Chapter 17

Morning seemed to come very early, as I was a little groggy when I rolled from bed. The dogs were spending their nights outside during the summer, which helped keep visiting animals out of our garden. I was going to have to get rid of some deer this year since there was an actual herd of deer that I've now seen a couple of times. There was one big buck, and a younger one that was usually hanging out in the outer part of the group. There had to be over a dozen does and all had fawns. Wish I could just catch them and take them to a zoo. It wasn't realistic, but an idea.

Before doing anything else, I called the RV park where Eliza lived. Her nephew answered and we had a nice conversation. His wife went to get Eliza while I was talking to him.

When she came to the phone I told her, "Eliza, old Ben passed away. I'm calling to see if you want to come for his funeral tomorrow. If you want to and need a ride, I can come get you."

"Oh, Mike, that is so nice of you, but I hate funerals. It reminds me that I might have one of my own before too long. I'll think about that old coot and know he's probably a ghost up on that mountain now. I'll bet he was talking to Connie the whole time he was passing. That man worshipped the ground she walked on. What are you going to do with his farm?"

I almost felt guilty in telling her, "Ben gave me his place. He told me in front of the doctor and had the doctor write out a will. He said he had forgotten how to sign his name. Do you know if he could write at all?"

"The man only went to the second grade. He never could read or write. When his wife was alive, she did all of that for them. I read and wrote for him after she passed. Thanks for calling me, Mike. I think I need to go cry a little because I won't get to see that old critter again. Then again, maybe I'll be able to help him haunt you up on that mountain of ours."

When Eliza hung up, I also had some tears in my eyes. These folks had lived a hard but enjoyable life up this mountain. I liked the way she called it 'that mountain of ours.'

After breakfast, I checked on Ezra's progress and found his men in a happy mood. Ezra said, "We finished over at Ralph's and the clearing where you're putting the FEMA trailers. That is going to be a real nice place. There are enough big trees to give them shade, plus that little spring fed stream behind them will be nice for spring water if they want it."

Ezra got me off to the side and told me, "You're doing a good thing for these men. They are really excited about having their own place that they can work with, instead of renting from a guy who is bitching all of the time. I hope you understand that this bunch is a growing family. Not just with kids, but others of the families that are coming and will migrate here. They should be good neighbors, and if not, just give them something for their work and shoo them away."

This evening was the same as before, with me standing beside Ben's casket while a lot of the same people came to pay their respects again. I love the way a community like this is, as some of the men were in their Sunday best and the women wearing hats and fine dresses. On the other extreme, farmers were coming in still in their bibbed overalls and work boots. Men gathered in groups, mostly outside, while the women formed various groups and traveled between conversations. I was bushed by the time ten o'clock came. We thought about a late night snack at the Kitchen, but we didn't have the energy. Besides, this being a country town, the Kitchen usually turned their lights off about nine pm anyway. We would have to be back here by noon for the funeral. The ceremony started at one o'clock, to allow the people who needed to attend the market in the morning to do so, have lunch, and show up at the funeral afterward.

We slept soundly and were able to get the chores done early, and then we decided to make a quick trip into the market to sell some eggs and butter. Mom had made five gallons of buttermilk and was prepared with ten half-gallon mason jars. We charged for the cost of the mason jars, which was higher than the price of the buttermilk, but let people know we would buy the jars back for the same price. Summer had two days of eggs, about twenty-four dozen, and Millie had cut up a side of bacon that she had sliced into five pound parcels. It didn't take long for them to sell out.

I made a trip around the equipment area to look at a couple of ATVs that were for sale, but neither one looked like what I wanted. To be honest, I really didn't know what I wanted in an ATV, but I figured that I would know it when I saw it.

As we drove by Ben's on the way home, we saw what looked like the entire Latino group working on something at the house. I'd bet some of the lumber for the house was being delivered to Ben's, and that wasn't a big deal, since they only had to advise the sawmill and they would make a delivery when they picked up some logs.

The funeral was a little sad, as it was a final goodbye to a friend. As we watched the casket being lowered into the ground next to his wife, I mentally thought that I'd bet Ben and his woman were frolicking up on the mountain together. I liked the idea of Ben's ghost up there with us.

I thanked Harold for the nice prayers he offered at the funeral and gravesite. I was really surprised at the hundreds of people that showed up on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Mom and Millie waited for the crowd to leave before they began putting the potted plants from the funeral into the Explorer. Mom said, "We'll plant these around the porch to make our place that much prettier. I've planted some flower seeds there too, so we'll have a colorful porch."

