Another Leg of our Journey; Life in Town...in a rented Bungalow

[Gary O']

As my son says, 'we'll enjoy her while we have her'

I see some sad faces
It's not sad for us
She's a blessing
A wake up to what's really important
A sweetness to what could be bitter
My blessing is seeing how my son handles all this
Her little face so lights up when he comes home, or calls
She's his reason...for much

I know y'all have maladies, bags of dreck to carry
Nobody escapes
One trudges on
But
Looking within...there's a brightness

Always is

 

[Meanderer]

City lights.....

 

[Gary O']

Naw, Meanie

Just an observer, slogging thru




The little ones are in the spotlight
...as it should be

 

[Liberty]

He's as rugged as they come
He gets a kick outa some tough looking new recruit crew members breaking down, some crying
He started fishing with the Deadliest Catch guys before that show became popular
Phil Harris was his boss
His first trip out on the Bering Sea, he asked Phil if they were gonna make it
Pretty rough waters
Harris just laid back and kept reading his book....'yeah, kid, probably'

No, they don't care for eels

Gary, many years ago, when we were in the wholesale tropical fish biz up north, we imported fish from all over the world. Had a standing "open" order from Bogota, Columbia, for any odd leftover Amazon water life they caught, not just what species we'd order. One week we got two boxes that were very heavy. They contained "electric" eels and we learned fast not to try to net them with metal nets...you sure did get zapped. Also, learned to be sure to put something heavy on the cover of the tanks as they would try to "travel" at night when the lights were off.

Not aware of the saltwater eel species though. Are they huge in size?

 

[Gary O']

Not aware of the saltwater eel species though. Are they huge in size?

Not big at all
Maybe the size of a hammer handle
Funny thing, his Korean customer wanted him to find bigger ones...in Canadian waters
Rather long trip from Coos Bay Oregon
They paid for it
For eels about an inch longer, and not as plentiful
He's back in Oregon waters
Another thing he has to watch, is glutting the market
Price drops like a rock

 

[Liberty]

Not big at all
Maybe the size of a hammer handle
Funny thing, his Korean customer wanted him to find bigger ones...in Canadian waters
Rather long trip from Coos Bay Oregon
They paid for it
For eels about an inch longer, and not as plentiful
He's back in Oregon waters
Another thing he has to watch, is glutting the market
Price drops like a rock

Wonder if he'd make money on the freshwater eels?
Obviously when you say small saltwater species, you're not talking Moray eels...some of those are really big and wild looking. A customer dumped one in a big saltwater tank we had in the biz and when I turned the light on in the morning that crazy thing came straight up out of the tank with its teeth bared. Scared the ginger out of me, remember that!

 

[Gary O']

Wonder if he'd make money on the freshwater eels?

He'd have to answer that one
He knows the waters on the Oregon coast like the back of his hand
Knows ever nook and cranny
Due to the many years of Dungeness crabbing
He's only done the eel thing a few years

 

[Liberty]

He'd have to answer that one
He knows the waters on the Oregon coast like the back of his hand
Knows ever nook and cranny
Due to the many years of Dungeness crabbing
He's only done the eel thing a few years

Just saw where they've found old specimens of giant eels in Loch Ness and now think perhaps "Nessie" is actually a prehistoric eel!

 

[street]

So, Gary you left the cabin life for town? That is interesting it always seemed you enjoyed that life. Good luck Sir.

 

[Pete]

Gotta say here, luvin' the town thing right now

However

Viewing an old hairy shirtless fat man with large jiggling boobs and enormous buttcrack while riding his mower is not the most becoming thing to experience with morning coffee

I know what you mean "Gary O".

When after 14 years living in the woods my kids talked me into moving into the big city
it took me quite a while to get used to,
especially when I never much cared how I looked when living back there in the wilderness.

 

[Gary O']

So, Gary you left the cabin life for town? That is interesting it always seemed you enjoyed that life. Good luck Sir.

