“Well, da rangers found bones scattered all ober da place. The man’d been dead a while. Coyotes cracked da bones, ate out ‘is marrow. Bones was chewed by da rodents, not much left of ‘im. Dey was stakes in da ground, some leather straps an’ ropes. He was tied down to die, looks like. From da teeth they figgered it was some big investment guy,” said John.
“Oh yeah, I think I read sompin bout that in the paper once’t,” Jim said. “It said he left some money to some homosexual foundation or sompin. He was one of them gay guys.”
“Somebody musta had it in for dis one, but they ain’t never found out who done it. He was into all kinds of bad shit, had enmies. Now, my own theory is dat big dog coyote was into eatin’ off ‘im and he comes back ‘ere and howls to da coyote gods to send ‘im another helpin’. Rancher Bud says he’s seen them coyotes up dere in the mornin’ pissin’ all over da place, pissin’ on the ground where dat poor bastard was staked down and pissin’ on da trees all bout dat place,” said John.
“Well, sometimes the animals know what’s what. They knows, I tells ya,” said the fourth hand, Jake, as he took a swig of whiskey from the open bottle on the table.
“Whatcha mean?” asked Jack.
“I means they knows, damn it. I means what I says, that’s all. They’s smart. Maybe those coyotes knows that this big shot was some no-good son of a bitch and he got what was coming to ‘im, so they ate on ‘im while he was still alive, chewed off his ass, chewed off his legs and arms and face, and now they goes back during the full moons to celebrate what they done to ‘im, and they celebrate by howling and pissing all over the place, pissing on his remains where he died.”
“Ya think so, John?” asked Jim.
“Damn right I think so.” The other hands stared at John, amazed by his wisdom. “Dem coyotes are smart as hell. They’s smarter’n we is. I always avoid ‘em, never fuck with ‘em, no sir. I never shoots at ‘em, no sir. I jest avoid them sons a bitches. You don’t want to go fucking with no coyotes, ‘specially no lobo. Noooo sir. No way! They can get the best of you. Take a bite outta you when you least expects it, ‘specially a lobo. They’s got those watchin’, cunnin’ yeller eyes, always measuring, figgerin’ when you’s weak. I seen a guy once’t, he was a homeless one and he slept out with a bedroll. One night a coyote got ‘im while he slept, bit a cheek right off dis poor bastard’s face. A lone coyote did it. Blood everywhere, screamin’ crazy like a mad man, he was. Poor son a bitch he was. Coyotes kill, I tells ya. Dey kills anythin’.”
“Sometimes,” said Jake, “I gets to thinking, which ain’t too often. But one day I had this thinking spell about coyotes. I thinked they was God’s voice for all the animals of the world, that they yips and howls for all the sufferings of all the animals of the world and for all the bad shit people do to all the animals. They got hearts, them coyotes. And they’s there waitin’ to get even with humans for all the animals we hurt. They’s killers! John’s right, I tell ya. They’s out there now, watchin’ us, measurin’ us. ‘Specially the big lobo. He’s watchin’ us all right with them big red and yellow eyes and he’s lollin’ his tongue and flickin’ his tongue over those huge canine teeth. He’s droolin’ and tastin’ the air for us. Don’t go out the cabin alone with the big lobo out there, no sir. Once he’s et human flesh, ranger says he’s gonna want more.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” yelled big Jim. “I don’t want to hear no goddamn more shit ‘bout no fucking goddamn coyotes or I ain’t gonna be able to sleep! I’m gittin’ shivers up my backside an’ chills all over. All you jest shat ap! It’s my turn. Over to you, Jack. I’m raising you three bucks, and pass me the whiskey.”
HUD WITH THE SPIRITS
Hud was camped near the base of two glaciers in northwest British Columbia. He and his exploration crew had been taking stream sediment samples and searching for gold for the past four months. Fall was in the air. Geese were seen flying south, leaves were falling, and bears were fattening themselves for winter. They would break camp in another week and go to the lower forty-eight before the snows came. He slept alone in the giant wall tent that held the boxes of sediment samples. The rest of the crew had a tent nearby. It was nearly three in the morning. He’d worked hard the day before. He was in a deep restful sleep when they came.
A pair of huge hands took hold of his shoulders and gently shook him until he awoke. He propped himself up on an elbow and rubbed sleepers from his eyes. When his vision cleared, he sat bolt upright. There before him stood his grandfather, Big Chief Eagle Feather. Chief was dressed in his majestic ceremonial finery, a white buckskin fringed coat and riding chaps, and his head was adorned with his ceremonial headdress of eagle feathers that trailed down his back. Standing next to Chief was Hud’s mother and father. All three appeared to be in their early thirties. Standing next to Chief was an intense wiry man with bony hands and black hair. The man wore wire-rimmed glasses. Hud had never seen this man before.
“Hud, my grandson, we were sent by the Great Spirit of All Living Things to come and visit with you. I bring with me your father, Big Horse, and your mother, Little Sparrow. I also bring the spirit of Mr. Nicola Tesla, a man I met in the realm of spirits. He and I have had many talks and we are good friends now. I wanted you to meet him.”
