Sagehen Mesa- Season 3, Episode 15 - Ronda Reports In

 Hello, 

It's Ronda Culpepper. I've been asked to give an account of my family's activities this past winter. I really don't have a whole lot to report. Dad took a job at the junkyard, so we finally have a steady income. My classmate Rosalie Lopez said she spoke to him one evening. He advised her to save money by not buying expensive new furniture. It isn't as well-made as the older items, and she should just refurbish things others have cast off. 

She said she overheard him talking to someone about a company party and something about artwork. 

He never mentioned anything to us, but he seldom talks about his work. It's probably really boring. 

I think the only interesting thing he did was he got fined for blowing up an old picnic table and grill out at the beach. 

When mom questioned him about it, he said it was part of his job as a junk collector to go out and collect scrap for the junkyard. Those items looked like they were a safety hazard so he took some initiative. He didn't realize he needed a permit to scrap the objects, but he knows better now. 

Mom has finally figured out her preferred sculpting medium. She's tried clay, wood, and stone, but wasn't satisfied with any of her work. 

My sister Dara and I were starting to get concerned. She just seem too picky about some perfectly good pieces. 

She's not only a critic about her own work, but about other's taste in decor. She went to visit Ms. Josie and was rather rude, criticizing her choice in Snowflake Day decorations. She's so cringy sometimes. 

We wonder if it has something to do with Mom's mental health problems. She gets worked up and has to breath into a paper bag quite frequently. Sometimes her condition gets so bad she has to go to the hospital. We're trying to talk her into seeing Dr. Ellen about it, and she says she might if things don't improve by spring. 

But as I was saying, She finally found the medium she's happy with: ice. She has started creating sculptures of the townspeople, and she claims she's so good that they don't seem to be melting. 

She made a sculpture of Tess Dexter and it stands outside at the entrance to the Art Barn.

She made another of Guadalupe Coy, but left that one inside. She went back the next day to find it gone. She swears it must have been stolen, but we suspect it just melted away. There wasn't a puddle though, so that's feeding Mom's delusion that they don't melt, and she insists someone took it. But if that is really the case, why wasn't the sculpture of Tess not stolen?  Mom doesn't have an answer for that. 

The Whitings reported the metal sculpture that used to stand outside the entrance as stolen, so I think that is feeding Mom's paranoia that her work is being stolen as well. Spring is here now, so I expect that the statue of Tess Dexter will melt away soon. Maybe that will be enough for Mom to face reality. 

In other news, my sister Dara has joined the police force. There's some tension in the house because it was Dara's boss, Sheriff Lang who came over to the house and called Dad on the carpet and fined him for destroying community property. 

Dad's not a fan of the police these days. I guess I can't really blame him.

As for me, I made new friend. His name is Carmen Arroyo. My parents can't stand him because he's way older than me and he's homeless. They say he's a vagrant just passing through town and should just get a move on. 

My parents just don't get it! I'm sure they would like him if they would just take the time to get to know him. I offered to slip him a key to our house across the street so he'd have someplace sheltered to sleep, but he was afraid it was too close to our house, and if the parents found out, I'd be in a lot of trouble. I asked him where he's sleeping, and he said he typically sleeps in libraries during the day and hangs out at  bars and other places that are open late for most of the night. He tells me all kinds of stories about all the places he's been. It sounds so exciting! 

Mom and Dad insist that I hang out with kids my own age, so to appease them, I invited Lara Whiting to come home with me after school. Hopefully that will keep my parents off my back!

That's all for now. Spring is here, and Carmen says he's itchin' to move on. I asked him where he planned on going, and he said he's ready for some city life and thinks he'll give Roaring Heights a try. I asked him to take me with him, but he just laughed and said maybe when I'm a little older he'll come back and we can discuss it then. But I don't want to wait!  He said the life of a drifter isn't for everyone, and I wasn't the type to take to it. I told him I was too able to live like him - I love the outdoors and know how to budget my money - and I want to see the world! It was our first fight.