Chapter 78

The first day at the new job, for breakfast I was on my own. Hugo didn't seem too interested in sharing, so I went to the cafe. I went in uniform, even though I didn't get a shower first. I thought it would made it easier to meet people.

The first thing I had to do, was to forget that I was just marking time. In order to be accepted, the people needed to see me as a new resident, not a tourist. So I met one of the owners of the diner and his wife. He was the day cook and she was the waitress and cashier. Last night it had been his brother who was cook, and his brother's daughters who were the waitress and cashiers. It was truly a family business.

The breakfast was simple and I tried to stay away from the grease. At least on that first morning. I went for the scrambled eggs with cheese and grits. I avoided the meats on the first visit. If the eggs proved to be alright, I would try the other items later.

The eggs were actually pretty good. They were a little greasy, but things tended to be that ways in small diners. The prices were reasonable and there was even a breakfast special. Their claim to fame had to be the morning biscuits. The biscuit that came with breakfast was huge. The thing was five or six inches in diameter and an inch thick. I looked forward to stuffing it with eggs and bacon when I was in a hurry.

The special was two eggs, bacon or sausage, grits, and a biscuit for five bucks. It was a good deal I knew I would be back after I had the eggs. Unfortunately there coffee was crap. They served that awful cheap restaurant blend you got everywhere. If I could find a travel cup, I would gladly bring my own coffee. I paid the bill and decided that they had seemed friendly enough. I figured next time, I would get the 'oh you are back, now who the fuck are you' treatment but with nicer language.

When I got back to the office it was almost nine Hugo was an early riser I noted and was glad of it. I wouldn't want to walk in on a man in his Sponge Bob pjs. "Morning boss," I said when he came from the apartment in the rear.

"Morning Terry, how was breakfast?" he asked.

"Good, I hope I didn't wake you brushing my teeth this morning," I asked.

"You did, but it's fine I usually get up about this time. If you let me sit at that computer I'll make some calls." he suggested. We switched seats and he called the campground some 15 miles away. He left word for the maintenance man to return his call and hung up.

"So Terry, you aren't allowed to do anything, but read the fish and game laws for the rest of the week and next week as well. They want to bring you up to speed. But honestly you can read them in a day and then you learn the rest as we go. Since the captain was pretty adamant, we will go with it." he said.

"To be honest Hugo, they want me to get a feel for a slower pace of life, I expect. I have some medical issues as well. I have a couple of cracked ribs," I explained to satisfy his curious look.

"Do I need to know how you got them," he asked.

"Fell off a motorcycle," I suggested.

"Ah lucky you didn't get scraped up as well," he said looking curious.

"Yeah I was lucky. Those leathers work very well and I wasn't going all that fast." I volunteered.

"Well I guess you totaled it since you didn't bring it with you?" he asked.

"Totaled and no insurance, so I won't be replacing it anytime soon," I said. That stopped the questioning until after the man from the campground came. He brought all kinds of pipe with him. When he left the camper had water that wouldn't freeze in the cold, and a toilet that worked. It also had a very, very small hot water heater, which he explained would give about enough water to rinse a few times."

To shower I would stand in what looked like a giant plastic sewer pipe and wet down my body. I would then turned off the water and soaped everything including my hair. The next step with a little luck was a hot water rinse down of my hair. Which should also rinse most of the rest of me at the same time. I might, or might not, have to finish rinsing with cold water. Obviously the pot growers office hadn't needed much hot water. Growers must not shower often, I decided.

I could manage the water situation. Heat was a different matter all together. I had a small sized ceramic furnace built into the wall. It was locatied across from the tiny bathroom in the center of the trailer. The trailer itself was eight feet wide and twenty two feet long. About the half the size of the family room in a modern house.

I knew from the night before that the furnace wasn't enough heat. From talking to the man who came to install the trailer, I learned that people used the kitchen stove's burners as a propane heater in the kitchen. He didn't recommend it, but it was done all the time. It was mostly dangerous when left unattended, or if the owner fell asleep with it buring.

I could safely use it to give the trailer a quick blast of heat only. Then use the electric furnace to maintain the heat. If I used the propane for supplemental heat only, it would be less dangerous and require me to run to the store for propane less often.

Since the store that sold propane was probably where we bought gas for the trucks, it might not be too far away. It would still be a good idea to use it sparingly, since it gave off dangerous fumes. I didn't like it much, but the camper was a temporary thing.

The good news was that the camper came with two tanks. My mind went to a more efficient way use to use the kitchen stove as a heater, but that could wait. I might never get around to that.