Murphy was present....
Went to Fbk to sign some papers on the 3rd, bbqed twice with different folks on the 4th. On the 5th, 250 miles out of fbks heading south, at Willow, got a text - brother was in ICU. Turned the rig around and headed back north. He died two days later, never regaining conciousnous. Bronchitis to galloping pneumonia - no immune system, "married" to a black hooker 40 years younger.. 5 days and dead. You read the tea leaves. His choices.
Whole lot more to the story but what the hell - 75 years of bad decisions - none of them learned a lesson from- and dead owing money. Ain't a bad way to go!
Cost me a K, tho, him a month gone this week past. Some in shared funeral expenses, some in outstanding. Seems he "borrowed" (he never repaid any 'loans" from the family - he was into me for 5K or so and equipment over the years) $400 using two guns as collateral to a friend - who is as big a sucker as I am -- one piece of which was mine anyway (he apparently pawned the other two higher quality ones I'd loaned him previously and never reclaimed them).
The old boy- a fine black gentleman of certain years who was trying to help him out after the rest of our family had quit giving him money to pass on to his "wife". ( I've been giving him meat for the last 4 years - that's pretty much non-negotionable - no one in the family was giving him money anymore, which he was just mostly passing on to the taker anyway...)
Anyway, I reclaimed the two firearms Joe had loaned money on- above their retail value. One was a Rem 770 which had been rode hard and put away wet apparently. Bore is badly pitted. Probably worthless.
Just gonna suck this one up.
Death is such an inconvenience!
On the other hand, Joe is a man worth being acquainted with I think. In the few minutes I spent with him it became very apparent our opinions of the situation coincided! "Why he kept sending money to that woman is beyond me"....
I was short on time this trip up, but next time up I'm inviting him and his significant other if he has one at his age out to dinner.
On the plus and damn Murphy (not discounting Joe) side was the remote cabin trip.
Busted a tongue weld on the boat trailer at Healy (overloaded with lumber/bad road breaks- marked at 25 mph (one) - the others were marked 'bump")- all were like 5 mph in reality - I mean - a 6 inch difference isn't "bump" !!!!!" Not at 25 mph.
Cost me 22 hours wait time and $335 for the welder. I had time and plastic.... and I was damned lucky to stop for coffee when I did to notice the break, welder lived a mile and a half a way- but his mobile rig was 40 miles south on anther job- hence the time factor- especially at 7 p.m.
So I collect my 84 year old next-door-on the-upriver-Cosna partner in Fairbanks and head out. I told him, "go light - I'm heavy". He has 3 lbs of sleeping bag, 15 pounds of food, and 30 lbs of armament and ammo.. My kind of guy! For a day and a half on site....
I didn't feel deprived, having forgotten to load the Python from the camper... He loaned me the SXS 12...
That 2 hour construction 13 mile segment on the Manley Road was a bit trying - and that was not counting the pilot car wait (about 15 minutes)
Once loaded - OK - launched- I was already loaded~there was no chance of getting on-step, so we wallowed our way like a drunken scow 35 miles down the Tanana. Unloaded half at the Cosna mouth, and on-step we were for the up-river segment.
I do good work! Sometimes. The emergency repairs the wife, son and I did two years ago were just fine. Not even a squirrel had been into the cabin. Maybe. The Decon baits were all empty.... but no other signs.
The Watch Bear is on my list tho. Apparently he took advantage of the firewood we piled up against the overhang wall to snatch my reserve 5-gal plastic gas can down from the under over-hang loft and bit a hole in it. Turned out I really needed that!
Having burned 3X the fuel I'd planned on downriver to the mouth, (I'm still learning this new jet-unit), I came up short, missing that 5 gal reserve.
No Prob- Gaylen has a cache.
Well, last trip 2 years ago (and the one before 7 years prior) this white trash bag tied in an overhanging birch tree a few miles up from the mouth has really been bugging the wife. So we removed it - 2 years ago- this "some azzhoel" marker.
Gaylen says - " I'm that azhole- and that's my gas cache marker!".
We never did find it.. so half my lumber supply is still cached at the mouth.....
Next year......
