30 Years in a Housetruck

Page Twenty Seven: New Name

Apparently, the rest of July and the month of August were busy and productive times for me. My letters indicate that in addition to trips to the hot springs, I worked on the Housetruck kitchen cabinet and took on a job rebuilding the engine in Jay's 1960 Chevy pickup for pay. Jay's pickup was a housetruck of sorts, it had a rustic cabin with an airtight wood stove on the bed, kind of a hippie camper.

Another significant project was that I was approached by the owner of the Community Natural Foods store in Eugene to do some electrical work on the premises, installing a 40 ampere branch circuit for a walk-in refrigerator. Since I was in need of some spending cash and wanted to make sure I got the job, I wrote my middle name down as "Sparks" on the paper with my contact information. This got picked up by the roommates at the Schoolhouse, and I was bestowed a new nickname. This was fine with me, as "George Huxley" was getting a bit old by that time. Interestingly, the name has stuck until now, at least as many people know me by that name as Sharkey.

Woodley had a few changes as well, his estranged wife, Anne moved to Oregon, and they began a process of reconciliation. Anne moved in and became a member of the household, living in Woodley's step van. With the van needing to support two and a dog, Woodley put a lot of effort into finishing the interior.

The other notable occasion was that my guinea pig gave birth to four babies. I took the cover off her cage one morning and there were three times as many little eyes staring out at me as the night before. Guinea pigs give birth to fully furred, wide-eyed young, who take only a few minutes or so to shake off the experience and then begin scrambling around exploring their new world. They are drop-dead cute, and completely tame from the first breath. Best of all, the pet shop paid me $4 each for them as soon as they were 6 weeks old! Try that with kittens.