I Am A Lineman For The County

Many moons ago, when I was a kid, my father and I were in a group called The Indian Guides. (Feather, not Slurpee) The organization was run under the umbrella of the YMCA. Maybe the Indian idea came from The Village People.

We would get together with other fathers and sons on a weekly evening and do arts and crafts, have snacks and an official meeting. I remember it as being wonderful.

My name was "Running Antelope" and my dad was "Running Bear". Today, I have been renamed "Smoking Pot"

One time, we all went to the mountains with all the other tribes for a campout. We got to sleep in cabins with bunk beds.

On the last night, there was a huge campfire and we were told to sit around it in a circle. Then a real Indian emerged from the shadows. Today I realize he was just some guy in a costume, but then, he was a real Indian.

He gave each kid a little piece of paper upon which was written the word "impatience" . He spoke with Apache dialect all about the evils of impatience and the virtues of patience. The we had to get up and roll the paper into a ball and toss it into the fire. He said we would not longer be inpatient.

I don't know about all that, but somehow, I have always been a very patient man.

So now we come to the present where we live in this neat house in Nelson. Everyone says we have the best view in town. The only drawback is that there are phone lines right thru the best part of the scenery. I checked into the city putting the wires underground, and they said we would have to pay over $10,000 to have it done. But they also said to be patient because it might be in the future plans for the entire street.

So we waited and lived very nicely with the telephone wires.

But hey, hey, hey. In January the city decided to improve the sewer pipes. Then they figured they might as well add a sweet footpath for all the tourists who walk up the hill to marvel at the view at sunset. Then they said they were going to widen and resurface the entire road.....and while they were at it, they would bury all the phone lines.

The work has been noisy, messy, and inconvient. But our patience has paid off and in a few weeks, the upgrade will be done, free of charge.

Kowabunga!