View Full Version : I'd like to tell a story
I would tell a story . It may be irrelevant here in the Chapel except to me who lived it . Without really thinking about the circumstances it helped me form many opinions I hold today by default .
The death of Charles Mansion started me thinking . I understand to a great extent how he was able to gather the members of his cult through personal experience . I had some experience because I live with one in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona in 1970 . I had thought to tell this story before now but it sounds pretty far fetched and hard to believe .
It's a situation many that know me would not think I could get into but consider the times and my age back then coupled with the fact I just ain't too bright . It's a story of child predation , drugs and Satan . A view of insanity , false teaching and the lost from an 18 year olds eyes . DANG ! Back then I was good at getting into 'situations' .
After reading that if you consider it unfit for the Chapel just say so and I will kill this thread .
rancher1913
11-20-2017, 09:56 PM
I'm always up for one of your stories.
Pine Baron
11-21-2017, 06:31 AM
I've got my coffee and smokes, fire away!
WRideout
11-21-2017, 07:57 AM
Please do go on.
Wayne
Wayne Smith
11-21-2017, 08:58 AM
Sin and it's consequences are real and it does us no good to hide from it. I see the consequences of sin in my office every day. Many Christians live such isolated (Church) lives that they no longer recognize sin or run from it when they do. We are not immune!
castalott
11-21-2017, 09:57 AM
Can any of us say we have never sinned? I ask for Mercy for my stupidity daily... I say 'carry on'
Hickok
11-21-2017, 10:09 AM
Charlie, we are all waiting on your story. We were all heading down the road to Hell until the Holy Ghost called us to repentance.
Der Gebirgsjager
11-21-2017, 11:59 AM
And then? And THEN?
castalott
11-21-2017, 06:09 PM
"Along came Jones.....slow walking Jones.... " Sorry guys ..... but that song popped into my head...
Der Gebirgsjager
11-21-2017, 07:38 PM
Ha, hah! Actually, that's where I got it. What happened next? But it may be premature to ask, "And then?" because we're still waiting........
I was giving 24 hours to hear descent castalot but I laughed when I saw your post . I love you brother ! But don't expect much , mainly more report of my personal failure . I looked up ..Along came Jones ...Dang ! I hadn't thought of that song in years .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFyr49TwuiI
Well it's been bout 24 hours , I'll tell best and as truthful as I can of something in my life that happened three years short of a half century ago . I'm hoping you don't expect much from me . I'm not too smart , my composition skill is zero .. My intention is not to tell a story of the stupidity of my youth but to possible give something to ponder on . If my failings can provoke thought , if my admission of failure can bring about understanding then purpose is served . I ain't very smart , I type with one finger and these days I think slow .
I honestly believe GOD tested me when I look back in hindsight . This story might just be different or 'interesting' to you but it shaped me in many ways . It brought understanding like getting hit it the head with a claw hammer when it happened . GOD will never temp us but he will test us . CHECK YOUR SCRIPTURE .
I graduated high school in May of 1970 . You might need to take into account the times then . Hippies , granny glasses , long hair , make love not war , race riots , Martin Luther King , civil rights marches . The Viet Nam war , sit in's , save the whales , the Black Panthers , the Symbonese liberation army , Patty Hurst , war protesters , Hate and Ashbury St . Shooting at Kent State , Charles Manson , the cold war still in progress . The draft was on and if you graduated high school with no plans of college you odds seemed good you would be drafted .
Well heck I never was too 'trendy' , didn't have long hair , no granny glasses , no Nicki Nauru shirts and white shoes . Was a 'cowboy' type so didn't fit in with the hippie crowd ...I was not cool . Being the age I was and figuring I'd get drafted or be tied down for the rest of my life working I wanted to 'do something' ....surly you remember some of the self serving , adolescent thinking when you were at that age . So I decided to take a trip out west on my 250 Suzuki ...that wasn't in too good a condition (kind of setting the stage for down the road) .
Sold some bridles and small horse 'stuff' and pawned my Frank Kriel bareback rig and came up with about 60 bucks . And now the hard part ...I had to tell my folks . I knew they were not going to see how it was a good idea to take off to the west coast with a wore out motorcycle and bout $60.00 , they always had trouble letting common sense get in the way of things .
AZBronco
11-22-2017, 07:31 PM
And THEN?
smoked turkey
11-22-2017, 09:01 PM
We at on the edge of our seats...please go on...
My dad was 52 years old when I was born , he was seventy years old when I finished high school . He was raised Pentecostal , born in a dugout west of Stage Stand Oklahoma . He had both legs run over and crushed by a truck and trailer when he was 15 years old , he walked with a limp the rest of his life . He was a Mason as his father and grandfather , he was a quiet man ..he listened more than he spoke . He didn't cuss and I never knew of him taking a drink .
I was saved when I was 7 years old , I gave my profession and was baptized . My dad was always going to the church to mow grass , work on the plumbing or whatever . He was involved in all activities . We attended a small neighborhood Southern Baptist church within walking distance , the pastor was Brother Earl .
I was 9 years old , we went to church one Sunday and during the invitation dad got up and walked down the aisle to accept the offer of salvation , he was baptized at the evening service the same day . I was in shock ! I thought dad belonged to the church . Mom told me much later he still had kept his membership in a Pentecostal church but thought as a family we should all belong to the same church . I got to see my dad be baptized , I still remember it .
My mom was a compulsive force to be reckoned with . She was constantly working , her solution to any problem was to work harder . I got a big dose of her genes I'm afraid . She liked people , loved to play games , she was always singing , she taught at times in the ladies Sunday school class , worked in the nursery , sang in the choir , was quick to help neighbors....she had to be moving . LOL , in her later years she started playing Bingo and was constantly worried that she was sinning (gambling) , she was always asking me if she ought to quit Bingo . I just laughed and told her she was not going to hell for playing Bingo .
I waited till evening and told my folks I was going to take a trip ...west . They asked me where and I just said ...west . Being normal , rational folks 'west' was kind of ....well who the heck knows . I gave no detail because frankly I had none ? I sat down at the kitchen table and called up all the patience a teenager is capable of to deal with the reality of their questions .
Dad spoke slow , dad measured his words , dad stared at me , mom spoke her mind . But after probably 45 min mom stood up , threw up her hands and told dad ...YOU TALK TO HIM ! THIS MAKES NO SENSE ! And she went outside .
Dad got up , told me he would be back . He went to their bedroom and I head him rustling around in the closet . Dad was a packrat , saved everything . He brought back a huge fold out map of the United States , I think it had 47-48 states on it . Unfolded on the kitchen table and said ..Where do you want to go ?
My dad told stories , Mexico , Dumas Texas did road work , Nebraska on harvest , running pump houses for Magnolia oil in Kansas he jumped freight trains in the depression with his brothers to find work . Before dad settled down he covered a lot of ground .
Matthew 5:1-12New King James Version (NKJV)
The Beatitudes
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
If I had to make a call for my dad it would be ;
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
He had the patience of Job . Perseverance which I will never achieve , understanding beyond my reasoning and compassion through experience that few would venture to learn by trial .
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I got up at 5 o clock next morning , dad was drinking coffee . I was excited , we talked . Mom got up , I strapped my sleeping bag and 'stuff' on the cargo rack on the Suzuki . Mom hugged me , crying she left . Dad shook my hand hard and told me to be careful . And I pulled out west .
Started out , didn't push the old Suzuki ..it had some failings . Took me a day to get to West Texas (I lived in North Central Texas) , I got off the highway and slept off an oilfield lease road in the mesquites . Found the Palo Doro Canyon , I was impressed ...Beautiful country . Looked around for a day . Slept in the Johnson Grass off the road ...Got up and started for Carlsbad New Mexico . I was enjoying it .
Made it to Carlsbad New Mexico , slept on the parking lot at the entrance to Carlsbad Cavern , Took a walk through it the next morning . I was impressed , I think the Park Service charged $1.50 . Started mid evening to Cloud Croft intending to go straight west as I could to the West Coast . Interstate highways did not go all the way , I was navigating by an old Texaco road map .
Got to Cloudcroft NM, discovered my Kickstarter was had vibrated off , had to put in second gear and push start . Stopped in Cloud croft to drink a cup of coffee , guy that ran the café asked ...you on that cycle , bad storm coming you better get off the mountain . It was black outside ..I left .
One inch hail hit . I holed up in an old plywood school bus shed by the road , was leaking bad ...barley shelter .
Two days out things started to go south .
Stayed in that shed bout 2 hours , all my adolescent self could deal with . Strapped My bed roll back on the bike and went down hill . still hailing but not so bad . Pain of hail being better than pain of boredom . Aww the impatience of youth .
Dropped to a lower elevation and the hail stopped . Bruised but not I kept on .
Had no goal ...just west . Looking back ...GOD was in control ..not me .
GOD guided me to an experience I would wish I had not had , but understanding comes hard . He will direct .
In trial and not knowing I pushed on .
Kept going west . Had to tighten the drive chain a couple of times , chain was stretched and didn't have much adjustment left , rear drive sprocket was bout wore out . Figured when I got to phoenix I'd find a master link , borrow a punch somewhere and shorten the chain .
Got to Arizona , went through Globe , pulled off the road to look at the tailing pile of the Globe Copper Mine . It was literally a mountain . Went though the San Carlos Apache Reservation , stopped halfway through the reservation and got a tank of gas at the Texaco station .
I didn't know it at the time but soon I'd be back to this reservation involved in a 'revival' of sorts with some folks that believed the Indians knew when the second coming was going to happen .
Kept going west toward Phoenix .
It was summer and pretty dang hot , kept heading to Phoenix . Went through the Superstitions and got to Apache Junction . Not much there , stopped at the A.J . Bayless grocery store , got a can of pork and beans . Ate em outside in the shade at the end of the store . Went back in and got a drink of water , started west to Phoenix .
