Love like that

There are a few things I wanted to write about and, for the past two hours or so, I have been trying to figure out if I should just write them all together in one post or split them up. But then...I somehow walked into this:

A little background first...J's mother passed away 5 years ago. She was an amazing woman that everyone loved. I miss her but I know that J and Mick miss her more than I could ever imagine.

Mick, J's dad, has been dating. He's recently single again since his girlfriend broke up with him about a month ago. We live in a very small town where everyone knows everyone and he's been struggling to find a single woman to date. So we signed him up for a few of those online dating sites. It's funny because, since this is such a small town, the women that he is finding on these sites, he actually knows. And the conversation I walked in on was between him and J about these women.

Mick: When she was young (one of the women he saw on the site) she was built. Built like a brick house. If her face was a little bit better she would have been...whoa!

J: (laughing at her fathers choice of words.) I can't picture that.

Mick: Well, now. Back then, I was hot. I had long hair, all muscles. I wore the tank tops and women couldn't resist my blue eyes. (Note: He does have some beautiful eyes. Lucky for me, J inherited them.) I worked down at the mill. And I would hang out with all those girls, flirting.

He gave us detailed recounts of what these women looked like when he was a kid.

Mick: And your momma. I think she got to me the most because she would act like she wasn't interested in me.

Me: She played you.

J: Momma played you and you fell for it.

Mick: (laughing) She did. I know she did. She would talk about some boy at school and it would just burn me up. And she wouldn't act interested in me when all the other girls were throwing themselves at me. That just made me want her more.

J: Mom pulled your strings. She knew what she was doing.

Mick: She did. And I believe that it was the best thing that could have happened. I fell for her. And I'm glad I did. She was the best one. The best one for me.

He went on to tell us how certain family members were against them dating. Mick was a city boy and they didn't like it much. And how one of J's mom's older sisters helped convince everyone that they should be together.

My parents, they were divorced when I was little. I can't really remember any happy times between them. J's parents...married and as much in love the day she passed away as they were when they were just teenagers. They were married for more than twenty-five years.

And he still loves her.

Short ride...tall roads

So...today we were up with the sun again. More and more green beans to pick, break, and can. I don't think my fingers will ever be the same. We didn't have any run-ins with snakes but we did come across some very strange looking red spiders (made me think of Spider Man) and some fuzzy yellow bugs.
And I'm sure about this now...mosquitoes are from HELL!!

This is a pic of the fun with the beans.

And no, that isn't all of them. I think we've picked and canned over 21 quarts, not to mention what we've ate the past two days. I think my skin is turning green. And if we get a good rain soon (*doing the rain dance*) we will have a ton more. We really do need rain here.

After we finished the beans, me, Mick, and J went on a ride to Tallulah Gorge. Its not too far from the house and we were scouting out places for the fourth of July celebration that Mick wants to have. The place we checked out didn't have what he was looking for. Swimming and a grill. I don't remember the name of the place but this was the only decent shot I got.

We stopped at the scenic overlook after we left the park. Interesting facts...well, not really...but Tallulah (Falls) Gorge is where Deliverance was filmed and Demi Moore named one of her daughters after it (the falls not the movie).
J and I have stopped at this place before but this was the first time I had actually brought my digital camera. I usually carry around my Canon Rebel but today I had my Sony Cybershot.

It really looked like a long and painful fall from where we were standing. J actually surprised me by saying, "I wish we had some parachutes so we could base jump like that guy on Nitro Circus." For a moment I thought she was reading my mind but she actually seemed interested in doing something like that. I guess I'm FINALLY influencing the adrenaline junkie in her! It only took a little over eight years.

Its a beautiful place. Somewhere down below there is supposed to be a suspension bridge that crosses the gorge. J talked about a company that does hang gliding tours through it. Both sound pretty cool to me. Even though, I'd rather do the base jump...lol.

The zoom on this camera kicks ass.

