Chapter 2

Back to the grind, then. This was the time instant messaging was becoming popular and we found ourselves chatting constantly, sometimes for hours on end. One day I received an urgent message from him. He told me he was about to be evicted from his apartment. They had raised his rent a few months prior and he wasn't able to pay it now on his unemployment benefits. He hadn't paid for three months and he knew the sheriff was coming for him. He had to throw what he could into his truck and take off. So, goodbye for now. He would be in touch whenever it was possible. It was six months before I heard from him again.

His message:

            You're my first!

I finally got my internet back and you are the first person I'm writing to. I got out of town and went north about 60 miles to the smaller town of Whispering Springs, up in the mountains where I lived once long ago and still have lots of friends. I am living as the caretaker on a great property out in the woods.

The owner, Bill, is only here in the summers. He has a really nice little log cabin and he needed someone to help out with the property, 80 acres, and keep an eye on it while he's away. This is great! I had a phone line put in and ran my own line from the electric pole. I give Bill $150 a month to pay for the electricity. There is a fresh water spring nearby and a river to fish in.

I managed to find a camper for the back of my truck and a 13 foot travel trailer and I have set them up with an enclosed space in between where I have put in a wood stove. One of my walls is all thermo pane glass that I found at the dump so I can just sit by my fire and stare out into the woods. I ran hoses from the spring so I have running water inside and I have a really great outhouse set up outside. I think you would approve.

 

I told him I had found a buyer for my house, was about to quit my job, and in about five months time I would be moving north to a border town and staying with a cousin. I had sold off everything except some clothes, linens, dishes, tools, small furniture, and the music, books and art that were most important to me. He told me how much he loved music and books and it was good that I kept those.

We went back to connecting every day, talking about this and that. He started sending me pictures of his place there in Whispering Springs. It was so beautiful, so many trees. He would also send pictures of meals he had made. One of his favorites was eggs on toast with tomato, onions, and cheese. He was even growing his own tomatoes and onions. What a great life.

Five months later came the day he sent the message that would change my life. 

 

Chapter 4

The next few months were a whirl of activity for me. I had to let all my friends and family know about my big move. I did a lot of research on tax laws. I had to learn a new monetary system and try to be conversant with both the USA and metric systems. I got a thorough check up and a tetanus shot. Busy, busy.

I called and spoke to an immigration lawyer who told me my chances for citizenship were slim due to my rather advanced age, unless I got married or found a high-level job. Not many jobs in Whispering Springs but I still had a powerful feeling that this was what I was supposed to be doing. I had made a major investment and I would just have to wait and see how it worked out. All I wanted was to live surrounded by the glory of nature, with good friends close by, and have my ecological footprint be as small as possible to make up for all the resources I had used up in my life.

Meanwhile, another dire e-mail came from Chuck. He said he feared for his life. Bill had returned and was throwing him off the property. Bill was a cocaine dealer and evil. He and his ex-wife had tried to kill Chuck a few times. I should never, ever have anything to do with these people, in spite of the fact they were now my neighbors. I took that warning to heart.

  

Happily, Chuck soon found a new place to live, a tiny shack behind another house in town. He was making it work for himself. He was on welfare now so he had to live very frugally, but he was doing it. Our emails started ending with hearts or flowers. Now it was coming on Christmas.

I was ready to make my first road trip up with some belongings in my van. It was an 18-hour drive and thanks to friends and family I knew which side roads to take and which highways were the quickest. So it was a pleasant drive, lots of scenery and not much traffic for most of the time. I spent a night in a lovely resort hotel. I did lose a few hours at the border while my van was searched. But all my papers were in order, so no problemo.

Once, when we were chatting, Chuck had mentioned that his feet were so cold in his new place. So for Christmas I bought him a pair of handmade, sheepskin, wool-lined slippers. They weren't cheap. I also bought him a large, beautifully illustrated book about a homesteader who built a house all by himself and lived in the wilderness, A Sand County Almanac.

I arrived at my house when I told him I would, Christmas Eve around noon, but he wasn't there. So I unloaded everything all by myself. I discovered he had set up a bedroom for himself in the house. Well, that's okay. He was doing stuff around the place. The driveway was all shoveled out of some recent snow. He had added new counter space. He put in baseboard heaters which I like. The house had previously been heated by propane and I didn't want to stay with that. They have natural gas in town but it's not available out in the woods, so I had to settle for electric heat until I could get a wood stove.

