Eta Carinae Pt. 12

Trinity Plans

The next couple of weeks went by quickly. Mac and I ironed out our final inventory for the trip. We managed to pool our resources and came up with a menu that would work for all. The biggest problem at the campsite is refrigeration. We would lean heavily on fish that we catch and pick up what we needed at the overpriced market at the lake! Part of the whole camping deal!

As usual, I buried myself in Fiverr projects and took care of Elaine. I have a good life, but something is not right. I'm not sure what the problem is. Is there too much of something and not enough of something else? Or, am I just a chronic malcontent? Maybe it's all part of the thing called life. There has always been this part of me that has to reach for the next branch on the tree. On the whole, this theme of not fitting into society is beginning to plague me. Each day seems like an increment in social distancing. Some years ago, I read some of Charles Bukowski's stuff. His alcoholic-bipolar-pessimistic social commentary is hilarious, something strangely relatable! I often wonder if I've assumed a social vitriol like Hank Chinaski!

On a Friday at the beginning of June, Paige and Mac came by around 3 in the afternoon. Wasn't much to do except hang out until Elaine arrived at five. We decided to go out for a pizza and then to a movie. It was an easy walk down to the restaurant, about 5 blocks away. Not very busy for a Friday night! The pizza arrived along with a pitcher of Anchor Steam Beer. Anchor Steam is a very old, local brewery that has a very unique, west coast beer.

"Any ideas on a movie?" Asked Paige, while she looked at her phone.

"Choices?" I asked.

"OK...Martian, Sicario, or the new Mad Max?" She said, not looking up.

"Mad Max.." Said Elaine. We all looked at one another. "Mad Max it is!"

After finishing the pizza, it was another short walk to the theater. This particular place had been remodeled with theater seating and a THX sound system. The movie started and it was a true-to-form Mad Max movie from the start! I couldn't help but think what a great time the set designers had on this movie. Dystopian Mad Max; a style to look forward to! The chase travels through a giant sandstorm in one part of the movie. An orange-red-yellow-ocher sandstorm. The storm in the movie was over-the-top huge, but for me, there was no mistaking what I was seeing.

"That's it!....the 'orange storm' in my dream!" I whispered to Elaine. She turned and looked at me.

"That's intense!" She whispered back.

"Not as large, but just as intense. I know this is supposed to be Australia. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?" I quietly replied.

She gave a frown and went back to the movie. Getting pulled back into the plot wasn't hard, with all the action at hand. Charlize Theron was great, as was Tom Hardy! Good escape flick!

The movie ended and it was still early, so we went out for a drink. We talked about various scenes and anecdotes from the movie; laughed and critiqued. I guess that's a sign of a good movie. I changed the topic to the dust cloud. I detailed my dream and mentioned how close the comparison was.

"Dude, you're really fucked up! You know that don't you?" Mac said in mock seriousness. I gave him the 3 read 'between the lines' fingers!

"Don't worry though, you're running with the right crowd! I experienced something very similar. I'll tell you about it someday. In the interim, write down your dream. You'll see patterns develop!" He said with a thoughtful smile, sipping his whiskey. I shot a glance at Elaine.

"Yeah, someone else suggested that." I smiled.

"It's not all that uncommon," Paige added.

"This is strange stuff. I just don't know how to read and interpret all this symbology."

"Oh, it's easier than you think! Just don't think!" Paige said with one of her evil grins.

"Thanks for the tip, Yoda!" I shot back at her. She laughed.

We wound things up around 10:30. They had to go back across the bay, and we generally don't stay up late. We walked up to the Bart station and talked, waiting for their train. Our next get-together would be heading up to Trinity Lake.

Back home, we decided to have a brandy and talk for a while. We changed clothes and went out on the balcony. It had been a nice day with a cool, foggy evening; San Francisco spring! There was some event down toward the marina with a lot of bright lights and people milling around.

"You mentioned that the division is moving to Colorado Springs?"

"Mmm. Looks like it's firming up. The final move won't be until next year." She answered, sipping her cognac.

"What about you.....us?"

"No worries, babe! I have a number of connections all throughout the company, and I have something in the works. It's still somewhat nebulous, so I'm not going to say much right now. OK? If it goes the way I hope, I think you'll really like this!" She shared.

I looked at her for a long moment. "Yeah, I'll trust."

