text: The Migration Patterns of the Great Northern Pine Cabin Demetri spotted the 2 men in black wool suits at the bottom of his exceptionally long footpath leading to his house on the top of his exceptionally steep hill. Demetri estimated it would take them 45 minutes to reach his porch, where he had a pitcher of iced tea waiting for both of them. The two men in identical wool suits were men only in that their identical ID badges read Mr. Eric Carter. Unrelated, the two Eric Carters both found employment at Mooney Regional Bank as property adjusters. Both were lanky, with a strong brow line. Mister Eric A Carter had a much fairer complexion, and striking blue eyes. Mister Eric C Carter’s distinguishing characteristics were dark bristly overgrown eyebrows. Both Mister Eric A Carter and Mister Eric C Carter arrived exhausted at the stoop of Demetri’s cabin. Demetri stood with a sly smile and motioned noiselessly for them to help themselves to the tea. Both quickly downed a glass and poured themselves another. “Mr. Guster, I a-” Started Eric A. “Demetri, Call me Demetri.” “Demetri”, Eric A started again, “I am Eric A Carter, and this is my associate Mister Eric C Carter. We are here from the Mooney Regional Bank. Are you aware of the government's plan to install radio towers on this very hill? We can offer you a very attractive compensation pack-” “Let me stop you right there sonnie. I ain’t leavin for nothin so just give it a rest.” Eric C sat sipping slowly at his tea, avoiding having to say anything at all. Eric A tried again, “Mr. Jeremy said you would say as much. But me and Eric here have come up with a plan where you get to stay on your land. And the radio towers get to be built. The radio towers really only need to occupy the top of the mountain. Where your cabin stands now. If we demolish the cabin and build the towers, we are willing to purchase you your very own mobile home to place at the bottom of the mountain still on your very own property sir. What do you say to that Demteri.” “Have you studied the migration patterns of the great northern pine cabin?” “Well no sir I can’t say I have. But I fail to see the rele-” “The great northern pine cabin is a domicile constructed across North America. It can be built by one man in one year working hard every single day. Thousands of men have used the timbers of the Great Northern Pine forests to do exactly that.” “I see sir. And I take it you are one of those men?” “No. I am three of those men.” “I don’t follow.” “I’ve built this house three times.” “I see.” “No. You don’t see nothing sonnie. Do you have any idea what it took to build this cabin? To do it again, and again. To drag the timbers one by one up this God forsaken mountain.” “Well, no sir. I guess I don’t. But if you don’t like climbing up this mountain, why not move to the bottom like we suggest sir.” “Now there’s a bright idea! Don’t build a log cabin at the top of this damned hill! This ain’t my first rodeo boy. Like I said, I’ve built this cabin three times. “Can I ask what happened to the first two?” “The first cabin I built from white spruce. I bought the nails, a saw, and an axe at Seneca Trading Post. It took me two years truth be told to make the place truly liveable. But my wife didn’t mind. That cabin lasted until my daughter’s fifth birthday. That spring, floods washed it off its foundation and tore it to pieces.” “Sorry to hear that Sir, but modern mobile homes are built to b-” “So that night I started dragging the remaining logs of this cabin higher up this cursed mountain. Just below the tree line. I built the walls thicker and deeper, with an added attic space. We lived there happy for another 4 years.” “Glad it had a happy endi-” “That summer, a forest fire took my wife’s life and most of this cabin with it.” “I see sir.” “So I dragged the remaining logs higher still, to the peak we rest on now boys. And built this cabin for me and my daughter. It’s built deep into solid stone, far from the woods where danger could harm my family. And it’s walls are a foot thick to keep the winter cold at bay.” “I am sure your hard work was certainly appreciated by your daughter. Happy it all worked out for the be-” “My daughter died that summer from typhus.” “I see sir.” “Demetri, why don’t you just sell the land and go live comfortably somewhere far away from these troubling memories” offered Eric C Carter just now regaining the faculty of speech. “Erics, I’ve spent my life working against the grain. This mountain has kicked my ass for forty years. But I am still here, and this cabin is still here. I’ve fought flood, fire, and pestilence to sit on my porch and enjoy this cup of tea. The grass may be greener, but the sweetest tea is at the top of the mountain.