The Pete Story
I’ve told this story before but like the feel of it so here it is on the web. Pete was the epitome of an old codger. He ran a ramshackle tourist trap outside of Canyon City. He was upset that a 50ft sign on the road advertising his place was going to have to come down because of same lame law put into effect by Lady Bird Johnson. Out of desperation more than anything else he called Vicki because she worked in tourism. Vicki was enthralled by this 80 something and got to talking. Pete revealed that he was not in the best of health at the moment. Vicki was alarmed and enlisted my support to go visit him.
So off we go to Canyon City to meet someone neither one of has every met. When we arrived we found a few Kiosks on the side of the road. After a little exploration Pete greeted us along with his two faithful German Shepards - Hick and Big Boy. He had at least Vicki convinced that he could control them with mind control. The first thing I had to do was to look at Pete’s chest Xray as he had just gotten out of the hospital and he didn’t trust the doctors. Despite the fact that reading a CXR is above my skill level he insisted. He went to his mobile rolidex which is in fact the behemoth station wagon he drives and pulled the xray out of the rest of the minutiae of his life.
After assuring him that his heart was in fact in the right place he was happy. We never did see the inside of his house but if the backyard was any indication then that oversight was a blessing. Besides the two dogs there were several horses, a barn and bales of hay.
So off we go to Canyon City to meet someone neither one of has every met. When we arrived we found a few Kiosks on the side of the road. After a little exploration Pete greeted us along with his two faithful German Shepards - Hick and Big Boy. He had at least Vicki convinced that he could control them with mind control. The first thing I had to do was to look at Pete’s chest Xray as he had just gotten out of the hospital and he didn’t trust the doctors. Despite the fact that reading a CXR is above my skill level he insisted. He went to his mobile rolidex which is in fact the behemoth station wagon he drives and pulled the xray out of the rest of the minutiae of his life.
After assuring him that his heart was in fact in the right place he was happy. We never did see the inside of his house but if the backyard was any indication then that oversight was a blessing. Besides the two dogs there were several horses, a barn and bales of hay.
As we got to know Pete we discovered that he had severe paranoia about the government and even at age 80+ had yet to register for Medicare - convinced that the CIA would find and poison him . I don’t we ever found out why they would do that. He also had a talent for spinning some yarns - such as him having dated Dorothy Lamore the actress, paling around with the Hunt Brothers from Texas. He told us that he was heir to the Encyclopedia Britanica fortune, etc.
Pete then took us to the Royal Gorge train station but not before having us meet a friend who owns a winery. We went in thru the back and got a private tour. All in all a fascinating day.Pete’s paranoia I think got the best of him as he refused to see the doctors about his emphysema - again scared that they wouldn’t let him leave the hospital alive. The fact that he was refusing treatment surely meant he wouldn’t leave the hospital alive but not because of any plan to do him in.
We’ve lost track of Pete - he cut off ties to Vicki when he suspected her of stealing a check from him - his check showed up 3 weeks later and it was returned to him but to no avail.
Before we parted ways Pete gave me a plaque with this inscription:
Jealousy and Envy
The thoughtless, the ignorant and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not
the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a person grow rich, they say,
“How lucky they are!” Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, “How highly favored
they are!” And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, “ How
chance aids them at every turn!” they do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these
people have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the
sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised,
that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable and realize the vision of their
heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches ;they only see the light and joy, and call
it “luck”; do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it
“good fortune”; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result and call it “chance”
In all human affairs there are efforts and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the
measure of the result. Chance is not. “Gifts”, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions
are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.
The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart- by this you will
build your life, by this you will become.
Pete
Pete then took us to the Royal Gorge train station but not before having us meet a friend who owns a winery. We went in thru the back and got a private tour. All in all a fascinating day.Pete’s paranoia I think got the best of him as he refused to see the doctors about his emphysema - again scared that they wouldn’t let him leave the hospital alive. The fact that he was refusing treatment surely meant he wouldn’t leave the hospital alive but not because of any plan to do him in.
We’ve lost track of Pete - he cut off ties to Vicki when he suspected her of stealing a check from him - his check showed up 3 weeks later and it was returned to him but to no avail.
Before we parted ways Pete gave me a plaque with this inscription:
Jealousy and Envy
The thoughtless, the ignorant and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not
the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a person grow rich, they say,
“How lucky they are!” Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, “How highly favored
they are!” And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, “ How
chance aids them at every turn!” they do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these
people have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the
sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised,
that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable and realize the vision of their
heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches ;they only see the light and joy, and call
it “luck”; do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it
“good fortune”; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result and call it “chance”
In all human affairs there are efforts and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the
measure of the result. Chance is not. “Gifts”, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions
are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.
The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart- by this you will
build your life, by this you will become.
Pete
