Story Grace, Mercy and Blessings

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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#845

After Thanksgiving, it was a long. cold, rainy, dreary winter. Don and Mercy Rose didn't get married at Christmas; everyone hunkered down and tried to cheerfully out wait the depressing weather.

Mark and Clora got their house fixed up to their liking, Don moved into Gary's old house and usually showed uo at Mark and Clora's for supper...and left overs as a late snack.

MR and her grandparents as chaperones would come over on the weekends to arrange the house. School was a great deal more difficult for Don, than he anticipated.

It was hard to get into the studying habit, and Don's first semester grades were dismal. He worked almost every weekend for Gary, and by April, the Jeep had been paid for/

It was a good winter to practice hibernation; with everyone doing their best to get through the unappealing slush and mire.

Tyson and Clayton were back in jail. After spending two terrifying weeks at the mercy of Yuma and Buzz as they waited for their arraignment, once they got back to the courthouse, they begged and pleaded with Skeeter to save them and keep them locked up and away from the two lunatics. The first night they were locked up, the two of them slept almost around the clock.

They had been too scared to sleep at Yuma's, afraid the unhinged ex-marine was going to make good on his threat to carve them up, just for fun and giggles.

Skeeter won their undying gratitude by evoking their bail.

The unknown man spent countless hours searching for his hated enemies. He had no luck until he happened to read a copy of a weekly small town paper that listed Mark and Clora Linderman as the hosts for a Wednesday night prayer meeting.
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#846

It was one of the first nice days among the winter weary longing for Spring. Mark and his Dawg, went out to walk and inspect the fence line.

It was really an excuse to be out of the house, after the confining winter. Clora watched from the window, smiling to gerself. They had worked on so many projects in the house, more for something to do, than any other reason.

Clora watched as a tractor in the neighboring field, drove over to the fence line and stopped near Mark.

"Hello there, I'm your neighbor, folks call me Big Darby. That's m'boy on the other tractor, folks call him Little Darby. Me and the misses have been meaning to get over and give ya a proper welcome to the neighborhood. This has been a tough winter on everyone. It's been a long spell since we've had one this long and rainy. Any how, I stopped to see if you wanted yer garden plowed. I always worked up Eulas, every spring. I don't think she ever grew much, but she said she liked the smell of the fresh turned soil."

Big Darby was a talker. .Mark understood this was kind of a test, so see how friendly he was.

"That would be great, I have to warn you, my wife wants to expand the size by more than half." Mark explained.

"Always happy to help gardening folks," came the drawl. "Growing things put's a body closer to God. I'lll be over after dinner to plow. We're supposed to have rain again tomorrow, so that will help it to mellow. Glad to see ya got a dog and er looking at yer fence. We don't have critters in this field until fall, but we got a couple of sneaky ole cows that always want on the othr side of the fence"

"Probably some of your best cows," Mark chuckled.

By this time, Lottle Darby had worked around to the fence line. He stopped to be introduced, and Mark thought to himself, there was no reason to think Little Darby was a small man. However a large man that Big was, Little was bigger.

"I see you have one that has a huge appetite," Mark joked, and smiled and held out his hand for a shake.

"Hello Sir, welcome to the neighborhood." came the polite reply. Little went back to his tractor and resumed plowing. He might as well get back to work, they needed to get this field plowed before the rain returned, and he knew Big could stand and talk for hours.
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#847

"Say. Little was remarking the other day that he hasn't seen a boy his age with yer same last name, fer quite a spell. Did something happen to him?" Big needed to satisfy his curiosity/

"That would be my grandson Robbie. His dad got unexpectedly transferred to D.C.; practically overnight. He sure wasn't very happy about leaving." Mark was honest.

"Little said he sure was missed on the football team, said the kid was a natural."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back to stay with us. He hates the city life." Mark smiled in a sad way, "we sure miss the kid."

"I know what ya mean, my oldest two are in the Marines and have been gone a couple of years." Big acknowledged. "But they are gettin ahead, more that this ole dirt farm could ever take them. Well, I'll be over after dinner to work the garden,"

Mark, nodded his thanks and he and Dawg walked back to the house to alert Clora that the garden was close to being ready.
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#848

The unknown man was forced to hire an Uber to take him to the general area where he suspected the Linerman parents might live. He didn't find any confirmation; only a couple of tractors working un the fields, plowing.

His money was about up, the driver casting suspicious looks his way. He asked to be let off at the supermarket closest to hi work. The driver didn't think much of his three dollar tip.

Putting the grubby, unkept man's name on his blackballl list, the driver gladly accepted another fare.

