Bigot Replaced

I had grown up in a house inhabited by a bigot and very verbally abusive stepfather. He was a bully and my mom put up with him. I don't know why she did, but he did put food on the table. I had learned to avoid him and hated his very prejudiced redneck views. Anyone he decided did not come from the right side of the tracks was scum and deserved to be put down whenever he felt like it. After a man born on the wrong side of the tracks challenged him and told him to go home and take his garbage with him, he was self-centered enough to tell the guy to "make him!" and he did.

I wish I could have seen him when the man invited him to take a swing and he did. This was being recorded by bystanders who were not friendly to him, and he got the shit beat out of him. Broken nose, teeth out, broken arm and lots of bruises. He was going to have him sued and so on, but the recording showed him hitting first and the law just laughed. He was not well liked and only had a couple of like-minded men as friends.

My mom refused to go to the hospital. She had had enough and I was willing to help her pack up his stuff and put it in front of our house. He had to take a cab to get home but Mom had gotten a restraining order against him and had it served him in the hospital. She did all the legal paperwork with the help of a lawyer friend, and he would get almost nothing because she owned the house before he came on the scene and so on.

My life changed for the good.

Chapter 2

My name is Locklin Guy. I was named for a grandfather but soon was known as Lucky. This started when I was small and seemed to always find things. I don't know why but if there was a coin lost, I would find it. I often looked where the bike racks were or where shopping carts were returned and would proudly show my mom. My stepfather would yell at me so mom and I decided he would know nothing. She had a big old ceramic urn and everything I found would go into it. I even had a 100.00 bill fly into my face in a windstorm. Mom just smiled and added it to the urn.

As I grew up, I became friends with an older neighbor who was a rockhound and made jewelry. I was fascinated by what he did and when he asked my mom if I could go with him on a rock hounding weekend, she agreed and I was in heaven. J. R. showed me many raw gems that were possible to find in some of the canyons and rocky areas within a few hours of our place and when we arrived, I got a lesson in how to be careful and so on. His emphasis was on watching out for rattlers and not trying to navigate dangerous slopes or rough rock areas.

I was careful and very excited when I found some Apache tears, other gems included in our search were Amethyst, Peridot, and Turquoise, petrified wood. Agate, turquoise, geodes, fire agate and more. My first find was a large piece of petrified wood with an agate vein running through it. Excited, I went to him with it and he was both astonished and excited because he thought it would be worth quite a bit of money. I kept looking and was only about 50 yards from him when I saw something interesting to me. It looked like a small cave part way up the ridge, and the path was rough but could be followed safely. I asked permission and he laughed, telling me to watch out for gold or coins and snakes. I climbed carefully but when I got there it was a small cave but very dark and I could not see. I went back down and asked if he had a flashlight and he dug out a head lamp and helped me put it on. I climbed back up and with the light on I carefully entered. The entrance was narrow, but it opened into a cavern that seemed to go back a long way. There were rocks scattered around the floor of the cavern, and I decided to stay close to the wall and slowly moved forward. There was a small outcropping that I had to ease around and when I was doing that I hit something on the floor that I had not seen. Looking down and using the light I saw an old canvas sack. Bending down I carefully tried to lift it, but it split open and coins tumbled out. They were gold eagle coins with a cc mark which made them quite valuable. There were 25 of them, and I carefully gathered them up and put them in the sample bag he had me carry.

I climbed back down and found him sitting on a rock carefully cleaning something and he asked me what I had found.

"It's a good thing you are sitting down" as I opened my bag and took out a couple of coins'

"They don't call you Lucky without a reason' and our rock finding expedition ended. On the way home he suggested that I allow him to store them and to bring my mother over but not my stepdad. He refused to speak to him due to his bigotry. I ran home and Mom was there, but he was not so I got her to come over to see what I had found. She realized that I was very excited and away we went. By the time we got there he had unpacked the coins and arranged them in numerical value and date. Mom looked at the coins and mumbled "Lucky" and they laughed.

He suggested and mom agreed that he would clean them up and get them valued and we could decide from there what to do. He told my mom not to say anything to her husband and she totally agreed. He suggested that mom allow me to have a joint account in both our names that my stepdad would know nothing about and mom agreed instantly. J. T. suggested that we get them appraised and then decide. The conservative appraisal was just over 72 thousand dollars, but he thought that they would not lose value and we should hold on to them. Then he hesitated, "If you sell two coins a year then there will not be any taxable income because you are not working. By the time you are in high school we will have a nice nest egg ready for you. Then he found out that I could probably claim 3 sales a year of the lower value coins.

