We Interrupt This Program...
- Thread starter A.T.Hagan
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A.T.Hagan
Inactive
October 16, 2002 - Developments, cont.
"Oh THANK YOU Ed!" John growled, "It's 30 degrees, blowing 30 miles an hour, freezing rain, and pitch dark so now I have load up and head on over to your place to investigate the burglar you just shot!"
Lisa stepped out on the porch behind her daughter buttoning up her coat and with a bag under her arm. Heather interjected before he could continue his rant, "He said the man was still alive but wounded."
John looked up at Lisa and said, "Well, I reckon that means you too." He turned and looked at the ice beginning to glaze the walk leading up to the porch then turned back. "You've had more experience with this than I have. Do you reckon we should try to drive or would be better off riding the bikes? The way my leg feels I don't care for the idea of walking the mile over to Ed's place."
She laughed and said, "There's NO way I'm going to try to ride a bicycle in that! Can you put some weight in the back of your truck to improve the traction? If we take it slowly we shouldn't have too much problems getting there though I do have to say if it weren't for the emergency I wouldn't try to drive tonight."
The deputy sighed, "Yeah, I reckon we can stack blocks in the back over the rear axle. I'll pull the truck around next to the workshop. Dad, would you help me load them?"
His father put his hat back on and they headed out. It took about ten minutes to get the truck cranked, moved over to the workshop and the blocks loaded. By then both men were coated in ice and near to freezing. John turned the truck heater to its maximum setting and drove the truck up to the house where Robert got out and Lisa got in. "Drive slowly" she said, "and keep it in a low gear. The road is going to be quite slick in places."
They pulled out and moved in the direction of the Strickland ranch. Fortunately, the ice had not yet begun to cover the road too badly except for where the road crossed several culverts. There the truck wanted to skid which put John's heart in his mouth but he kept it on the pavement. He looked to Lisa and said, "I'm a Florida boy. We don't get this kind of thing more than about once a decade and when it happens I stay off the road. Maybe you should drive."
She laughed and said, "If I've lived long enough to learn anything I've learned that no sensible woman will ever drive a man's truck if there's any chance that it could get damaged! You're doing just fine. Keep it in low gear and go slow. It's only a mile to Ed's place."
Presently they arrived at their destination and drove through the gate which Ed had already opened for them. He poked his head in the driver's window and said, "He's in the back barn." Then walked around and got in the other side. John drove towards the rear of the property. Ed continued, "Got some late calves in there and with the ice storm and all I wanted to make sure they were well situated before I turned in for the night. About out of gas so I went down on foot. When I came through the door I surprised a fellow inside and he whirled around with a pitchfork in his hand. I thought he was about to attack me with it so I drew and shot him before he could get close. Just grazed him good along his ribs along the left side and he went down hollerin'. Once I looked him over and talked to him I realized he was probably just lookin' for a dry place to get out of the weather. Other than hay and the calves there's nothing in there worth stealing and he didn't look like he was up to doing any rustling. Of course, he didn't ask if he could sleep in the barn either."
John pulled up in front of the barn and they went inside. There was a man lying on a small pallet of hay in one of the stalls, pale and still. Lisa went to him and stripped off his shirt and began to examine him. After a while she said, "He's in shock but I don't think he's seriously hurt. You're right Ed, it was just a graze. There doesn't appear to be any bones broken nor did the bullet enter the chest cavity. He is in shock though so he needs to be kept warm and watched closely. John, do you think we can get him to the hospital?"
The deputy rubbed the back of his neck and considered it. "Well, if he needs to go he needs to go. It's fifteen miles there and fifteen miles back with the ice outside getting thicker by the hour but I guess it can't be helped. Let's load him into the truck and we'll take him in."
Ed spoke up. "Lisa, how bad hurt is he? I ain't gonna ask anyone to drive thirty miles in this kind of weather. You'd all likely end up spending the night in a ditch somewhere trying to keep from freezing to death. Looks to me like he just needs the wound cleaned and some sutures. If you can do that I'll keep him at the house, at least until the storm's done then John can take him on to the jail if he's going to. I'm not going to press charges against a man trying to stay alive in an ice storm so he can just drop him off in Archer or where ever when the weather clears if he will. Ellie used to be a fair jackleg nurse in her day."
