Author's Note: Prompt suggested by Anonymous.
B is for Backroad
At Piston Peaks National Park there was the park that everyone saw…the manicured wildness, the curated adventure. Then there was the side of Piston Peaks that the park staff knew like the back of their tires…the winding maze of service roads, the comfortably worn employee housing, the little patches of true wilderness. Behind the scenes often lacked the magic of the front-of-the-house operation, but that was okay. The behind-house facilities felt real in a way that the lodge and visitor center would never be able to achieve.
O'Jammer had learned long ago that park visitors kind of viewed the rangers and other staff members as pieces of the scenery. That fact of life sometimes hurt…but in some ways, it was a relief. The visitors never cared if you only had a fake smile plastered across your face as long as they could get the photo of their youngster sitting next to a ranger for their photo album. The park's staff, on the tire, instantly could tell that you are having a bad day and someone would probably roll over with a couple of tins of high grade to help you unwind on your front porch.
Then there were the celebrations…the wonderful celebrations. Due to the ebb and flow of park visitations, the staff rarely got the opportunity have traditional holidays off (though Jammer always seemed to manage to make sure that vehicles with young children got Christmas morning off) because they were too busy making sure that the visitors didn't destroy the park during their celebrations. So, the park staff found their own times and places to celebrate far from the judging eyes of the public.
There was the gambling pool, which Cad was never going to find out about, where the staff made bets on the date of the first Deere collision of the year, the age of the vehicle with the first hot pot burns, and other injuries that were relatively unique to the park. There were also children's plays, birthday parties, and most importantly the community BBQs.
"Hot dogs or hamburgers?" One of Blade's smokejumper asked from where he was manning the grill.
"Burger, please." Jammer smiled at the little vehicle that shoveled a patty onto a bun, then pushed the completed sandwich towards the lead ranger on a paper plate. It took a big of maneuvering, but Jammer managed to snag his plate and looked around to find a place on the crowded tarmac. After spotting Blade and his aircraft sitting on the edge of the crowd, he decided to join them.
"You haven't gotten any food yet?" Jammer asked as he eyed the empty spaces in front of the aircraft.
"Hosts eat last." Cabbie said with a shrug of his wings.
"Plus, if we let the smokejumpers start eating, there might not be any food left for anyone else." Maru snickered into a can that looked suspiciously like high grade…and a moment later the mechanic was given a sharp rap on his canopy by Blade.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Windlifter spoke before Blade had a chance to put in his two cents which caused the helicopter to give his lieutenant such an exaggerated eye roll that Jammer couldn't help but laugh.
"I am glad that someone is entertained." Blade gave yet another eye roll before settling on his tires and focusing his attention on Jammer. "Are you and your crew having a good time?"
"Yes, yes, we are." Jammer smiled up at the helicopter. "Thank you so much for having us."
"Well, it was our turn in the rotation, so we really didn't have a choice." Cabbie yawned. "But I will admit it is nice to have a party that we can actually participate in."
Jammer looked up at the aircraft thoughtfully. The C-119 was officially the largest vehicle on staff which greatly limited the parts of the park that were accessible for him, though his ability to fly gave him more options than Muir or the floating members of staff. Even if a miracle could allow the entire staff to get time off at the same time, there would always be a few vehicles who would physically be incapable of joining the party…and that deeply saddened Ol'Jammer. The lead ranger knew how important these parties were for morale, and it hurt him that he could make every party open to everyone.
"I really don't mind." Cabbie gave him a soft, mildly amused smile when he noticed the smaller vehicle's distress. "I can't speak for the others, but I know the limits of my body and I realize just how much work goes into making sure that I can attend one or two of these parties every year…so I really don't mind that I can't attend all of them because I know you are holding parties in locations that let Muir or some of the other less mobile members of the team participate."
Jammer still couldn't help but wonder if Cabbie was just trying to comfort him, but the C-119 tended to be too straightforward to that so he tried to take the words to heart instead. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."
"Now you better eat up your burger before it cold." Blade rumbled as he nodded at the plate in front of Jammer.
It was wise advice, so Jammer didn't hesitate to comply.
End Note: This was a fun little piece to write because it reminded me of growing up in Yellowstone National Park. We never celebrated any of the standard holidays because the park was always chaos on those days, but we always found different things/ways to celebrate. Those BBQs, movie nights, and parties that took place behind the scenes at the park are still incredible precious memories to me. But enough about me...What are your suggestions for the letter C?
