7 & 1/2 Acres

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2003-05-08 - 8:28 p.m.

So if I wasn't so daggum tired of it, today would of been why it is I do tree work--actually, more correctly, it is why I work for myself. It was a day Mr. William and me, and boy, I sure can enjoy his company sometimes. And Billy, he worked with us too for a stretch. But I realized something-- that Mr. William and I must have something special in our friendship. William is the nicest fella but I was watching him today, when we got finished speading straw on this job. The three of us were by the trailer and Mr. William told Billy how much he had earned and wrote him a check for it. Then, we all sort of stood around a bit and Billy said that he'd see us later and drove off. As soon as Billy was gone, Mr. William says, "Jeff, where we gonna eat."

I love him I do. He wasn't being too cool for Billy but wasn't going to hang out with him neither just out of politeness. But, out of politeness, he waited til Billy was gone to say, "Let's eat." So, we went to Golden Corral and it was good.

I love this especially because, even if I wasn't there, William wouldn't of said anything about eating to Billy--this is all drawn out but what I'm trying to say is, I like this---that Mr. William would prefer to go eat alone than go with someone that he just didn't have an extra interest in. And, it's extra good too cuz when we're together out eating, half the time we won't say a word. Ah, to sit with someone in comfortable silence, appreciating the same things is a nice thing.

Of course, it's nice to talk sometimes too, so today we also talked.

Here are some Mr. William clips in no particular order:

We're driving home after our milkshakes at Cook Out on this back road, that used to be gravel til just recently. It's all woods and farms, me following him--him towing his skid steer with his '79 pick up and he stops in the middle of the road. I pull alongside into the oncoming lane to see what's up and he say's, "A tale to tell...you see that field there...we sowed 30 acres of corn..." But his story got cut short cuz a car was coming and I had to scoot back in behind him. I think he told most of it though.

---We got to talking about the government today. We got there because the neighbor where we were working works for Habitat and William started asking about it and says, "So, the idea of it is to help poor people get ahead but how's it do it if they've got to pay a morgage and the interest rate ain't even all that low."

---And talk about poor people and folks who ain't got nothing and how the Rural Studio just gives them the house which tied us to Eastern N.C. and "Do you think those folks get anything when drought or flood hits them but, boy them farms in the Midwest get all kind of relief because they're all owned by the banks and corporations anyway--they get their money."

---About more politics---we don't always agree on everything (and sometimes we do but for entirely different reasons). He says, "There's this blind bunny and this blind snake. The snake says to the bunny, "hey let me feel you." The bunny says, "Sure." So the snake feels the bunny and says, "Feels lke you've got long floppy ears...you're soft...you got whiskers, yep, you feel like a bunny." The bunny says, "Let me feel you." The snake says, "Sure." And so the bunny does and say."You feel cold, and scaly, and like you 've got a split tongue...yep, you feel like a FRENCHMAN!"

---So we were driving down the road and I says, "When we were in Greensboro, house-sitting, we went to see some live music---this band, My Morning Jacket, (we were listening to Dwight in my truck and he had turned it up) and the lead singer had such long hair that I not once got a sense of what he looked like, it hid his face so." Mr WIlliam says, "Really." And I said, "But boy, he sure could sing." And man, that's the truth--this one is really about me, and "What I say to Mr.William" which isn't really what this one here is about but it is here anyway.

---Yesterday he says, "I've probably asked you before, but what's that emblem of?" About my tattoo on my arm. I feel a little awkward for a minute but then what the hell, and tell him it's a dragon out of this book of old myths that sorta serves to remind me to try and be a good person." And, "This other one, I got with grandma's birthday money when I was 21."

--Earlier in the day, we tried to roust Paul away from fixing lawn mowers. (William would go eat a meal with Paul) He couldn't help us but shared some news that Max was in intensive care with staff infection (we had just taken a tree out for Max not a month ago). Paul says, "He accepted Christ." William with sincere surprise and concern, "Really, I didn't know he hadn't. Sometimes it takes something like near death. The Bible says you're not ready until you get the calling."

--Spreading straw today--a good 3/4 of an acre or so by hand (and our third and last day doing it), "Hey Jeff, we're a-gaining on it!"

--Drinking cold well water from the hose, "Wish my water tasted like that." It was a doggone 92 degrees today!

We're working four big Oaks tomorrow in Asheboro, after coffee and a gravy biscuit.

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