day late
money? whats that?
I ADMIT I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to computers. So with the first book I will copy it, page by page and post it. It is the longest of all the books. After that I will try to post the PDF file for the remaining stories. So here we go.
Overthrown, The Death of America
Chapter One
"Daddy, I'm still hungry".
John looked at his 10 year old daughter. She looked so different from a year ago. True she was older, but she weighed far less than she should. Then again, they all did. Her eyes were pleading with him to do something to fill the empty spot in her belly. His heart was breaking knowing that there was nothing he could do to help his daughter. There simply wasn't enough food for the entire family to begin with. Since the troubles started, everything had changed so drastically. California had finally had "The Big One" and the entire coast had been devastated. From the Mexican border, to San Francisco, anything that wasn't under water, was wreak and ruin. The Pacific Ocean had, in places, come hundreds of miles inland. Millions had been killed outright. There was no citrus, no vegetables, no wine, and no food of any kind coming from there anymore. The only real 'industry' was trying to find, identify and bury all of the dead, and do what could be done to try to start to rebuild. But that would take decades, at least.
The survivors and refugees had started to pour out of the state. Shelter, food, and a chance to start again had to be given to millions. The states bordering California had borne the brunt of the mass emigration, but the entire country suffered. With the Pacific Coast no longer able to bring in oil or fuel, the cost of everything had gone up. The surviving farming industry had suffered inconceivable setbacks and hardships. Without fuel, it was impossible to get the much needed fertilizers to the farmers. Farmers in cases would have to leave their crops in the field to rot, because there was no way to get them to market. John knew that farmers in the southern part of the country, while truly sorry for the loss of life, and property, out west looked forward to increased profits for their crops, since there were fewer crops going to market to compete with their own.
That is they did until "The Storm" hit. Who would have dreamed it? Well at least one person had done so. He remembered some wacky sounding person he had heard about called 'Brother Bob' who had said God had warned him of the storms years before they had happened. He had told the people of not only Florida, but much of the entire Gulf coast to get out while they could. Then, unbelievably, it happened. Three hurricanes in the Atlantic, churned away, until they merged into one huge storm. Then two from the Gulf of Mexico, and even one more that had crossed over Mexico from the Pacific, joined together and had devastated Florida as it raced across the state and then it combined with the storm in the Atlantic into one huge mega storm. It had covered nearly a quarter of the North Atlantic at its height. Then it had slammed into the southeastern part of the country. It seemed everything within one hundred miles of the coast from the Carolinas to the Texas/Mexico border had been beaten unmercifully into the ground. That was less than six months ago. They still didn't have any reports from anything south of Tallahassee Fla. Roads were either under water, or simply impassible. The winds had reached well over two hundred miles an hour. Not much was left standing within thirty miles of the coast. Certainly any oranges growing down there were being pulled off of the trees and eaten on the spot by any survivors.
“Daddy, I'M hungry!”
John looked at his little girl again and remembered how happy she had been a week ago when he had managed to buy a single small orange for her birthday. It had cost him nearly twenty dollars, but the look on her face had been worth it. He loved her so much.
With the crops across the country being virtually wiped out by the disasters, the government had come out and told the people that they would have to get by on a reduced diet of 1400 calories a day, until further notice. Less than 1400 for those under 16 years of age. They were all hungry, but how do you explain that to a brand new 10 year old? John was hungry too. VERY hungry, since he had been insisting that his wife take more of the food than he did. After all, she was still nursing their newborn son. They both needed the food more than he did, to his way of thinking.
Then his mind drifted to the Timmons family across the street. He thought about how he and others had laughed, and made fun of Mike and his wife, Sarah, for having the two years worth of food they had set aside "just in case". It seemed so stupid to have so much food put away. Back then, everyone KNEW that no matter what happened the government would be there to handle the situation. Life would go on, and everything would be fine. Sure there might be some temporary hardships, but they wouldn't stay that way. The government couldn't allow that to happen.
They weren't laughing now. Early on, before the mega-storm, John had gone over to them and asked about borrowing some food, just until he could pay it back. After all, the government would be doing everything possible to help the people. Everybody knew that. What John hadn't expected was the answer he got.
