Briar Patch

Ruff was a crazy woman of undetermined age. She wore rags until they literally rotted off of her. To keep her shoes together she wrapped them in sacks, secured with heavy twine. The woman's hair had never seen a brush or comb and a bath was unknown. When she spoke she shouted and cussed like a sailor with every breath. Locals encouraged this outrageous behavior for the novel entertainment. Ruff lived in a shack two blocks from what passed for downtown. The shack was crammed full of old newspapers to the ceiling and secured with clothes line wires to keep it in place. Actual living space was a trail leading to what used to be the kitchen, with enough room to turn around. Then a branch trail to reach the bed. The property still boasted a “shit house” during the days of indoor plumbing. Ruff spent most of her home hours sitting on the front porch so she could cuss at the passing traffic and wave a butcher knife at anyone who shouted back at her. She frequently went to town and entered stores and shops demanding food, etc. and cussing at the top of her lungs. The town took care of her needs because no one else would. She came to see this as her God given right and her belligerence and unreasonable behavior knew no bounds. Ruff also enjoyed revealing her extensive sexual history to anyone who would care to listen. A typical conversation with Ruff went something like this:

Upon entering a local grocery store, Ruff would shout, “God-damn it! I'm hungry, give me something to eat right now”! One day the preacher stopped by her shack and ask, “Ruff, what happened to that picture of Jesus I gave you?” Her response was, “Oh, the god-damn rats et a hole in the son-of-a-bitch and I had to throw it away.” Ruff's late husband, another nut, got in a fight with someone of equal IQ using a couple of hoes. The hoe fight took place over a barbwire fence near her property. Ruff's husband was killed outright at the scene. She would tell the story and add, “That son-of-a-bitch is in Hell right now!” Additional incidents are all too numerous to list here.

If someone out hunting happened to meet the Creatures foraging, they might be tempted to shoot first and ask questions later. Despite their frightening appearance, the Creatures were very benign and almost nonviolent to a fault. On some level they seemed to know they were different from other people. However, if sufficient time was spent in their company, they eventually began to look normal to you. Pictured here is some of the clan. Left to right is Bobcat, Fox, Coyote, and Wolf. Wolf had a bad habit of hiding meat. Fox was always telling him, “It's bad to hide meat --when you dig it up later it can make you sick!” Wolf would respond, “Wolf's teeth are not so good, hidden meat is more tender and easy to chew.” Eventually Wolf would agree not to hide meat, but as soon as no one was looking he would return to his old habit. The whole family wouldn't eat unless their back was to a wall, tree or rock. They feared being attacked from behind and having their meat stolen.