Sentinel
Mountain
Chapter Forty-six
Motherfuckin' Boonies and Interior Decorating
By Sequoyah
Edited by
Jesse and Scott
Prior warning apply.
©Sequoyah
The people of Sentinel Mountain had been friends and neighbors
for several years, some for many years, and life on the Mountain
moved in accustomed cycles among them. Usually when the cycle
was broken or disrupted, they quickly adapted to it and moved
on. Such was the case when Josh became owner. Of course, there
were still reservations since he had only been in and out. It
was not the case when Susan, Mrs. Mason and the boys arrived.
There was an instant love affair between the Mountain folks and
the boys, and since Susan was their mama and Mrs. Mason was
their grandmama, they had extra points and quickly became a part
of the family. Mrs. Mason knew they had made the grade when she
became Alma instead of Mrs. Mason. Susan, however, was worried
about Winston. When she spoke to Rob about it, he simply
replied, “Talk to Janie.” She knew acceptance was not automatic,
but everyone knew the situation before the day was over.
Walt was accepted almost at once; Cam was not. Cam was a street
kid, a city kid. Now he was in the boonies, the motherfuckin’
boonies. Before, he came and went as he pleased and he seldom
pleased to be in school. He had buddies, cigarettes, alcohol and
pot -- well, when he had money. Now he had none of that and
found out he would be in school or else. Walt was an old
bastard, but he quickly found out an old bastard who keeps in
shape can whip the ass of a sixteen year old who has indulged
himself for over a year.
While he was in California, he still had weeks before he had to
start school. When he got to the North Carolina boonies, he
found he had already missed the first week because the schools
had to build in snow days he was told. What the fuck were snow
days? Nobody told him, they just registered him and told him
where to catch the bus. He thought he'd find ‘his kind of
people’ and get in with them. He put on his ‘tough city street
kid macho' act and swaggered over to a group of the boonies
version of street dudes. As he approached, they turned their
backs to him. “Hey, assholes, what you do you mean turning your
back on me? Want your ass kicked?” An ass was kicked, but it
wasn’t theirs.
Walt said nothing about the black eye and the bruises Cam
brought home from the second day at school. When Walt reminded
him he had chores to do, he had complained and said he didn’t
have chores until he was forced to come to the boonies. “You
didn’t have a roof over your head or regular meals either.” Cam
would have died before he admitted it to anyone, but Walt had a
point there. “Shane is at the barn and will show you what to
do.”
When he got to the barn, Shane was waiting for him. “See you
tried your ‘macho tough-ass city street dude' shit at school and
got your ass kicked. I’ll let you in on a secret. I saw you
swaggering up the road to the school bus ....”
“Do you know it's a motherfucking mile to the bus.”
“Well, I didn’t. I knew it was a mile, but I didn’t know they
use a different measure in California, but doesn’t matter, seems
a motherfuckin' mile and a regular mile are about the same.
Anyway, I saw you swaggering up the road and told Walt to be
prepared when you came home because you’d get your ass kicked.
“Now, you would have been sent home for, oh, probably ten days,
with Walt and Janie tag teaming you. You would get up just like
you were going to school, eat breakfast, get dressed and report
to that alcove in the kitchen where you’d sit your butt down at
the table and get to work on your assignments. You’d get a
fifteen-minute break mid-morning. You’d have a leisurely hour
for lunch, then back to the books. Break in mid-afternoon, and
back to the books until the time the bus would drop you off
here. There’d be an hour break, you’d do your chores, supper and
two hours at the table doing homework. Time to piss, get ready
for bed and bed at nine. You’d do Saturday as well. That’s what
would have happened, but you are among the lucky few who call
Sentinel Mountain home and the school administration trusts us
to take care of our own problems. Do you understand?” Cam made
no response.
“Cam, that requires a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ however, since it
seems I have been given the task of whipping your ass into
shape, until you are no longer under discipline, you will
respond with 'Shane, Sir, yes Sir' or the appropriate name when
addressing others here on the Mountain. Do you understand?”
Cam made no response.
“Cam, you either get with the program or life is going to be
pretty hard until you do. Do you understand?”
Cam gave him a look that could kill and said, “Fuck you.”
“You’ll not have the pleasure. Drop and give me ten.”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“I mean this.” Shane dropped to the ground and started doing
push-ups. He continued with one arm as he half turned and said,
“Like that, eleven, twelve thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, now drop
and give me ten.”