"John I'm sorry. But if I give you our food, what will we eat? I can't do it.” Mike had said. “Why didn't you prepare when you could? I warned you that we were at risk. I told you that this nation was going to be coming under Gods' judgment. And you even make more money than I do. You could have done something. You should have done something while you had the chance. Anything would be better than this. Really, I'm sorry, but if I give you food, then next it will be the Johnson's down the street. After that, the Smiths from the next block. I just can't do it, I'm sorry".
John couldn't believe it when Mike had refused him. Even though in the back of his mind, he knew that Mike was right on both counts. He should have done something back then while he'd had the chance. He just never saw the need. Nobody could have predicted this. Except for that 'Brother Bob' guy and nobody else would have ever thought of this. He also knew that if Mike and his wife started to hand out food, soon everyone that learned of it would be knocking, and even pounding at their door. But even so, he didn't think that Mike could turn him away. They had known each other for years. Their kids played together. They visited each other’s house, often. And they even celebrated their children’s birthdays together.
But they had kept their stockpile of food instead of turning it in for the greater good of the country, when the government had called on citizens to turn over extra food stocks for the duration of the emergency. . Now they sat there, well fed and relatively happy. It made him mad. The more he thought of them, the angrier he got. Who were they to think that they were better than anyone else? Okay they had paid good money for the food, but this was an emergency. Everyone was in need these days. Why should they be allowed to keep the food they had bought, when so many were in need? And their kids! Their kids were such smart alacks. Not that they were disrespectful, it was just that they were at least two years ahead of other children their age in their education because Sarah and Mike home-schooled them. Ask those kids any question, and they would answer well beyond their years. How could his children compete with that when they grew up? Home-schooling seemed to work for the Timmons, but he and his wife just couldn't afford to take the time to do it for their daughter, or new born son when he got old enough. There were priorities. A man had to make a living after all. Mike and Sarah should have done like everybody else and sent their children to public school.
"DADDY. I'm hungry!”
John thought about just going over and taking the food he needed. After all, he NEEDED it for his family. But sometimes Mike was a little different. He stored food when there wasn't any need to do so. He and his son went hunting every year, when there wasn't any need to kill animals for food. The grocery store was just down the street, he could have bought anything he liked. He made a decent enough living. Or at least he could before all of this had happened. John wanted to take the food, he just wasn't sure if Mike had turned in his guns when the government had outlawed them to settle things down when the food started to run out. They said it was necessary to keep the peace. As Johns' stomach growled at him, he knew he was willing to break the peace for the sake of his family as well as his own needs.
What to do? What to do? He remembered the commercial he had seen on T.V. before the power had become so unreliable. The mega-storm had done unbelievable damage to the oil industry along the Gulf Coast. With the west coast oil industry already so badly damaged, the shortage had driven oil to well over two hundred and fifty dollars a barrel. Nobody drove anywhere anymore. It was just too expensive, and naturally the cost of fuel had driven up the cost of food. Before, it had been just jump in the car and go to the store. Now when the stores would actually open for a few hours once or twice a week and, people would travel to them in groups in order to save money and gas. Not to mention there had been reports of gangs of young men attacking individual shoppers to steal whatever they had managed to buy.
And then there was the matter of the electric companies. Without fuel for the generators, power companies had been forced to reduce the number of hours they ran each day. It was better for everyone to have some power, than everyone having none at all, was the thought. They tried to provide just enough power to keep things close to normal. Still, he remembered, there had been a phone number for tips to turn in hoarders. There was even a reward of part of the food and/or fuel confiscated to the tipster. He had written it down somewhere. Maybe he should find it.
John shook his head. What was he thinking? Their kids played together after school. During the summer, they all went swimming in the Timmons pool, and had bar-b-ques. John was godfather to Mike and Sarah's son, their oldest child. Still, they had more food than they needed, and it wasn't fair to the rest of the people for them to hoard all that wonderful food, while everyone else went hungry.
"DADDY?"
His mind made up, he spoke to his little girl.
"Don't worry sweetheart. Daddy is going to have lots of food for you in a day or two. But for now, off to bed with you, and try to sleep."
