Lucas Weismann

Marcus

Another Winter Gone – 10

- Lucas

Janet made her way up the driveway to the rambler on the edge of town.  A wooden sign had been cut with a jigsaw to form the name “The Bleekers” at an upward angle, and featured a wood-burned Loon on a lake edged with pine trees.  The left side of the walk was considerably cleaner than the right, meaning either someone who was in a hurry to shovel and didn’t do the edging, or possibly someone who favored one side over the other, when it came to physical activity.

She knew which it was.  Sheriff Bleeker retired some fifteen years prior after getting shot by some meth head who had held up a convenience store the Sheriff happened to be at.  He’d been a popular figure in town, generous and more Andy Griffith than Wyatt Earp.

Getting shot had come as a surprise to the law man, who’d come out of the bathroom at just the wrong moment completely unaware.  The papers didn’t report what happened next, but there were rumors of a black truck and a man in a Fur-Lined coat leaving the scene of the crime after the paramedics arrived.  The paramedics found the assailant cuffed in the back seat of the car, asking to please be taken to jail now.

Janet had been surprised reading the story.  It was obvious that Marcus had been there, but why had he been able to leave the scene without making a report.  That just didn’t add up.

She knocked on the door.

“Sheriff Bleeker?”  The sounds of an uneven gait assisted by a cane on a wood floor were audible as Janet waited outside.  The door opened to reveal a bearded man of about 50 who was still well-built, despite his infirmity.

“Come in Ms. Rogers.  I haven’t been a Sheriff in awhile now, so Frank will do me just fine.”  He lead her into a house whose walls were covered in pictures of kids of various ages, mostly fishing or doing other cabin-related activities.  A picture of a pyramid of water skiers from the 1970s caught her attention as she followed him through the living room to the kitchen.  They sat at a table by a window.

“Alright Frank.  In that case, please call me Janet.”  He nodded in reply.

“What can I do for you Janet?”

“I’m looking for information about Marcus.”

“Now why would I give you information about Marcus Ms. Rogers?”  She noted the change in demeanor.

“Look, he’s not in trouble or anything.  I just want to find out more about him for an article I’m writing for the Echo.”  The retired lawman’s shoulders relaxed fractionally, “There have been rumors and stories floating around The Range for years and I’d like to find out which of them are true and which are not.  I’d also like to get people together for a dinner to thank him for the effect he’s had on the community.”

“Marcus knows about this does he?”

“I’ve spoken to him,” she said stating an unrelated truth, hoping it would work.

“Well, in that case, what would you like to know?  Though I must say, the man is frosty.  I have a hard time believing he’d take part in any sort of honors or awards or anything.  Doesn’t seem the type.”

“Well, you know what they say about appearances.”  She said, hastily. “I’d like to know what happened at the Voyageur 66.”

The Sheriff grunted and shifted uncomfortably.  She continued.  “It’s just that I’ve read the story in the Echo about the incident and there are some things that don’t add up.  I was just hoping I could hear the story from you and see if there’s something interesting to follow up on.”

“Well you’ll have to understand, I’m not the best witness” he said with a rueful chuckle.  “On account of I didn’t see anything after having been shot in the hip by some hop-head.”

“Hop-head?  The papers said he was a meth user.”

“Hop-head, crackhead, glue sniffer.  Whatever.  The man was high as a kite apparently and decided to hold up the station.  I came out of the bathroom after he made everyone get on the floor, he turned and shot me.  I think I heard someone say “Excuse me”  then, heard a few thumps.  The rest I’m telling you I found out afterward in the official reports.  Apparently Marcus came over with the first aid kit from behind the counter, staunched the bleeding and made the clerk hold pressure on the wound while he called paramedics.”  He paused and shook his head.  “He must’ve grabbed my cuffs off me or something because when the paramedics got there, they said that the criminal was in the back seat wrapped up like a christmas present, polite as you please.”

“Sorry, that’s all I know.”

“Did they ever release the name of the criminal, or is the clerk around?”

“Nah, the clerk was just some kid who moved to the cities shortly afterward.  The criminal is probably still serving time at Arrowhead, drugs plus assault with a deadly weapon on a cop isn’t likely to get him a light sentence.”

“I see.  Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“No.  I’d just recommend you make sure this is alright with Marcus before you go making a fuss.  He generally doesn’t like that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Frank.”  She stood up and extended a hand.  “Thank you for your help.”

“No problem.”  He smiled and shook her hand.  “Marcus is a good man.  I’d like people to know about that too.”

“I’ll see my self out.  Bye now.”

“Good bye ma’am.”

Another Winter Gone – 9

- Lucas

“Fiction is nothing more than an unmitigated pack lies redeemed by a grain of truth.” Marcus said.

“Dad, you’re trying to sound like Mark Twain again.”  Jack looked annoyed.  “That doesn’t help me.  I’m supposed to write a story for class and it’s supposed to be fiction.”

“Why not tell the story of the time you stopped the thief as a three year-old.  No one would believe that anyway.”

“Dad, that story is true.  We can’t use things that really happened.  It has to be fake.”

“Biography is the telling of lies to flatter the subject of the work.  None more so than autobiography.”

“Who is that supposed to be?”

“Me.”  Marcus smiled.  “Not all quotes come from dead people.”

 

Even decades later, that memory was vivid.  He and Jack had been in Minneapolis visiting Jack’s cousins.  Jack had been in the front seat of their Black ‘69 Mercury Cougar and was wearing his Spider-Man-Man pajamas.  At the time, his favorite game was playing “chase the bad guys.”  Jack would be Spider-Man and he would insist that Marcus be Batman (Marcus never argued.  Copyrighted material isn’t particularly important to three year-olds and everyone knows the old Bill Murray adage.  ‘Always Be Yourself!  Unless you can be Batman, then be Batman!’)

After all, the Cougar looked a lot like it should be the Batmobile reasoned Jack.  It only made sense that they should chase bad guys in it.  So that’s what they did.  His wife Rosemary was shopping at some stores in the Uptown neighborhood and parking was terrible.  Jack was getting impatient, so Marcus suggested the game.