*****

The Road Up

Mid-June finally arrived. We left on a Friday morning and went northbound against traffic, which made life easier! Mac had borrowed a Toyota pickup with a camper shell on it. We were going to rendezvous with them on Highway 101 North. This is the longer route, but much more scenic! The alternative, Interstate 5, traveling through the California central valley is like being in a coma! Seriously!

After a bit of coordination, we had a visual of each other just north of San Quentin. Highway 101 follows the California coastal range and is a really nice drive! Smooth going until we hit a bank of Tule fog north of Ukiah. Slowing the truck, even with the boat, is quick! Ed had put on a brake modulator, or some such, to improve the braking. The sun had broken through all the haze and fog to make a gorgeous day. Elaine, who's always the Road Music Mixmaster, plugged one of her music for long drive collections. It's all the usual sing-along stuff from the radio: Ring of Fire, Hope you had the Time of your life, Talking Heads, etc. The same thing we've been doing for years. We made a stop at Arcata for lunch. Arcata is a small fishing town on the Pacific coast. We turned onto Highway 299 which cut over to Trinity Lake. A couple of miles down is Ed & Sal's Diner. We had planned this stop. This is a place you really want to stop at!

We parked the vehicles with an eye line to the picture windows, where we would sit. It was a small, American roadside diner, with its own personality! We were seated and looked at the menus.

"Whatever you get, have the fries!" I said in thought, reading the menu.

"Why's that?" Paige answered with narrowed eyes.

"Because.....they're really good!" I snarked. She rolled her eyes.

Our orders came. I had the buffalo burger and Mac chose the monster club sandwich they make here. The waitress set down a big platter of fries. There's signs warning how hot the fries are on the table.

"So what makes these so good?" Paige asked, biting a fry.

"They are cut fresh about 20 minutes before they go into the fryer. They only cook enough for the orders on the wheel. Serious business......chips...fries!"

At the rate they were consumed, all seemed to be in agreement. We ate, talked and just tried to relax, at least I did. As usual, I probably won't realize I'm on vacation until I have that first night in the pines. Back out on the road, we were at the dam in around an hour. There's a road on the west side of the lake we took up to the campgrounds. From what we could see, it was still absent from other campers. Trinity is a man-made reservoir. When the dam filled, the water backed into the various watersheds of the feeder streams and created a weird 'hand' shaped topology. We chose two sites on the end of a promontory 'finger' jutting into the lake. There were wood platforms for the tents, picnic tables, fire pits, and a nice sloped bank for the boat. We put the boat in on a ramp down the road a bit and I motored up to the campsite. It took all of an hour to set up camp! By 3 o'clock, we were ready to do.................nothing! And plenty of it!

Mac and I had to get out fishing! The women shooed us away. I guess they had some nefarious event planned! We pushed off and Mac pointed up toward the stream inlet at the end of the little 'bay'. He stood beside me at the console.

"I was reading about small mouth bass in this lake. It so happens that the Minersville Arm is supposed to be pretty hot up by the mouth of the stream!" He spoke over the wind and motor. The waterway had narrowed to about 250 yards. I played with the fish finder until I saw the bottom structure. The finder started to ping with fish 'arches'.

"I'm showing fish feeding on the bottom. About 20 feet!" I called out. He gave a thumbs up the proceeded to rig up his rod. He tied on a jig head with a jelly worm and flipped it in the water. I moved to the bow and dropped the trolling motor in. I put the motor in a slow 'crawl' and used a bait setup similar to Mac's. The fish began to bite! Everything stopped as fast as it started! From the looks of it, the fish suspended about 10 ft off the bottom. The sun was going down and the light was getting 'long' over the trees. Bugs were starting to show up. Something landed on my neck and I swatted it, unconsciously. Out of habit, I looked at the bug and it was a light green fly with white wings: Mayfly! A mayfly hatch is a 3 hour feast for fish. The bug hatches, lays eggs, and dies! Makes one wonder about that saying Spawn till you die! I held it up for Mac. He immediately took out his fly rod from under the hardtop and began to rig up. He stepped out on the bow and began to work the line out over the water. I don't know how much line he had out, but he was working a large figure '8'. He landed the fly in an area where the water had roiled a couple of times and the third cast produced a hit. An 11" rainbow trout! He caught 3 more in about 15 minutes. I looked into the live well. We had 4 nice-sized trout for breakfast!

