Bad karma

That there word sounds kinda like it is used by some foreign guru sitt'n there in front of his little shrine call'n bad karma down on his enemy. But I liked the way my dear Mother used to put it "What goes around comes around," or she'd say "Careful how you treat others. It will come back to you."

Anyway, it put me in mind of a timber cutter I worked with at Cape Pole Alaska. That is on Prince of Wales Island of course.

Most of the time you suffered through no lunch or maybe a bite off a sandwich as you gassed up your saw. For don't ya see in that downpour getting a lunch fire go'n was usually out of the question. Even using a liberal amount of company gas and oil to help matters along.

But every once in a blue moon the rain let up and if you had a big spruce snag nearby you could get into the middle and split up some small pieces for a smoky fire.

It just so happened the guy I was work'n with had a story to tell about his brother. So I got it almost straight from the horse's mouth don't ya know.

Sitting there in the bunkhouse at night, finally gett'n dried out, this here fella tells me how his brother liked to go to town on time off and tip a few. Sometimes if he saw a Native passed out near the bar door, he hauled off and kicked him and cursed em' till they'd move or someone would stop him. Seems like he had a mean streak a mile wide.

They were cutting on Admiralty Island where the big bad bears resided. So here's his mean brother and two other timber fallers hunched around a smoky lunch fire. When lo and behold who shows up but a big bad bear.

Say that reminds me of another bear story on Admiralty... but anyway, meanwhile back at the mauling, griz jumps right in the middle of their picnic and mauls the only guy that needs karma. Yup, the mean man himself. Tore off part of his arm, lost an ear, some scalp and I forgot what else. He wouldn't be cut'n timber no more and far as that goes he wouldn't be abusing drunks anymore either.

So ya see, Mother is always right. Careful how you treat others.