CABIN
Up on the flat, just where the plate breaks to fall to the Deschutes River, that sometime fast and at times a placid flowing river, where alkaline dust rests, along with willows among the tall yellow first growth pine and the second growth lodgepole kind, one could also spy sage and other none descript brush joined in the flora display, that's where she laid. The cabin. Oh 'bout three-quarter mile from the Little Deschutes River. And had in one shape or another since,well 'round 19 and 48 or so as I now recall.
 
Billy Boy had longed to have a place as he said, "to hang my hat and call my own." Something simple, not elaborate, it would not be our home, but a weekend, "shack", he called it. For years after, on weekends and then again during hunting season for stretches at a time, we religiously traveled the 150 miles or so east to the "cabin's" destination, there to fish or hunt till we tired to the bone, and then return to our home just in time to catch the last rays of the sun as it sank behind the coastal range mountains and into the Pacific Ocean.
 
At first she was just an abandoned sub-floor,
a wall tent was in place there for awhile. But Billy Boy thought that not fair for his second real love. So after a fashion, he negotiated a deal with his "shirt-tail" relation, sort of a cousin I guess you'd call 'em, Billy Boy and a few others skidded an old, rough hewn, one room bunk house, previously used by gypo-loggers, on to that acre and a half. Not something at first old Billy Boy's first love was none to enamored about. Caused a little ruckus there for a while, that one did. But he, and she too for that matter,weathered the stormy clouds until once again peace and stillness settled over all.
 
With the light now moved from yellow to red and on to green, Billy Boy really got things to moving! He replaced the 4 inch thick lodge pole pine nailed between two trees with a hole of sorts dug 'neat it, with a genuine, hand made, functional one holer! Gawd, but he was proud of that! The bestest and cleanest damn one-holer in all Deschutes County, at least those found there along the "Little One"! And by gumm, he even had old "whathisname", the neighbor just down the road a piece, craft a special door for his "Condon's Hole" as he called it. The out building's construction was sort of a simple "A" framed shaped oddity if I ever saw one! But I never told him that, why it would unnerve him if I was to say so. I loved him to much to do that. I mean there were other things that came along in our life time to chaw about, but this wasn't one of 'em.
 
Yup, and I recollect a lot of stories arising from "Condon's Hole", well maybe not arising from it, but certainly to and around it, by golly! I'll tell one here if you really care to listen. It's about the time "First Love" went in the dead of nite to "Condon's Hole", which always seemed to be her want when present, which was most all the time when Billy Boy was there.
 
Now you need to know that it was a distant walk, of oh, lets say about 20 yards more or less as the "Camp Robber" would fly, to get to where she was going on the faithful nite about 30 year or more now. Had to carry a lantern to see the way, that is if you were a mind to use Condon's Hole" at night , most gentlemen chose not to go there at that hour , or for that matter, most any hour. Hell we males all had it made, to hear it from the ladies when ever they were there!
 
Well, 'First Love" lit her light, making her way to the "Hole", not stumbling anywhere along the way, that is until...well something she was sure was after her!
 
My gawd, the commotion a female type can raise when she thinks something is trying to get her! Like a banish cry of old coming from the those graveyards back there in 'urope so I am told, the sound jolted old Billy Boy, me and all the rest right out of our beds! Hockshaw, well he broke his ankle when he fell to the floor from the top bunk bed! He later died in a nursing home after falling again when he was talked into going roller skating with "First Love". Never did know if the two events were connected or not.
 
 Billy Boy, ran for the door thinking that some horrible disaster had befallen First Love. No light was visible, but I could tell it was him, his long johns, like the rump of a mule tail deer, flashed white in the moon lite nite! On the way out he grabbed his 20 gauge, armed to the teeth, 'cept he didn't have them in that night, which in the end proved to be helpful!
 
The sounds were now rounding the corner, unbearable to the ear, such a high pitch notes not even a dog could hear, but old "Trixsie" sure enough did! Dammed if that little bull terrier had a cry to match "First Love's", wonder if she learned it from her? Well now the "you know what" really did hit the fan.. might have been a little water there to, cus remember that's what "First Love" started out to do... dont think she ever made it there though, think we finally dried her undies and things along side the wood cooking stove, as I recall!
 
So as "First Love" rounded the corner, the side where the big pine grew close to the cabin's southside wall, not much distance between them two, a disaster really was almost in the making! Billy Boy in his white long johns, tail flapping in the wind, First Love" her drawers hanging loosely around her knee caps, collided in one big gigantic crash! The shotgun fired, the dog yelped, and why old Hockshaw, he just moaned and groaned, thinking he'd been shot! The creature bolted, Billy Boy preparing to fire off another round, had the muzzle to close to his cheek as he struggled to untwine hisself from "First Love", now fallen to the ground.
 
The still blazing heat the from shell chamber went to Billy's cheek, the one flapping in the wind! My gwad, didn't know Billy Boy knew such stuff,the words just belched out from his gapping mouth, not really understandable cus his teeth were not in you see! But no shot was fired, saving old "Buck" from pellets in his rump!
 
As I looked out the window, me I was around 9 or 10 at the time, eyes wide in terror at first sounds break, shivering in the dawn's early morning cold, saw it happen, and saw the big 4 point local area mule deer, "Buck", that's the name we all called him by, jump and bounce in startled fright as he sought escape from all that stir!
 
That's how I recall it, though Billy Boy, "First Love" and Shorty, who I thought had slept through it all cus he was still snoring when I hit the floor, all saw it differently. In the end though, no harm done, oh maybe someone got "chawed" on for not having the path to "Condon's Hole" somehow lighted.
 
But that complaint was soon dropped, recognizing the futility, when the closest power pole was over a mile away! Buck", who remained around for several years after...one time he was there and the next not, we always figured some city guy from the Valley probably shot the big old boy during hunting season...was seen later that day grazing his favorite spot, just up the path a piece.
 
 Hockshaw, finding he was not shot, simply returned to his spot, the upper bunk. I really felt sorry for him, I miss him a lot. Billy Boy and "First Love", stayed up, making lunch to take with us when we went fishing later, collected their thoughts, roared in laughter about what and what had not just taken place. I think I drifted off to sleep knowing that once again all around me was as it should be.
 
Well, that was some time ago. Most of those folks are gone now. The cabin is still there, but with Condon's Hole" replaced with indoor plumbing by the new owners, guess electricity was finally wired in some time ago too. Haven't been there for years myself. The old "cabin" out there on the Wickiup Road has seen many stories, several generations, and a "collection" of varied characters have passed through it's door. Come back sometime and I tell you about the time Billy Boy and I fashioned a front porch washroom of sorts, or maybe you might want to hear about the weekend Babe and Jerry came up from Coos Bay, our real home town before the big War, and we put a sleeping room on the place. But there are other times too, times not so pleasant, when darkness seemed to play out around the "Cabin" and those present. Still, Billy Boy kept his notion of what it should be like at the "cabin", allowing nothing to detour his dream, and nothing ever did. It was, and shall always remain, a special place in my mind's eye, Billy Boy made it so.
                 T. Condon, April 18,1998
 
 
 
 
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