"I have some double-smoked back bacon to go with these, tomorrow morning." I offered.

He sketched a salute and I started the motor and set course for the campsite. We tied off the boat and I cleaned the 4 fish, then put them in a nylon mesh bag. Mac tied the boat off and we walked up the small grade. They had set up the sling-style camp chairs around the pit. We had a small table setup and they had an open bottle of wine set on it. They were speaking in an animated fashion and as we approached, they both broke out in laughter!

"What?" Mac answered in mock frustration.

"I was telling Paige, in the lunchroom the other day and a group of women were talking. One of the questions that was going around was 'where have all the men gone?'. Paige said: 'here they are!'." Elaine said with a smile and a sip of wine. We looked at each other and shrugged. He vocalized a 'caveman' grunt. I replied in kind.

"Oh Jesus!" They answered together.

*****

First Night at Trinity

The bed of coals was hot, and cooked the steaks. Roasted corn on the cob with these nice sweet Italian dinner rolls. Elaine broke out a mellow, smooth burgundy It was a quiet, and calm evening. I could see bats flying after insects over the top of the water. The small cumulus clouds of the afternoon had disappeared and left a mirror reflection on the lake. An occasional breeze would send a 'cat's paw' across the water. We did up the dishes and settled in for the evening. Mac had broken out his guitar. With it, he had a military rucksack of some kind. Out came a bottle of scotch. He handed it to me.

"From the island of Skye?" I said unconsciously.

"Yep. Good whiskey in Skye!" He said removing the glasses from the bag.

"Is there any bad whiskey in Scotland?" I asked sarcastically.

"Not much. Just the stuff for export!" He responded with a laugh. Elaine thought that was funny! Our glasses filled, Mac picked up his guitar, tuned for a second, and began to pick chords. Mac started the intro to Loch Lomond. Paige started singing in Gaelic. It was melodic and ethereal. To hear Gaelic spoken, it's lyrical. Me trying to sound out words in Gaelic, is similar to hearing a cat with a hairball! Paige has an unbelievable voice! Mac played another with Paige. It was some sad song about lovers trying to find their way across a loch.

We talked and drank, then I saw the idea of a 'light bulb' go on! He reached into his ruck and withdrew a cedar box and opened it.

"I have here 4 A.J. Fuentes cigars, Cuban Fuentes! For you David, a double corona. Miss Elaine, a Maduro Lonsdale, a corona for my bonnie lass, and a Belicoso for me!".

"Wow!" Elaine said as she smelled it. I smelled mine. There was a difference, what, I wasn't sure. He had cut a long, dry pine splint and lit it. I sat back for the Cuban cigar experience. We smoked for a few minutes.

"This is really good! I'm not saying that just because I'm supposed to say that, this is a much more flavorful and richer cigar. These could get addicting! " I said to Mac. He smiled.

"I didn't think it would go to waste with you!".

"What do you think?" I said to Elaine, who had been kind of quiet this evening.

"This is quite a treat! Thanks, Mac! I'm not going to ask where you got them!"

He let out a belly laugh! "Just call it manna from heaven!"

The conversation wandered, as it generally does, and we ended up on the topic of high school. I asked Mac if he had been in any fights in school. He smiled.

"Well, a couple. She was suspended twice for fighting!" He nodded toward Paige. I gave her the 'well' look.

"I was a sophomore in high school. Robbie was a junior. We were in the showers after gym class and this cunt, Linda Kressler looked at me and said 'Your brother is a fag!. My sister has asked him out twice and refused!'."

'Well, your sister is a whore who'll open her legs for an Arby's!' I said as I punched her in the mouth. Knocked a tooth loose and got suspended for 3 days." She said with her impish grin. "Hurt my family? There are consequences!" She she said with conviction. I tipped my glass.

"How about you? Any troubles?" Mac asked. Elaine rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Now, I'm really curious!" He said drawing on his cigar.

