The Inhabitants of Bayen Bend - Smoky Lonesome

A delicate mist shrouded and drifted across a sleepy corner of Banyen Bend. Movement could be seen in a ramshackle cabin on the banks of a lazy river that meandered amongst trees and swampland.

Smoky Lonesome had been to many places and had many odd jobs in his life...too many! He was thoroughly tired of being on the road. So when he came across Banyan Bend and saw this abandoned cabin at the edge of a swamp, he knew it was time to settle down. He had one or two goals he was determined to fulfill and this peaceful place was an ideal location.
Smoky was always the happiest when hunting for scrap, fishing and trying to invent new and interesting things. He was creative and keen to try his hand at sculpture and painting also and set himself up for these endeavours.

He was always up at the crack of dawn and searching for more scrap for his inventions. He knew he would have to get started on his sculpting as well so invested in a sculpting work station so that he could practise. He made up his mind that he was going to master several goals that he had set himself, some of which included master sculptor, painter and inventer.

Smoky enjoyed his solitude and could always find something to fill his time. He waved and nodded to people that he came across but made no attempt to really get to know anyone, and that was how he liked it. Often when he had to venture into town to pick up a few things people would turn and whisper about him. Some rumours that made it to his ears included comments like...'he's a hermit' 'never talks to anyone' 'he's weird'. Children would run the opposite direction thinking he was some sort of monster. Smoky just smiled to himself and continued on his way.

He started off making several statues with clay. He practised every day and made several of the same thing improving it each time and selling the previous attempts cheaply to those that wanted them. Often he would leave his work out and had it stolen a few times, but nothing seem to ruffle his demeanor.

When he wasn't sculpting he was inventing and trying new things with the scrap he collected. This morning he set his pants on fire and needed to douse it by jumping into a cold shower. He rarely gave up and eventually his hard work began to pay off.

As he continued to practise the results of his hard work were beginning to show. Each new clay statue he made a little extra  money. He worked all day until dawn and then rang the Town Hall to register as a self-employed sculptor.

He was asked to go to the Town Hall and sign a few papers, so he raced off on his bike to get there just before it closed for the night, just making the trip in time. He came back home with all the licenses and paperwork and was set up to begin a sculpting career.

As his experience increased, Smoky started working in wood, using the same technique as before, making the same art piece over and over until it was perfected. 

Later he purchased a chain saw and began working on ice, practising until each piece was better than the next. He began getting contract work and so his career began, filling orders for all sorts of people from many walks of life, some he was aware appeared rather dodgy but as long as he was paid he didn't fuss over who ever gave him work. 



The first ice sculpture he attempted took him a long time and he worked at it well into the evening.

Eventually Smoky invested in a few spotlights which he strategically placed around his work station so that even as dusk decended on Smoky's private corner of the world turning the land and his ice slab a rosy hue, he could now continue his work well into the night. 

Some nights he would collapse into bed exhausted, but even as he slumbered, his mind was constantly on alert to any creative ideas that may pop up in his head. Often his best ideas came to him in a flash in the middle of the night. The burden most creative minds have to deal with.

He would get up in the middle of the night, dress and make himself a snack then proceed to write or sketch what he had dreamed about so he didn't lose the idea in a myriad of other things that entered his head. He had to get it down on paper, separating it from the countless other ideas that flooded his head whilst dreaming. 

Every few weeks Smoky would give himself a day's break from sculpting or inventing, when he would brush up on his painting, go fishing or just sit and watch TV. He visited an old junk yard and salvaged several old pieces of furniture.

One day he found an old TV and decided to tinker with it to try to get it working. After searching out and discovering some spare parts, he got it working only having to buy a few electrical parts to make it work at its optimum. He rarely mixed with people but he did chat to the newspaper delivery boy who once he realised he wasn't an evil old man, enjoyed watching Smoky work. The other person he chatted to occasionally was the post girl who delivered any mail or packages. She was also interested to watch Smoky work. So much so that she dropped in one day when she was off duty and paid him a visit. 

Stay tuned to the next episode of Smoky Lonesome's life...