Driving around, they chased “Doc Ock”, “The Riddler” and “Green Goblin” (pronounced Green Gobble-inn)”  and it was too much fun.  All of a sudden, Jack jumped up.  “A real bad guy!  A real bad guy!”

Just then, a young man dressed like he really, really wanted to belong in an gang and wasn’t succeeding ran out of the store carrying a dress.  He jumped on a bicycle and started pedaling down the street as the women from the store came out and shouted “Stop!  Thief!”

Not to be outdone, her coworker came out half a beat later and shouted “Help!  Somebody help us!

Jack jumped up and down, his face glowing with righteous indignation, “Get ‘em dad!”

“You got it bud.”  Marcus revved the engines and started to follow the thief into the neighborhood south of the shopping area.  They followed the thief who pedaled harder and cut into an alley.  They circled the block and entered the alley.  As soon as he saw them, the thief turned around on the bicycle, losing momentum and sticking his foot out to help his turn. He was up in a flash and pedaling hard.

Marcus pulled the Cougar up behind the crook, knocked it into neutral and revved the engine.  The thief panicked and shouted “I give!” and dropped the dress on the asphalt.  As soon as he was out of sight, Marcus and Jack exited the vehicle.

“Good Job Spider-Man.”

“Good Job Batman.”

The dress in the street was an off-white brocade dress, the kind that someone might wear to a Mother’s Day Brunch.  It was slightly scuffed from where the bike tire had rubbed it during the chase.  There was a bit of dirt on it, which Marcus hoped would wash out.

Jack picked it up and got back into the car.  “We need to get that guy Batman.”

“I don’t know,” said Marcus. “If the police catch us with him, we’ll get in trouble for making them look bad by solving their crimes.”

“But he’s a bad guy.” said Jack with a small stamp of his foot.”

“I know Jack-I mean, Spider-Man.  But he didn’t get the loot and we can still get it back to the store before your mom-

“Catwoman”

“Sorry, before Catwoman is finished shopping.”

“Let’s get back to the store.” Jack said decisively.

When they returned to the store, Marcus let Jack carry it in.  He’d even found his Spider-Man Halloween mask that Rosemary had made him the month before.  Jack entered the store, the conquering hero with the dress as spoils of war.  The girls in the store were suitably impressed and flattered his ego, offering Jack his pick of anything he wanted in the store.  Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot he might want.  The store had a few toys as a display, but was mostly adult clothing.  He picked a black Pashmina scarf and declared that he would give it to Batman so he could have a cape.

Jack smiled at his son’s generosity and did what you had to do in these situations.  He swung the cape over his shoulders with a flourish and tied it at the neck.

“How do I look, old chum?”  Asked Marcus in his best Batman voice.  (These were the days when Batman was on TV and much more suitable for children).

“I’d say you look purr-fect” came a feline voice behind him.  Marcus felt familiar arms wrap around him from behind.

“Mom- I mean, Catwoman!”

“Hi Spider-man!  How are you?  And why is Batman wearing that… …cape?”

“We caught a bad guy!”  His face shone.  Rosemary knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Were you playing that game again honey?”

“We were at first and I’m not honey, I’m Spider-Man!  But then, I saw a real bad guy and we chased him in the Batmobile and Da-Batman chased him and was gonna run him over and he threw the dress and-“  Jack stopped speaking as he saw his mom was fixing his Dad with a look™.  She stood up slowly with controlled movements and pulled Jack toward her in a protective motherly embrace.

“I didn’t run him down.  I just pulled up behind him and revved the engine in Neutral.  He dropped the dress and Jack brought it back here.”

Jack wriggled his way out of the grip and tugged her sleeve.

“Did daddy do something wrong?  We stopped the bad guy!”

“We’ll talk about it later honey,” she said in a tone that was soft and reassuring, but was a warning that there would be a ‘discussion’ later on.

 

The ensuing discussion had been considerably less heroic.  Rosemary made it clear she didn’t approve of vigilante justice outside of fiction and that it was reckless and dangerous to include a three year-old in this sort of nonsense.  Later of course, Marcus realized she was right, though at the time, he wisely did not point out that this was Minneapolis, not Chicago or New York and that the man had been fleeing on a bicycle.  She already knew that and to fight her on it would be as dumb as poking a Badger to see what would happen.

They agreed that they wouldn’t play “chase the bad guys” in the car again for awhile and that he would even hang up his “cape”.  Jack and Marcus decided to have a retirement ceremony for Batman in the Batcave (basement), where they put it in a box and put it on a shelf of identical boxes just like in the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Once in awhile though, just once in a while, when it was just the two of them, they would remember that afternoon and bask in the glow of their remembered heroics.

Not long after that, he ended up agreeing to sell the Cougar, which Rosemary said was an impractical car car for a family, on account of the two doors,

 

“What if you change the ending?”  Asked Marcus.

“What?”  Asked Jack.

“What if you changed the ending of the story.”

“You mean, what if we didn’t get in trouble from Mom?” he snorted.

“Yeah.  That- or what if your mom had been right and the thief was a brave criminal who was armed?”

“Whoa, like if he’d pulled a gun or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, what would have happened then?”  This was another of his favorite games to play with Jack.  Jack was often bullied in school and one of the ways that they dealt with it was to discuss the situation at a distance.

 

Marcus remembered being a kid better than most adults.  Most adults remember the lack of responsibility that kids have, but kids remember the lack of control.  Being a child is having all of the fears that adults have, without the experience to know which ones are real or how big they should be.

Since a child’s world is on a smaller scale, the human sense of the epic plays out on that scale.  The freckled, chubby kid who bullies you is an Unstoppable Juggernaut who is impossible to make fun of back, because he’s so scary!  The principle or teacher is the Judge, Jury, Cop, Bailiff, Warden and Executioner.  A fight with your friend is the falling out of Remus and Romulus writ small.

Marcus figured it was because of this that it didn’t work to talk with Jack directly about the problems.  It was far better for the situation to remind Marcus of a “story he remembered” about “Benji the Wrestler,” or about a similar situation from when he was a kid.

Parents have mostly been in the situations their kids find themselves in, or something similar.  That’s why they can tell if you’re lying and always have the advice that drives you crazy, no matter what situation you’re in.  Anything you’re doing, they’re likely to have done before and that makes most teenagers go nuts when they talk to their parents.

