Part Three; Snake in the Rogue Garden
By mid 2018 I was working for a marijuana growing outfit in Oregon called "Rogue Reserve." The name was being changed (for the third time) when I left there due to their reputation being under fire yet again. Had I known then what I'd come to find out, I never would have taken the job, not worth it. The manager was a genuine snake, he was the reason the business had undergone name changes, shady dealings and fraud. The owner lived out of state and this guy took all the advantage he could of that. For our purposes here, no real names, we’ll just call him Jake, Jake the Snake. It was he and his minion, the head grower, discount Robin, who we’ll call Beige, who ran the show. When the time came, we’d hire some trimmers. It would take about a week. Snake was the slithery tongued salesman and he made deliveries. Then he doctored, I mean, "DID" the books and played games in the office if he was even there. For me, it was all about the plants, “The Girls” as I called them. I started out there as a trimmer but before too long I was helping in the garden, partly because I was the only trimmer there that didn’t also have a “real” job, so I had the time. It was also because of my work ethic, I work hard and I like to do work I can take pride in, so I do my best the first time. I was a model employee, eager to learn, had a positive attitude and worked hard to make sure folks were getting along. In particular, Jake and Beige, who said awful things about one another whenever they had the chance and always to me as I was the only other person around. I never wondered what they might be saying about me, "assumptive" is not my default. The guys told me I was in this job for the long haul though. Beige and Jake talked about how one day we’d all be having a toast in my new apartment. They would say that once the work was done on the last room and we got far enough ahead, I’d be getting out of that "homeless people village" and finally receiving the agreed upon salary. From the beginning they had talked about getting “out of the red” and adding more plants to our grow, we had the room. It wasn’t long after I had started there that we were in the black, I didn’t think I had much to do with that but they told me I did. They’d tell other people as much too, bragging about me. It was all to feed my ego, I just didn’t know it at the time because I'm oblivious to ego-driven goals. I was being dehumanized daily due to my living circumstances and that was taking a toll, but it was me who let myself become vulnerable to suggestion. They told me how important I was all the time and griped about each other to me behind one another’s backs. I wasn’t terribly interested in how they felt about each other, I’m only accountable to my own actions, so I kept myself focused on the job and tried to get them to do the same. Jake would tell me that ultimately I should listen to him, not Beige because he was the boss. But Beige was the gardener; he was the one who knew what he was doing in the garden. Beige would gripe about how Jake had no idea what he was talking about and how frustrating that was. I’d nod my head and go, “Hmmm.” Current culture is great; you never have to say anything, and I rarely did, the average person only wants to hear themselves talk. At any rate, I was weak, I bought their act. They treated me like family so they could use me for free labor, and I let them. Upon reflection, I'm certain it was the part of me that just wants to be doing something productive with my time rather than being at the homeless village. It was hard to feel productive there. Whatever you did, someone would undo it, for every good intention, there were 20 negative ones. On top of all that, I collect families like some people collect Hummel figurines. Jake and Beige were good at creating a welcoming vibe and creating a false sense of camaraderie, I'm a sucker for that and they both knew that. So I busted my ass, often comforting them when they pretended to care that they weren’t paying me. Jake would not pay me so that he could pay the trimmers, I would trim for free. I knew it was going to all pay off later, allegedly. The reality was that the trimmers he was paying would wait for up to four months or more to get paid. I didn’t care, I was fine with it. I was so dedicated I’d tell them not to worry about paying me, I was in this and I could trim for free for a few days, the garden was the priority, trimming was part of what made it possible. I put in a lot of volunteer hours there, had I been paid for my time as promised, it would have been in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars. Of course the owner had no idea, he likely thought he was paying me the whole time while Jake was lining his pockets. At any rate, I am still owed that money. I told them it was payment enough for now to be learning more about the trade, I had only grown outdoor prior to working there. I remained positive and worked hard, every week I worked there I was asked to come in on what should have been days off for me, there was always work to be done and my dedication was unparalleled. Before the time I left there I’d have to listen to Beige go on about how he hadn’t been paid in a long while. He had a successful landscaping business already and his wife was telling him that if he wasn’t getting paid by Jake, he had to quit. It really stressed him out and I was a good ear. Often when Jake would come in you could feel the tension in the air, more sticky than the sugar on the buds we were growing. There were three of us and I was the only female and also the only one who wasn’t creating all sorts of unnecessary drama. It’s possible I just got caught in the middle of their drama, which they shouldn’t have been bringing to work with them in the first place. Jake was also just lazy as well and that wasn’t a big hit with Beige who wasn’t afraid to work hard like I did, we actually were very productive when Jake the Snake wasn't there. We did go from one grow room to three due to Beige and I busting our asses. Jake half-heartedly hauled over a pot or two on one of the few days he showed up. I didn't notice really, I was too focused on doing the job, we were used to Jake not doing any of the heavy lifting and when he wasn't there, we actually worked well and efficiently together. We got the job done and then they promptly strangled me with my own kindness. The day we finished the third room, Jake sent Beige out to fire me and collect my key. I was never given back the equipment I had left behind. I was also never given a reason or explanation. I have no documentation because I never got paid. I was handed $300 cash and disposed of like a gum wrapper. I was owed thousands, and it wasn’t as though I expected it all at once, it was always something we were "going to discuss." Beige was in a state I’d never seen him in before. I don’t think he appreciated Jake putting him in that position but he reacted to his circumstances like a child. He was cruel and aggressive, totally out of character for him. Jake was breaking him down as well, I just didn’t see it at the time. At any rate, long story short, I got totally screwed over by people who had pretended to be good, decent folks. More so than that, I was mad at myself for falling for it. I’m generally a good judge of character. It’s not their fault I didn’t read them right, it is their fault they took advantage. Culture has changed, societal norms have changed and I have stayed the same in some ways. I’m not totally out of touch with current culture but I won’t lower my standards to fit into it. I haven’t sold my integrity to fit into this woke narrative of large-scale narcissism and self-destructive behavior that glorifies mental illness, it’s just not my thing. Not that rising above it pays the bills. When all is said and done I am really glad for the experience I gained. I'm the type of person that truly believes you can learn from every single person you meet in this world. Sometimes they teach you a good way to be; sometimes they show you ugly and disgusting behaviors to avoid. It was happening within the village too, well-meaning folks volunteering for clout but ending up unable to reconcile their own position and place in this world and thus going about trying to destroy people who aren’t uncomfortable in theirs. NEXT- Part Four: The Caravan; the Caring & the Van. Be careful how you care...
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