[179] Screed City

[179]

08/09/2022 Monday. Milk Crate. Stabbin' Cabin. Worlando Beach, Wyoming.

Regular morning. Got up around 8a. Made some coffee, looked at things. Fascinating political things that I will not expound on. Spent most of the morning catching up on the new developments. I mean, whatever, don't get me started! PegLeg was gone by the time I got up. Working. G and Cousin A were in TenSleep. They came over for lunch then a facial. I did a bunch of dishes and tried to clean up the kitchen. I got most of it done, but had to stop in order to get PegLeg's truck to a neighbor down the street, who needed to borrow it to take some stuff to the dump. She was very grateful that I brought it over, was very sorry that I interrupted my vacation to bring it over. I said don't worry about it, I wasn't doing nothing. And I wasn't. I mean, aside from dishes. She offered to drive me back to PegLeg's compound, but I declined. The walk was like one hundred yards. I mean, I went back and made a cheeseburger for lunch. Regretted it. I wasn't really hungry. But I thought I should eat something. I mean, I probably should have just ate some watermelon. After that I made myself an iced coffee and an iced water for the road. Got a towel and my trunks. Put them in a reusable bag. Then waited for Brother Charley and Sister Megan to come pick me up to go tubing.

They showed up at 1:07p. We swung by Brother Jade's to get Little O and Little S. The rest of the family was waiting for Little R to finish his nap. Then they would meet us near Manderson at Aunt Robin's farm. That is where we drove to next. Taking West River Road.

When we got there, Brother Charley went to work filling up the tubes and me and Sister Megan and the kids went inside. Aunt Robin was making some cream cheese/salami things with pickled yellow peppers. Uncle Jim was sitting in a Lazy-boy eating a sandwich and watching Fox news. He didn't seem worked up though. Even though, according to the Right, today was the last day of America. Because, I don't know, you can't steal classified documents from the Government? Whatever. Aunt Robin was hilarious as ever. She has not changed one iota in the last 30 years. Probably one of the most hilarious people alive at the moment. I really wish I had known her in her 20's. Something tells me she would have been very wild. I mean, we talked in the kitchen for a while. Then we went out and sat down. Doing some more talking. Eventually Sister Athena showed up. With the rest of the kids. I mean, I forgot to mention that when we went over to pick up Little O and Little S all the other kids were wearing backpacks. Ready to go. So very cute. When they showed up at the farm I asked Cousin B where his backpack was. He said he took it off. It was in the van. I really wonder what was in the thing. Toys? Drawing books? I mean, they all were wearing one. I mean, it must have been a big day out for these kids.

After that we talked logistics. We needed to get to the bridge. But we also needed a way to get back when we were done. We decided to drive over in the back of Aunt Robin's truck. We would bring the Mule so someone could drive back and get a truck when we were finished. I mean, we loaded all nine tubes into the back of the truck. Then all the kids got in back. Plus Brother Charley. Sister Athena and Little R got inside the truck with Aunt Robin. Me and Megan and Skunk, no, Peanut Butter, no, what was that dog's name? Snake? Beaver! The dog's name was Beaver. Me and Beaver and Megan and Obie, the dog, got in the Mule and drove to the getting out point. Aunt Robin followed. She picked us up and we drove to the bridge. Got out. Got all the tubes out. Stood on the bridge to take a group photo.

[Insert Group Photo]

Then Brother Charley threw his tube in the canal. Waited for it to come back. Did a sick move to jump down. I did the same. I was holding my water bottle and was wearing my glasses and hat so my move wasn't as sick. But it was pretty cool. Then we hung out under the bridge waiting for everyone else to get into the canal. The youngest kids were very meek about it, so it took a little while. The older ones just jumped in. The water was dirt brown. And flowing pretty good. You could touch bottom easy. The canal was maybe four feet deep. Eventually everyone was in. Aunt Robin took a few more photos. Then she got in the truck and drove away. The rest of us started floating down the canal.

The pace was slow and peaceful. The best way to go was to stick in the middle. The sides were too slow and you would get stuck in the weeds. I took it real easy. Staring at the clouds. The mountains in the distance. The fields and such. The sun beat down like it had nothing better to do than bake us alive. I had put on two doses of sunscreen, but I don't think it was enough. I should have done one more dose, just to be safe, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

I mean, the floating was really very uneventful. The older kids went ahead. Plus Brother Charley. The younger kids were very slow and needed prodding on. Little R floated with Sister Athena. Obie rode with Brother Charley at first. Beaver ran along the bank. Then he would swim for a while, then he would get out and run along the bank. At one point Obie decided to switch tubes. She jumped over to Sister Megan's tube. Bouncing off the side. It was very funny and dramatic. The poor loud thing. I don't know why that dog barks at me so much. I never did anything wrong to it. Either way, she was now very wet and shivering. On we floated.