Cam decided there’d be other days and he dropped to the ground
and got on hands and toes, his butt sticking up in the air and
started moving his hips up and down. “Push-ups, Cam. You’re not
fucking.” Cam actually blushed, straightened his body and
managed three push-ups before he collapsed on the ground. Shane
said nothing.
When Cam was standing again, Shane said, “Follow me.” They went
into a small, neat office near the entrance to the barn. Posted
near the door to the office was a clipboard. “At this point, you
are assigned to me, the barn and Boys’ Camp. During the school
week, I’ll assign you to the barn since it is a reasonable walk
from the house.”
“It’s another fucking mile,” Cam said.
“I thought I heard someone speaking. Was that you, Cam?”
Cam muttered “Shane, Sir, no Sir.”
“I keep hearing voices,” Shane said. “Course if it was you,
you’d be at attention and respond in a loud, clear voice,
wouldn’t you, Cam.”
Even tough street kids know when they have reached their limits
and Cam knew he had reached his. “Shane, Sir, yes, Sir,” he said
in a loud, clear voice, standing at attention.
“Beautiful, Cam, beautiful. As I said, the barn’s within
reasonable walking distance, less than half a mile, and the
fresh air and exercise will feel good after being in a school
desk all day. I’ll list what you are to do on the sheet and when
you finish the job, initial here to indicate you have done it.
Since you are a city boy, most of what we do around here will be
new to you, so I’ll be here to show you.
“If you look at the sheet now, you’ll see ‘stack special hay.’
Most of the hay we use is cut from the meadow and rolled into
huge rolls which weigh between seven hundred and nine hundred
pounds. It has to be moved using a fork on the front of a
tractor. We have a couple of fields which we tend as a crop and
cut and bale for animals who need high-quality hay for one
reason or another. With the addition of horses, we’ll likely
increase the production of such hay. Cattle have four chambers
in their stomach. When they eat grass and hay, it starts
digestion in the first chamber and then is regurgitated and
re-chewed. When you see cattle lying down and chewing, that’s
what they are doing. They are chewing their cud or the
semi-digested food from the first stomach. Horses only have one
stomach and often need better quality hay than cattle, although
as you learn about the cattle station, you’ll find all our hay
is pretty fine. More than you wanted to know, I’m sure. Anyway,
the special hay is in square bales that one man can handle. It
is stored in the hayloft of this and another barn. When it’s
brought in, a conveyor lifts it to the loft and dumps it. It has
to be stacked to make room for more. So up the ladder.”
One man could handle a bale, Shane said, and Shane was
definitely a man as he used hooks to lift the bales and stack
them as if they weighed nothing. When Cam started struggling
with the hay hooks, he found the bales were not like feather
pillows. He could barely manage one and certainly couldn’t lift
it onto the stacks after they were three bales high.
They worked for half an hour and Shane said, “That’s it for the
day. Cam, I’d say you need to hit the gym if you were in the
city, but I think we’ll put some hard muscle on that frame of
yours just working here. I’ll keep an eye on you and if you’re
over- or under-developing a muscle group, we'll change jobs or
you can use the gym at Boys’ Camp. Would you like that?”
“Ye... Shane, Sir, yes Sir,” Cam replied standing at attention.
“Very good. Well, I’ve got a date tonight, so I’m off to shower
and shave.”
“Gettin’ any?” Shane made no response. “Shane, Sir, are you
gettin’ any, Sir.”
“Cam, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, but you can always ask
my date. She’s standing right behind you. Louise, Cam has a
question for you.”
“What's the question, Cam?”
“Uh, I mean, uh, Louise, Sir, how are you, Sir?”
“Uh, Cam, I guess at sixteen most boys spend a lot of time
looking at girls -- or boys...”
“Louise, Sir, girls, Sir.”
“Well, I guess you are just not very observant. I am not a Sir.”
“Damn, well, yes, I can see you're not a Sir, Sir.”
Both Louise and Shane cracked up. “You can just call me Louise
as you have been, but I don't think, 'How are you?' was the
question.”
“Just bullshit male talk, Louise.”
“You're right, and not the kind of talk that gets you anywhere
with women or respectable men.”
“Louise, Ma'am, yes, Ma’am.”
“That's better, but I'm not old enough to be a ma'am either,
just Louise.”
“Then you and Shane are, like, dating?”
“Looks a lot like dating to me. So I guess you are under
discipline. How long?”