We had a fairly big house of just over 3000 sq. ft. and an attached covered pool and BBQ area. There were two big outbuildings and one of them became mine. There was also decorative garden with a pair of double swings, and lots of flowers. I had even put in a little waterfall and creek and that was my favorite spot

Chapter 3

Over the next 6 years I went on many rock hounding trips with him, and he helped me set up a grinding location and a jewelry workshop. My stepdad was constantly putting me down for being just an artisan and telling me that "I was not going to make anything of value." I just ignored him and when he got mad just looked at him and told him that I had read an old saying that said if ignorance is bliss, I understand how you can be so happy and walked away.

He was yelling and threatening me so I looked at him and asked him if his jaw had healed because I could fix it if it had. I felt so good to stand up to him and slap him down figuratively.

I graduated from high school with good marks but had no desire to go to university. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had decided to take another trip to where I had found the coins but this time with extra lighting and so on. I got luck again but this time it was a metal box with more coins and 3 gold bars, each weighing around a pound. J. R. was astonished but we went to work and got everything cleaned up and ready.

Then my life changed again. We had a major wind and rainstorm come through and it damaged many houses. One was just down the road from us and when I stopped to see if they needed any help, Mrs. White told me that it would be 2 or 3 weeks before anyone could come and even look at it. I asked if I could take a look and the damage was superficial but there was a lot of it. Two of my best high school friends were very good at wood and that kind of stuff and I phoned them and asked them if they would come and help out. I knew Mrs. White did not have a lot of money, but I told her that a few dozen cookies and pies might be enough. I told my buddies that I would see to it that they got some money but to be quiet about it. She had insurance but the deductible was 500.00 so I assured her that I would cover it until she paid me off in cookies. That would be about 500 cookies. Tears in her eyes but a smile on her face was all I needed. I got a monster hug from her.

We were done in less than a week and suddenly, I was hit with many requests for remediation work. One of them had an old cargo van that he offered in exchange for work and it was running well. Ozzie and Rudy were both good friends and came form the wrong side of the tracks. I didn't care. They were quite talented with wood and drywall and so on, Ozzie's dad had taught him how to install, tape, med and finish drywall. Rudy had done a work experience program with an electrician but was unable to continue when he graduated due to the economic challenges our town had been facing. The economic base of our town was a combination of tourist facilities, wealthy people who did not want big city life, snowbirds in the winter and a few mine workers.

Due to immigration challenges, we had lost over 70% of our Canadian snowbirds. That really hurt. A lot of people did not realize that the average spending per day by tourists and snowbirds was around 74.00 per day. A deceptive amount but it included rent, food, amenities and so on.

The storm both damaged many residences and businesses and created a huge amount of remediation work. The storm hit a large part of our area, and many people were living in disaster and struggling to live with all the damage. There were few companies available to do repairs and I saw an opening.

Word of mouth had us hopping and it was clear that if I could find more help, we would be very busy. Ozzie and Rudy and I sat down and went over our graduating class to see if there were any of them who we felt would be good workers. We had a list of 8 possible workers but the first one I asked suggested that he had a sister who would be very good at the initial cleanup but excellent at the finishing end for design and planning. This would lead to a mixed sex group of workers.

I only had one van but remembered that there was an old timer who had a bunch of old trucks and vans that he had collected. He was known for working on them and repairing them and then selling them. I went to see him and his place had been hard hit. After a discussion with him I suggested that we could trade renovating his place for some vehicles that were insurable. And running well. He would buy the materials, and we would clean up and renovate. I wound up with 3 large vans and 1-ton long flatbed truck.

My mom had a good friend who was a lawyer who had handled the end of her marriage and asked him to help me set up a company, get insurance and so on. I kind of choked at the cost of the insurance but after a lesson on liability from him I saw what he wanted me to do, and we did it.

I sat down with Ozzie, Rudy, my mom and J. R.

We discussed how to set up 4 crews for initial cleanup and then for repairs. It was clear that I would need an office manager type to handle requests, bookings and so on. When we looked at the first choices, we had made to contact I realized that none of them had what I thought was needed. We needed someone organized, perceptive, good with people and good with computers because we would have to do a lot of ordering supplies and so on.

I was hungry so I stopped at Mom's café (I know the name is trite, but it served great burgers and so on at a reasonable price). The palace was crowded and I was looking for a seat when a girl from my class, Evie, motioned to me that there was a seat and I took it. I thanked her and we chatted. She was from the right side of tracks but paid no attention to that. She asked me if I knew of anyone who was available to help clean up a lot of damage to her house. I laughed and told her that I had just about finished setting up a company to do just that and she immediately asked me to come and look at her house because they had been hit hard.

"Please!"

How could I refuse her? She was not a great beauty but still very attractive to me. She had an average figure and long chestnut hair but had a beautiful smile. We worked together on some school projects, and she was very well organized but easy to work with. I had not been on the girl hunt and knew that she was far too rich for me, so we were just friends. She did not flaunt her family's financial wealth and had no "Rich girl" pretensions.

