“Things about my family that my grandchildren should know.” Series …. Part 4

Me….. not a heck of a lot to say about me.. did the usual stuff.. worked, got married.. 3 times.. once a widow.  Had 8 children.. which gives me plenty of grandchildren and now the great grandchildren are piling up.. lol  

I guess the most interesting thing I did.. was smash cars with my second husband.  We lived in Roslyn, Wa. And he had decided instead of fixing vehicles he would smash them for scrap iron… which was a double thing.. pretty good money, make your own hours and didn’t have to beg for your money at the end of the day.

I was his number one helper..  He worked for many years with a partner, called Mac the Packer.  Because Mac the Packer use to pack on mules for the Forest dept for many years..  When he and Marv decided scrap iron was easier. And Mac was getting too old to pack in the woods anymore.. He was a young 78 year old at the beginning.

They got an agreement to pick up different cars and trucks in the area by the police department and the Forest dept. Where people would abandon them.  We had an area that the Forest dept let us use.  It was an old coal mine area. Where there was a lot of slag around.. And an area that the kids could play while I worked.. In those days we would burn them before we smashed them. That was my job.  Burn them, pull the copper wire out of the dash area. Remove starters, generators and alternators, all which there was a good market for.  And then after we had 15 to 20 vehicles ready… Marv would smash them.  He had a card table size chunk of iron, that he could free wheel down on top of the cars.. smashing them down to about 2 feet tall. And then we would load the cars up on the trailer he had. That was part of my job too.  Lining up the cars straight on the trailer, so the next one could be placed until we had 4 in a row, and 3 cars high.  Then he would head off to Renton by Seattle to the place that shredded them.   We also had to remove the tires.. as they didn’t take tires over there.   So we stock piled them.   We must have had about 300 of them.. and as I was waiting for Mac and Marv to bring another vehicle  in, I was thinking of how to get rid of these tires…  as the rims we could scrap..   Then it came to me.. being I was burning vehicles.. while not “accidently” spill some gas on the tires.

And this was before the EPA..  but we knew the EPA was on the horizon.   So that is what I did… 

Well, Mac and Marv showed up about 5 minutes into the burning.. took one look.. dumped that vehicle the fastest I have ever seen them unload and were gone… of which about 10 minutes later… The police chiefs from both neighboring towns, showed up, followed by the Forest Dept and the Natural Resources guys…  And lucky for me.. they all knew me… As each walked over to where I was, they were shaking their heads…  The Resource guy said on the radio, it is ok.. just Cis, but send up just one water truck in case she gets in trouble..   I heard it all..  “You know you shouldn’t be doing this”…. “You could have forwarn us, as we have been getting phone calls for miles around.”   “You know another week or two, you won’t be able to do this at all.”    And “we will have to fine you for this then” and etc.   with me nodding my head, yeah, I know.. but I was burning the car next to it..and I guess some of the gas got spilled on some of the tires and the fire from the car started it all..  (I didn’t lie, just didn’t say, I did it on purpose) .. “Oh, well, at least it takes care of all those tires”.. as they walked back to the cars and trucks and left.. and up came the water truck guys..  We drank coffee while it burnt. Took 3 hours for it to finally burn off all the tires.. and then the guy ran some water across  the rims.   You know those two guys, Marv and Mac, didn’t come back until 5pm. And they laughed, they said they knew if it was them, they would have been in big trouble, but being it was me, I would give off with a warning.   Nice guys.. And they sure grabbed those rims up and loaded up the small truck fast and took them to Seattle.

Over the years I tried to be a good friend.. to always be there, even if called in the middle of the night … taking friends who didn’t drive, to the store .. dr. appt. and etc.  some old, some my age..  While there were bumps in life, I tried to find a lesson in it..  the divorce, and when my second husband Marv died, and I went back to work as the kids were leaving home to go on their own.  

I worked for a nursing home for almost 18 years.  Loving taking care of the elderly. They taught me so much about patience, courage, and about life it self..  I met a pro pool shark,  A gambler who went to prison for shooting a guy who shot his dog, some brawly women.. a madam.. and some the ornery ones as well.. Most of the time, I could get by them, and win them over.

I think the worse one was a man who was a former CIA officer.. He had us all giving him wide berth. He caught a mouse in his room.. and he had it in his hand, squeezing it.. then chewed the head off..  WE all headed to the shower room where we got sick, leaving one of the guys to deal with him.