“I don't know.”
“Indeterminate sentences are not acceptable, Shane. Best I
recall, that's your rule.”
“It is and Cam's sentence is not indeterminate. I just haven't
given him the word. Sorry about that Cam. I should have told you
first thing. Thirty days with time off for good behavior."
“Thirty days! Fuck!”
“Give me five, Cam.”
Cam came to attention, shouted, “Shane, Sir, yes, Sir!” He fell
to the ground and managed three poor push-ups and collapsed. He
lay there a while and started to get up.
“You owe me two more.”
Cam managed two more and Shane said, “Enough for today.”
As Cam walked back to the house, he said to himself, “I will
show that asshole.” And he did. By the time Josh and Alex
arrived, he was Shane's shadow when he was not at school. He had
earned four good behavior days and could manage six push-ups
with good form. Now each time he had to do push-ups, Shane gave
him eight. Cam was determined to be able to do ten with both
right and left arms. Walt had asked for a report from his
teachers and was told he was working hard and other than the
expected sixteen-year-old mischief, was well behaved. “He is,
however, very far behind where he should be. He seems to have a
natural aptitude for math and science so, with tutoring, he
should catch up. English and social studies are giving him a
hard time. It may be that his reading is the problem there. You
might consider finding a reading teacher for him.”
Tutoring in math and science Walt could handle. Reading, English
and social studies were something else altogether. The next time
there was a general gathering at the House, Walt had mentioned
the report and made sure Cam heard him brag a bit about what his
teachers had said about his behavior. “Sounds like that's worth
a couple days off a sentence,” Shane said, which pleased Cam no
end. “If you like, Cam, we can work on your reading. I've done
course work in catching folks up who are behind in their
reading.”
“Shane, Sir, Yes, Sir.”
The twins quickly decided Cam was a big brother and start
addressing Shane, in their little boys' voice with a hint of a
lisp, as 'Shane, Sir' and telling them otherwise accomplished
nothing. Even though Cam had time left on his sentence, Shane
decided dropping the address was a good idea, but it was some
time before the twins dropped it.
Walt and Cam had spent some time looking over the available
housing and when they had discussed their options, Cam was much
in favor of taking a cottage which was available as part of
Boys' Camp. It was a quarter mile from the main campus up the
mountain. It had a broad porch across the front and a small deck
at ground level in the back large enough for a grill and a small
table and a couple of chairs. It only had four rooms, but they
were large. The bedrooms were especially large for the era in
which it was built, at least double what you expect. Walt liked
the house as well and when Cam asked about furnishing and colors
and all, Walt told him, “Whatever you like, Cam.”
Rob took them to a large building with no windows and they saw
large metal boxes at the back as they approached. “Those large
boxes are the air conditioning units,” Rob said. “The building
is climate -- temperature and humidity -- controlled. Those are
geothermal units. We switched to geothermal heating and cooling
in all the places it is used on the mountain over the last three
years.”
They drove around to the front and Rob opened the door, which
Walt noticed, had a rubber seal around it. Inside the
temperature was very comfortable. “As you can see, the building
is completely sealed and all the air entering is highly filtered
to protect the furniture. Very little furniture in the House has
been changed except for reupholstering, but in the other houses,
people leave occasionally, want or need a new piece of furniture
or don't like what's in a house. On one hand, the stuff is made
to be used and on the other, some of it is priceless and all is
valuable, so when something is not being used, it's stored here.
Feel free to pick out furniture and if there's something you
want that is not here, I'll see about having it built.” As soon
as he had finished his chores the next few days, Cam headed for
the storage building.
Saturday the week before Josh was scheduled to arrive had been
designated 'Get the House Ready Day.' Cam and Walt had picked
paint colors, well, actually Cam had, and all the tools and
materials were ready. The outside of the house, of course, was
kept up. The house was in a wooded area, but had a front yard.
Trees had been cut when the cottage was built to allow an
unobstructed view of the upper valley from the front porch. The
grass in the unoccupied cottages was kept in check by mowers on
a tractor, but that meant they looked more like a hay field than
a lawn. That would have to be cleaned up. Everyone was set, then
Josh had to come a week early.
At breakfast, Cam said, “Walt, I guess I have a day off since
we're not going to be getting our cottage ready....”
“Whoa,” Josh said, “back up. What cottage, what's not happening
that was going to happen and why?”
