by Ron Foster
He knew Thomas would wait until Walt came over to throw the back strap on the grill. This was the honor of the hunter who had taken the game share of a better cut of meat and his choice to have control of sharing and cooking it as was his right.
This little end of the road had developed its own unique tribal rights when it came to hunting and gathering as well as defense. Where the road ended everyone knew it was our end of the line to hold at all costs and be loyal to the cause of survival. Now, Walt was willingly breaking this pact that was to be forever unbroken and it troubled him deeply. He hoped everyone would understand that he must for the sake of the tribe and his own physical and mental survival leave them now to their own devices and leave the group.
This decision had other ramifications other than his just doing what he wanted, he was removing resources that ensured survival for the group and this was sure to cause some anger towards his decision no matter what kind of friendship they had. Well, he would do the best he could do for them and a house full of modern now useless crap might not be much but the garden and the few trees in his orchard would mean a lot, particularly if they didn’t have to share the harvest with him.
“HA! This might be a good day to introduce them to that nasty spodee ode tasting wine of his and miracle berries!” Walt thought and hoped the family he was leaving behind wouldn’t have too much animosity towards him for his decision to suddenly abandon them.
“Yoshi, come here and hold this laundry bag open for me while I load it up. This is the only ice breaker I can think of to bring up the subject of us leaving out of here for parts unknown for good to Thomas.” Walt said starting to hand him a bunch of what looked like scrap lumber.
“What all this for, Walt?” Yoshio asked thinking it looked like a bunch of tent stakes.
“That, my friend, is called my instant trap system. I never showed Thomas this before and was kind of hoping he would figure out a way to do it for himself but he is still learning the hard-labor-intensive way of collecting and carving sticks in the woods when you need them for trap triggers. Why I bet right now he is over there whittling on something to save me some time helping him set traps with that big gut pile he has from cleaning that cats carcass. Ah shit, Yoshi, I just thought of something, he thinks I am some kind of Indian like you do when it comes to observing nature and spirituality. I bet he cooked up that Bobcats heart and wants to do some kind of formal sharing ceremony so we are blessed to absorb that animals’ strength, courage and hunting skills. He is probably going to offer you some of that heart meat as a sign of respect and a welcome to our little clan down here so you eat it with no complaint, you hear?” Walt said looking like he was going to admonish the devil out of Yoshi if he had any thoughts of turning his nose up at the gesture.
“Oh no, Walt, I never dishonor you or custom! Yoshi know honorable Native American custom to honor spirit of animal and gain strength. Yoshi not thought about before but would be very disappointed now not to be offered such a sharing among men of the woods. You ask him what he done with heart if not offer Walt, okay?” Yoshi said looking very sad if he wasn’t going to be able to experience such a fine honorable thing that he learned was important from his watching of old cowboys and Indian westerns at Saturday movie matinees.
“I personally ain’t into eating hearts, livers, lungs or brains for any reason! Makes me squeamish, guess that is what modern living does to you but I will eat it and we can have our caveman moment with all the praise and ceremony I can heap on it. OK, Yoshi? But if he hasn’t cooked it good or it’s still bloody, I ain’t doing it!” Walt said adamantly.
“I do it!” Yoshi said dreamily like we were going to give him some secret Cherokee nickname.
“Well, you eat sushi also and I consider that bait!” Walt said laughing.
“Walt, can I have claw or tooth from bobcat?” Yoshi said not put off in the least about Walt’s barbed insult.
“Sure you can, Yoshi, but a cat claw ain’t something you want to wear around your neck unless you got a leather shirt maybe. Those things are sharp. Tell you what, if Thomas ain’t already ruined that hide either skinning or salting it, I will make you a hat out of its head you can scare the grandchildren with. That will give me a chance to teach Thomas about a process of tanning leather called brain tanning. Did you know every animal has enough brains to tan its own hide, Yoshi? That’s a fact my friend, not a lot of folks know how to do it. It gives that fine white buckskin wedding dress look of an Indian wedding dress instead of the brown vegetable tan you get using tree bark and such.” Walt said with a smile knowing Yoshi would be very impressed with a bobcat face hat and grinning internally of what he would look like in one thinking he was Davy crocket or something.
“Oh Walt, I would love such a treasure! Can we go now to see if cat skin usable?” Yoshi said beside himself to try to insure that Walt could make him such a thing.
