sequoia - ch.45 cont.

Ch.45 (cont.)

    “Well I intend to get you up in that tree.” Lee said so that others could not hear our conversation.

       I said to Lee below my breath . “I don’t know if I can climb that tree like you and Ann  can.”

     “You don’t have to climb I have a winch remember I just have to get you in the harness and get the rope up into the tree and then start the winch and then we can hoist your dead ass up into the tree. Come on Guy it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, to be able to go up and do some carving in one of the largest trees on earth. When will you ever have this chance again? Also you will be saving one of the largest trees on earth. If we do nothing then it may cause permanent damage to the tree, or in the course of seven hours will be more damaged than it is now. I can probably do it by myself, but would rather have you and your expertise with trees up there. You know more than I do. You only have to be about 170 feet off the ground and I will have one regular line and a safety line on you. In case something happens that won’t allow you to fall more than ten feet at the most.”

      “Well Lee to say the least I never thought I would ever be climbing and the idea of climbing into the largest tree on earth does sound appealing and it will probably be a once in a lifetime event for sure,  so I guess I should try but to say the least you are going to be pushing me to the limits.” I said as I smiled back at him.

     “If anything happens to you or you want to back out just let me know.” Lee said. I will have you back on the ground in no time. If nothing else you can show me how much to remove I will be happy and can get the job done.” Lee said .

     “Ok.” I said “Let’s do it. “

     And with that Lee took out the tennis ball launcher and loaded the launcher with a tennis ball and powered up the air compressor off the battery and was soon up to full pressure and Lee aimed  the tennis ball launcher at the limb above and to the side of where the fire was smoldering. It was necessary to go higher and to the side to avoid burning the ropes we would be climbing on as well to be able to suspend ourselves midair while running the chainsaws and clearing away the smoldering debris and do the cleanup work to allow healthy healing of where the limb was originally ripped from. His first shot was low an so Lee added more pressure to the launcher and this time was successful in getting the tennis ball and the attached line over the limb and soon the ball and line was attached to a climbing rope and we soon had our ropes slung into the General Sherman’s branches . The closer I came to climbing this giant the more scared I became. I looked at the base of this tree and it was nearly a 100 feet across and it was 165 feet to the first limb. A little over half a football field to the first limb, and still the tree was 50 feet across at this point. The limb that had fallen was 4 feet in diameter and would have easily killed someone if they had been below the limb  when it had fallen.

      Lee had to take to take two climbing ropes and put them together to get enough length to be able to use the winch we had brought along. It was a capstan winch which worked by the principle of wrapping a rope around the round drum a couple of times  then this would give you a mechanical advantage enough to lift my dead ass into the General Sherman as Lee called it. Lee was showing one of the fireman how to use the winch as  Ann helped me readjust her harness  to me  and was telling me how to lock on the safety rope to assure I wouldn’t drop to the ground. You only have one chance to get this right when climbing a tree of this size. A camera was fitted on my helmet and a live video feed was going to be broadcast as we were doing the work.  The arborist who was supposed to be here would get a live feed to his laptop as we did the work. This way he could give us his input also and this helped ease the park director’s mind. We tightened up the rope on my harness and soon I was up in the air. Lee was bringing up the chainsaws with him and I was supposed to get to the area where the fire was smoldering and suspend myself there after locking in on the safety line, and just wait for Lee to get to the same area. We had ascenders but to use the ascenders in a tree this size would take forever and we really just wanted to get up and see what was going on with the smoldering fire by the fastest available means and the winch was working fine.

      They had attempted earlier to douse the fire with water dropped from a helicopter and this failed to snuff out the fire so what we were doing may be the last attempt to try and save the tree and I only hoped it would work . Twenty feet into the air and people were waving at me as if I was on a lunar mission and needed to save the world. At forty feet the people were beginning to get smaller as I would look down at where I came from.  At eighty feet it was only then the trees real majesty  was beginning to take shape as the people below became insignificant and it was then I realized that up here it was only me and the General Sherman . You don’t fully understand how something this big could have survived this long. At hundred and twenty feet I was beginning to fully appreciate the engineering of the ropes that held me in place as I was suspended in the air. To say the least I was scared shit less and yet I was calm in the face of danger and looked forward to the task ahead of me. I was beginning to see the smoldering where the limb was attached and had to move around the tree some in order to avoid getting the ropes into the smoldering fire. I quit looking down.  I had to concentrate on what I was doing. I had no time for fear. We had a daunting task ahead of us as the closer to the fire I came I saw that it was worse than I thought.

       I was perhaps ten foot below and to the right of the smoldering fire and saw that an accumulation of limbs and debris was fueling the fire. A voice crackled over the head set as I began talking to the park director as to the status of the fire in the tree. It looked as if it started in the debris, but was now eating into the heart of the tree as the areas where the limb was torn out had become pithy which is where the wood rots slowly and is dry and vulnerable to fire more readily. We would need to remove the debris and then carve the pithy part of the decayed wood out and then burnish the area with fire sealing the wood and finally ending with a tar like substance specifically designed to seal the area preventing something like this from happening again. As I came face to face with the area I stopped the ascent by speaking through my headset to the park director on the ground. I looked out from where I was and it was awesome to be able to view the world from such a hefty loft. Birds were sitting in the limbs of other sequoias around and were viewing me with suspicious eyes as I managed to tie off on the safety line.