Cam looked chagrined and said, “Nothing.” Everyone around the
table except the twins and Alex was looking at their plate.
“Look, Cam, I may look dumb, but I'm pretty smart and I can look
around and see something's going on or, from what you said, not
going on. Do I have to take you to the dungeon or are you going
to talk?”
Cam looked at Walt, who didn't look at Cam, and said, “Well,
this was to be 'Get the House Ready Day' to get Walt's and my
cottage ready for us, but that was before you had to change
plans.”
“Susan, Alma, you know anything about food for this event?”
“OK, Josh,” Alma said, “everything is ready, including food and
it can be....”
“Just when was this event scheduled to start?”
“Nine.”
“It is now quarter after eight. Are you ready to go, Cam?”
“Sure."
“Then let everybody know nothing is canceled. The rest of you
get ready and let this be a lesson. Until we are living here and
can be in on the planning, you make plans, I do not change them
except for good and sufficient reason. Now let's get ready.”
It seemed a pity to work in good clothes, but that's all either
Josh or Alex had. Josh called Rob to see if there was something
available and he said they kept coveralls for really messy jobs.
“They're tough non-woven stuff and you can toss them when you
finish.” He said he'd bring them when he brought Sally who was
helping with the food.
When Josh told Alex that, he said, “Boy, what's going to happen
around here when women's liberation hits?”
Josh laughed and said, “I don't know except I'll not be
available!”
At nine, the males all headed to the cottage. When they got
there, Shane and Louise, the lone woman until Jan arrived with
Rob, had already covered the floors with drop cloths and started
painting Cam's bedroom. When Cam walked in, Louise said, “Good
taste, Cam. I love the color.” Cam had chosen a darker paint
since his room had french doors opening on the back deck and
huge windows on the side. It was called light terra cotta and he
had picked a darker version of the same color for the trim.
“What's your draperies and bed covering like?”
“I opened piles of chests and cabinets in the warehouse after I
discovered they had all sorts of treasures in them. I guess
someone did some real planning because draperies come in one of
two sizes and curtains in two as well. I found heavy unbleached
linen draperies and a bed spread of the same material. They will
balance out the dark wall color. I selected oak furnishing in
Craftsman style, I suspect actually designed by a student of
Stickley. I was amazed to find an L-shaped desk. I had never
seen even a picture of one in that style, but this room is large
enough for it. It will be a wonderful place to study and a
computer can go on the L.
“So how do you know so much about furniture and decorating?”
“Mom worked for a decorator and I started going with her when I
was about eight. You pick up things and I liked it. Last couple
years before Mom died, the decorator let me do some decorating
plans and a couple he used.”
“Great! Think you might find some work here on the Mountain with
folks moving around.”
Cam had plenty of room for a double bed, a small love seat, a
comfortable chair and the L-shaped desk and chair the room was
so huge. He had decided on the wall color after he had found the
chair and love seat with cushions covered with a rough weave
fabric a color just lighter than the wall color and random
threads of the dark color of the trim. A rug of unbleached
material with the same random color gave it a finishing touch.
The room had a substantial feel to it, something that had been
missing from his life.
Cam had done an equally good job in the rest of the house from a
warm pale, pale yellow in the kitchen to the light rose beige in
the living room. Walt's bedroom was done in a rich green with
lighter green draperies and light furniture as it was not as
bright as Cam's.
When lunch came, Susan, Alma and Sally arrived with Janie and
the boys in tow. Janie got things organized for the next day at
her church and couldn't stay away. They set up two long folding
tables on the porch and set out food. Everyone grabbed
disposable plates and cups. Flatware was real since no-one
should be expected to eat with plastic. When Josh and Alex
arrived, everyone was already busy, so he didn't introduce Alex.
Now that all had food and found a place to sit, he announced,
“All of you have certainly heard about Alex, well, here he is in
the flesh. It was pretty much our secret, but he had some
anxiety about living here in what I understand Cam calls the MF
boonies...."
“Not any more,” Cam shouted and they all laughed.
Louise said, “Amazing what a thirty-day sentence can
accomplish!”
Alex thought, “Yeah, Josh was right, this is an extended
family.”
“Anyway, there was no doubt in my mind that if Alex didn't want
to live here, I'd give it up. I had been without him for seven
years while he lived in hell. When we landed last night, Rob
said, 'Alex good to have you home,' and Alex said, 'It's good to
be home.' This morning he told me he meant it. We'll be going
back to Boulder in a week, well, I guess a week from Monday or
Tuesday. After Alex sees his doctors, we'll make plans. If he is
in Boulder for an extended time, I'll be back and forth. If
he'll be released, soon, I'll stay and we'll both come.