I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon walking the orchards and vineyards, checking on their condition. There needed to be some weeding work in the vineyards, but the place generally looked cared for. I had brought a plastic Wal-Mart bag and filled it with blackberries. We needed to bring some buckets and load up while we could before the bears come up high to eat them all. It was later agreed that we would gather blackberries after Sunday dinner.

Church was nice on Sunday, as Harold made mention of Ben both in Bible class and during the service. I felt good to have so many sitting with my family, as it showed how close we all are. I'm sure it was something for some to talk about because there were so many Latinos worshipping with us. A nice surprise was that Jimmy and the five men hired for the roads all showed up together. They were friendly to the Latino men as they had worked with most of them.

The extras for Sunday dinner were Bradley, Bradley's folks, and Ezra. I was able to give them a tour of our place and explain the expansion being built, without having to make any excuses about where the money was coming from. Stanley Conner understood what farming was about, and how you had a buck one day, and the next you were in front of the bank loan officer with your hat in hand. Thankfully, I didn't need the bank so far.

When Mr. & Mrs. Conner and Ezra left, Mom, Millie, and I went to the blackberry patch next to our big vineyard. I made sure we didn't have to share the patch with any big black fuzzy critters while we filled six big buckets full of blackberries. Our fingers were purple, as were our lips, from picking and eating so many of the delicious berries.

Back home, Mom told us that a couple more good picking trips like this and we'd have enough for blackberry jam. That made us eager to get back out to pick more. Millie made a small vanilla cake, while I turned the crank to make ice cream. When Summer and Bradley got back from their walk, we enjoyed some ice cream and blackberries over the cake, and it was delicious.

Bradley had to go home to do evening chores, which meant that Summer had to change from her dress into jeans. We easily finished chores and watched the one young goat and young deer play. The older goat didn't want any part of the playful animals and hung out with the cows. I suppose she was special since she also gave milk.

Monday came with a torrential vengeance. It was raining so hard that you almost couldn't see the barn. We put ponchos on to stay a little dry as we did our chores. I stoked the smoke house and wet the meat sacks down after putting more honey on the hams and bacon. I decided to use sorghum on the sausage meat for a change in flavor this time around. I left a side of bacon without any honey or sorghum for only a natural hickory flavor. When I had the bigger smokehouse, I would put meat in three specific areas to get the special flavors.

The rain was making it cool enough that Mom started a fire before breakfast. While we were eating, my cell phone began ringing.

The caller was Jimmy. "Hi, Mike, hate to bother you while you're probably trying to get some extra sleep, but we have a problem. The rain was so heavy over on Jackson Bottom road that the creek water shifted the bridge on the supports. Do you think you can come help get this fixed?"

"I'll be at the yard in less than thirty minutes. Get the two bulldozers and the big backhoe on the truck if they will all fit, and get all of the big chains and u-bolts you can find. We might be able to do this without having to hire a crane."

I called Ezra, "Hey there, I need you to bring some saws either to the equipment yard or down to the Jackson Bottom bridge. The rain has moved the bridge on the supports and I'm going to try to rig it back in place using logs as a cantilever and the bulldozers."

"That will be a sight, Mike. I'll meet you at the bridge. You know you might want to pull from the far side, because there is that rock cliff with big boulders there to hold logs in place. You're going to need the heaviest block and tackle you can find."

I wasn't dry from chores yet, but I grabbed my poncho and went to the yard. These men knew how to maneuver heavy objects and had the big bulldozers and a big backhoe on the big truck's trailer.

By this time, the rain was only coming down at a normal late spring rate. When we got to the bridge, we found that one side had lifted up and was sitting on the huge bolts and concrete posts that held the cast concrete bridge in place. The whole thing was only twenty feet across, with each side lipped over about four feet.

All of us could see that most of us would need to be on the other side, so we unloaded the backhoe and were about ready to send the trailer with both bulldozers to the other side. Jet was tugging at my arm and pulled me to the end of the concrete bridge that was cocked to the side.

"Le, le, le, le, let me, me, me, me show you. It will work, It wa, wa, will be easy."

Jet moved the older bulldozer off the trailer and put the bucket under the lip of the concrete bridge. He didn't try to lift it but used the hydraulics to swivel the bucket, lifting the bridge. Then with a deft touch, he pulled the brake back on one track and swiveled the tractor, lining the bridge up.

Jet got down and pointed to the other side, "Do, do, do, do, tha, tha, tha, sa, sa, same on tha, tha, the other sa, sa, sa, side."

Jimmy drove the truck around county roads until he was able to get to the other side about an hour later. There, Jet pulled the other bulldozer off the trailer and performed just about the same thing. Jimmy began hollering for people to line the concrete bridge up with the bolts and move the tractors together to make it fit.