Lisa considered it for a moment then said, "OK. Under other circumstances I wouldn't but Ed's right about us trying to drive in this weather without the proper tires, chains, or anything. The wound really isn't very serious. If we can get him up to the house where it's warm I'll do what I can for him there and we can leave him with Ed until the weather clears. If he worsens Ed can call us on the radio."
With that they loaded the man into the truck and carried him to the house. Inside Ellie had a fire going in the woodstove in the living room so everyone soaked in the warmth. Ed went and got a Coleman lantern, pumped it up, and lit it for brighter light than what the kerosene lamps were giving out. Lisa carefully cleaned the wound and sutured it. When she finished she coated it with antibiotic ointment and put a bandage over it. She turned to Ellie and said, "If it starts bleeding badly put pressure on it with a clean cloth. Change the bandage in the morning. Call me if he gets worse." Ed poured them all hot coffee and fed them biscuits. When they finished John and Lisa got back in the truck and drove slowly home. He checked on the animals in the barn and the greenhouse then went in himself.
He sat down in the living room next to the woodstove to soak up some warmth before taking his coat off. His dad had already gone to bed and the girls were in the kitchen doing their school work. Lisa came in and sat down next to the stove as well with a mug of hot peppermint tea. After a few minutes John glanced at the kitchen door then said, "I was meaning to speak with you before the excitement with Ed came up. Have you noticed how Brittany has been behaving lately? She seems pretty moody and depressed. Do you think it might be some sort of delayed reaction from the murder?"
She said nothing for a moment as she stared at the fire through the glass stove doors. "I don't know John. Pediatric psych was never an area I studied much but having a daughter of my own it would seem plausible that she could be having some form of reaction. She has been down these last few days. For that matter Heather and Mel seems to be on the outs with each other too. I'll keep an ear out and see if I can determine what's going on."
John nodded his head, "I'd sure appreciate it if you would. The girls are at home with us all day but I can tell you I'm at sea with trying to cope with this. Mel's about to turn eleven so I suppose I should be learning to cope but just now I'm sorta clueless. You reckon the girls have been fighting amongst themselves?"
Lisa shrugged, "Well, maybe Heather and Mel but they don't seem to be mad at Brittany. I'll have to try to find out but it might take some time. Kids are all over nerve endings about their privacy when they hit puberty. We're already living closely together now without crowding them even further. Give me a couple of days and I'll see what I can find out."
He nodded and said, "OK."
They went back to gazing at the fire and trying to get up the initiative to go to bed. Presently, Lisa said, "Luke told me today he'll have some time off this weekend and will give Ann a ride home. Probably be a good time for us all to talk. They're getting regular food shipments into town now so he'll be bringing some groceries with him too. He received the same five gallon fuel ration that I did. If we can get through the winter alright maybe matters will start to return to normal soon."
John stood and began to unbutton his coat. "I sure hope so," he said, "but I think this winter is going to be a hard road to travel if were getting an ice storm when it's only October. I have bad feeling that Mr. Murphy isn't yet finished with his little surprise party."
Lisa drained her mug and stood as well. "Well, since that wayward space rock came to Earth and blasted us out of our normal lives you could be right. I'm going to go and chase the girls into bed then I'm for it myself. Goodnight."
"Oh THANK YOU Ed!" John growled, "It's 30 degrees, blowing 30 miles an hour, freezing rain, and pitch dark so now I have load up and head on over to your place to investigate the burglar you just shot!"
Lisa stepped out on the porch behind her daughter buttoning up her coat and with a bag under her arm. Heather interjected before he could continue his rant, "He said the man was still alive but wounded."
