Rose Clements
Enjoy these short stories fresh from the field!
Stolen Thunder
By Dominic Pino, Ancestral Lands crew member
We were working at Zuni Mountain Trails over the 4th of July, cutting trail. We hit a big root that was getting in our way. We were trying to dig down a few feet into the organic soil, to clear around it so we could chop it up and get it out. We spent a lot of time digging around the sides, around the root. We got pretty deep and then hit a big rock. I was all pumped up—had that Pulaski ready. I was about ready to swing it, the whole crew was watching, they were like “Yeah, Damo’s gonna get this root!” Then all of us a sudden Lawrence was like “Hey guys come check this out! I found a fossil!” Everybody left and went to see what he found…So I lost my motivation. That fossil stole my thunder!
I’ve Gotta Do Something
By Anthony Stazi, Appalachian Conservation Corps crew member
I always like to think about the day I signed up for this position. It was early morning, I was at school—at college, my freshman year—I was having a really rough go of things. In this past year, I’ve had an onset of depression. I was up one night with bad insomnia. It was 4 or 5 in the morning and I was like: “That’s it—I’ve gotta do something.” This was probably the best decision I have made. Especially for individuals dealing with depression and stuff like that, there’s nothing better for that than getting out into the natural world with cool people. Physical labor, healthy living, working through it all, and building that mental fortitude. It all adds up to be good for mental health, and help you grow as a person. So as soon as I saw this position, I was like: “that’s it, that’s what I’m doing.” Something in me knew that this is what I needed to help me work through what I was dealing with.
The Molder
By Lizette Betancourt, Appalachian Conservation Corps crew member
I went through quite a few years of a depressive state, counseling, stuff like that. I was trying to figure out what exactly was wrong—I think it was that I never really made myself as an individual, I was a ‘molder’, I always wanted to do what made people happy. Finally, I started thinking about what I could do that would make me feel like I was doing my own thing. When I signed up for Appalachian Conservation Corps, a lot of people said, “are you sure that’s what you want to do? You’ve never gone backpacking. You don’t have any equipment.” I was like, “I’ll figure it out.” It made me feel like an individual because I had to make all these decisions about where I was going to go, where I was going to stay, the stuff I needed to purchase, how I was going to get there…I wanted to make it all about how I was making my own choices, rather than deciding things based on other people’s perspectives or goals. I grew through this experience, because I did all these things when other people said I couldn’t or shouldn’t do. And now, here I am—we’re almost done with our season, and now I’m going to go home and get my own apartment and feel as if I’ve accomplished something that I always said I couldn’t do. Now here I am, past all that. I was really in a deep hole for a long time. This experience was a big help to fix that.
Little Bear
By Pilar Owens, Southwest Conservation Corps crew member
I was at the latrine one evening, and I heard rustling in the bushes. I said, “hey! What’s going on over there!” And a little bear face popped out! I quickly pulled up my pants, grabbed my stuff and yelled “okay, I’m going now!” I just walked away really fast and didn’t look back. I’m pretty sure it was just a cub, but you know that means that momma is close by.
