[Kätzchen]

The snow was coming down heavily when CC managed to corral the livestock and secured the ranch, when s/he thought to hirself that putting on a few bales of straw in the back of the truck before leaving might be a really good idea. The extra weight of the straw would come in handy for traction to make it off the summit to get back to her home. Having lugged a few bales into the truck, CC picked up some snacks and water that was left in the tack room and picked up a few blankets in case of an emergency. After loading up and making it out to the highway, CC kept Hir thoughts in motion about things S/he wanted to tell her, when S/he got over to her place.

Coming down the beginning of the steepest grade of the summit, CC noticed flares on the road ahead; slowing down in case S/he needed to pull over and help someone. It was so like Hir to do that. Always helping someone out of distress, or just making a new friend, CC had this incredible gift for being of service. As S/he came upon the fifth flare and approaching the first deadly curve of the descent down, S/he saw Dayle. Dayle had slid off and had been the one to put the flares out. The driving snow and bitter frigid temperatures of the terrain surely made this a difficult road to drive in bad conditions. Having much experience in this sort of weather, CC, gently and carefully, slowed to a dead stop in the middle of the road. S/he knew that no one would be up this way, or leaving in this weather, unless is was neighbors - and even then, with this storm, that meant no one! Gathering Hir gloves, hat and thermal warmer for Hir neck, CC got out and hollered at Dayle.

“What happened to you? I am glad you had flares on you and that I could stop and rescue your Silly Highness! LOL!!! Here: I have some chains and the winch on front. Let's get you back up on the road and I will follow you back” CC bellowed, like a marine sergeant! For CC had been a Sergeant for years in the Marines during the Vietnam War, back in the day.

“You have no idea how silly this looks, but I am so glad You are here! I took the first curve slowly, but I think it was a solid sheet of ice! Once I got the flares lit and on the road, I knew it wouldn't be long before you came along” Dayle chuckled!

“But CC, I think there is another car off the road besides Me here. Listen to the air. It sounds like a motor is still running somewhere and it sure the hell isn't My rig, because I turned my motor off.” And with that, both CC and Dayle intently started searching for where the sound was coming from.

Making sure that both rigs were secured, CC got out two huge lamps from Hir tool box in the back of the truck. Handing one to Dayle, and holding the other, they carefully shed light everywhere they could determine if they could go down the side of the first embankment. Not really seeing anything that looked out of place, and scanning with the lamps in intervals like a gridded map, they both noticed the faint hue of dimmed redness buried beneath the snowfall about 500 yards down the side of the embankment. They both looked at each other. Then thoughts raced a million miles an hour as they both thought about the fact that it could be her, whose car was down over the side of the embankment!

“S-H-I-T!” - They both said in unison. CC knew her the best. S/he knew her impulsiveness with driving, but also knew her to be an expert driver too; and knowing that Dayle had slid off this part of the first curve, yet hadn't gone over the edge, told CC one thing: That her car Jezebel did not have brakes!

“Dayle, we have to work fast here. First we have to get your rig secured and back on the road. After we get that done, we'll have to figure out a way to get down there and uncover that car and find out if it's her; and if it is, get it back up here with the winch.”

“CC, it's a good thing I have my wader boots on from fishing earlier. I have a spare coat in the truck and will get that on first. I can take the line down the side here and You can turn on your fog lamps and aim the search light down the side of the mountain. Here, let Me take that shovel too, in case I need to unbury part of the car” and with haste, Dayle donned more clothes and grabbed the end of the winch and started to make the descent down the side of the mountain.

“Dayle, hold up for a second! We have to radio for help first. Let me get on the radio and get some extra help up here,” and immediately CC got on the CB and made an SOS plea that hopefully the Search and Rescue Unit would pick up on the frequency that was designated for that purpose. Within moments, they made contact.

“We got a vehicle off the side of the mountain,” said CC.

“Copy” said the voice at the other end. “Give me your coordinates.”

