Winnebago

Away

Chapter One Cont.

Brandon pushed through the thorns.  No longer caring about what the sharp needle point pricks were doing to his weak human flesh.  Thirty yards away, lying next to a quartz rock the size of a grapefruit, lay Seans folding knife!  The sun had hit it just right, causing the glint that caught Brandons eye.  Brandon could hardly believe it.  How had the search team missed this.  The blade, slightly rusted, was unfolded and pointing to the opening of the sandstone rocks that Sean had used to obtain the beautiful view of the valley below.  The quartz rock was the only one of its kind as far as Brandon could tell.  All other rocks in that open flat sandy area were made of sandstone.  Additionally, the quartz rock looked as though it had been strategically placed right next to the knife.  When Brandon picked the rock up, it had no dirt on it, nor was it stuck in the ground by any means.  It was simply resting on top of pine needles as if someone had set it there.  The direction of the point of the blade also caught Brandons attention.  He looked at the direction it was pointed.  It was then that he saw the opening in the sandstone.  He and Maurice slowly approached this opening.  It wasn't evident that there actually was an opening unless you looked very closely.  As they peered into the rock formation, directly to the left of the opening, in a small canvas bag, they found what appeared to be some sort of powder.  Brandon speared it with the knife and raised it to eye level where he and Maurice could see it.  The powder inside spilled out, filling the air and both of their nostrils, with its sparkly contents.  Their hearts stopped.  Their bodies were frozen like statues.  Their faces pail in color, their mouths gaping open.

Angela was not the nervous type.  There was always an explanation for everything.  Brandon had told her he and Maurice would return the following day by sun set.  As the orange glow of the sun began to lose its hold on the town of Orian, Angelas nerves kicked in.  She would wait as long as she could before contacting the police or calling Seans mother.  She was definitely beginning to get worried.  Another hour passed, still no sign of her husband or Maurice.  Angela picked up the phone and called Rebecca, Seans mom.  Rebecca answered her cell immediately.  She did not need to hear the words coming out of Angelas mouth as Angelas tone was proof enough that something was wrong.  "Are you sure they said they'd be home this evening?".  Angela was certain.  "Rebecca, do you know where the trailhead is?"  Seans mom knew exactly where the trailhead was.  The two of them set off in Angelas car.  If Maurices truck was still at the trailhead, she was going to notify the authorities.  After fifteen minutes of driving, the two arrived at Pine Tar trail.  There, under the shadow of a mature white oak tree, sat a Dodge Ram.  Angelas heart sank.  She hoped that they would appear from the trail as she pulled up.  This was not the case.  The trailhead became harder and harder to see as the sun left the sky.  "I'm calling the police".  "Yes!" "I think that's for the best Angela!"  "Something is not right".  "I can feel it".  Neither one of them noticed the shadow of the Winnebago parked up the Hwy three hundred yards away.

The police were hesitant to respond.  They were accustomed to phone calls from fearful family members when loved ones went missing. However, Brandon and Maurice were both adults.  They were very capable of taking care of themselves, and they had brought a Garmin device with them. In addition to this, they didn't meet the protocol of having been missing for twenty-four hours or more.  Angela was able to convince the dispatcher to send a unit to the trailhead to at least make sure there was no foul play in regard to the parked truck.  Deputy DarMore pulled his squad car behind Maurices truck.  He didn't turn on his excuse me lights, not wanting to alarm any passerby's, he had already passed somebody camping in their Winnebago.  Pine Tar trail was still highly visited due to Seans passing, but on this day, Maurices vehicle was the only one in the dirt lot.  The truck was still locked, there were no broken windows, or signs of theft.  "Ma'am" "There's nothing more I can do here".  "Should your husband not return within the next twenty-four hours, we will officially send out a search party for the two".  "But deputy, what about my son!"  "He was just killed by a bear just a few years ago in this very same area!" Rebecca's concern was jumping off the scale.  "Thank you deputy DarMore".  Angela was more fearful at this moment than she could ever remember being in her 23 years of life.  Rebecca had a sinking feeling in her stomach.  She had just been through a tragic event, and her heart was telling her that Brandon and Maurice were in trouble.  Angela and Rebecca walked up the trail, in the dark, for a few hundred yards.  They found Brandons shoe prints alongside another set of prints they imagined must have been Maurices.  Next to this shoe print was what looked like a large dog print.  What their untrained eyes did not catch was the lack of a nail mark at the end of each toe of the print that is signature of a dog's tracks.  There was nothing more they could do in the darkness of the fast-approaching night, but drive back home, and hope for the best.  Rebecca offered to stay with Angela, but she declined, and said she'd be fine until the morning.  There would be no sleep on this night for either of them. 