Smirking, the unknown man stood in line at the bank branch office, to cash his paycheck. He looked, smelled like a homeless person to the grocery customers, and they gave him a wide bearth.


Pocketing his money and grabbing a shopping buggy he played a cat and mouse game with a store detectic, assigned to shadow him for shoplifting piossibles.

He did shoplift a few items, figuring the store cop was too stupid to catch him. He wandered all over the store, looking at this and that, picking up items then putting them back, He enjoyed his subterfuges. He slipped several electrical items he needed into the lining of his overcoat. Ditto with switches, relays, and other small trinkets he needed to create an explosion.

Check out was almost anti-climactic. He paid for his few groceries, and walked out in a large group as they left.

He wasn't all that far from his work, and he went to see if he could hunt down Lindermans.
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#849

For everyone in the Raleigh area, the cold wet rainy fall turned into a miserable winter. The Artic fueled Polar express funneled sub zero temperatures as far South as mid Florid.

Many thousands of homeless died in the prolonged cold. People in homes perished, when the overloaded electrical grid only functioned in a sporadic manner. Unable to heat their fancy hi-rise apartments, dwellers died when pipes burst, flooding apartments and people who had no heat to dry themselves.

In the northern tier of states, -40 was a common day temp. Animals died, Daries had to eventually shoot their cows, after throwing many thousands of gallons of milk on the ground. Hay and grain were not to be found.

People drove South to escape the bitterness, and when their cars froze, so did they, littering the roads with death crypts.


Gary and Breezy with Don, were the first to show at Mark and Cloras. Toby and kids were the next. Abe and Minnie had gone to help their kids, finding a horrendous shock waiting for them in the brittle cold house/ By then they west stranded, out of gas in a house full of dead people.

Milo, Honey and Kids along with Tess and the boys arrived two weeks later. Woody couldn't come; he was up to his ears in severe problems and never left the marshal building.

Don fretted and fretted about MR and her people. Finally, Milo, Toby and Don made a trip to cousin Leroy's place, and wished they hadn't. They were all frozen, Don walked out of the house with his heart as cold as his sweetheart.

"They didn't do anything to help themselves," Don raged as Milo drove Mark's pickup, not trusting Don's frame of mind.

"Stop at that grocery," Toby ordered, "Can we salvage anything? Look for boxes of stuff, the cans will have frozen."

The store had been looted previously and was empty of people. There were hundreds of boxed foods, overlooked because no one had water to reconstitute.

In twenty minutes, the Linderman boys had filled the canopy in a frenzy of thrown boxes.

"Let's go, we've been here too long," Milo slid in the driver's seat, "I'm getting a funny feeling about being out and about."

A lone man stumbled into view, waving his hands to gain their attention. "Please." he stammered in the cold, "help me," and the unknown man collapsed at their feet.
 
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larry_minn

Contributing Member
Quote. “Stop at that grocery," Toby ordered, "Can we salvage anything? Look for boxes of stuff, the cans will have frozen.” End quote
who cares if cans frozen, even burst? If temps stayed below 40F *and it sounded like quote “In the northern tier of states, -40 was a common day temp.” end Q. Frozen meats, possibly. But for sure cans that burst should be very safe. Grab pile ziplock bags if you are not sure they will stay frozen until use, might get contaminated. IMO things froze slowly, but never got over 30F even inside once power is off. Even a month below freezing stuff should be good under freezing. If under 0F much longer.
Or was it weight, mess? Room?
 
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PacNorWest

Veteran Member
#850

The unknown man came to, as he was carried in the warm house. He was dazed, not understanding what had happened.

He jumped up in fright and near terror. when Mark and Clora walked in the room. Mark was astonished at the man;s reaction, and even more perplexed at Clora's reaction.

"No!" Clora screamed. Throwing herself in front of Mark, shielding her beloved with her body.

The boy's stared in consternation. The unknown man was babbling incoherently, scrabbling for the door, Toby blocked his exit, demanding an explanation. Clora was shaking with fright and the rest of the family just stood there, heads swiveling from one to the other.

"Get those kids out of here," she screamed again, "that man wants to kill us."

Tess walked in and had approximately the same reaction. She swept her boys behind her, as Mark gently moved Clora aside.

"Sep aside sweetheart, don't be in the way of my gun hand." Mark muttered. "Now tell me what's going on."

Clora was frantically searching her pocket, for the little gun that wasn't there. She was scared enough to say a swear word at it's absence. Her family stared in astonishment. Ma had never reacted in such a way.

Toby stood in the doorway, preventing the grubby, stinking man from dashing out. He motioned to Milo and they each grabbed an arm, to hold the man prisoner.

"Who are you?" Mark demanded, "what's going on.?"
 
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