Dreamland

Northern California

I'm up north on vacation with wife and son. We're staying with my uncle and aunt, they've recently bought a farm there. My uncle asks for help in repairing the roofs on the two barns. He says they leak quite a bit, and wants to get them fixed before the rains come.

I climb up the ladder onto the first barn. The roof is totally gone, all that is left is the framework, with pink insulation showing through. I tell him this, and he says he has some plywood we can put down before we shingle it. He carries sheets of plywood up the ladder to me, and I start nailing them down onto the beams.

I ask Viv if she wants to go downtown to the Jai Alai Fronton. I have a hundred dollars of gambling money with me. She says yes. My aunt and uncle agree to watch our son for the evening, and we drive into town. I don't win anything, but we have a good time.

I'm off by myself, driving through a tall redwood forest. I park alongside the road to talk to a couple of forest service guys who are cutting down trees with chain saws. They tell me they are making room for a new picnic area.

I have a small hand saw with me, and I climb one of the trees. I start cutting dead limbs underneath me, wanting to bring them home to use for firewood. I've cut enough limbs away to where I can see a great view of Mount Shasta in the distance. One of the guys calls over to me: "Hey, you'd better be careful. If you cut too many branches underneath, you won't be able to get down!"

I stop from cutting the last branch under me just in time. There are very few branches left, I have to stretch quite a bit to reach them. I barely manage to climb down without falling.