I was, of course, billed by and had paid Chuck for all his work, twenty dollars an hour. I paid him with wire transfers instead of checks. He didn't want the welfare office to find out he was making any money. Not wanting to stir up trouble for myself, I had agreed to his wishes.

Finally I was finished unloading the van and I found my way over to his new place. He was delighted to see me and had a fridge full of beer. So we had a few and talked about this and that. I asked why he hadn't been there to help me unload. He explained that he wanted me to have some alone time with my new house, to really appreciate it. Well, okay, I could see that.

Then he told me he had a big surprise. We were going to a party. It was just across the street at a friend's whom he had known for some twenty years. I was quite pleased at the idea of meeting some new people.

We went over and I was delighted to meet such fine folks. Phil and his sister, Lizzy, had 10 other brothers and sisters and the night was a constant influx of people, all wonderfully nice. No one questioned where I had come from, they were just all happy to have me here. Friends and family kept walking in the door, without knocking, shouting “Merry Christmas!” It was one of the best times I ever had.

Around midnight all the guests had departed and it was just the four of us. There was no more beer. We all agreed one more would be nice and I said that there was some across the street. I asked Chuck if it would be alright if I went and got one more for each of us. He agreed it was a good idea.

So I went and was probably gone 2 minutes at the most. I walked back into Phil's and handed out the beers. Chuck looked at me for a minute, then screamed, yes screamed, “What the hell do you think you're doing, just walking in without knocking!!?”

I was stunned. I said, “I was only gone for a minute. You knew I was coming right back. Besides, people have been walking in all night without knocking. Phil, is it okay with you that I did that?”

Phil assured me that it was, but Chuck kept on raving. He said I had no manners, that since I was from another country I obviously didn't understand proper behavior. He told me I would never survive here with that sort of attitude. Then he said he was going home and I could do whatever I wanted.

I asked Phil if it would be okay if I slept on his couch. He said, “Sure. Stay as long as you want. You're family now.”

Chuck then stormed out and I stayed to finish my beer. We talked about it a little bit and Phil said Chuck was just drunk and most likely wouldn't even remember any of it in the morning. But I could sleep there if I wanted. Heck, I could even share his bed.

I thanked him profusely but said I really needed to get back over to Chuck's, if I could get in. Phil said he would leave the door unlocked for me, but to be sure to knock first. We had a good laugh.

So I went back over and Chuck's door was unlocked; he was snoring loudly in his bed. I undressed and crawled in next to him, and we slept the night away.

We awoke Christmas morning around 8. I headed to the bathroom and Chuck headed to the fridge, to get a beer. He asked if I wanted one but I declined, saying I'd prefer coffee. He put some on and he was quite cheerful. No mention of the night before. He then made us some eggs and toast and it was all very nice.

Christmas is such an odd holiday. What other time of the year would we put a dead tree in our living room and then sit in front of it, eating candy out of our socks? Well, we actually had neither tree nor socks, but I told him I had a gift for him and he said he had one for me, too.

I was so delighted. I certainly wasn't expecting anything, what with him being on welfare and all. He insisted I open mine first. It was a set of 2 picture frames to hang on the wall. Each would hold 4 small pictures. Something for my new house. That was just so sweet of him.

Then he opened his. He looked at the house shoes and put them on. Then he stood up and looked down at them. “I wouldn't wear these. They're ugly!”

I said, “Excuse me? Those are exquisitely hand-made sheepskin. No additives, no preservatives. They are extremely warm and I thought you needed them.” He just huffed, tossed them aside, and opened the other present.

“I can't keep this. Look around, I have no room in here for books. Think about it, I'm always having to move in a hurry. This would just be one more thing I'd have to worry about.” Then he chugged another beer and said he was going back to bed.

I decided I might as well drive back to my house and put some things away, so I took the book and left. I hung some pictures and emptied a few boxes, meanwhile contemplating all the events of the past 24 hours. Had it just been 24 hours? It felt like a week. Being with Chuck was obviously going to require some adjustments on my part. But I reminded myself of all the good things about him; they far outweighed the bad. In for a penny, in for a pound, I've heard said.

A couple of hours later he called and asked what I was doing. I told him and he said I should come back to his place. It was Christmas, after all, and I shouldn't be working. Besides, I was only here for two more days. So I went and he was all happy again. He was making a big pot of homemade soup.