    It would require total failure of both climbing ropes and the harness to allow me to hit the ground. Looking down from up her I realized I would probably die from hitting the trunk of the tree before ever hitting the ground. Anyway I go I would be a goner.

        Lee was next to come up and soon he too was up to my level and we sat there, suspended in our harnesses assessing the smoldering and developing a plan of action. I started grabbing the debris and sending it to the ground. Soon I had most of the fire out. Then we focused our attention on the pithy wood that surrounded the fire, as it was burning into the tree. Lee had brought up two of our carving chainsaws and soon we had these fired up and were working away at the soft wood that surrounded the glowing embers at times.  I  would carve directly into the fiery mess and soon al traces of the fire was out but we still had a large area of where the limb was attached and after consulting with the arborist through our video link ,and also with the park director we agreed to remove all this pithy  wood and clean up the scarred and ragged wood leaving a clean face to that area where the limb was attached. Lee and I readjusted our harness and was soon sawing our way down through that area removing all the jagged hunks where the limb was once attached. We had A line attached to the ground and soon as we needed the chainsaws fueled we would send them down and Ann would fill them up and send them back to us. We also had a basket sent up for debris which we attached to the lower reaches of the limb to avoid dropping hunks of wood from the tree. I finally managed the courage to look down when sending the chainsaws down and saw Darla in the distance taking pictures of us. A large crowd had gathered at the base of the tree and when we sent the report down that we had cleared the last of the burning embers out of the tree and the fire was officially out we could hear the cheers from the crowd from our perch high above.

     At times the wind would blow and you would feel the giant tree move slowly and sway gently as it took a pretty good wind to even try and move this giant. I would sit in the seat of my harness and push my feet away from the tree and soon I became quite adept at moving around up there. Lee looked at me and said.

     ”Kind of like this old man don’t you?” I just nodded and continued working.

      We were at it for almost a couple of hours and soon we had the whole area taken down to good hard dry wood and we had it pretty well smoothed over when Lee looked at me and motioned for me to turn off the video and audio feed to the ground . I wondered what he was up to and as I turned the feeds off and sat there suspended and soon he let me into  his plan. Before burnishing the wood he wanted me to carve a happy face into the area where the limb was. Not enough to be seen from below but enough for us to know and laugh about for years to come .

 I started the chainsaw and with all the skill I could muster I began carving a huge happy face into the side of the tree. It wouldn’t hurt the tree after all it was burning when we got here and the happy face would have no protruding obstacles to slow the fall of the debris.

      I worked quickly and soon we were sending down for the propane tank to burnish the happy face. I torched the side of the tree and soon the whole area was covered with black soot. We wire brushed out the feature of the happy face and turned the camera back on and took only close-ups of the whole happy face sculpture. This way only Lee and I would be able to tell it was there. When viewed from the ground it was doubtful that anyone could tell what we did and we felt that was best. Soon we were finished after four hours of hanging in the General Sherman we were final being lowered to the ground. I looked up into the tree before descending and realized I was a little less than halfway into the tree at that point and I just took a moment to absorb all I was seeing. This truly had been the fulfillment of a dream Leann and I had. Actually it was more than the dream and beyond my comprehension that I would be able to do what I did in a tree so famous. As I came down the cheers and well wishes from the crowd went up and news crews were scrambling and pushing park visitors out of the way I looked out into the crowd and thought I saw Leann. I looked again as I was slowly being lowered and yes it was her. Damn it.

    I waved to her and as she saw my wave looked at me and smiled and waved and kind of saluted me, then walked off alone up the path back to the Waksuchi Lodge, I couldn’t believe it was her all along and she must have been tailing me I looked as I was still being lowered and there was Darla who had a big broad smile on her face as I came closer to the ground no doubt evidently proud of my accomplishment.

     What should I do?  Chase after Leann or stay and enjoy the moment with Darla who by no fault of her own has been with me and has taken time to try and make things work between us. I guess it was a no brainer as I had no choice but to stay and enjoy the moment with Darla as throngs of well-wishers were soon patting me on the back and telling me what a good job I had done. We had interviews with Lee and me where we described what it was like to save the largest tree on the planet. And I took the liberty to encourage more tree planting as a way to avoid global warming.  The park director encouraged us to have dinner on the house at the Waksuchi Lodge and then Lee and Ann asked him if it would be all right if they could climb up into some of the other sequoias and the director said he was not supposed to allow it, but since we did what we did for the General Sherman he saw no reason why we shouldn’t be allowed. He offered to pay us for our services and Lee and I declined saying it was a privilege to be able to help out. We laughed and talked over the event on our way to the lodge. I saw no trace of Leann again. In ways I think she knew I had moved on and yet though I felt as if we were still connected somewhat but she also knew that she needed to remain out of my life. To let me find the happiness of company I now sought in Darla, and to see where this path will go.

