by Kevin Deeny
Marcus stepped out of his car and felt the morning sun. He lifted his face to it with his eyes closed and took a deep breath. The images of Josh and Sarah came to mind; they were relatively new members of the association, and Marcus paused to refresh his memory of them before going into the meeting with Josh. He knew them as a hard-working couple, he with a degree in biochemistry and she in finance. They were both knowledgeable and determined. They often worked side-by-side during planting and harvesting. Josh managed the crops and kept the machinery running while Sarah kept the books and ran the business.
They also had an arrangement with Carlos Rivera whose family owned a larger conventional farm in a neighboring township. Carlos’s parents had worked that farm for years, and when the owner sought to clear his debts to the bank and put the farm up for sale, his parents were able to scrape together their savings and obtain a loan to buy the farm. Carlos was raised on that farm and eventually took over its management and ownership. His parents, now in their eighties, still live in the farmhouse that he grew up in. Carlos considers himself an old-school farmer who has farmed all of his life and knows it well. But he is also aware of the fate of many of the family farms that can no longer compete with corporate agribusiness and eventually get subsumed or driven into bankruptcy. Carlos noted the improving trends in organic farming that caters to customers who want to buy locally and want their food to be grown without the use of herbicides and pesticides and most importantly, without the use of genetically modified seed. He understood that he needed to adapt his farming practice for the future if he wanted to survive.
When Josh and Sarah met Carlos, they realized that they had mutual interests; they needed to learn farming and Carlos wanted to learn about organic growing so that he could begin moving his farm in that direction. They spent time on each other’s farm, and they united their knowledge into a mutually supportive agreement that was sealed with a handshake. During their work together, they became good friends, and it was more than likely on any given day that they could be found working together on either farm.
Marcus turned toward the barn to meet Josh in the shop office. He was there to review Josh’s planting plan for the coming season as well as to discuss soil test results and nutrient requirements for the crops he would plant. He only got a few yards along the gravel walkway when Carlos emerged from the barn on the run heading for the house. Marcus called out to him, “Carlos what’s wrong?”
“Josh is hurt. I’m going to get Sarah,” he called back without breaking stride.
Marcus ran to the barn and didn’t immediately see Josh in the dim light of the barn’s interior. He heard a pained groan come from the back of the barn and found Josh leaning at an odd angle against the body of a mechanical spreader with his arm stuck in the mouth of the machine. Josh was weak and hardly able to stand on his own. His knees buckled and the arm that was jammed in the mechanism was forced to take his full body weight, and he cried out in pain.
Marcus quickly moved to Josh, helped him support his weight and steady himself against the side body of the spreader. He spotted a 55-gallon drum near the back corner, and he told Josh to hold on while he retrieved it. He rolled the empty drum over to the spreader, flipped it upside down, and propped it under Josh’s backside as a seat. He encouraged him to hold steady while he turned his attention to his arm.
None of the equipment was actually running, which Marcus was grateful for. The spreader was powered by a drive shaft that connects to the tractor that pulls it along in the field. This power take-off or PTO runs through a spring clutch mechanism that will stop the shaft from rotating if a jam occurs. The spreader was still coupled to the tractor, and Marcus assumed that Josh was performing some kind of maintenance on the equipment when the accident happened. He could see that Josh’s right arm was jammed in the mechanism, badly broken, and cut well into muscle. There was less blood than expected and Marcus assumed that the supply was pinched off. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw Carlos returning at a run with Sarah. She went directly to Josh, put her arm around him to provide some physical support and told him that an ambulance was already on the way.
Marcus continued to look carefully at Josh’s arm in the mechanism, and Carlos hustled to lock out the PTO at the tractor and see if he could find a wooden block and a large pipe wrench with a cheater. He returned quickly with the wood block and hurried away again to the tool crib on the opposite side of the barn. Carlos returned with a large pipe wrench and a 4-foot piece of pipe that could be used as a cheater to extend the leverage of the handle.
