The slow process of learning how to relate to women,
Jim Howard and Mary Brooks in Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

     After a leisurely drive up to Florence, and a walk along the harbor front stores, Jim returned to Winchester Bay late in the afternoon. He went to the Fisherman Hideaway Tavern-Café for dinner.
    The bartender, Mary Brooks, saw him come in and moved down the bar as he took his seat. “Welcome back, Jim,” she said. “The usual?” 
     “You remembered me,” he said somewhat surprised. She placed a glass of iced-tea on the bar in front of him as if to prove it.
     “Never forget a face or what you ordered,” she said. “That’s my strong suit.”
     “Is it possible to order a burger from the café and eat it over here?” he asked.
     “I can take your order for that,” she said. “Do it all the time.”
     “Then, I’d like a burger with a slice of real cheese on it, lettuce, onion, and pickle. They can leave off the spread though. And, if they serve pie over there, a slice of any kind of pie.”
     Mary had not written down any of what he had said. “They use Bandon cheddar. Sharp or mild?”
     “I’ll try sharp.”
     “I’ll tell the cook. I think you’ll especially like the pie.” She went through the kitchen door to place the order. 
     “Why will I especially like the pie?” he asked a few minutes later when she returned.
     “Because, I made it. I make the pies here in the afternoons for a little extra money on the side. I’ll bring you my peanut butter cream.”
    “Where did you come from, Mary? I didn’t know anyone could bake a peanut butter cream-pie other than my mother!” Jim said.
     She laughed. It was low, and Jim thought the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. “Your mother bakes pies too, I gather,” she said. Her smile lit up her face.
     “The main thing that kept me on the farm was my mom’s pies, fruit cobbler with sweet cream. Umm. Good.”
    “So I’ve got some pretty hefty competition, I see,” Mary said teasing him.
     “Well, I consider her the best pie baker there is. But until I try a slice of yours, I’ll withhold judgment.”
     After Jim had finished his burger and pie, he sat back contentedly and washed it down with a second glass of ice-cold tea. Mary came back by to see how he was doing. Not a crumb remained on his plate.
    “So? How do I measure up in the pie making contest?” she asked.
     “I’d say it’s at least a tie. At the moment, I’d say you have an edge. While I’m staying at Winchester Bay, I may become your best customer, subject to availability of funds, of course.”
   Mary laughed again in her rich, melodious laugh that matched her pretty face, and Jim wanted a tape recording of it, so he could enjoy listening to it, over and over again. It was like icing on the meal that he had just finished. It had been a perfect day, and he felt content. For just a little while, he had forgotten his shyness around a beautiful woman. 
     “I suppose you are just starting your shift,” he said impulsively.
     “Why, Jim, are you suggesting that if I were getting off soon, you would be asking me out?” she asked.
     “I guess you get asked out by every man who comes in here,” Jim said his face suddenly beginning to turn red.
     “Not really. Bartenders are usually safe from being hit on. It’s the waitresses that have to put up with every lonely guy who comes in,” she said amused because of his rapidly spreading blush. 
    “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’ve had such a perfect day and a perfect piece of pie. And your laugh is music to my ears,” he continued. His blush deepened. 
     “You like my pie and my laugh?” Mary asked in surprise. She had never heard that pickup line before.
    “Well, yeah,” he said. “Those, are the top of the things I’ve enjoyed today. I drove up the coast enjoying some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen, and then came in here to your beautiful, perfect face, musical laugh, and pie to die for. I’ve found paradise,” he said sincerely.
    Mary studied his face for a moment. She had become good at reading men in the five years she had worked as a bartender. She was positive this young stranger was being completely sincere. He wasn’t flattering her to get something from her. What a change from what she was used to. She took a second look at him. He was good looking in an exotic way – high cheek bones, long, raven black hair. He was either part Native American, or had a little Asian blood. He had a little darker complexion than most of the men who came in. He was soft spoken with a slight accent, maybe southern, was polite. And, he was a friend of Charlie’s. 
    “And all you’ve had to drink is ice-tea,” Mary laughed. “You are a breath of fresh air in this tavern, Jim Howard. If I were at the end of my shift, I might just go for a walk with you. Take that as a compliment, because I don’t go for walks with my customers.”
    “Do you ever have a day off?” Jim asked shyly.
    “Wednesdays. That’s when I do most of my housework, shopping, and relaxing.”

