I don't know how many of you have ever seen a sheep wagon let alone stayed in one of them. But if you haven't despite appearances sheep wagons are a very hospitable environment to live in. They're much better in the summer than they are in the winter. But they've got stoves in them and you can survive in one even at -30 below zero.
Now, I'm sure most of you have seen campers or camper trailers but in my own opinion I've yet to see anything that rivaled a sheep wagon when it comes to usable space. Every square inch is used for something and it's pretty amazing how much stuff you can get into one of them.
Sheep wagons have a little special place for everything if you know how to use it or where to look. But then they have to because they were built for people who would live in them for as much as six months at a time without ever going to town.
Most of them have little Dutch doors that latch together so you can open both of them or one of them. As soon as you enter there's a little cast iron stove on the right, and a long bench on the left. Everything under the bench is storage space.
Just past the stove are cupboards and another little bench with again more storage space underneath. In the back is the bed, which is raised about half way up the height of the wagon. In the front of the bed are about a half dozen drawers (the longest ones you may have ever seen because they are as long as the bed is wide) and the table which slides under the bed when it’s not in use.
Below the bed are two doors that open under the it and again a big storage space. That leaves an open space about two feet wide to walk in until you get past the stove. And then there's a rectangle of about four feet by three feet of space to move around in.
If it’s a real working sheep wagon and you really get to looking around in it you'll probably find a little bit of something left by every herder who every occupied it.
Just all kinds of odd things, maybe a tobacco pipe or two, medicines, nick knacks, some things you'll never figure out what they are and always books.
Now once I got to looking around in the Wagon Robby and I were staying in there was no doubt it was one Old Zimmo had stayed in for a long time. And the way I knew that was because in the storage space under the bed there were two complete sets of encyclopedias.
Let’s just say Zimmo was an interested and interesting man that herded sheep in that country for decades. And was widely considered one of the best herders there was.
But we also might say Zimmo was either a sheep herder or a drunk depending on where you saw him. He spent most of his time and life out on the range with the sheep. Including winters which takes a hard man which are hard to find.
But if Zimmo was not out on the range he was in town. Where he was drinking, drunk, or passed out.
Zimmo did not come to town often. Although no one but him knew when that might be. In fact one of those times Zimo was famous for was when he decided to go to town to celebrate New Years Eve. So he walked from Bird’s Eye Pass to Shoshoni which was between 15 and 20 miles in freezing temperatures.
Zimmo got there on New Years and it was a few more weeks before he went back to herding. After spending almost all his money just getting drunk.
When Zimmo came to town he would do that until all his money was gone or the delirium tremors were starting to set in whichever came first. And then he’d hire out to one of the sheep outfits (any and all of them would be glad to have him) and go back out on the range with the sheep for months.
But no matter where you might run into Zimmo or what condition he was in you wouldn’t know it by just looking at him but Zimmo knew everything about everything. And I am not exaggerating one bit.
To pass the time and keep himself entertained out on the range Zimmo read encyclopedias. And I mean the complete set from A to Z. And when he was done with that set of encyclopedias he’d buy a newer set and read them.
And it wasn’t just a case of Zimmo comprehending what he was reading. He actually had a photographic memory and never forgot what he read. You could literally ask Zimo about anything under the sun and he would tell you all about it off the top of his head.
In fact by the time I was in this particular sheep wagon with Robby Zimmo had gotten so old he had retired from sheep herding. Instead he was the “swamper” at the Brown Derby Steakhouseand Bar.
Meaning Zimmo did dishes, mopped and cleaned up after the bar had closed and also did a few other odd jobs as needed. And for that the owner not only paid him a little and supplied some alcohol he also let hm live and sleep in the basement of the bar.
Now keep in mind this was in the 1960’s and I am not sure anyone had even thought of the internet yet. But there were a few of us school kids that were in the know and didn’t need the internet. Because we had Zimmo.
No matter what the assignment was from history to science and most things in between all we had to do was ask Zimmo. He was always a little smelly. And often drunk. But he could still tell you about whatever it was and you could write it down on a notepad. Put it in your paper and it would pass every time.
I was thinking about all that the next morning when I rolled out of bed with Robby and asked him if he had any Bag Balm? And he said no but look under the bed.
Which is when I saw the encyclopedias. Bringing back fond memories of getting an A for my report on the “Boxer Rebellion.”
Which no one else in the class except the teacher had even heard of. My teacher was very impressed. And probably more than a little suspicious since I was generally a really poor student. My teacher probably knew the paper was “Zinnmoed.”But I got the A anyway.
And once I got pawing around past the encyclopedias there was also a can of Bag Balm there too. No telling how long it had been there. It looked to have been there since Zimmo retired. But Bag Balm doesn’t spoil.
So I at least had Bag Balm to coat my shins with. Even without bandages. Because the gaze I had been wearing was shot and more thana little dirty by then. And I couldn’t find gaze or anything else to replace the bandage with.
But by that time my shines were scabbed over and I just needed the Bag Balm to keep the scabs from drying out and heal. Which is what Bag Balm does better than anything else. It helps skin heal.