After all, as a teen, you’re striking out on your own, hoping for independence and to be your own person.  Then this old person, worse- in most cases a fallen hero- comes and tells you that a lot of what you’re going through isn’t a big problem.  That THEY have been through it before.  That your experiences are nothing new?  How dare they?  Your love is one that NO ONE has ever felt before.  You can acknowledge that your parents love each other, or that they might have at one time, but how could that compare with Jeannie’s smile.  How could their boring commitment to each other compare with your love and the way her long dark hair falls down her back like an onyx waterfall, how her lips must feel if you were to kiss them (this part is often speculation, of course).

Besides, they were always old!  How could they?  They couldn’t, that’s how!

Marcus knew all too well that this was the likely outcome if he tried comparison, and that’s why he mostly stuck with stories.  He loved telling stories.  He made them up for his son all the time and they would work on them together.  Hopefully this exercise would help Jack with his writer’s block.  Not fun for anyone, but especially not for someone going through all that, plus a healthy heaping of teen worries.

“Let’s chart out the story like in the timeline Back to the Future.”  Said Marcus.

“Ugh, dad! C’mon…”

“Jack.  Let’s do this.  I’ll take the boring timelines and you take the interesting ones.”

“Okay, fine.”

“Okay, first.  Let’s do the real events as our baseline and see what happens if we change any of the points in time.”

“Fine.”  He pulled out a piece of white paper.  Okay, what happened first.

“We dropped Mom off at the store.  Then we couldn’t find parking.”

“Then you were getting impatient”

“Ugh, dad!  Fine.  I was getting impatient, so we played the ‘Chasing Badguys’ game.”  His eyes met Marcus’s for a moment and there was a brief smile.

“Right.  Then what?”

“Then after we chased some ‘Bad Guys’, I saw a real Bad Guy.”

“Alleged bad guy”

“Fine, I saw what I thought was a bad guy.  Then I saw the ladies from the shop scream and ask for help.”

“Right.”

“Then I said, ‘Get ‘im Dad!’ and we chased him.”

“Okay.  Then what.”

We cornered him in the alley and he turned and ran.

“We cut him off.”

“What?”

“We cut him off, we didn’t corner him.  If we’d cornered him, he wouldn’t have an exit.”

“Okay, fine.  We cut him off… Then you pulled up behind him and revved the engine to scare him into dropping the dress.”

“Right.  Then we picked up the dress and I wanted to chase him, but instead we went back to the store, and we got the cape and mom was mad.”

“Err… well, right.  I think it’s more fair to say that Mom was worried.”

 “Okay.  Then later we got lectured about safety and after that mom made you sell the Cougar.”  Jack stood and stretched.  Damn, that kid was insightful.  He’d probably still have the cougar if it wasn’t for that stunt.  He looked up at his son.  The kid must be six feet tall.  When had that happened?  “Okay, now what dad?”

“Now choose how you want the story to go and write it.”  He smiled.

Another Winter Gone – 8

- Lucas

“Hello Ms. Rogers,” Said the old man.  “What brings you out here today?”

“Hello Mr. Johnson,” she replied, “I’d like to ask you some questions for a piece I’m writing.”

“Oh?” He asked.  He seemed happy at the prospect. “Do come in and have a seat.”

She did and accepted a cup of coffee, black with two sugars, she looked around the cottage.  It looked like your typical hunting cabin, trophies that were all clearly antiques, except for the fish.  Those were recent.  None of the animals were less than 60 years old.  Everything was scrupulously clean and there were little to no sharp edges anywhere.  Even the rifle over the fireplace had the trigger mechanism removed.  This was a man who was very precise about fitting in and doing the right thing, but he didn’t like guns or hunting or risk of any kind.  Why even have the animals then? she wondered.  Amos reentered carrying the two coffee cups on coasters on the tray and set it down on a placemat on the coffee table.

Once they’d exchanged a few pleasantries, Janet decided to get to the point.

“I’d like to ask you about a mutual friend of ours, Mr. Marcus.”

“Not Mr.” he said smiling, “and no you’re not.”

“What?” She asked.

“Marcus is his first name.  The only one he gives out himself as a matter of course, and anyone who’d be a friend of his would know that.  Not that he has friends really, not what’d you call friends.”

Shoot.  She’d miscalculated.

“Oh?”

“Anyone who knows Marcus knows the man is more antisocial than a skunk with distemper.”  The words were said like he was angry, but Amos was known to be one of the worst (and most enthusiastic) poker players in the whole of the Iron Range and the increased twinkling in his eyes was giving him away.

“Really?” She said.  “He seemed nice enough when I was there.”

“I’ll daresay he was tolerating you Ms. Rogers, and if he did, it was because he likes your writing.”  he sniffed. “can’t say I care for it much myself.  I prefer to read the paper for the funnies.”  He was clearly winding her up, though she couldn’t see just why.  It was probably best to just let him know what she wanted.

“I am writing a piece on Marcus to show the effect he’s had on the people around him.”

“Does he know you’re doing this?”

“No.  I had the idea that it might be nice to have a party for him after the article comes out.  A sort of ‘thank you’ from the people around here who’ve been touched in some way by the things he’s done.”

“Is this about Jessica?”

“Not just her Mr. Johnson.”

“Amos, please.”

“Not just her Amos.  Did you know that she saved thirty people in her time as an EMT and a first responder?  There are other people he’s helped over the years.  I’d like to see what the effect has been beyond just the immediate circle of people he’s helped.”

“I don’t know…  I don’t think he’d approve of the attention.”

“Yeah, but he should know what effect he’s had on the people around him.”

“Listen ma’am, I don’t know if I like the idea of you using Marcus to get a story.  Especially if he doesn’t know about it.”

“Please Amos, do you think it’s fair that he should be alone, 95 years old, stuck away in the cabin with no one.  No man is an island.”

“I used to believe that, until I met Marcus.” he said, “What exactly do you want to know?”

