Winter in the High Lonesome

 

 

 

 

 

Winter in the High Lonesome

 

Old Man Winter has moved in here on the ridge, and with him his luggage of frost, rain and snow. It has been a mild Winter so far without any deep snows or temperatures approaching a colder cycle in these parts. Even so life in the country in the colder part of the year is stark and hard. Job availability is the worst part of Winter, and has been my bane for most of my adult life, city or rural setting. I have managed to string together a series of part time positions in the nearby city, while Sean has had a harder time staying employed. This has caused starvation budgeting till Spring rolls around and we once again will have more employment opportunities in both construction (his field) and agriculture (my chosen profession).

 

 

This does leave us with more free time, if one can think of time as costing less at some times than others. I was disappointed that we could not bring our things here from Virginia, in large part due to manipulations by Emma my estranged wife, who did everything possible to block that progress and keep Sean there during his Christmas visit more permanently. In the end he could not take her puppetry and baled, flying back rather than driving back with our things. I won't have my paintings or my tools for a while longer, but I have my son back and that is what is important.


Soon after Sean got back he got a job working as a Security guard which isn't exactly welding, but he seems to like it all right. For a few brief shining moments we were both gainfully employed and our financial woes in wane. But then came the fire.

I work in a Half way house for troubled teens and young tweens not yet 21. My job is to help them out of the Foster Care system where they have had a string of institutions but no real parental mentoring for most of their lives. I signed up for the gig back in October and was hired in November. I have been doing the job quite successfully, teaching the kids art, and availing them of my cracker barrel philosophies. One young man in my care who I will call JG since we aren't allow to use real names in our reports has been particularly fond of me, lacking any real older male role models in his life. We hit it off and though he has flares of temper directed at the world in general, we manage to get along even through those instances. About a week ago his side of the house caught fire, probably started from oil left on the stove unattended. The fire department thought otherwise and are investigating it as possible arson. The fact JG has in the past tried to start fires when angry didn't help his case.


Regardless what the fire department decides, the company has closed down the male side of the facility, thus I am again laid off due to a lack of wards to mentor. JG has been shipped away and I pray for him, as no doubt this won't go well on his record or his chances at successful transition into the world. Like his Uncle I fear he will land himself in jail unless he learns better to go with the flow and follow the rules society dictate. He hasn't been given much of a chance at life and time is coming where he has to play it, regardless of the poor hand he was dealt.


Other avenues however are presenting themselves. The post office has begun calling me in for interviews, as I have applied at a half dozen positions in the nearby area. A new friend Phil who I met at New Years has given me a tip at an acting gig. It isn't quite the normal stage as it involves being a pretend patient for Med students at a local hospital. I doubt many actors have to don hospital gowns and have their rectum probed.The pay is excellent even if the gig is brief...$55 an hour. That's almost as much as my Doctor charges me for the same procedure. I shall try for that at the beginning of February which is...Monday.


Other than fire, the big issue in late January has been ice. Though I have a four wheel drive vehicle, Sean's F150 has bald tires and is only rear wheel drive. We had a significant ice storm the week of the fire and his truck got stuck trying to make it up the road to our property. I had to use my Jeep to tow him up the hill, for several days thereafter he had to park about a 1/4 mile down the hill before the worst part of the road. It can't be managed without exceptional traction.


The other new development is the Cougar. Normally the type of cougar that troubles young men my son's age have high sexual libidos and large bank accounts, but here in the High Lonesome we do things the old fashioned way. Sean returned the other day from the dog walk with the Psycho Puppy white as a sheep. He announced he heard what sounded like "a woman scream followed by a long deep growl." That can only be the male mountain Lion we have heard tell about that lives up among these ridges feeding on deer and small woodland animals. I told Sean he was too large to be a meal for it, but if you find yourself in close proximity to a cat the size of a small tiger that is hard to remember. Kodiak the dog is in greater danger of discovering that the cat-dog hatred can work both ways and become an evening meal if he should roam too freely. We have to keep a close eye on the dog and now Sean carries a 357 when he goes out walking in the woods. The cougar had better watch his step. Sean is itching to shoot something...a possum, raccoon, turkey, deer... so a large threatening cat might well wind up a rug with enough holes in it to look like Swiss cheese. I fear for the cat's safety more than Sean's or Kodiaks.

With Winter half way through the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Will I ever get to grow tomatoes? Only time and luck of the Irish will tell.