John looked up at Lisa and said, "Well, I reckon that means you too." He turned and looked at the ice beginning to glaze the walk leading up to the porch then turned back. "You've had more experience with this than I have. Do you reckon we should try to drive or would be better off riding the bikes? The way my leg feels I don't care for the idea of walking the mile over to Ed's place."
She laughed and said, "There's NO way I'm going to try to ride a bicycle in that! Can you put some weight in the back of your truck to improve the traction? If we take it slowly we shouldn't have too much problems getting there though I do have to say if it weren't for the emergency I wouldn't try to drive tonight."
The deputy sighed, "Yeah, I reckon we can stack blocks in the back over the rear axle. I'll pull the truck around next to the workshop. Dad, would you help me load them?"
His father put his hat back on and they headed out. It took about ten minutes to get the truck cranked, moved over to the workshop and the blocks loaded. By then both men were coated in ice and near to freezing. John turned the truck heater to its maximum setting and drove the truck up to the house where Robert got out and Lisa got in. "Drive slowly" she said, "and keep it in a low gear. The road is going to be quite slick in places."
They pulled out and moved in the direction of the Strickland ranch. Fortunately, the ice had not yet begun to cover the road too badly except for where the road crossed several culverts. There the truck wanted to skid which put John's heart in his mouth but he kept it on the pavement. He looked to Lisa and said, "I'm a Florida boy. We don't get this kind of thing more than about once a decade and when it happens I stay off the road. Maybe you should drive."
She laughed and said, "If I've lived long enough to learn anything I've learned that no sensible woman will ever drive a man's truck if there's any chance that it could get damaged! You're doing just fine. Keep it in low gear and go slow. It's only a mile to Ed's place."
Presently they arrived at their destination and drove through the gate which Ed had already opened for them. He poked his head in the driver's window and said, "He's in the back barn." Then walked around and got in the other side. John drove towards the rear of the property. Ed continued, "Got some late calves in there and with the ice storm and all I wanted to make sure they were well situated before I turned in for the night. About out of gas so I went down on foot. When I came through the door I surprised a fellow inside and he whirled around with a pitchfork in his hand. I thought he was about to attack me with it so I drew and shot him before he could get close. Just grazed him good along his ribs along the left side and he went down hollerin'. Once I looked him over and talked to him I realized he was probably just lookin' for a dry place to get out of the weather. Other than hay and the calves there's nothing in there worth stealing and he didn't look like he was up to doing any rustling. Of course, he didn't ask if he could sleep in the barn either."
John pulled up in front of the barn and they went inside. There was a man lying on a small pallet of hay in one of the stalls, pale and still. Lisa went to him and stripped off his shirt and began to examine him. After a while she said, "He's in shock but I don't think he's seriously hurt. You're right Ed, it was just a graze. There doesn't appear to be any bones broken nor did the bullet enter the chest cavity. He is in shock though so he needs to be kept warm and watched closely. John, do you think we can get him to the hospital?"
The deputy rubbed the back of his neck and considered it. "Well, if he needs to go he needs to go. It's fifteen miles there and fifteen miles back with the ice outside getting thicker by the hour but I guess it can't be helped. Let's load him into the truck and we'll take him in."
Ed spoke up. "Lisa, how bad hurt is he? I ain't gonna ask anyone to drive thirty miles in this kind of weather. You'd all likely end up spending the night in a ditch somewhere trying to keep from freezing to death. Looks to me like he just needs the wound cleaned and some sutures. If you can do that I'll keep him at the house, at least until the storm's done then John can take him on to the jail if he's going to. I'm not going to press charges against a man trying to stay alive in an ice storm so he can just drop him off in Archer or where ever when the weather clears if he will. Ellie used to be a fair jackleg nurse in her day."
Lisa considered it for a moment then said, "OK. Under other circumstances I wouldn't but Ed's right about us trying to drive in this weather without the proper tires, chains, or anything. The wound really isn't very serious. If we can get him up to the house where it's warm I'll do what I can for him there and we can leave him with Ed until the weather clears. If he worsens Ed can call us on the radio."
