The Homecoming of Keith Boyd
Chapter 3

Copyright© 2017 by MysteryWriter

Set in Coletown
Keith Boyd
Fred Boyd his brother.
Alice Boyd his sister in law.
Nephew John 15
Niece Gabby 13
Jo Anne Wall old girl friend
Windy Wall her ex husband.
Lewis and Ellie Keith’s in laws.
Sarah Marsh retro hippie
General Briggs rd
Doris owner of the consignment shop.


DIY in plastic

Looking up at the white PVC frame standing on the concrete pad was like seeing the skeleton of a T-Rex in the yard of a museum. In a few hours it would take on a new persona. In those few short hours it would look like a Circus tent, I thought, I had no idea what the advertising banners would look like, but they should be colorful. Sort of like the freak show signs of a circus.

The heavy weight vinyl banners were more than just colorful, they were also heavy and almost impervious to the weather. That is why the tent frame had to be reinforced so well. For a lightweight canvas tent, the frame would have been needed only to give it a little structure. The behemoth had to be supported much like a house. The frame was standing and the Boyd building team was ready to hang vinyl and finish off the circus tent structure.

I had bought a step ladder a couple of days before, and Fred had brought his much bigger heavier ladder from home. Since I had power from the grid running into the Gatehouse, a heavy duty extension cord provided the power for our drills. Our dinosaur skeleton was wired for power though not connected. The overhead light fixture had been bought but not installed. The electrical could only be installed after the circus tent was completed. In the meantime power and light came from things plugged into the extension cords.

Over Fred’s objections the sidewalls of the tent went up first over. The frame needed hurricane straps to keep it anchored to the earth in high winds. Those would have to be installed last. Fred and I were still discussing whether to make them inside or outside the tent. Exposed external straps would work well. I liked that idea because it would be in keeping with the circus tent ambiance. Fred liked the internal straps. With them inside there would be less friction wear on the vinyl. Even with all the loud, but friendly discussions we finished hanging the vinyl by lunchtime.

The work left to be done, at the end of the day, I planned to do myself. The plan was to use self drilling screws with rubber plumbing washer on them to tighten the vinyl. When I finished the circus tent should be an almost permanent structure.

So when I finished I own the Gatehouse complete with a Circus Tent workshop. The weekend was quickly coming to an end. As had the family shop build.

Alice pulled into my parking area well after five. She unpacked a picnic basket from the rear seat. “Hey I brought dinner. It’s just the left overs from our family dinner,” she explained.

I came down from the ladder right away. I had been working on the ladder under the assumption that I would get used to the fake leg supporting all my weight for a second or two. It was especially noticeable as I moved up and down it. That never happened, so I was glad to be off the damned step ladder.

“What a great thing for you to do. I do feel bad about you going to all the trouble though,” I said.

“Don’t, your brother can be over bearing sometimes. I needed to get away. This gave me an excuse,” Alice said. She talked while I ate. Actually she complained about Fred while I ate.

“You know you still don’t have a refrigerator,” she commented changing the subject.

“I know, I am considering a small recreational vehicle refrigerator for the house, and a full size one for the circus tent. I expect to be spending most of my waking hours in the tent,” I explained.

“You know it really isn’t a tent,” Alice explained. “It’s more like a Yurt, only not round.”

“I thought that myself,” I agreed. Then changing the subject, “I know Fred is a jerk at times, but he really does think of others first.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t mind blowing his own whistle,” Alice said.

“I’m sure he has done plenty of that since I showed up on his door step. I may not say if often enough, but you two pretty much gave me a second chance. I just hope I don’t fuck it up.” It was quite a speech for me in those days. I hadn’t had a lot to say since the ‘traffic accident’ to be honest.

After Alice left I went into the square Yurt to store my tools. When everything was put away, I called it a night’s work. I went into the Gatehouse and took a shower. The drinking water was still imported, but the wash water was trapped in a rain barrel. I never got around to building the tower, but I did trap runoff from the Gatehouse in two rain barrels. I already had a design for a rig to divert runoff from the Circus Tent. All of it together should give me enough water to take a shower now and then, I thought.