“I want to know anything I can find about him.  Who he was before he came here, why he came, who are the others who he’s helped over the years.  There are rumors of a man in an oilskin or fur-lined coat coming out of nowhere to help stranded people, injured people, even people who’ve gotten injured doing illegal things.  Then, as soon as he’s done the work and gotten them to the hospital, he disappears.  Why does he do it?  Somewhere there is a story in here if I can just find it.  Please Amos, help me.”

“I suppose I’ve resisted enough to say I’ve put up a fight.  I’ll tell you what:  I’ll give you the stories as I think of them and you follow them wherever they lead, but I can’t promise he’ll like the article, or even come to an event thrown in his honor.  Marcus just isn’t the type.”

“Thank you Amos.  Where do I begin?”

“If I were wanting to know more about Marcus, I’d go talk to Frankie Bleeker.  He’s probably had as much contact with Marcus over the years as anyone I can think of.”

“Frankie Bleeker?  You mean Sheriff Bleeker?”

“Yep.  The one and the same.  Think about it.  You’re looking for someone who would be everywhere that Marcus has helped someone, that is somewhere where there’s been trouble.  Sheriff Bleeker has been there too, often after the fact, of course.  He’s the one you want though.”

“Thank you Amos, I’ll do that.  And please, let me know if you think of any other information I can use.”

Another Winter Gone – 7

- Lucas

Marcus approached the truck and found Amos and Jessica chatting away inside.  He smiled.  Amos wasn’t a bad sort, and his talkative nature would help make the ride go more quickly (for Jessica at least).  Seeing them getting along made Marcus decide to invite Amos to keep the girl company.  He took off his snow shoes, slid them behind the bench seat and got into the driver’s side of the truck.

Then he passed Jessica a small wet lump.

“Your clothes,” he said by way of explanation.

“Oh yeah, thanks!  That’ll probably make things easier after I’m done at the hospital.”

“Amos, you want to drop your Snowmobile over at my place?”

“Yeah, sure Marcus.”  He got out of the truck and went over to it.  “See you later!”  Amos was practically wagging like a golden retriever.  Then he paused.  “Say, why don’t I just take my truck and meet you in town?”

Marcus sighed, but it was no surprise really.  When had he ever invited Amos (or anyone really) to help him or join in anything?  Well, not in the last 50 years, and it doesn’t really count when it’s your own son.  He’d worked with people sure, told them what to do, commanded them and told them what they were going to do, and it had worked.  But when had he last asked, requested, or invited someone to join him.

Hell, even at the Ely steam, he just nodded and moved aside to let someone in.  He’d have to think about that.  After all, there’s no reason to be unkind, when kindness will serve just as well.

“Let’s just meet at your place Amos.  It’s on the way to town and I’m sure we could use your company.”

Amos swelled.  “you got it!  you won’t have to  worry.  I’ll be right behind you.  Okay! Well….” Marcus rolled up the window as the man outside nearing retirement dithered in excitement.

Oh right, that was why.  I mean, there’s not being unkind and then there’s inviting this sort of foolishness.  He grunted slightly in what might have been a laugh.  A few yards down the road, Jessica spoke.

“You don’t really like him, do you?”

“Him?   He’s alright.  He just,”

“Talks a lot.” she finished.

Marcus nodded.  He knew she could see him.

“My dad’s like you.”

“I doubt that.”  he said with a half-smile.

“Never has a word kind or unkind for anyone, but when there’s trouble people bless their lucky stars that he’s around.”

“hmph.”

“He tries to be all stern and stone, like he’s trying to be The Man With No Name.  But underneath it all, he’s a good guy.”

“hmph.”

“Thank you, by the way,” she said.  “It really was stupid of me.”

“Yes.  It was.” he said and did not ask about the wolves.  The truck pulled up to the driveway and just afterward, Amos pulled up.  Apparently being deprived of an audience hadn’t affected him, and he seemed to have been monologuing on the snowmobile.  Jesus the man would talk when no one listened.

“I don’t want to be rude,” Jessica said, “but is there any way we could have him not come with?”

Marcus was surprised for a second.

“what?”

“I just need some time to think and some quiet to do it in.  Oh, is that rude of me?”

“You think I’m gonna argue?”

“Great can you… …oh, you mean I have to tell him.”

“Hey, you’re old enough to get chased by wolves into a ravine, you’re old enough to tell the nice man who helped rescue you that you want him to go away.”

“err…”

“You’ll get no argument from me mind, but he did make it possible for you to get back to the road and I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d get you back to the truck before hypothermia set in.  Again.”

she inhaled through her teeth.  “Okay.”

“Besides, the man works for the city in the permit office, making sure people fill out paperwork properly.  This is probably the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to him.  He is a hero after all.”

“What?  But you…”

“Did what needed to be done.  Same as him.”  Damn my overinflated sense of fairness.  Outside the truck, Amos’s face was starting to go from smiles to concern.”

She opened the door.  “Hi Amos!” she smiled brightly, “Thanks for rescuing me.  I don’t know what I would have done if you two hadn’t come by.”

Amos’s big round face reminded him of the Parsee man in the Just-So story about the Rhinoceros and the currant cake.  “…and he smiled one smile that ran all round his face two times.” In the book of course, it had be an ominous portent, but Amos was smiling a smile as bright as the sun who shone in “more-than-Oriental-splendour.”  Hmm… I should re-read Kipling, Marcus thought as they drove on to the Hospital to find treatment for the girl.

 

Meeting Jessica had been thirty years ago and Marcus still remembered her whenever he read Call of the Wild.  She had grown up and gone off to have kids of her own.  She even visited during the summers for several years, the gap between each a visit longer than the last.  Eventually he’d learned that the wolves chasing her on her snowmobile- that’s right.  She’d been on a  snowmobile not snowshoes- the wolves chasing her on the snowmobile had been a group of local teens who’d fancied themselves tough.

Later Marcus found out that one of the boys had been the one to alert Amos that the girl had fallen off the ridge.  He’d had a crush on her, but didn’t have the status to openly stand against his friends.  When Jessica fell, they’d all scattered and marcus even managed to track them down because of the paint from their rides one or two had left on the trees in their haste to leave.

Jessica and the boy (Thomas, was it?) had been seen together in town for awhile, but eventually it was clear that his bravery had been temporary and she had no desire to be saddled with a man who couldn’t hold his own and stand up for what is right except in extreme circumstances.

