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~THE VISITOR~
"As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence."
Mozart 1756-1791
"Damn it!" I screamed at the visitor. "Can all of this stop while there is still something left in the room to throw?"
"Gig, are you okay in there?" Billy hollered from the hallway.
"Yeah, I guess. It's YOU KNOW WHO...again. I don't know how much more of this we can take. I honestly believe he knows which pieces are more expensive, those are the ones he likes to throw." I whined.
I guess I'd better explain what has been going on for the last four and a half years in our home. It all started when Billy retired and we bought the lake home we had been dreaming about for years. The first day we were in our new place alone things started happening.
"This is really funny," Billy said, "we just left the bank for the closing and I'm not sure I can find the place we just bought...do you remember how we get there?"
"Oh, come on now, I know these country roads all look alike but we still are on Highway 88...aren't we?" I wondered aloud after I bragged about knowing how to get there.
I should have been able to get there blindfolded. Thirty years ago my parents owned a place on the same lake. As a matter of fact, it was on the same street but our new place was farther up the road, atop a big hill.
It was a little difficult to remember because back then it was all new territory around the lake. The roads were all gravel and there were only a few scattered houses along the shoreline. Through the years it has really become popular with retirees and, as a result, there are quite a few homes here now.
In 1959 the US Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the lake and the project became operational in 1963. A dam was built to control the flooding that frequently happens in the spring as a result of winter thaw and spring rain. Also, the dam and lake store water to insure adequate water supplies for communities nearby. We were told a small town was part of the area that was flooded when the project began but we've never seen anything in writing to substantiate that story.
At the end of October each year the lake is drained. Come spring they fill it up to a summer pool which covers between thirty to thirty nine miles covering some 5,790 acres. This is, of course, when you get all the weekend campers coming down. The lake is huge and covers three counties. After six and a half years I don't think we've seen it all.
Long holiday weekends are the worst because the quietness of the wooded surroundings around the lake are disturbed with loud and vulgar sounds. The sounds of speed boats, go carts, dirt bikes, loud music, fire crackers and cursing. Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, I'll start with that first day.
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