Fall 1979 to Spring 1980 - Sacramento
Synopsis
Ninja and I arrived in Sacramento just before Thanksgiving. I was glad to get there. I was worn out from arguing with Randy and the long drive. Pat let me stay in the small bedroom upstairs. It was like a loft room with exposed rafters, as best I can remember (help me out, Sharon, Pat, or Jan, if you read this). I unloaded my belongings in the garage . I still had things in Freeport Storage, and put some current belongings there. Someone had broken into the storage unit, taken some items, and put a new padlock on the door. My key wouldn't fit, so the manager cut the lock. I replaced it with a high security padlock, that the manager sold me. I answered an ad in the newspaper for a tree climber and was hired by Oakley (no kidding, Joe Oakley) Tree Service. The first day of work, they told me to get a lifeline and I said "What's a lifeline?" I had free climbed and used a safety strap, but never had tied in at the top of a tree and rapelled around. What I knew about climbing was what Randy and I had learned on our own, and what Byron Colley taught us one day, when he climbed for us. The supervisor (Hayes) groaned and assigned me to groundsman duties. I worked hard and showed up on time every day, and after a week or so, they taught me how to really be a tree climber. We used Homelite Super II, double trigger, climbing saws, which were state of the art at the time. We had a contract with the city or the county to trim and remove elm trees, which were infested and dying from Dutch Elm disease. Sacramento is the only place I ever lived where it got colder in the morning, the later it got. We had to scrape ice off the limbs sometimes to work. The trees were slippery too, as you might imagine. I trimmed Pat's large oak tree in her back yard on 633 Riverlake Way while I stayed there.
I went snow skiing at Heavenly Valley, by myself once. I did pretty good on the beginners slope. My surfing ability crossed over somewhat. I used short skis, which are a little easier to maneuver. I tried the medium slope once and bounced and fell my way to the bottom. I didn't bother with lessons. That's the only time to date I have been snow skiing. I'll probably stick to surfing, although I would ski again if the opportunity arose.
I dated a biker girl named Norma, who was a friend of Sharon's sister, Jan. Jan and Rick Malone had moved back from Hawaii too and were living near downtown Sacramento. We hung out some and Rick taught me 12 bar blues on the guitar. Rick and I had worked together at Aikane Catering in Honolulu, and that's how I met Sharon.
I got homesick in the Spring, put the van and some belongings in storage, and drove back to Florida in the 72 Ford 4WD crewcab with Ninja.
July 21, 2010
