Driving back from work, 9:00 PM, and someone flags me down - middle of the highway, orange safety vest, manically waving a flashlight. I pull over, Was there an accident?!! What's up!!!? Nope.
None of the above, it's Nick, from further up a road I used to live on in Balfour. Nick, brother of ..... son of ...., Nick, who used to work at the ... ... ...., Nick has to get to town, it's an emergency, just drive quick thank you very much. He lets himself in the car as soon as I pull over, no questions, it's a novel presumption this, that I'm somehow sharing his desperation, his mission, sense of urgency; that we can do this together...
The whole family from ..... road are wing-nuts, poorly socialized, inbred, they'd probably be diagnosed "Autistic" but - really, how could you, there's so much going on up there.
Nuts breeds nuts. So just drive and listen to Nick calm himself, he's saved, he's going to get to Nelson, he's 2 backpacks with him, he's got to see an old friend who's in town, up in Fairmount, I can drop him anywhere.
So we chat the rest of the drive, or rather, he largely chats and I listen, I've met almost everyone in the family, all of them nuts, bonkers, I've only not met the mother, probably because by some Hassidic tradition she's not allowed out of the house, (they're members of one of the many cults of "Kootenay Jews", which seem to only require "identifying with", and they're all allowed to get away with it because we don't have enough real Jews to protest. I'm not sure there are any Jews at all out here, because it's not polite to ask, it's a little challenging, and so you have to take everyone at their word.)
And come Nelson get him out of the car and he's all confused again, why would I want him out? But he's got to see his old friend, remember? And he's confused and blinking his light around my jeep to make sure he's not forgotten anything, and I'm wanting him out because there's something about crazy that I'm starting to lose patience with...
Find my parking spot down by the airport, usually quiet but tonight a group of high school students - 4 cars in total, have taken up drag racing on the strip. Now I know why the police are always down here, only they're not down here tonight - one of the kids must have a cop as a father....
In the morning, up, still sore in every limb, the hip-abductor, which has doubtless greatly improved my child-birthing skills has also greatly impeded my ability to walk, and while I should be going to the gym I'm instead sitting around and wondering if this can be postponed yet another day...