A Story about a Stick

At the Tobacco Farm Camp they had thousands of “tobacco sticks.” They are about 5 feet long, 1 inch square at one end and taper to about a ½ inch. If you do an internet search for them you’ll find plenty of entries. They were originally used to hold the tobacco leaves in such a way that allowed the tobacco to dry evenly in the drying barns.

I picked one up and used it as a walking stick on our daily walk. It somehow found its way into Roz and is now my official walking stick. If Shirley or Gary of the Tobacco Farm Camp are reading this, I am sorry; I did not mean to steal it. I will gladly offer payment if needed.

This stick got me thinking. It would be really cool if I make it a Scratchin-the-Itch story stick. I will wood-burn symbols and/or location names and dates of each special place and event on this odyssey. I am also going to ask friends, both new and old to sign one face of it. WOW, that should make for a nice piece of memorabilia. Here is hoping my drawing and wood-burning skills will represent the experiences we have. Ha!

Stump (Bob) and Arlene gave me a Native American good luck feather attached to a leather strap as part of my going away care package. It’s now appropriately attached to the story stick. Thanks Stump and Arlene! It looks beautiful. The first three entries have been burned. It just has text for now because I do not trust my drawing skills at this point.

One more note on the story stick. When we were at the RV park near Kill Devil Hills we met a really nice biker couple from NY state, Tommy and Roxanne. (Tommy is now “maybee” on Cyclefish.) They saw me testing my soldering iron to see if it could do the wood burning job needed for the stick and that it didn’t work. A little later that day I received the gift of a new higher temp soldering iron kit from them. Thanks Tommy and Roxanne!

We are spending quiet time in Panama City Beach, Florida, just relaxing and enjoying the very mild weather. One bad thing is our walks have to be curtailed. We went out on the road for a walk the first morning and I re-discovered, or I should say poor Riley discovered, sand spurs. For those who do not know these nasty little seeds, they are about the size of a small pea with sharp spikes.

The spurs stick to everything especially your skin, or paws in Riley’s case. They HURT!

Fortunately there aren’t many within the RV park so we do get short walks. The boy does OK when he gets stuck, he stops and gnaws at it till it falls off. Occasionally I have to help. It surprises me that Riley lets me fuss with his paws. Normally when I try to do anything with them I get a growl and slightly bared teeth. I guess he realizes I am actually helping.

This will be my first Thanksgiving away from family in a long time. I expect it to be a bit of a blue day. I do miss my family and friends, a lot! In an effort to lighten the day a bit we have a feast planned. There will be two turkey drumsticks roasted (one for Riley minus bones). The menu also includes homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, stuffing, and apple pie for dessert. OK, I bought the pie. Riley gets a share of everything except the pie. No Alpo for my boy that day, he should be happy. A culinary review will be forthcoming.

Twice last night Riley went into alert mode. Uttering his low growl and pacing between the door and bedroom window telling me there is something outside. I calmed him and all was well. This morning I discovered what I suspect he heard, saw or smelled. There were cat paw tracks all over our picnic table. Isn’t that just like a cat, playing mind games and enjoying teasing my boy? Good boy Riley!