Some people called us Forest Rangers,

though really, we were the lowest GS

in the USFS. Not the highest tower either,

certainly not as tall as a skyscraper,

but at three stories, 45’ Corral Hill’s cabin

was high enough that our heads were

in the clouds on late summer days.

When socked in, I made bread from

the sourdough starter Mrs. Bayes gave

us. It lofted like a sail at 6,000.’ On other

days, thunderheads spread across

the prairie like a coming gale. On those

days, we watched the prairie like hawks.

On the tower, we were often scared, lonely,

or stir crazed. We’d been struck once,

which frightened us badly, and some storms

were much more dangerous than the

cumulonimbus cloud we’d been hit by,

which made us sensible to fear for our lives.