wandering hillbilly

life of buddy don, chaptur 22:
darlene gits on out at the plant

one of the thangs it tuck me too long to git thru my thick skull is how everthang is changing all the time. id later on git innerduced to herkleitos n larn bout how ye cant step into the same river twicet, but i only startid noticin how much thangs can change whenever darlene gut on out at the plant, witch that wood be union carbide in november of 1971.

ye mite not no it, but oak ridge is a cumpny town n the cumpny is union carbide (leest twuz back then). they cum in durin the manhattan project, witch thats the one whar they bilt the furst nukyalar weppons. that cumpny wuz the mane reeson we moved on back to tennessee on a counta most everbidy in the fambly eethur workt at one of them three plants at the momint or else in the past. so we figgert we wood do the same.

whut we dint figger wuz how twood take me twenty months to git on. fack is, darlene gut on furst, six months ahed of me. n rite soons she did, everthang changed.

heres sum egzamples:

1 - darlene made more money on one job than we wuz a makin on two at shoneys big boy restrunt.

2 - darlene gut a crush on her boss john post, witch that gut us to talkin bout a nuther change.

3 - tuther change wuz how we gut to thankin bout wuther we bleevd in havin jes one partner, witch ye gut to member how this wuz in 1972 n thay wuz this sexshul revolushun a gone on n seem lack we wuz a missin out, witch we wuznt but we couldnt figgert out till we dun tuck part in it n then we new better but twuz too late.

4 - we startid gittin invitid to carbide parties n larnin that i wuz still a lergic to hard likker, only i tride it more n more to make shure.

5 - we wuz eech led into temptayshun, witch ye dont need to here too much bout it to git howt messed thangs up.

6 - darlene gut us helth care inshurants n that mint physkulls fer me n a strang of docters fer darlene, witch she always had sumthin rong with her in a dishun to the yeest infeckshun.

7 - i gut to quit my job at shoneys big boy restrunt on a counta we dint need me to wurk in such a place.

8 - i tuck other jobs, witch im gone tell bout em direckly.

9 - we gut us a nuther car.

furst thang that sprized me wuz that oncet i could walk out on shoneys big boy restrunt without havin to wurry bout how we wuz a'gone eat n all, well, seem lack i dint wonta be membered fer walkin out in a rush. fack is, i had dun made day shift by then, n that mint i wuznt in as many rushes. n thay wuz no closin, jes prep wurk, witch that wuz a deelite compart to closin. not only that, but the day shift manjer wuznt no dick nor dictater neethur. twuz the overall manjer fer the restrunt, name of billie byrge, n oncet he could see i mint to do my job no matter whut, he gut to whar he wuz treetin me jes lack i wuz on his level. ye mite could say i gut to whar i lacked my job purty good.

corse, i dint feel thataway all the time, n one of the mane reesons wuz them parties that the carbide folks wuz havin. seem lack ever week or two thayd be one, n generly it consistid of the followin:

1 - ifn twernt at a cuntry club somewhar then twuz at sumbidys house, tho that dint make no differnts on a counta ye always did the same thangs.

2 - when ye gut thar, furst thang ye had to do wuz take a drank, n splainin bout bein a lergic only made em laff on a counta they tuck it fer a joke n sed i wuz witty, witch they mint it fer a complimint.

3 - lite yer cigaret, witch in this case nobidy could make me smoke on a counta i wuz bad a lergic to tubacka n had to go to the hospital a time or two when i wuz lil n tride to smoke one of my daddys butts.

4 - stand round n talk bout eethur carbide or whut ye dun fer a livin, n that rite thars whut made me wonta quit my job on a counta i dint no better than to be shamed of the wurk i dun.

5 - dance, only twernt specktid that ye wood dance with the one that brung ye but sumbidy else, n i dint no it at the time, but that wuz the point of the hole extercise, to git to hole sumbidy close who wernt yer wife or husbin.

6 - wate out yer chants to leev n take it ifn ye could, witch we dun purty good the furst time or two, gittin out whenever the furst folks startid leevin, but then thangs tween darlene n john post gut more promisin, leest frum her perspetiv, n that mint she dint hardly wonta leev till he did.

7 - n that mint twuz a problem how john posts wife cecilia or even jes celia tuck to grabbin me whenever the dancin begun n truth to tell seem lack she wuz a'gittin hotter fer me than wuz proper tho ye had to member how she wuz drunk n all. she wood take to callin me mr mustash cawz thats all i had back then on a counta ye could have a mustash but no beerd a'wurkin at shoneys big boy restrunt, n she wood git to strokin that mustash n then she wood pull herself closer n fack is she wuz a very sexy woman cept she gut drunk too quick n point is, ye kin jes magine how seein his wife a tuggin on my mustash or whutever, well, that dint sit too well with john post n sumtimes seem lack he wood up the ante by trine to touch darlene but much as she mite be sweet on john post, darlene dint bleev ye oughta do such thangs in publick.

8 - n purty soon miz cecilia post sed sumthin to mr john post or vice a versa.

9 - n we wood leev n drive home even tho we wuz too drunk to be a drivin. tiz a wunder we never crasht.

dont git me rong. them parties did jes whut they set out to do, witch is give a thrill to them that wonted it n twuz as close as sum folks ever cum to havin thar own sexshul revolushun n the wunder is them parties never turnt into outrite orgies, witch in a way they wuz, only folks got thar limits. tommy jones couldnt never figger why i dint try to quote hit on unquote miz cecilia post on my day off whenever she wood be home n her husbin at wurk n i couldnt splain it too well my ownself ceptin seem lack she jes wernt my type n seem lack twuz way more truble than twood be wurth. shame is i couldnt keep that same logic a'gone with later temptayshuns.

n that led to darlene n me a talkin bout the idee of a open marrg, witch yer tradishnul marrg is closed n cant nobidy else have sex with ye, n yer open marrg is whar ye luv one nuther so much that ye dont have to wurry bout havin sex with sumbidy else, taint no differnt than playin tennis or sumthin. corse, tiz differnt, but we dint no that fer sartin till twuz too late on a counta we had dun opened up the marrg by then. corse, jes sayin we wuz openin it dint make innythang change rite away on a counta we felt so good whenever we gut to add mitt we wuz havin deesires fer other folk n seemt lack we luved eech other all that much more, witch that wuz jes plane rong n im gone splain why direckly.

odd thang wuz how we had dun been hopin to git on at the plant, n we bleeved that oncet we dun it, thangs wood all git better, n tho we had more thangs, they wuznt no better, n purty soon, thangs wuz unravlin. but we couldnt no that then. in sted, we had a big dinner over to mamas n daddy seem lack he wuz mitey impresst with darlene n i wuz jes glad he kep his commints bout me to hisself cept whenever he made a joke bout wuther i wood ever mount to much.

n when he did, darlene tuck up fer me, a pointin out how i had dun got a offer cept i couldnt wurk at y-12 on a counta i couldnt be round burrilyum n they give me a restrickshun on wurkin thar. n then whenever we wuz playin on that game of risk, she tuck a cuntry in europ frum daddy n held it till we wuz reddy to leev. n fack is, i dont no that i ever loved darlene any bettern i dun at that verr momint.