SAVE DIRT

Author: SAVE DIRT

My life took many turns, not giving up at really knowing ,is,part of personal inventory , reaching out, through, my recollections , makes me feel that , at least my first person perspective is more valid than , say , gossip. I have suffered from mental health issues my entire life . I don’t believe in labels ( diagnostic guesswork ) I have traumatic brain damage, and have seen other labels put on me , in , medical records In grade school , they tested me and in many years , I was put in S L D programs. ( not at Linwood Elementary ). Sever asthma ( that manifested when I was eight years old ) kept me out of serving in the military I worked all of my life = some years there was four or more W 2’s to file . I continued to work ( and volunteer) after getting SSDI in 2004 and still do. I was A. Brother A paperboy A. Handy man child and adult,for my blind Dad A. Kid who helped neighbors A. Boy Scout A. Environmentalist A. Day laborer A. Janitor A. Warehouse worker A. Camper , Hiker , Canoe paddler A. Photographer A. Broom ball player A. House flipper , A. Motorcycle owner A. Forester A. Truck Mechanic A. Farm hand A. Carny A personal care giver A. Volunteer A. Gardener A. Crew leader A. Prisoner And that is only a bit of me there is a lot more to tell.

It is quite a feeling , to enter a room and realize that there is actually a little respect being directed your way

My return to Minnesota, in 81 was such a time . I had worked for the state DNR , Thistle dew district ( land use inventory) I was offered a more permanent job , but eventually landed in Montana.

There I, worked at a converted Air Force base ( Lakeside) , that was a Young Adult Conservation Corps base , co-ed , we did trail maintenance, built a log cabin/ tac shed ( for the Bob Marshal Wilderness)and such , I got to use my knowledge of trees , to , select logs for the cabin , and harvest them .

I applied for a real Forestry job , at the Government office in Kalispell , sure enough I got hired in to the U.S.F.S. , the Tally Lake District, that’s where I felt ,on top of the world . I was hired as a G S 4 , two levels above my YACC supervisor , at Lakeside .

The mountains , the forests ( namely Lodgepole pine) were devastated by an invasive species, Japanese pine beetle , entire mountain sides were rust colored with dead trees

Our crew concentrated on selling off the trees , before they burned , we timber cruised = measurements of volume , slope , acreage, and marked the boundaries, looked for wildlife trees or nesting sites (to be set aside )

We also helped clear, cut over land, for reforestation, and , other work for public lands, Forests.

The work was seasonal, because of snow , they are the MOUNTAINS. I got to drive a Thiokol snow cat ,briefly, we used snowshoes, and had warmup fires . The drive into the forests each day was along one , my crew ( before I started ) had been flown in by helicopter, to some of the more remote areas .