It was good, Marcus thought.  That girl had been pretty brave, and had gone on to do good things.  Even working as a Wilderness First Responder for awhile during college.  She saved several people during that time and whenever the writers at the local paper got wind of it they printed an article.

Marcus kept every one in a binder, though he never showed any outward sign he was aware of her work when she visited.

Eventually Jessica went and moved to the city, where she did something laudable with bringing city kids out to the wilderness to show them the stars or something.

Of course, he never thought about it in these terms, but there were a good number of people who wouldn’t be alive today if he hadn’t been there to save the girl.

 

These were the types of stories and rumors that circulated around the Iron Range about Marcus, the last of the old-time trappers.  A guardian of the woods who appeared in town for supplies every few weeks in the guise of a grumpy loner.

These stories were the real reason that the Journalist had sought him out.  It was a good story.  A man who did what needed to be done and didn’t much think about the consequences; a man didn’t ask for a reward, or attention and had mostly gotten what he’d asked for.

Such a shame, thought Janet.  Everyone should get to know the effect they have on people.  She paused outside the door of the house and was about to knock, when she saw the curtains twitch and the door opened to reveal a man of about 75 or 85 who was all smiles and joviality, and whom retirement seemed to have agreed with.

Another Winter Gone – 6

- Lucas

Once dried, Jessica re-dressed and they wrapped her foot as best they could.  She would still be cold, but at least she was alive and would likely keep all her extremities.  Marcus remembered when he was a boy, meeting a farmer named Al who’d lost lost fingers to the cold and other accidents.  He remembered the farmer describing the aches and pains or just tingling that would sometimes occur in the fingers that were no longer there.  It still gave him a shiver almost a century later- though he’d gotten better at hiding it.

He remembered the story he old man told him, saying that as a younger man he’d played the guitar until he’d lost the tips of a finger or two in a threshing accident.  At that point he’d switched to the accordion, until he lost fingers to the cold.  When he couldn’t play the accordion anymore, he switched to the hammer dulcimer.  By the time Marcus met the old man, the only instrument he could play anymore was the Harmonica.

He admired the stubborness and tenacity of the old man.  He unwillingness to let any accident or fate prevent him from partaking in his love of music.

With any luck, this Jessica would be alright.  Of course, they weren’t out of the woods yet and the shadows already stretched long over the land.  But at least the girl was hydrated and responsive.  Marcus had melted some water for her from the snow and given it to her.  It was a mercy she hadn’t hit her head on a rock or broken her neck with a fall like that.

Remembering what he’d seen in terms of destruction of the branches and the dislodged trees on the way down the ravine reminded him about her story of being chased by wolves.  It was such an obvious prevarication that it almost didn’t seem worth asking about.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.  Now that the immediate danger was past, there was the very real problem of what to do to get the girl back to the road and the relative safety of his truck.  It had been a 10 minute walk, plus some odd switchbacks, but that was with snowshoes and the girl only had one of those left.  Plus, she’d be hopping on one foot.  That wouldn’t do.  

Marcus realized he’d left his phone in the truck.  The damn thing barely got reception anyway, but still.  Minor chance was worth more than no chance.

“Jessica, you got a phone?”

“Yeah, I…” she grabbed her pants and went through the pockets. “Yeah, I’ve got it.”

“Great.  You got reception?”

“No.”  It figured.  They probably had the same carrier.  

“Well, we’re going to have to figure out how to get you out of here.  I don’t have time to be bringing firewood all night and I don’t want to risk you going into shock or dying of exposure.  Lemme see your ankle.”  It was swollen, purple and angry.”

The whine of a small gas engine became more apparent as it approached the ridge above them and then from up top a voice cried out, “Hey, Marcus, you okay?”  Christ.  That was all he needed.  That darned Amos was here, and he’d probably want to… wait.  

“Down here Amos.”

“You injured?”  

“No, but there’s a girl who is.  Heard a scream.  She’s got a busted up ankle and we have no reception here.  Help me get her to the truck.”

“Sounds good”  Sounds good?  Marcus had never heard Amos say so little at one time.  The engine whirred to life in that fly-buzz register that snowmobiles seem to share with squadrons of mosquitos.

A few minutes later, there was Amos dismounting his snowmobile and digging under the seat for his spare helmet.  Well, for once the man’s insistence on doing everything by the book might be of use.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Snowmobiling and I saw your truck with the emergency lights on and the door open on the side of the road.  Then I saw tracks and thought… “hey!  If marcus is running in the woods, either he’s in trouble or someone else is.’ And then…”

“Good job.” Said Marcus.  “I’m sure you have more you want tell me about it, but let it wait until we get her back to town and in some clothes.”

Amos seemed to just notice the girl next to them covered only in an old saddle blanket.  He reddened.  Internally, Marcus face-palmed.  Amos had to be what, 55?  65?  And here he was blushing like little  kid.  This provoked a similar reaction in Jessica, who up till now had been too concerned about survival to worry about propriety.

“Alright children, let’s get back to the truck.  Amos, keys are in the ignition, so start it up and make sure she stays warm. I’ll be there when I can and will put out the fire.”

They fumbled their way on to the snow mobile, with Jessica’s feet still in Marcus’s mittens.  The heels hung out a bit and looked silly, but at least it wouldn’t take long to get back, he thought as they rode off toward the truck.

Marcus took one of his snowshoes and used it as a shovel to extinguish the fire, using the tail of it to stir in the ashes and make sure it was completely out.  He’d seen what could happen if a fire went underground, or cinders whipped up and wouldn’t leave anything to chance.  

Afterward, he put the snowshoes back on, clenched and unclenched his now-chilly fingers and and started back to the truck at a brisk trot.

Another Winter Gone – 5

- Lucas

In times like this, Marcus knew that talking and keeping people alert was one of the best ways to avert disaster.  He went to talking her though the task at hand.  Namely hypothermia and how to avoid it.

“There are four stages of hypothermia” he said as he wandered around and started gathering branches and sticks.  “Mild, moderate and severe.  mental confusion, shivering.  This is the part where you feel cold.”  He took out his steel and set it on a flat rock nearby so he’d be have it to hand.  