     

    

        

    

trip to sequoia -ch.45 he be smoking

Ch.45

He be smoking

      Reports of the forest fire were sketchy as the park service didn’t want anyone to know the full extent of the damage of the fire that swept through the forest. In fact I think they were still assessing the damage. We had finished eating breakfast and turned to the TV to see if we could hear a news report or anything about the extent of the damage. Fire crews would come through our area of the park to assess even more remote areas and all they would say to anyone in the campground is that it isn’t safe to go anywhere and that if it became necessary they would issue an evacuation command. No such order was ever issued and by noon they said the last of the mop up operations were under way.

      This was all centralized in the upper reaches of the park and was concentrated around the General Sherman tree. It seems at the height of the fire, embers of hot coals became airborne and were lodged in the top of the General Sherman Tree where a limb of about four to five foot in diameter was ripped out by a storm several years ago and the ragged edges of the severed limb on the tree became a perfect nesting place for those embers to land and to catch fire. With plenty of fuel to feed the fire in terms of dry rotted split wood the General Sherman Tree was in danger of being caused severe and permanent damage. Visitors were allowed to view the tree and news reporters and throngs of people were rushing to the scene. A call for an arborist went out and the nearest with any kind with climbing experience was eight hours away.

    We too, all piled in the Jeep and the Ford Escape and rushed up the mountain upon hearing the news. we came this far to see the General Sherman tree and I know I was personally hoping that I would  be able to finally view the tree in person . But his isn’t quite how I planned to see it though. But after the trip and the trouble I had in getting this far it would seem only ironic that this tree would stand for thirty five hundred years just waiting for the day I finally make it to see it and then just that quick through spontaneous combustion would soon become the World’s largest towering inferno. We were beside ourselves as we hurried to the top of the mountain. We pulled into Waksuchi lodge parking lot and was instantly confronted by an army of news reporters who apparently recognizing the big scoop, realized that this is the place to be. News reporters were standing in front of the lodge and were interviewing park officials. Then they would focus their attention down the trails to where the General Sherman was standing as the only solitary tree in the forest to sustain any damage.

   We followed the reporters down the trail, and soon was swept up in the news events as one reporter after another is giving their live take of the damage. I had brought a pair of field glasses and was taking a close look at the damage which to me wasn’t that severe yet as it was just smoldering on some old dry bedding. Once it got to the live green heart wood it would probably snuff itself out, and that these reporters and the park officials were seeing this as a media event.

 No doubt the longer it would burn the greater the likelihood of the damage. I looked at Lee and our group which included Ann, Darla and Deb and said .

     “From the looks of the fire it is small and can be easily contained and should cause no permanent damage to the tree the sooner the fire is abated.” I said.

     Lee looked at it also and said. “Too bad we left our climbing equipment at the other campsite. You and I could have climbed up there and put that out with the saws.” He said as he was looking through the field glasses I had and commenting.

    This was picked up by one of the reporters who overheard our conversation and asked just how we would go about doing that as it may have been of interest to him s a news story.

   I explained that it was necessary to trim all the excess old ripped and torn wood from where the limb was previously attached and trim that area down with the chainsaw eliminating any chance of the fire spreading. This would also preserve the tree for the future as we could burnish again with fire and this would create a hard surface where embers in the case of a fire again, would not lay and would be shed off. Also this would seal that area where the branch was to disease also,

     The reporter said. “Too bad you can’t get up here.”

     Lee said.  “But yes we can. We had planned on climbing these trees and had taken classes as well as made numerous climbs and have our equipment along. Guy here has been an excellent chainsaw carver all his life and I understands trees much more than anyone else here, I would bet.”

     I looked at Lee incredulously and said, “Yes Lee but I am not a certified arborist.”

     The reporter then asked how much more damage we could expect to the tree if the fire as unabated.

    I looked through the field glasses and said “I don’t know but I am sure it is not doing the General Sherman tree any good sitting down here doing nothing while waiting on an arborist the park service thinks will be the answer. I would be glad to devote any time to the project as I hate to see anything happen to this tree.”

      I looked at the young reporter with the round sunglasses who reminded me of a young John Lennon and noticed his cameraman had been taping our conversation all along. The red light was on, on his camera. Soon both the reporter and the cameraman were hustling back up the trail and soon returned with the Director of the park and again he asked me wanted me to explain how I would go about stopping the smoldering. I told him I would just use the chainsaw first to attack those areas where there was fire and send them to the ground then I would probably want to dress up the whole area with a chainsaw where the limb was tore out to assure it wouldn’t happen again. And maybe apply some sort of a tree dressing according to the arborist’s suggestions as we could work in conjunction with them.

    Then they asked me if I personally had any climbing experience. Lee butted in and said. “Lots as  I had taught lee and Ann everything I knew about climbing.”

     I looked at Lee and gave him a scowl but I knew what he was up to. So did Ann and our group.

     A chance to climb the largest tree on earth and save it through me and my experience.

