Hey there, people. Ol’ Jegger here with another dose of Far From Home. First off, I’m gonna start doing a better job blasting these out on the regular. Time got away from me the past couple weeks, so I’m sorry to anybody who’s tuning in for a little company on their crawl through the black.
I’ve been getting loads of questions piling up while I been dark, so probably best to just start chipping away at them.
Marian Kenoshi gets us going, asking, “How do you stay drifting for so long? Got any tips for fuel consumption?” Now, this is a question I’ve heard dozens of times and everybody I’ve ever known answers it differently. People will talk your ear off about ship customization, balancing your hydrogen scoops or mass distribution, but the answer’s a lot simpler than you’d expect. The answer is … it’s, well, you just need to know where you’re going I guess. Sorry, that doesn’t make much sense … what you should do is …
I’m real sorry, Marian, I can’t seem to concentrate today.
As I’m speaking, I’ve got Croshaw on my six. Now those who’ve listened to me before know I’m not fond of the system. Hitched a ride on a hauler out-of-system when I was sixteen years old and haven’t come back much since. Never regretted it neither. See, back when Ol’ Jegger was Young Jegger, my family owned a repair shop way out in the boonies of Vann. My dad took off right after my brother was born, but it didn’t matter much, my ma was the whiz with the tools and I wasn’t too bad myself.
Well, we grew up helping around the shop. Some years were better than others. Ma’s plan was always for Lethem and me to run the shop together, but I couldn’t wait to get off-world. Ma understood why I wanted to leave, but not Lethem. Led to some pretty epic showdowns between the two of us, culminating in the night when I hopped that hauler I mentioned earlier.
So, I got a comm after my last show. Like I said, I hadn’t spoken to them or been back in sixty years, but I guess Lethem had been sick for a few years, it got the better of him and he passed.
When I showed up at the old shop, it looked exactly the same as when I left. Above the door, there was that stupid family picture of Ma, me and Lethem in Jele City. Then it hit me. All that anger I’d been carrying around all these years was gone. Sure, I could remember the fights and snipes, but I was just remembering being angry. I wasn’t angry anymore.
I met Lethem’s wife, their son, Max, and his family. Max had taken over managing the shop. Meeting my grand-nephew, Aaron, for the first time… amazed me how much he and his dad looked just like his grandpa.
It was a real nice service before they committed his body to the star. We spent the rest of the day sitting in one of the bays in the shop and talking. I had these moments, flashes of moments really, where I was back in time; talking and joking with my brother again.
Max told me when his dad’s sickness took a turn, Lethem had tried to petition the local Council for permission to be buried on Vann. They turned him down. Frozen rock like this and they turned him down. They said it “diminished land value.” Laughed myself silly for a half hour over that one. That was the difference between us, right there. I couldn’t wait to get off this rock and he never wanted to leave it.
Getting back to what got me on this, I just wanted to say I’m sorry, Lethem.
I wish we hadn’t been so damn stupid …
Sorry for the ramble, people. Next show will be back to usual and like I said earlier, I’m gonna get this back on a regular schedule.
So as not to end this on a down-note, I just want to say to all you out there: Though I can’t see you and might not ever meet you, I appreciate you being on this ride with me and I hope you know I’m right there with you on yours.
Jegger out.