He put some music on; he wanted me to hear his special CD of his favorite songs that he had made off the internet. The first tune was Cyndi Lauper's “Time After Time.” I had always loved that and in time it became our song. Next was Jackson's “Man In the Mirror,” another favorite of mine. Then there was a 911 recording of a woman at McDonald's who was served the wrong burger. So she called the cops. It was very funny. Next was “All Out of Love” and “Thriller,” and then a George Carlin routine. That was it.

He told me he had so many albums years ago that had all been lost. First the ones he lost to his wife, then another bunch he had in a house he was renting with some other people. One day he had come home from a camping trip and the house was empty. The roommates had all vanished along with all his stuff. Wow, this guy has had some rough experiences. I told him I had hundreds of tapes and CDs and would be more than happy to share them with him once I got all moved in.

It was pretty chilly in his place at this point and he said we needed to get naked and get in bed, where it was warm. So we spent the next 18 hours playing, laughing, touching and learning all about each others' most intimate desires. When I drove back to my country the next day, I had an ear-to-ear grin on my face that wouldn't go away. 

Chapter 14

In June I got a cash payout from the insurance company for when the tree fell on the house. So I had Phil take me to the hardware store and I bought some lumber to build a woodshed, some paneling for the house, a solar light, and a build-it-yourself greenhouse kit. Chuck got hired as a mechanic working on big rig trucks. He started working 12-hour days, five days a week, so I had the place to myself for a change. I built a wood shed and set up the greenhouse. I planted a garden. I adopted a cat.

Ellen had come over and asked me if I would please take one of her cats, Belle. The poor old gal was always getting beat up by the other cats and spent most of her time under the bed or in the closet. She really needed a nice home, free of other cats. Plus, she was a good mouser and I was having a bit of a problem with mice. Ellen said she would provide a cat box and help buy cat food. So, I finally said yes and got myself a kitty.

On weekends Chuck and I started hanging out together again, enjoying the property. There was no more sleeping together and I just really wanted for us to be friends. After all, we were in this completely bizarre situation now. The world was exploding and people were dying from horrible things everywhere. It was nice to have a real person to talk to about all the horrors the BFEE had unleashed upon the world. We were setting up our little safe haven. This could work.

This is an email that he sent then that made me feel more comfortable with what was going on here.

 

July 7

Let me know where you want me to move that lumber that is on top of my logs on the West side of your barn.
I don't want to put your lumber on the ground, but I want those logs out of there in the next day or two to prevent rotting.
I plan to move them (my logs) over to my greenhouse area
Thanx

So, we're outside talking again one afternoon and he decides to tell me the following about himself: “Sometimes people accuse me of being self-centered. I'll admit it, I am. That doesn't mean I'm conceited though, it just means I'm looking out for myself. I have to, to survive. I've been screwed over again and again. People always take advantage of my innocence, my gentleness. I trust them and then they rip me off. So now I always think of myself first. It's how I've managed to survive all this time.”

 

I began to realize that whenever I went over feeling happy he would immediately slap me with some criticism, which would put me in a weak and submissive state. He would then turn all cheerful and talk about how wonderful he was and how he needed things to be. I was only allowed to like his music, his food, his ideas. If I had my own ideas, this was stressful to him.

He often told me that I was not at all observant; it was like I was wearing blinders. He based this on the fact that when I walk I always look down. Lemme tell you something, I learned about looking down when I lived and worked in the big city. I learned to not step in dog doo or strange goop, and I frequently found money while walking that way. Now, out on my property, I'm always barefoot, in the summer anyway. I want to see exactly where my feet will be landing. He doesn't seem to understand about peripheral vision. Mine is quite good. I do still see what's going on, but he doesn't realize that.

I tried to explain it to him once, but to him it was just evidence that I was delusional. He could SEE, I couldn't. He told me that so many times, for a while I started to think maybe he was right.

One Sunday, a few weeks later, I was out working in my garden when I heard a truck pull into my driveway. It was Bill, the neighbor I'd never met, and he was carrying a chainsaw. I started getting a little freaked out and said, “Hi. What's up?”

“Hi. I'm Bill, I live over there. I think you probably know who I am and I think you have heard some really bad things about me. But, I've seen that tree laying across your yard for months now and I've seen how you try to mow around it. I decided I would come over and cut it up for you and get it out of the way. It's what neighbors do here.”