Got almost to Mesa AZ and my chain came off , no more adjustment left . Pushed it about a mile and a half . It was near dark , got to a filling station and the guy working said I could sleep out back and leave the bike the next day to hitch hike to Phoenix for a chain link . Slept in the weeds out back , got up first light and thumbed it into Phoenix . Had to find a motorcycle shop and did a lot of walking . Was late evening time I got back to the filling station and the bike . Same guy let me use the tools and I shortened the chain , pulled the sprocket and cleaned it up with a file , two teeth bent so gently tapped en back .
Chain and sprocket were shot , did a lot of thinking . I was never going to make it to the Pacific ...I decided to try and make it back home . They had a candy machine at the station so got two peanut butter logs , a drink out of the hose and bedded down
Left out at daybreak , The attendant that helped me was off shift , told the one that was there to thank him for me . Started back east for Texas . Got bout 3 miles and the chain and sprocket thrashed . Chain broke and 3 teeth off the sprocket , started pushing the 250 Scrambler to Apache Junction . I was 7 days on the road and had bout two dollars in change left . Options were limited , bike got heavier by the mile . I come to a telephone both on side of the road , swallowed my pride and decided to call home . Barley had enough money to make a call...I hoped . It was hard to make that call .
Dialed long distance , LOL ,,, younger members might have to check that out ! Got the operator and said I needed to place a call to Wichita Falls Texas , you heard the clicks , her talking to other operators to plug in their switchboards and then she said ... it will be $1.60 for three min . Put the correct amount of change in now . I dropped a Dollar sixty in the coin slot and she said ...Hold on .
I waited ..heard the phone start to ring , dad said hello . He said ..where are you ? I replied ..I'm just east of Phoenix Arizona . He said...DANG ! I didn't figure that motorcycle would get that far ! How's the weather there ?
Dang it I had three min to talk and couldn't call back . I just told him...I'm on the side of the road , the bikes broke and I'm broke . I could use some help . There was a pause and he said ...sounds like you need to find some work . He hung up the phone .
I was over 800 miles from home broke and pushing a worthless motorcycle to no where .
Hickok
11-29-2017, 08:22 PM
Boaz, you got me hanging on the edge of my seat, keep it coming!
Now it might seem a hard thing for him to deny me help and I'm sure it was but he had tried to talk me out of doing this till I could prepare for it . He was going to let me own this one ...I was going to have to figure it out .
At this point the bike was a millstone around my neck , it was a burden . But I clung to it hoping I could somehow get it going again . I just kept pushing it down the road .
mozeppa
11-30-2017, 09:35 AM
replied to so i can find this thread.
When I said I was pushing a worthless motorcycle to no where it was in hindsight of now . I would never ride this bike again , it was nothing but a burden . I took a lot of breaks ..it got dang hot . Stopped at a little store and got a fried pie for a dime , all I had to eat that day . Had about enough to get a can of Prince Albert , Velvet or box of Top rollin tobacco ..yea I started smoking the year before .
I was bout to get to Apache Junction , it would be dark quick . There was no benefit to continue pushing the bike in the dark , needed to find a place to bed down out of the way . Stopped at a small filling station , asked if I could get a drink out of the hose . The man said sure , I was walking back to the bike and he said ...What part of Texas you from ? LOL , he couldn't see the tag on my bike so my drawl had nailed me , it happened a lot back then .
Told him North Central Texas , He said he had worked in Texas and a conversation started . At the end he said ....Your gonna be pushing that bike in the dark . You can sleep in that old pick up (old 61/62 Chevy short narrow ) , it's under a light so you can see and the doors lock. Sometime folks coming through I let em sleep in it , you will be safer I stay open all night .
I considered , I thanked him , put my bedroll and stuff in the old truck passenger floorboard . It beat the heck out of sleeping on the ground .Parked the bike by the truck , sun was near down and I was wore out pushing the bike , I bedded down .
Woke up probably one in the morning , a light in my eyes and someone tapping on the driver window telling me to get out of the truck in a commanding voice ! I figured I was being high jacked , eased out and it was a cop . He was shining a flashlight in my eyes and started asking me who I was and why was I here . I said nothing .
D Crockett
11-30-2017, 10:39 PM
cool story Boaz I would like to hear more so far it a good story D Crockett
All at once the station owner was there chewing on the officer . Told him he had no right to hassle me , there was no problem and to get off his property .
Officer put up a lame defense and left . The owner told me to go back to sleep ...he would keep an eye out .
Took a while but went to sleep . Next I knew the owner was tapping on the window , sun was coming up . He said ..Hey ! It's time for breakfast , my wife brought us a plate !
I got out , went around to the bathroom and 'cleaned up' (hadn't had a real bath in over a week) and went in the office . His wife and two boys were there . Boys were around ten years old , his wife was smiling and very nice . I had a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon sitting on his desk they had cleared off , big stack of toast and a jar of jelly . And there was a pot of coffee ...dang it ! I hadn't had anything but a fried pie for bout 36 hours The boys were sitting in chairs eating .
He talked in generalities , asking bout my family, my country , he asked me no personal questions . He told me he was working 16 hours at a time because he couldn't afford help but for an eight hour shift during the day . His wife packed up the dishes and left . I gathered my bed and stuff , tied it on the cargo rack . I thanked him much . He wished me luck and said to stop if I got back this way . I left pushing the bike east .
I have felt guilty for near 50 years not asking his name , he helped me because he wanted to and asked nothing of me .
Hindsight can be near perfect . Living in the moment is not . Memories give clarification , understanding . Remembering brings into the light GOD's mercy while in that time was just living the moment . Adding up Our Lord's blessings may take a while putting it all together . Yea , can take a while . What has he done in your life ?
Der Gebirgsjager
12-01-2017, 10:52 PM
He's done a great deal in my life! Maybe, when you get done with your story, I'll tell you one of mine. But, sitting on the edge of my chair as I am, I can only say, "And THEN?"
Don't know, not having been there, but from reading this I'm wondering if you wouldn't have had a start in life by offering to work an 8 hour shift for the man in exchange for grub and a place to sleep. Sounds like he needed help to make a "go" of things, but couldn't afford it just then.
He's done a great deal in my life! Maybe, when you get done with your story, I'll tell you one of mine. But, sitting on the edge of my chair as I am, I can only say, "And THEN?"
Don't know, not having been there, but from reading this I'm wondering if you wouldn't have had a start in life by offering to work an 8 hour shift for the man in exchange for grub and a place to sleep. Sounds like he needed help to make a "go" of things, but couldn't afford it just then.
I enjoy hearing others experiences , if we look back over a day , month , year or just a single experience you see GOD working in your or others lives . Generally takes time to put it into perspective , in the moment it's almost impossible to predict the long term effect of what will happen from a single day .
Sharing life experiences gives understanding as to the fact that GOD is with us , it is a way of testifying . To give God credit , to admit failings , to give to our Lord thanks for what he has given . Every day we have is a gift from GOD that so many times we take for granted .
Your mentioning of working for a place to eat and sleep is just down the road , I'm pushing that bike to get there and didn't even know it .
Pine Baron
12-02-2017, 09:39 AM
Gentlemen, you are so right. I never see God's plan in the moment, even now, only in retrospect do I come to the realization of the absolute perfection in timing and circumstance. Praise God.
Please go on Charlie, I'm fascinated.
Well heck Pine Baron I don't know about being fascinated , so far it's just a story of my immaturity and failure . We 'might' all have done a 'few' stupid things back then , lol .
Started pushing the bike east toward Apache Junction . Didn't fight it like I had the day before , got there about noon . It was plenty hot . Now coming from a small place I knew four places to look for work or find out someone that might be looking for help . A barber shop , feed store , hardware store or the post office ...between them they knew everyone in town .
I haven't been through Apache Junction in a long time . In 1970 it was a wide spot in the road ..not much there . A small shopping center with a barber shop , a few offices , the AJ Bayless grocery store and a small post office in the parking lot . Oh yea ! And an office with ..New Peralta mining and exploration on the window (don't forget this , we will revisit this business this in a bit ) . To my understanding Apache Junction is a big suburb of Phoenix now , many people there , it was a backwater place back when I was there on the edge of the desert . I have a good friend who is a member here that I met on another form long ago that lives in Apache Junction . The way he describes it I would not know it now .
You can see the Superstition mountain from Apache Junction , The top looks like the face of an old man sleeping . Back then it was wilderness area , seems it's a tourist place today . If you stare at the picture a while the old man becomes more distinct .
http://arizonahighways.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/bob-miller-superstition-mountains.png?w=821
Pine Baron though not fascinating it might at least pick up speed at this point and get slightly interesting ?
Lol , I climbed That mountain , seemed easy at a distance being 18 years old . Filled a gallon water jug half full and started out . It seemed easy . Time I got to the end of grass in the picture I was wore out ....distance is deceiving . Had to find a pass , got back in four days ...I was thirsty . Reference to thirst in our bible comes to mind .
No hardware store , no feed store being evident I went to the barbershop , the barber thought and sent me to the post office ....said talk to Mister Applegate , I went there ...was just across the parking lot .
Walked across to the post office , only one old guy there ...the postmaster , Mr. Applegate , Told him I was looking for work . Needed it today . He seemed a good man , he hesitated and said ...Their are two men with a mine that may need help . They come in every two days to get mail , they should be here today . You can't miss em , they got a beard to their bely button and one has a badge with the brim of his hat flipped up . Should be in this evening ...might need help with their mine . I sat on the steps of the Post Office for three hours ...wasn't hard to spot em when they came .
I sat on the steps of the Post Office for 3 hours , afraid to leave that I might miss them .
I nailed em when they got out of their surplus Army one ton dully truck , stood up and asked if they needed help ...they were all over it .
Said they would feed me , give found but no wages ...At the time food and a place to sleep seemed good . I agreed .
I said give found in the last post , should explain . Found means in those days necessities to sustain life . Bare minimum .
Give us this day our daily bread.
We loaded the old Suzuki on the dully backed in a ditch . Headed to their camp . I asked about their mine ...knew nothing about mines . They said GOD showed em where to find a gold mine . I was silent . It began .
Thank you rl69 . One does not understand till there is no bread .