Other than these few shots, there wasn't much else to see. The trees are thick and hide much of the view. Maybe I'll go back in the winter and take some more pics.

Oh...one more pic. This was actually taken on the way there. This Florida girl is used to the flat land. So when I looked out the front window...my first thought was, "Where the fuck is the road!"

The first time I ever saw a mountain was when I was 19. It was also the first time I had ever seen snow and the first time I was ever out of the state of Florida. Its overwhelming at first sight, or at least it was for me. Hell, J freaked the first time I ever drove her out across Alligator Alley in South Florida. She said the scenery - swamp, rivers of sawgrass, and pretty much nothing else - made her feel dizzy. That's about the same way I felt the first time I drove up a mountain.

Silly ass

Yesterday, Mick, J, and I drove over to Toccoa. I had only been there once before...many years ago. It seemed so much more run down than I remember it.

We were on our way back and Mick pulls into this parking lot. "If I pull in here, will you knock on the door and see if Betty still lives there?"

"Sure," I said and unbuckled my seat belt. I'm ready to climb out of the truck. "Which door?"

"That last one on the bottom." I knew something was up when he started laughing. "Yeah, that Betty was a hooker. You reckon she still lives there?"

With my hand on the door handle, I paused and looked at him. "Are you serious? You want me to knock on a hookers door? Oh well, there's only one way to find out." I started to open the door, which I think surprised him.

He started laughing again and started to drive off. He pulled a u-turn and stopped at a convenience store. As we were leaving he says, "So, will you knock on that door and act like you're on crack and see if they got any drugs?"

I have no idea what people on crack act like but I was sure I could come up with something so I shrugged. If he was going to play around, I was not going to back down. (Mick is a real silly ass)

J laughed. "They'll probably ask you what you want and send you to the right door."

"The people at the first door will answer and say, 'What you want? I know where you can get that,' and they will drag you down that street and we'll never see you again." Mick was laughing at himself.

I don't think he's ever been to Sistrunk Blvd. to pick up a car at 2am or down 13th in Ft. Lauderdale, where the women jump out in front of your truck, half naked, to try to stop you or the gangs stand under the broken streetlight and try to carjack you if you are driving too slow. I'm not real sure that if he knew the dangerous places we had to drive, the dark alleys we had to deliver at, the sick people that we were approached by, and the real reasons we bought guns, that he would have let his daughter stay down there with me and run that company.

Maybe its best if he doesn't know.

The Coon

A few days ago, I asked Mick what his pet raccoon's name was. I almost died laughing when he told me it was Kitty Cat. I'm still having trouble saying it with a straight face.
So, today when he came in from work he asked, "Have any of you seen my Kitty Cat?"
I was trying not to laugh because he really looked upset.
See, he has hunting dogs. So he made a fenced off area for his, uh, Kitty Cat (I swear I'm not laughing.) around the trees. The space is really for the coons safety. Well, today, Kitty Cat is gone. I think he might be afraid that one of his dogs got to her. I hope not.

Its so sad. He has been sitting by the front window since he got home. Waiting. Watching. I even went out and looked for the thing even though I'm sure that if I found it, it would rip me to shreds.

J got home from her aunts house and she decided to go out and look for it too.
"She probably moved on," Mick sighed. He sounded so upset but I had to laugh.
"You sound like a sad country song," I said, still laughing.
I could see him smile. I knew he would laugh to.
We both watched J walk around the fenced area. She was being so cautious. I bet she was having the same thoughts I was. Have you ever seen the claws on those things?
Mick started laughing his ass off. "Watch it come out from under that building and start chasing her ass."
I was in tears laughing at the thought. I'm sure it would be terrifying but it would be hilarious too. I really do love her, I swear.
J came back in and said, "She'll be gone for a day or so and then realize she had it made here."
"Well, I've seen some tracks around the fence. Some other coons probably came by and sprung her," Mick smiled. Meanwhile, he's still staring out the window. "She'll be like Rock. Bring 'em all back with her so I can feed 'em."
I am still laughing!