I did
But, even though the wildlife and quietude made things enjoyable, I got stale
Things got redundant
And once the building ceased, I became almost bored
I'll prolly buy another patch of land down the line
Build a cute little gnome like cabin
...and sell it
Pretty done with winters up in those mountains

 

[Gary O']

it took me quite a while to get used to,
especially when I never much cared how I looked when living back there in the wilderness

Yeah, gotta be aware of folks
Wife keeps reminding me not to pee outside
(no need to mark one's territory in a neighborhood)

 

[street]

Well good for you and your wife. The winters can be tough sledding that is for sure. I always said, we have 9 month's of snow and ice and 3 month's of tough sledding. LOL

 

[Gary O']

Well good for you and your wife. The winters can be tough sledding that is for sure. I always said, we have 9 month's of snow and ice and 3 month's of tough sledding. LOL

That's it
That figgin' ice 'bout did me in
Get lazy and just watch the pretty snow come down, next day it's ice
Using mattocks is only fun for the first few minutes
-37°F is effing cold

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

Gary, I hope you are adapting to town life. We certainly don't live in the mountains but I can see them from my windows along with the wildlife. When my time comes and I can no longer maintain this place I hope my daughter doesn't plop me in the DC area where she lives with a bunch of senior citizens complaining about how thin the morning oatmeal is. I might buy your cute little gnome like cabin.

 

[Gary O']

When my time comes and I can no longer maintain this place I hope my daughter doesn't plop me in the DC area where she lives with a bunch of senior citizens complaining about how thin the morning oatmeal is

Danged if that ain't the mystery.....where we're goin'
I have thoughts on how I might end up, then crowd them out with good thoughts on where
I so love the coast
Wouldn't matter the house so much, as long as I could get to the beach
Or at least hear the sea

 

[street]

Danged if that ain't the mystery.....where we're goin'
I have thoughts on how I might end up, then crowd them out with good thoughts on where
I so love the coast
Wouldn't matter the house so much, as long as I could get to the beach
Or at least hear the sea

I hate to think of those years and do at times. If things start to get bad and I an still can get around I may go fishing and stay fishing.
As far as cabin life goes I love it but have never lived officially there full time. I have a ranch and can come and go as I please. I also live in town but when I'm not at the ranch with all the beauty and solitude I want to be there. I beleive it would wear me out just trying to keep up with all the chores just to survive. Winter there is snowmobile or snow shoes. The road would be a loosing cause to even try to keep it open. I walk in the mile or so and spend the day or two then walk out.

 

[Gary O']

I walk in the mile or so and spend the day or two then walk out.

We do that from time to time

A good walk

 

[Aunt Bea]

Danged if that ain't the mystery.....where we're goin'
I have thoughts on how I might end up, then crowd them out with good thoughts on where
I so love the coast
Wouldn't matter the house so much, as long as I could get to the beach
Or at least hear the sea

Gary,

Your post about the sea reminded me of an article in, I think, issue number 1 of The Mother Earth News by a man named Carl Kohler. He was an author/cartoonist and I believe the article was called How to live free by the sea by Carl Kohler.

If you can find it online it might make an interesting read about life in the dunes, building with driftwood, etc...

He also had a couple of later articles about making a living doing freelance work.

 

[Gary O']

Carl Kohler

I googled him
Quite the fellow
Great find!

 

[Meanderer]

Garyland, Ground Zero!

 

[Gary O']

Meanie, that's pretty incredible

My lady showed me that pic years ago
said it looked like mine
So, I put 'em together;

 

[Liberty]

Gary, do you miss your workshop now and plan on having another one? My hub loves having a ton of different parts and screws and drills and stuff in the big garage on shelves along the wall.
He likes tinkering, and nearly always has what's needed to fix something.

 

[Gary O']

Gary, do you miss your workshop now and plan on having another one?

I will always have a shop
We're renting now, but I went ahead and threw a couple hundred bucks into a workbench and tool hangers in the garage
Strung some outdoor extension cord, add a couple high end multiport outlets...bingo

 

[Gary O']

So I go to Staples to cut/paste some Stevens Ness documents
Hate all their extra gobbeldygook
(I know, SN doesn't like that...sue me)

Anyway, two of their three copiers are busy
The third one is out of order, big sign
This huge guy is standing over it, looking at it...for longer than it takes to read and digest
I get in line behind the other two
He glowers at me
I let him know he prolly won't have much luck with that one
He sez 'you can have it'
I tell him I don't care to try
He tells me to use it
I say 'if yer bein' funny, it ain't happnin'
He sez he's serious
Sez he's feeling the urge to take me out
I reach up, pat him on the shoulder, thank him, telling him he's not my type
He's staring at me
I tell him he may have the urge, but it won't be in his best interest
He sez if he wants, he can end me
I say something like, 'you can want, but I won't let you'
I step closer, watch his eyes, and hands in what's left of my peripheral vision
He turns back to staring at the out of service copier
Then leaves

Some big folks get spoiled with their size
Like to intimidate

This scene has happened to me too many times from before I can remember
I'm no 'big guy'
...and rather jovial
Folks most often misread that
Big mistake

Not sure how much longer I can meet these verbal skirmishes
...and what usually ensues

I just can't back down

It ain't in me