Went north up the Apache trail (highway ) , pulled off into the desert bout two miles and came to the 'camp' . Wondered what the hell I'd got in to .
The camp looked like a post apocalyptic nightmare . People were living under tarps , old box trucks , wood sheds with an axle under em , tents . Couple of old beat up RV trailers and stripped out school buses held several folks . Looked like a community off the movie ..Road Warrior .
I didn't know it at the time but you could camp on a wilderness area for 30 days and had to leave . They were camped out on the line between 2 wilderness areas ..the Tonto area and Maricopa area . Everything was on wheels so they could just drag it across the line about a 100 yards . They just moved back and forth every 30 days . Federal Land Management officers were always 'checking' on them but nothing they could do about it .
I'll be post #59 & say "enjoying the story."
Thank you LAH .
The two I 'hired' out to were the leaders of place , they started it. They were both in their late 40's . I will not tell their real names ...lets call em Andrew and Micah . I'll tell what little of their history I know as they told me . They were both from Missouri , Andrew was a carpenter , Micah was a sheriffs deputy . They left the Mormon church because GOD gave them visions , gave them the gift of tongues and sent them to Arizona . In this process GOD was going to show em where to find a gold mine .
The Indians were actually the lost tribe of Israel and secretly knew when the second coming would be . They were to find out from the Indians and wait for god to tell them what to do .....in the meantime he would communicate through visions and speak to them . Andrew had converted school bus into an RV (did a nice job actually) and when they had a vision they would paint a small picture in line with all the other visions on the side of the bus . It was a secret message from GOD what to do at the second coming . Problem was it would take an Indian to decipher it . ......yea , at the first of this thread I mentioned I hesitated to tell this story because it's a little hard to believe .
There is more but will play out as we go along .
mozeppa
12-03-2017, 05:56 PM
i got dibs on post #61!
Evening I got there the bike was unloaded by backing the old one ton into a low place and several helped get it off . Micah took me to his shed on wheels , had a tarp across to a big storage trailer where they kept food , tools and such . He said I could stay under the tarp and to make a place to sleep . Found a 40'' hollow core door in their junk pile , tacked four wood apple crates to it to get it off the ground . Had my bedroll and that was my spot .
Bout an hour before dark they hollered they were going to the grocery store , 4 kids ran and got on the bed of the dully they asked if I wanted to go ...I said sure trying to be social . They drove to the A J Bayless grocery , pulled aroud back by the dumpsters , threw the kids in em and they went to throwing out the 'groceries' . I slunk down in the seat mortified . We got so much produce Andrew went into the store and bought a couple bucks of hamburger .
Got back to the camp . Micah scrubbed an old 3 gallon bucket out with his hairbrush and a little water and they proceeded to make 'stew' . I was pretty much horrified by the whole thing . NO WAY I WAS GOING TO EAT THAT . I said I was wore out and fixed my new bed . These folks stood around waiting for this ..stew .
Next morning I was ready to get the heck out of this place . It was easy to see it was a crazy situation and I dang sure wasn't going to eat out of dumpsters yet . Micah got up well after sunrise , I asked him if there was any coffee . He surprised me and said there was plenty in the storage shed . Said there was canned food too and I could have anything To eat in there I wanted .
I checked out the shed and it was half full of government welfare comedies . Canned beef , turkey , chicken , corn meal , peanut butter......... . They didn't like eating this stuff , they liked the dumpster food better . I built a fire , made cornmeal mush and coffee even had sugar for the mush . Things looked a little better .
Micah came over with a cup and got some coffee , started talking ...trying to indoctrinate me . I did a whole lot of keeping my mouth shut all the time I was with these folks . People came and went . One's that left usually went in the middle of the night .
He asked me if I believed in GOD and I said ..yes . He didn't even asked 'what' I believed . He proceeded to telling me my whole concept of GOD was a lie taught me .
I'm not going to repeat all the garbage talk he was spewing .
Well you might be curious about the gold mine they said GOD instructed them in finding ...I was . No mines in my country just oil , cattle and farming . I knew nothing about mining and actually neither did they by what I saw .
On the third day we loaded up a case of Hercules dynamite , fuse , primers and about 8 buckets of ammonium nitrate soaked with diesel fuel , tamping bars , shovels and misc tools . Drove down a trace about a half mile east to the 'mine' . Was about a 60'x60' hole 8' deep , looked like a mess to me . They had contracted some drill holes bored , we charged em each with 3 sticks of dynamite and ammonium nitrate .
I worked on drilling rigs going through high school and a few times watched em blow mud pits on hard rock locations but never had anything to do with it . They were using fuse ..don't know the time on it but they were short . I cleared the 'hole' and backed off about 25 yards . They lit em and ran out . I found out to get farther away , got showered with rock pretty good . These idiots ran back in the hole before the dust settled ..I waited to make sure they all went off .
They acted like there would be something there but there was nothing but rock . They were sad and depressed , told me to use the one ton and get all the loose rock hauled up beyond the top to a tailing pile by hand that I could. I found out what my job was but it was stupid and wasted effort . They had to have a dozer come in to move the bigger rock and finds anyway . Took me two days each time we did this to do this fools errand but they never asked me to do anything else .
I met the guy that bored the holes for them later . Short black man bout late 40's , I walked to the 'hole' ( I refuse to call it a mine) next time he came . He was a nice guy , he didn't trust me and didn't say much first time I talked to him because I was one of ...them . Later on when we knew each other a little better when he left he always told me to be careful and I understood .. If I carry this thread long enough you will hear of him again .
castalott
12-04-2017, 11:57 PM
" Your tale, Sir, would cure deafness." (William Shakespeare) Please continue...
Hickok
12-05-2017, 12:19 PM
Charlie, this is one great story. I can't wait for the next page!
I started writing what happened daily in the camp for the ones there . I wrote 2 paragraphs and erased it . You would have had to been there to believe or understand what was going on . I'll touch on a few things along . The lost are just that ...lost . Most that have no understanding or teaching know nothing about GOD . They are victim to those seemingly given his authority , false teaching and lies given to those with no gage to go by . I never saw a bible while I was there .
I'm sorry I haven't posted for a few days , been pretty busy . But will touch on a few things in daily life in this camp .
They gathered those that would come and gave a talk once or twice a day . They spoke dam nation , talked in tongues , they walked up and down spewing verse that was incoherent in content . They made everything non understandable , they lead those that knew nothing to follow .
I sat on my hollow core door bed and watched it . Some were mesmerized , some were just trying to stay to have a place to be and something to eat . In all honesty I tied to have nothing to do with others like myself that ended up there .
mozeppa
12-08-2017, 09:56 AM
#69 is mine.
fivegunner
12-08-2017, 10:28 AM
I can`t wait to read more. !:bigsmyl2:
Daily occurrences
There wasn't a routine in the camp in fact it was totally disorganized . Micah and Andrew tried to control things , there was no complaining . no one trusted another ...kind of like me , I kept my distance from everyone there . Micah and Andrew separately and in a friendly way tried to get me to attend the 'meetings' , I declined . I really didn't have to attend , they met in front of Micah's shack , my bed under the tarp was right next to the shack so I had a ringside seat .
The one ton was in constant motion , going to check 'food' dumpsters , fetching water . You might stop and consider this was in the desert , water was a problem . They hauled it every other day , barrels and buckets ...beyond taking a 'rag bath' bathing was prohibited and yes they all stunk and there was no place to wash clothes . I grew my first beard there .
They would haul the women and maybe some kids into Phoenix to beg for money , none of the men did much beyond what was absolutely necessary . I tried to find something to read if in the camp , had my own small fire pit . Thought a lot about waking up with a big philips screwdriver or such stuck in my head , slept pretty light . The only required sanitization requirement was to throw your used toilet paper in a 55 gal barrel to burn or the officers that came out would make them move .
Besides the whining , gossip , arguing and people constantly threating each other it was boring .
GOD delivers Andrew from cigarettes ?
Andrew , Micah and me were at the mine (hole) blasting one day . Micah announced to me that GOD was going to deliver Andrew from smoking cigarettes ! He wanted me to come to the meeting and help Andrew be delivered . I said no .
Just after the sun went down almost the whole camp assembled in Matthew's bus (RV) . He had a nice setup , even had a generator and air conditioner . At times they would have meetings in it . There was standing room only .
It was no more than 35 yards from my spot so could see all that went on . They gathered , Micah Called on GOD , he screamed and spoke in tongues , he preached a bunch of incoherent garbage and asked who would help deliver Andrew . Andrew's wife was first , walked to the front of the bus and started screaming at Andrew , talking in tongues acting insane then she hit him in the face several times .
Micah told her to sit down . He asked who would be next to help Andrew and a man walked up front and hit Andrew twice in the head ..Andrew just stood there . Micah told him to sit down and asked for another to help deliver Andrew .
I thought ....they are going to kill him ! I thought I was witnessing a murder .
Hickok
12-09-2017, 09:21 AM
Charlie, don't rush your story, but I have been waiting for the part where some hippie chick becomes a "nuisance" to you in all this! These cult gurus have to find a way to get to you, and it seems they would give orders to a female follower to help indoctrinate you.:shock:
Hickok I hate to let you down but there will be no hippie chicks in the story . I wouldn't call Andrew and Micah gurus . They preyed on the down and out and totally lost . I guess I was one of the 'down and out' , remember I sought them out at the post office . I stayed away from all in that camp , I like my dad can keep my mouth shut real good ..genetic I guess .
Even at 18 in those strange times I was raised in church , couldn't have had more 'moral' parents . As children we were threated with a whipping if we put foot on anyone's property that drank . On seeing what was going on in this camp flags were going up . I'll thank my raising for that lest I could have been sucked in pretty easy .
Hickok
12-09-2017, 05:32 PM
Boaz, that is good to hear. A young man out on his own could have been an easy mark.
Please proceed friend with a most interesting story! [smilie=s:
I have been temped to put this time up this story in my life a few times . Thinking it would not be believed was a consideration . Especially the younger members here that didn't live in that time , we were going through social change just like we are now ...history keeps repeating itself . Some may not believe it , some may not understand in historical context . I am only trying to explain that people can go astray seeking more than they are not understanding there is a GOD to guide .
mozeppa
12-10-2017, 06:11 PM
don't leave me hangin' at #78!!
