IS THAT YOUR WIFE?

The first thing I did as a single man was call Greg out at the Slab Farm. One of the Osss students- Christian, had decided to stay and work for me. First job was to chauffer me to PA. After a night of playing music and drinking, we continued on to Chicago, where we parted company. He kept going back to SF and I hung with Paul and Sarah. At first i felt great- still jazzed over the school and relieved about the break up. But, then as if on key, the malaise started to creep in. I flew back to NY, went back to working and the commute. The grind took it's toll. I liked the school house, but missed my own bed and the church. I began to question whether we were really doing the right thing. Shouldn't we give it another try? My own character flaws were glaring. Could it have all been my fault?
'99 was a watershed, not just for my personal life, but also for the area as a whole. Two large properties owned by the Concord Hotel, that had sat vacant for years, were seized by the county for back taxes and were to be auctioned off. Two friends of XMY were poised to bid on the farm across from the church. Then at the last minute it was removed from the auction and sold to RNSpanky. I flipped and bitched all the way to the Federal courts on that one. Sullivan County is notoriously corrupt. The polititians are sleazy at best and mobbed up at their worst. I was swimming up stream. XMY's friends (GNJohn and Mario) didn't blink, ending up with the other large property down the road. It was a shrewd move and in the long run served them well. Can't stop progress.
Time went by and as the leaves changed XMY and i began to talk...a little on the phone. She was every bit as tough as those Federal judges. Then one Sunday I called her from the schoolhouse and we got in a big argument over the phone. I was getting fed up with having to deal with her on the phone and decided it was time for some face time. "I'm coming up." I said, slammed the phone, grabbed the Sunday Times and headed up the road. Just so happened RNSpanky and his wife and kid were driving down the road in their big Hummer. They stopped and we introduced ourselves. He had a cute blond wife- Curlie Jean and a little daughter named Maddy. He was friendly enough. I hoped he didn't know i had talked to the FBI about his real estate practices. Just as he was about to leave he asked "Is that your wife sitting with that rifle across her knees, on the picnic table?" From the Hummer's running board I could just make her out through the trees. Yep. That was the sweet little .243 cal. I had given my Mrs. Yummy for her last birthday. "Ex wife." I said and went back to school house. No. It wasn't all my fault.