Story Broken Yet Rising

Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________

Chapter 68​


Derek better be glad the caballeros overheard him and whooped in glee. They needed an adventure nearly about as badly as I obviously did, but I hadn’t expected “the surprise” and wasn’t sure how to respond.

While the kiddos did their own version of a happy hamster dance Derek looked at me expectantly. I asked, “How do we do this?” I wanted to go. But I was questioning it as well. It sounded like family stuff. Couple and kids stuff. I was leery and I’m just being honest about that.

Derek answered, “The tickets are for two back-to-back days. They have an RV lot for vendors and … we have a spot. It’ll mean using your van and I know you might not be comfortable but … this can be a good thing, Mina.”

“Fairs are expensive places,” I said remembering The Florida State Fair and The Strawberry Festival. “They are going to want to ride rides.”

“They are but I’ll cover that.”

“I didn’t mean that I couldn’t …”

“I know you didn’t, but you cover just about everything else. And the tickets include ride armbands. Fair opens at 10 am and closes at dusk. Georgia isn’t as strict about being home by lights out, except around Atlanta. The fair is in Macon. Not to mention anyone coming or going from Atlanta is going to need a pass.”

“A what?” I asked, not sure I had heard him correctly.

“Anyone living inside the I285 beltway must have a pass from the military to cross outside of the area. I75 is closed due to all of the overpass damage from during the riots. All commercial truck and vehicle traffic has to route around the beltway unless they are delivering inside the beltway and that’s strictly regulated.”

Confused I asked, “Can they do that? Legally I mean.”

“It is moving … very slowly … through the courts. But this is a result of all the riots and fires in Atlanta. The city has been boxed in. Atlanta has had some trouble with gangs and other violent organizations. Add to that the terrorist cells that were discovered is why the military is on board with the controls. The I75 repairs were put on hold after the assassination of the Atlanta Mayor last month; he didn’t OD as was originally reported, he was poisoned. All major venues like the Aquarium and the Zoo are closed until further notice and most of the animals have been transported out to other similar facilities. Atlanta is on hard lock down and it is going to stay that way until further notice.”

“That’s not at all how they explained it on the news,” I said, feeling even more confused.

“I got this from my client and Dayton was able to confirm it through some of his Tallahassee contacts. Los Angeles is the same and rumors are that Austin and San Antonio will see some of that action if they can’t get the illegals to leave voluntarily. Texas ain’t playing.”

“And LA?”

“Trying to save rich men’s holdings is what Dayton was told but who knows what the truth is. They are letting NYC collapse, except for the harbor areas which are under control of the Navy and Merchant Seamen. The UN doesn’t want to move so the US is pulling out all the passive aggressive stops to get them to change their minds. They’ve let way too many refugees take up residence there to escape whatever country they’re coming from and are sucking up all the resources in the city. It is like they don’t just have the compound they are on, they want to control the entire city, and rumors say they want their own state/country similar to the Vatican. They’re almost a military enclave at this point. Next move will be to surround the UN facilities and barricade them in; nothing and no one in or out.”

Suddenly I was scared for some reason. “Is taking them to the fair even safe if things are that bad? So bad they aren’t even reporting it on the news?”

“If I didn’t think it was safe enough, I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“I guess what I said didn’t come out right. I just meant …”

“I know what you meant Mina. I would have questioned you not wondering, but there’s going to be a bunch of security. How about a compromise? We’ll go. If it turns out to be a dud or not worth staying a second day … that’s two nights … we’ll head back and stop at some farmers markets or a park or something.”