With that they loaded the man into the truck and carried him to the house. Inside Ellie had a fire going in the woodstove in the living room so everyone soaked in the warmth. Ed went and got a Coleman lantern, pumped it up, and lit it for brighter light than what the kerosene lamps were giving out. Lisa carefully cleaned the wound and sutured it. When she finished she coated it with antibiotic ointment and put a bandage over it. She turned to Ellie and said, "If it starts bleeding badly put pressure on it with a clean cloth. Change the bandage in the morning. Call me if he gets worse." Ed poured them all hot coffee and fed them biscuits. When they finished John and Lisa got back in the truck and drove slowly home. He checked on the animals in the barn and the greenhouse then went in himself.
He sat down in the living room next to the woodstove to soak up some warmth before taking his coat off. His dad had already gone to bed and the girls were in the kitchen doing their school work. Lisa came in and sat down next to the stove as well with a mug of hot peppermint tea. After a few minutes John glanced at the kitchen door then said, "I was meaning to speak with you before the excitement with Ed came up. Have you noticed how Brittany has been behaving lately? She seems pretty moody and depressed. Do you think it might be some sort of delayed reaction from the murder?"
She said nothing for a moment as she stared at the fire through the glass stove doors. "I don't know John. Pediatric psych was never an area I studied much but having a daughter of my own it would seem plausible that she could be having some form of reaction. She has been down these last few days. For that matter Heather and Mel seems to be on the outs with each other too. I'll keep an ear out and see if I can determine what's going on."
John nodded his head, "I'd sure appreciate it if you would. The girls are at home with us all day but I can tell you I'm at sea with trying to cope with this. Mel's about to turn eleven so I suppose I should be learning to cope but just now I'm sorta clueless. You reckon the girls have been fighting amongst themselves?"
Lisa shrugged, "Well, maybe Heather and Mel but they don't seem to be mad at Brittany. I'll have to try to find out but it might take some time. Kids are all over nerve endings about their privacy when they hit puberty. We're already living closely together now without crowding them even further. Give me a couple of days and I'll see what I can find out."
He nodded and said, "OK."
They went back to gazing at the fire and trying to get up the initiative to go to bed. Presently, Lisa said, "Luke told me today he'll have some time off this weekend and will give Ann a ride home. Probably be a good time for us all to talk. They're getting regular food shipments into town now so he'll be bringing some groceries with him too. He received the same five gallon fuel ration that I did. If we can get through the winter alright maybe matters will start to return to normal soon."
John stood and began to unbutton his coat. "I sure hope so," he said, "but I think this winter is going to be a hard road to travel if were getting an ice storm when it's only October. I have bad feeling that Mr. Murphy isn't yet finished with his little surprise party."
Lisa drained her mug and stood as well. "Well, since that wayward space rock came to Earth and blasted us out of our normal lives you could be right. I'm going to go and chase the girls into bed then I'm for it myself. Goodnight."
Last edited:
GREYGHOSTt
Contributing Member
BTTT
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
October 17, 2002 - Natural Events
Ding-ding! Ding-ding! The sound of the farm bell could be heard out in the pasture where John and his father were examining the rye grass and vetch and trying to gauge the impact the ice storm may have had on its survival and growth. He grinned at his dad and said, “Heather’s playing our tune. I could do with a cup of hot coffee.”
The two men walked up to the house, shucked their muddy boots and went inside. The girls were setting out plates of sandwiches on the table and ladling out bowls of hot soup. Robert poured coffee for himself and his son. The family set into eating, concentrating on their plates with little conversation. In the background the noon news came over the kitchen radio. The weather forecast predicted the days high only in the low forties and another hard freeze expected that night with a chance of frost for the night following and a warming trend for the days following.
John looked at his father and said, “When the temperature starts staying above freezing I expect we’ll see that pasture mix taking off again. At least the rye grass should, I don’t know about the vetch. The book says it’s pretty cold hardy though so I reckon it should do OK.”