“Meanwhile, there's a couple things I need to tell you while we
are together. First, Walt and I need co-pilots. Legally we can
fly one of the planes alone, but there are times when that's
dangerous. It's always something both of us dislike doing and my
insurance dislikes it even more. There is no insurance when the
turbo is flown without one. I just bought the company plane from
Blankenship at a bargain since it is no longer used and has
depreciated, on the books at least, a bunch. Walt already had it
fitted so he could use it for instruction. With the exception of
Alexander and Joshua any and all of you that are interested can
take lessons."
Cam said, “Walt says I can get a pilot's license? Can I?"
“Sure.”
“But I don't even have a driver's license.”
“Doesn't matter and why don't you have a driver's license?
You're sixteen, right?”
“Yes, Sir, but I haven't had anyone to teach me.”
“Rob, how do we get the kid signed up for driver's ed?”
“You don't. It involves a great deal of picking up after
school.”
“Hank and I handled it for Rob's kids,” Phillip said. We'll see
that he has a driver's manual so he can take the test for his
permit. He can get practice here. Now that we have the runway,
it will be a good place to learn to shift and all. Everybody
here can drive a stick since some of the vehicles we have and
need aren't automatic. We'll take care of Cam's driver's ed.”
“Great,” Josh said, “Thanks."
“Thanks, Sirs,” Cam said.
Nelson had been talking to Jan who came with the food and
suddenly came back to this world and asked, “Josh, since I don't
know how long I will be here, should I take pilot's lessons?”
“Sure, why not? Shane, is there a classroom at Boys' Camp in
good shape for Walt to use for the book instruction?”
“They all are or can be in half an hour or hour.”
“Fine. Second item, name of Boys' Camp. Several people have
asked me if Boys' Camp will still be called Boys' Camp. Frankly,
I never thought about that. I was told it was Boys' Camp when I
first got here and changing the name never occurred to me. All
who have asked about it thought it should be renamed to honor
Elijah. That sounds good to me, but the final decision is up to
all of you. So far I have heard Elijah's Camp, House of Elijah,
Elijah's House suggested. Keep those in mind and any others that
occur to you. Talk yourselves and see if you can come to a
decision. If the name is to be changed, we need to decide before
we send the proposal to the state.”
“Keep that in mind, folks, Now it's time to get back to work,”
Rob announced. Alma and Janie packed stuff to go back to the
house and rounded up the boys. Susan and Sally stayed and
pitched in to get the cottage's dishes done, washed and put
away, cabinets cleaned and the kitchen in order.
Rob, Walt, Cam and Josh went to the warehouse in a large truck
and a pick-up to get the furnishing Cam and Walt had selected.
After the heavy stuff was loaded, they started on bedcovers,
draperies, and curtains. Rob called from upstairs, “How many
computers?” The Blankenship crew under Mr. Sun had ordered a
number of computers which were stored until people decided they
needed one. Computers for Boys' Camp would be ordered when they
were needed. They had also ordered printers and other
peripherals.
“Two,” Josh yelled back, “and a wireless printer.”
Walt said, “There's no reason for two. We can put it in the
living room and both use it.” Josh saw Cam's face fall.
“Given the amount of school work that uses or would benefit from
a computer, Cam will be using one a lot. If you're thinking
about porn,” Josh looked at Cam and raised an eyebrow, “Cam will
be eighteen before he will have full access. He'll have access
to information about sex since he needs to know all he can about
that. That includes sites about gays, Cam, if you have questions
about yourself and as importantly, you are now living in a
community with two gay couples and next week you'll meet two
lesbians. You need to know and understand that aside from who we
love and how we express it, we are just regular people.”
“Then two it is,” Rob called down.
“And you can have the printer in your room,” Cam said to Walt.
Josh thought that was kinda strange and when they went upstairs
to get the equipment, he said so.
“I can always go to his room to pick up copies and a computer
and monitor are enough disturbing my room decor,” he laughed.
<<<O>>>
You may contact Sequoyah at sequoyahs.place@gmail.com and I do
appreciate it.
I have a wall map with pins marking where readers live. Send an
email with the name of your city if you like, but a larger
political division is okay as well. Thanks