The idea wasn’t foreign to me now and I had entertained that thought at times within the last hour of sizing up the situation but doubted if we would ever be given a chance to do this.

    The director said to us, any effort to save the tree is better than none. It will be eight hours or now seven till the arborist gets here. We need to do something where is your equipment and we explained we had it all stored in the Road Warrior. A call was placed to the Fire Chief  and soon Lee and I were in a fire truck careening down the mountain with sirens blaring and lights flashing. As we pulled up to the Road Warrior, Lee and I hurried and transferred all of our equipment including our chainsaw carving equipment into the fire truck and hurried back to the top of the mountain again.

    We returned to a crowd of well-wishers that was growing bigger by the moment. Tape was stretched from tree to tree giving Lee and I plenty of room to work. Lee looked at me and said.

      “I hope you are not afraid of heights?”

      I laughed nervously and said to him, “ No not really just afraid of you and what you will get me into next.” (to be cont.)

     

     

trip to sequoia - ch. 44 cont.

Ch.44 (cont.)

          I excused myself and went outside and just sat in the open air. The aroma of wood burning filled the air, and at times became more intense. There was something very unnerving when it came to being in the presence of an ongoing forest fire. Subtle reminders to how fragile our environment is and that is when you see the multitude of insects and you start thinking of all the years it takes to grow trees , over thirty-five hundred  years they say for the General Sherman , which isn’t the oldest tree on earth but is close . Ferns five to six foot tall , peat moss so soft if walked upon, would cushion your step as though walking on a thousand pillows suspended over air. A plentitude of biological divarication in the ashen remains of a forest fire forever suspended and now fodder for future generations of new plants destined to replace and rejuvenate the same soils in an ongoing biological consequence of nature. Forest fires erase history, and let everything start anew from that point on. . I only hoped I could see the General Sherman tree at least once before it met its demise.

      This took me back to an earlier time in my life when living on his grandpa’s farm with my mom and my three siblings. My uncle who owned a skating rink asked me to come along with his family which consisted of my cousin and my aunt at the time. Preparations were made to pick me up as I was quite small at the time, being age four or five and take me skating for the first time. I  remembered it was a large building that bordered a lake in the local town park and it was quite busy that night and I  spent most of my time around the outside of the rink learning how to skate. I could remember my cousin taking me up a ramp and then I would wipe out learning that gravity sucked especially when skating but all in all I had a good time. It was after we left that night, that is my uncle, cousin and aunt, and myself to take me home, a fire started in the old building apparently close to the fuel tank and it was soon a fire that raged out of control and soon devoured the building the rink was in. My uncle lost his business to the fire.

     Every time I pass that location I cannot help but think of how that affected my uncle and my cousin’s life from there on. Not in a life changing way but still it always had an impact on their future most assuredly the same as it has an impact on all creatures large and small and everything that makes up our environment  when fire ravages their life.  

      Winds may blow and winters snarl their wrath, the strong survives all, but a fire is something to which all life succumbs that doesn’t escape.  This is the process of which we must become accustomed to as an increase of forest fires is becoming more prevalent as global warming creates droughts and those arid dry conditions that when a chance, and a spark come together, it will create the horrid fiery infernos that consume everything and leave the carbon remains of life suspended into nothing but a memory to all that survives, much the same as my memory of the old skating rink.

       I sat there in deep thought oblivious to all that went on . Worrying about something I cannot control and wondering if there was some way i could make a difference other than what I have proposed. I am reminded of how chicken little yelled ‘The sky is falling’, ‘The sky is falling’,  one to many times , and soon alienated everyone, so that when indeed it was falling, they ignored the warnings. If Paul Revere and the Minutemen rode daily for weeks through the local towns in New England shouting daily ‘The British are coming’, ‘The British are coming’. Would the revolutionary war have had a different outcome?  Most assuredly. News becomes noise after a while. You may hear a headline but rarely do you scratch below the surface to find out how it may affect you. Most times news doesn’t affect you personally but instead invokes emotions, good or bad.

      Bad emotions invite ignorance as we only want to hear those positive things we enjoy in life. Good emotions can be hard luck stories where profit is learned from past tragedies. These we invite into our life, but trying to put a positive spin on total devastation or avoiding that same devastation is hard to do. Let alone the supposed outcome of a future event like global warming.

Persistent effort at education through subtle means seems to work the best and it was then at that moment I decided to chronicle my trip to Sequoia National Park as an example of how things can go bad. Part of an ongoing effort I dedicate myself to , not making people aware of the bad but instead of how ignorance of an event is making us all subjects to the consequences of that event. If we ignore global warming more and more fires and weather tragedies , be it hurricanes tornados or whatever, it will eventually take those things dear to us and at same time make our lives harder to enjoy and allowing us less freedom to enjoy those things about nature that will be forever lost if global warming continues.