“Ok-kkkay” said Jessica.

“Now, you’re past that, because you’re having trouble controlling your shivering.  If you weren’t, I’d be less concerned.  you’re probably a bit confused and your lips and ears are turning blue, which indicates at least moderate hypothermia.”  Marcus dug through his pockets seeking something.  He pulled it out.  “Aha! wait, damn.” he said.  That’s not what I wanted.  Well, here, eat this.”

“A film canister?” She said confusion on her features.

“No, what’s inside it.”

“What is inside it?”

“Crushed potato chips mashed with dates”

“What?”

“Calories kid. It’s an easy way to transport them.  You need fuel to burn; speaking of which” he pulled out a film canister wrapped with several layers of duct tape.

“More chips?”

“nope.  Waterproof matches and kindling.”

“W-wwwere you a boy scout?”

“Nah, but I like the books.”  Marcus started making a rat’s nest of the duct tape- first tearing it into small strips and then making it into a loose bundle.  “I like the Civics lessons, but I never went in for the ‘God’ part of the whole ‘God and Country’ part of the scouts.  Seemed silly to exclude all those Atheists, Buddhists and others who might want to go camping.”  He struck a match and set it to the bundle, which now hung loosely underneath a pile of kindling on a flat rock.  The smell was bitter and acrid.  The burning plastic of GI Joes who’ve met a magnifying glass at noon on a summer’s day.

“Now, the stumbling and difficulty that you’re having moving might be because of the log that fell on your foot, but it might also be because you’re in wet clothes and nearing severe hypothermia.  How long were you in the water?”

“A few minutes-s-s-s, I think.”  Marcus blew the flames gently to give them life.  They grew and Jessica found almost dove toward the small bit of heat.

“Careful there.  Don’t knock it over.  I’m going to add bits of wood.  I need you to lean over and blow on the base of the flame.  Think you can do that?”

“Y-y-yeah”  she said.  Good, giving the girl something to do would keep her occupied and might lessen the effects of shock.  He got up to get the wood and brought it back.  

“Not bad.  You already figured out you have to coax the fire out of the wood.  Lotta people try and blow like its birthday candles and cause no end of trouble.”  Marcus placed the wood next to the fire and started adding some.  Then he grabbed the blanket and his mittens from the ground and gave them to her.

“Alright, next step.  You’re gonna strip down outta those wet clothes and wrap up in the blanket.”  Jessica nodded dumbly.  “Next, you’re gonna wear mittens on your feet and we’re gonna try to prevent frostbite from getting more than just a little bad.  If something turns black, chances are, it’ll have to go.”

“O-okay.”  She said.

“Now me, I’m going to keep myself occupied with the fire here, so you don’t have to worry about me sneaking a peek and remembering things I’m too old to be thinking about.”  She actually guffawed.  Marcus couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard a guffaw, and certainly not from a chit of a girl who had no business being this far out by herself, being chased by wolves.  That was an oddity he’d explore if it seemed important when-

“Umm, Mr. Marcus…”  She sounded worried.

“Just Marcus, no Mister.  What’s wrong Jessica?”

“I can’t get my boot off.”  Of course not.  Why would he think it would be otherwise?  

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I think it’s t-t-too s-s-swollen.” She said.  Marcus moved to the boot, took it in his hands and cut the laces and the tongue with the multitool he kept on his belt.

“Hey!  Those were expensive boots!” She said.  Anger pushing the shiver out of her voice.

“Yeah?  They worth more than your foot?”  She mumbled something.  “Didn’t think so.  Listen girlie, so far I’ve been kind to you.  Don’t take that kindness as weakness.  When I want to know how to get lost and nearly kill myself of hypothermia and a broken ankle, I’ll ask you.  Until then, you’re in my woods, so you’ll do as I say and you might just get out of here in one piece with only minor extremities lost.”  She winced and made a controlled exhalation, as he pulled off the boot.  To her credit, she didn’t whimper or cry of fuss too much once it was off and she got to the business of removing her frozen, soaking clothes.

Marcus busied himself with the fire until it was a roaring blaze.

Another Winter Gone – 4

- Lucas

The sound came from the woods.  A scream, someone in pain.  Marcus looked up from his book and immediately put on his coat and boots.  Mittens, hat and scarf went on as he walked through the door.  He tossed the old horse blanket in the back of the truck and started to head down the drive.  The voice called again for help and he pulled over the truck.  It must be coming from the creek bed near the ravine.  Who the hell would be stupid enough to be down there this time of year.

Marcus grabbed the blanket and tossed it over his shoulder. Then he pulled the snow shoes out from behind the bench seat in the truck and put them on before heading off the road and into the woods.

A short 5 minutes later, he crested the ridge of the ravine.  Giant disturbances in the snow on the other side gave him an idea of what had happened.

Someone had been jumping down the hill in the deep snow, like a skiier doing a mogul run.  Based on the broken branches about a third of the way down, it was clear that he (it was almost certainly going to be a he, and almost certainly going to be a young “he”, Marcus knew) had lost control of his descent and would be found somewhere below.

“I’m coming,” Marcus cried out.  “I need you to tell me if you can move.”

Whimpers met him from below.  Marcus swore a bit and worked his way down the ridge as safely as he was able.

“Tell me if you can move your arms and legs.” he said again, then remembered his voice was deep and sounded like someone who had been interrupted in his reading of Jack London to tend to an idiot in the woods who had fallen down.

“My name is Marcus, I’m here to help.  What is your name?”

“J-j-j-jessica.” came the reply.

“Huh, 95 years on the planet and surprises abound,” he thought.

“Okay, Jessica.  Can you move your arms and legs?”

“I can move my arms, but one of my legs is stuck,” she said.  Then she whimpered again with the pain.

“Does it hurt?” He asked.

“What?!  Are you crazy, of course it hurts, I f-fell down the hill after being ch-chased by wolves.”

“I’m sorry, what?  No, never mind.  we have more important things to get to.  Where are you?”

“I’m in the s-stream.

“on the ice?”  He asked.