Then I heard it. He wanted to go. Turns out Derek needed a vacation too. Badly. Even if it wasn’t but three days. Since Mr. Barnes can’t travel, they aren’t planning to close the offices in July. And he’s taken on all of Mr. Barnes’ clients as well as anything Mr. Dayton assigns him. His workload has nearly tripled. It might get worse than that as Mr. Dayton is looking at taking over the cases for several firms that are shuttering their doors. Derek is concerned that Mr. Dayton is growing the firm too much, overextending the existing lawyers on staff, and not adding new law clerks or paralegals. Of course there aren’t a lot of those to be had due to the draft. I’m not exactly having fun on the days I’m in the office as Mr. Taylor wants a whole lot more of my time than he should if he would schedule his stuff better.

Trying to stay on topic I asked a few more questions, got the answers and didn’t have any excuse to put it off anymore.

“Okay. I’m in.”
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
Kathy in FL said:
There are commercials on the TV and radio about taking some of the pressure off by growing food in containers on the back porch. Bulletins get handed out at school. Schools are creating gardens to grow stuff for their cafeterias and if kids participate in the garden, then they become part of the free-lunch or free-breakfast program, only not because they are on the sliding scale. Students that are on those programs for financial reasons are required to participate, and so are their parent or guardian. People are shocked that nothing is truly free like they used to think it was.
Click to expand...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FOhWhh_rj4
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
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Chapter 69​

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It was worth going, but I’m glad to be home as well. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me and a lot to think about as well.

We started on the road right at daylight. Twilight was 6:27 am and we were inline to pull out onto US90. When sunrise was official at 6:51 the line was waived on, and I headed to I75 to start the three-hour drive north to Macon. I was driving because I knew the van and because Derek was exhausted. He’d gotten hauled in to help with a bad wreck on his way home from work. All I can say is that if he hadn’t, three people would have died. He got and kept them stabilized until an ambulance arrived with a national guard escort so they could travel after sunset. He had called so I wouldn’t worry but he was already almost 2 hours late by that time and yeah, I was worried.

He felt bad but sometimes life throws a curveball, but we worked it out. I even managed to pull into the fair and get parked before I had to wake him up since I had all the paperwork with me in front. The gates were already open, but we missed that anyway due to travel time, but it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t armband day so the first day was all about food and exhibitions. Oh. My. Lord. Derek bought food cards and I never saw how much things cost but it was no small amount.

We would get two of something and then split one three ways and one two ways. Sometimes we would buy one of something and everyone would just get a taste. Eventually we wound up just buying one of something and splitting it four ways as I was getting massively full. First thing we got Chicken pot pie biscuits and Ego waffle bacon dogs as our breakfast meal. Geez.

From there it was anything goes: Cheese on a Stick, Fried Peanuts, Fried cheesecake, Elephant Ears, and Korean BBQ Fries. “Dogs” were popular: Bird Dog - chicken fingers, nacho cheese, bacon on a hot dog roll, then a Waffle dog - like a corn dog only cooked in a waffle iron. We tried the famous fried Kool-Aid (Kool-Aid dumped into hush puppy mix and fried), just none that had red dye in them; and a Big Poppa - a double patty bacon cheeseburger smothered in pulled pork, fries, ranch dressing, BBQ sauce on a toasted onion roll. In addition to the fries we had a side of fried deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and for dessert we split some hand pies; salted caramel apple, spiced pear, and peach.

Other things we split were Memphis style BBQ nachos, Fried shrimp and okra po’ boy, Banana fritters, Banana cream pie funnel cake, Pickle ranch loaded fries, Lemonade funnel cake, Banana cream pie nachos, Millionaire bacon - dipped in maple syrup and brown sugar, something called a Temperamental hog funnel cake that I couldn’t even look at as we’d just come from one of the animal exhibits and the smell … gak. Then there was the Honey Bunny Curd Burger, Bacon Caramel Peanut Butter apple fries, BBQ Fried Burrito (pulled pork, Mac n cheese, BBQ sauce, deep fried in a burrito shell). I think the only two normal foods we had were Peach ice cream and watermelon slushies.