     Thirty five hundred years, longer than the chronicles of the Bible allow for.  The General Sherman  tree is purported to exist, a blink in the scientific timeline explanation of time, but still a blink. and yet is now faced with an early extinction.  Not from natural process but from instead a manmade extinction as a result of our migratory habits of man utilizing resources better left locked deep in the earth , but instead released only for instant gratification of humans . Satisfying their thermal needs and their personal greed, while yet other sources of natural energy are left abandoned that would make no difference on the overall ecosystem. Now those fossil fuels are threatening our whole ecosystem and yet we blindly forge ahead as if there was a planet b. this ignorance of man would lead a planet b to the same demise if we were able to secure one. I doubt if anything would change if humans were given the chance do something right again. It seems we learn a lot from our mistakes, but greed is an emotion we have no control over. Having enough to sate our needs is never enough, but instead any individual with enough always wants more. It is this want that gets us into trouble. Be it women, profits, or money, having enough is never an option among those that have it as they always want more. A little love is never enough. We are the only animal that lets our greed affect our livelihood and keeps us from being content. There are some who can be content with little, but they are a few and do not represent a leveraged option to change anything especially the effects of events we are already under the influence from. A planet b would make no difference and that it would only be an extension of what we have here on Earth as once again we plunder the resources, and ravage that source of life for our mere existence.

     Wow I thought I can’t believe those were all my thoughts and yet my negativity is a bright spot in the whole scheme of things as long as one individual cares about where we as humans are headed then there is something we have that other animals don’t and that is a conscience knowledge of hope and where it can lead us. I always hoped Leann would come back into my life , even though she won’t, I know she had touched my soul and left me longing for the same type of relationship we had for such a short time. Darla will benefit from Leann’s absence and yet still, there is something about my resolve that lets Deb be attracted to me. This I can thank Leann for. She was a star pointing me in the direction life appointed to me. Darla was my destiny and my guidance listening and believing in me while making sure I do not want for more. I have enough money I have enough love, and I want for nothing more than to exist in nature and leave nothing but a path to enlightenment. To put down in words that there is hope that we can survive in harmony with nature, and that our lives are worth something. That this life is a stepping stone for all mankind where one day we will learn to be at peace with nature instead of living against it.  A hope we need to find. All I have to do is put it down in words . tomorrow I thought as I see Lee and Ann’s Ford Escape make itself name worthy again as once again it ferries its passengers away from danger. Ann knew what she was doing when she bought that car from Dealing Dan.

     I came out of my funk and arose to meet Lee and Ann. A handshake for Lee and a hug for Ann were the norm as well as broad smiles as once again we were reunited. As well, Darla came out of the Road Warrior, and Deb followed as greetings were extended as Darla did the right thing and presented Deb to Lee and Ann as part of our group. It was an emotional event as once again we shared a bond we all needed. With a rousing, ‘ Let’s eat!’, as Darla signaled breakfast was ready for all. We all retreated inside the Road Warrior and talked and ate.

     

    

        

   

      

trip to sequoia - ch. 44 sherman is burning like atlanta

Ch. 44

Sherman is burning like Atlanta

     I awoke from a dream I had where I was supposed to count pieces of this and that and organize everything  as my old boss was selling out his business  and needed a full accounting of everything he had before the auction, all of it tedious work I despise. Then I ended up in an amusement park of junk automobiles, where kids were playing on a gutted chassis, with sharp rusty metal lying in mud. When I woke I found myself  lying next to Darla with Deb  out on the sofa bed not more than thirty feet away,  and realized I was finally sitting in Sequoia National Park instead of Stockport Ohio. I could find no good reason why my mind went off on that tangent. I usually analyze my dreams and try to make some abstract sense out of what they mean and at times I have dreams of the future,  or inventions.  At other times the dreams are so vivid I actually believe I am there and find my arms and legs hard to move and that is mainly because I am lying down. I have had some upset me so bad I would not be able to return to sleep, so I usually just get up and go about my day.

      This dream wasn’t that upsetting but it did keep me from sleeping and I lay there in the dark listening to Darla snore lightly. She wasn’t a bad snorer but still she had something going on there I imagine much the same as I do. She appeared to be sleeping soundly, and  hopefully I satisfied all her urges , or at least allowed her to make enough noise to let Deb know that  I was under her spell as Darla was a little vocal at times during our little session last night. Laughing under her breath at those times when she was a little louder than usual. The door in the Road Warrior offered little as a sound d barrier and I believe was part of the reason Lee and Ann decided to take off. When Ann and Lee were travelling with me before Darla came along, I once laid where Deb did and listened to the cavorting of Lee and Ann in exactly the same fashion. I could only imagine what Deb thinks of me now. But then again I guess I shouldn’t care, as Darla should be my main concern.

    I lay there in the dark unable to sleep, not because of the dream but because I was just having a hard time sleeping. I tried to readjust and at times would slide my hand over Darla’s naked body , and lightly touch , just because I could and wanted to. I would do it softly and deliberately seeing if my caresses were responded to and they were as she would quit snoring as if something was disturbing her sleep. She would roll away from me and I would begin again teasing, as I was killing time till,  I could get up and not disturb Deb. I tried to go back to sleep again and it was useless. I finally resolved myself to get up and make some coffee and try not to wake Deb.