I was thinking that while I took my quick shower in the RV shower stall. It would not be fit for a family’s use on a daily basis, but it was fine for me. Not that I planned to take a shower every day. It was working out to be more often a wash in a plastic dishpan. The dishpan sat on the counter constructed of plastic cubes. It did have a battery powered pump to move the water from my storage tank to the sink or to my tea kettle for heating. Yes it was a pain in the ass, but it was also kind of fun doing as much as was practical for myself.

Since I began using the power grid it was much easier to keep my computer charged. Getting the internet into Gatehouse took some inventiveness on the part of the provider. They tapped into the cable on the pole nearest my drive, then installed a repeater for the WIFI signal.

“We can run cable TV over the same WIFI repeater, if you want?” he asked.

“TV, bite your tongue,” I said with a laugh.

By the time the power grid was hooked to the Bike Shop Yurt, I had spend almost five thousand dollars. It doesn’t sound like much to a person living in a two hundred thousand dollar home, like Fred. However to me it was a lot. I just didn’t have a big income, or expect to make a huge profit from the three wheeled scooters. I had long since given up on the idea of dying wealthy. I just didn’t want to die from boredom.

With my coffee and bran muffin behind me, I went to the scooter shop Yurt the next morning. I carried the weather tight tool box, which had been stored outside the Gatehouse, inside the Circus Tent. I removed the weather proof top and sat the tools where I planned for the tool bench to go. I did rig the portable work light using a heavy duty one hundred foot extension cord.

With a light and access to my tools, I began to construct an extremely heavy tool bench. I constructed if from 2x4 wall studs. They were cheap and suitable for workshop tables and benches. I used only dry wall screws in the construction to avoid warp damage as the cheap lumber dried out. I built the table top of the bench to exactly five feet long and three feet wide. Well it came out more or less those dimensions. The six legs were made from doubled 2x4 with a 2x4 perimeter board to help keep them straight. The thing was massive. The table was wide enough and sturdy enough to use a chop saw on it.

Since it also had splinters, I found a use for all the oatmeal boxes I had discarded. Once I glued them down, they made a colorful top for the table. The cardboard top was also pretty smooth for working on things which needed that kind of surface.

Constructing that table took all morning, so it was noon before I rode the trike to the fast food restaurant where I often had lunch. I expected to eat there less as my kitchen needs got worked out. Nonetheless it was lunch at the Burger, Burger that Monday. It was the day on which I built the shop furniture. I swung by the Home Depot to buy a refrigerator for the Circus Tent. The Depot promised delivery in a couple of days.

When I got home in the afternoon, I built two smaller tables. I also attached two 4’x4’ 3/8in plywood panels to the PVC inside frame. I attached wall hangers to the ply. Then I displayed my hand tools. They looked really neat and probably would continue to be neat overnight. When I began working, they would be end up all over the place. At the end of day I was finished with shop setup. The next day’s plan was to begin working on a scooter in the morning.

First I had to survive the Monday evening in the Gatehouse. It began with me opening a can of beans and franks. My opinion of the dinner was, ‘thank god for Texas Pete hot sauce’. I had a stack of whole wheat Ritz crackers as well. Fortunately I had lots of ice tea mix, and one half bag of crushed ice. In other words it was a typical meal. I was looking forward to the large refrigerator for Circus Tent.

Since I removed my bionic leg, I had to be content to get around the Gate house by swinging like a monkey. I swung from my corner chair to the bed. Then hopped down the wall holding onto the cabinetry. Then I moved to the desk area in order to use the computer. It was a terrible inconvenient way to move around without the leg. The stump needed some fresh air time. I not only washed and dried it religiously, I covered it with a cortisone ointment at first sign of a rash or inflammation of any kind. Part of the care for me was giving the stump as much time to breath as possible.

