and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you." -Oh, the Places You'll Go, Dr Suess
After three seasons in fire, I was beginning to think I knew my shit, that I knew fire and what goes on. It was nice to find that I still have things to learn. We spent the first few days at the Canyon cutting saw line and hauling slash. Boy that was fun (sarcasm). But I'll write about that one when I have more time. Then we were holding a piece of line that had just been fired out. Gusting winds and short crown fires made for good photo ops, exciting fire behavior, and a very hectic couple of hours as my engine crew and a short squad of hotshots chased down and extinguished several hundred spot fires one afternoon alone. Over the last few days of the assignment I had seen fire behavior I had never witnessed before and learned alot. We were under the impression that we would be there a full 14 days, but heavy rains shut down the whole camp and sent us packing after only nine. Still a good assignment, but now back in the 'Jack and just got my termination papers. As of Oct. 2nd I am a free man again.
Funny how my mood relates to my work so much lately. Last two weeks were like one long lightning bust, with at least a fire a day, and sometimes several. Though I disagree with local forest policy, it was something to do, all the time. Then, since Monday, there has been nothing. No rain, lightning, fire, or promise of such in the forseeeable future. Talk of the end of the monsoon begins. Soon murmurings of impending layoffs and the very end of fire season itself. The big arrow by the road in front of the ranger station drops from "moderate" to "low" fire danger. We putz about the shop killing time and speculating. I begin the descent into madness. Then today we find out that all will be kept on until at least mid september and maybe even until early october. And we get a dispatch, one day of the south Kiabab forest and then on saturday to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Woo hoo, suddenly life is peaches and cream again! So I'll talk to ya'll when I get back.
Everyone says that to write well, first you need to write, whether you feel like it or not. So even though I am not feeling particularly inspired right now, I do have the the time, so here goes. I am considering changing the format of this little website; what began as a school assignment and became a means for letting friends and family know what I am up to will change shortly to a 'blog' type format, wherein I will most likley write about whatever happens to be on my mind. This will of course include my where abouts and goings on, but will probably encompass much more. And I hope improve the frequency and quality of my scribbling. When I do change, I will post the new address here and include a link back here from the new site, as this geocitites site I will devote strictly to pictures.
This decsion was made sometime between right now and last night, after a conversation with Gurg at an oyster bar downtown. No oysters were harmed, but beer was had by all and not a little conversation. His blog, a well developed and written thing with a strong following of readers has inspired me to quit thinking about it and finally do my own.
In other news, the fires continue to burn (sort of), igniting with the frequent lighting, smoldering in the wet pine needles, and finally getting stomped to shit when we get there. But eveyone I have talked to in the last week or two or ten has gotten and earful of griping about forest managment policy, so I won't get into that right now. At least we are keeping busy. A prescribed fire on the Prescott Forest was a good time, got to see some cool fire behavior, including my first fire whirl. For those who don't know, it is like a small tornadoe or large whirl wind made of fire. Whatching it was like seeing an amazingly sexy woman in a red dress salsa dancing in the flames. Unfortunalty it lasted (like all great things) a very short time, but a few seconds and I didn't even make the reach to my camera. But there were other cool shots, and next week I promise to try and hook up my scanner.
As for my date, well let's just say it went well and leave it at that. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. At least not on the internet. Not much else to report at this point, but I hope to get that blog up sometime in the next week or two. And with that expect more frequent posts.
Hmm, how to go about things... Let's go with the story of my garden's progress as a metaphor aproach. After much trial and tribulation, neglect, hope, hard work, and assorted false starts, the garden in beginning to show signs of bearing fruit. Early on, despite much work, time, and energy committed, it appeared to be a doomed failure, a waste of time and money. Many onions, peppers, broccoli's, and rutabegas were lost. But blind faith (too stuborn to recognise a mistake) and a bit more work and some worthwhile things were salvaged. (Ruhbarb, potatoes, asparagus, friendships, etc) Things were touch and go for awhile, and I questioned what I was really doing with this garden, but time, sunlight, and a healthy dose of rain and almost overnight the ruhbarb went from a few sickly stalks meekly hiding from the weeds, to two gigan-normous leafy beasts shading those weeds right out of the mulch. Even the much maligned and uncerimouniously disposed of onions have made a reapearance, in the compost heap no less. Where once the memory of one hundred withered tiny shoots resided now grow two or three strong, healthy, big onions. Right up amongst the stale tortillas, bread crusts, and apple cores.
OK, so this garden metaphor thing has potential, but it obviously needs work. In more simple terms, here is what's new. This last week was busy, and dang if it wasn't nice. A fire every day of the week, though we didn't neccesarily do the initial attack on each one, and all were 1 acre or less. One day we were dispatched to 4 different fires, and each time we got near one we were re-directed to a different fire, finally finding one of them before they could send us off on another search. So I have been feeling better about things lately. I have come to accept this as my last season in fire, at least for a year or two and maybe for ever. So now instead of simply ranting and raving about everything that is wrong with what we do, I can now savor and appreciate the good things about this job, of which I am now remembering there are many. Factors contributing to my improved state of mind are numerous; I spoke to an old friend last week who is working with the Park Service at Glacier in Montana, a 15 minute conversation that left me smiling for days. Mel (Tall, not the ex-girlfriend) was always good at getting right to the heart of things and she asked if I was happy, my reply that I was getting by fit the moment, but I feel better now. I booked the dates for my island escape, from Dec 2- the 17th, I'll be incomunicado, living the island life. I met another old friend dowtown saturday night, and spoke with both Mel (the ex now) and Nic (the one who moved to Hawaii) on the phone. Gradually the feeling of isolation down in Happy Jack fades. And now, yes right now as I type this, I get a phone call from Renee, the gal I met a few weeks ago at Charly's and then stood up when I got dispatched to California (called her from a payphone in Lone Pine, CA). We have a date to go out next saturday night, woo hoo!
I have been cleaning out the house, getting rid of the garbage, piling junk to be sold at garage sale, and turning what was once our room, formerly her room, into my room. Until last week, whenever I came home, she was there. The pot holders she crocheted, the ladder her parents gave us, the exercise bike when she hurt her knee, the endless pictures when I cleaned out the closet (god, we were really that young?), the stale tortillas in the cupboard and the pickeled okra in the fridge. (and if you are reading this, I told you to take that ancient bottle of Sangria!) She was everywhere, and to a certain degree still is, but now it is a pleasant memory, not a weighty presence.
School will start in two weeks at NAU, and I will not be a student for the first time in 17 years. But friends will come back, I will gain a new roomate, and life will resume some of its familiarity. But not too much I hope...