Random thoughts from the moose cave.

a friend sent me some brown rice pasta.

It is much better than what I can get locally.

our selection of gluten free is limited to the big brand names.

not much there.

some little specialty shops, but they are scary high, and in snobby neighborhoods.

not my bag of tricks...

thanks again for thinking about me. you cannucks are ok by me...

every time I think I've had the worst day ever, I wind up proving myself wrong.

the cops just left. 3 of them with search papers.

I am still a suspect, but not a very likely one, to hear the sheriff's deputy tell it.

I'll start at the beginning, since I don't think I wanna try to sleep tonight. afraid of what's lurking behind my eyelids...

I was gonna grill tonight, so about 6 I went in to check and see if smoky had put his entree out to thaw. (he has a well stocked meat freezer, loads of beef)

I'd been wonky, and gone down to fix a truck for mr snowplow, and was ready to grill and relax for a night. nope...

sat down to talk to smoky while he watched tv. his steaks were still hard in the middle...

and smelled something like burned hair. kinda strong...

looked around and asked him if he smelled anything funny, but he didn't.

I asked if I could poke around, and see if I could find it, cuz the A/C was on. it had to be from inside his trailer.

as I got closer to his kid's bedroom, (his kid has about 10 years on me, but is still every bit a kid) I could tell it was coming from in there. I peeked in, and he was on the bed, sitting naked.

I went and told smoky to go look in and see what was up.

He came back and said that the kid had burned his beard off...

and sat back down to watch tv...

I asked if I could go in and see if he was ok, because, well, just because.

he said ok, but holler at him to cover up, so's I didn't embarrass him.

I did. hed just laid there. (he had fallen over onto his side by then)

he was fucked up. 3rd degree burns over his chest and head. no hair left anywhere. the smell of burned flesh was the missing ingredient in the smoke.

his eyes were swelling shut, and he was wheezing and spitting up.

I told smoky to call an ambulance.

he said no. no ambulances.

so I went out to the cabin, and got all of my clean sheets. put one in the back seat of smoky's car, and took the others inside to wrap him in.

carried him out and put him in the car, and drove my ass off for the burn unit downtown.

so reads my statement...

we were offered a ride home by the investigating officers, and when we refused, we were told to meet them at the house. they had papers.

they were thinking meth lab, until they saw what I saw. nothing burned but the kid. not even a spot on the mattress. some old blood from his falls. and a ton of dead soldiers...

the kid was intubated and put into a medically induced coma, and sent to the burn intensive care unit.

I think I'm gonna go sit by the pond and wait for the rest of me to catch up with the rollercoaster in my guts...

damn.

Holy moley. Never a dull moment. I've glad you were there. Third degree burns!

Relax by the pond. Rest.

there's a part of me wishes I weren't there.

but he woulda died. mebbe still will die...

we'll know more when they wake him up and talk to him. I'm still suspect number one until that time.

I decided to go out and clean in the shop to take my mind off'n it.

now I smell of 20 year old musty dusty yuck. but it's a million times better than the crispy flesh smell I was carrying.

gonna eat some leftovers and shower.

then cogitate on the advisability of a sleep attempt...

thanks, B.

Man, that doesn't even sound fun.
It sux when we get to see things like that, glad you were there to help.
The cops will figure it out, they're always a bit slow on the uptake.

That sounds a truly dreadful experience for you, Rocky.
And good ol' dad was a big help, hey?
I hope you're feeling a bit better by now.
And will be able to unwind enough to sleep.
But how does something like this happen?
A person burns themselves on their own bed.
I just can't understand the hows & whys of it.

dad is a wobbly 81 years young. and stubborn in his ways.

my best guess is smoking in bed.

while being very intoxicated and sloppy with a large bottle of vodka.

it's been a very sad mess for a while.

I help when I'm asked, and keep a pretty tight eye on the old guy so nothing too out of bounds happens over there...

That's a sad deal all around.
I've worked here in the treatment center the last 8 years, so I see alot of those kind of situations.
It's pretty tough to turn it around once it goes that far.

I dunno If I'll ever get the smell out of my mind...

That's a pretty tragic situation you've described, Rocky.

I'm glad you just happened to be there when you were. Phew.

I'm there every night at about that time. for a reason.

just never thought it was gonna be this severe.

it's been a matter of time since shortly after I moved in.

He crashed the car last month, and I made the old guy take his keys...

Yeah, that's gotta be a bad one.
The worst thing about those type a things is years later a smell can trigger the whole memory again.

I'll be ok with it unless he dies.

new images will replace the crispy bloated ones...

they already told smoky that they would have to graft his face.

I made the old man eat some soup, and give him a bedtime pain pill to knock him out.

he was awful shaky when the cops finally had all their pictures and stories.

they did not care for the dog, but she was alone inside when we got there.

Stinky said nobody had been in the cabin, and my video camera agreed with him.

Well I hope he doesn't die.
Though, god knows, he doesn't seem to have all much to live for, by the sounds of it ....
You're a very good neighbour, Rocky.
I really hope they appreciate you.

I hope he makes it, I've had 3 guys come through here and go back to it and die this last year, it sux.

You work in a rehabilitation centre, or something like that, wayne?

Yeah, I've worked here for about 8 years.
The weird thing is, if this guy goes to rehab, it could be here.
I'm just west of Rockhead a few miles.

I'm not a neighbor, per se...

He owns the property I squat on, and the cabin I fixed up to live in.

and the well that waters my pond garden.

we work with each other to stay in front of the local economy...

he's a really good old guy.

at the end of a hard tired life...

Ah, I get it now, Rocky.

He does sound like a really good old guy.

But then, you sound like you've been quite a bonus in his life, too!

we'll see if he thinks so in the morning.

he told me I had a big mouth tonight.

I was kinda pushy once I sensed the gravity of it all. and I scared him driving in.

he did not like the cops separating me to talk to me. made him wonder what was up.

he never got that I was a suspect in the whole mess. he was pretty fuzzy. showed the cops the out of date health insurance a coupla times.

weird comedy running through the whole stinky mess, there was.

like a warhol movie. in slow motion smell-a-vision.

my pill is kicking in.

prolly should stop posting out of time zone...