May 3, 2009
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An Ordinary Susitna Valley Weekend
The neighbor down at the end of the block, the survivalist with the fantastic arsenal, is doing target practice, or his grandkids are. It being Mothers Day, [UPDATE: I have been informed that it isn't, but that doesn't change the rest of the story.] the kids are probably out here visiting from Anchorage. Every time the kids are here, and plenty of other times, even sometimes in the middle of the night, I hear the regular, rhythmic, sound of target shooting from that direction.
Greyfox had a show in Big Lake on Saturday, the Big Lake Lions Club Mother’s Day craft and gift sale. On weekends when there is a show like that, or a gun show, that’s where he works. Otherwise, if the weather is good, he sets up his stand by the roadside near his cabin. Yesterday, his tables were set up in the gazebo on the lawn, and there was free coffee inside the clubhouse, so he got his daily exercise going back and forth.
On one of the early coffee trips, he misjudged the clearance on a pass-through window, and whacked his head. He says he did some keening and scared a few people. He lightened the moment with, “Oh, BOY! That’s going to feel wonderful when it stops hurting.”
Most of the rest of his day was fairly uneventful: enough sales to make it worth the time and effort, and not so busy that he couldn’t handle it. Then, in the afternoon, something interesting happened. I’ll try to retell the story as he told it to me.
Kevin, one of the Lions, came out with a propane weed burner and ignited some of the dry grass exposed by the melting of the winter’s snow pack. [It's still to early for much green around here.] The fire spread rather rapidly, and soon Kevin was hopping around with the weed burner in his hand, trying to stomp out the fire he’d started.
After a little of that, one of the onlookers asked, “Do you need some help with that?” Kevin wailed, “Yeeeees!” Instead of picking up the hose that was lying nearby and turning on the water, the woman ran over and started stomping on the flames with Kevin. Soon there was a bunch of people out there, most wearing sandals, hopping about, making a clamor of exclamations, stomping out burning grass.
A woman with a table near Greyfox’s noticed that the flames were approaching her truck, and left to move it out of harm’s way. Eventually, someone picked up the hose, turned on the water, and put out the fire. After that, the rest of the show was uneventful.
I reminded my kid yesterday — mistakenly, apparently — that today was Mothers Day, and asked him if I could have the computer this afternoon. No way. I can have it up until about 3:30, when his regularly scheduled D&D session begins, and then it’s his. When is Kid’s Day? I need to know so I can ignore it, sorta like I ignored my seventh Xangaversary a couple of days ago.
Comments (6)
I don’t think Mothers’ Day is until next Sunday, the 10th. 2nd Sunday in May? This is the first.
I thought Mother’s Day was next weekend, too.
Just tell him Kids’ Day is next Sunday, and then you can have it all to yourself then, for Mother’s Day (but he doesn’t need to know that!).
I love the story about the people hopping on the fire. It reminds me of that scene in the Indiana Jones movie where Indy has just wrestled, punched and otherwise fought his way out of a jam where people are trying to kill him, and finds himself in a market square where yet another bad guy is brandishing a scimitar, waiting to take him on. Indy, being way too tired, pulls out a gun and shoots him.
I’ll be celebrating my seventh Xangaversary later this year. It’s so nice to find people who have been here that long.
@wixer -
Okay. If this isn’t Mothers Day, I’ve been misinformed — and so have a number of others, such as the ones who told me and all the others they told.
I can see a bunch of people hopping around on a brush fire in my mind’s eye…kind of funny. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’m in the deep part of a depression I think. Not interested in anything at all. Blogging has been a chore.
Kid’s day? Just pick one. Anyone. Hell… make it kid’s week.