Mad Dog and the Coffee Crew

By Dennis Perry and Everett Perry

Filer ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson is enjoying a well-earned retirement from his years as a lineman, heavy equipment operator, and ore train driver in Soda Springs, Idaho. With time on his hands Filer spends mornings with his Coffee Crew friends at the Union Diver.
Filer and the Coffee Crew become involved in a sweat for a charity at the nearby reservation casino, a stake-out leading to a drug bust, and the citizens’ arrest of a meth cooker, a house flip, and finally helping film a documentary of the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.
All of this before celebrating Filer ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson’s 75th birthday.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532095689

Dennis Perry

Dennis Perry has a B.A. in American History and Literature from Idaho State University and a Masters of Library Science from Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. He is retired from the Chicago Public Library and now spends his time writing, painting and keeping up with his yardwork.

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Copyright © 2020 Dennis Perry with Everett Mad Dog Perry.

Cover Design: Diane Olson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-9567-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-9568-9 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 03/25/2020

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Tying Up Some Loose Ends

A Little Known Fact

Acknowledgements

PROLOGUE

Soda Springs was what Filer ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson expected. He hadn’t lived in this small of a town since he joined the Sea Bees and moved away from Riverview, Idaho. But after several years working for a surface mining outfit in Soda it was time to retire. He looked forward to staying inside when it was cold out and not sweating his butt off when it was hot in a truck cab during the summer.

What would retirement be like? A year earlier his long- time companion, Girlfriend a female Siamese cat, had died of an infected tooth that had turned septic. Her death had really and truly left him alone. He had planned to provide a suitable retirement for himself and Girlfriend and now it was just him.

Filer’s young friends who had transferred from the mine in Nevada to Idaho to work for the same surface mining outfit in Soda were still on the job. Of all of Filer’s friends in Soda they realized the absence the death of his pet left in Filer’s life.

In his stages of grief Filer appreciated he didn’t have to empty the litter box, get up at one or two o’clock at night to let a finicky feline out, or go shopping when he ran out of Girlfriend’s favorite cat food. Also replacing the cat with human company was probably hugely on the plus side. This wasn’t particularly difficult since Filer was very sociable. He learned this trait from years being on his own away from his family.

Filer’s mining buddies who had also transferred from Pegasus in Nevada drank beers and played darts with their buddy Mad Dog.

After two decades of shift work and ten hour nights driving an ore train under the stars Filer, at a youthful 67, was retired. Now it was time to create a new life in his retirement.

CHAPTER 1

Union Diner has a prime location in the small town of Soda Springs. It occupies a corner lot on Main Street. A south facing wall frames large windows which allow sunlight to fill the front dining area with a warm light. Tables at either ends of the room are tucked into sheltered corners.

Diners can also sit at tables lining windows where they can observe the nearby park and passersby on the sidewalk outside the diner. Townspeople on a hurried lunch break can sit at the diner’s counter with their backs warmed by the sun.

Every morning a professional baker named Sydney comes in to bake the Union’s morning pastries. His signature cinnamon rolls are a favorite of Union regulars. Sydney also bakes cakes and pies.

By the time Sydney’s pastries aree in the oven and baking Pepper the morning breakfast prep cook comes in to get ready for the breakfast rush. She makes pancake and waffle batter, and heats the grills for the breakfast cook.

When the grill man and the waitresses Toni and Gloria come in the diner has filled with the smell of baking goods and coffee brewing. Baxter, the grill man, tells everyone who will listen, when he is out drinking off shift, that one of the hazards of being a grill man is cooking your own guts leaning over a blazing grill shift after shift. Yet Baxter is satisfied to continue his job as a grill man in a small town.

Baxter sets up his cartons of eggs and lays out fresh meats and hash cut potatoes to go with the scrambled, fried, poached and boiled eggs.

Toni and Gloria get busy dressing the tables and counter with condiments and napkin wrapped tableware.

Gloria, the lead waitress, attends church if she get the urge. Her pastor at the Lutheran church is happy to see her when she comes. He also notices when she helps out in charity events if she has the time.

With everything and everyone ready to go for breakfast Union Diner’s manager Karen, who everyone calls Kari opens the front door for business.

Karen was a little past middle age but she carried herself well. Karen was single and lived with her mother. She made sure her mother got to the Senior Center for meals and special events.

Fifteen minutes into the morning rush Toni and Gloria are busy taking orders and filling first cups of coffee for regulars wanting coffee before hurrying to their work places. After second and third coffee refills these early birds will be on their way, leaving tables to be cleared by the waitresses and Ralph the busboy.

CHAPTER 2

Filer Wilson left his apartment heading to the Union. It was early and he wanted to get there ahead of the rest of the coffee crew. This little bit of extra time alone would give him time to wake up before the rest of the crew arrived. He opened the door and nodded at Kari.

Some patrons at the diner thought ‘Mad Dog’ Wilson resembled Hemingway when his white beard was trimmed short. Of course Hemingway had a full head of white hair to match his white beard.

Morning Kari.

Morning Mad Dog. I see you still haven’t found a job.

I’ll leave all of that for the working class, Filer said enjoying their regular joke about his being retired.

You want anything to eat?

No, I’ll just take a coffee.

Gloria will be right with you.

Thanks.

Kari gave Filer a smile and walked to the counter and told Gloria to serve Filer a coffee.

Filer took a seat at the corner table. By arriving early he got to pick his spot, one of life’s pleasures.