John jumped up on the bulldozer on this side and was directed by one of the guys, while Jimmy directed Jet. Fifteen minutes later, we gently swiveled the two buckets to lower the bridge to fit on the bolts and concrete posts. I was amazed at how easy it ended up being. All I could think of was the cost of hiring a huge crane or building another bridge.

One of the new men told me, "We need to build a couple of buffer dams this summer to slow the water down and make it spill over the dams and flow under the bridge instead of over it. Let's put that down on our to do list."

Eight men were standing in the rain, soaked to the skin, but high fiving each other for Jet's good thinking that saved the day.

We loaded the equipment back up and had a procession back to the yard. After we unloaded that equipment, the guys said they were going to knock off for the day, even though it wasn't even close to noon yet. They really couldn't work effectively in the rain, and they did need to get dry.

I went home, showered, and changed into dry clothes. Mom announced, "How about a trip to Lexington so you can get some new fatigues or what you call BDUs and we girls can get some new jeans and shirts? I need some new boots, and both of these girls need good work boots."

On the way through Stanton, we stopped at the library to use the Internet to locate the Army surplus store and where the malls were. I stopped at the bank for a wad of cash, and we were on our way before lunch with our stomachs growling.

We stopped at a McDonalds on the highway for a taste treat that Millie and Summer had not had in years. We laughed and talked all the way to Lexington in Mom's new Explorer. It was a nice vehicle to drive.

Mom was my navigator and took us straight to the Army surplus store. The place did have a good selection of fatigues at fair prices, and boots that fit. I bought eight sets of mountain BDUs, six caps, and four more ponchos for the house, so that we wouldn't run out. Summer wanted a white sailor's hat, while Mom and Millie picked out six cammie slouch hats. Mom told Millie that they needed to hunt for some good straw hats for the summer, but they should be able to get them at Wal-Mart when they were needed.

From there, we went to the first mall and found that it didn't have many stores. We went to the second mall and walked the mile, or it seemed to be, end to end, looking in store after store. We took a break for another snack, and when it got to be about four o'clock, we all agreed that we needed to get home to do evening chores.

On the way home, Mom said that she was going to teach some of the Latino women how to do our chores so if we went to Lexington or somewhere else, we wouldn't have to rush back to take care of them.

The rain was still coming down steadily all the way home, but seemed to let up as we drove up the mountain. By the time we were through milking and doing the other chores, the rain had stopped. Hopefully, the cable path wouldn't be too soggy in the morning so that the men could work.

Millie and Mom went into overdrive while washing the new clothes so they could be worn right away. I spent the rest of the evening listing the projects that were underway and which one to check on first in the morning.

The road crew was going to be attempting to get their new trailer spots ready, along with the office trailer. I hadn't noticed, but I'd bet the guys poured the slabs Saturday afternoon. Ezra and his crew would be busy continuing the path. I suppose the rain would keep them from finishing this week, but we were ahead of the cable crew by at least three weeks. Then there was Raul and Jose. Hopefully, they could finish the removal of the pole barn and begin getting it rebuilt at the equipment yard. That really was it, except that I needed to do some work in the vineyards on the other side of the mountain. I wonder if the women the girls had working could do that work? I would find out.

Tuesday morning was nice and dry, making life easier with less mud being tracked in by the cows. It was funny how Mom and Millie wouldn't let me do any milking. Mom kept telling everyone that milking was women's work. After Summer finished the chickens, she milked the goat and kept the milk in a separate five gallon can.

This morning, Ezra needed me to set up an account for him to buy the explosives and detonators he needed. He said he would only buy to the next higher price break so that he would have enough to finish this path and begin the next.

The sawmill truck was picking logs up after having delivered a large quantity of lumber that I was sure included material for Ben's place. The man in charge asked if I was ready to begin selling ground up root balls and the miscellaneous limbs and stubs.

"If it will bring some income in right now, I'm all for it. We'll get Ezra to advise where the best place for easy access would be. You need to know that when there is erosion nearby, we're going to use the root balls for that first. I'm sure there will be plenty, especially on this run."

The sawmill supervisor got together with Ezra for the location of the grinder and that was taken care of. Ezra had told me that we were shipping a lot of logs to the sawmill and that they were now direct depositing payments from the actual weights delivered to their yard. He said he had asked Maude to set it up. Ezra didn't think that was a problem, so I was good with it.

Jimmy and John were working on a couple of stretches of roads that the other commissioners had neglected for a long time. With two of them on big graders at the same time, they could do better than thirty miles of road a day.