$14.95 / Paperback
ISBN: 9781598587630
144 pages
About The Book
Greeneyes returned to San Francisco from his trek to the Lower Farm and returned to working again, at the Embarcadero, unloading cargo ships with the longshoremen. Through the act of local union politics Greeneyes finds himself getting pinked slipped and without a means of income.
Searching the want ads in the Chronicle, Greeneyes finds an interesting ad for employment many miles north of the city in Mendocino County. Greeneyes makes the call and has an over the phone interview with project manager, Jack Fender, who hires Greeneyes on the spot. Jack asks Greeneyes if he can start as soon as Monday and Greeneyes agrees. He gets directions, says good bye to some close friends and prepares to leave the city early Sunday morning.
The August days in San Francisco are cold and damp and as Greeneyes stands on the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge trying to get to Route 101 north in his hitchhiking mode through the mist and fog comes a slow walking figure who approaches Greeneyes.
The bushy haired figure with black rimmed eye glasses and a guitar case held in his left hand introduces himself as “Buckwheat Hopkins.” Greeneyes finds Buckwheat to be very mysterious and fidgety and is compelled to leave the city. Greeneyes and Buckwheat after their introduction learn that they’re both going to the same place, The Upper Lake in Lake Pillsbury Ranch to work for Jack Fender.
Buckwheat admits to Greeneyes that he has never hitched hiked before and that he really didn’t know where he was going, so the two hook up and travel together. Greeneyes has no problem sharing his journey with Buckwheat.
Greeneyes observes that Buckwheat is under nourished, pale and a bit introverted, but Greeneyes does not push the issue and he waits until Buckwheat wants to talk. However, the one area where Buckwheat is open and intriguing is with his masterful way of playing the guitar and singing the blues. Buckwheat’s ability to play on demand any request is a phenomenon.
Greeneyes and Buckwheat finally make it to the Upper Lake and Lake Pillsbury Ranch and start their employment in the most spectacular setting in the middle of the Mendocino National Forest.
The ranch is laden with misfits and nomads each with their own stories. Some were caught up in the times of believing drug induced states of mind were sure to lead them to the freedom they were searching for desperately. Greeneyes and Buckwheat become close friends and Buckwheat finally confides in his friend, sharing the tale, the baggage he’s carrying and why he needed to leave the city in a hurry.
The months Greeneyes and Buckwheat spend together in the serene and peaceful mountains creates a bond and ties a knot of friendship that leads them to their individual freedom.