Autographed copies of Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter available at arborwoodpress.com also available at Amazon.com

Models photos from Dreamstime.com

Jim Howard sees the girl of his dreams at the Fisherman Hideaway in Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

        They walked outside and into the tavern entrance to the Fisherman Hideaway.
        Charlie and Jim sat at the bar. One of the most beautiful women Jim had ever seen came down the long polished bar to greet them. Jim suddenly felt grubby with his unshaven face. He was d

azzled by her smile. She is the real flesh and blood woman from my fishing boat daydream, or as close as it’s going to get, Jim thought.
        “Hi Charlie, the usual Pabst Blue Ribbon?” the strawberry blond bartender asked.
        “You know me too well, Mary. What’s your poison, Jim?” Charlie asked.
        “Is it possible in a tavern that you’d have unsweetened iced-tea?” Jim stuttered. “If not, I’ll have a coffee.”
        “We have anything you want in here,” she said. She moved down the bar to an under the bar cooler and pulled out a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, brought it back, popped the lid, poured most of it into a frosted glass and placed both in front of Charlie. Then she went through a swinging door into what Jim assumed was a kitchen. 

        “She your girlfriend, Charlie?” Jim asked in awe.
        “That’s Mary Brooks. She’s a sweetheart. You order from her once, she always remembers.”
        “She’ll think I’m a wimp or something ordering iced-tea,” Jim said. “And a tramp, the way I look.”
        “Not Mary. She won’t judge you. It will set you apart. She will definitely remember you,” Charlie chuckled.
        “Here you go,” Mary said putting a frosty glass of tea in front of Jim. “Who’s your friend?” she asked Charlie while she studied Jim.
        “Mary, meet my new fishing partner, Jim Howard. He fished with me today. Jim, Mary Brooks.”
Mary reached across the bar and took just the tips of Jim’s fingers in hers. I’m pleased to meet any friend of Charlie’s, although I’ve never heard of him taking anyone on before,” she said. “He must think you’re special. You from around here?”
        “Just came in from Colorado,” Jim said.
        “I’d take you fishing anytime, Mary,” Charlie said winking at her.
        “I’m sure you tell all the girls that, you handsome Devil,” Mary laughed.
Jim smiled at the easy repartee between Mary and Charlie. I’d give anything to have that with her, he thought.
       The tavern was busy and Mary moved efficiently back and forth along the bar, pouring beer and mixing drinks for the two other waitresses covering the floor. Most of the beer was into mugs from several taps. Jim noticed a marked contrast in the provocative dress of the floor waitresses and the conservative dress of the bartender, Mary, whose blouse fastened to the top button. She also wore loose slacks.
        Regardless of Mary’s attire, he couldn’t help but admire her grace, beautiful face, long, rich blond hair that hung down past her shoulders, and definitely feminine figure that she kept hidden from the rest of the room from behind the bar. He was suddenly glad that she didn’t flaunt herself to the men in the tavern. She has too much class for that, he thought.

Autographed copies of Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter available at arborwoodpress.com Also available at Amazon.com 

A first experience with women at age 22

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

In the novel Incessant Expectations Jim Howard has given up trying to interact with girls and then women after constant rejection in high school. He is now in a Oregon, far from his Southwestern childhood home. On his second day on the coast he takes a charter, gets seasick, catches a salmon, and is back safely at shore. He goes back to the Sportsman Cafe run by the Charter Company and sees the waitress who helped him get his ticket. 

     A tired, but happy, Jim stepped into the Sportsman Café at ten that morning. He sat down in a booth where he could look out at the dock where the McPherson I was getting ready for its next trip. 

     A line of people, who all wanted to get on a boat, was lined up at the ticket counter at the charter office, where the secretary patiently explained they might work in another trip, because the first trip had come back early. Otherwise, there was no way they could get on. One man bitterly complained that the only time you could get on a “puker” was when there were no fish biting. 

     Hattie stopped at Jim’s table. She winked and said, “You didn’t take the pills did you?”

     Jim shook his head sheepishly.

     She brought him a bowl of clam chowder, an extra cup of coffee and joined him for her break. “Was it worth it?” she asked.

     “Certainly was,” he said and smiled at the memory. 

     “You still look a little peaked around the gills. I would suggest you take those the next time you go out.” She reached across the booth and poked his shirt pocket where she had seen him put the Dramamine.

     “Believe me, I will. Does it ever go away?” he asked. 