What crouched before Brandon and Maurice inside the sandstone opening, was neither man nor beast.  It had the shape of a human, with two arms, two legs, and a head with two eyes.  Yet, there was no skin covering this body of sorts.  You could see all of the internal organs, the white bone of ribs, the eyeballs had color to them tucked away in bloody muscular sockets.  The only thing that resembled a normal human, were the ears.  They looked as though they were made from human skin.  Its hazel green eyes peered at the two men.  Brandon and Maurice were locked in fear.  The powder that had drifted out of the canvas bag and into both of their nostrils was causing them to hallucinate beyond their wildest dreams. They could not move.  What they saw before them was not registering in their brains.  They had to look at one another to see if they weren't in fact dreaming.  The bloody, muscular thing began to speak.   "I see you found my knife".  All of the blood in Brandons brain sunk to his feet causing him to immediately pass out.  Maurice stayed coherent, with a look of both confusion and amazement he managed to yell out, "SEAN!"

In their hallucigenic state, Sean crouched before them inside the sandstone hollow.  Even Maurice recognized his hazel green eyes.  "What the HELL happened to you Sean!"  "Am I dead or something!"  "We must be dead!"  "You ARE dead!"  Their voices echoed and reverberated inside the cave.  "What is going on here!"  Maurice was reaching the end of his rope.  This did not make sense.  This could not be happening.  Sean began to explain while Brandon came to.  "I set my knife out where you guys would hopefully see it".  "I saw you coming through the buck thorn, but I couldn't risk anyone else seeing me, and I cannot be out in the sun light for too long".  "Sean, you were killed by a bear!"  "This has to be some kind of nightmare". " What was that powder from the canvas bag!"  Brandon was now talking, yet still in disbelief.  "How the hell are you alive!"  "What the hell happened to you!"  Sean would begin to explain.  "When I went to sleep that night, it was very peaceful out here".  "Just before I fell asleep, I began seeing shadowy figures circling around my tent".  "But you WERE KILLED BY A BEAR!"  Brandon was shaking.  He could not believe what was happening.  "My real skin needed to be left behind to make it look as though a bear attack is all that occurred".  "If you weren't before us right now, I would find this hard to believe Sean!"  "I still am finding this hard to believe, Sean!"  Maurice was just short of beginning to cry.  All of this was overly creepy, and he could not believe what he was hearing, or seeing. "This makes no sense!"  "How can you walk around without any skin?"  Brandon was amazed himself he was trying to rationalize all of this.  His brain began to tell him to run!  To get out of this sandstone nightmare, and run back through the buckthorn, back to the truck, and back to his wife.  "Why don't we all walk back to Maurices truck and get you to a hospital!"  "Your mom will be shocked, but so happy to know you are alive!"  "We need to get you to a hospital Sean!"  As the sun began to set once more, the two-pronged pine tree sent a shadow like runway right up to where the three men spoke.  Any ordinary person would have dismissed it simply as the shadow of an odd-looking tree.  Brandon could feel his grip becoming ever tighter around Seans knife.  It was still in his hand, and he was becoming desperate, thinking he'd have to use it against his best friend.   As the shadows grew longer inside the opening, four to five dark silhouettes appeared outside of the cave.  Kaylie could not believe what she was seeing.  These two men had been affected so greatly by her concoction of wild plants; they carried out an entire conversation before passing out on the cave floor.  There was no need to make any sounds to her lions.  Their dinner had simply collapsed right at their paws.  Kaylie would make sure to hide their bones deep within the cave and cover up any signs of struggle.

The Life of Brian

1982

Ever wonder how humans got here?  Well, that's a discussion I really don't want to get into.  There are all kinds of ideas, and some are pretty defensive about theirs.  So, let's just talk about my seventh year on this third rock from the sun.

At Seven, most are in the second grade.  That included me.  Topa Topa elementary school was a great place to grow up.  I don't have any scary or bad memories from attending this school.  However, I do recall that somewhere around second grade, our principle was removed from his head position.  He apparently had been doing some stuff with kids that only a person who belongs in prison would do.  I don't remember the exact details, but it wasn't good.  A man by the name of Mr. Butler would replace him.  Mr. Butler never went to prison, so I assume he was a good principle.  I cannot remember my teachers name in second grade.  Might have been Mrs Vogle, but I'd have to do some research.  I do recall showing up to school one day, and at some point, could've been at home weeks earlier, could've been that morning, I don't know, but somehow, I managed to rip a two-inch diameter hole in the back seat of my pants.  You could see my underwear it was so big.  It could have been from the swing set.  I used to love the swings in the playground.  Either way, this hole was big enough to be embarrassing even for a second grader!  My mom may have brought me another pair of pants or shorts to change in to.  I do remember that my teacher was adamant about me NOT wearing the pants for one more second of the day.