Robert nodded. “Looks like we ought to be able to finish the last of the tables and tray racks in the greenhouse. Shouldn’t take long to knock together seed flats after that. This weekend when Ann and Lisa will be home we can come up with some sort of seed starting mix, then fill the trays and get our first seeds in. Looks like what we’ve got under the plastic row covers pulled through but they’re going to grow slowly if temperatures stay low. If it goes to the low twenties and stays there for a while they’ll freeze even with the row covers.
John nodded and said, “Yes and with getting last night’s ice storm so early in the year I think we can count on it setting a new record this year. Wouldn’t surprise me if it went into the single digits, maybe even hit zero.”
Brittany looked up and asked “Do you think it might snow? That would be cool! I haven’t seen snow since I was a little girl and visited my uncle Nick in Maryland one Christmas. Maybe we could even build a snowman and have snowball fights!”
Robert chuckled. John grinned and said, “Snowmen! Lord, I hope not but this year it just might could snow that much. Most I’ve ever seen here was back in the Christmas ice storm of ’89. Went down to eleven degrees, ice everywhere, snow too. Had snow on the north side of the house for three days. Lost power just like now and burst the water pipes. Probably could have gotten enough snow together to make a decent snowball but I don’t think there was enough on the whole yard to make even a small snow man.”
Melinda’s eyes lit and started talking excitedly with Brittany about playing in the snow and Heather chimed in as well. Robert asked John, “Has Mel even seen snow?”
His son replied, “Yes, three, no four years ago when we went up to visit Ann’s parents in Maine. Saw more than I wanted to see! Hit a patch of ice and slid the car into a ditch full of snow. Like to have froze my behind off trying to get the car out. Fortunately, some fella in a big 4x4 Ford came along and pulled me out. The family thought it was funny and said it was just a fact of life up there.”
The men went back to their meal while the three girls happily talked about their various snow experiences and hoped there would be deep snow in Florida, an idea that John devoutly hoped would not come to be.
After the weather forecast there was local news which segued into national and international news.
<i>In a ceremony on the steps of the Old Capitol Building today Governor Bush signed into law the “Work To Eat” bill that passed out of the House-Senate conference committee yesterday. One of the provisions of this bill include a requirement that all persons receiving disaster relief or other types of aid administered by the state must prove they are gainfully employed in order to continue receiving the assistance. This is expected to greatly increase enlistments in the National Recovery Corp due to job losses resulting from the asteroid impact and its aftermath. Other provisions include instituting child care centers in as yet unnamed areas and a relaxation of child care licensing requirements to better allow unemployed parents to be able to find work.
Another bill that will have significant impact on the state is the “Streamlined Justice” measure introduced simultaneously last week in the House and Senate. In spite of heavy opposition the bills passed both house but with significant differences that will have to be resolved in conference committee. Some form of the bill is expected to emerge next week to be sent to the governor’s desk where he has indicated he will sign it into law. There are major differences between the House and Senate versions but both have as their basic tenets proposals to limit felony conviction appeals to just two. Other provisions that were added as amendments will have to await the final conference committee decision.
Nationally Senator Clinton of New York today introduced legislation authorizing the Treasury Department to recall all U.S. paper currency in order that new currency may be issued at an exchange ratio of ten to one to start immediately upon its passing into law with an exchange deadline of six months after which all old currency still in circulation will become valueless. The stated reasoning for the bill was to bring under control the run away inflation that has driven the U.S. dollar to less than a quarter of its pre-Impact value and still falling. This in turn will enable the Federal Reserve System to begin reopening banks across the nation which will then allow businesses to have access to credit in order for the economy to begin to rebuild. The bill immediately came under hostile fire by a number of senators. No corresponding bill has yet been filed in the House but a sponsor is expected to file such a motion next week. President Bush has indicated a willingness to sign such a bill if it can be brought to him in a form he finds to be acceptable.</i>
John and Robert both sighed disgustedly together. “Well, that’s that. If Clinton’s proposing it and the President has already said he’s sign it you know it’s going to pass no matter how much hooting and hollering goes on. It’ll all be for show. There goes Ann’s salary, our retirement plans, your Social Security check, the whole ball of wax. Notice they didn’t say anything about reducing the value of things like mortgages by ten to one. Well, all I can say is they’d better or they’ll be courting a damned revolution!”
