new friend #3

I met Ron at the dump. The River Dog sanitation ground is about five minutes out of town and up the hill. That place is run by the Dump Nazi. I haven't had any grief from the Dump Nazi yet, as I learned how to kiss his ass by observing how my cousin Mark pissed him off once (no tarp over the load, arrive five minutes before closing, no exact change). I follow all the rules and turn on the Southern charm, so the Dump Nazi likes me OK.

But Ron is a piece of work in his own right. I've always been attracted to intense, strangely counter-culture people. I seem to be a magnet for them. Ron pulled up next to me to unload debris and immediately struck up a conversation due to my Texas plates. I have met more new people due to that truck than I would have imagined. Too bad it will come to an end soon (another story).

Ron is an independent carpenter/handyman. I asked him if he ever looked for helpers, then handed him one of my cheesy homemade business cards. He didn't look interested at the moment.

But he slowly warmed up to me as we unloaded our trucks and I asked all of the questions I had accumulated for basement renovations, my current project on our own house (keeps me busy but pays zero). He loved sharing info and quickly warmed up to me. I've learned over the years to bow down to people's experience, even though this carpenter was missing a finger. We must have sat against our trucks and talked for 45 minutes out in the dump. He's quite the racist, having left his native Toronto because of all the "blacks, browns, and foreigners". I have met more racist rednecks in Saskatchewan then I ever knew in 39 years in Texas. Who knew.

Ron has several internet friends in Texas, so he became interested in me. I've since run into Ron several times (typical small town stunts). He's seen me walking down town once and just pulled over and got out to talk. He likes to talk but I suspect it's also his excuse to smoke cigarettes. Hey, whatever works.

Ron has a job coming up building a deck, which requires two people. I'm hoping he'll use me. I'd love to work for him. There's a chance I'll soon be working with a home install crew out of one of the local hardware stores. But I'd rather work for an independent guy like Ron.

He's pretty interesting.