School was fun.  I used to swing, run, play, and eat lunch outside.  I know I had various lunch boxes over the years in elementary school.  One I believe had a big picture of the Hulk on it.  I can still remember carrying it to school and placing it with thirty other lunch boxes on a big shelf in one of the halls.  This lunch box would eventually somehow end up with a big crack in it before the year was over.  My mom would pack my lunches every day. I don't remember what was in them.  Must have been mostly good because I always ate them.  Some things were awkward at seven of course.  Every kid has their moments to remember.  For the most part I was a quiet, shy little boy.  I had a best friend that attended the same school.  His name was David.  I might have met him sometime around first grade, can't remember.  But we were real good friends by grade three.  We'd spend the night at each other's house often, and our moms would take us down to Ventura to shop.  We spent a lot of time in the Pic n Save down in Ventura.  One of our favorite things to do while our mothers shopped, was to get into the middle of the clothes racks.  No one could see us in there, and when a shopper came around and started moving hangers to look at various clothing items, boy were they shocked to see two little eyes staring back at them from inside the rack!  It All went fine and dandy, until we were both in the same clothes rack and actually knocked the thing over!  Needless to say, that ended the Pic n Save event for the day.  We were in big trouble after that one.  David and I were really close friends.  We'd spend the next five years doing all kinds of stuff.  If I wasn't spending the night at his house, he was probably spending it at mine.  We had tons of fun.  And we didn't need to go anywhere, we would simply play in each other's house or yard.  Those were some good times.

Right around the age of seven, I had a really cool bike that my parents had bought me.  I remember it being red in color.  I would ride it endlessly around our yard.  We did not have a garage, only a carport that was pretty much open.  I would often leave this bike leaning up against the house at some spot in the yard.  Someone else must have seen me riding said bike and liked it better than I did because they stole it!  I remember looking all over the yard, but it was gone.  My Dad was not happy about this of course.  Whoever stole it was very lucky they didn't come across my dad in the middle of the night.  They may have left with more than a tongue lashing.  This event could be why today, I am constantly checking to make sure everything is locked up outside.  As well as making sure all windows and doors are locked before going to bed.

Our family would bar b que quite often.  This was a good time to gather with Aunts and Uncles, and also friends.  Davids parents were good friends with my mom and dad.  Randy, David's dad, had worked at the Pepsi plant with my Uncle Raymond, and also my dad's dad.  I seem to recall that my grandpa actually died of a heart attack at the plant.  Randy was the one whom found him, sadly.  So, we would do things often with the Nettles.  Randy smoked at the time, and someone had found a gag trick that involved a little tiny explosive stick.  You would shove the stick into the end of a cigarette and when the smoker burned his or her cigarette down to this stick, BOOM!  It was powerful enough to actually blow out the end of the cigarette!  This provided great comical entertainment for those of us watching it happen.  The victim quite understandably, felt otherwise.  I specifically remember the day Randy found out about the gag.  There was great laughter, and Randy, being a nice guy who also liked to joke, found the fun in it eventually.  There was definitely an art form to place the explosive.  You couldn't leave it right at the tip.  This would cause explosion right as the person lit their cigarette.  So, pushing it in to the tobacco a good way insured that the user would get a few puffs before their cancer stick blew up in their face.  After the initial round of doing this, it also became increasingly hard to get one to give you their cigarettes without being ultra suspicious.  Then, there was the newspaper rolled up into a funnel prank.  Most of you probably know of this one.  My Uncle would learn firsthand what cold water felt like down the front of his pants while he tried to get a quarter off of his forehead and into the newspaper funnel whilst shutting his eyes.  Luckily, most of my family had a good sense of humor, and all jokes were taken well.  They were connoisseurs of alcohol, which also helped.

So, life was good at this young age.  My mom would buy clothes for me.  To this day I do not care about clothing.  As long as it fits basically is all I'm concerned with.  She would buy me these sleeveless shirts to wear in the warmer months.  One, I specifically remember being and Ozzy Osborne shirt.  On it, a picture of some lightning bolts and bats, and of course Mr. Osbornes face with his tongue sticking out.  Another sleeveless shirt was from the movie Ghostbusters.  To recap, my seventh year being alive was an amazing time.  I am forever grateful to my parents.