The canal turned this way and that way. Slowly. It was hard to stay in the middle. For some reason you were always getting pushed out to the sides by the current. Plus it was hard to keep the younger kids moving. They lacked agency. At one point one of them got sick of the tube they were in so they switched with Sister Megan. This sped thing up a bit. Then Little R got sick of floating with Sister Athena so he switched over to Little C's tube. Which had a mesh bottom. This sped things up too, somehow. I mean, we floated on. Dragon flies flying around. Some of them floating dead in the water. I mean, there were reeds and sticks floating with us too. The canal didn't stink though. Not even a little bit. The sun beat down. We turned and floated and spun and kicked and paddled. I drank water from my thing. It had a straw, one of those straws that makes noise when you blow through it. Ribbed for her pleasure. Plus it had a cap, so no mud got inside. I mean, it wasn't so icy now, but it was still cold.

At some point I got too hot to trot, so I dropped down into the water to cool off. Then I did a slick move so I was now on my stomach while floating. My feet crammed inside the inner part of the tube. This made it easier to maneuver the rapids. By rapids, I mean, I was able to avoid the sides of the canal. Plus it made me go faster. Soon I was out front. I looked over and Little S and said: "Looks like I am in front now!" She decided that that was not too cool, so she started paddling. She took me over. Then I got a second wind and blew her out of the water. Leaving her crying in my wake. I mean, at this point it was kind of boring because I was all alone. I mean, now I know what it feels like to make it to the cream of the crop ATBMS. It's lonely at the top. But I was winning so much, I didn't know how to slow down. After a while I just kind of looked at the dirty water. The dead dragon flies and grasshoppers floating along with me. The reeds and their growing roots. It made me think of the cactus back home. In Vermont. I mean, that thing was growing roots in water now. I need to ask the Publisher to water the plants. I mean, it is about time. Plus that cactus will need more water. She sent me some photos today of an all out assault on Beaver Haus. Apparently something has gotten in. Scott thinks it's a squirrel. I mean, it made a huge mess of my flour bag. All 30 lbs of it. Now wasted. Plus my coffee. Plus it broke a bottle. And chewed through the Styrofoam insulation that I had used to keep the mice out. I mean, fucking hell. Vermont! Knock it off! I mean.

[Insert Squirrel Mayhem Photos]

I mean, I worked so hard killing all those mice. 39 if I remember right. 39 or 59. And each and everyone deserved what it got. But for a squirrel to get in now? When I am out in Wyoming? That is just sick. They ought to make a law against it. I mean, what the hell? Also, I heard back from the place that I wanted to do a Donkey [Italics] art show. $500 dollars a day they charge. And also, the Busy Body Society is back in action. Which, I mean, I should just resign. Also, I checked my bank account and for some reason the rental car people returned my money. Which makes me nervous as hell. I mean, pro travelling tip: Don't rent a fucking car. If you are smart, just buy a junker, get temporary plates, then sell it to someone on your way out of town. Or just leave it on the side of the road. Or give it to an unhoused person outside the Maverick. I mean, never in my 45 years did I ever think I would rent a car, and now that I did it, I regret the very notion of even thinking about doing it. I mean, can't they do an Air B&B but for cars? I mean, to me that seems like something that would benefit Society instead of destroy it. I mean, I remember this television thing about 20 years ago, I mean, it was either CKY or Jackass, but they rented a car, with ALL of the insurance things. Like the maximum stuff you could get. And they just destroyed that car. Like nearly totaled it. Then they took it back and just shrugged their shoulders. Like, What can you do? I mean, and there was nothing the rental place could do. Because they had all the insurance. I mean, it cost them a lot of money to rent the thing, but I think they only rented it for a day, so that is even funnier. I mean, at the time I thought it was very irresponsible, from the perspective of the rentees, but now that I am older and have lived in the world, that is some divisive shit right there. And totally necessary as a comment on modern Society. I mean, they treat Us all like that is what we are doing to Them. But really it is just a scam on Us by Them. And they should have to pay for it. I mean, it is bad faith on their part. 99.99% of people just want to rent a car because they need a car when on vacation or working or whatever, so they treat everything with respect, yet because of that .01% of people that may do something like this, they rob us at our most vulnerable? Making us thread needles to avoid extra fees and what not? For the privilege's of using their business? I mean, I am sure there is high liability in the business, but not in way they pretend. I mean, the more I think about when I rented that 4-Runner, the more I am picking up on social red flags. Like, they all know it is a scam. Which is why they expect people to be mad at them. It's like when I worked at Ticket Master and had to tell people buying the tickets about all the handling fees and processing fees and convenience charges. I mean, they made you wait to the very end to tell them because they knew if you told them upfront nobody in their right mind would by the bullshit. But if they had already bought the ticket, it was easier, because the deal was already done and what can you do? I mean, "Oh, yes, that is why it is so expensive, because you booked it last minute." Then they looked to the side and laugh into their hands like they are coughing.