Taylor
12-10-2017, 06:50 PM
Hey...were'd the story go....?
labradigger1
12-11-2017, 10:41 PM
Boaz, you're killin us here.....
They didn't kill him but they beat the snot out of him , 8 0r 9 takers on the offer to help deliver him . The next day I was helping them stake some claims , Andrew came out around noon and his head was purple and swole up bad . Though GOD had nothing to do with the 'deliverance' I never saw him smoke another cigarette . His wife was real happy about it .
Biggest topic of conversation with most of the desert folks was gold . There were all manner of folks 'prospecting' in many different ways . Lost mines were fodder of worn out conversation and there were many fables , stories , legends of the different ones . To the best of my recollection the most sought were the Lost Dutchman , the Peralta , the Iron door mine , the Cross Mine .
There were outfitters to guide and provide horses and such . There were claim markers everywhere within easy access to the few roads , you didn't even walk across anyone's claim It was legal to open carry in a wilderness area and there were plenty of nuts out there that just knew people were claim jumping them . The farther back in the mountains you got there were less claims and crazy folks that were living out there .
I said previously I didn't hang around at the camp much . I tried panning , looking for nuggets , ranged pretty far off east beyond Superstition mountain . Didn't buy into the 'lost' mine thing , with all the people that had been looking for it and no results . But it was rough country and at that age was interesting .
There was no way to really take a bath in camp , if you think about being out in the desert in the summer time ..not a good deal . Had one extra change of clothes and would take em and my bedroll , hitchhiked north to Tortilla Flats lake . There was a state park , would wait till dark and take a bath , wash my clothes . Got to go swimming , spend the night and thumb it back to the camp . Andrew and Micah didn't like me doing it but I didn't care
Revival time .
I had been there for three weeks or so and Andrew 'asked' me if I would go on a revival with him and his wife with Micah to the San Carlos Apache Reservation . They were going to have a revival , I thought about it and said I would .
There was nothing to do in camp and I was curious , had stopped and got a tank of gas when I passed through there before . They rarely left the camp together except for short periods of time . When they were not there a guy named John that lived in a trailer to the back side of the camp was in charge . Personally I thought he was crazy as hell , he never had anything to do with anyone except go to their
meetings' . He had a daughter about 25 years old that stayed bruised up all the time and didn't come out of the trailer hardly at all . John had a lever action 30/30 and every night after dark he came out and fired a couple of rounds in the air screaming then went back in the trailer . I just stayed away from him .
We got to the reservation , went in Andrew's bus . Went off on a dirt road a mile or so and parked the bus close to a big brush arbor with wood benches under it . Micah and Andrew went out and talked to a lot of folks . There was nothing to set up for the revival at the arbor . I stayed at the bus with Andrew's wife . She made Mexican rice with hamburger in it . DANG ! It was good , I'd been eating out of cans for a while .
Long bout dark folks started drifting in , getting a seat ....there were lights under the arbor . Most all came in pickups , whole load of people in the back . I drifted over and sat in the back . Micah came over to me and asked me to sit up front and when the time came to 'pass the hat'. I said no . It made him pretty mad , They were using this trip to get me involved .
Andrew started off preaching , they took turns ...just a lot of crazy talk with a few verses of king James thrown in for effect . Andrew 'passed the hat' , they didn't get much . Personally I think these folks just showed up to see the show , they had given 'revivals here before .
After it was over Andrew and Micah were trying to talk the people , showing them the 'message form GOD ' in pictures on the side of the bus . They asked what it meant , the Indian folks just blew em off , they knew they were nuts . At the end Andrew and Micah dove off with some locals to have supper with a ..chief . I was invited but declined . Stayed at the bus with Andrew's wife .
My mother loved to go to tent revivals , as a child I went with her to many . They were common back then , some were actually spreading GOD's word and some were just fakes out to make a buck . This one at the reservation was nothing but a farce . On the way back to the camp I just sat at the bolted down table in the bus and listened to them brag to each other how much progress had been made .
I went to one more at a Hopi reservation , it was farther away out east . It was a repeat of the first one only less people attended . Not worth describing .
False teaching in GOD's name by mentally ill and delusional false prophets . I was there ..I saw it . I don't know how it would have been for me if I hadn't been raised in church , had parents that taught me . I could have bought into it . There are so many out there now that know nothing of GOD and what they think they know would depend on who taught them . I have great concern for those lost or searching now because of all the prosperity and false teaching out there .
I started smoking a year before . Back then it wasn't what it is now . When I told my folks all they warned me of that it was foolish and expensive . LOL , they both smoked , dad smoked Little Melba cigars because they were cheap . Don't know how many trips I made as a child to go get him some . They were 10 cents apiece or 3 for a quarter , he wouldn't buy any till he was out and got 3 to save that nickel .
All the medical information hadn't come out that that tobacco would kill you . At the camp I'd walk to the highway and pick up aluminum cans (aluminum cans were a new deal ) and thumb it to Apace Junction . An old man bought em in his backyard close to the highway . Then I'd walk to the A J Bayless grocery and get one or two cans of Velvet rollin tobacco in a pocket can . LOL , velvet stayed moister in the desert heat and came with a free pack of rollin papers . Think it was 18 cents a can . Bugler , Prince Albert and all the others got so dry they burned up quick . .......Just a little nonsensical trivia there .
But on 2 of these trips I bought a few prepaid postcards at the Post Office off Mr. Applegate . I sent my folks a postcard every 10 days or so to let them know I was alive . My parents loved me as much as you could love a son . I know they both prayed for me , I knew they feared for me . But dad knew I needed to figure this out on my own , GOD blessed me with my parents as I look back . They gave me the knowledge to deal with the situation I was in , BUT I had to use it and think on my own . Back then at 18 years old I was a grown man in their eyes .
More may be said of Andrew , I think 2 times I gave him a postcard to mail when he went to 'town' .
jmort
12-16-2017, 06:58 PM
Like the way you pace your stories
Works well
We all want more, faster, but that misses the point
So keep at it, at your pace
Thank you . My stories are all of personal failure . My intention of putting them up is not to get any kind of credit , I deserve none . GOD has tested me as he has us all . If you remember ..if you consider and look back you have been tested also . It's a common experience . folks seem to like my stories , I'm a redneck with no education to speak of , my claim of not being too smart is honest . Everyone here has ..stories , ...if they would take the time to tell them .
I have failed many times , my failure gives to me understanding the hard way . My hope is to pass it along . ........WE ALL FAIL ! But Our Lord understands .
God loves unconditional if we try . Trying is what matters . To the best of our ability . Understanding , ability , perseverance and sincerity .
Two or three days after I had gone to San Carlos It was mid morning , I was sitting on my door reading an old newspaper . Micah came out of his shack and walked straight over to me . He was babbling , frankly he did that a lot . He said ..do you know what this is ? He opened his hand and had what looked like a small piece of cactus in it . Heck we were surrounded with cactus . I just said ...Looks like a piece of cactus .
He told me it was peyote and that GOD left him some over the door to his shack every once in a while . He just walked off back to his shack . Was the end of the conversation . I didn't even know what peyote was .
Picture from my backdoor about 10 min ago . It looked like the world was on fire . GOD is amazing .
https://i.imgur.com/bF4KdNI.jpg
Rode to Phoenix with Micah , He was going to file mining claims we had staked , I was bored enough to make the trip with him to get out of the camp . He drove to the Phoenix courthouse , parked on the street . There were pretty bout 10' foot trees all around the block with small oblong 'dingle berry' clusters all over them by the street . I didn't want to go in the courthouse ..courthouses are boring places . I asked him what kind of trees they were , he was trying to arrange papers on the claims and just said ...olive trees .
Heck ! I liked olives , never saw an olive tree! When he left to go in the courthouse I eased out and pulled a shirt tail of olives , got back in the truck . Threw a couple in my mouth and started chewing them up . Threw up in bout 2 min , didn't know they had to be 'processed' to be edible . NEVER EAT A FRESH GREEN OLIVE !
On the way back to the camp we got to Apache junction , turned up the Apache trail highway and got bout halfway to the camp . All at once Micah phased out , just drove off the road into the desert . We were knocking down 10-12 foot high saguaro cactus , I thought he had a heart attack or something . Was trying to steer and couldn't' t get my foot over the floor shift to get his foot off the accelerator. Ended up bottoming out in a dry wash . Scared the heck out of me ..I figured he was dead .
It was dead silent , I was trying to think of what to do and he started coming to himself . I was asking him if he was ok , he just looked around in a daze . Then he said ..I have to go to those mountains .
They were some low mountains to the west . I kept asking if he needed to go to the hospital . He just said he needed to go to those mountains . He had a come along on the bed , I spooled it out and tied off to a good size rock and with me pushing ' jacking the come along got out of the wash .
He got on sold ground and told me ...I had a vision , I have to go to those mountains ..come with me . I will not repeat here what I said to him but told him he needed to have visions when he wasn't driving . I walked to the road and thumbed it to camp .
Late that evening he drove into camp , went to Andrew's bus . They talked outside and Andrew got his paint . They painted a mountain on the 'message' on the side of the bus . GOD's message to them .
Good news at the mine .
Few days later the black guy came out and drilled some holes over at the 'mine' . I figured we would be dynamiting the next day and sure nuff we loaded up , went over and blew several charges . Nothing was visible after the smoke cleared , Andrew and Micah were sad as usual and started walking back to the camp leaving me to clear rock .
It was tord noon and I had hauled out all the big stuff possible to load and I noticed a streak of green rock bout an inch wide at the bottom of where we had blasted . I unloaded what I had and drove back to camp . Told Micah about the green streak of rock , he fetched Andrew and we went back to the 'mine' .
They were ecstatic ! They went kind of nuts and decided they had struck turquoise ! They had me get a pick and work out some bigger pieces to have assayed . It was pretty rock .