With this promise, the girl smiled, and went to her room.
Overthrown, The Death of America
Chapter One
"Daddy, I'm still hungry".
John looked at his 10 year old daughter. She looked so different from a year ago. True she was older, but she weighed far less than she should. Then again, they all did. Her eyes were pleading with him to do something to fill the empty spot in her belly. His heart was breaking knowing that there was nothing he could do to help his daughter. There simply wasn't enough food for the entire family to begin with. Since the troubles started, everything had changed so drastically. California had finally had "The Big One" and the entire coast had been devastated. From the Mexican border, to San Francisco, anything that wasn't under water, was wreak and ruin. The Pacific Ocean had, in places, come hundreds of miles inland. Millions had been killed outright. There was no citrus, no vegetables, no wine, and no food of any kind coming from there anymore. The only real 'industry' was trying to find, identify and bury all of the dead, and do what could be done to try to start to rebuild. But that would take decades, at least.
The survivors and refugees had started to pour out of the state. Shelter, food, and a chance to start again had to be given to millions. The states bordering California had borne the brunt of the mass emigration, but the entire country suffered. With the Pacific Coast no longer able to bring in oil or fuel, the cost of everything had gone up. The surviving farming industry had suffered inconceivable setbacks and hardships. Without fuel, it was impossible to get the much needed fertilizers to the farmers. Farmers in cases would have to leave their crops in the field to rot, because there was no way to get them to market. John knew that farmers in the southern part of the country, while truly sorry for the loss of life, and property, out west looked forward to increased profits for their crops, since there were fewer crops going to market to compete with their own.
That is they did until "The Storm" hit. Who would have dreamed it? Well at least one person had done so. He remembered some wacky sounding person he had heard about called 'Brother Bob' who had said God had warned him of the storms years before they had happened. He had told the people of not only Florida, but much of the entire Gulf coast to get out while they could. Then, unbelievably, it happened. Three hurricanes in the Atlantic, churned away, until they merged into one huge storm. Then two from the Gulf of Mexico, and even one more that had crossed over Mexico from the Pacific, joined together and had devastated Florida as it raced across the state and then it combined with the storm in the Atlantic into one huge mega storm. It had covered nearly a quarter of the North Atlantic at its height. Then it had slammed into the southeastern part of the country. It seemed everything within one hundred miles of the coast from the Carolinas to the Texas/Mexico border had been beaten unmercifully into the ground. That was less than six months ago. They still didn't have any reports from anything south of Tallahassee Fla. Roads were either under water, or simply impassible. The winds had reached well over two hundred miles an hour. Not much was left standing within thirty miles of the coast. Certainly any oranges growing down there were being pulled off of the trees and eaten on the spot by any survivors.
“Daddy, I'M hungry!”
John looked at his little girl again and remembered how happy she had been a week ago when he had managed to buy a single small orange for her birthday. It had cost him nearly twenty dollars, but the look on her face had been worth it. He loved her so much.
With the crops across the country being virtually wiped out by the disasters, the government had come out and told the people that they would have to get by on a reduced diet of 1400 calories a day, until further notice. Less than 1400 for those under 16 years of age. They were all hungry, but how do you explain that to a brand new 10 year old? John was hungry too. VERY hungry, since he had been insisting that his wife take more of the food than he did. After all, she was still nursing their newborn son. They both needed the food more than he did, to his way of thinking.
Then his mind drifted to the Timmons family across the street. He thought about how he and others had laughed, and made fun of Mike and his wife, Sarah, for having the two years worth of food they had set aside "just in case". It seemed so stupid to have so much food put away. Back then, everyone KNEW that no matter what happened the government would be there to handle the situation. Life would go on, and everything would be fine. Sure there might be some temporary hardships, but they wouldn't stay that way. The government couldn't allow that to happen.
They weren't laughing now. Early on, before the mega-storm, John had gone over to them and asked about borrowing some food, just until he could pay it back. After all, the government would be doing everything possible to help the people. Everybody knew that. What John hadn't expected was the answer he got.
