August 9, 2007

• Survived Another One

  Before I forget it again:  an anecdote from the last water run.  It slipped my mind after the encounter with the drunk pissing in the stream.

  After carrying his first few loads of empty containers down to the waterhole from the car, Doug picked up something from the ground.  It was clothing made of formed plastic for a very small doll.  The little flexible shirt fit over the tip of his index finger.  He held it up to show me, saying, “I found a little rubber shirt.”

  Then he paused, looked around intently, turned back to me, and said, “It’s torn off.  Maybe this was the site of a little rubber rape.”
  

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  Yesterday I met Greyfox (above) at his stand at the regular Wednesday summer market on the grounds of the museum in Wasilla.  I took some photos, bought some produce (below), then went to complete my shopping before meeting Greyfox back at the market around closing time.

  

  The shopping trip went well, relatively painlessly.  I found what I needed and got a few bargains.  Thinking I was finished after the supermarket, I went to the library, parked in the shade, checked out an armload of books, and read for a while.  The museum is next door to the library and shares a parking lot, with the grounds where the market is held being just across the alley behind both buildings.  The old building in the museum’s “historical park” are historic cabins, barns, a sauna, schoolhouse, and such, from early Wasilla.

  Also on display is the cabin that was built at Willow for the governor’s residence after the voters decided to move the capital from Juneau.  The cabin became a historic relic when the voters learned what the move would cost and elected to leave it down there on the panhandle where it’s relatively out of reach for most of us.  A few views of those buildings are in the background of the photos I took, such as the schoolhouse behind Greyfox up top and a barn, in the shot below of the produce stand where I bought my romaine.

  

  After the library visit, sitting there in my car in the parking lot waiting for the market to end, I remembered that I hadn’t gotten the tarps to fix the roof.  Rejecting the first few examples I found, finally at a builder’s supply store I found some heavier duty tarps at a price below what I’d have paid for lesser ones at some other stores.  Greyfox was about ready to start packing up when I got back to the parking lot.  I followed him to La Fiesta, our favorite restaurant, and parked my little station wagon in the shade of his big minivan for the sake of the perishables in my car.

  Dinner was excellent, the conversation pleasant, and afterward he followed me out to his place to load up some things that he had been acquiring for me  since my last visit.  I was fatigued by then, but I managed to trim his beard.  It is the first time I’ve done a public beard trim.  Our audience consisted of some of the neighbors.  The alcohol fueled comments from one of them, and my responses, provided a few laughs.

  By the time I returned home, I was exhausted.  Doug put away the perishables and everything else is still bagged up and in the way in the kitchen.  I may not get it put away today.  My muscles are still burning from lactic acid, my ears are ringing distractingly loud, and my physical responses are slow and clumsy.  I need rest.  Rest is what I’m going to do.  PS2 and FF Tactics, here I come.

  

  • 4:09 pm
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