My good friend Steve Waller used to live near a little wide spot in the road by the name of Peedee Creek, Oregon. The little town was about 20 miles west of Corvallis Oregon, and Steve had about 75 acres, and Peedee Creek ran right through the middle of his property. It was a year-round Creek and had trout and beaver in it. The Creek ran right through the middle of his sheep pasture of about 40 acres or so. Every Labor Day weekend for many years Steve would have a picking party and all of his musician friends would show up from all over the Western states to pick and sing that good old bluegrass for four days and nights. it was not unusual to see 150 to 200 people there in their motorhomes, campers, and tents.
Steve had been asking me to come to his picking party ever since we met in 1978, so the last week of August in 1980 Keith Little and I decided we would surprise Steve and just show up at his picking party unannounced on late Wednesday night, before Labor Day weekend. Soooo, we loaded my 1956 Ford pickup, that is powered by a 392 Chrysler hemi engine,with all of our camping gear, instruments, and my teepee poles on the rack for my 20 foot diameter teepee. Come Wednesday morning I fired that big Chrysler engine up, and we got into the wind and headed north about 10 o’clock in the morning. We had a nice leisurely drive heading north up Interstate 5 that day, and we surprised Steve by driving up his driveway at 10 o’clock that night. Needless to say he was ecstatic to see us there for his party. We set up talking and visiting till way past midnight that night, and sampled a glass or two of Kentucky’s finest. After breakfast next morning Keith and I went to the South end of the meadow and set up my big teepee, where we would live for the next four glorious music filled daysand nights. About one o’clock that afternoon, we went back to Corvallis to get some groceries. During our absence Steve’s wife, Charm and one of her girlfriends snuck into my Teepeand filled our sleeping bags with dried sheep dung. Little did they know then what revenge awaited them down life’s road for that little trick. I told Keith not to let on that anything had happened and just smile and go on about our business, because I had already dreamed up an act of revenge that even the Marquis de Sade would be proud of. That was Thursday afternoon, and by late Thursday people had starting arriving at the party and there was cars and campers parked all around the Teepee were I could not move my truck. The plot thickens!
Keith kept bugging me and asking me; what are you going to do to get even? I told him you will know later this morning, which was Saturday. About 10 o’clock that Saturday morning I told Keith, come on kid, it’s time for”The Shadow”to set the trap.[ The Shadow was my nickname during my working days. Nobody and I mean nobody messed with The Shadow and got off Scott free] When I told Keith “The Shadow”was going to set the trap, he knew I meant business. I told Keith to follow me and keep his mouth shut, so we went looking for Steve. When I found him, I said Steve, Keith and I need to go to town to get some ice, and some more beer, and little more grub for the weekend. Can I borrow your truck to go to town because I can’t move my truck due to the campers all around it. Sure he said, the keys are in it help yourself. So we jumped into his truck ‘ol Blue and headed to town. We were driving along and I was happy as a lark, whistling and singing. Just before we got to town I turned to Keith and said; my boy do you realize what we have here? We have Steve Waller’s truck at our mercy! Keith realize that I had outfoxed Steve, and he said oh goody what are we going to do to his truck? I said, nothing. Not one solitary thing. But I will guarantee you he will wish that I had done something to it by the time I get through messing with his mind. It was then that I told Keith what we were going to do when the circumstances were just right. So, we got our groceries, ice, and beer, and headed back to the party by Saturday around one o’clock.
We had a marvelous time playing music with all of our friends that weekend. We had a wonderful time and it ended all too soon it seemed. Late Sunday evening the weather clouded up and started sprinkling rain real light.Sonny Hammond and Keith and I were the last ones there and everybody else had left by then.We were all gathered together in my teepee enjoying a potluck supper of leftovers when it started raining real light and the sound of the rain hitting the teepee cover had a mesmerizing effect on us, and things get real quiet and we were just enjoying the warmth of the fire, and a full belly of good leftovers, and we were all about half-asleep. It was then that Steve’s wife said; Steve, have you noticed how it smells like sheep dung in here? Keith looked at me, and I nodded my head, and he said well that may be, but I would not leave your truck “old blue” sitting in the sun with the windows rolled up.Charm jumped up like a shot, and said why you dirty#$*&**#@##! Old Blue is my truck, and if it quits running on me when I go to town I’m going to have your#%$*&&$ !!
It was then that I told her, oh it is not quite so simple as something like that.Charm cussed us some more, and stormed out of the teepee, heading for the house. Steve,Sonny, Keith and I spent the rest of that evening around the fire in my teepee discussing the merits of Kentucky bourbon versus Georgia peach moonshine, that Sonny just happened to have with him. One of the most enjoyable evenings in my life. You haven’t really lived until you have spent an evening with friends around a nice warm fire in a genuine Sioux teepee.especially if you have some good Georgia peach moonshine to share.
Well the next morning we got up, broke camp, and had the truck all loaded up are ready to go by 10 o’clock. I told Keith the night before, that Steve and his wife would tear the truck apart looking for whatever I put in there, which was nothing, and then they would start looking inside their house. When we said our goodbyes that morning, Steve’s wife was still mad, but I gave her a big hug and kiss anyway. That only made her that much more mad at me. Ha ha.
Keith laughed all the way to California and Valley Springs, but wait there’s more, that’s not the end of the story. Two weeks later Vern’s band was playing a show in Arcata California and Steve’s band was playing this show too. He said when he got out of the car when he first got there, he said Steve came running up and said, damn you give me a hint. Keith said I looked him straight in the eye and said one word. Fermentation, and walked away. Needless to say Steve gave him another good lip cussing.
It took about six months for them to realize what I had done to them. Later I told Steve, the most fertile thing on the face of the earth is the human imagination. And I let yours eat you up. Steve agreed with me, and said you are so right JD. That it did, and I will never mess with you again.
About a year later, Steve called me up one night and asked this question; when did”The Shadow”put this little note in my underwear drawer?[ I can’t say what the note said] I said Steve, you’ll have to ask”The Shadow”the next and you see him, but I think it was the weekend of the party.
The Shadow knows.