"John I'm sorry. But if I give you our food, what will we eat? I can't do it.” Mike had said. “Why didn't you prepare when you could? I warned you that we were at risk. I told you that this nation was going to be coming under Gods' judgment. And you even make more money than I do. You could have done something. You should have done something while you had the chance. Anything would be better than this. Really, I'm sorry, but if I give you food, then next it will be the Johnson's down the street. After that, the Smiths from the next block. I just can't do it, I'm sorry".
John couldn't believe it when Mike had refused him. Even though in the back of his mind, he knew that Mike was right on both counts. He should have done something back then while he'd had the chance. He just never saw the need. Nobody could have predicted this. Except for that 'Brother Bob' guy and nobody else would have ever thought of this. He also knew that if Mike and his wife started to hand out food, soon everyone that learned of it would be knocking, and even pounding at their door. But even so, he didn't think that Mike could turn him away. They had known each other for years. Their kids played together. They visited each other’s house, often. And they even celebrated their children’s birthdays together.
But they had kept their stockpile of food instead of turning it in for the greater good of the country, when the government had called on citizens to turn over extra food stocks for the duration of the emergency. . Now they sat there, well fed and relatively happy. It made him mad. The more he thought of them, the angrier he got. Who were they to think that they were better than anyone else? Okay they had paid good money for the food, but this was an emergency. Everyone was in need these days. Why should they be allowed to keep the food they had bought, when so many were in need? And their kids! Their kids were such smart alacks. Not that they were disrespectful, it was just that they were at least two years ahead of other children their age in their education because Sarah and Mike home-schooled them. Ask those kids any question, and they would answer well beyond their years. How could his children compete with that when they grew up? Home-schooling seemed to work for the Timmons, but he and his wife just couldn't afford to take the time to do it for their daughter, or new born son when he got old enough. There were priorities. A man had to make a living after all. Mike and Sarah should have done like everybody else and sent their children to public school.
"DADDY. I'm hungry!”
John thought about just going over and taking the food he needed. After all, he NEEDED it for his family. But sometimes Mike was a little different. He stored food when there wasn't any need to do so. He and his son went hunting every year, when there wasn't any need to kill animals for food. The grocery store was just down the street, he could have bought anything he liked. He made a decent enough living. Or at least he could before all of this had happened. John wanted to take the food, he just wasn't sure if Mike had turned in his guns when the government had outlawed them to settle things down when the food started to run out. They said it was necessary to keep the peace. As Johns' stomach growled at him, he knew he was willing to break the peace for the sake of his family as well as his own needs.
What to do? What to do? He remembered the commercial he had seen on T.V. before the power had become so unreliable. The mega-storm had done unbelievable damage to the oil industry along the Gulf Coast. With the west coast oil industry already so badly damaged, the shortage had driven oil to well over two hundred and fifty dollars a barrel. Nobody drove anywhere anymore. It was just too expensive, and naturally the cost of fuel had driven up the cost of food. Before, it had been just jump in the car and go to the store. Now when the stores would actually open for a few hours once or twice a week and, people would travel to them in groups in order to save money and gas. Not to mention there had been reports of gangs of young men attacking individual shoppers to steal whatever they had managed to buy.
And then there was the matter of the electric companies. Without fuel for the generators, power companies had been forced to reduce the number of hours they ran each day. It was better for everyone to have some power, than everyone having none at all, was the thought. They tried to provide just enough power to keep things close to normal. Still, he remembered, there had been a phone number for tips to turn in hoarders. There was even a reward of part of the food and/or fuel confiscated to the tipster. He had written it down somewhere. Maybe he should find it.
John shook his head. What was he thinking? Their kids played together after school. During the summer, they all went swimming in the Timmons pool, and had bar-b-ques. John was godfather to Mike and Sarah's son, their oldest child. Still, they had more food than they needed, and it wasn't fair to the rest of the people for them to hoard all that wonderful food, while everyone else went hungry.
"DADDY?"
His mind made up, he spoke to his little girl.
"Don't worry sweetheart. Daddy is going to have lots of food for you in a day or two. But for now, off to bed with you, and try to sleep."
With this promise, the girl smiled, and went to her room.