Out in the country

One of the things I really enjoy about living here is that there's a small town vibe here.  It's like country living, but coastal country living.  So there's this mish-mash of things going on here in Coos Bay. For all the country charm, though, there are big-city problems here as well.

There are a lot of transient people here.  I don't use the word homeless, because these folks genuinely seem to be in transit.  It's not been uncommon to see one or two on foot as I drive down the 101.  (The 101 is the Pacific Coast Highway, for those that don't know).  There is also a methamphetamine problem here in the area.  I found out about that first hand last night, when visiting a friend's house.

It seems, some young woman who would be commonly referred to as a tweaker, tried to liberate and steal my friend's horse.  She let it out of the pen and somehow managed to get the lead rope wrapped around her neck but not attached to the horse before she interrupted by my friend's neighbors.  They managed to corral the horse and call the police on the young woman.  

She kept calling the horse (his name is Buck!) her baby and was making all kinds of noises about this and that....Buck is well cared for.  I helped my friend roll a bale of round hay into the corral just the other day, in fact.

So that's what I mean about saying there's a country feel here and some city to go along with it.  Sadly, the police couldn't really do more to the young woman than trespass her from the properties in question.  The horse is OK.  My friends are still pretty upset.  The horse is all right, though.  

It's sad that we can't find a way to help people with a drug problem.  We do try, but in my experiences in life, it's awfully difficult to help someone that's not wanting it, or ready for it.  That scourge touches a lot closer to home than any of us would like.  My friend is married to the daughter of a closer friend of mine, and her brother has a drug problem.  It's alienated him from most of the family because of his actions.  I've tried to help him and he was doing good for a while, but he thinks he has his problem under control.  That he's using tells all of us the obvious truth:  It's got him under its' control and that sometimes leads him to be out of control.

So that's the dealio from the coast today.  All's well that ends well, at least on this end.  As for the young woman, well, she could use our prayers.  I don't know her name, but God does....