I mean, eventually we came to the end of the lazy canal. I got out and was met by Aunt Robin. Our whole plan of having a way to drive back after the thing was over was nullified because she waited for us. Which was nice. She asked if I had a good time. I said it was a blast. Then I was about to say: "Let's do it again!" She said: "You wanna do it again?!" See! She is hilarious! Eventually everyone made it back. Climbed up the bank and we put the tubes away. I took a photo.

[Insert Final Tube Photo]

I mean, we drove back to the farm. All the kids and Brother Charley and the tubes in the back of Aunt Robin's truck. I mean, she looked small in the thing. Apparently she bought the thing from a youngster and the seat was too low, so she is now thinking of selling it. Because riding that low is annoying to her. I mean, it did look annoying. Junior Mint rides low, but that just makes me look cool. But I don't think Aunt Robin enjoys looking like a blue-hair in that thing. Nor should she have to. I mean, Sister Athena and Little R got into the Mule with me and Sister Megan. Little R rode in the front. Next to Obie. Between me and Sister Megan. Sister Athena sat next to Skunk in the back. Not Skunk, Beaver. The ride back was nice. The wind on our wet bodies. I mean, I am talking for all of us. So, maybe it sucked for other people, but for me it was nice.

We got back to the farm. Took the tubes out. The kids played on the trampoline. Me and Sister Megan and Brother Charley and Little R and Aunt Robin hung out under some Cottonwood trees out front. Lying in the grass. Aunt Robin in a chair. Taking calls on her flip-fone every now and again. I mean, we talked about Mikel. Sister Megan's middle name namesake. The sister of Robin and Sister Megan's mom, naturally. We talked about cabbage burgers. About how every Thursday at the Office Bar & Lounge they would cook them. With potato soup. And Mikel's methods. I mean, I really need to go see Mikel. I have some questions. I still want to write that book, Consider The Cabbage Burger. I mean, maybe next week. I hope. I mean, then we got to talking about Professor Curly. And how her name was a good name for out here. Then Brother Charley was incredulous. He didn't think that her name was that common. And I was like, "Christina is a pretty common name. But Tina spells her name with a K." And Aunt Robin was like: "KaTina?" Making the hard "K" sound. Like maybe her name was "Ktina" with a silent "K" but was also pronounced with a hard "K" even though there was no indication of that. I mean, I told you she was hilarious as shit. Whether on purpose or not. I mean, we laughed and laughed. It was a good laugh. And that was then that. I went inside to change out of my trunks. Fox news was still on the television. I mean, we didn't talk politics. And rightfully so. But we did talk about the labor shortage. How nobody seems to want to work anymore. I mean, maybe it is true. But maybe, just maybe, nobody wants to work crappy jobs that go nowhere for no reason anymore. I mean, the kids these days are more like me than they are like the people saying: "Nobody wants to work anymore." I mean, I pointed out: "What's the point of working when it leads you nowhere?" I mean, save money, but for what? If it is just paying bills, who needs to work 40 hours a week for some jerk that thinks you should work harder but doesn't want to pay you for it? You can't go to school because the debt will destroy you, and there is no guarantee of any job when you are done. If you just end up where you started in the first place? And if working at McDonald's is the same pay as working at some construction job, why bother working like that? I mean, it is not that people are lazy. Even Aunt Robin said it: "You have to do something with your day, right?" And she is not wrong. But the misunderstanding is that there is just no point. It is a question of the degree of misery you want to put yourself through. Especially in places like Worland. Where, I mean, nobody really wants to live here, if you are young. I mean, the way I spent my teenage years, not really in Wyoming, but in general, you just make enough money to move on. No kid like that wants a career fixing cars in some bunk old geezer town with no night life or future prospects, right? It used to be that you could get somewhere. Now, you are already there. The more time you spend wasting time working, the less time you spend not living. I mean, I would rather be poor than tied down any day. And to force me to give all of my time to your business because, I don't know, integrity, I mean, what the fuck does integrity even mean in this instance? I mean, sure, learn a trade. We should all learn a trade. But when college is suddenly off limits and you are looking at a future, like 30-40 years of just doing the same old bullshit day in and day out, I mean, it is hard to take this work seriously. I mean, it took me 45 years before I found a job that embarrasses me with how much they pay me, and that can go away at any second when they decide I am just not worth it. And then what? I am back to normal. Scraping by. I mean, I have decades of experience and I am still considered disposable labor. I mean, I am on the kids side here. I hope an entire generation flakes on us. And we spend the next decade winning us back. Because as it stands, I mean, the irony of things, it was four adults sitting under Cottonwood trees waxing philosophic on a Monday afternoon, wondering why nobody wanted to work anymore, right after we spent hours tubing the canal. I mean, we might as well have been boarding our private jets while having this conversation. Mine or yours?