   That was harder than I thought . I am like a bull in a china closet when it comes to trying to be quiet . It was dark and I stumble around,  and then there is the sound of water running and although it is dark in the cabin of the Road Warrior I can hear Deb sleeping away seemingly unconcerned about that damn bar that haunts me when I sleep there. In the dim morning light I can see thankfully she has bed clothes on, but in fact it looks like only  a short teddy. I hurry and make coffee and head out the door to the Road Warrior seeking a chance to rid myself of imagining what Deb has on and to purge my mind of any thoughts of anything that doesn’t include Darla. I am sitting outside the Road Warrior and smell smoke again and soon I hear sirens and see fire trucks pulling into the camp ground again as the fire must have restarted again and is once again threatening us.

      I listen as I drink my coffee and try to enjoy what wildlife I can around me as they also scurry around not knowing what to do or where to go . I can hear firemen going door to door, knocking on camper doors alerting the people as to the danger they may be in. finally they come to my camper and seem to be surprised when they find me out side drinking coffee in the dark.

    “Excuse me sir.” The larger of the two helmeted and suited fireman silhouettes in the dim morning light says to me while flashing my eyes with a flashlight and blinding me temporarily as he continues. “We are having problems with the fire again and we may need to evacuate you from the park. It looks as though the fire has rekindled itself and is now racing up the slope. You may want to get all in your group to awaken and be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Please don’t do anything such as leave as the road is closed on down the mountain due to fire and we are uncertain as to what is going on up above. We may have to just sit tight and find cover where we can till danger has passed.”

      “You mean we are trapped up here now?” I asked.

      “Well we are not sure but we are taking every precaution and letting everyone know. What we don’t want to do is to have everyone make a mad dash down the mountain and clog up the road. It is our only access for fire equipment. That is why we are asking you to stay put till we tell you what to do if necessary. It looks as though the camp ground will be spared but the fire is burning out of control at te higher elevations including the area around the General Sherman tree.

      Wow I thought to myself 3500 years that tree has been here and before I am able to see it is going to burn.

    I asked. “Are you trying to save those trees I understand they are some of the oldest on earth?”

    The fireman replied. “We are doing everything we can to save the Sherman and other trees up there . But we have to look out for the safety of the firefighters first. As I said it is currently out of control and they are dumping everything we have on that area, in terms of water from planes to fire retardant, and it does seem to be doing some good. Reports are there was fire in that area but it appears to be less threatening now. The Waksuchi lodge is now being evacuated and those people are being escorted off the mountain now.

     I thought to myself that would be Ann and Lee.

    I said to the fireman. “We will be waiting to hear more from them and I will get everyone here up and ready to move if needed.”

    He said. “Thanks. And we will be in touch.”

    I went inside and found Deb awake and looking sexy in a short little night gown as I tried to avert my eyes, and  I mentioned that we were just visited by the firefighters and needed to be ready to evacuate if necessary.

     Deb said. “ I heard you talking to them and caught every word. Your friends are in that lodge aren’t they?

      I said. “ Yes I need to find my cell and see if they are headed our way. I would suggest being ready to move if needed. I am going to wake Darla and let her know.”

     Deb said she would dress and use the bathroom. And as she walked towards the bathroom I wondered if I had made the right choice as she looked great in her little next to nothing. I tried to avert my eyes but i just couldn’t. Instead I watched as long as I could till she slipped behind the door of the bathroom and then I went through the door of the bedroom and noticed darla was sprawled out naked on my side of the bed and was clutching my pillow sound asleep. I touched her shoulder and told her of our impending evacuation and that she needed to get up and get dressed . We may have to move quickly and evacuate and we need to be ready.

      Darla’s naked body also looked great and took the time to softly knead her naked shoulder and  under different circumstances would have wanted to climb back in bed and try a repeat of last night’s performance all over again if I had he stamina to do so. Sometimes my mind works better than my body at times. Imagining making love to a woman is never quite the same as doing it . But in that deep dark space in my mind I can be quite the lover at times in spite of a raging inferno outside . All it takes is just a little skin to set me off. And I have already had more than my share his morning. After kneading her round bare bottom I gave her a spank and said we better get moving before I get us both into trouble. She looked at me with her tired eyes and said you would like that wouldn’t you.

   “Always.” I said

    “Pervert!” she said and then continued. “I should be spanking you as I you are so bad.”

     I said to her. “ Come on,  they were serious about the fire and it has been burning around the General Sherman tree on up the mountain also. “

       She said sleepily. “It would be a shame if anything happened to it . Yes I am coming.”

     As I came out of the bedroom and closed the door deb was coming out of the bathroom , dressed in a plaid top and jeans . I never noticed her red painted toes until they stuck out from under the jeans. Guess my mind was somewhere else. This is crazy I thought to myself. Everything is. The women, the fire, and everything from the Road Warrior to the Jeep, to the trip, and the only thing I hope for in the next coming days is to live long enough to see how it all works out. It is almost as if I am living a dream as I was in this morning. That if I snap my fingers it will all disappear and to test that theory I snap my fingers  and Deb gives me a quizzed look and  asks what I am doing as she is pouring her a cup of coffee and then she asks if had  trouble sleeping.