“Well, part of me.  I think I must’ve knocked a tree loose when I fell because the trunk is on me.”

Jesus, that was bad.  Being wet, even in February could be a death sentence with no appeal in minutes.  Okay, I’m working my way over.  Just then, he rounded the corner.  Sure enough, it was a teenage girl half submerged in the water and pinned under a tree.  He looked around and found what he needed.

“Okay, the good news is, you probably didn’t break your back or you wouldn’t be able to feel your legs.  The bad news is that the hypothermia will still kill you quickly if you don’t do exactly as I say.  Do you understand?”

“Yessir.”  She looked small, cold and wet.   What was her name?  Jessica.  Right.  Jessica.

Taking a 10 food section of ash, he found a gap to wedge it under the trunk of a tree and used an exposed rock by the shore to lever the trunk off of the girl. Marcus realized how little he was used to talking this much.  When was the last time he’d said this many sentences to someone?  10, 15 years ago?  Well, no matter; he had more to say before the evening was over.

“Okay, on the count of three, I’ll lift the tree and you move back as far toward shore as you can, okay.  One, Two…  Damn.”  He noticed the snowshoes tangled in the branches of the tree.  “One second.”  Marcus walked around the tree and saw the buckle was bent.  Damned metal thing.  He removed his mitts and whipped his knife out of his belt and one motion and started to cut through the nylon strap.  She screamed once or twice as he finished each cut, but the work was over in less than a minute.

“Okay, on the count of three one, two, three.”  Marcus lifted the tree using the smaller branch as a lever and Jessica scooted out of reach so it could come back down.

“Alright, first things first. We need to get you back to the truck.  Can you walk?”

“n-nnnn” she shook her head.

Damn.  Mumbling was already setting in.  This wasn’t good.  What they needed was fire, and fast.

Another Winter Gone – 3

- Lucas

Marcus exited Zup’s and headed to the truck.  as he approached he noticed a spot where a kicked up rock must have taken a chunk of paint off.  The road salt was already helping nature to take its course less than an hour later.  Well, nature was taking its course the way nature did.

And since he knew his nature, he made a stop at the hardware store.  Jack London would have to wait.  After all, the things we value are not measured by the way we speak of them, but our actions regarding them.

He sighed as he drove back, noting that it was clear from the state of the roads and that bridge collapse down in Minneapolis a few years back, that the people responsible for infrastructure clearly didn’t feel the same way; and when they did feel that way you got Amos.

He’d seen Amos in the paint aisle when he was picking out the necessary tools for the job at hand.  They had talked amiably enough, what was the point of being unneighborly after awhile, but somehow it never ceased to amaze Marcus how long it took the man to say so little.  

He’d tried to talk to Marcus about the recent Vikings game, as if there was any sense in feeling pride at the achievements of some millionaires working for some billionaires who happened to be wearing your flag.

It wasn’t that Marcus didn’t like football, in fact he’d seen the game and had been impressed with the drive and focus of the men on the field.  They’d acquitted themselves well and should be proud of themselves.  It was that he just didn’t see the point of being proud of things that were not a result of a choice or effort on your part.

It wasn’t as if he or Amos had been there.  It wasn’t as if he had made the winning touchdown, or completed a pass.  Foolishness.  

No, you’d never see him wearing Purple and Gold for their sake, nor would you see him wearing Green and Gold.  At least, not because of the game.

“So, hey, whatcha doing with the paint there Marcus?”

“Gonna paint the truck.”

“That doesn’t seem like enough, you only got one spray can.”

“It’s enough for what I’m going to paint Amos.”

“But if you paint that area, it won’t match.”

Why people had to be like this, he had no idea.  It seemed perfectly clear to Marcus that since we was likely to be the only owner of the truck, his was the only opinion of the truck that mattered.  And even then, only whether he judged it to work according to his needs.  When it didn’t, he’d obviously get a new truck.  There was no point in telling Amos this of course, it would only encourage him to talk more.

“Probably not, but the truck is black, and I’d rather have it be mismatched and black, than mismatched and rusty.”

Clearly there was some premise that Marcus was missing in Amos’s thinking, but there was no point in guessing the motives of someone, since their actions were beyond his control.

He smiled and found a way out of the conversation quickly and judging by Amos’s expression, he’d felt like they’d had a good conversation.  Well, and good, thought Marcus.  No point in hurting the man, just because they lived their lives differently.

Once he got home, Marcus put away the groceries, cleaned the car and got to sanding.  He was glad of the work and the fact that it gave him a chance to look things over.  There were four nicks in all and he took care of them.  

First sanding, then priming, then painting.  Afterward, there was barely any way to notice at a distance.  Not that you couldn’t tell if you knew where to look.  

Satisfaction and a chicken he’d been roasting in the oven were his reward, as he picked up Call of the Wild and began to read.

Another Winter Gone – 2

- Lucas

Mark.  Mark.  Mark! His head snapped up out of the book he was reading.  Which was it, Jack London or Farley Mowat?  Either way, it didn’t matter.  Books like this had been as better than any drugs to the young Marcus.  Truth be told, they still were, even now.

He turned to face his mother.  What had she been asking?  He had no idea.  He hadn’t even heard her until the third time she’d called him.

“yeah mom, what?” he asked, trying to sound positive rather than grumpy about being pulled out of the world of wolves.

I said, ‘Did you get your chores done?’

“Mostly,” he said.

“so, no.”

“What?  I did get them mostly done.  I did more work than I should have to.”

“Really?” she sounded intrigued.  Crap.  That was way more dangerous than if she would just yell at him.  “What percentage exactly do you think you should have to do of your chores?”

“well, I…”

“no, I’m really interested.  I mean, what if I only cooked you half your dinner?  raw meat and cooked vegetables.  or no meat and raw potatoes and vegetables.  What if I half-did the pancakes?”

“yeah, but…”

“how would that work do you think?”

“it wouldn’t.” She didn’t understand.  God he hated the lecturing. The telling him things he didn’t want to know and acting like it was for his own good.  it made his back muscles clench up and the hairs on his neck tingle just remembering it.