“Roger! We’re off the first curve on Highway 66 at the top of the summit,” CC breathed raggedly.

“Copy: We have dispatched a unit to come up and they will be there in about a half hour if the pattern of snowing stays the same,” said the radio correspondent.

“Roger,” CC copied back.

“Copy: over and out,” the voice came back.

“Okay, Dayle, let's get Your Truck back up here and take the line over to the bumper of Your rig....yeah....Hook it up there,” guided CC.

“Take up the Slack,” Dayle hollered out. “Yeah....You got it. It's snug for the pull.”

“Okay, Dayle, now get in Your rig and put it in neutral and use the brakes lightly as I winch you back up on the road. As soon as You get over here” motioned CC to Dayle, “I want you to put it in the lowest gear and put your brakes on tight,” ordered CC.

“You got it, let's do it” Dayle hollered back to CC and s/he jumped into the rig!

Between the two of them, they managed to get Dayle's rig back on the road and secured in place. Jumping of out the warm cab, CC carefully made hir way to Dayle's truck and unhitched the winch. Tapping the side of Dayle's truck, CC motioned to keep the rig in neutral and to wait for Hir to rewind the winch a bit. As soon as the right length was measured, CC went to the back of Hir rig and lugged over two bales of straw, one at a time, to brace Dayle's rig on the icy surface. After making the truck safe, CC went around to the driver’s side and asked Dayle is S/he was warm enough and ready to make the next move.

“Before we do anything else, let's gulp down the rest of the coffee in My thermos and have a smoke break a sec, while I think about our next move. By the time we get through doing this, we might get that vehicle up here before the rescue unit gets here!”

Just about then, the snow had let up some and the wind died down a bit also. It seemed that the storm was lessening as they gathered their strength. Although 500 yards down the side of the cliff looked easy, CC knew how treacherous it really was. This wasn't the first time that someone had gone over the edge and CC knew that they only had a window of so much time left to save that person down there. And the longer S/he heard the distant pinging of the motor, the more S/he knew that it had to be her. She had worked on Jezebel many times before over the last few years. That car was truly a BITCH. It had more problems than carter had pills and was just as sassy as the owner who drove it! CC had bailed her cute ass out of many a jam, over the years that S/he had known her and this one just topped it all!

“Okay Dayle” CC said, as S/he stubbed out Hir Pall Mall. “Let's get this show on the road. With any luck, we can get to that vehicle and secure it and get it winched up the side here and find out what kind of damage has been done.”

With solid command of the rescue at hand, CC and Dayle got situated. Dayle took the winch lead, and as CC rolled the winch carefully, Dayle made it down the side of the mountain without to much effort. Dayle slid the whole way down and just went with the pull of gravity. Once there, Dayle got Hir footing and started to uncover snow off the vehicle. Dayle let out a bellow so loud that it could have caused an avalanche!

“It's Jezebel, CC! But I cannot tell where she is at in the vehicle. Let me get the winch lead attached so I can get to the other side of the car and see if the door will open!”

Carefully, Dayle made Hir way to the driver’s side and didn't see her at first. But when S/he opened the door, S/he saw her under the blanket in the backseat. There was little warmth in the car. Trying to wake her up, Dayle pushed on her first then heard a slight moan.

“Good! Don't move. Stay right there. CC and I are going to try to get your car back up the side of the mountain and you are fine right there. Just stay still until we get you back up there. I am going to get in the front seat, so don't be afraid,” and with that, she drifted back into the numbing fog of slumber that was overtaking her senses.

“CC, Get ready to go! I'm jumping in the seat of the car and will stay in there until you get us winched back up the side of the mountain,” Dayle hollered back to CC.

“Okay,” CC roared back. “Hit the brake pedal to tell me when you are ready to go and put that seat belt on!!!”

