I was working construction south of Seattle and my partner and I had just finished a siding contract, had our pay in out pocket and were getting ready to leave for Alaska. We dropped into a tavern for a late lunch. We were both pretty keyed up. We were headed north in my old pickup.
We walked in and I said the the bartender as we headed to a table "I'm the Pro from Dover and this here's the Ghost of Smoky Joe. He wants a Lite beer and a ham and cheese sandwich and I want a roast beef sandwich and a Heineken." I turned to the waitress nearby and said, "And I want you to know that you have about a half an hour to get your stuff packed it you want to come to Kodiak, Alaska with us."
She approached me and asked me, "Are you for real?"
I saw a brief look of desperation in here eyes and turned to my partner, "Whaddya say?"
"I don't care." he said.
What happened is we bolted lunch and took her home which was nearby. She was in and out of that house MOST riki-tik with a sleeping bag and a small backpack, threw her stuff into the bed of the pickup and hopped into the cab.
She rode with us up the Alaska Highway all the way to Kodiak. Upon arrival she was on her own.
Later she married a Native, had a couple of kids and we lost track of her. I think she moved to either Old Harbor, Port Lions or Ouzinkie.
I always think that it was one of the few halfway decent things I have done that truly made a difference in someone's life by giving them a second chance at life.
It cost me nothing.
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