Down in the Boondocks

People Put Me Down because that is The Side of Town I Live In.

We will pull up that song as done by the great Elvis. I think more Billy Joel Royal. Of course I changed it a bit. When I go uptown and they ask where I live and then they chuckle at my response. Now do not cry or worry about me. My home is worth over 450 thousand buckaroos. But us folk out here are looked down upon. We are hicks and not sophisticated. We even eat bologna. We refuse AC but we get over 100. We hit our canyons for trekking and the recycle center in heat that would make a grown man weep.

Coppers – bless them, have to just look at us funny. We hang out in chairs out front and the guy down the street has four cars parked right in his yard. The lady 3 doors down runs a pre-school place. My neighbor clocks in at 92 with few teeth. We blare Mariachi music. We wait for our mail lady and say howdy. We walk our kids to and from school.

We say hello and take care of our own land. We can see the border. Those folks downtown make a lot of money. We work for the Navy for just enough. We do 99 cent stores. They do Malls.

My boy and I run around outside with no shirt and maybe even in our undies. I don’t think you can do that downtown. Our homeless have homesteads down by the river and in the canyons. We shake hands. We hang out. We gossip and laugh about it. Steve is a grumpy old man and why isn’t Carl married and does Robert really work at all? And we think that stuff is funny including the birds and bugs.

I wonder if we give a crap? Probably about neighbors but not the evening news. We sit outside in the shade rather than watch TV.

I am a big wig. Oh yes. I am the only one around with a fancy degree. My wife is right behind me or maybe in front. We just assume that women run households and men should sit over in the yard LoL. Dick died and the whole neighborhood brought food over and hugged missy Mary. Dick was a gunner’s mate in the Vietnam conflict. We don’t do honor here except for age.

I watched some news and did not see a single thing about my neighbors giving me pomegranates and lemons. I did not see a single thing about someone giving a mail lady iced water. Well I did not see a single thing about our school open house. Burgers to die for cooked by the PTA. Teachers we know all about. Ms. Birthman quit because of cancer.

Close by we do have non-mixed race folk. They are our Mexican American friends, especially Roberto and Anna with two kids. But I cannot really think of others – maybe Frank and his wife who fix our cars. Yes, come to think of it we have several Hispanic couples. Is Hispanic a race? Is American a race? Go figure.

We have some issues coming up around here. The wind is shifting. Hateful Santa Anna’s. Wind blowing west instead of easterly from the coast. Fires will come and folks out this way will suffer. I heard old Wilma died from smoke just last year. Did not really know her. I reckon we are doing better with that stuff. Last year we loaded up Alice and Murray and got them to the Library. Do not think it good. I needed to get there also.

So we are hicks so look around. Some who read this are simple and country type folks like us. Why do I spend time growing vegetables and lettuce and swap with my neighbors for fruit? Tomatoes are great this year along with Romaine lettuce. Yahoo. Pumpkins and cucumbers are starting. I always liked the term “hillbillies”. OK I admit my grapes from Chris are fermenting – but just a couple cups of wine.

Now you have got to maintain your front yard appeal. You have got to keep it up to keep up property values. What fun is that? Saturdays and we wave and garden. I like trimming. But I have to poison some weeds, a brew of salt and vinegar. (some lawyers tell me my recent cancer was caused by Roundup from work I did around the crap, who knows and I really do not care)

Waving and hollering “hey buddy how are you doing” what is better? Well a neighbor laughing and tossing our soccer ball back across the fence may be better.

Fights are normal in our home. My wife’s positions could not be more different. Shucks she is a fine lady and I am a dirty rotten scoundrel. But more, I am an American southwestern outdoorsman and she is a city girl from Southeastern Asia. Hand waving and loud voices. We argue over the dishes. It is what we do between hugs. My son laughs at us. But we got nothing compared to the cops coming by our neighbors.

Life stinks out here compared to our city friends.

Wait a second. I work and maintain the house from the house. My wife commutes about 10 minutes a day, just enough time to listen to some music. We are crazy in love. Her stress level is heavy sometimes. But since I don’t have any we work it out. Well I could decide to be stressed out, nope. Us rural people just don’t have a need for that.

Our Duty

We are required to believe in our passions. We are required to live for a whole purpose. We are not allowed to sit back and not contribute. So we live in peace but we are not allowed to live in apathy. That friend of mine in the city needs my calm. He needs my level of silly. Perhaps there is more.

I am a full on Bi-Polar Schizophrenic. I live here in the country but will take off soon to cities with millions and the bases of power. Sometimes we can live the great peaceful life but it is a garden which we must grow. Sometimes that garden is people. The farmer of humans is not less than that one which grows the wheat.

Can I say that I hate the city folk? Now that would not be true. I love them. I just kind of look at awe of them. How can they do that every day? I could not do that anymore. But I will jump off a cliff into the creek.

Meaning that the notion of tension of a business sort is strange. “Dierker you do not do stress, you cause it”. I think that is mean. But a little too accurate from a friend/partner of near 40 years.

I figure and understand I can help a situation across the globe. Some folk “file” for “separation”. I just have to leave on the Peace Train. Not a fun choice.

If it is the toughest thing you can do right you darned well better do it.

My Godfather told me “Eric if life was meant to be easy, it would be”.

Well let us let us wrap this up. You do not get to choose. You are required to love life.