I met a woman who lived to be a 100 who told stories about coming to Idaho from Indiana… with her parents and her sister. They came by covered wagon.. and had two extra horses.. which she talked about how she and her sister would ride ahead on those horses during the day.. scaring their parents, as they knew Indians were around.. And getting into trouble for riding out of range.   I was holding her hand, while I kneeled by her bed, one night.. and she asked me if I knew the Lord’s prayer.  Told I did.. she asked if I would mind saying it for her.. So I did, and as I said Amen, she said Amen and she passed away..

There was one time 4 residents were 100 years old. Of which 3 of them were teachers.. Which surprised us, as we figure the kids would have been stressful for them.  All of them taught in the area in one room school houses.   

There was the one woman who was so mad, that the activity lady wouldn’t take her on the bus that they would tour the area in, one time…  she couldn’t go as there was not enough room and she had gone 5 times in a row… She was so mad she told the activity lady, that “just fine, I will just die” if I can’t go.. And she did that night.. we were all in shock over that.

Then there is the guy who called a taxi, and told the taxi to take him to his brother’s house in Spokane… what part about picking him up in front of the nursing home, he didn’t get, but he did after they got to Spokane and the gent couldn’t remember where his brother was.   So the taxi guy brought him back.. We were scoutng out the whole neighborhood when they drove up.. Then the taxi company sue the gent.. Some one decided to wash his suit in the laundry, so he would look nice in court.  Only trouble the suit shrank some.. about 3 inches in the cuff and legs.  The judge took one look at the gent, looked at the taxi company guy and said REALLY??? Case dismissed.

Then there is the gent who took the tour bus out of the yard. Some one in the break room saw the bus go by the window… and said .. Isn’t that Floyd driving that bus..  all sudden everyone is trying to get out side to stop him.. One of the aides got his car, and took the director of nursing and followed him.. he stalled it on the railroad tracks.. with enough time for the  DON to get on the bus and drive it back.. which Floyd drove the bus out of there a lot better than she did, as she was so short, and drove back jerking as her foot bounced on the gas pedal.   

There was the night one of our old cowboys was able to get the locked door open, and headed out to the street.. we saw him thru the window and told the head nurse.  She had called the police to have them look out for him, as we weren’t  sure which direction he went. She let us go look for  him, We saw him, but  he was way up the street.. we took our car and found him running by the police station… it was snowing and he had only socks on..  We got up to him..and I jumped out and talked him into getting in the car.. which was fairly easy as he was cold.   When we return to the nursing home, the nurse told us that the police had called.. seems they were in their office up on the second floor and saw the cowboy go by, and then saw us go thru the stop sign to be able to catch him. ( was 3am..so wasn’t worried about traffic, but worried about a 92 yr. old falling on the snow) and told her that they would let it go by this time.. but we will get a ticket if it happen again.  So they watch the old cowboy running up the street, from their perch, and didn’t come down and get him?  

Then there is the guy who took a taxi to the car dealership. The Ford dealership.  He tested drove a pickup and did the paper work to buy it..  The salesman gave him a ride back to the nursing home, after it was decided to check his income for the purchase.. and he was to return the next day. When the salesman called what he thought was his home

only to find out that he LIVED in the nursing home that the salesman thought he was visiting…. And  his daughter also told the salesman, that the gent didn’t have any money, that she managed his retirement that went to the nursing hom..   Guess the salesman took a lot of ribbing over that one.  And when I was talking to the gent that night.. I asked him about it.. and he said.. you know a guy has to have fun some times..

One more.. the gent who when I sat his lunch down on the table went straight to the desert… So I asked him, if he let his kids eat desert first… and he said heck no… I said so how do you explain you getting to eat yours first? He said .. at my age, one never know when you are going to go.. you could have a heart attack while eating dinner… and by gosh, I am going to make sure I get desert before I go.. you just never know… lol… 

If I leave anything behind for my children to know…it is to be you… be the best you can be… that if you have a dream.. the only thing that will hold you back will be you..that was given to the daughters as well as the sons.

I wanted them to be honest…law wise as well as to themselves.. To have compassion for their fellow man/woman… you may not be able to help.. but you can try to understand.  Honesty is big.. as it includes not telling lies, it includes not stealing, it includes the value of your word.. if you give your word.. DO IT.. And do what makes you happy. 

Sorry but that is about as interesting as I get.  And as you can see, it was the wonderful elderly that gave you the best stories..