Poisoned Soil

Ozzie didn’t get Hal’s meaning but it didn’t matter. He had no words to describe the steady shuffling of the twelve bar blues that came from the Martin guitar, but he couldn’t stop tapping to it. His entire body bobbed and shook uncontrollably, his eyes transfixed by the glow of the fire that cast its spotlight on Hal dancing and singing with Rex on his shoulder. The beat flowed into Ozzie’s blood.

Da dum dum da dum dum,

da da da,

Da dum dum da dum,

“We need an electric guitar to rip a solo and get this party rolling!” Hal said, stopping just long enough to take a swig from his cup and to refill Ozzie’s cup. The music kept playing in Ozzie’s ears even when Hal stopped. Ozzie had never felt so good, so free. So alive! Warmth from the evening campfire, warmth from Hal’s liquid concoction, and music that lifted his soul. Ozzie gri

“Don’t know why the hell they call this the blues,” Hal said. “Hell, this will cure anybody’s blues!” Hal ripped into the final chorus:

Well now they call me the breeze,

I keep blowing down the road

Ozzie bobbed and weaved to the beat.

Da dum dum da dum dum, da da da,

Da dum dum da dum

I ain’t got me nobody,

I don’t carry me no load

“Hot damn!” Hal screamed, wiping sweat from his brow. “That there’s some mighty fine Lynyrd Skynyrd, ain’t it Oz?” Ozzie kept bobbing his head, the music alive within him, comforting him. Hal took his guitar off and leaned it against the cabin, sat down by the fire.

“Hell, that’s all you need right there, fellas,” Hal said to Ozzie and Rex. “Whiskey, rock and roll, and a couple of pals. Don’t need none of that other bullshit.”

Ozzie still heard the beat of the blues rocking in his head and kept bobbing as Hal spoke, his rant sounding much like singing to Ozzie anyway. He didn’t know if it was the moonshine or Hal’s voice, but the combination of drink and Hal’s rambling captivated Ozzie. To him, this was the happiest place on the planet. Hal seemed so free and so carefree that Ozzie couldn’t remember why he had ever wanted to go back home. Hal seemed to take his mother’s place each passing day. Feeding him, protecting him and caring for him. He’s living the life! Ozzie thought as he watched Hal. All I want is right here!

“Look at us,” Hal continued. “Where’s the heat? Right here in the fire. Where’s the air conditioning? Right there in them leaves. Ain’t no cost for HVAC and ain’t nothing to repair. Ain’t no cost for refrigeration neither, not with this cool mountain stream. Ain’t nobody to pay taxes to. My flatscreen TV is up right up yonder on the Milky Way cha

He had owned a small business with Co

He didn’t know it then, but within three months his world would completely collapse.

It was just after Christmas in 2008 when Co

To Hal, it was as if everything that happened from that moment on happened to someone else. An old, horrifying movie that Hal vaguely remembered watching as an observer, not a participant. The 911 call, the paramedics, the doctor’s apologies, sympathies, and exhortations that “she should have gone to the emergency room when the headache persisted...”

She was gone. Hal was left to wander, sentenced to drift without a rudder in a sea of isolation and misery. He never made a conscious choice regarding his own fate. He felt an invisible hand guide him through the fog of Co

As the nation’s banks collapsed and financial markets plummeted over the next month to a twelve-year low, Hal watched his meaningless 401K dwindle to less than half its value while the government bailed out those too big to fail. It was all too much for him to take in, with or without the guiding hand. He cashed in what was left of his 401K and fumed some more when the government took its penalty for taxes and early withdrawal. All that was left for him was to make trips to a few stores. Army surplus for survival supplies, Barnes & Noble for some wilderness books, and finally a camping store. Hal drove north, unsure of his destination. The hand guided him to the mountains and down Warwoman Road where he found what looked like the most isolated and dense jungle on the planet. A place where he could hide, get lost and die, and be beholden to no one.

The doctors had offered no reason to satisfy Hal’s need to understand Co

“Ow! Jesus Rex, watch it!” Hal exclaimed. With the music stopped for the night, Rex dug his paws into Hal’s shoulder to climb down and go exploring in the darkness. Hal looked across the dwindling fire to Ozzie, either asleep or passed out on the porch. His grin had faded, turned to drool as Ozzie twitched violently.