Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Willie and his Tomatoes

You all got to meet Willie a few posts back. If you haven't please tell your boss you are on break and take the few minutes it takes to get to know him.

One day during the short time I was commuting to work with Willie he picked me up at Fern's Corner at the usual time and we headed toward Valsetz. Before you make the climb up the twenty miles of the winding road you have to go through the small town, Falls City.

In Falls City there is an old tavern, that is still there with the name, Boondocks. Early in the 1900s my grandfather Frank Mack owned and operated the tavern with a then attached pool hall, smoke shop and diner. He used the name Mack and Sons. Years later they added gas pumps.

This particular day was a hot day and Willie's LTD surely didn't have a air conditioner. So I asked Willie if he'd like to stop in at the Boondocks to have a cold beer before we started up the dusty road. He agreed that a cold beer sounded like a good idea. So we stopped in and picked up a couple of KBs (Kangaroo Beers). If you haven't drank any KBs they are the ones in your local beer cooler at the store that look like cans of oil. Come to think of it they may even taste like oil. Its been too long since I have had a KB. (Note to self stop off on the way home at the local "Stop -n- Rob" to pick up a KB).

We each bought ourselves two cold KBs and headed up the road toward the mill. After the first cold KB I asked Willie why he had the backseat filled with yard bags of leaves. With the windows down and Willie working on Pall Mall number 15 of the trip, ashes flying everywhere he waves his hand back towards the bags of leaves and said, "Oh, those leaves." he takes another long drag on his smoke, switches hands and swallows some more KB, burp. "Umm, well, I um, I gather those leaves for the kitty's poop box at home."

"Your cat will take a dump in leaves?" I asked thinking we may be onto some future money venture here.

"Yeah, they all do, all nine of em" drag on smoke, slurp of beer, burp of breath. " Then when they are done with em. We plant our tomatoes in the leaves. Makes great mulch and better tomatoes." He then lit another Pall Mall off the last and chucked the dead butt out the window.

I sat stunned for just a minute or two, thinking I have never ate a tomato from this guy, have I?

I then raced around my head for another topic. Eventually I found a topic from my many inquiries Willie felt adept at discussing and continued down the road. After about ten minutes of discussing whatever, I noticed a little stream of smoke smoldering its way up from the backseat. I looked back and right behind Willie's drivers seat I saw more smoke. "Willie! Stop! Your car is on fire."

He slowly found a pull-out where Willie could pull the car safely off the road and we got out of the car. I sprinted around the back of the car and to the passenger door before he could amble his way there. I flung open the door and started scooping the burning leaves out of the car, throwing them on the side of the road. I was smashing the clumps of leaves on the floor of the car with my hand when I heard this pouring of water over my head. I turned around and Willie was standing there pouring his KB out on the smoldering leaves, extinquishing the fire completely. When we were sure we had put the fire out we continued down the road toward the mill.

A few minutes later Willie asked me if it would be alright if we stopped on the way home from work to pick up the now beer drinched, burnt leaves. "I got to thinking the carbon in the burnt leaves and the beer might mix well with cat poop and then I might have better mulch for my tomatoes."

I told him I didn't see any problem with it as long as he put them in the trunk if he was going to smoke in the car.

He said he couldn't use the trunk because he had something else in the trunk that was personal.

I never did ask him what he had in the trunk.