A Prospector's Christmas Story
copyright 1999 G.M. "DOC" Lousignont, Ph.D.
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Part 3 of 6
"Now hold on a minute, you two!" Sam interrupted his own laughter about Frank’s comment that Rush Limbaugh was a liberal pussy. "Frank I appreciate you and Sally’s concern over me, but there’s no need. I’ll get along fine. I got a lot to do. My claim needs workin’. Now that mom is gone, I can dedicate some real quality time on finding the mother load. I know it’s there somewhere. And well, you two kids have your family, and you don’t need some old goat hornin’ in….. "But Daddy, you are part of our family." Sally said. "Yes, honey I know I am, but you know what they say about fish and house guests they all stink after three days."
"But Dad you wouldn’t be a house gue--- " Sam interrupted, "Now just stop right there, I’ve already made up my mind, so save your breath. The day after your mom left I went to the bank, and the brokerage firm. I’ve taken care of all the paper work, I transferred all the stock your Mom and I had into you two’s account and I set up a college fund for my little cutie there." "Dad!" "Just listen and pay attention! I’ve signed the house over to you, it’s been paid off, oh I don’t know six, seven years ago. I took all the money out of the checking and savings accounts and closed them up, there’s a cashier’s check in that envelope made out to the both of you. I kept some money for myself to get me started full time up at the claim and to get some things I need, but there’s plenty left. It was all going to be yours after I died anyway, so now you can just be grateful as hell to me while I’m still alive." He said with a smile.
"Sam, I don’t think you have really thought this through." Frank said. "Frank, I’ve thought about this for years. Hell I even tried to talk your mother-in-law into selling this place and going to live at the cabin, like real pioneer folks. But you know Mary, she just didn’t have that pioneering spirit. She wanted her bed in her house with her shower with plenty of hot water. Hell, even when I located that hot springs up there by the cabin I couldn’t convince her that was the same as having a shower with unlimited hot water."
"I’m going to go up there and just try to forget about this rat race called life. I’m just sick and tired of the way this society is goin’. You can’t turn on the damn television anymore without there being something about sex suggested, talked about, commented on, or alluded to. I’m just too old fashioned. In my day sex was about love and it was sacred and private and it stayed in the bedroom with married folks, not on the television. And our criminal justice system is a damn joke. Let the damn killers like O.J. go free but try and take law abiding citizens guns away. The damn liberal media, commie rat bastards, don't even get me started on those butt holes. Something is sure as hell wrong with where this society is goin’ and I for one am gettin’ off the train to hell. As they used to say in my day, I’m droppin’ out. I’m headin’ for the hills where all I have to worry about is how much gold I can detect and pull out of that ol’ stream."
"I suppose there’s no talking you out of this, I know how damn stubborn you are." "Miss Sally! You watch that language of yours young lady!" Sally laughed on the inside, thinking about what a foul mouth her dad had, but he got upset at her because she said "damn.""And NO! You ain’t going to talk me out of it. Do me a favor if you would, I want to be out of here by about eight in the morning. Here’s the keys to the house and the other car, oh I almost forgot the signed title to the car is in that envelope with the cashier’s check. Anyway, after I’ve left, can you pack up your mom’s clothes? Take whatever you want. You know where her good jewelry is at. Mom wanted you to have it. Maybe you can pass it on down to little Jessie when she gets older. The clothes that you pack up, just have Salvation Army, or Catholic Social Services, or whoever comes and pick that stuff up."
Sam had already packed his things and only a few mementos of Mary. After all, a mountain man had to travel fast and light. He had packed their wedding picture, their 50th wedding anniversary picture, and one of Mary’s pillow cases that had her rosary inside. Mary always kept her rosary inside her pillow case; she said it kept away bad dreams. Sam wondered just how many Hail Mary’s, Our Father’s and Glory Be’s had been said on that string of beads over the years. Frank and Sally didn’t even know Sam’s covered four wheel drive pick up truck was sitting in the garage completely packed and ready to go. Sam was a man about to carry out a plan. It was a plan to "drop out" of society and just spend the rest of his time where he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way.
Frank and Sally reluctantly accepted Frank’s decision, I mean what else could they do. It wasn’t as if Sam was feeble minded, or was incapable of doing what he had set out to do. Quite the contrary, all through her life, Sally marveled at the fact that her dad just seemed to love a challenge. Sally’s mom was quite a psychologist when it came to exploiting that side of Sam’s personality."Sam!" "Yes dear?" "It’s probably pretty hard to lay a ceramic floor isn’t it?" "Well of course it is. You have to make sure the darn thing is laid out just right, then you have to make sure the spacing is correct between the tiles. Then there is cutting and nipping the tiles around corners, it’s got to be a major pain in the ass." "Yeah that’s what I thought. OK, I’ll call some people out of the yellow pages tomorrow and get some estimates on doing the kitchen floor." "Whatever you say dear." Sam conceded. However, Mary knew that first thing in the morning Sam would be at the home improvement store getting everything he needed to lay a new ceramic floor in the kitchen. If Sam didn’t know how to do it, he’d read about it, research it, and asked questions until he figured it out. He was always like that, no hill too tall, no mountain too steep, that was Sally’s daddy!
It was getting late so Sam saw Frank, Sally and little sleepy Jessie out to their car. A long hug and a kiss for Sally, and light loving kiss for "sleepy head", and a manly handshake for Frank. Well at least it started out that way until Frank pulled Sam into an embrace. Frank whispered, "Sam, when you’re ready, your family will be here waiting for you." "Ya’ I know," Sam broke the embrace and turned quickly so Frank wouldn’t see the tears rolling down his cheeks. As he walked towards the house he said, "You kids be careful driving home now!" When he felt he was far enough away from the car that his tears would not be detected he turned and waved goodbye, "Don’t you guys worry about me, I’ll be fine! I’ll write whenever I can get into the post office in Good Hope."
Sam watched as they drove away. Gone, just like that, they vanished into the night. Just like Mary. Yes he and Mary had been together 54 years all together, but it seemed like seconds compared to the four days of hell he had gone through since her death.
Sam showered and readied himself for bed. He stood in front of the mirror and grabbed his old trusty Norelco. He turned it on. It was the same old familiar motor hum he’d heard for years. He used a razor in the morning and an electric shaver at night. Some people might have thought that was sort of crazy to shave twice a day, but Sam started doing a quick clean up shave before bed years ago when Mary commented once how much she loved to feel his smooth face after he had shaved. "I mean a man’s gotta’ look his best for his woman, ‘cause you just never knew when ya’ might "get lucky!" He quickly turned the shaver off, just as fast as these thoughts had flashed through his mind. He said out loud to himself, "Well hell, I guess I don’t need this damn thing anymore do I Mary?" With that he pitched the old shaver in the trash can.
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