I drove over to Charlie’s Truck Stop this past week to fill up with gas and to catch up on the latest news. Jake came bustling out to put the gas in my tank and he asked if I had heard that Lisa Mae Powell had been found dead in her trailer. I had not heard the news. Lisa Mae was a woman in her mid-thirties who lived in a run down trailer over toward Corinth. She had been a right pretty girl in her youth, but she had chosen a path that had turned her into a dried out old woman in her mid thirties. The last time I saw Lisa Mae, she was complaining to Jake because he had stopped selling cigarettes in his store and she had to drive into Corinth to pick up her supply. She could hardly make a complete sentence for coughing and she carried a little tank of oxygen on her back with a tube running to her nose to help her get her breath.
Jake had heard Lisa Mae died from a drug overdose and he had, like everyone else around, thought it was from some of the illegal drugs that were so popular with the drug culture in the area. No one seemed to know for sure, but most of the residents in Soagie were certain Lisa Mae was heavy into the drug scene. Information was, however, that Lisa Mae had died from a combination of legal prescription drugs and alcohol. That woman did like to drink. She had been found last Sunday afternoon by the big fat man, Crisco, who had been keeping steadycompany with her for the last several months. He had gone out to her run down trailer and had found her body in front of the television which she kept playing constantly. It was a sad end for a girl who had been so pretty in her early years and with so much promise in life.
We went inside with Jake shaking his head sadly over the news. Jake has a section in his store where aspirin, name brand cold medicines and several other over the counter drugs are available. He believes there are occasions when most everyone needs something for a headache or a cold, but too many folks seem to reach for drugs for most any minor problem that arises. Jake thinks the human body is able to take care of a good many minor ailments without the use of drugs.
I paid for the gas, then walked over toward the pot belly stove where Mister Johnson was talking with Hermann Spencer and Willard Smith. Willard is our local Republican enthusiast and he had the party convention on his mind. Willard had been watching the goings on in New York City every night on television and he was all fired up about getting the President reelected. He has seen the polls that claim the President is losing support with the American people and Willard claims the polls are not to be believed. He thinks the poll takers have an agenda or they are slanting their questions to get the answers they want, so the polls are of no meaning. But now that there are poll numbers indicating the President is inching ahead of the Democratic opponent, Willard is suddenly a faithful believer in poll technology.
Hermann Spencer is likely what the news folks like to call an independent, though I don’t believe Hermann thinks of himself in those terms. Hermann just votes for the man he thinks is best for the job. Party labels don’t make a lot of difference in Hermann’s world. Hermann has not been overly happy with President Bush’s performance the last couple years and he is thinking the invasion of Iraq has been handled badly. Hermann would likely be persuaded to vote for a Democratic alternate this time around, but he has some trouble getting excited about John Kerry. Sure Kerry claims to have been a big war hero in Viet Nam and he has collected a group of his war buddies to sing his praises, but Viet Nam was long years ago, ancient history to many people. What has John Kerry done of any significance since Viet Nam. According to John Kerry, not much, or at least nothing he wants to talk about. One would expect a politician who wants to be President of The United States would have gathered a record of legislative accomplishments he could point to with pride as he asks voters to make him President. Apparently this is not the case with Kerry. About all he appears to have done in Washington is to keep his congressional chair warm over the years.
The problem with John Kerry, as Hermann sees it, is that Kerry was the most lackluster candidate chosen from a field of lackluster Democratic wannabees. It was as though a committee of Party kingmakers chose Kerry as the least offensive possibility to run against the President. It turns out that Kerry’s only defining virtue is that he is not George W. Bush. That may be qualification enough for die hard fanatical Bush haters, but Hermann doesn’t believe it qualifies him to be President.
Mister Johnson did not seem to have much to add to the discussion. It was pretty one sided in any case. Both Willard and Hermann were Bush cheerleaders to one degree or another. Mister Johnson had earlier made his position on the war in Iraq pretty clear. Mister Johnson believes the terrorists have to be stopped and their agenda dismantled. If they are not put down and are allowed to continue with their campaign, Mister Johnson believes the whole of Western Civilization is in peril. Mister Johnson has indicated he has some problems with the way the administration has handled the occupation of Iraq, but he has seen no evidence that John Kerry would do a better job. In fact, given the conditions at hand, a better job may not be possible. There are indications of some improvement on the ground in Iraq and a change in Presidents from one who has a definite vision of where Iraq should be to one who advocates making Iraq an international committee effort does not seem to Mister Johnson a good idea.
Mister Johnson took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and blew his nose. It seems Mister Johnson has one of those annoying summer colds and I asked if he was taking anything for it. He said he had taken a couple aspirin which was enough.
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