    My first thought is well it must be real and I answer her

   “Yes I had a dream and couldn’t sleep.”

    She says to me. “Don’t you just hate that?”

    I said, “I do, but you will have to excuse me I have to make a phone call.” as I dialed Lee’s cell number and Lee answered.

   “So what’s up big Guy?”

     “Just a little forest fire are you and Ann being evacuated ? I talked to a fireman down here  and he said you were being escorted off the mountain .” I said to him.  

     Lee said. “Yes and we should be there shortly . We passed a couple of places burning but it looked as though the fire already passed through. We have a fire truck leading us down to your area for now. There was smoke up at the lodge but that was all.  That and a lot of helicopter traffic.”  

    I told him that the general Sherman tree being threatened by fire and that it may have been in the fire and I asked if he heard that?

     Lee said. “No they just hurried everyone out of the lodge and told us to follow the fire truck. We Should be there in about fifteen minutes for breakfast. We can talk more then .”

     I said. “Ok we will see you in a few.”

     I told Darla and deb what Lee had just told me and Darla said. “I guess we better start fixing some breakfast . So we can have that out of the way in case we have to move.”

      Deb asked Darla who was now dressed if she needed help and Darla says. “Sure always can use help when cooking.”   ( to be cont.)

     

    

        

   

     

trip to sequoia- ch. 43 cont.

Ch.43(cont.)

    It wasn’t that Deb had to stay with us as I could have easily made sure she had a room at one of the other lodges in the area. But instead I needed to talk to her and let her know that Darla and I were now a couple , that I wanted to see how this was going to work out between Darla and I.

   Sure we have fights over silly things like flannel pajamas, and driving through fire storms but what woman wouldn’t fight with me over those things.  Deb had went out of her way to refurbish the Jeep , and as I understand repainted , and bought a new ragtop for it , and still managed to get it done and is now bringing it to me here when I need it most. Surely Darla will understand that I hope. I just have to be on my best behavior or this whole thing could get ugly quick.

   Anyhow it was close to five or  so, that  if she is a couple of hours away then maybe we can all three take the Jeep and climb on up the mountain and meet Ann and Lee for supper. This will give Deb a chance to be recognized for all the effort she put in on working on both the Jeep and the Road Warrior and allowing us to make our deadline here at Sequoia National Park.

     Darla and I sat down on the sofa and I told her of my plans to meet up with Lee and Ann if they would like to have dinner with us since we will have a ride to the lodge now, and that I wanted Deb to meet them and Darla thought it was a good idea and not cooking always sounds good to her when you can eat out. She said she would call Ann and Lee and see if this was doable and in seconds we all agreed if Deb made it in in time then we would eat dinner at the Waksuchi Lodge.

    I also contacted Deb to see what her status was and she said she had just passed Lake Kaweah and should be here soon according to her GPS device.  Her Garmin estimated an arrival time of an hour and forty five  minutes. Enough time to drive to the top of the mountain and meet Ann and Lee I thought.

    As we were waiting Darla asked me what I thought of Deb, a fair question I thought as she had probably noticed me sharing attention to her when Darla and I were kind of fighting over the fire thing. I told Darla that I really believe in our purpose as we have it now to try and leave this world a little better by doing what we intend to do and that is preserving farmland and we both have a vested interest in trying to make this work between us. That I enjoy making love to her and desire no one else presently including Deb and Leann as both are  great women in their own right but I have to put any thoughts out of my mind that either of them will ever be the one I desire now or in the future. I would rather stay the course I have chosen and see how things work out between Darla and I. I just need to be diplomatic in telling both if given the chance. And I intend to do that with Deb. As far as Leann goes I doubt that will ever be an issue.

    Darla said she was uncomfortable with the whole thing of Deb being here in the Road Warrior, and I mentioned that Deb and I have never kissed or done anything with each other besides work and talk while in Darla’s absence and that she had nothing to fear, as I intend to set Deb straight about our new relationship. She seemed complacent  in that and asked if we could smoke a joint and I had to decline as we were going to be driving on up the mountain and judging by the road so far, I needed to be on top of my game to make sure we were all safe . Darla understood and instead grabbed a beer out of the fridge. She said since she wasn’t driving then it should be ok. I agreed that would work for her .

    We went outside in the late evening air and sat under the new awning of  the Road Warrior and admired the beautiful forest that surrounded us. Tall sequoias one hundred and fifty to two hundred foot tall and four to ten foot in diameter were abundant as well as smaller ones bending to the light wherever possible. As the sun set, the orange glow settled on the trees that  left us with breathtaking views of what I thought was a mist starting to rise over the trees. Or was it? I smelled the aroma of burning wood and it appeared to be smoke I was now seeing over the valley. A no burning order was issued that only allowed propane stoves to be used for cooking and this must be a forest fire. I thought to myself ‘Wow’ I hope it is not another fire. I asked Darla if she had checked the latest fire reports and she said she had not bothered as we had just got here a couple of hours ago.

    “Doesn’t that smell like burning wood to you?” I asked her.

