Salutations.
I am JaiChai. It's very nice to make your acquaintance.
Enjoyed your story immensely.
RE: Your Post
As a lowly ranked enlisted serviceman stationed at Cecil Field, FL in the early 80's, I and a buddy shared a mobile home about 20 minutes off-base.
It was the classic White Trailer Trash community: Very high unemployment - especially among the working age males, a drug den, a "rest/pickup stop" for hookers of various dubious ages, AA Hell and ironically, a "stationary" gypsy-like camp.
Funny thing.
Since we had steady paychecks - albeit, miniscule, we were considered rich, young and available among the females in the trailer park. And it was not uncommon for neighbors (both men and women) would come knockin' at odd hours with faux tales of woe, just to get a free beer and watch our TV.
One day, a female neighbor woke me up at 3:30a.m. and was hysterical. She said the trailer park community had acted as judge and jury to a friend of her's and beat the "holy sh*t out of him"!
Since I was a Medic, I grabbed my "Johnny Gauge" bag (I know. Most of y'all e are too young to remember shows like "Emergency", "Hillstreet Blues", "St. Eleswhere", "M.A.S.H.", and "One-Adam-Twelve", etc.) and followed the distressed woman to her trailer.
The "guilty" perpetrator was semi-conscious, vital signs stable and pupils were PERLA (equal and reactive to light and accomodating). He was oriented X 3 (person, place and date/time), covered from head to toe in varying viscosities of drying blood, multiple lacerations and abrasions (from being dragged by his ankles over the whole perimeter of the park's asphalt), multiple contusions (from hundreds of kicks to his torso and head), a dislocated shoulder and possibly, a few broken ribs.
I think the only reason he was still conscious anmd not screaming his head off in pain was probably due to - what I suspected - a huge amount of chemically induced "courage", exacerbated with copious amounts of tequilla.
In fact, he kept mumbling for more alcohol as I fixed him up.
Wounds cleaned and dressed ribs taped and two bags of (Normal Saline, then Lactated Ringer's) IV drip infused. He was snoring like a baby on the neighbor's rat-infested, soon-to-be-fossilized living room couch.
I told her to make sure he get's a check-up at the public clinic as soon as possible for an X-Ray.
Before going back to my place, my neighbor showed her appreciation for my help (I will leave that form of thank-you up to your imagination) and promised to get the injured man a check-up ASAP.
I got dressed, picked up my bag and headed out the door. But before leaving her trailer, I asked, "What was this guy's heinous crime?"
"He raped one of our own yesterday night," she said, non-chalantly.
"Oh yeah? Who?" I inquired, just curious.
With a half-smile, she said, "Me."
Imagine that?...
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I am still very new on Steemit, but not to writing. Obviously, you enjoy your craft and have been doing it for a long time, no? For me, it's great to meet a fellow writer.
Please keep penning more wonderful stories. If you don't, you are truly wasting your authoring gifts; and depriving people like me from vicariously tagging along with you on your future adventures.
Upvoted you and following you now.
Namaste (prefered definition: "I recognize the divine in you, my friend."),
JaiChai
P.S.
Writer Joke: "Everytime I use a semi-colon, I'm actually just rolling the dice!"
RE: White Trash Stories From The Deep South - Advice From My Favorite Aunt