The exhibits included all sorts of ag shows with animals, antique tractors, horticulture, floriculture, culinary exhibits, and all sorts of 4H competitions. There was an exhibit hall with the sorts of things you’d find at any such place including hot tubs of all things. The crowning activity of the day was a rodeo. Meh. The kids and Derek enjoyed it, but what I enjoyed was watching them enjoy it more than I enjoyed it myself.

Sunset was 8:15 pm. They closed the fair at 8 pm and had been trying to push people out of the gates starting at 7 pm. We didn’t have far to go – the assigned camping spaces – but I could have done without some of the people that were camping out in the same area. They were a rowdy bunch until the GA national guard stationed a patrol smack dab in the middle of things.

The kids were exhausted and willingly hit the sack early even with all the noise going on. Derek wanted to stay up with me and talk but he fell asleep in the middle of his first yawn and I just eased the seat he was in back and covered him with his sleeping bag. As wired as I was I just couldn’t sleep. And yeah, some of it was having Derek so close. Rather than my normal jammies I changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, similar to what he was wearing. It still left me feeling a little funny. He has a lot of scars he doesn’t normally allow people to see. I’ve been seeing them more simply because of our living situation and Derek is no longer quite as sensitive about them, especially not after witnessing Nat and I go after Knox with pillows for asking about them.

“What?! They’re cool! He’s like a hero and stuff!! Ow! Ow! Stop!!”

We all wound up laughing and Derek explained how he wasn’t a hero for getting blown up because a piece of equipment malfunctioned during training. But Knox insisted he was too a hero because of his EMT stuff and refused to hear another word about it. Especially after equating with Derek and Mitchel both being in emergency services. At the same time however, Knox won’t let anyone else say anything about Derek which tells me as nothing else that both Knox and Nat have “adopted” Derek and Daniel as being part of our family. And a good thing all things considered.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because the camper parked next to us slamming their door at first light woke me up.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________

Chapter 70​


Arm. Band. Day. If I thought the previous day was chaotic and full, it had nothing on this day. The caballeros rode every ride multiple times. Even the Tilt-A-Whirl. And miracle of miracles, no one puked. I didn’t even have to ride with them every time unless they needed a fourth so no one had to ride alone. They’d all three finally hit that magic inches mark for most of the rides they wanted to ride. There were a couple of rides that Nat and Daniel didn’t want to go on and Knox was going to skip them, but Derek said a compromise was in order.

“Daniel, Nat, and I will go get some refreshments. You ride with Knox. How’s that sound?”

In a rather serious tone of voice Daniel told Knox, “Uncle Derek and I will watch out for Nat. Promise.”

It was so funny I nearly laughed. Knox fist-bumped Daniel and then told Nat, “Won’t be long. Uh … nothing spicy. The Himalayan goes fast forward and backwards.”

Nat giggled and Daniel covered his mouth and belched. I’m thinking it is the going fast backwards he wasn’t interested in.

We didn’t eat nearly as much as we did the previous day, but we did eat. More fried pickle chips with Derek eating his share. Yuck. I’ve already found a recipe[1] to make now that we are back home. We shared another batch of fried deviled eggs[2] which aren’t as gakky as you might think. A waffle cone of strawberry shortcake ice cream[3] that we all shared (glad I brought extra sporks for just in case they were limiting the plasticware). Deep fried Oreos[4] were almost too sweet, even for the kids. Bacon-wrapped corn on the cob[5] (minus the hidden jalapenos thank you very much). Chocolate covered bacon[6] which isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. Corn in a Cup[7] which I have been searching for a recipe for and not quite finding the equivalent; close but not quite. One of my favorites was Tacos on a Stick[8] which is more of a kabob than anything else. Loaded stuffed potato pancakes[9] which I’m going to makea soon as I have leftover mashed potatoes. Sweet corn ice cream[10] which I am still trying to decide whether I liked or not. Pizza on a Stick[11] was another favorite. For our big meal of the day we had BBQ turkey legs and split sides of Poutine[12] (it sounds like a rude word but isn’t) and corn fritters[13]. I’m probably missing a couple of things but it already sounds like we didn’t do much but eat but when you are buying one of something then splitting it five ways, it doesn’t go nearly as far as you think.