While Marcus supported Josh’s arm, Carlos wedged the wooden block in the mechanism to prevent it from putting more pressure on the arm. Carlos also noted that there wasn’t much blood; he too expected that the blood supply was pinched off. He asked Marcus if he could find something that they could use as a tourniquet and Marcus came back with a Velcro strap that had been used to bundle a canvass tarp. “Perfect,” Carlos said as Marcus handed it to him. He wrapped the strap around Josh’s upper arm above the injury and pulled it tight. He wanted to make sure that massive bleeding didn’t occur when they released the pressure on his arm as they extracted him.
He explained to Marcus that they needed to gently uncouple the spreader from the tractor and then rotate the drive shaft backward carefully to free Josh’s arm. He wanted to make sure that the drive didn’t turn back on its own too forcefully, so while he uncoupled the tractor, Marcus would hold the pipe wrench on the drive shaft to brace the mechanism. Marcus wedged the pipe wrench in place and braced himself while Carlos pulled the locking pin on the PTO, started the tractor and carefully pulled it away from the spreader. Carlos changed positions with Marcus and took control of the pipe wrench whose jaw was firmly engaged around the steel drive shaft. They agreed that Carlos would control the movement of the mechanism while Marcus guided Josh’s arm from the machine.
As they prepared to extract Josh from the mechanism, Marcus closed his eyes momentarily to focus and felt the warmth rise in his hands. He reached in and gently took hold of Josh’s arm which was bent at an obscene angle. He looked at Sarah and nodded for her to be ready, then turned to Carlos and told him that they were all set. Carlos carefully tugged on the pipe wrench to turn the shaft backward just a bit. The mechanism inside the spreader rotated back slightly, the pressure on the arm eased, and Josh cried out in pain. Marcus reached in further and clasped Josh’s wrist and slowly guided his arm as Carlos made small incremental adjustments at the shaft. They repeated the process multiple times making small changes in the shaft position while Marcus eased Josh’s arm out. Finally, they were able to free Josh from the mechanism, but they were still on their own; help had not yet arrived.
Marcus looked at Josh’s arm and noted the grotesquely broken bone and the gash that cut through to muscle. So far though, the bleeding wasn’t extreme, and the tourniquet was doing its job. They laid Josh down on a tarp on the floor of the barn and Carlos asked Sarah if she could find their first aid kit, a clean bed sheet, and a blanket. When she returned, they elevated Josh’s legs and covered him in the blanket to reduce the potential for shock, while Sarah ripped the bed sheet into strips and used them to carefully bind Josh’s wounds.
Carlos noticed that Josh’s color looked washed out and he thought he was in danger of slipping into shock. Marcus agreed and felt a little overwhelmed because he had never encountered a need this immediate or injuries this acute before. He centered himself, placed a hand on Josh’s solar plexus, the other on the wrist of his injured arm, and he pushed as much energy to Josh as he thought he could handle. Sarah and Carlos watched Josh closely and saw pink return to his face. She turned in disbelief to look at Marcus. He ignored her for the moment and leaned in closer to Josh and said, “Josh, help is on the way, but I want you to do something.” His eyes were un-focused, and there was no indication that he heard Marcus speak. Marcus raised his voice and commanded, “Josh, look at me.” Josh blinked a
few times, looked at Marcus, and seemed confused. Marcus continued, “I want you to concentrate on your heartbeat, feel it in the fingertips of both hands. Each time you breathe, I want you to see a golden light fill your lungs and radiate out through the rest of your body. Feel the warmth of the light, -especially in your fingertips. Beat, after beat, after beat.”
He took Sarah’s hand and placed it into Josh’s un-injured left hand and said “Josh, feel Sarah’s warmth flow into you. Feel her heartbeat and match your heartbeat to hers.” They sat together for a time as Josh followed Marcus’ instructions and settled into a controlled breathing rhythm. Carlos looked on intently in silence until he heard a distant siren and ran out of the barn to direct the ambulance crew.
