Tammi's World

A Memory Triggered

I read this post over at Bou's place and it triggered a forgotten memory. I wasn't going to post it, but since it was the first damn thing I thought of when I woke up this morning, I have to write it. I just have to.

Back in the "Married Days" we did live a very strange lifestyle. My husband eventually became what they call a traveling lineman. That's a contractor that travels around the country from job to job working in construction and major repairs for electric companies. We were lucky, there was enough work in our area that we never had to move. The group of guys that he worked with were from all over the country. Not one other local. Only one of the 19 other guys had his family with him - so they were all living in hotels, their trucks, the back of bars, any where they could crash.

Now, this was a tough group of guys. Really tough. And every one of them were hard drinking, tough talking, mucho macho men. Every night was spent in the local biker bar, drinking up whatever money they didn't send home to their families or use to pay off the last week's bar tab.

My ex husband had a soft spot. It made him crazy that these guys didn't have a home. So he offered them ours.

Honest to goodness, at one point I had the entire family of the one guy (him, wife, 2 kids and new born) plus 4 other linemen - not to mention my ex, me, and his 3 boys - all living in my house. The doors rattled with the sound of snoring. It Was Hell. Hell in a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.

I worked full time at an insurance company. I cooked like a demon. Had to have a full dinner on the table every night. Laundry - I can't even describe it. But.....I digress......I just wanted you to get the feel of the atmosphere and situation.

So.....the company they worked for decided to offer limited medical benefits. WooHoo. One procedure covered was vasectomys. My ex had has his done when he was 19 (he already had 3 children by then) so he was considered the expert. No lie folks - every one of the guys that lived in our house scheduled to have this little procedure done. They decided that it would be cool if they all got it done at around the same time - so that they didn't need to worry about practical jokes, teasing and they could all suffer together.

So.....picture it.......24 year old Tammi (not in the least bit "medically inclined - if you hurt, take an asprin and stop your bitchin'), trying to make 5 recently snipped linemen comfortable. My freezer was full of ice, I made dozens of brownies and chocolate chip cookies (hey they help me feel better) and fifths of any type of hard liquor you can think of.

Oh...
My....
Goodness......

Thanks Bou.....now I'm gonna have a couple shots to wipe out the memory. (on the good side - I think I can handle this family reunion No Problem) ;-)

Posted by Tammi at January 19, 2005 09:12 AM