     “For most people it does. There are a few tricks to keep it from coming on. You probably won’t have trouble with it again, especially if you take the pills,” she said. “It’s worse on a charter boat. Boats like Dad’s are built wider to take passengers and to give them room to keep their gear from tangling. They are flat bottomed, so they respond to the sea more. They are lighter and faster, so they can get out and back, and spend their time fishing. The deep sea trawlers are heavier, have a low center of gravity and have stabilizers to keep the hooks from rising and falling so much with rougher seas. The commercials have big diesel engines that plug along, but are efficient.” 

Jim listening while he sipped the steaming hot clam chowder. “This is amazing,” he commented. “You make this?” 

     “It’s the only thing, I do cook in here. I guess you could say, it’s my specialty,” she blushed. 

“You could patent it, if there is such a thing as patenting food.”

     She smiled at his compliment. 

     “You know a lot about boats,” Jim said. 

     “I’ve lived around them all my life,” she said.

     When he finished the chowder, he asked, “Do you know if a man by the name of Charlie Reed has a boat here?”

     “Charlie? Yes, he has a boat here. The Madilin. He keeps her over on ‘C’ dock. How do you know Charlie?” Hattie asked.

     “It’s a long story,” Jim said.

     “My break is over for now, but I want to hear it. My shift is over, and I have lunch at 1:30. If you haven’t had lunch by then, come on back, join me and tell me the story,” she invited.

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter autographed copies available at arborwoodpress.com print and kindle copies available at amazon.com  print copies available at online books stores worldwide.

His first salmon on the charter boat

Modern charter out of Depoe Bay, OR

in Incessant Expectations

by Kenneth Fenter

     Jim Howard lands on the Oregon coast at Wincester Bay, 4 miles south of Reedsport, Oregon. He is eager to catch a salmon. To date he has caught only trout in the clear streams of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Until a month before they had averaged less than 10 inches long. During the two weeks before leaving Colorado he had managed to learn to catch larger trout in the Dolores River, trout up to 18 and 20 inches on dry flies and light weight tackle.

     He signs onto the McPherson Charters the next day after his arrival, the early morning run. It is for four hours or the boat's limit of 3 fish per passenger or 18 fish for the 6 passengers. Fish have been biting.

     Except for Grandma’s first chinook, the rest of the catches were much smaller silvers. Jim was encouraged by the rest of the crew, especially from the grandma who had caught five fish by now. “You must not be holding your mouth right,” she suggested.

Jim grinned at this. It was his Uncle Ed’s favorite excuse for anything that didn’t work out right.

     Another hour passed. 

The boat bobbed on the ocean, lifting with the swells and dipping with the troughs. The sun was out now, and it was much warmer than when they had left the shore. Jim removed the poncho and waited. The fish had quit biting. Everyone had fallen silent. They placed their rods in the pipe holders in front of their chairs and relaxed. 

     Johnny poured coffee for anyone who wanted it. The boat plowed back and forth searching.

     Jim watched the constant motion of the ocean as it rose and fell in long easy rounded hills and valleys. He began to notice garbage floating by: Styrofoam fragments from floats and coffee cups, plastic bottles, and beer cans. The surface was cut occasionally with a path of floating seaweed that Johnny called a rip tide. Jelly fish floated by and hundreds of birds either floated on the waves or sped by in flocks. Other charter boats and fishing boats had joined them and ploughed along a short distance away. Occasionally, one, taking a cue from the birds perhaps, pulled in lines and sped off in another direction. 

     The sea was calm, except for the wake from a departing boat that caused the McPherson I to rock repeatedly for a while. 

     Jim was hypnotized by the constant motion. 

     On the sea. 

     On the boat. 

     In front of him.

     His head felt dizzy. 

     He felt panicky and a little queasy. 

     He looked around, helplessly. He would have traded all the salmon in the ocean for a bathroom. Johnny handed him a plastic pail. His gut erupted into the bucket. Everyone else looked away sympathetically. He had shamefully branded himself. 

     The two pills Hattie had given him that morning were still in his pocket.

     Jim retched several more times, and he felt better. Johnny handed him  a cloth so he could wipe his mouth, and then handed him a cup of coffee. Jim took a drink and started to thank the First Mate, but his rod suddenly straightened and the line began to zing out of his reel. 

     “Fish on!” Grandma yipped. 

     The captain cut the throttle and Johnny stepped forward to assist. 

     His seasickness was forgotten. He handed Johnny the coffee cup, grabbed the rod out of the holder and began to reel and haul. 

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter autographed copies available at arborwoodpress.comhttp://arborwoodpress.com  print and kindle books available at amazon.com and books online everywhere worldwide.

