Retrospect: September 2006
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Finally! This should be the last tale from September 2006. For whatever reasons, that month proved the most lively of our tenure here to date. There was the Home Cummins parts 1 through 4, Val de Mort, Part 2 , Strangers in the Night and The Junk Pile Surprise. What a month indeed. Don't expect a quiet and boring life just because you move out to the middle of nowhere ... just giving you a helpful heads up.
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I had been sitting out on the Rat's porch and enjoying the cooler Fall air when I heard the unmistakable chopping of helicopter blades. I was surprised when I saw a dusty green locust of a helicopter poking and nosing along low over the creek. I never had a camera handy back then but the photo below at least shows the type of bird. I thought to myself "Well, that was certainly odd." and went back to reading the paper, vaguely perturbed at having lost my page in the process.
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.About an hour later, Virgil slid into our parking lot and jumped out on a mission. "Where's Mark?!?" "He headed in to town a few hours ago ... why?" Virgil slapped his thigh in exasperation and asked "Have you got any protection?" "Maybe ... if I dig through the trailer for a half day or so. Why?" Virgil sighed loudly "There is a BIG fugitive manhunt going on; Hondo just talked to some state police and wanted me to warn you." "Any details?" "Yeah, a couple of guys in a stolen car got pulled over on the highway south of here, bailed and headed this way." "South!? That's the route Mark took today. Great timing, he hasn't driven that way in almost a year but he did today!" Virgil and I exchanged concerned looks.
Knowing that the kindly Mark would not hesitate to offer a ride to anyone who looked stranded, I immediately shifted into worry mode. Virgil and I hovered expectantly over his cell phone as he dialed Mark. No answer. We both exchanged the customary "It's okay" looks now even though we both had other mental scenarios forming. Virgil was concerned for both Mark and I now and it obviously killed him to leave either of us out here without his help. "Awww, great timing ... I have this appointment I can't miss back in town at 6:00PM and ..." ..I replied "Pwah, don't worry about it, Virgil, we're pretty big kids and can take care of ourselves." Of course, as he drove out of sight, I thought "Ohhhh man, whaddamy ... nuts?" I did a logical survey of my readily available self-defense options; "Oh yeah, they will quake in their boots when I flash my serrated paring knife ... you bet." This is something you should think out and plan for well head of time, always, because occasionally we might run into people who are simply not nice. It is a good idea to consider how you will address such rudeness. I won't condemn pacifism but I personally don't like the idea of being subject to possible unmentionable abuses to myself or those who I feel protective towards. Sort out your thoughts on this well BEFOREHAND and you will be better able to deal with the consequences. Statistically, it is a long shot but, as the Scouts say, "Be Prepared" - the exercise won't hurt you.
Once I adjusted to this situation, it seemed that my priority was to alert the neighbors after confirming the details with the state police and in between my fruitless calls to Mark. The confounding lesson I learned here was that neighbors in the boonies, counter to your assumptions, might not appreciate your old-fashioned value of looking out for them as you would your own. And it was bitterly enlightening indeed. The least pleasant neighbor at least begrudgingly admitted to locking her doors but I received a VERY insulting e-mail from another a few days later in reply to my phone message. So Tip#2; don't expect a broad and mythical Nirvana of neighbors caring for each other just because they inhabit a remote and harsh land with police, fire and medical help hours away at best. Be prepared to go it alone. I can now handle that revelation but many idealists would find it devastating. Your idea of Nirvana should have ever-mutable boundaries if you wish to find it.
But I have digressed here for your own homestead illumination. The afternoon shadows drew so painfully long over the next three hours before I was able to reach Mark by cell phone. Apparently he had chosen to recharge his cell phone in the 'OFF' position as soon as he had left the Rat. The retreat of my adrenaline overdrive flooded in as I heard his unworried voice at the other end. He was still an hour from home but at least now knew not to pick up strangers on the long road back in. Other than listening for unusual noises in our darkening canyon, I could now worry far less about one most infinitely dear to me.
The manhunt? Well, there never was an official and satisfactory resolution to that incident. In the end, I presume that in this age of cell phones, the fugitives dove into our canyon but called for likewise sleazy accomplices to meet and spirit them away from justice.