Just as he was finishing his first cup Jerry Franks can in and was greeted by Kari before sitting down with Filer.

Jerry Franks was on the tail end of middle age. He had lived his life in Soda Springs except for two active duty years in the Idaho National Guard. Jerry carried a little extra middle age weight but as he put it, If the wife doesn’t care I’m okay. Jerry owned an Odds and Ends shop that in the twenty years he’d owned it had turned into a general sports store. If a customer asked him for something it was good business to see if he could get it. And then someone else hears he had gotten it for a friend and asked Jerry to get one for him. All of this was before the internet brought every kind of store right into their living rooms.

How are you doing Mad Dog?

It was nice and peaceful until you got here Jerry. The members of the coffee crew knew each other well enough to kid one another without getting pissy about it.

I’ll try to remember that next time you want a discount on a special order at the shop.

Gloria came to the table. Settle down you guys. At least keep the peace until the law gets here. She was referring to Soda Springs’ retired police Chief Hank Lawson. She sat a cup of coffee on the table for Jerry and offered Filer a refill.

You tell me who generally gets people riled up. It’s Mad Dog who’s the trouble maker, Jerry said.

I’m not getting in the middle of that, Gloria said over her shoulder as she walked away from their table.

You see that Jerry, Filer said, you upset our waitress already.

Don’t blame me for that; all I did was ask how you were doing?

Both men settled into drinking their coffees. A comfortable silence settled on the table. Filer and Jerry enjoyed the first minutes of the informal meeting of the Union Diner Coffee Crew.

CHAPTER 3

Renzo Larson definitely believed he was smarter than the average person. Renzo had a lean and mean appearance. He wasn’t bad looking but he had to make a special effort to get people to maintain their first impressions from his looks alone. Without making the effort he generally looked just shifty. People around him thought he was arrogant and defensive. When it came to making a living being arrogant hadn’t made him any friends. He could pretend whatever emotions it took to keep people close to him when he needed them. Once people caught on to him it didn’t take long for them to become less friendly. The time he kept friends depended on what he needed out of people.

In this particular moment in this story Renzo was spending some quality time in a lockup in Caribou County jail just outside Soda Springs, Idaho. This time he was finishing time for a D.U.I. in a vehicle he’d borrowed from a stranger who he hoped to never meet again.

The county lockup wasn’t a luxury hotel. It was over crowded and the bunks available were stacked three high with very little space for an inmate to get in and out of. The bunking arrangements were left to the inmates so the strongest most cunning thugs got bunks and everyone else slept on the floor wherever they could find a space.

It was in this circumstance that Renzo Larsen met Philip, Gloria’s brother. If Gloria had a good reputation at church Philip didn’t. He had been a mischievous kid in Sunday school and later after his parents rejected him, he left church behind for other activities. Gloria tried to be a good influence to replace their parents but Philip was at the age where other teens caught his interests, mostly in a bad way.

Even though Philip had been in the lockup a week longer than Renzo it was Renzo who had a place to sleep and Philip who was sleeping on the floor.

Philip wasn’t the type to stand up for himself. He was the type that got pushed around.

Another fact of incarceration is: he who has a posse or even a friend is stronger than someone like Philip who didn’t have anyone-someone who didn’t know how to make a friend.

Unlike Philip Renzo was the kind of guy who sensed other peoples’ strengths and weaknesses and found an angle on how to use these people. Renzo got in a fight with the King Con and got bunks for himself and later Philip. Philip would have to pay the price by giving Renzo part of his food and by being in Renzo’s posse.

Renzo found out Philip was jailed for stealing a candy bar. It wasn’t his first offense. He had two other petty thefts and the judge who heard his case jailed him for ninety days in hopes it would keep him from going to prison for a burglary or even an armed robbery.

Philip couldn’t have picked a worse protector/confidant. This was the type of information Renzo could use toward his own ends. Larson listened as Philip told the tale of how he never got any breaks. He didn’t have an allowance in High School and the popular kids looked down on him.

Renzo thought Philip’s High School experiences sounded like anyone else’s school experiences, except in his own case he figured out ways to look down on the popular rich kids and take their money. He learned about their parents and how they did things. Dishonest used car dealers, cops on the take, firemen who robbed homes while they were putting out fires; and teachers who liked to touch their students. Their kids didn’t do these things but their parents did. In some cases the kids had to hide knowledge of their parents’ bad behaviors.

Renzo read the papers and listened to what adults said. So unlike Philip he made a place for himself in High School. Using all that he had learned early in life he knew he could influence Philip by sympathizing with him.

After making sure Philip had a bunk and was protected from most of the other inmates Renzo said, You stick with me in here Phil.

For the next thirty days after Renzo took Philip under his protection Philip ate and slept better. Like when he was younger and hid behind his big sister in school he hid behind his association with Renzo. In another kind of man Renzo’s protection of Philip could have been seen as a good thing, but with Renzo all of his actions were aimed toward his own motives. A part of Philips rations came to Renzo, just enough so Philip knew who was in charge. Whenever Renzo wanted something fetched it was Philip who did the fetching.

When the two men talked about getting out of jail Renzo carefully cultivated his relationship with Philip. Renzo explained they would need money and because he had listened to Philip being taken care of by Gloria, Renzo suggests as often as possible that Philip should ask Gloria for enough money to pay for their first days out of jail. After a few days this plan became Philip’s own idea.

In jail Renzo had observed two types of prisoners, maybe three kinds: the first type was the homophobe who strikes out at non heterosexuals. The second