liked the idea of having Russel along on this trip. It would be somebody to keep him company and to watch his back. He made the call.
The phone rang four times before Russel answered, “Hey there.”
“Hey, Hoss. How’re you doing?”
“Good, George,” Russel answered. “Except I am really having trouble watching the news. I know you have heard. About the Malheur thing?”
“I’m doing the same thing. It really sucks!”
“I know. Those cowboys seem to think we owe them a living,” Russel continued.
“Exactly! So I just wanted to let you know that I have written everybody and their dog over this. It seems like pissing into the wind, but I needed to do something,” George added.
“I should do that too,” Russel admitted. “I just hoped that somehow the FBI or whoever manages this kind of thing would just go in and arrest these guys.”
“They should, but they seem to be afraid to do anything,” George explained. “Meanwhile, these guys get a bunch of media attention, and some people see them as heroes. I hope it doesn’t go on too long.”
“Me too.”
George allowed a brief pause, then said, “I have actually thought about going down to Burns myself.”
“Really? Just thinking about that scares the crap out of me! Those guys are carrying guns, George, and they seem serious!”
“I know, Russel, but I hate to let these guys get away with this. If people don’t stand up, the authorities will think we don’t care. I haven’t protested anything before now, but now I might. I think it’s time for me to stand up for something I believe in. And I really feel strongly about this.”
After a brief pause, George continued, “I don’t want to lay a guilt trip on you, but Jill doesn’t want me to go alone and talked me into asking you. I mean, I would love to have you, but I know it could be hard for you to get the time off, and it could be dangerous,” George continued.
“Boy, I don’t know. Besides being really worried about being shot, I don’t know if I can get the time off. I don’t own my own company like you,” Russel explained.
“Yep, I get it.”
There was a pause in the conversation. George was thinking about his options, and Russell was evaluating if getting time off was a real possibility. Russel had over a month of vacation available at his mental-health job. He managed over one hundred people and six managers. He held a responsible position in the Portland metro area. He would have to see what meetings he was scheduled to attend and whether his absence would create a problem. Then he would have to convince his supervisor that he could take time off without disrupting the organization too much.
George spoke first, “I know it would be hard to take the time. It would be great if you could come with me, but I totally understand if you can’t, or even if you don’t want to. I will just have to let Jill know.”
Russel scratched his bushy brown beard and arched his back, pushing his developing beer belly forward into the desk he was using at home. “The best I can do is take a look at my schedule and get back to you. If I think I can get off, I will still have to convince the director of the agency. He doesn’t like surprises,” he explained.
“Okay, that’s fine. I have some odds and ends to wrap up before I can go. Who knows, maybe this whole thing will wrap up before we leave. Look, I will just plan to go on my own, and if you can find a way to get loose, that would be great,” he said.
Before George got home, he received a phone call from Russel. He could take as much as a week to ten days. He had checked his schedule and had one important meeting on Tuesday, and then he felt he could take the time. He contacted his director and decided to be honest about why he wanted time off. Bruce Leonard had not hesitated. He had said, “I wish I could go too. I can’t, but I absolutely support you going.” Leonard had expedited the request, and by the time Russel had called, it was all set up.
“I don’t know how much time you were planning to take, but if a week works, I’m game. I told Mechala about it, and she is a little worried, but she understood.”
Mechala was Russel’s girlfriend for the past three years, following his divorce. Russel had no children, and the divorce had gone off without a hitch. He had considered marrying Mechala, but the last marriage had left him a little gun-shy.
“Let’s do this thing!”
Chapter 9
Trip to Burns, Oregon
January 3—day 2 of the MNWR occupation. Ammon Bundy becomes the spokesperson for the occupiers and denies violent intentions.
George pulled up to the apartment complex where Russel lived in the Laurelhurst area of Portland. Russel was nowhere to be seen. Typical of their relationship: he was always late. George locked his Toyota 4Runner, sighed, and headed up the stairs to Russel’s apartment.
Russel invited him into the room, saying, “I’m just about ready.”
George shrugged and said to himself, “Nothing new here.”
He settled into a dark-brown cloth couch and looked around. They usually got together at George’s home, and George had not seen Russel’s apartment.
George was amazed. He knew that Russel had moved into the apartment about a year ago to get closer to work. When Russel had told him that he was spending for this one-bedroom apartment, George was relieved to own a home. His vision went to the photo on the wall. He remembered it as one of the first photos of which he was proud. It was of a bald eagle sitting on telephone pole. George had gifted this photo to his birding buddy five years ago. Both his and Russel’s photography had improved, both in equipment and technique. His eye scanned the walls for space to put some new photos. Milk-white walls stared back. Before he could find a spot, Russel reappeared with his duffle bag.
“I’m pretty much ready. I have my camera gear ready too. I didn’t know if you thought we would have time to check out the wildlife,” Russel said.
“Yeah, I don’t know either, but it seemed strange to be going to Malheur without our cameras. So I brought my gear too.”
Soon they were packed and on the road for the six-hour trip to Burns. It was listed on the Maps app as a five-hour trip, but as usual, they would take a lunch break in Bend. Since it was January, George had checked the road conditions. On NOAA, he found packed snow on the pass. They were using George’s 4×4 and were not really worried about traveling over the pass. They were not planning on camping as they usually did, and George had arranged for one room with two beds in the hotel in Hines, a town neighboring Burns.
The first fifteen minutes of the trip were quiet, each thinking about the significance of the journey. George was wondering if he had been too hasty. What can I do down there? A bunch of yahoos running around with guns playing cowboys. What difference can I make? I think it’s important to stand up to these guys, but it’s kind of crazy to do so, he thought.
Russel was wondering, What have I gotten myself into? Why did I let George talk me into this? What in the hell will we do when we