Working on the green-chain
From Incessant Expectations,
New Novel by Kenneth Fenter
     In Incessant Expectations, Jim Howard's first job in Oregon is working on the green-chain at the Elk Creek Mill. It is Jim's first job working for wages and working with a crew. 
     On the farm he is used to being his own boss working alone and at his own pace. He is not a big man, but he is strong, used to working long grueling hours under brutal conditions in the high altitude in Colorado.
     He is also used to being around people he can trust.
     The first day on the job he learns that he is in a new world where he needs to trust only himself. The next morning with hands that are nearly ruined by ill fitting gloves furnished by his crew foreman, and an aching back, he sits down to breakfast at the Lumberman's Cafe.

He went next door to the Lumberjack Café, which advertised that it fixed lunches for hungry lumbermen. He had breakfast, bought sandwiches and had his thermos filled. His blistered hands brought a look of sympathy from the waitress, a pretty young girl either still in, or fresh out, of high school.

“Just start working at the mill?” she asked looking at his hands.

“Yesterday,” he said blushing when she saw him wince when he picked up his coffee cup.

“Don’t tell me you used the gloves they furnished,” she said.

“They didn’t fit very well. I stopped at the feed store last night and bought my own pair.”

“Wish you had stopped here before you started working there. I could have warned you,” she said.

“I wish I had, too. But, I should have known better,” Jim said quietly. “When I was little, my mother would have called it natural consequences.”

“Watch those guys, they can be pretty ornery on the new guys,” she said seriously. “That pile of gloves has been pulled on more than one unsuspecting newcomer to mill work.”

“My mistake, but I’ll live,” Jim said and grinned at her.

“I’ve lived around these guys all my life. They can make your life miserable, if they choose to. Or, if you choose to become one of the good ole boys, you can have a lot of fun with them, assuming you enjoy their definition of fun.”

She held his eyes a moment longer, “You planning to stand up to them?”

“Will I need to?”

“You may have to. They shouldn’t have pulled the gloves shit on you. They knew what it would do to your hands. That’s crap. Look at them. The foreman sized you up as soon as he laid eyes on you and decided you couldn’t pull your own weight. He had gloves that would fit you. Your hands wouldn’t look like that this morning!” she said.

Jim looked up at her, surprised at her anger.

“As I said, I can take care of myself.”

She lowered her eyes, “I’ll bet you can. But, just be careful.”

“I won’t fight them,” Jim said.

“If you try, they will make mash out of you,” she said sadly.

“You have a history with these guys?” he asked. “This really makes you mad.”

“My dad tangled with them a long time ago. Long story.”

“I’m sorry,” Jim said.

“Just be careful. Promise me.”

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter available at Amazon.com or autographed copies direct from arborwoodpress.com

Incessant Expectations 
by Kenneth Fenter, 
a classic tale of 
When one door closes, 
look for the one that's open
Jim Howard, second year student in fine arts at Mesa State College, and full time farmer on the family farm, suddenly has the door closed in his face one day in early June 1976.
One day he is tending the corn, beans, grain and alfalfa. Two weeks later he is leaving the only place and life he knows to venture to an unknown land. Behind him are the tractor he spends hours on most days, and the mountains he fishes in and looks out at each morning. 

After two days on the road in his Chevy pickup he is in the Pacific Northwest, land of Douglas firs, and crashing surf. 

and huge logging trucks feeding numerous saw mills in the Willamette Valley and the coastal towns. 
He almost immediately gets a job working the green chain at a small lumber company. 
It is the first time in his 22 years that he earns a paycheck. He has worked on a crew on the farm, but he finds working on the crew at the mill is a little different. He has a lot to learn working for someone else for a paycheck, and how to get along with his fellow workers. 



Cornfield, surf, logging truck, and fir tree royalty free images from Dreamstime.com

Incessant Expectations available from Amazon.com in print and kindle e-books. For information on all books by Kenneth Fenter-fiction and non-fiction, visit arborwoodpress