On to the costs of various items.  Things like cars and homes are starting to get a little pricey in 82.  Not nearly as bad as today's prices in my opinion.  But they seem to begin to creep up at a higher rate.  A Lincoln town car, brand new cost $13,491.00.  Buick Regal, $8,000.00.  A Chevy Chevette, $6,912.00.  You could buy two Ariva tires for eighty bucks.  A quart of oil, .89 cents.  Beverages were low in cost.  A can of Choc Full O' Nuts was just two dollars.  A 2-liter bottle of Coke, just .99 cents.  Men's suits were still $250.00 for higher end, non-tailored.  Womens dresses, $22 up to $100.  A quartz Tissot watch, $65 bucks.  Eight, four and a half ounce jars of baby food cost $1.00.  Eggs, .79cents a dozen.  One pint of California strawberries were .59cents.  Furniture.  A five-piece rattan dining room set cost $179.00.  LazyBoy recliner, $170.00.  Sofa and loveseat set, $1250.00.  A microwave oven from Sears, $449.00.  A 19" color T.V. cost around $369.00.

You could buy a four-bedroom, Cape cod style home for $78,000.00.  Three room apartments rented for $375 a month.  If you were a delivery driver you could expect to make roughly $350 to $500 a month.  Keypunch operator, $200 per week.  Maybe you were a telephone solicitor?  $125 to $450 a week.  Who recalls phone solicitors in the 80's?   The average American was earning around $23,430.00 a year.  Did anyone happen to own a Lamborghini Countach?  Well, even in the year 2023, you'd pay over three hundred thousand dollars for a 1982 Countach!  1982 was the debut for this prestigious vehicle.  Only 321 were produced that year, at a price tag of $750,000.00.  At $488.00 a week income, this car was untouchable for 97 percent of the population.

I hope you continue to follow me in this journey of jogging my memory from the past.  It's turning out to be pretty fun, and enjoyable to carry out.  As always, I leave you with a quote.

Replying to what is "Best in life."

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!"

-Arnold Schwarzenegger (Conan the Barbarian 1982)

Do you think he ever thought he'd be governor of the state of California one day?  lol

The Life of Brian

1981

Nineteen eighty-one.  The worst year of my life!  Ha Ha, only kidding.  Heck, I'd be lying if I said that 1981 was any different than 1980.  I was six years old, I'm positive that my memories of this time could very easily meld into the year prior.  Or even the year after.  So, this post will be short.  Nothing dramatic stands out in my mind for this year.  I would have been in first grade which took place at the Topa Topa campus.  We still lived on Oak Street.  My Dad was still tossing dog poop over the chain link fence of the barranca.  Our trash cans were still made of metal.  Yeah, nothing much to talk about, other then of course one of my favorite topics, costs.

Shall I begin with the price of vehicles?  I shall.  A Datsun Stanza cost $6680.00.  Who remembers the Dodge Colt?  That vehicle cost less than the Stanza at $6100.00.  The Volkswagen Rabbit, which was a diesel, was on the expensive side at $7495.00. 

Clothing was still fairly inexpensive.  Boy's jeans were $7.50.  A man's four-piece suit cost under $200.00.  A "Judy Bond" women's shirt cost $28.00.

Bacon was $1.29 a pound.  Beef sirloin, $1.86 a pound.  A 16 ounce can of Hershey syrup was a piddly .69 cents.  Eggs .95 cents a dozen.  You could buy four pounds of onions for one buck!  Did you own a Barcalounger, velvet recliner?  Well, you were fairly wealthy then as they cost a whopping $325.00.

Expensive homes cost a little over $84,000.00.  House rentals ran about $350 a month for a three-bedroom home.  The Rubik's cube was a very affordable four dollars.  

Any fans of alcohol?  A 750ml bottle of Johnny Walker red label was $7.59.  Boy how that price has changed!  Light beer, $5.50.  No, not for a six pack, that's the price for a case of 24 cans!

Minimum wage was $3.35 an hour.  The median family salary was $ 22,390.00.  I found this to be interesting... In 1981 the median salary was an increase of 6.5 percent from the previous year.  That was before adjusting for the change in consumer prices.  After adjusting for a 10.4 percent increase in consumer prices between 1980 and 81.  The median family salary actually decreased by 3.5 percent.  Think about those numbers.  At $22,000 a year, you were bringing home $1833.00 a month.  $458.00 a week.  This is why you were probably doing fairly well if your family was able to buy a Barcalounger!

"In almost all other professions a man must be able to observe carefully and report accurately what he has seen.  Those qualifications are unnecessary for journalists, however, since their job is to write sensational stories that sell newspapers."

-Robert Anton Wilson, Masks of the illuminati