Chapter 3

My order came and I ate it while we were talking. She commented on my table manners. I laughed and told her that my mom was death on bad table manners, and I learned how to eat properly. When I finished, she asked me to follow her to her house and I did. I was in my old van and dressed to work. We arrived and I got out my phone to be ready for pictures of the damage. Her front door opened and her parents came out. Eveie told them that I had a company starting that did the kind of work they needed and I was going to look at it and give them a quote. Mrs. Book greeted me warmly, but her husband went ballistic. He loudly told me to go back to the other side of the tracks because there was no way I was setting foot in his house. I had turned my phone on and pointed it at them.

There was no way I was going to put up with that crap and I told him so. I looked at Evie and her mom and then came a huge surprise.

Evie was humiliated but her mom was very angry. She looked at him and told him that it was her house and if he didn't like it to leave. He started to scream at her and swore at her and Evie and uttering threats. I didn't even think about it, I just stepped in front of him and told him to

"shut up!"

He swung at me telling me to get out of his place, but I caught his swing and took his arm and twisted it and him around. I had his arm in a hammerlock behind him and when he lunged away, he dislocated his shoulder and his screaming changes from anger to tears and threats. I asked Mrs. Book to forgive me but I couldn't stand there and allow that kind of treatment of a wife and daughter. Then she looked at him and told him to start walking and not to come back. I had another confrontation with him as he refused and started screaming again. I just stood in front of him and then Evie surprised me by running into the house and coming back with his car keys and throwing them at him.

"You need to shut up and leave. Do you need me to help you leave because I will and I will not be gentle".

He left, cursing and crying and holding his shoulder but still able to drive one handed.

"Mrs. Book, I am sorry for stepping in but my mom would not be happy if she found out that I had let something like this happen. Do you need me to change the locks?"

"You can do that?"

"Easily. I just have to pick up a new set of locks, and I would recommend getting combination code set for both doors."

"A what?"

I took my phone and looked them up and showed her the keypad.

Evie stepped in and told her mom to get them because there would not be any lost keys and he could not get into the house.

"Do you need money.? And I told her no.

A short trip to the Lowes and I had a triple combination lockset and headed back. The installation of the front and back doors was fairly straightforward, but the garage door was more complicated. The door frame had been damaged and needed to be replaced. They would have to live with no lock for a few days but there was no inside door to the house so it would not be a problem. Just as I was finishing a police car pulled up and an officer got out. He asked to speak with me and I responded to him. Mr. Book had sworn out an assault charge, but when I pulled up my phone recording of him swinging at me, he smiled.

"He barged into the station demanding an immediate arrest for assault and holding his shoulder. He was spouting stuff about the wrong side of the tracks and tailer trash and even worse. Sargeant Ross took the complaint and told him to go the hospital. He asked for Identification and was told that it was back at his house. Sargeant Ross asked for his driver's licence and was told that it was back at the house, and his bitch of a wife had told him to get out and stay out. Sarge looked at me and told me to write him up for no driver's license and no proof of insurance and he went crazy. Then sarge asked him if he wanted to be jailed or should he be driven to the hospital. He wound up being taken to the hospital."

Can you give me a copy of the video and what I did. Don't worry about the charge. It will not even see the courtroom since it is clearly self-defense. By the way, well done!"

Eveie and her mom wanted me to come in and look at the damage.

It was pretty bad. The roof over one wing had been torn off and sent somewhere. The rain had collapsed the ceiling and over an inch of muddy water had flooded the wing. The big windows along one wall had been shattered by debris and all the furniture was damaged. The two bedrooms were disasters as well.

I told her that she needed to get an insurance adjustor out and she told me that she had called and was finally told to get an estimate, pictures and so on. I took pictures and then told them that I would have to sit down and list all the damage, the repairs/replacements needed and costs of material and labor. It will take a few days as I do not have any office staff and will have to get everything set up. Evie jumped in and asked if she could help.

I was more than happy. I thought about it and them told them that I had to get my crew organized and on the job sites to do the initial cleanup and that would take at least a day. I would have a crew out to put a big tarp to cover the roof but if she could start with the size of the affected area, the roof replacement, wall and window damage, furniture, floors and flooring, plumbing for bathroom and any fixtures and so on. I would be back with help to do the tarp that evening.

This was a big job. The wing was 16 by 64 feet and the biggest tarp I could get was not big enough. There were no joists or anything left. The man at Lowes suggested that we buy 6 20 foot 2 by 6 boards and some 4 by 6 posts long enough to reach the top of the walls and install them first and then used heavy duty poly to cover them for temporary protection. Thank goodness I had the flatbed truck.