“But, but, Chuck was going to pull that around and make it into a fence for me. I'd like to have a fence across the front.”

 

“Trust me, I know Chuck; that will never happen. Just let me get it out of the way for you. Okay? Then we'll talk.”

So I let him. He made quick work of it and we moved it all out of the way. What a relief. I insisted he have a beer after and we talked.

He told me all about himself and how his family had grown up here. Then we got to talking about Chuck. I told him about the rent payments I signed for but never got and he said the same thing had happened to him. He asked me how many animals Chuck had shot here. I'm like, “What?”

“Oh yeah, when he first moved onto my property he told me how much respect he had for all the critters. Then one day he shot a porcupine, just because it was there. I was pretty angry about that because we don't see many porcupines around here these days, but he was all freaked out that it was going to attack him. Another time he shot a garter snake. He said it bit him. I don't believe that. I think there is something wrong with the guy.”

“Oh yes, I think so, too. But I'm trying to find help for him. I love him. I would do anything for him.”

“That's nice of you. Hope it works out. But come on up sometime, meet the gang. You have friends up the road you don't even know about. I'm only here in the summer though. I leave in September.”

We shared a big hug and he left. About an hour later Chuck came out. “I see you've gone over to the dark side.”

“No. I did not invite him here. I did not ask him to do that. He came over and volunteered to help a woman who appeared to be in need of help. I was, and I am very grateful for what he did. Here's something you should know about him. He was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. He's doing okay so far; he's on a lot of drugs. But he has a horrible disease and he will eventually die from it.”

“I didn't know that. Maybe I should go and try to talk to him. Maybe we could make up.”

“I think that would be a really good idea, for both of you.”

A couple of days later I walked the quarter mile up to Bill's. He was just starting the grill. I met Sam, the guy who looks after the property now, like Chuck used to do. Then Rob, who hangs out most days and helps in whatever way he can. Bill took me on a tour of the property, some of which I had seen, all those years before. There was a bit of a tug in my heart to see that place where Chuck and I started out. But there was a whole lot more to see than just that little spot, like part of the big creek there. It was just stunning and we had a nice, long hike. Then he fed me, grilled burgers and fries. Yum. 

 

Weeks later I took Ellen up to Bill's and introduced them. He fed us, grilled burgers, fries, corn on the cob. It was a beautiful evening. Bill has this gorgeous cat, a tiny calico girl, so of course we ladies were all gushing over her. He invited us to an upcoming party in a few weeks. It was a party he had yearly and people would be coming from all over. There would be live music, a fairly famous musician even. I said I'd be there, for sure.

Ellen didn't get to go, she had to work. I went though, and oh my, what a great time. It was outside in the woods, about 20-30 people there, all of them very nice. One person came around offering venison sausage. Killed the deer himself. Now, I was never one to eat this sort of thing before. But this is a new world and I was tired of the old world of grocery store meat, full of chemicals and antibiotics.

So I took a piece and it changed my eating habits forever. It was so tasty. It went down so smooth. Now I eat venison whenever I can. Then came the live music. Several people there had guitars and fiddles and drums. What a wonderful, beautiful night I had. I walked home under the star-filled sky, and someone walked with me to make sure I got home safely.

This was a new person I had only met that night. He heard a bit about my situation and told me I should just tell Chuck to leave. “He already stated that he wanted to, right? Good. Now just tell him to go. You shouldn't have to live with all this stress and harassment. Just tell him to go.”

Chapter 19

In May I'm outside cleaning up the yard and I see Bill drive by. He's back! I go up to see him the next day and he has a couple of friends there. I give him a welcome back hug and say, “Boy, do I have something to tell you.”

“Well, I have something to tell you first. Chuck came by last night. He walked up, carrying a beer and said, 'I have to tell you about Maria. She's evil. I have never met such an evil woman. Don't trust her!'

“Well, I'll talk to her first and make up my own mind about that.”

One of Phil's brothers was there that day. I had met him a few times before. Laughing out loud, he says, “She's evil?” 

Bill said Chuck was asking if he could move back up there, but Bill said no, that's not going to happen. Chuck starts wandering around the property, picking up stuff. He would say, “I'll take this.”

“No, no you won't. Go home.”

