Post #1779539

2026-02-20 20:43 UTC

tubmlr post by questions-within-questions Dec 22,2024 Being a ranger I spend a lot of time alone in the wilderness for hours in the company of one of four co workers. One such worker for the purpose of this post we shall refer to as Dave. Dave is a very quiet man. He confesses that if conversation happens too quickly and for too long he gets tired so we often work in silence. He's very polite and good natured but it's obvious that he would happily live and work alone for the rest of his life given the option. He's very much in the previous generation of ranger, a practical man in his fourties or fifties happy to be kept physically busy for a day and then be sent home with some pay. I had to show him how to use a work issued smart phone. Meanwhile the rest of the team is made up of the current generation of rangers: openly nurodivergent queer women in their twenties or thirties who work this job because it's the only setting where we can vaguely look sane. @spacefinner

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@j12i@weirder.earth 2026-02-20 20:44

So Dave sticks out a bit. It's really nice when he opens up though because he's an impulsive individual when left to his own devices and has plenty of stories to tell if the mood takes him. I really like working with Dave. Anyway, one day we've got a job that takes a three hour hike to get to and early on the topic of deer comes up. I hadn't realised this was the first time we had discussed deer, but blatantly it was. Dave's entire demeanour changes, there's a bit of passion in his voice, but it's also hushed as if he's talking about something sacred. "Deer are my favourite animal.’ He says. I'm also eager to hear Dave talk about himself, so | encourage him to say more. "I'd love to be a deer myself” And more "If a genie offered me the opportunity to become a deer I'd take it. | wouldn't even stop to ask what the price was." And more @spacefinner

Open ##1779540