We set the posts onto the floor and made sure they were well tied down. We did not worry about damaging the floor. Then the cross beams at the 8-foot mark and then the stringers and finally the poly. It took us over 4 hours, but we had it secured. Mrs. Book had produced 2 big pans of lasagna and veggies and drinks for us, and we were both surprised and very hungry. We demolished the food and Evie and her just smiled.

Evie then showed me her spreadsheet for the listing of the damage, the replacement costs of all the furniture and fixtures, windows and so on. Ozzy and Rudy had thanked them and left. I was so impressed that I spontaneously asked Evie if she would come to work with me doing what she was doing for all the jobs.

Evie walked over to stand in front of me, put her hands on her hips and then "Do you really want someone from the right side of the tracks working with you"?

Stunned, but before I could reply she was in my arms babbling "yes, Yes, yes!"

Her mom just had a huge grin on her face.

"Welcome to our family!" Confused but still having her in my arms, I looked at her mom and saw her joy. I also enjoyed the contact and her kiss.

"Family?

"You asked her to join you and she said yes. From what I have seen you are a great addition to my family, and I know you will always be there for us. When can I meet your mom as I have some questions to ask about lawyers and so on."

"I can call her right now and see if you both could come over this evening". I called and she was ok and away we went.

Evie wanted to ride with me in the truck while her mom followed and that is what we did. We were only about 12 minutes away and when we arrived my mom was waiting outside.

I made the introductions and Evie, and I were sent away with me being told to show her the house and so on. She loved the open features of our house, but the pool and patio were well received. Then I took her to show her my rockhound workshop and some of the stones I had found and polished and turned into jewelry. I had just finished a spectacular turquoise and fire agate necklace and without warning I put it over her head and onto he front. "With all my love to you!"

Her smile was blinding and she kept praising the necklace and saying that I did not have to do that as we walked to the garden. We sat in one of the swings and she cuddled closely to me. It felt right for me and I just enjoyed it. We talked about a lot of things, and she told me that I had always been one of her favorite work partners at school because I was always polite and quite clever. I never put anyone down but made it clear about the ones who were always disrupting class.

She considered me to be one of the quiet leaders in the school even though I was not headed for university. She understood my desire to be able to work with my hands and be creative but my jewelry and my knowledge of construction and how to organize was even more impressive, I treated everyone with respect until they showed to not be deserving of respect because of the way they treated others.

An hour later Mom and Mrs. Book came down to the garden and stopped with happy smiles as they saw us cuddled together and talking quietly. Once again, my mom commented on how my nickname just kept fitting me. "Lucky in love fits right now."

Mrs. Book then asked it I could find time to help move her soon to be ex-husbands' stuff to a storage unit,

"How far away will it be?" Was my mischievous question.

"Is hell too far?" I told him to go to hell, and I hope he is gone. He tried to tell me that he would take me for everything, but I own the house and my trust is in my name, and he had no right to any of it.

"You pack and I haul to wherever you want but only take it for maybe 3 months and then it is his responsibility.'

"Your mom had really helped me, and I will be in touch with the lawyer tomorrow and it will go from there."

Chapter 4

The next 6 months were a blur of activity. I had so much work that I now had 6 crews going. Two of them were only doing cleanup and removal of damaged drywall and so on, two were involved in framing and drywall and coverings and miscellaneous things. The last two were finishers, including flooring and decorating. I had found 2 flooring companies that did good work and were reasonably priced and a window and door supplier who was incredible. Evie had to have more help and one of her girlfriends joined our company. Rudy was smitten and they soon became a couple. Ozzie was simply not interested in anyone and just focused on work.

I was looking at a 6-figure profit for the year and owed nothing. I decided to create an engagement ring and wedding ring. While I was at it, I also created one for Rudy and Ruby.

Ours was to have 5 small fire agates surrounding a purple Amythyst while Rudy and Ruby got a set of 4 turquoise gems and a ruby red garnet.

Rudy helped as he could and we arranged to take our girls for dinner and dance and popping the question. I set it up with the band to have a waltz and we danced our partners to the front of the stage, the music stopped and we dropped to one knee and proposed. Two loud yesses and a round of applause.

The rings attracted a huge amount of attention, and the girls proudly displayed them and shocked everyone by telling them that I had made both sets from gems that I had found and polished and shaped and set. I had lots of requests but sent them to J. R. and he became very busy.

My company gained an excellent reptation and we were busy throughout the entire area. My six crews worked well together and no one was looked down on. The first crews in were wonderful and excellent in relating to the people needing them. My finishing and decorating pairs were outstanding, and the clients loved them and their ideas.

Evie and I welcomed a bouncing baby boy paired with a quieter but very sharp sister.

Our lives unfolded in a very rewarding way and my nickname of Lucky proved to be a prophecy. We did have our challenges and our arguments but were always able to resolve them and tried to never go to bed angry with each other.