Chapter 17: Busy Busy

As I promised myself yesterday, this morning I crossed the river and presented myself at Elaine’s to volunteer my services. Declined.

“You are sweet to offer, Joey, but you simply aren’t suitable and our minimal needs are currently already met. Sorry. Now let me offer my service to you. You definitely have a aura of stress about you. So do Gail and Dalisay. I can help you all. What do you know about herbal medicine? Anything?”

“Doctors don’t approve of it.”

“That’s not quite true. Many medicines doctors prescribe are derived from herbs. Aspirin comes from willow bark. Digitalis from foxglove. Sildenafil, branded as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, comes from the Horny Goat weed, native to the Andes. Doctors use herbs but don’t approve of anyone other than doctors prescribing herbs.”

“Got any Horny Goat weed growing in your garden?”

“No, but I have a pomegranate love apples tree. A strawberry patch, a watermelon patch, many varieties of chilli peppers, all excellent for increasing libido and erectile function. Do you need that help?”

“No, not yet. My home life is a bit stressful of recent. War between the genders stuff. Any cure for that?”

“Cure? Doctors know how brilliantly the body is designed and equipped with natural self-repair mechanisms including but not limited to the immune system. It encompasses much more than that. Sure it kills cancer cells and fights infections. More impressive not only can the body repair broken bones but also repairs broken proteins. Our bodies naturally fight the aging process in this protein reconstruction way. Our bodies can heal almost anything. When we’re losing the battles, we need to repair, reinforce, or restore the natural self repair mechanisms. Medicines help but don’t cure. If you injure your finger, your first instinct is stick it in your mouth. Immediately introduces any germs into your system and engages the defenses. Brilliant instinct to be hardwired with. Don’t you agree? Are you taking your seawater daily mineral supplement? Your food can’t supply these minerals, the farm lands are depleted of minerals.”

“Okay. You’re the one put Gail and Dalisay onto taking seawater. We fortify the body with herbs, vitamins, and minerals. Right?”

“Let’s not delve deeply in what medicines and herbs can do, it’s a lifetime study. I suspect you enjoy music, but do you ever listen to mood music?”

“Do you mean classical?”

“I have recordings of song birds chirping happily in a garden, one of a waterfall, another of surf on a beach, even gentle rain pelting a tin roof. There are musical compositions that create similar relaxing moods. Ever listened to Debussy? Do you like incense? That can be mood elevating. Candle light and knowledgeably arranged décor lighting can set moods. I sell all these things including howto instruction booklets for alleviating anxiety. But for you and your ladies, I recommend aromatherapy. You’ll love it!”

Elaine sold me a complete basic ESSENTIALS aromatherapy kit. Smell is the strongest of the senses. Olfactory bulbs directly connect to the areas of the brain that process emotion and learning. It’s why and odor will trigger a memory or remind us of someone. That is what sold me, the memory trigger part. I also bought some pot and pomegranates. I gave all to Dalisay. She is delighted with her gifts and with me for giving them to her. Soon the shack was pungent with orange oil fiffused in the air. The kit included a diffuser. I escaped to go work with Dallas on the boat ramp project.

Dallas calls his construction method, light fingered. We are building a reusable form to cast a rebar reinforced narrow finger. A foot thick, two feet wide, and thirty foot long concrete beam. We intend jetting in a couple of pipes a dozen feet out in the river as guides to keep the first one perpindicular. Using the bulldozer, we will shove this long finger of concrete between the guide pipes, skidding it into the river’s soft muddy bottom. The slope angle will be controlled by raising or adjusting the butt end height with the dozer blade. In final position, the guide pipes are jetted free and removed. The next concrete finger, guides against the first as it is shoved into the river. A loop of exposed rebar in the butt end, allows partial retracting the finger, in case a fresh deeper attack is needed to adjust to the same level as previous fingers. The intent is all the outer ends are level with each other and four feet beneath the river surface.

A total of eight side by side beams are planned. The finished ramp will be sixteen feet wide, thirty feet long, with a 14% slope, or 8 degrees angle, or a one in seven pitch. Roughly speaking. After installation, the beams will be washed clear of the mud scooped on top, by propeller wash from an outboard motor. All the concrete will be hidden under water. Gravel is spread on shore for the exposed portion of the ramp. Dallas isn’t asking for permits. As far as he is concerned, if someone gets nosy, this was already here when he bought it, and is an ancient feature predating any agency regulations. He has only added a fresh gravel topping on the adjacent shore.

Since only the dozer and a trailer will be driving on the ramp’s approach, gravel makes the easiest repairable surface, only requiring a bit of regrading time to time. This ramp is not open to public use, it’s strictly private property. Out in the boonies, he expects to avoid government and get away with it, remaining unseen and unnoticed.