“Sure we can go now, should be time for supper pretty soon. Tell you what, Yoshi, even if he has messed up the skin which he probably has, I will make you a head band with the teeth and claws and you can put it on that old green military ball cap I gave you. Ha! Ha! I will make you look like Crocodile Dundee from the movie with that alligator band he had on his hat! Have you seen that movie?” Walt said with a grin as they walked out of the house to go to Thomas’s.
“Yes me seen! Great movie! Like Australia!” Yoshi said excitedly.
“Uh, Walt, can we stop by old restaurant on way out?” Yoshi asked.
“Sure, you got stuff there you think somebody ain’t stole yet?” Walt said enjoying his friend’s enthusiasm and not feeling so bad about leaving Thomas in a lurch.
“Well I hope nobody steal, maybe they do but want to look anyway if safe enough you think.” Yoshi said.
“Well hard to say if it’s worth the risk if you don’t tell me what it is.” Walt responded.
“No laugh, Walt, it funny thing though.” Yoshi replied.
“I won’t laugh at you man, well not much anyway… He! He! What is it that we absolutely have to go get?” Walt said patting him on the shoulder good naturedly as they walked along.
“Yoshi has cowboy hat in office.” Yoshi said all serious.
“Damn! You got a Stetson or what Yoshi? I am sorry but that’s funnier than hell! I bet you got a white one, no maybe you got a black one instead, you old bad ass!” Walt said laughing even though he said he wouldn’t.
“I got both, or had both, no telling you thieving rednecks steal Yoshi hats if no one at home in restaurant office free for picking.” Yoshi said disgustedly.
“Well, hell yea, we stop and see if your hats are there but I got a feeling someone has already tried it on and it wandered off!” Walt said thinking chances were they were gone but who knows.
“Maybe I lucky they no fit, still be there. Not all hat fit, maybe something left.” Yoshi replied.
“Well for a smaller man your head look about average, hang on a second.” Walt said as he removed his hat and put it on Yoshi and it danged near fit.
“You might have a problem, my friend, I wouldn’t count on your brim being there when you get back.” Walt responded and they resumed their walk back towards Thomas’s house.
“Not all hats fit me there anymore, Walt. I have secret.” Yoshi said sounding serious.
“I am not understanding “All hats don’t fit me anymore” brother, what do you mean and what secret?” Walt asked confused.
“I have hats like Imelda Marcos collect shoes!” Yoshi said and then went on to elaborate that from an early age his uncles, his other relatives and his own pocket book had added to his collection of cowboy hats he never wore in public.
“Well, I will be damned! I would never have thought in a million years you had an affection for them things the way you ride me about mine! There ain’t no way we can salvage much of your collection if its still there but you can grab a few and fit them in somewhere in that over stuffed van we’re talking about bugging out to Florida with. I just h
ope we don’t get a flat cause it would take me forever to get to the spare! You know what, we ought to get Thomas to follow us up there if he’s willing to use the gas. Everyone in that family’s got a noggin a different size and be a shame to waste them whether or not they get worn. Also he needs to see for himself what resources might be left down that way and I would appreciate the extra gun for back up. Is that ok Yoshi to say?” Walt asked.
“Oh, have plenty, maybe I get first pick for family presents. Supposed to have present when come visit family.” Yoshi replied.
“I got a place or two we going to maybe try on the way down to the beach for a duck dinner and I got a few unusual places I might be able to scrounge a crab trap at. You leave it to me Yoshi, you have one humdinger of a home coming and we won’t look like beggars when we get there!” Walt said with a grin.
“Not understand “humdinger”, what means?” Yoshi asked.
“Big to do, nice presents for a party. I’ve seen how good of a shot you are with those pellet rifles. There are plenty of seagulls in Florida and although they are too fishy tasting for me even after you skin them, like any other sea bird that consumes fish for a living they make great crab bait amongst other things. You leave it to me, I been planning this trip awhile and a clam and oyster bake is in our future also.” Walt said feeling like he was ready to leave right now instead of in three days as Yoshi and he had decided that packing up for the long haul wouldn’t take that much time and no sense hanging around here longer than necessary.
Walt and Yoshi arrived and were greeted with hugs and the smell of what they hoped was a succulent dinner. They were not disappointed in any way as they found out bobcat tasted a lot like pork and the meat was very tender.
All in all, Thomas and family took it in stride that Walt was leaving and not coming back any time soon. Yoshi and he chowed down but left space for the miracle berries, bad wine and morning hang overs that hurt more than they used to at their ages and got ready for the big adventure.
END BOOK ONE- Seniors Survive by Ron Foster
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Table of Contents
Woods Stalkers
2 Safe And Sound
3 Prepping The Duck
4 Duck Dinner
5 Moving Plans