"This was right after we moved from Napa to San Rafael. My first couple weeks in high school. A brand new school and I didn't really know a soul. There was a group of 3 or 4 kids who thought they ruled the school. They took money, pushed everyone around.....you know the routine. Well, they got my money about 3 times and I had my fill. I talked to my Uncle Ed about it. He said he had a solution, but it would be costly. So, he told me what to do, and I waited until Monday morning for me to take care of business! Steve Purgin and his 2 'homey's', walked straight down the hall with their sights on me. He squared off in front of me and before he said a word, I swung my fist down on top of his nose....HARD! I t sounded like a chicken leg breaking! He went to his knees with blood running like a faucet. His two 'wingmen' were in shock, one had blood and snot splattered on his face, and the other ran. Steve managed to get up and ran."

"OK, then what?"

"Well, I got suspended and the police appeared. She had to come down and pick me up. There was talk about pressing charges, but that never happened. I had to go to an anger management class and do some community service. I served lunch to the homeless. Would I do it again, in a heartbeat! No one ever bothered me in high school again!" Mac cracked a smile and Paige laughed.

"Did you tell her what you had planned?" Paige inquired.

"Are you kidding! She was my mother then! She would have had a fit!" I said laughing.

"What was funny, by the time lunch came around, school social media had me killing this kid by driving his nose into his brain!" I laughed tearfully.

There was a slight pause. "How 'bout you? Any stories of daring do?"

"I fought a duel." He said, sipping his whiskey.

I gave him the ah bullshit look.

"It wasn't with flintlocks! It was a matter of honor though. This ass wipe accused me of stealing his wallet! I told him I did not, but he was going to press the issue. He believed that I was the only one who could have taken it. Being accused of theft as a Marine officer is serious shit! Even being absolved of wrongdoing, just being 'accused' can be a serious judgment or a rip on your record. So, I told Lieutenant Asswipe, he had two choices: one is fighting this out in a court martial. That would come with his ass getting kicked every time I saw him off base. Or B, you can square off with me at the fencing club and will settle this in front of our peers." He paused for a sip of beer.

"He realized that he didn't have much choice, since I challenged him in the 'O' club. My blade is the saber, and I'm competent! I smacked him around right and proper! To win the match, 3 'torso cuts' are required. Well, one can be beaten up severely with a saber! Getting hit in the arms, wrists, legs, and hands by a one-pound blade, even a dull one, hurts! I worked him over until he lost his cool and threw down his sword and came at me. I flipped off his mask and put the blade point in his throat. He recanted and eventually came clean! This prick accused me of stealing! I should have cut his fuckin' ear off!" He said recalling his anger.

"Was that the end of that?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. He was eventually went to court marshal. False accusation, conduct unbecoming and defamation of a fellow officer."

"A duel! At least you didn't chop him in half, like in Rob Roy!" I chuckled.

"It does sound like the sword fight scene in Die Another Day!" Elaine said with a giggle.

"Honor is serious business with me! I know it might sound medieval and passe, tough shit! That's how we roll in my family. At the end of the day, all you really have is your honor and family." I looked at him. I'm not sure if I'm in total alignment with his philosophies and ideas, but I admire who he is.

We talked for about an hour longer. The stars were out in full force and with the darkness, the Milky Way was bright and visible. Paige asked me about a couple of stars and planets. It still amazes me how looking at the sky hasn't changed since I was 4 years old! The fire died down some and we were all spent from the drive up, so it was off to bed. The tent platforms sat beside each other, about 5 yards apart. We set up the openings to face the lake. Elaine and I were trying out a new sleeping item. The rancher Ed gets all the buffalo from sells hides and we bought one. Beautifully tanned and the thick buffalo fur, we thought we could put it over the high-density foam and use the sleeping bags zipped together as a comforter. We changed and slipped under the sleeping bags. I snuggled up to spoon Elle.

"You put on lingerie!" I whispered in her ear.

"Uhhhh....baby, this is a flannel nightshirt!"

"Well, now it's incredibly sexy!" I answered.

She turned a bit. "What's up with you lately? Something going on?"

"Oh, I don't know. Lately, I feel like 'less is more'. Does that make any sense?" I said in thought.

"Interesting."

"How so?" I asked.

"Just watching you grow and develop. I never knew that I was going to have a seat so close to the epicenter!"

"Am I doing OK?" Regretting the question. She smiled and rolled on top of me. I could see the outline of her nipple and ring, pressing through the flannel. Faint and silhouetted, sexy all the same. She pulled my head down and we kissed. The nightshirt or my tee didn't last long. There are facets of my personality that are changing. Maybe I'm outgrowing parts of my life too. Who the fuck knows?