TACOS GAS AND SUNRISE

I can remember that morning on the construction job quite well. It was in mid November in Tucson Arizona. I was living in a camping trailer that was getting smaller by the day as I struggled to stay on the job.
I expect that part of my problem was that my mind kept sneaking off and going back to Arkansas for Deer season. It had been a strange construction job that was plagued with labor and management issues right along. Then there was that other thing, my mind just kept sneaking off to the Ouachita mountains for deer season.
Taco Bell was opening a string of new locations across Tucson and they were selling ten tacos for a dollar. When I had filled up with gas the evening before as I cashed my check, I had walked across the street and bought a big bag of tacos.
This morning just as I left the camper I grabbed that bag of tacos and hefting it, I thought, wow, there may still be a dozen still in there. They would be lunch on the job later. After a quick stop for a bag of ice and cold drinks for the ice chest in the back seat, I arrived on the job.
I could tell right away that something was up. The foreman was in a huddle of guys gesturing with his hands in the air, instead of looking at blueprints and sending guys off on jobs. I walked up to the group and got the word, we would be off until further notice. They would call us.
Amazingly I realized that the stars had suddenly aligned !
I didn't even go back to the camp trailer, I cut across town and came out on the highway down by the triple T truck stop. The sun was just coming up, I had a ice chest full of cold sodas, a bag of tacos and I was headed east, and, yep here it comes, it was deer season in Arkansas.
By the next time that the sun came up I was beginning to smell the pine trees in the air, the sodas were warm and I was down to my last taco. I could deal with all the stuff I had left in the camp trailer refrigerator when I got back, . . . . . it was deer season in Arkansas !

COFFEE, DARK AND SILENCE

It was pretty comforting to see that old battered Stanley thermos jug sitting on the desk near the laptop. Dented and scratched, it's green paint faded and worn thin, yet I knew it was still a good one. It would hold fresh hot coffee for hours, even when being opened to pour a cup at various times through the day.

Something had awaken me during the night, and I thought back upon it. An old ghost from SEA, South East Asia, had followed me back stateside and would come to visit from time to time. Probably prompted by sleeping in one position for too long and a aching hip.

Though it was 0330 hrs., it was time to get up and sit for a bit. No checking the cell phone for messages, no seeing if there might be an email on the laptop, just me and the warmth of a hot cup of coffee in the dark, still of the night.

Old Smudge the Cat was on the job. He was laying on the roof of the jeep. Silently observing every least sound and movement. He looked at the kitchen window where I watched in silence. Somehow he knew I was there. A brief "I SEE YOU' passed between us, like two silent sentry's passing in the dark, giving a slight knod of the head that meant "ALL'S WELL".

As the ghost faded into the past once again and the hip ceased it's aching, I knew Smudge was right, all was well and it was back to bed for me.

I thought, as I dozed back into a restful sleep, some people here on the internet complain about cat tracks on their car but not me ! It's a small price to pay for being sure that there are no Mice chewing on the jeep's wiring. No snake around our door step. No rodent sneaking in the house to plunder.

Thanks, Smudge for a job well done and leaving your calling card for us to see.