The Okies
#8 of 1849
Chan Vulpino, the fox had just celebrated his 50th birthday with his wife when he received not necessarily welcome news- they were getting new neighbors from Oklahoma. Having moved up from the poverty of Chinatown and left their humble house which was still smarting from the earthquake in 1906, they ended up buying a new house by the beach, facing the Pacific Ocean. It was not a mansion but it was expensive enough and required many years to pay off the mortgage. The only problem was that he and Annette bought this house in 1921 and it took them eight years to pay off. So even though, the fox and wolf were fortunate enough to have paid off every single part of their mortgage, they did so in the year 1929, the year of a gigantic and terrifying financial disaster. This forced their brothers, friends, and relatives to move in to a house which was better suited for four, or at maximum six people. But even during the Great Depression, the dutifully-kept gardens and orchards kept the folfish family from starving to death and all their family members had enough food to eat.
But the food supply, by no means inexhaustible was already stretched to a breaking point when the pair of young newlywed coyotes from Oklahoma, who spoke with an accent that did not come from California. His story was not unique- the coyote named Billy Mason and his wife Pearl escaped the duststorms of Oklahoma for cheap, unskilled labor here. More important than the work was the food- the largely agricultural jobs the Masons, a working-class family from south of Oklahoma City, had counted on for decades were wiped out by soil degradation and the resulting duststorms, which churned so thick the Masons could not enjoy a meal without the nasty taste of dust in their soup or tea. So they jammed everything in a jalopy, withdrew their life savings for a house in California, where the Masons heard jobs were plentiful.
"I see you are going to be my new neighbor. What is your name, if I may be so rude to ask?", the fox cordially spoke to the coyote.
"Billy Mason. I'm looking for work here in California," the coyote spoke, his face shaped by the loss of of life savings, the loss of a farm, the loss of hope for financial recovery inherent in his face. He feared dying of death or crime or even suicide or something related to this awful Depression. And his wife Pearl was several months pregnant, which he was forced to admit was not really the best idea for an extended depression. Why would Gerald or Geraldine, the decided names for this coyote, in honor of Billy's deceased father be born only to behold this, the destruction of the world economy, unrest in Europe which Billy knew would plunge the world back into another harrowing war There would be no peace in his time, at least not with prosperity, its inseparable sister.
"There's been a rush in California, not for gold but for jobs and I haven't found any jobs", the Oklahmoa drawl evident in his speech. "Please, my wife is four months pregnant and we need a job desperately. I'm a farmer's son and I know better than to ask for a handout but please, I'm begging you, please employ me in that orchard." In truth, Chan was not ready to employ someone summarily and knew his house was not an employment agency but he knew that the orchards were growing fruit too fast for just he and his wife to pick. And that voice, so desperate, so hungry, so ready to work for a living, for enough to eat. How could Mr. Vulpino resist?
"Say no more. We need as many people to pick the fruits from our orchard. So as long as you're willing to work in the heat, we will employ you." From that day forward, he proved to be a very enthusiastic worker. California heat was a few notches beneath Oklahoma heat and for one who had tended grain during a duststorm, nothing nature threw at Billy Mason could stop him. His pregnant wife was at home, his neighbor, now employer was looking keenly at him with eyes more hot than the California sun, trying to find any evidence of slacking but he would not show it. So obsessed with work this coyote was that he once collapsed from over-exertion and was rescued by Chan Vulpino and from the guest room of Chan's house, Billy spoke.
"Please, don't fire me. I tried so hard to pick all the fruit." Amidst members of Vulpino's family and his very nervous wife, many of whom were wondering if he would ever wake up from the swoon in his employer's field, all he could be concerned with was his job he felt was perpetually undone. Chan was not about to fire a willing employee who worked hard and Billy was a dedicated worker, trained by his parents to work from sunup to sundown. He would simply never give up, he might have even died from his work if the Vulpinos did nothing to stop him from doing so.
A single day off and he was back in the field, working at his usual frenetic pace about twice as fast as Chan Vulpino when the fox spoke to him, and they dropped their satchels as pregnant with fruit as Pearl was with her baby.
"Please, I am begging you, for the sake of your wife, and the people who really care about you, don't die in these fields." This was something that Mason would not understand as he stopped gathering the fruit and cast his paws on the arms of Chan for a heart to heart talk.
"Do you really think that I am going to die if I work any harder?"
"Well, yes. You fainted last time you were out here and I don't want to see you pass away. If you die, then I can only do so much for your wife. And think of your baby, who will he or she call dad?" And those words resonated with the coyote- he knew he had always be a hard worker but not at the cost of his life.
"You are a very good man. And men like yourself, they're worth more alive than dead." The coyote had never heard such good words- here Billy was sorting fruit, caring for his wife who was ready to deliver their first child. And so he would take it easy- well, not too easy but Billy knew when to take a break without getting too fond of them. So it came as a surprise to no one when one day after a long day of work, now in the cooler autumn in California, near the end of his seasonal employment that he received news from Annette who was serving as the midwife for Pearl that she was entering labor. Hurriedly, he and Chan ran to his home where Annette was waiting alongside his wife. Then, Annette and Billy looked at Pearl as she pushed in the pains of childbirth and with some help, Pearl finally gave birth to Gerald Mason. Annette left the room and let the married couple, now plus one spend some time alone- both of them relieved and more in love than they had ever been during their romantic courtship.
Billy watched as Pearl clutched in her paws, the naked furless cub who had spent the past nine months inside of her waiting for the opportunity to emerge and see his family.
"He will grow up to be a strong man, the kind of person who would help this nation out of the Depression. You told me once how my pregnancy was a mistake but I sense that this cub will grow into a coyote of strength and good judgment. The world needs him," his wife would say, feeling now the intense relief and joy that new mothers feel from birthing a child.
"Yes and we will see to it that you are loved. I hope that you don't mind the mess we've made in this world. It's something that you and your generation must clean up," Billy said having just been an eyewitness to the miracle of life and it struck him at that moment how sacred and important life was, seeing his son who had just been born mere minutes ago, crying as Annette came in with scissors to cut the umbilical cord and give Pearl a muscle relaxant to aid in post-birth soreness.
And at that moment, Billy Mason found out that he was alive, truly alive and thankful for it. What an amazing miracle that through everything- the Depression, the dust bowl, overexertion on the Vulpinos' orchard and all leading up to this moment, he was truly happy to be alive. He now could understand why a man who has just become a father is blessed because now he could impart his wisdom to someone of the next generation who would follow in his footsteps, gain his life knowledge and become just like him. And for the first time in years, this proud coyote with the callused paws and unstoppable work ethic, cried- he was now a father.