I asked if Chuck had told him about how he beat the window out of my door. No, he failed to mention anything about that. So, I tell everyone what happened over the winter. I asked Bill to please take him back, get him the hell out of my life.

“Sorry, dear. You know I'd do just about anything for you. But that's more than anyone deserves. That guy should be in jail.”

“Yeah, actually I think he'd be happy there.”

 

May 16

Subject: some guy who shot his landlord is going to jail.

hmm - my landlady cut my heat off at 20 below this winter

I never considered shooting her

hmmmm

free heat, 3 squares a day

hmmm

I decided it was high time to get the door replaced. Doors are expensive, $300. But I obviously had a psychopath living next door and it was keeping me from sleeping at night. Any sound would wake me with a start, and this old house makes lots of sounds in the night. Phil came over and helped me install it and it only took about an hour. It's such a joy to have a real door again. 

The long-awaited warm days of June finally returned. I watched and waited for the day Chuck would leave around 10 a.m., because then he would not come back until later in the afternoon.

When I saw him depart I turned off the breakers and went out and cut the power line going into the trailer. Then I came in and undid all the wiring he had connected in the basement. Next I replaced all the padlocks on the barn. Then I just sat and watched. 

 

He came home and went in; after a few minutes he came out and looked at the wiring. He looked over at my house, then looked back at the wiring. He looked at my house again, then went back in. About 20 minutes later a police car pulled into Chuck's driveway. I called Phil and asked him if he could get over here right away and he did. So he was with me when the officer finally came and knocked on my door.

“Good day, ma'am. Your neighbor over there claims you cut his power line. Did you do that?”

“No, not really. First, that's not his power line. He doesn't pay for it. I had a bunch of friends over earlier: Phil here, and Bill, Dan, Joe, Tom. They all know that he hasn't paid me a cent towards the costs here for six months now and has been told to leave. So, they were all out here helping me move some stuff in the barn and I guess one of them decided to just go ahead and do that. Or maybe someone ran over it. I really don't know.”

Phil says, “Yeah, she's telling the truth. That guy is a crook.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

 

He went back over and talked to Chuck, then drove away. Woo hoo! High fives!

Later that day I had a surprise visit from one of my neighbors across the street, Jack. I had met him once, years ago, when he stopped by to say hi to Chuck. They had known each other for around 20 years. Over the past year I would occasionally see Chuck go over to his house. Jack wanted to know if I was okay because he'd seen the police car. He then invited me to come over, have a beer, and meet his wife. I thought, “Well, this should be interesting.” Indeed it was.

The first thing I learned was that despite knowing Chuck for all those years, they did not like him at all. Lisa said he was mean, nasty and he stunk. She said he would come over when their friends were there and the friends would all find reasons to leave right away. So they dreaded his visits. But they were too polite to just tell him to go away.

Jack told me that in all the years he had known him, Chuck had never been able to hold down a job. “Hell, they even kicked him off the volunteer fire department because once when they were out fighting a brush fire, Chuck just sat down and ate his lunch while he watched them. The guy is totally worthless.”

I gave them a run down on all that had transpired for me. They asked why I didn't just throw him out so I explained to them how he was blackmailing and threatening me. “My God, he's holding you hostage there!”

 

“Yes, that's exactly what he's doing and it's good that you can see that, too. I'm just glad it's being done in such a beautiful spot. I love it here so very much. I sure do not want to go back to my country. People are killing each other all over the place down there. The police are mostly all corrupt as well as the politicians. I would be terrified to go back now.”

“Oh, we understand. We think this is one of the nicest places in the world to live. Well, we'll see if we can come up with a plan to get him out of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, we'll keep an eye on you over there and help you out if you ever need anything.”

See what I mean? The people here are just so amazing. A few weeks later it was quite a hot, sunny day and Bill stopped by to ask if I wanted to go boating. He has a big bass boat. So, off we went and soon we were out in the river, cruising along, just the two of us. He stands up and says, “Here, you drive for a while. I want to lay down for a little bit. If I fall asleep, don't steal any of my rugs.”

Omigod, I never drove a boat before! “Nothing to it. Just steer and try to keep us from running into the shore.” I had so much fun. What an honor to be trusted like that. After all these years of being told I was stupid and incompetent, this day was a real turning point for me. I love you, Bill, more than you'll ever know.