About three hours before closing, Derek and I noticed the crowd had gotten rowdy. The authorities must have noticed as well as there were more security guards walking around. That didn’t seem to help so at two hours before closing then sent in the “big guns”. I don’t know if these guys (no gals among them) were regular military or national guard but the “big guns” had big guns. Derek and I looked at each other and silently agreed it was time to head towards the exit. Problem. The main exit was closed due to something that was going on in the parking lot. So head to the rear gate even though it meant having to walk quite a bit to get to the van. Problem 2 (or 3 depending on how you look at it), before we could get to that exit, it had been closed as well after someone kicked up a fuss because of the facial recognition equipment that had been installed.

Actually, facial recognition equipment had been installed at all four of the exits, and at the entrance/exit solely reserved for vendors and park employees. Knox had already figured out something was going on and asked Derek, “Is this like when Mina had to shoot that weirdo in the butt?”

Derek was surprisingly calm and answered, “I hope not, but just in case, don’t let Nat and Daniel out of your sight.”

“Yes, Sir.”

I nearly tripped at Knox using “sir” but like I said, I’d already figured that Derek had been accepted and now I knew that Knox also respected him. And if he did Nat did. And I knew Daniel already did.
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I reached into my string bag – the only thing they’d allowed to come into the park because we had kids – and put one of my sporks into my jacket pocket. I know that sounds like a weird thing to do but this particular spork was a tactical spork that I’d bought from Mrs. Shepard (of Sheepdog) on the sly.

I was prepared to use it as well. The blade was only 2.5” long but that was enough of a poke to get someone to leave us alone. And why did I feel the need to do it? Because you could hear the roar of a fight or riot outside the fair on several sides. I wasn’t just worried about us, I was worried about the van.

Derek and I maneuvered the caballeros near where there was one of the cameras, with a prominent sideboard explaining that as the fair was a public area, no one had any expectations of privacy, therefore cameras were being used for security. A sign had been added that facial recognition was being used. While there were some fights inside the fair, most of the violence was kept outside the fenced area. Amazingly many of the vendors continued to operate and people were taking advantage of things and eating and riding rides up until the very end. Finally, the all clear sign was given but everyone had to go through a gate and get their picture taken and show their ID. And if they had an address inside the Atlanta Beltway, they better have a pass. The people directly in front of us didn’t and the entire family got pulled to a trailer where they had to explain themselves. More than a few were exiting those trailers in handcuffs or zip ties. Even some young teens and what may have been a few pre-teens that were missing adult supervision.

We headed straight to the camping area and had to go through the routine all over and were directed to go straight to our spot. Well, no freaking kidding.

[1] Fried Pickle Chips
[2] Fried Deviled Eggs
[3] Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
[4] Easy Deep Fried Oreos
[5] Mouthwatering Bacon-Wrapped Corn on the Cob
[6] How to Make Chocolate-Covered Bacon
[7] Corn In A Cup
[8] Tacos on a Stick
[9] Loaded Stuffed Potato Pancakes
[10] Sweet Corn Ice Cream
[11] Pizza on a Stick
[12] Poutine
[13] Marina’s Golden Corn Fritters
 
Lake Lili

Lake Lili

Veteran Member
Thanks Kathy!
Here in Newfoundland, poutine is served with a dressing or stuffing flavoured with savoury spice, and topped off with a rich beef gravy.... on occaision we'll also put pulled pork or hamburger meat under the dressing. Seriously a full meal.
Cheers, Lili
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________

Chapter 71​


Derek stayed his lawyer-ish persona until the kids got in the van so we could talk with relative privacy. However, knowing those three I figured they were probably listening in. I know I would have at that age so I refused to let my anger show. We walked around the van checking for damage while we talked.