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23 comments:
I LOVE Tip#2, about the "Nirvana of neighbors! Truer words were never spoken! But, boy when "their-day" DOES come, payback really IS hell, indeed!
And I loved every minute of it this last winter, with the ice-storm, when suddenly our law enforcement was anything BUT available! Talk about highbrows "suckin'-up"!
I can only imagine the reaction that an earthquake, or the next tornado, can or will bring.
If I'm ALIVE, I'll SHARE it. If DEAD, you can HAVE it. BUT---if I SURVIVE, and you try to STEAL it---I will see that you DO NOT enjoy it, for long...!
(And I don't even live "off the grid"!)
Oh, Bruno, I bet you did figure that one out the hard way, too, what with that big ice storm, if not long before that!
It has taken us moving out here off-the-grid to truly realize just how unprepared we all are should a major disaster occur. And, more disturbingly, just how much of our own responsibility we expect governments to assume. That does trouble me greatly.
I am glad we're hearing about this incident in 2006 in 2008, knowing you are both safe and sound at this point. Sue and I have voiced our concern over your isolation in view of the increasingly dangerous world we live in.
Just as in the rurals, people avoiding the law seek out the isolation just as those seeking peace and quiet.
In Missouri that is where the largest segment of the drug traffickers reside as well. Much like the moonshiners of yesteryear, they shoot first and ask questions later.
Judy
Yep, just another thing to add to the growing list of why I don't need to live out there!
Judy, (tee-hee) I just knew that this tale would sit better with you folks if it was written as ancient history.
Yep, nothing has changed - these canyons have been attracting fugitives for hundreds of years. The good news is that they attract less of them now and the rare ones usually get rounded up pretty quickly without incident. It STILL beats living in the towns and cities where the miscreants live full time!
Bruno knows all too well about those lawless traffickers in MO - sure glad we didn't head back to settle there as we had originally hoped.
Oh pshaw, Mushy! If you heard just a tenth of what goes on in the hills around K-Ville, you would freak out. The great thing about the gas field is that word travels fast among the workers. Since some of them know we are 100% here if they need us, they watch out for us, too. Those men are as much our ideal neighbors and friends as is Slim (who is sadly only around for part of the year).
I will sell you in on it yet!
and slim said to jake, why don't we take the cattle to the creek before the rustlers get them, and then the sweetheart o f the roedioro said, oh slim do you think that is just a good idea since we are so close the the wild indian reservation??????
Sorry I've been AWOL, Lin - new job. Will be back.
Did you really post this last Thursday, Lin? I'm sure I've been around in the meantime...
Old age kinda removes a lot of that (natural?) trusting instinct some people have. And...being as how I'm in my dotage, it takes a LOT to earn my trust, assuming you're a stranger and not family and/or an established friend.
I wish my own neighborhood was one where we each look out for each other. Unfortunatlely, the next door neighbors in my sweet suburbia are somewhat reclusive. We suspect that they may be illegal aliens who do not want to be found out. Well, acting so secretive can sometimes have the opposite effect. Their silence screams for attention, and I always wonder if they are shady troublemakers waiting for opportunity.
For that reason, we are training an attack hamster. No one will ever suspect our little furball to be dangerous, but he will be a black-belt soon, and then watch out!
Hiya, putz. With our lack of rain lately, Slim would love to have a creek with water in it right now. What's really great is that the Indian cattlemen (and women) that we have met out here so far rank as some of the best people we have met, too. Just wish they didn't live so far away.
David, don't worry about it - new jobs are distracting like that. Congratulations! Yeehaw!!!
Buck, thanks for the heads up on the posting date! I managed to upload the photo last Thursday and ran out of time to finish writing the story until Monday. I hear that the new beta test blogger allows you to change the date it will appear - that is pretty cool.
Hopefully you won't revert back to that trusting nature later on in your dotage; that prime time which con men have counted on forever. We are getting 'better' than we were after being broadly abused in that last place but we'll probably never lose that sap factor totally. sigh
Craver, that is a darned shame and it seems to be happening everywhere from what I hear. Very sad indeed.