The spirit of Nicola Tesla stepped forward and shook his hand. Hud felt a sudden warmth throughout his entire body and he felt a slight burning on his right arm. He looked down at the source of the burning sensation and noticed there were three brown dots the size of paper punch holes arranged in triangular order slightly above his elbow. Then the spirits of Big Horse and Little Sparrow moved nearer to Hud and hugged him closely. The spirits all stood back and Chief stood alone before him.
“Hud, we have been sent to guide you in a new direction. The Great Spirit of All Living Things is unhappy with the path you are on. You have a gift of intelligence, but you spend all your waking hours in your quest for gold. You work hard but you live like an animal for months at a time. Every two or three weeks you go to the town of Stewart, drink alcohol, clean yourself up, and bed with a whore for a few nights before you return to camp. There is a better path for you, Hud.
“You have a claim group further to the south with some unusual rocks on them. The rocks have properties that open the universe and allow mankind to travel into and out of life among the spirits. Mr. Tesla’s spirit can tell you more about their properties.”
“The rocks on your claim group were placed there by universal electrical energy transition mechanisms,” Tesla’s spirit began. “In my papers I explained the methods whereby large quantities of energy can be transmitted wirelessly. This mechanism is universal. The rocks on your claim group can take the normal eight hertz resonance of the Earth and focus Earth’s energy into an amplified magnetic force field. The sun resonates at four hundred-forty hertz. That force field can be amplified as well. The amplified Earth’s field can flow within the Sun’s amplified field and those fields can be directed to other stars and galaxies and universes as amplified fields fold into ever stronger fields. Selected pairs of living persons can use the fields to move freely among the galaxies and universes, and they can visit all the planets in the universes as if they were swimming from one spot in a swimming pool to another. The rocks enable you to be in endless universes in endless galaxies with endless swimming pools of stars and planets. Each drop of water is a planet you can enter and live on, and take a human form if you choose. The rocks hold the key to end all wars, strife, hunger, and unhappiness. Every human person pair can own millions of planets to do with as they choose. There are endless habitable planets available for endless human pairs. There is no need for frictions among the peoples of Earth.”
He was dumbfounded by what he heard. He looked at Chief, who moved closer to him and spoke again. “Hud, I bring you this message from the Great Spirit of All Living Things. You are to leave this place and go to Plaintown. You are to study the Tesla papers and the principals Mr. Tesla explained in them, and you are to
give up your whoring and marry a good woman and have children. You are the uncle of Sparrow’s grandchild, Little Deer, and you must set a good example for her. The Spirit demands it for he has great plans for her. You will take Deborah, Rick, Little Deer, and your woman with you and go on a journey. The Spirit commands that you live a righteous life, Hud. It is necessary to prepare you for your journey.”
“But how will I find the Tesla papers? And where will I find a good woman?” He was in quandary. The Spirit wanted him to change his whole life.
“You will begin your search for knowledge of energy fields in Plaintown. There is a bookstore called The Ragged Cover. In the basement of the bookstore, there is a science section where you will find books about Mr. Tesla’s papers. Get the books, read them, and understand them. You must follow wherever they lead you. They will take you on a journey where you will travel freely in the company of your woman, your sister and her husband and children, your mother, and your father. Your life and the life of your partner will never die.”
“And how will I find a good woman to marry, Big Chief? All women I know are whores.”
“You are not to concern yourself with that. We have met the spirit of your future woman. The Great Spirit of All Living Things brought all of us together for a meeting. The Spirit is in her now. Her spirit is that of a very fine and good woman. Your woman will find you when you have made yourself ready for her. That is the way with women. Now waste no time. Go to the bookstore as the Spirit commands you, get the Tesla papers, and read them.”
With that last message, the spirits disappeared. Hud went to the entrance flap of his tent, searching all around and up into the sky. There was no sign of his visitors, and they left no footprints. The first rays of morning twilight pierced the black night as a meteor streaked away over the horizon. A shiver shot through his body and the hair on the back of his head bristled as if rubbed by an electrostatic charge. It was the start of a new day.
REST
Before we flutter on, dear reader, like our little Monarch Poon, I must rest for a while. I must knit a sweater and a pair of baby booties for my new granddaughter. There’s so much to do! When we continue, we will meet a very special woman and travel with her as she searches for her new life with Hud. We will discover the wondrous rebirth of Marty’s spirit when she reawakens in her new home and her new body. Will she be the woman Miss Promiscuity encouraged her to be, or will she be the woman she promised Bob she would be when she joined him again? Or will the magical properties of the rocks that lie on Hud’s claim group allow her to simultaneously live parallel lives in multiple parallel universes? And how would that happen, exactly? Does Mr. Tesla’s spirit know something that he didn’t tell the Earthlings while living amongst them in their universe? Will Hud and our special woman travel well with the spirits of Little Sparrow, Big Chief, Big Horse, and Mr. Tesla?
In writing the butterfly books, the thought occurred to me that God might have inadvertently forgotten to add an eleventh commandment. That commandment, I think, should be that “Parents shall love your children and love them with unbounded love with all your hearts, for they need that love to become a glory unto me.”
Until we resume, dear reader, please remember these important things: A butterfly will never lie to you. A butterfly will always love you. When you open your heart to the love and beauty of a butterfly, your spirit will be in a very good place. And when you love a butterfly, your heart is pure and you are beautiful.
Goodbye for now,
Rosemary
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When The Butterflies Come Page 51