The truth is, there is just so much money at the top, and the rest of us are living in some facsimile of wealth that is actually abject poverty and everyone is exhausted because of it. We can't buy houses, we can't buy cars, our jobs suck, the rich just get richer with every passing day. The entire economy can crash and somehow the rich get richer and everyone is pissed, but because of the nature or commerce right now, we can still afford being destitute without starving. So we just slog on through our daily lives. Hoping something will change. Instead we get half the politicians egging us on about Critical Race Theory, and the other half egging us on about a better and brighter future, yet because the assholes are the loudest, we find ourselves just trying to get by. Because normal life is just going to work and paying bills. And that is boring as shit. So, for obvious reasons, we gravitate to the loud assholes, not because we believe them, but because they are a better distraction. I mean, I have had about one million jobs in my day. And I have exactly zero loyalty to any of them. Because, frankly, they have zero loyalty to me. They just want to use me and spit me out. And that is all good and all when the labor pool is small and everyone is looking for a job. But now that the tide has turned, and you can't get anyone to work? I say: "HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHA!" Yeah, maybe money isn't the answer. Maybe it is job security? Or healthcare? Or, I don't know, paid leave, time off for having a baby? Vacation time? Sick leave? I mean, the poor will always have to work. But what is a happening now, is that the middle class, who once used to the youth as disposable labor, the fast food summer jobs and what not, those jobs are now working class jobs. And if nobody can afford to go to college, well, what is the point in working some job that will get you nowhere? When a Summer job is suddenly a life-long job? What is the point? I can work anywhere. Doing anything. It doesn't matter. In fact, it matters so little that there is no difference between here and there. And this idea of generational wealth? I mean, I hate to say it, but this happened this last generation. I mean, we are all beneficiaries from it. The safety net is above us, not below us. I mean, why not live at home until your mid-30's? And if we don't keep bringing in new cheap labor from, like Mexico, who is there to do these jobs? It certainly aint the kids that can afford college. I mean, if you want to create a job-pool that is basically un-skilled labor that could take it or leave it, I mean, we did it! We fractured the Working Class. I mean, I am surprised, if not shocked, that people still work for FedEx or Amazon or even Walmart. Because what is the point? You can make just as much money getting stoned and flipping burgers as you would with those companies. I mean, I am surprised that the USPS is having trouble finding workers, because those jobs are great. I mean, why the hell, in a million years, you would want to fill work quotas when you could just go to work, do your job and get healthcare and benefits? I mean, it astounds me. The entire ethos of the boot-strap mentality, is astonishing. I mean, I expect it to wear off pretty soon. Quickly. I mean, we are seeing it now. With these companies unionizing. And a change is coming. And, thank god. But really, if you want people to work, you don't need to pay them more, that is just the beginning. You need to give them a reason to work. Because right now, I mean, if I never had to work another day in my life, I would be fine with that. I have all sorts of other shit to do.

Anyway. I got back to PegLeg's compound at some point. Went back into town to get some tortillas and some fruit for G. Had a long conversation with Professor Curly in the hot sun in the parking lot of Blair's. And then I went back. I fried up a couple of cheeseburgers for me and G. We hung out outside eating them. It was nice. Then I made some lunch for tomorrow. Because I am going to work on the mountain with Brother Charley. I mean, I don't know when this thing will go out. I guess I will try and do it before I leave in the morning. At 7a. So I need to get up by 6a. I think I can pull it off.