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter: One inexperienced young man 
and two women.
       Jim Howard works on the family farm until he is 22 years old. He attends the small one room grade school. In high school he withdraws when he is taunted by the other students for his lack of social skills. He shows a aptitude for art and during the winter months attends a state college where he excels but because of his high school experience of rejection when he attempts to date, he does not try to date any of the girls he meets in his fine arts classes.
    On the farm he works for his room and board. There is never enough money left over for a wage. At his age he reasons that if he did find some one to date he wouldn't have a means to court her or to support her if they got serious. At the beginning of the novel, Jim is contemplating his future as he tends his new crop. All is growing well on an early June day. He takes a break and takes a nap. He dreams. In the dream he is fishing on the ocean. His wife is a beautiful blond woman. When he awakes he knows she is the woman from an advertisement from a magazine. By that night his life as he knows it is shattered. The farm must be sold or the bank will take it.
    A month later he is working with a partner at Winchester Bay, Oregon as a fisherman. Each morning he is waited on at the Sportsman Cafe by Hattie. Most evenings when he comes in he visits The Fisherman's Hideaway where he is served Iced tea by Mary. She brings him his supper from the adjoining cafe, is concerned about the condition of his hands, and rubs salve into his cuts and callouses from that's day's fishing. They both visit with him and for the first time in his life, he is not tongue tied with a woman. 
    Hattie begins to put notes in the lunch box the Sportsman Cafe prepares for Jim and his partner Charlie. She slips in a an extra treat, an apple, or a candy bar. 
    Mary tells Jim that if he ever gets his boat and begins living off the river, carefree and his own boss, she just might go with him. 
    The first date in his life is with Mary.
    The second is with Hattie.
    Hattie is affectionate but has restrictions on what is future can be.
    Mary won't hold his hand, but she applauds his free choice in what he does and encourages it.
    Jim Howard must learn about the vagaries of the Pacific Ocean to earn his living, he also must learn in a short time about the fair gender the things that most young men have learned throughout their teen years. 
    He and the two women he is attracted to aren't sure he is up for the challenge.

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More on Incessant Expectations and other novels by Kenneth Fenter on arborwoodpress.com
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Painting by Mark Fenter of the fictional
commercial boat, Madilin.

Incessant Expectations 
by Kenneth Fenter
Salmon fishing at Winchester Bay, Oregon
in the mid 70s. 
  
       When Jim Howard in the novel arrives in Winchester Bay and becomes partners with the owner of "the Madilin", he is entering an industry on the way out. Once a thriving industry, Commercial fishing in the late 1970s faced a dwindling resource and ever oppressive government regulation. 
       Foreign factory ships hoovering off shore took bottom fish as well as prize game fish. 
       Jim hears the arguments from fishermen as well as the young woman, Hattie, that he falls in love with who wants to escape the prospect of marrying a fisherman who must face danger on the ocean and poverty from the upkeep of a boat. 
       Jim's partner, Charlie is an old time fisherman who  teaches Jim well. The Madilin is well cared for under Charlie's care. By the end of the summer Jim must decide whether he must give up the dream of a boat like the Madilin before he will have a chance with Hattie.  

       

Photo of an actual Colombia River double-ender
similar to what the Madilin is based on. 

Arborwood Press online

Arborwood Press: New from Arborwood Press, Seeing Red: A Memoir by Jim Henson and Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

New from Arborwood Press, Seeing Red: A Memoir by Jim Henson and Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

 New from Arborwood Press

Seeing Red: A Memoir by Jim Henson

Arborwood Press is proud to announce the release of two new books for the fall season and holidays ahead. Seeing Red: A Memoir was released in August. Seeing Red covers the four year period from 1973 to 1977 as Director of Deschutes County Mental Health. The tales in this book come from those years. He was seduced into taking the Directorship by its previous director, Charles Whitchurch, who was also known as "The Red Baron. 
Jane Kirkpatrick, NY Times Bestselling author, describes Seeing Red as "Poignant, funny and authentically Jim. Seeing Red is a Doc Martin-esque return to an earlier Bend community with quirky and enduring characters, exceptional landscapes, a young family's settlement in a supportive community and an insider's look at community mental health and the tangles of state bureaucracy."   

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter

Incessant Expectations by Kenneth Fenter was released at the Florence Festival of Books at Florence, Oregon on Sept. 27. The original manuscript was written in 1976 the summer after author Fenter spent the summer of 1975 riding along with brother Mark Fenter, a commercial salmon fisherman out of Winchester Bay, Oregon. Although the novel is not based on Mark, it does follow closely the fishing techniques and customs used during that time as commercial salmon fishing was on the cusp of its existence as an industry on the Oregon coast. 
The novel explores more than fishing with the main character Jim Howard as for the first time he is in a position to search for a mate. Because of his circumstance as a youth growing up in isolation on the farm, he must start from the beginning in learning how to form relationships.

The Arborwood Press website has been upgraded. Give either of these books autographed for Christmas. arborwoodpress.com