“I’m so damn sorry. I didn’t think this would …”

“Stop Derek. People acting like idiots isn’t your fault. And to be honest, nothing happened. Nothing happened in the fairgrounds and nothing has happened to the van.”

“But …”

“No buts. Something could have happened. Something could happen at home. But it didn’t and it hasn’t. Let’s just make plans to get out of here as early as possible tomorrow in case the roads are a hot mess.”

“I’d get us out of here tonight if I could.”

“And I might even agree under different circumstances, but we both know that isn’t possible.”

Still serious he asked, “Are you okay to drive tomorrow? I want to stay up in case something tries to go wrong overnight.”

“If you think it is necessary, we’ll take turns that way we can take turns driving tomorrow, just in case.”

“Mina …”

“Derek …” I said back a little on the sing-song side. Back to a normal tone I said, “Seriously, the kids aren’t freaking and in fact are taking it more in stride than they did the riot in town. The news doesn’t even bother them as much with you and Daniel around. Please don’t do that guilty-for-no-reason thing.”

He took a deep breath. Blew it out in a calming, stress-reduction movement. Then said, “I told the kids that …”

Given how red his face was getting, so red I could see it in the dark that was only lightened by the overhead street lamps, I asked cautiously, “Told the kids what?”

“I asked Knox … and Nat … what they thought about …” I was about to panic when he finished, “… me giving you a promise ring.”

“A … promise ring?” My voice was an octave above normal. And that’s when Nat opened the sliding door.

“Derek, I need to talk to Mina. Girl stuff.”

Rarely have I ever seen Derek move that fast. I turned to my little sister and crossed my arms after the door had closed. “That was not nice.”

“You used to do it to Mitchell.”

“Not the same thing. And Mitchell deserved it when I did it.”

“Yeah well … I figured you needed to hear it from one of us so Knox is distracting Daniel so I can say what you are worried about.”

“Nat …”

“Seriously Mina. Derek explained it. This doesn’t mean you all are getting married tomorrow. He thinks both of you need time to work into things.”

“Excuse me?!”

“That’s what Knox said. They both looked kinda green, like they’d eaten something they shouldn’t have. Then Derek explained that you don’t get married until you are ready to have kids and he doesn’t think you and him are yet because you already have us … I mean us and Daniel. But because you have us, he wants to at least make sure that you know how serious he is about being ready to get married and maybe having kids at some point when the world isn’t so crazy. Or maybe it stays crazy but you two are more ready for the stuff that comes with being married. So, Knox was okay with that. That was his part. My part was making sure he loves you like husbands are supposed to and he isn’t just hot for your bod.”

“Oh. My. Gawd! Nat! Where did you hear something like …”

“At church. Remember when they were talking about the Book of Solomon? Knox and I looked it up and that’s what all that book in the Bible is about, only about being married and stuff like that. So since it is in the Bible I figure it is okay so long as it is your wife or husband. But it can’t be just about that stuff. So I wanted to know if he loved you first and the rest could come later.”

“Well? Was he still breathing after you asked him?” I asked, seriously wanting to know despite freaking out that my little sister was interviewing a man for me with all the Biblical rationalizations.

“Well, he was kind of a funky color, but he was sorta breathing. But then he answered that he really for real loves you and that is why he wants to put a ring on it, just not a wedding ring … yet. But someday. Just the two of you aren’t ready for a calendar date yet. So it is like a promise to get to the next point of deciding you are ready to tell everyone. Then when you get there, you can set a date. But until then it is no one else’s business but yours, his, and ours. So, are you going to say yes ‘cause he’s been really nervous. Worse than when Mr. Obermeyer had to sing a solo at church.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. So are you going to say yes?”

“Probably. Let me talk to him. … And stop freaking him out.”

She gave a slow and sneaky kinda girl grin and answered, “Only when he deserves it.”

Oh. My. Lord.
 
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