Yes.  Dishes needed washing and laundry needed folding.  But how could that compare to the magic of Jack London, Farley Mowat or Mark Twain.  The guys in these stories went on adventures and explored and found Gold!  No laundry could compare with that.  In the eternal summer of his memory, there was no greater joy than escaping into the woods with a snack, a canteen and something to read by his holy trinity of boyhood authors.

Well, that or books that taught you real skills.  Things like tying knots or wilderness first aid, or starting fires, or which plants were good for medicine.

Marcus loved the First Aid books best of all.  There was something so compelling about the idea that if someone were to get hurt (not that you’d wish for them to get hurt, but if they did get hurt and you couldn’t prevent it), that you could do something! I mean, how cool would it be to stabilize a broken arm until you could get the person to a hospital.  Or that you could staunch bleeding enough to buy the person time enough to get to a doctor or someone who could sew them up right.

How could any stupid chores compare with that?

I mean, as soon as he was able to, Marcus planned to head away into the woods or the mountains so he could be a mountain man like Jeremiah Johnson.

Then he would live in his own cabin and not have to do any stupid chores.  He’d just live off the land and be free.  A free man (boy), not constrained by other people’s schedules or rules.

It’s strange how some lessons only become obvious after you learn them.  It’s also strange how much and how little we know about the future when we’re that age.  How hold had Marcus been?  Five years old, six maybe?

The longer he lived, the more the crayons of his memory melted together in the slow heat of time.  Eventually unusable and amorphous, but still pretty in an odd way.

Another Winter Gone – 1

- Lucas

Marcus sat by the window, looking out over the clearing.  Another winter thawed outside.  He’d seen 92-odd winters come and go in his lifetime, plus a few he didn’t remember.  Just the essentials.  That’s what he’d told the reporters who’d snowshoed in to report his 95th birthday for the Echo.  That’s what kept him alive and fit at the age of 95.

He had his house on the lake, his tools in his shop and plenty of firewood for the winter.  No need for foolishness.  No need for make-work projects, when there was enough real work to be done.

It had been a surprise when the reporter came up the path, audible before she’d been visible- her snowshoes crunching on the top layer of crusted snow.  He recognized her of course.  Her was printed next to her column in the paper.

Marcus kept a newspaper subscription for three reasons:

  1. He liked having something to read in the outhouse (especially if he was snowed in and couldn’t get to town for *ahem* other papers he might want in there)
  2. He liked the excuse to walk the 400 yards to the end of the driveway every morning.
  3. It was nice to have an alernative source of kindling in case birch bark supplies were running low.

The last reason wasn’t really that strong he reflected after he realized he was following the “rule of three.”  It wasn’t strong, because he couldn’t remember the last time that he had actually used birch bark or paper to start a fire.  Sure, he kept some around in case of emergency, but he also had as much white gas as he was ever likely to need in the small cottage he’d built all those years before.

Despite the reputation he had (and was largely unaware of) of being the last of the old-time trappers, sourdoughs and voyageurs, Marcus had no pride at all when it came to the practical matter of starting a fire.

He’d happily use a lighter if one was available, but generally preferred to make his own kindling bundles use a steel whenever possible.  Small bundles of moss and Jack Pine twigs that would go up like kerosene even soaking wet.

He knew how to use a bow-drill of course and other “primitive” means, but fire was too important to survival for a person to stick to honorable methods like Flint and Steel or even a one-match fire.

Hell, he’d even started a fire using a ball made of thin strips of duct tape he’d ignited with steel wool and a 9-volt battery once.  It stank to high heaven and was smokey as hell, so it was probably for the best that he’d pulled it from the one Fire detector that weasel of a bureaucrat Amos Johnson had insisted upon.  Damn thing went off half the time when he cooked his bacon, as if he wasn’t perfectly aware it was smoking him out of his own cabin.

In reality of course, Amos was amiable and capable, it’s just that among other duties he was responsible for making sure things were up to code.  The way Marcus saw it, code was fine.  It was for people who didn’t know how to build a house properly so the damned thing wouldn’t fall down.  It didn’t need to apply to people who know what they’re doing.

There was one other objection Marcus had to Amos.  He talked too much.  Any time they ran into each other in town, that damned fool said nothing in as many words as possible.  He had a nervous manner and talked too loud.  Especially outside.

Over the years Marcus had come to realize the truth of silence.  Understanding that the bigger the space, the quieter one should be in it.  Not space per se, but more like what you get when there’s space and it’s not filled up with people.

Being outside in a city requires a person to be louder to make themselves heard.  So, being inside with that mentality, one needs to to remember to be quiet.

Being outside “on the loose” as one of the old campfire songs from his youth had called it, meant that you didn’t need to be loud.  Your very presence there was an intrusion, like a stranger at a wake.  Everything in the forest is so aware of any human, that there’s no need to be loud.  You have the floor, as it were.

This is what that damned fool Amos never seemed to understand.

The reporter had been better.  She knew how to listen at least.  Well, sort-of.  She knew how to listen to people, for what they said and what they said when they didn’t say something.  It was a start.  Maybe in time, she’d learn to listen without needing to hear words in the silence.

The questions for the article had covered a range of topics.  Mostly banal, but some sparked memories he’d forgotten for a long time.  Where was he from? The past.  What did he do?  The work in front of him.  (How can you explain to someone the rhythm of living on your own off the land?  How can you explain that every day is the same and each day is unique?  How you know when to find mushrooms or run trap lines or hunt deer?)  The questions had continued for awhile, until she asked her last question.  What made you move out here away from everyone? I came seeking silence and a place to think.

At that point, she’d understood his meaning more pointedly than he’d meant to say it, because she started to pack up her notebook.  Quickly.  “Well, thank you for your time and I’ll try not to intrude on your silence any further.”

Her snowshoes finally agreed to being used, after a bit of wrangling and she was out the door.  He was surprised at how tired he felt tired after she left.  Probably just a reaction to an uninvited visitor making him use the long-forgotten courtesy parts of the brain.  Janet.  That was the name on the columns.

It’s funny how someone can look like a name, he thought.  As if the appellation a parent gives a child somehow shapes their character.  Then unbidden, memories of his son, his Jack, were called up against his will.

There was no question what he needed to do next.  He picked up his axe and went to split logs for firewood.

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