They were really worked up and excited , they got everyone together and got them worked up . Micah said come sundown they would have a party !
Andrew and him took off to the assayer and to get 'party supplies' .
NEVER EAT A FRESH GREEN OLIVE!
Mental note made.
mozeppa
12-19-2017, 07:09 PM
i'm here at #97
Ateam
12-19-2017, 09:29 PM
i guess that makes me #98
In a post on the thread I said I climbed The Superstition mountain . I started out at first light . The mountain seemed close but took me till noon just to get to the slope getting to it . I had a half gallon of water , trying to cut down on weight ...a foolish move . It was the desert , there was no more water .
I figured out there was no easy way up the west slope , walked a day getting around to the west side . Had two cans of chicken and a pocket knife . spent two nights out ...yea I was unprepared . Made it to the summit and stayed a while , walked it from end to end . It was an amazing view . Could see Apache Junction to the west and to the east solid desert . Spent the night on top sleeping on the ground . Started down at first light , had bout a glass of water left . I remember .. it was worth it . Amazing the optimism of youth .
The party .
I'll disappoint you here . Andrew and Micah got back bout dark , told the 'folks' to start fires for light and cooking . Unloaded two cases of Old Crow and Cornel Lee whiskey with hot dog makin's and junk food . Watched em going nuts building for the party . This was a big deal .
They got started after dark , I rolled up my bedroll , gathered some split pallet wood (what was for fires) and walked to the 'mine' . Bedded down , had coffee and a couple of canned goods . No one even saw me leave .
Der Gebirgsjager
12-22-2017, 12:39 PM
Can I guess? Was the green rock copper ore?
Walked back to camp after making coffee in an old pot . Everyone was still asleep , place was a bigger mess than usual . I figured someone would have got killed but apparently not .
Can I guess? Was the green rock copper ore?
You guessed 100% right ! It was extremely high grade copper ore , assayer called it 'jewelry grade' . They thought they were rich , they had mineral that would help them keep the claim if it was profitable to mine it . They forgot about gold .
I have drug this thread out too long . Will end it quick as I can .
rancher1913
12-23-2017, 08:29 PM
there are longer threads about less
I'm still reading & not bored. Yer doin' good.
Goatwhiskers
12-25-2017, 09:41 AM
I'm sure not bored. This is a story that all of us could tell in one form or another of a lifetime of experiences that has made us what and who we are and of lessons learned from all of it. Your family laid the foundation,"as the twig is bent, so grows the tree", and God took care of the rest and made you the man you are. Have a blessed Christmas and enjoy your family. GW
I was tired of being in this camp . It seems to be getting more crazy all the time . Being as I didn't associate with anyone I was pretty much an outcast on purpose . Too many crazy people , too much insanity and I was tired of it .
I had enjoyed 'prospecting' and ranging out as far as what water I could carry would get me . Saw old mining equipment , old pick ups abandoned you wondered how they got there . Names and dated from the last century scratched in the rocks . Mountain lion tracks , old abandon mines , sleeping out on the ground . Trying to find enough dead cactus or mesquite to make coffee in the morning with a can of beans . Looking at the stars and listening to the coyotes , I was 18 and in good condition, used to the outdoors . I was in a new country , it was a heck of a lot of fun and I enjoyed it . But the camp was a filthy crazy hellhole . I was ready to get out of it .
Andrew and Micah actually encouraged me to 'prospect' , they never tried to restrict what I did ...I was never one of them . They thought I might find gold , everyone in the desert was gold crazy . I never found anything to speak of . I'd carry dirt in coffee cans back to camp out of the dry washes , remembering where they came from and pan them out . Never got more gold than what it took a pair of borrowed eyeglasses to see a few specks . But it was getting old , needed to get out of camp .
Needed to shake the trees and come up with some money . Hitchhiked into Apace Junction , I know it's big now but back then was just a wide spot in the road . Checked with a few business for any kind of day work ...no luck there . Walked to the post office and talked to Mr Applegate . Asked him if he knew anyone that might need a hand or need day work .
I liked Mr Applegate , he seems lake a normal person . He told me work was scarce but the 'mining' outfit across the parking lot had men up in the mountains working . Said they had horses to pack in supplies and a camp up north on the highway .But that he only saw a pick up over there every few days and it never stayed long , there was never anyone stayed at the office and their mail was sent somewhere else because it didn't come to him . He said I might leave a note on the door . Told him I'd check back in a couple of day and he said he would ask around if someone needed help .
Went to the A J Bayless grocery and got a can of Velvet , while I was there borrowed a piece of notepaper and a piece of scotch tape . Wrote a note , was looking for work and had experience with horses . Said to tell Mr Applegate if they needed help .Walked over to what Mr Applegate called the mining company and taped it on the glass door . It was the ..New Peralta Mining and Exploration CO .
Hitchhiked back to camp .
Second day after I was going to thumb it into town to see if Mr Applegate had heard anything , was waiting for evening to give it the best chance . But bout 11 o clock a green pick up pulled into camp ..was looking for me . I saw it , the driver was middle age and he talked to a few at the camp and walked straight to me sitting on my door reading an old newspaper .
Said his name was Ed and shook hands . Asked if I had left a note on the 'Peralta' office . And I told him ..yes .......We talked . He wanted to know if I could handle riding stock ..I assured him I could . He hired me on the spot , a deal was struck . Part of that deal by me was that I had to leave NOW ! And he had to tow me and the old Suzuki to his camp NOW .
He agreed , he had rope , the bike tires were still up and we were out of there quick . He pulled me bout 4 mile north to their camp . I was dang glad and ready to do something different ...I was sick of the old 'camp' .
Got to the mining camp , was pens for the stock , shade sheds , a tiny RV trailer and a lot of water barrels . He introduced me to 'Glasses' , he was bout 25 years old and wore what in my country ..pop bottle eye glasses ..big thick lenses .
Ed took me to the stock and said ..What do you think ? I opened the gate and went in , didn't take a min and I said ...They backs are eat up ..they are all sore . Some had sores with maggots . And he said ..what do they need ? I said ...Cleaning out ! Get the maggots out , need antibiotic , liquid blue and corona .
He told me to get in the truck and we drove to Mesa . Picked up medicine and some Combiotic with a couple of syringes . drove back and he told me to 'fix' em and left .
It was all happening really fast . Got 'Glasses' to hem the ones up in a corner with a rope , dug the maggots out , soaked the sores with Absorbine , let it dry and 'blued' em to keep the flys out . Couple of the horses were eat up bad on the withers , taped newspaper over the sores a few days to get it healing and keep out the maggots .
Come dark we built a small fire , heated up some canned goods . Dang there was plenty of food but still all canned . He talked a lot , I did not . I had spent over 2 months at the last 'camp' not talking but didn't take much to figure this boy wasn't ..'right' He was dumber than a box of rocks . Come time to go to bed he said ...You gonna sleep in the trailer ? I said ..No !
huntnman
12-27-2017, 11:49 PM
Hope you didn't die in the desert. [COLOR="#000000"]Looking forward to the end.
Made me a bed out of half bale of hay under the shade shed , it was nice compared to my hollow core door on apple boxes . Did a lot of thinking , I was out of the 'crazy' camp but wondered what would happen here . It was going to be a lot of work , getting supplies , hauling water , taking care of the stock , packing in to the camps and 'Glasses' looked like a liability . BUT I was away from the madness and had a paying job .
Got up at first light and made coffee , Got halters and fed the stock , there were about 8 donkeys . I didn't know anything about using donkeys , only donkeys in my country were just kept up yard pets , nobody used em for anything . Started looking at the pack saddles to figure them out , had seen em but never used one . All double rigged with britchin and breast rig . I had used regular harness so wouldn't be too hard to do . There were several sizes and didn't take much to figure why so many of the horses and mules had sore backs , someone was using the wrong size saddle and or not enough blankets .
Found some hoof nippers , knife and a couple of worn files . Figured I'd start trimming feet ..they all needed it and one horse had a split front hoof needed shoes on the front feet but no tools to do that .
Tazman1602
12-28-2017, 10:40 AM
I'll take #117. This is a great story Charlie.
Art
Tazman1602
12-28-2017, 11:02 AM
there are longer threads about less
^^^^^THIS^^^^^^
Art
When I had made contact with Ed it was at the office , he mainly asked questions about me being able to handle the stock . He seemed to know nothing about livestock .
I could see why he needed someone after I saw the shape their stock was in . The outfit was owned by a man out of California last name of Van Suit , I never saw or met him ..Ed ran the show . Ed didn't talk much and after a week or so he just let me do what I wanted pretty much .
I had a better place to stay with the privilege of having anything in the supplys kept on hand at the camp including rollin tobacco . Pretty good deal from wince I had just come .
I was trying to make a showin . Getting things done , stock was in bad shape and not took care of . On top of that had to figure ...there were two crews working miles apart to supply . Had to figure the needs from water to toilet paper , this was a real undertaking for me . Had to figure inventory at the camp to get Ed to resupply . Trying to get this figured out was hard when I had so little information and didn't have a system .
Crews worked a week and off 3-4 days , Had to provide mounts to get them in and out . Asked glasses if the mules were broke to ride , he said he didn't know because you can't ride a mule ..idiot ! Unsteady schedule , lots of variables but these men up there depended on being supplied . Saddled the mules and tried em out , 3 were pretty good and had been rode , would neck rein ..VERY GOOD NEWS !
Had to depend on the donkeys to pack with and I didn't know how to deal with them . At least glasses knew how much water and a few other items were usually took . Water was a big concern , a third taken to the camp was used there to water the stock to make the trip back . Took a couple of trips to get things ironed out.
Glasses knew the trail to the camps ..I had reservation . I had experimented with the pack saddles , we loaded and started our first 'run' three days after I got there . Stopped after bout half mile and I told Glasses to start tightening the girts , he griped about it but half needed tightening . We actually made it to the camp and unloaded ,watered the stock ..started back , was getting dark when we got back. Fed the animals , brushed em down and doctored the out of commission ones . Glasses complained steady that it would wait till tomorrow , I just kept my mouth shut . Had to get done before dark ..we didn't have lights .