The EMTs checked Josh’s injuries and vital signs and found him stable for transport. He was transferred to a gurney and guided through the barn to the waiting ambulance with Sarah close behind. Marcus lightly touched her arm to get her attention. She turned to him, and he said in a low voice, “Keep him focused on his breathing and heartbeat and fight for his arm when you get to the trauma center; don’t let them take it.” She held his gaze for a moment with a determined look on her face, nodded, and walked on to the ambulance.
As they stood in the open barn doorway, Carlos turned to Marcus and said, “What just happened here?” Marcus shrugged and put his arm around Carlos’ shoulders and replied, “Clearly if you weren’t here today Carlos, Josh would have lost his arm or worse.”
“No Marcus, I was talking about you. What did you just do here?”
Marcus chuckled and said “I’m just a consultant Carlos. You figured out how to get Josh out of the spreader. The rest was just some positive thinking and first aid.”
Carlos shook his head and said, “Positive thinking my ass.”
They both walked over to look at the spreader, and Carlos told him that a tree branch had jammed in the mechanism that Josh was trying to clear and when he pulled it out, it rebounded forward on him. Marcus nodded in understanding and began to think of the difficulties ahead for Josh and Sarah. He voiced his concern to Carlos, and they started to work on a plan to get help from the farming community to keep things running while Josh healed. Soon plans began to take shape that would help get crops harvested and fields replanted for the next season. People would start to show up at the house to clean and cook to allow Sarah to spend time with Josh at the hospital. Carlos arranged to have the spreader picked up and serviced even though Josh might have wanted it melted down for scrap.
Chapter 23
Decompression
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. – John Wolfgang von Goethe
When they had done all that they could do at the farm, Carlos and Marcus closed up the barn and the house and went to the local diner to get a bite to eat and decompress. They settled into a booth with a view out the front window to the parking lot. Each ordered black coffee and acknowledged that they were both hungry. Even though it was approaching late afternoon, Carlos ordered a big breakfast while Marcus opted for a club sandwich.
They initially waited in silence, each lost in their own thoughts alternately staring at the black liquid swirling in their cups or out to the parking lot; seeing nothing in particular. Marcus broke the silence and said, “Well Carlos, it looks like you’re going to have to teach me how to be a real farmer if I’m going to be of any help to Sarah and Josh.”
Carlos didn’t respond; he was focused on a battered pickup truck turning into the parking lot. It pulled up to the curb, and two young men got out and headed to the door. The driver paused when he passed Carlos’ pickup in the lot and said something to the other man as he pointed to it. Carlos muttered, “Now here comes trouble.”
Marcus looked up to watch them as they entered the diner. He had never met them before and took their measure as they looked around deciding where to sit. Carlos had his back to them, but they recognized him from his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall. They chose two nearby seats at the counter, and each ordered a diet Coke and a cheeseburger.
Marcus and Carlos were soon served their food, and they began eating and reviewing their day. Marcus noticed that Carlos picked at his food and seemed to have lost his appetite. He also saw that the two at the counter kept looking at them in the mirror which he found annoying. Marcus turned and looked directly at the driver through his reflection, and the man began to speak to his partner loudly, filled with spite.
“It’s a shame that city boy cut off his arm today. I guess he and his hippy wife will be calling it quits, selling their farm, and moving back to the city. It’ll be our luck if some Latino gets some government grant to buy it up and steal that farm just like they’ve been stealing our jobs.”
Carlos put both of his hands flat on the table, ready to push out and confront the two, when Marcus reached out and put a hand on his and said, “Give it a minute Carlos.”
The driver and his partner got up from their seats at the counter and stood at their booth. The driver spoke to his partner over his shoulder while he stared coldly at Carlos; “Here’s one here; a Latino. His daddy is the one that stole Uncle Roy’s farm.” Marcus watched Carlos turn red-faced and his jaw clench, but he didn’t respond and continued to look directly at Marcus.
