Back to home page Back to Family Stories
  Lioness In Winter
  Written November 2001
 

        One of the good people of Irasburg, Vermont, Wanda, was telling me about the Mountain Lion she saw – they’re rare in these parts - An endangered species.   Well I got to see a Lioness In Winter in the coldest  part of winter with winds whipping through  the city of East Orange, New Jersey. 
   
          The basement apartment where Jane and I lived with our new born son, Karl was freezing.  Jane didn’t mind the cold but Karl  had the croupe.  So she took him over to a friends house that was warm and let our friend know that we would be back soon to pick him up.   
   
          The plan was to confront the live-in landlord and demand  the heat be turned on.  I went up to the first floor door and with all sorts of diplomacy wrapped on the door.  He wouldn’t answer.  We knew he was home, his family was telling him that we were at the door.  Jane peered in the window and saw they were warm and toasty.  Finally wrapping louder on the door I told the landlord we need heat and our baby was sick.
   
          “Don’t work on Sunday” was his reply.  I started down the stairs in defeat but Jane went over to the window and yelled as loud as she could  “I don’t care whether it’s Sunday or Groundhog’s Day – “We need heat”.  She took a coin out of her pocket and wrapped real loud for his attention.    He yelled back at her not to damage the window.  Well those were the words that set the Lioness to spring.  
   
          She drew back  her bare fist and did one of those karati chops to his living room window.  I noticed the bleeding and ran over to her but she didn’t notice the chards on her nuckles yet.  She then in a calm but very  controlled angry  voice said:       “Now it looks like you will be needing heat on Sunday so while you’re at it give us heat as well.”   
   
          We headed back to the apartment to tend to her wounds and wrap her hand up and then get our son.  As we are walking back we see all sorts of police and one fire rescue squad around the apartment.   We got our heat that night thanks to the Lioness of Winter.
 

        One of the good people of Irasburg, Vermont, Wanda, was telling me about the Mountain Lion she saw – they’re rare in these parts - An endangered species.   Well I got to see a Lioness In Winter in the coldest  part of winter with winds whipping through  the city of East Orange, New Jersey. 
   
          The basement apartment where Jane and I lived with our new born son, Karl was freezing.  Jane didn’t mind the cold but Karl  had the croupe.  So she took him over to a friends house that was warm and let our friend know that we would be back soon to pick him up.   
   
          The plan was to confront the live-in landlord and demand  the heat be turned on.  I went up to the first floor door and with all sorts of diplomacy wrapped on the door.  He wouldn’t answer.  We knew he was home, his family was telling him that we were at the door.  Jane peered in the window and saw they were warm and toasty.  Finally wrapping louder on the door I told the landlord we need heat and our baby was sick.
   
          “Don’t work on Sunday” was his reply.  I started down the stairs in defeat but Jane went over to the window and yelled as loud as she could  “I don’t care whether it’s Sunday or Groundhog’s Day – “We need heat”.  She took a coin out of her pocket and wrapped real loud for his attention.    He yelled back at her not to damage the window.  Well those were the words that set the Lioness to spring.  
   
          She drew back  her bare fist and did one of those karati chops to his living room window.  I noticed the bleeding and ran over to her but she didn’t notice the chards on her nuckles yet.  She then in a calm but very  controlled angry  voice said:       “Now it looks like you will be needing heat on Sunday so while you’re at it give us heat as well.”   
   
          We headed back to the apartment to tend to her wounds and wrap her hand up and then get our son.  As we are walking back we see all sorts of police and one fire rescue squad around the apartment.   We got our heat that night thanks to the Lioness of Winter.