I googled the New Peralta Mining and Exploration CO . Didn't find much but it was a long time before internet . I did stumble across this post on a site about the Lost Dutchman mine . Whoever Larry was it was the same time I was there .
http://thelostdutchmangoldmine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1086
That's Weaver's needle on the right of the picture , there was a camp there I packed to .
In about a week we had made two trips to each camp . Things were getting kind of routine but there seemed to be no order to things . Ed was in control but it was up to me (and Glasses) to take care of the crews and the camp . The crews didn't have anyone in charge , it was kind of an organized mess .
Ed came out one day with feed and hay , when he got unloaded he told Glasses to gather up . Told him he was fired and would take him back to town . I thought he would tell me what was going on but he didn't , he just left with Glasses ..last I saw of him .
Thought he would get someone else to help but he never did , I was there alone till it came to an end .
jmort
12-29-2017, 12:56 PM
Been following right along
Like it
Hickok
12-29-2017, 01:13 PM
Been following right along
Like itMe too. Boaz has me waiting to see what happens next!:popcorn:
It was an odd thing .
As long as I was there I never figured out what the two crews were doing in the mountains . Folks tried to covertly ask me that same thing . Keep in mind that all this gold , claim , prospecting stuff was secret , all the ones looking and prospecting were suspicious of strangers and each other . It was all a paranoid situation . And although I never heard of anyone finding gold the general conception was that gold was being found but no one would admit it for fear of claim jumping or death or both .
It was all crazy , a whole nother world . Some said the crews were prospecting , looking for pay (gold) , some said they were laying claims , in a line straight across the Superstitions to make money and hold the Feds up for some kind of scam . And some said they were looking for the Lost Dutchman .
Honestly I have no idea what they were doing . They never brought back anything to be assayed or seemed to be digging at all . But they were marking claims as fast as they could roughly in a north to south direction . Not hard to see that as their camp moved so much . If I was there to supply them I helped move all the tents , water barrels and heavier stuff . But to this day I don't know what was going on except I had a place to be , something to eat and drawing pay .
Dang ! Forgot to mention , it was customary if you ran into anyone out there on the trail to ask .. Do you need any water ? I ran into more than a few and gave em water as I was packing a lot of water . No exchange of destination was given by either party just 'friendly' talk .
I cleaned out the trailer ...it was filthy . It had one LP gas burner in the counter top . It was a nice upgrade for making coffee and 'cooking' canned goods , didn't have to build a fire . Couldn't sleep in it till couple hours after sundown ...too danged hot in there so slept half the time under the shed .
I could lie and say I missed Glasses but it was nicer with him gone . The stock was healing and I had cut out the corn and sweet feed they had been feeding ...too dang hot to be feeding that stuff . Swapped em to oats and a cup of chops a day . All the hay they wanted , got a couple more horses and a good size mule back in service . Had a mule I liked to ride personally , give him his head and he'd take you to either camp and back home . Things were looking good !
Little things .
The crews were not suppose to take liquor up to the camps , I wasn't about to shake em down ..not in my job description . I knew the closest camp was hauling in hard liquor because with both crews I had to sleep over at times with them due to circumstances . Hacked me off neither crew even offered me a blanket to sleep on , seemed a sever lack of courtesy , just slept on the ground .
The farthest crew took a full hard day to get to near Weaver's Needle . They kept after me for fresh pineapples and pears all the time , it was an odd thing . Ed and me both tried to see they had fruit , it was about all the 'fresh' stuff that would last a bit in the heat . I had to lay over in their camp and come back to the base camp next day . LOL , they finaly broke down and told me they were fermenting the pineapples and pears in one gallon jugs to make hooch with sugar and yeast (that they put in their personal belongings going in ) . They were passing a one gallon jug of this xxxx around the fire one night and it got to me . I smelled it and passed it on .
Packed in a load to the Weaver Needle crew one time . Didn't want to sleep over , stock was good and decided to get back to base camp . Moon was out and my mule was doing good just steady moving , I trusted him .. Went through a narrow rock pass and a Mountain Lion squalled above us . If you never heard it you might not understand . The hair stood up on the back of my neck , I felt my mule bunch up and the rest of the pack stock was ready to bolt , dang donkeys had those ears straight up ..ready .
We all froze , I didn't know what to expect but got holt of the saddle horn . I was taught by real cowboys not to grab leather but this was an exceptional circumstance . This could be a real mess if the string bolted . It could be a disaster , I had britchin and martingale on my mule but a round back mule can shed a saddle pretty quick ...been there before .
I sat still bout 5 Min , Talkin to that mule , tapped him with my heals and he headed off at a trot , rest of the string picked up ..we got to camp ahead of time . Never tried to make it back in the dark again .
Was hauling to the close crew and saw a big lizard in a dry wash . Got down and it was a Gila Monster ! Remembered em from grade school science textbooks . Picked up a Palo Verde dead twig and tormented him a min . He bit the heck out of it but he moved so slow that he was not a threat . Mounted up and moved on .
The desert was an interesting place . Everyone seemed scared of rattlesnakes but I never saw one . In my country I saw em all the time , they were a fact of life ...LOL , plenty of rattlers back then . In this desert they would not have come out except at night ..too hot .
MT Gianni
12-31-2017, 05:24 PM
Another who is enjoying this story.
sparky45
12-31-2017, 06:24 PM
Better than most of the novels I've read recently. Gladly awaiting "the rest of the story".
I understand these old memories are different but we all have different memories . Honestly I don't think mine are too much 'different' than anyone else's when they think of their youth . I think GOD led me and I think he tested me , I think he made me aware of many things that helped shape my life . But what believer could not say the same ? GOD will test us ..it is written in his word . GOD will strengthen us through our experience . Frankly when I think of this time in my life it was just what was , it's not special at all . Praise him I survived it .
If everyone here told stories of their youth it would all be very interesting , we are all different yet the same .
I don't have any regrets. I've done a bunch of things I'm not proud of, But they all lead me to where I am now. And if I had the opertunity to rewrite my past I wouldn't in fear of not being the man I have become, and growing into
This is not pride just a realization of all God has blessed me with
We have all done things we regret , it's how we deal with those regrets ...I agree . Paul said he was the chief sinner among men but you see how his life worked out . Failure teaches and gives strength if faced .
Things come to an end .
When I talked to Ed about the job I was to get $30.00 a month paid on the first of the month . I started late the first month and just drew $8.00 on the first . Was looking to get the Suzuki going to have more options , being afoot was limited . I worked 7 days a week packing in crews or supplies . Taking care of the stock and keeping inventory on supplies . Helped Ed haul water or what needed done .
I put in a month and Ed told all of us the pay was going to be late ..there were problems . I kept hauling the crews in and out keeping them supplied . After 2 weeks the crews were all mad at not getting paid , Ed told me to pack em out , there was a lot of trouble going on getting money .
Ed never talked much but I could see this deal was over . I told him I wanted my money or I'd just walk off , he had to have me at that point to pack the crews back in and take care of things at the camp . He said if I would stay a week he would pay me $30.00 out of his own money . I lost 3 weeks pay but took it , whole lot better than nothing .
I packed the crews out and stayed like I said at the camp . All the men were mad as hell .In about 4 days Ed came out and said the Humane Society was going to come get the stock and when I helped load them I might as well leave . All this time I had hoped things would get straightened out . The Humane Society came out the next day and made several trips hauling off the stock . That evening I bathed and washed my 2 changes of clothes and got ready to leave in the morning while it was cool . It was a sad situation .
mozeppa
01-01-2018, 12:12 PM
now i'm 138th.
Tazman1602
01-01-2018, 01:26 PM
Man great story! Happy new year and more!!!
Tried to figure what to do but I already knew what needed be done ...It was time to go home . Next morning got up before sunrise and made a pot of coffee . Took it off the burner and made a big pot of oatmeal , I had sugar and canned milk . Filled up on oatmeal and coffee and went to the supplies . Got 4-5 cans of Campbell's soup a couple cans of beans and 3 cans of Velvet rollin tobacco and a roll of toilet paper . Put it in my bedroll and tied it tight with a rope so I could carry it on my shoulder . Walkin to the highway I thought about the old Suzuki leaned up in the shade shed . Thought about what a burden it had been and how much I depended on it getting me back home . I was glad to leave it behind ...I could do better on my own . Hit the highway and started thumbing south to Apache Junction .
250 Suzuki Scrambler but mine was black .
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=BDECBMnZ&id=3E36BA952F745BC07AFEC51B8D921341ECF88105&thid=OIP.BDECBMnZHWwz4B2FZ7kwVgHaFj&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bikepics.com%2fpics%2f2 010%2f01%2f01%2fbikepics-1866879-full.jpg&exph=960&expw=1280&q=1968+suzuki+250cc+scrambler&simid=608004755080020989&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0
It Seems a lot of folks have a problem with perspective of time periods ? A lot of young folks can't understand there not being cell phones . At a time you were on your own . Communication wasn't what it is now , when I started home I didn't send a letter because it took 6-7 days to get there . I could beat a letter there hitch hiking .
I had about $35.00 and some change . Didn't figure I had enough for about a thousand mile bus trip but would make better time on a bus . Thumbed to Apache Junction , walked out on the east bound highway and stopped to ask when the buses came through at a service station . Man said before daylight and bout 3 in the afternoon , dang I was going to have to wait 4-6 hours and watch the road to flag em down . Buses would pick you up on the road still if you flagged em . You had to pay cash and they would drop you off at the next terminal (bus station) where you had to buy a ticket .
Sat out by the road for over 4 hours , if I missed the afternoon bus would have to sleep in the weeds somewhere and try to flag down the early morning bus in the dark .
Flagged the bus down ..a Continental Trailways bus . Driver stopped and looked at his pocket chart , charged me to Tucson the next terminal . Cost me better than $7.00 . He was putting it in gear as I waked down the aisle to find a seat and the first empty seat was across from a black couple . As I crammed my bedroll into the overhead rack the black guy hollered ...HEY MAN ! You a westerner ? I thought ..oh carp .