Jumping into the warm rig, and bracing for the worst, CC engaged the winch when the brake lights from the rear of Jezebel lit up. Slowly, and with the heavy drone of the motor, the winch labored to haul that piece of steel up the side of the mountain. Just as it looked like it would be a complete success, the car became stuck about 50 feet from the edge of the road. Not wanting to jeopardize the complete rescue, CC opened Hir search light and signaled to Dayle. Dayle waved a sign back and knew to sit tight. Any misbalance of weight in the car might put everyone at risk.

Just about then, the Search and Rescue Unit arrived on the scene. With five members bailing out of the unit, they hustled over to CC's rig and got a report.

“We got the car up the side to about 50 ft ahead,” CC was pointing toward the direction of the car, “but somehow it is stuck. I need more leverage and weight to pull it up here” said CC, as s/he gave report.

One of the Rescue members went back to their rig and brought it up at a different angle, while another member unhitched the lead off the winching system they had. Three other members got repelling ropes out and carefully went through the process of descending down to the vehicle to assess the situation and find out what was hampering the rescue. It turned out to be that part of the vehicles’ muffler system had become lodged on a boulder and wouldn't release. Two of them stayed with the car, and one made their way back up the side of the cliff. Grabbing onto the other winch, the rescue member went back down and attached it to the other side of the car, to help haul it back up. Once that was secured, they signaled to apply more power and they resumed the rescue once again.

Like magic, it worked. Slowly the tattered remains of Jezebel were on the road again and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief and a cheer! The clamoring around the vehicle had a waking effect on her. What was it she heard? Her head hurt like hell and she was freezing and shaking with exposure to the cold, frigid air.

“Okay everyone. Listen up! Let's take the rag top off, and then get her out of here and head down to the hospital” CC said, with sharp commanding voice. “She's been out here too long and is suffering from hypothermia, not to mention that it looks like a head injury too!”

It was just like CC to take the lead in everything. Just like clock work, everyone followed Hir orders and did as they were instructed to do. Once they got her out and bundled in blankets and onto a gurney board, they hustled to take her vitals and assess her injuries. They couldn't get an accurate pulse and her blood pressure barely raised the cuff unit reader. Her head had a deep gash in it and they discovered she had some broken ribs. Rather than waste much time, they put her in the rescue unit and radioed ahead for ER services at the local hospital about 9 miles down the mountain. With the rescue unit about to leave, CC and Dayle stopped them.

“Open the back door for a second before you leave” said CC, as S/he went to the back and with amazing motion, hopped up into the warm emergency unit. Touching her hand, and trying to rouse her for just a moment, she didn't show any response. Leaning over her and putting Hir arms around her as best S/he could, CC whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek and then gave her a kiss on the lips that would wake anyone up from a coma - but she just laid there, unconscious, yet, CC knew that S/he had penetrated the veil of consciousness in her. For at that very moment when S/he released Hir kiss from her lips, she moaned: “CC, where are you???” And at that very moment, CC whispered in her ear again:

“Baby, stay with me, I'll meet you at the hospital and there you will pay me with your very heart!” And with a quick nip on her ear, CC left the unit and bailed out to get Dayle so they could make it back to the rigs and follow them back down the mountain to the hospital.




Dearest Diary,

There’s been a lot of stuff that has been going on the last few weeks: Finishing school, getting together with friends, meeting new people, and leaving for the beach. You know me so well, yet I write to you everyday. My mind is in overdrive and needs space to unwind and think carefully. As always, I am glad to confide in you my deepest thoughts and fortunate to have the wisdom to look back over time and see where I have grown and where I have missed the boat. I am so glad for my family of friends, my health and the amazing vitality of my Forties! Who would have thought, right? But I haven't asked you this in a while, and so today, with every solid portion of my mind and heart, I ask you straight out: Where is Hy? haha! You probably thought that you wouldn't get asked again, I bet, but Dearest Diary, where ever Hy is, would you kick him in the ass and make Hym get a move on it! My patience is strong and will continue to be strong, but sometimes a girl like me has deep rivers of need and wants more of life. Oh, the life of a Femme, indeed!!!