Sarah Palin Hates Witches

It was 6pm and I was lying on a blanket next to a middle-aged team member on the lawn in her trailer park. While the carpenter ants landed on our shoulders and legs, Candy sifted through the essential books of Wicca. I've changed her name, so she will not get burned for practicing her religion. Candy explained to me that in Brazil, people believed to be witches continue to be tortured and burned as they were in Salem many moons ago. Candy said Sarah Palin, if elected, wanted to go after witches like they do in Brazil. To me, it sounded like she read that on piece of political junk mail that circulates e-world and has little truth...but it is Sarah Palin, so there is probably truth to that. Sarah Palin hates witches. You betcha!

Candy continued to explain Wicca and to be honest, much of it made a lot of sense with the exception of the spells they cast and their propensity for revenge. Somewhere within the hour, her husband, baby, and sister-in-law showed up. Much like in my own family, her husband is afraid to drive and had to wait for his sister to drive him to Morton, so he could renew his anti-anxiety medication. Her husband also does not work, rarely leaves the house or cleans, and never wants to move away from Randle. He is a nice guy, though. Candy has been married twice before, and had two other children from different men. One of her daughters' Dad, stole the child and told Candy that she could come get her, but he would blow her fucking head off as soon as she walked through the door. Candy has been chased by bears and cougars, broken every bone in her body, and been stabbed in the leg. She can tell a story better than Mr. Rogers, all the while blowing cigarette smoke in your face. Candy is a character and one of my favorite team members. I am 23 and most of the other ten Cispus Americorps members are closer to my age, but I find myself making excuses as to why I cannot hang out with them. The members of my generation are not devoid of crisis, but they all grew-up in upper middle-class households with a fair amount of stability. We have never had a lot of money, but I would also say that I had a fair amount of stability surrounded by chaotic craziness. I don't know what it is, but I find myself hanging out with The Mayhem and Candy, two women around 40 who tell insane stories, much more than the recent college grads who sit around bon fires drinking cheap beer, making phallic jokes, and fucking each other. I would much rather sit on a blanket in a trailer park listening to magical tales of witches with the familiar sound of white trash in the lush hills surrounding. You can leave Greenville, but you can never leave home.