I thought o Lord why ! The black guy introduced his family . His name was Calvin , his wife's name was Rita and their 5 kids sitting behind them raising hell . They had sacks and baskets of food and ..who knows , everything but the kitchen sink . Rita was the ugliest woman I have ever seen in my life ..just a fact , she looked more like a man . The kids were screaming , fighting and griping , Calvin told me they were moving from California to Arkansas because Arkansas gave bigger checks . He ranted that how did California expect to keep people if they didn't want to pay more I just thought ..O Lord why !
I had come from where it was so quiet and peaceful to being crammed into a big box of crazy people . Easier to walk out in the desert by myself with what food and water I could carry and explore for a few days. I started appreciating the day long journey with only a mule to talk to stocking the camps . Sleeping out on the ground and boiling coffee in an old coffee can in the morning . I had enjoyed being to myself and it was an awakening to get back around so many people .
They say there are hiking/biking trails through the Superstitions now , it's a tourist place . I'm glad I got to see it when I did in the way I did . It was lonely and beautiful . You felt like you were the only one in those mountains .
Finally got to Tucson , keep in mind there were many stops at every hoot and holler . Had to cross the San Carlos Apache reservation and the bus stopped many times taking folks off the road like me and letting people off , slowed up the travel time. At Tucson I went to the ticket clerk and got him to figure how far I could go on $24.00 , that would leave me $3.00 cash .
He said I would get to Big Springs TX , I had hoped farther but was what it was . Bought a ticket to Big Springs TX , would get off in West Texas .
Next big stop and transfer to another bus was Lordsburg NM .
Got to Lordsburg , had to lay over a few hours . Soon as they called my bus I was on it . Calvin and Rita boarded ..he saw me and they sat opposite me . O Lord why ?
I was in the window seat , saw a man chewing out a Mexican girl bout my age outside my window, couldn't hear what he said . She boarded , bout all the seats were taken and she sat down next to me . She was quietly crying , I had a clean blue bandana and just handed it to her ..I said nothing .
There was another new passenger , an old black man bout 70 . Had a three piece suit on and a fancy ivory headed cane .
Driver turned off the overhead lights and started off .
If you care to follow the route .
https://geology.com/cities-map/texas.shtml
The girl kept quietly crying holding the bandana with her head in her hands . Rita apparently woke up across the aisle and shouted ...Is that man bothering you !! Aww dang it !
She stood up and was hollering ..is that man bothering you ! , The Mexican girl was just sobbing and shaking her head no . Calvin stood up and asked me if I was bothering that girl . DANG IT ! THIS WAS GOING SOUTH QUICK .
I stood up and said ...I'm not bothering anyone ! Shut your mouths and sit down . She has trouble ...let her be !
Calvin and Rita sat down and stared like ignorant people do trying to figure something out .
mozeppa
01-03-2018, 02:26 PM
edge of my seat ...help me bro!
Skeet06
01-03-2018, 03:38 PM
Great story. Please continue!
I sat down madder than heck ! It's always a good thing to be accused of being a pervert on a full crowded bus with 40 or so people . I rolled a cigarette and was rolling another one while I smoked the first ...Kept that up for a while and yes back then you could smoke everywhere . The Mexican girl never said a word .
Deming New Mexico was the next stop . Didn't stay long , they gased the bus and long enough for a bathroom break . When we loaded back up the bus was half empty . The Mexican girl had disappeared but of coarse Calvin and Rita got on . Next stop was Las Cruces , had a layover and changed buses . I splurged and bought a cup of coffee and had a can of soup out of my bedroll . Could have had a can of beans but seeing as how I was on the bus thought it might be socially inappropriate ?
mozeppa
01-04-2018, 02:29 PM
"beano" wasn't available in those days!
Got to Las Cruces , had a short layover . Got on a bus to El Paso ! DANG ! Was nearly to Texas !
Got to El Paso , it was the biggest bus terminal I'd ever seen ..was big . Lot of buses coming and going . Checked at the ticket window and lady told me would be a 13 hour layover to my bus . Dang it ..hanging out in a bus station was a bummer . There was bout a half acre of wooden benches , lot of folks sleeping on em . Picked one out , used my bedroll for a pillow and got some sleep .
I had the life changing experience of seeing my first pay toilet ! Went to the gigantic bathroom and it cost 2 dimes to get in a stall ! I thought it was a crime against humanity . I couldn't believe they would charge you to ..... . It was inhuman .
Finally got on my bus , I had been afraid to sleep because I might miss the department announcement . Dang it I was in Texas and halfway home ! The bus made good time , lol back then West Texas was a pretty 'non populated' place so didn't pick up or drop off many on the road .
Was after dark when the bus got to Big Springs , still in West Texas . I bedded down on a bench in the terminal . No need to try and find my way out of town and try to catch a ride in the dark . Beat the heck out of sleeping in the weeds off the road .
Got up come daylight , cleaned up in the bathroom . Put on my one change of clean clothes to try and look decent to catch a ride . Weather had cooled off but still warm . I had failed , did not have any way to carry water and I regretted that . Still had 3 cans of food ...I remember that well . Had better than $2.00 left ...hadn't spent money except on coffee at the bus stops . Back then coffee was 10 cents and all the refills you wanted but bus terminals charged 25 cents PER cup ...rip off .
Walked out of Big Springs , Still had my old 50's Texaco road map . You might keep in mind the Interstates Highway system didn't exist ..least not in my country , was all two lane roads . Had bout 250 miles to go . Problem with hitch hiking was not many driving were going far . 2-3 miles and they let you out , you were dang lucky to get someone driving 50 or so miles ..BIG PLUS !
On the way to Big Springs I saw a few mesquite trees , DANG IT ! I was getting close to home ! I grew up in brush country , pert near all mesquite and you can always see the sky . I wanted to be home .
Hitch hiking I met some really nice people , Many of them stand out in my mind . I never gave a hard story but some offered me money when I got out . I tried hard to turn them down and try to make them feel good for their honest intentions . There were good people . No way could I take money . My raising I guess .
Had about 250 miles left to get home . Dang I made it to Abilene by midafternoon ...was doing good ! Had to walk through town to get to the farm to market road headed north so that took a while .
Got started thumbing north , this was cotton farming country . Lot of short hops hitch hiking , most were local folks just going a mile or two . Nearly made it to Seymour TX ..bout 60 miles home . Bedded down near a tank battery ...dry camp no water . Got up before daylight and warmed up my last can of beans . Still had bout a buck fifty in my pocket , Ought to get home today .
Got on the road at daybreak , caught a ride into Seymour quick . Was walking through town to get on the east side and start thumbing again but stopped at a little café and got a cup of coffee . Just farmers and oilfield in there , it was nice to just sit and drink a cup of coffee with regular people around ..Heck it was 'normal' .
I was determined to drink all the coffee I wanted , the lady waiting tables asked me were I was headed . I was carrying a bedroll so was easy to see I was 'traveling' . Told her I was trying to get to Wichita Falls , She was holding a coffee pot and just hollered out ..Anyone headed to Wichita ! This man needs a ride .
A guy eating in the back wearing overalls said ..I'm going to Holliday . HECK ! Holliday was 10 miles from the house !
I was glad I decided to stop and have that coffee !
mozeppa
01-07-2018, 10:55 AM
and then?:smile:
The guy was a contract pumper , took care of some leases couple of miles west of Holliday . We talked , told him I doubled a lot on rigs , was coming from Arizona and such ..just talk . He went on and took me to Holliday , wasn't but a couple of miles past his leases . He shook hands wished me well and said we would probably see one another in the patch . He was a nice guy .
I walked east out of Holliday and got a ride soon as I stuck my thumb out to Wichita . Got out on the north side of town , Walked 3 blocks to a high school friend's house . He had an old 52 Chevy pick up and he gave me a ride home , let me off in the street in front of the house .
Got my bedroll out of the back of the pick up and was walking across the yard to the front door ..it was a surreal experience . I has been gone about four and a half months , it was mid October. Trying to put my experience into prospective with coming home was hard . Here at home everything was normal ..it was just like I left it . It was hard to understand but I was glad to see it .
30calflash
01-07-2018, 04:06 PM
Great story, God was with you the whole time.
I had the life changing experience of seeing my first pay toilet ! Went to the gigantic bathroom and it cost 2 dimes to get in a stall ! I thought it was a crime against humanity . I couldn't believe they would charge you to ..... . It was inhuman .
I felt & still feel the same way.
Great story, God was with you the whole time.
You are 100% right . That is part of this story .
Der Gebirgsjager
01-07-2018, 05:02 PM
Great story, Boaz. After you walked back into your house did you have to eat a little crow, or was it like you never left?
What a "life experience" you had. And you learned the Micah method of curing smoking as well! ;)
Walked up to the porch and dropped my bedroll . The weather was nice , opened the screen door and stepped into the living room . Mom was cleaning up from lunch , she saw me and her hands flew over her mouth . She just stood there and looking at me , I walked on in the kitchen and she started crying . Then she started calling my dad , he was in the bedroom . He came in the kitchen and was smiling bigger than I had ever seen him smile . I remember that .
In 1974 I contacted a company in Chehalis Washington looking for oilfield workers . They said they would hire me if I moved there . Said they were in the offshore rig moving business and provided support to rigs in several different ways . Plus they were trying to get into land rigs because there was some exploratory drilling starting up .
I always wanted to work offshore so loaded up and drove to Washington state . They told me the work would be based out of Tacoma Washington so I drove to Tacoma and rented an apartment (I hate apartment living ) .
To make a long story short they were just lying to me , they were 'trying' to get their business started but had no work . So tried to find a job doing something else but if you didn't belong to some kind of union you were just out of luck .
I don't begrudge going , did one heck of a lot of fishing , rented a boat and spent 2 days fishing on Puget Sound , went up in the Space Needle , the salmon were running and fished the Nisqually River . It was kind of a vacation and saw a lot of country . I left Texas and went through New Mexico , turned left in Colorado got to Oregon and drove up the coast to Washington .