“Hey, I’m talking to you,” the driver spat as he lashed out to hit the back of Carlos’ head. Before he could connect, Marcus reached forward, grabbed his wrist, and held it in place. The effect was immediate. The driver wobbled and seemed confused. Marcus pulled him close and said, “Michael, you’re harassing a good man with your racist badgering. You and Jeffery there are old enough to know better. Unfortunately for you both, today is your unlucky day.”
Marcus looked intently into Michael’s eyes and said, “Remember this day, because from now on you will both be sick to your stomach every time you have a hateful thought; for anybody, at any time. You’ll taste bile in your mouth that will match the bile in you. You can stop it at any time you choose, but it will be up to you to find out how.”
Michael’s eyes never left Marcus as he spoke. He cringed and cried out painfully, “Let me go, my arm is burning up.” Marcus smiled and looked down, and Michael followed his gaze. Both of Marcus’ hands were on the table and not touching Michael at all, although Michael’s arm was still suspended, frozen in the act of trying to hit Carlos. He whimpered, grasped it with his other hand and forced it down to his side.
“You should pay your bill and go now. And Michael, you should probably let Jeffery drive,” Marcus said as he stared calmly at Michael.
Marcus and Carlos watched as they left. They got about halfway across the lot when Michael stopped and retched. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket and continued across the parking lot, climbed in the pickup truck and slowly drove away. Jeffery was driving.
Carlos turned away and said, “Thank-you my friend, I am afraid I would have taught those boys a lesson and probably got myself in trouble in the bargain.”
Marcus nodded with a grim smile. “I could have handled that differently myself, and it seems I still have an awful lot to learn. Maybe my temper isn’t under control as much as I hoped.” He continued, “It’s been a long day. Why don’t we check in with Sarah? Would you mind giving her a call?”
They learned that Josh was in stable condition and, though it was too early to be sure, the doctors thought that they could save his arm. For her part, Sarah had no doubt. Carlos and Marcus took the news with relief and parted in the parking lot, each heading to home. They would see each other frequently in the coming months when they helped on the farm as Josh healed. Carlos looked forward to it; he had a lot of questions. Marcus too looked ahead, he had a lot to learn from Carlos.
Chapter 24
Photography
Shut your eyes and see. – James Joyce
Marcus enjoyed photography and appreciated the work of good photographers. He of
ten gravitated to photographs on the walls in public places and would study them intently. He had a preference for black and white images of buildings, cityscapes, and architecture. The rich detail pulled him into the scene in a way that gave him a feel for the time and place captured in the image. Historical images of people had the greatest pull. He would peer into the photograph and study the faces he saw with keen interest. Images of coal miners, skin darkened by the fine coal dust that permeated their pores, railroad workers lifting rails into place in their work-worn clothes and cops on the beat in New York City in the early 1900s were captured moments of people who had long passed, yet all looked like people he saw every day. He wondered about each of them, about the circumstances of their lives, how they lived and died, and what they came to know about themselves and the world they lived in. He felt that photographs such as these did more than just capture a moment in time, they established a connection, a feeling of kinship that passed something of substance forward in time from their lives to his.
Marcus took up photography after college as a creative outlet to “feed his soul” as he put it. He worked with film, which even then was waning. Marcus obtained a vintage press camera from the 1940s, refurbished the components and experimented with it until confident that he could do it justice. He loved the uncertainty of using a film camera; every click of the shutter produced a “potential image” that was not realized in fact until the film was developed. Even then, the negative images on the film did not come to life until they were printed in the darkroom; a process that required some creative input. He enjoyed the fact that the process needed some effort and creativity to transform a latent image into a final print. It wasn’t lost on him that life worked the same way – life’s potential also requires effort and creativity to be fully realized. Over time, he transitioned to digital formats like most others, but the experience he gained in taking time to compose the image, assess the contrast, and select his exposure conditions, served as a good foundation. It required him to think at each step.