But, if they are illegals, be thankful that they are at least quiet ones. When the scumlord next door heard what we were listing the old place for, he said "If you sell your place for that much, my taxes will go up!" and he moved well over 2 dozen NOISY high profile illegals in the next week despite the fact that we had been VERY good to him. Yep, that sums up my memory of your part of the state. If you get a chance, get out of there - you won't regret it.
You can change the date of your post any ol' time you like right now, Lin. Just click the "post options" link on the lower left of the compose screen and your date/time will come up on the right-hand side. You can set the date/time to anything your lil ol' heart desires. ;-)
I use this feature to create sticky posts (i.e., posts that remain at the top of the page) during the Valour-IT fund raisers. I set the date for the day the fund raiser is over, and it stays on top for two weeks. You can set the date in the future if you like and Blogger will schedule the post for the date/time you specify, too. Pretty cool stuff.
B-U-C-K!!! How can I thank you enough?! It took me, ahem, 'a while' to find the 'post options' but I finally did. Let's face it, nobody really wants to admit to being THEEEE supreme Luddite techno-retardo of the universe so I am thrilled beyond thrilled right now. Thank you again!
You ever see thaT FLICK WHERE KIRK dOUGLAS WAS A COWBOY, TRYIN' TO GET AWAY FROM... friggin' capslock! Anyway, he was tryin' to get away on horseback from a sharrif in a helicopter? Great flick. Flashed on iut thinkin' about your manhunt. Lock and load.
What a nerve-wracking episode! I'm glad that you didn't have to actually confront the fugitives.
We live way out in the boonies but are not nearly as isolated as you. From time to time I have wondered what I would do if strangers showed up to rob or harm us but if I close my eyes and think of rainbows I can manage to put my fears aside. The worst times have been when my husband has been in the hospital and I have been home alone. *shudder* I don't think that I could live here by myself.
Unlike you we do have two good neighbors along our road to call upon if there is a problem. I'm thankful for that. We are home most of the time and we look out for the neighbor who lives nearest us, at the end of our dead end road, to the point of driving down to check out vehicles that pass by and don't make their exit within a minute or so.
Around here theft (of generators, ATVs, chainsaws, tools, etc) is the main problem people have to contend with, so we tend to be on guard for ourselves and our neighbors. (The neighbors are quite appreciative, and keep us supplied with homemade wines and liqueurs.) Having a good dog to alert us to the very occasional bit of traffic on our road is a comfort, although I have to admit that I was unnerved when she barked at night while my husband was gone. I wish that I was better prepared for situations that may involve two-legged miscreants. Time to quit turning to thoughts of rainbows and do some planning!
FHB, from what I've seen of the helo pilots conducting wildlife surveys in the canyons, Kirk wouldn't have stood a chance on horseback. Those guys can dive into a cut and touch their own behinds on the way out ... mind-boggling.
Try jamming a piece of cardboard under the capslock key if you never use it anyway - it saved me MUCHO aggravation.
Ginger, sounds like you have a really great support network with your neighbors - that is half the battle right there. We also keep an eye on who goes by but, with so many unmarked gas field vehicles, it is nearly impossible to tell who is legitimate and who is not.
I know what you mean about being alone at times. Last week, I heard noises of consequence and thought I saw something large flash by right below window height. I thought "It's okay, it's outside and I am inside so nyah, nyah, nyah!!!" Then I remembered that I had to go out there later to shut the generator down ... doh.
Is pepper spray legal up there? It would be far better than a broom if you ever needed it. Word does get around when creeps notice that you ALL keep an eye on strangers and that really does help discourage the usual drunk and dumb teenagers at least.
Pepper spray isn't legal here, but neither is assault (or worse), so I pretty much rely on it for a small sense of security. I'd rather use pepper spray in self-defense than a gun, although at times I think about getting something to "lock and load" as fathairybastard advised.
Geez, Ginger, I am relieved to hear that you at least have 'a little something' at your disposal. As they say, it's sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, especially when you are more likely to still be around because of it. Just practice 'til it becomes second nature. FHB's 'lock and load' would give you the better edge on a number of aspects but ya gotta make do with what you are comfortable with. Good on ya, girl!!
*whew!*
What a relief this story concluded without incident. I can imagine how tense it was for you, for a while, though.
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