Arnegard, North Dakota  aka Hell Froze over 

We were staying with his friend Greg.  It was just for a little while.  A few days.  Then a couple of weeks.  Then just one more month.  He had gotten a job and was making good money and he wanted to save just a little bit more.  I didn't get along with Greg at all, and I didn't get along too well with Greg's family, who lived right across the street.  Well, I got along, but I didn't feel very welcome.  Dewey didn't like it when I went there either.  And since that's where he spent most of his time.... I spent most of mine alone.   

For a while I worked at someone's home... I think it was odd jobs, light cleaning & cooking, little stuff, I think the person was sick or handicapped, I don't really remember.  The lady that hired me was either a relative or the professional care giver.  It's a plesant memory, but no details.  I took a job washing windows for a distinguished old gentleman from Arnegard.  All I remember what he was nice to talk to, he gave me lemonade, he paid me well, and he had a LOT of windows in his house!  I even took up a job picking potatoes, but it was out of sheer boredom and fascination.  The guy was a tough 'ol Norweigen farmer, fed me lefse for lunch and dinner, and dug up his taters with a team of HUGE horses, I picked them up by hand and put them into burlap bags.  Nice people there in North Dakota.

The guys did a lot of drinking and they were....well... assholes.  They would literally me mean to me just so they could laugh about it.  Well, since I rode there with Dewey, I was kind of stuck.  It was becoming obvious that we weren't going to resume our trip.  NOW what do I do?  I knew he was getting back with his X girlfriend - behind my back - but when I'd ask, he'd deny it.  Why do men do that? 

By Dec 5th I had moved into a Room  at the Motel 6 up the road in Watford City.  Still playing the charade, Dewey only left me hanging there for about 1 - 1.5 weeks before he came to tell me he had gotten 'us' a place there in town.  Watford City was about the size of Clarksville plus a block and a couple of diferent businesses.  Dewey was working for BLM oil drilling.  I painted a couple of highway signs for them.  One night after work we ran home to quick change and were going to go to our friends' house, Mike and Sue McCauley.  It was snowing and blowing real bad, but we were going to try anyhow.  On the way out I opened the walk through door in the garage, and I'll be damned if in that short 45 min we were home, the snow had drifted right up past the garage roof. 

When I spent Christmas alone, I knew I had to go.  We had already depleated my savings, I had no car, I had no job.  I mustered up the guts to tell Dewey, "This isn't working out, and you're obviously not going to head back out for Alaska.  I'm stuck here now for over 6 months and I have got to get out of here."  He said, "I want you to go."  "Well, okay... but you're forgetting we lived off my money until it was gone... now I have none, so how am I s'posed to go??!!" He said, "Well I called back to Twic Cities and got you back your job.  I'll get you a car and give you $200 to get back."  Oh - that was IT!  "I don't WANT to go back to Michigan, I left there to go to Alaska.  I came here with more than 3g and $200 is an offer?  That won't even get me halfway back, and how am I s'posed to pack into a car what we brought in your truck?"  GGGRRRaaaarrrrghhhh!  I threww my address book across the room, "I'm not going backwards damn it!",  and it landed open on Dann E Kendal.  (we had been in occasional touch since I lived with the Lincolns). 

He did get me a great car, a '71 Maverick.  Which I found out less than a year later that he would not pay on the loan.  He was going to let me get where I was going then have it reposessed!  But the bank told him it would cost more to reposess it that for him to pay for it.  If was only $500  for goodness sakes.... that was a pretty low and underhanded act on his part.  Anyhow...... I walked up the the pay phone to call Dann EK.

Me "I'm calling from North Dakota, I need to leave, and..." 
Dann "Come on down, you're welcome here." 

That was that. I set out soon thereafter.  If it didn't fit in the car, it didn't go.  I had recently adopted a neighborhood stray cat, Bootsie, and she went with me.  I've got to have a pet... and a dog was not an option at the time.  I have only had two cats in my life, Bootsie and Stetson, and that's only when I can't have a dog!