That Monday had been a stressful time for my body. With that in mind, I took Tuesday morning off. I even got my tiny folding wheel chair from from under the bed. The Gatehouse was designed and built with maximum wheelchair accessibility. The single two inch pipe in the doorway entrance had a flexible ramp built over it. It required some effort to cross, but it was minimal.

Even the moveable cube cabinetry was there for a reason. I could cook standing, or move a couple of cubes and cook seated. I had kept everything moveable for a reason and was that I had done that.

Tuesday passed into history without a single thing being accomplished. I mostly laid around all morning watching movies on the internet. I did take the rolling chair outside to make a few pictures around the house and shop. I Emailed the shop pictures to Deacon Andrews. His return Email told me how much he liked the circus tent shop.

At three o’clock I decided I didn’t want to take a chance on the stump being inflamed again. I called the general practitioner, who had been assigned to me. I made the appointment for Thursday morning. The plan after I spoke with the receptionist was to ride the bike down to Jackson Ms on Wednesday morning. I would just spend the night in Jackson, then visit the doctor Thursday morning. After my appointment I could head home in the afternoon. I just wanted the doctor to tell me there was nothing to worry about. I admit I was a little OCD about that stump.

After I made the decision and the plan, I stopped worrying. I spent the afternoon with my peg leg off. I sat around watching TV and reading the news on line. It was pretty boring stuff when I had work to do. Fortunately there was no required time line for it’s completion.

I went to bed Tuesday night and slept peacefully. The almost ninety mile ride on the bike should worry me, but it didn’t. I was pretty sure I could find a spot to recharge the battery packs before I ran them dry. I might have to recharge them, but I was going through several small towns. I was also pretty good at improvising when necessary. I carried a pocket full of cash, my debit card, and my Colt .38 detective special. That and a box of Ritz cracker and a jar of peanut butter should get me to Jackson.

The next morning at 8AM I called Alice since I knew Fred had gone to work. “Alice I want you to be my emergency contact today.” I went on to tell her I might have to call her if things went pear shaped. Then I loaded my spare 36v 30ah battery pack. It was the one I had bought after my meeting with Deacon. I thought I could make the whole trip using the two lithium battery packs. If not I still had the small lead acid batteries. They might be enough to get me to a diner where I could charge up the batteries. I might be able to find a B&B to spend the night if worse came to worse. I really wanted to stay in Jackson, but only time would tell whether I could make it that far.

It was quarter after eight when I left the drive. I was expecting to call Alice every mile or so. It was noon when I pulled into the parking lot of a roadside burger joint. It wasn’t all that well maintained, so I knew it had to be locally owned. I asked for the manager or owner. I explained that I was riding an electric three wheeled scooter and needed to charge my battery while I had lunch. I promised I would be no longer than one hour and I would give the waitress a five dollar tip when I left.

He agreed and I went out to get the battery and the charger. The battery charger for lithium batteries is very fast. I look at the clock and counted down one hour. Since it didn’t show anywhere, I had no idea what the amount of charge was at the end of the hour. I left the tip as promised, then rode the bike out of the parking lot headed to Jackson.

Two more hours into the ride the bike began to lose speed. I switched out the fresh thirty amp hour pack for the worn twenty hour battery. From there, I thought I could go all the way into Jackson with a good battery. I found a cheap motel where I charged both batteries before I went to sleep. It took 90 minutes to charge the almost dead one, and close to an hour to charge the less drained one. Then it was just watch TV an enjoy the availability of ice, and coke machines.

The next morning I got a hot shower, changed my clothes for those inside my backpack. I had breakfast in a chrome and glass restaurant. I did that only because it was accessible. Then after a nice long time, went to the medical village and found the Doctor’s office. It took a while, but she finally saw me. When she got a good look at my stump, she decided that I seemed to be doing everything right.

I paid my share of the bill then headed home. Even with the late departure from the doctor’s office, I made it home an hour before dark. When I arrived home, I called Fred and Alice to advice them that I was home safe.

“You know Keith, you really should buy a car,” Fred said.

 
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