Coming back I drove back down the Oregon coast and went through California , Turned left and was going through Arizona and New Mexico to get back to Texas . I had to drive right through Apache Junction . It wouldn't take any time to drive a few miles and see if Andrew and Micah's camp was still operating .
mozeppa
01-09-2018, 07:16 PM
was it?
I had reservations about going to the camp , I wasn't afraid for any reason ...no need to be . But I didn't really want to have anything to do with them ...they were a bad memory . I had come to hate that place in the two months I was there , it was filthy , the people were indescribable , each in their own situation were lost . Matthew and Micah were false teachers using name of GOD to fulfil their psychotic dreams .
But I was curious , I thought about it a lot before I got to the turnoff and in took till the last few min to make a decision . When I got to the Apache Trail highway I turned north , the camp was just 6-7 miles up the road .
I got to the turn into the desert , was easy it hadn't been that long . Drove up the trace but the camp was not there . You could see still the cleared space but there was nothing . It had been picked and cleaned up .
I got back on the highway and thought about the black guy that drilled the holes at the 'mine' . He lived just off the highway almost to Apache Junction . It was a long shot but I was already nearly to his house . Again I hesitated ..did I even want to know what happened to the camp ?
I looked from the road a danged if his old pick up with the air compressor and drill outfit was wasn't parked beside the house still . I turned in and before I got out of the truck he came out on the porch . I walked up and asked if he recognize me . I thought a min , he looked at me hard and said ..no . I refreshed his memory and he was surprised ..he did remember . keep in mind it had been a few years and we only saw each other 5-6 times .
He did not ask me in the house but asked his wife to get us some tea . We sat on the porch and talked .. I asked him about the camp and told my story . He told me Micah was charged with raping two little girls in the camp about a year after I left , that Matthew disappeared and the camp was cleaned out by the Feds . Said it was big news at the time , the law even questioned him .
It was a terrible thing but Micah got a pert near life sentence over it .
fcvan
01-10-2018, 10:33 PM
There are many stories from people sharing their experience as to how they let God lead their life and actions. I have a few of my own as do we all. The thing I tried to raise my girls was to listen and you will hear when you are called upon to reach out to someone in need. At other times, your needs will be met and you need to remember from where this help has come.
Thank you for a wonderful affirmation of the virtue of obedience to your parents and their lesson to you regarding obedience to your faith. This afternoon, I read from beginning to end. Thank you for sharing your witness.
There are many stories from people sharing their experience as to how they let God lead their life and actions. I have a few of my own as do we all. The thing I tried to raise my girls was to listen and you will hear when you are called upon to reach out to someone in need. At other times, your needs will be met and you need to remember from where this help has come.
Thank you for a wonderful affirmation of the virtue of obedience to your parents and their lesson to you regarding obedience to your faith. This afternoon, I read from beginning to end. Thank you for sharing your witness.
Thank you sir . This story is just a story and we all have ...stories . GOD has led us all down a different path but our destination is the same should we allow our savior Jesus Christ in our life to guide us . My story is a testimonial and admission of failure ...we all fall short . But our Lord guides even in our weakness . Our works are as filthy rags but our faith carries us through . Thank you .
BHuij
01-11-2018, 11:34 AM
Thanks for the story Boaz, I really enjoyed reading the whole thing and getting caught up when I discovered this thread a week or so ago, and spent the rest of the time waiting on tenterhooks for each new post.
D Crockett
01-11-2018, 03:58 PM
Boaz this is the kind of stuff that great books are made of. you had me spell bound the whole time I was reading it thank you very much for sharing it D Crockett
Thank you D Crockett .
At the time this happened I was being irresponsible , taking off to the west coast on a bike I knew wouldn't make it most likely . I set myself up to fail . In retrospect I know GOD protected me , I put myself in a bad situation by my own foolishness . GOD tried me in my weakness but provided for me at the same time .
If you old enough or you that understand history know those were trying times in many ways . There were many like Andrew and Micah , it was a changing time for our country . When I posted this thread when Manson had just died ..it made me think . I don't think about my time with Andrew and Micah much at all , it was just something that happened . I wanted to leave that camp the evening I got there and that feeling only grew . I was never for a second tempted to join with this group . False teaching by men possessed , men wanting assurance of their ideas by gathering those that were easily deceived into their madness to support them . Satan was in that camp , the filth , the using of GOD's word defiled with lies , the control of Andrew and Micah beating people down But they never really tried to 'convert' me like they did others . I was just an observer there , for some reason they didn't verbally beat me down like they did others they brought into camp .
30calflash
01-11-2018, 07:57 PM
Thank you for sharing your story and testimony.
To many it might seem I suffered but I didn't . The desert was hot but I grew up in Texas and had never known air conditioning . Talking about sleeping on a hollow core door and making a straw bed in a horse lot . But my dad was born in a dugout in Oklahoma , he took me 'camping' in the Red River valley with what we could carry . Drank out of seeps in the bluffs , he showed me how to find water , we went fishing and if we didn't catch anything he fried up the minnows we used for bait . Camping was fun with dad , he knew how to 'make'' it .
In his 60's we went to lake Edelman 60 miles south , camped out ..basics . He let me drive the 54 Chevy around on the dirt roads . I took my 22 and shot rabbits , when I brought a couple in he would praise me and just say ...Skin em out we'll have em for lunch . We ran trotlines . When we left town we took 4-5 chickens , ate the eggs as we camped and had fried chicken along . Lol, didn't come back with any chickens . He taught me to make do .
Nothing like fresh chicken but I'll pass on the fried minnows please.
We had made a plywood flat bottom boat and I run the trotlines , to have fish for breakfast was imperative ! Didn't matter if catfish , drum or carp but had eggs with toast and mom's jelly and coffee ...lol .
Nothing like fresh chicken but I'll pass on the fried minnows please.
I understand but better than going hungry ...lol mind over matter and accepting what is .
Fry em crisp and eat bones and all . Ain't bad .
Kawriverrat
01-12-2018, 12:36 AM
An entertaining read. Yes it was... Jeff
Hickok
01-12-2018, 02:23 PM
Charlie, thanks for an interesting read, as I really enjoyed it.
I "came of age" in the same era. Also, have ridden the 250 Suzuki single cylinder, as well as the Suzuki 250 Hustler twin cylinder street bike, back in the day!
Thank you Hickok . I preferred Suzuki's , bought a 1000 Suzuki in 79 ...last of the chain drive models . Wanted a good chain drive before they disappeared . Hard times in the 80's and sold it , last bike I owned . BUT ! I went yesterday and gave up my CDL (Commercial drivers license) . I didn't need it anymore and knew I couldn't pass a CDL physical , but I retained my motorcycle license....never know ..LOL .
I put this story up to share an experience , there is no self glorification here . The whole story was one of failure from the get go . It could have ended much worse . GOD was with me , God has shaped us . If you think back through good times and bad it made you who you are . We don't really think about it a lot , to me this story is just something that ..'happened' . Though we fail our Lord forgives and guides , we will not understand the limit of his love and mercy in this life because we are incapable .
I knew GOD , I was raised in church , my parents taught me from the bible from my earliest recollection . I have never doubted the existence of GOD . But at that age I laid GOD down and did what I wanted to do . The world had great allure and I wanted to experience it .
castalott
01-13-2018, 07:23 AM
Your story is exactly what I have always said... Our experiences ( and what we make of them) are what makes us.. We are the sum of them...
Thanks, Dale
Thundarstick
01-13-2018, 09:32 AM
It's truly not what that happens to us that makes us, but what we do with what happens to us that form us!
They say GOD works in mysterious ways . But not really , he works in his way , our father in heaven works in his way . If you can read this he has sustained you , he has loved you beyond our capacity to understand . His love farther than our reach , his mercy is beyond our grasp , his patience is without measure , his goal is to be with us for eternity .
We understand , faith and only faith . To listen to that small still voice and clear our mind . GOD is with us and all around us .
square butte
01-13-2018, 08:47 PM
Amen to that!
And the word was GOD .
Read ...read the word . Christ died to give it .
John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Ah , the word . Many hesitate , it seems hard but it is not . Seek help , council . It is interesting , it draws you in to understand . I am a fundamental Baptist . I am allowed to explore and find meaning of GOD's word. But I consider myself a fundamentalist with a broader view . We are all in this together , but reading GOD's word is necessary , understanding .Read your bible .
It takes so little to read a book of GODS word . The word that guides , the word that saves .
MT Gianni
01-13-2018, 10:16 PM
I also enjoyed reading this. I had a friend ride a Suzuki 175 from Montana to Pennsylvania, but that wasn't the lesson I learned here.
RedlegEd
01-13-2018, 11:43 PM
Boaz, this was incredible. I grew up in Tucson and I'm only four years younger than you, so I remember how beautiful, and open, the Arizona desert was in the early 70s. I thank you for your great story as it brought back many wonderful memories of my roaming throughout the Sonoran desert when I was young. God Bless you! Ed
I don't have any regrets. I've done a bunch of things I'm not proud of, But they all lead me to where I am now. And if I had the opertunity to rewrite my past I wouldn't in fear of not being the man I have become, and growing into
This is not pride just a realization of all God has blessed me with
I enjoyed this comment of rl69's . He realizes and understands that our experiences good and bad have made us who we are today . Our Lord is always with us in spirit , he loves us . He builds us through our experience in this fallen world and without him we would be lost . We are sinners and we have all failed many times due to our own nature . But our father understands our weakness and loves us no less . We will be tested but never tempted , by our freewill and given choice we are offered opportunity in shaping our lives and who we are . He is always with us .
I would like to thank all who have said they enjoyed this story . We all have stories that got us where we are now . Our lives are our testimonial , we have done wrong but we have also done good . We believe in a merciful Lord that forgives sin just by us asking for it . Each day we can start a new life , we are given the privilege to be who we want to be . Our past does not condemn us but is only a guide to our future .
Thank you for putting up with me .
Charlie
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