    “Yes it does, wonder where it is coming from?” she said .

   “How about you go check the website an see if there is an alert and I will go walk and see if I can tell where it is coming from?” I asked of her .

   Darla says to me as she looked into my eyes worried. “Hurry back. Ok?”

   “I will as soon as I can figure out what is going on.” I said  

    I walked in the direction of where the smoke was coming from and sure enough I could see emergency personnel and fire trucks pouring in to the camp ground. Men with fire equipment and chain saws were unloading and heading off into the dense forest. And also into danger as that was where the smoke was coming from. I asked one of the fire fighters if we were in danger and needed to leave. He said no that the fire had advanced itself past the campground and was heading towards the top of the mountain. They were part of a team to start back fires towards the moving fires to thwart the advance towards the camp ground. The main problem was that it was heading towards the 6000 foot level where the General Sherman tree was. In fact 80 per cent of the old growth virgin timber was there and although no fires have been reported in our lifetime it is quite possible that a forest fire had once ravaged this same area before in the trees 3500 year history , as a similar fallen tree s rings were examined and  had shed light on the forests past history showing that a fire had consumed this area before as evidenced by the trees rings. At least a 1000 years ago and it was undoubtedly caused by lightning.  The sequoias survived but received burn scars up to 25 feet tall . this could be seen in the rings.

     I thanked him ,  as he excused himself saying he need to get moving but advised me to listen to alerts as they come in regarding the current fire situation. I told him we will and as I watched him walking away with all his gear and a chainsaw I was impressed by all we can do today. As I walked back I began to hear helicopters as they swept low over the trees dumping fire retardant and water as directed by those on the ground.

     Darla was scared when I returned to the Road Warrior after listening to the reports of the forest fires advance and warnings to all on the mountains to be vigilant in listening to reports and to be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. They did say that the immediate threat to our camp was over but we still needed to watch to be safe. I told her everything will be all right as the Road Warrior was fire tested and she said.

    “Don’t remind me Guy, that is what I am scared of .”

   It seemed as if in not time we heard Deb pull up outside with the Jeep and   both Darla and I went out to greet her. She told how harrowing it was to see all the fire trucks passing her at the pull overs as one after another raced up the winding road past her with lights a flashing and sirens going. She didn’t know what was up and she also mentioned that Highway 198 was closed temporarily to the top of the mountain till the threat was over. That everyone was being forced to turn around at the camps entrance and that they were not going to allow her to even come into the camp but that she knew we were here and expected her. After telling them that, they agreed to let her come on in.

     “What’s up with you Guy, always so dramatic? Not one forest fire but two on your first trip to California. I just get hit by mudslides and the occasional earthquake that makes me pee my pants. No you guys get fire and brimstone. Didn’t your momma ever tell you to quit that or else you would go to Hell. well you made it pretty close to there .  California is only a step away at times.” She laughed as I did .

      Darla didn’t find it to humorous, maybe it was the flannel thing or whatever as she gave Deb  a quizzed look.

    “Well we better stay her for the night and Darla call Lee and Ann and tell them what is going on and that they may be in the path of the fire.” I said. And then I continued, I guess we can go ahead and have a joint after I look at my Jeep. I went back outside and noticed the smoke smells seemed more intense. The Jeep looked great with a fresh coat of paint and a new top and new tires as the others also were burned some. It would be a shame to lose both the Road Warrior and the jeep a second time. Deb joined me after grabbing a beer and I told her she had done a remarkable job and that she should be commended. She said maybe something to eat would be nice. I told her of our intentions to meet up with Ann and Lee was postponed but hat Darla and I would soon fix something for her. Then we will just have to wait for the fire to subside or whatever before going on up the mountain tomorrow.

    We all sat around the inside kitchen table after supper an enjoyed a joint  and listened to Deb  telling tales of her Dad’s filling station and how he had met up with several actors as they travelled the area shooting movies. John Wayne and Lucille ball and Desi Arnez were some of the many actors to head up Highway 101 and stop at his gas station. They would fool around with him and have their photos taken with him and her when she was a little girl.  She says when they lost their  ability to pump gas and had to rely on just what repairs they made, things were a lot slower and with  less people stopping. At times she had thought of closing up altogether, but then again she wouldn’t have met us and she would not have that carving. Deb said she moved it out front, and business has picked up since then, as people stop to admire it and take pictures. She was sure glad we stopped there that day. She also mentioned she even met a photographer friend who stopped to take pictures of her place and the two seemed to hit it off. She was going to bring him but wasn’t sure when she would be back, so left him behind.

     “And he smokes dope.” Deb said gladly.

     This was a relief for Darla and me relieving the tension that existed when two women are interested in the same man. Now we could both sleep easier, knowing Deb had someone else in mind. We checked the fire report on the park website and the threat of fire around our campground was reduced as the fire advanced further up the mountain. We decided to hit the hay as we call it back home and I helped Deb with the sofa bed before coming to bed with Darla who insisted on having a quickie despite Deb being right outside the door. I had no choice but to oblige. A man’s job is never done. I slept well.