Consequences



I can't say I really knew Jason, he moved to the area, because he
could (his words) our mail boxes were at a common road Jct. and I
would run into him many times as we got our mail, I knew he
designed computer programs for a livelihood . When we chewed the
fat a little waiting for the mail lady he often spoke of what
could be best described as the impending collapse of our country if
not the world. I joined right in Things been going to hell around
here since 1930's my dad spent his life getting ready for the next
depression and hell we hadn't recovered from the first near as I
could tell as one old timer put it "didn't know when it came and
couldn't tell when it left" I noticed Jason got a lot of military
supply and survival catalogs ,subscriptions to SWAT, Soldier of
Fortune , Knife Fighter and I noticed he dressed a little
different ,They call it desert digital camouflage ,which was a bit
of a mystery to me since this the Okanogan Highlands and we live in
the timber belt , Oh and you should of seen the survival knife he
would whip out to open his mail , made me feel plumb civilized with
my little 3" Buck knife. Jason often wore a gun and had others in
his Land Rover, now I like guns always have, always have some
around, so I set up and took note of Jason's Custom .45 , and
his extended magazine 12 ga. And lord he had some kind of rifle
that had so much stuff hung on it from lights to radiation
detector,I couldn't of operated it if you gave me a week ,now I
know what "Buck Fever" is and how it addles you, I can only imagine
what a chore that outfit would be if someone was shooting at
you ,which they say can be stressful and disconcerting . I
digress ,but maybe it helps flesh Jason out a little ,as far as
physical characteristic's Pillsbury dough boy comes to mind ,
which is kind of surprising given I know the Freight driver said he
hoped to hell nobody else ordered one of those Nautilus home gyms
after he delivered Jason's

I'm kind of old fashioned I guess, because Jason often remarked how
he had really told somebody off "flamed" is what he called it on
the internet, kind of real nasty-gram so to speak, I didn't think
that polite and in my upbringing you did that face on settled it
straight up not from behind a computer, but things have changed
anyway I thought they had. Till Jason remarked how he really gave
old So &So a flaming, well what Jason didn't know is I knew old So-
So, and he didn't live all that far away,he was an old mountaineer
or Hill- Billy transplanted here 50 some years ago from the
Appalachians and it was widely believed he left a widow or two and
some lawmen glad he was gone . He worked in the local sawmill for
years and trapped and some say made fine whiskey, not at all
obnoxious or pushy ,but not timid either, as more than a few found
out at the Wauconda Grange dances, when they challenged old Cy .
Anyway, Cy in later years found he a had a knack for drawing and
bit of a homespun wit and so started doing cartoons for a local
paper and I guess Jason took one personal as it referred to some
types of folks that were moving in , so he flamed Ole Cy. I didn't
say a word, cause, well, my Daddy always said "Don't get between a
man and his learning experience" but I had a feeling this was
going to turn out bad. But Autumn stretched into first good snow
and I kind of forgot the whole thing , till I'm down shoveling out
the mail and Clete the county Sheriff comes down the road and pulls
over so the Ambulance can get up Jason's road . "What the Hell is
going on, Clete?" I asked. "Damnest thing I ever saw", Clete said.
"Don't know what to make of it, that fella Jason must've been
fooling around with an old time Bear Trap. Big old thing with rusty
teeth. Anyway UPS driver found him there by his SUV bled out, must
thrashed around considerable. Too hard to tell what happened."

"Well, the old timers say the Trap you set yourself is the most
dangerous. For sure." Clete said, and smiled.