Robert just shook his head and went on eating.
<i>Also on the national scene President Bush is expected to formally propose two nominees on Monday to fill vacancies on bench of the Supreme Court. The names of these two nominees have not been released.
Internationally reports have begun to arrive from the Argentine capitol of shots being fired at the Presidential Palace as unit of the army have begun taking stations at major thoroughfares in the city. E-mails received from persons working near to the palace indicate they believe a coup may be underway but we have not been able to confirm this. No response has been received from the Argentine public affairs office. Argentina has been suffering from an economically disastrous plunge in the value of its currency leading to devastating hyper-inflation and default on its international loan payments. We will continue to bring you the latest information as we receive it.</i>
John turned off the radio and said, “I’ve had about all the bad news I can take for one day. I’m going back to work.” He stood, put on his hat and went out onto the porch to put on his boots. A few moments later Robert finished his meal and did the same. With lunch over Brittany left to clean the bathroom while Heather and Melinda cleaned the kitchen. Heather worked in a busy, industrious fashion.
“Why are you in such a hurry Heather?” Melinda asked, “No one’s going to give you a prize for speed washing or something.”
Heather retorted, “Mama told me last night that I could go over to the Daniels for a couple of hours today after lunch. I want to get done so I can go over there and still have enough time get supper ready and do my schoolwork before mama gets home.”
Mel’s face soured, “Thought so. Gonna spend some more time in the hayloft with Stevie?”
Heather’s face reddened, “So what if I do? Why do you care?”
The other girl sighed disgustedly, “Heather, I can’t believe you’re doing this. What will your parents say? You’re taking a terrible chance! You could… well, you know.”
The older girl slapped aggressively at the plate she was washing with the dishrag. “I know what I’m doing Mel! It’s not like I’m ignorant or something. My mom’s a nurse and my dad’s a doctor. They taught me things. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“You hope.” Mel said as she hung the dishcloth she’d wiped the table with and left the room. A few minutes later Heather drained the dishwater, wiped off the counter and hung her dishcloth too then left for their bedroom.
A moment later she was livid with anger as she screamed “Melinda! I know you took them! Give them back!”
Melinda was in the dining room doing her school work and shouted back, “If you won’t act like you’ve got any sense then your friends will have to do it for you! Nothing’s stopping you from going to the Daniels without them.”
Heather shot out of the bedroom towards the dining room where Mel was at. As she passed Brittany stuck her head out of the bathroom with a scrub brush in her hands “Took what?” she said. “What are you two shouting about?”
“Never mind!” said Heather exasperatedly, “It’s nothing! Just go back to what you were doing,” before she hit the dining room door. “Mel, give them here!”
“NO!” Melinda shouted back as she leapt from her chair, “You’re being stupid! I’m trying to keep you out of trouble!” She ran for the kitchen only to meet her grandfather coming the other way having just come in the kitchen door.
“Uhhhh!” Melinda squeaked as she quickly sucked in her breath in a state of surprise. Heather shot through the door, “Give them he… OH!” she exclaimed when she saw why Mel had stopped.
“Hi grandpa” Mel said in a weak tone, “Is there something I can get for you?” Anxiety showed on both of the girls faces.
“No,” Robert replied, “I’m going to the necessary. Is there a problem? Why are you two shouting at each other. I could hear you from the porch.”
Heather forced a weak smile and said, “Uh, nothing. It’s nothing. We were just arguing over who got to use the calculator next. Weren’t we Mel?”
The wide eyed younger girl nodded her head affirmatively, “Yes sir. I took the calculator from Heather so I could do my school work and she wanted it back. That’s all.”
The grandfather eyed them both then said, “Well then, keep it down. Your dad has another calculator in the desk drawer in the living room.” He went on through and into the bathroom and shut the door. When he finished he left the house and went back to work in the greenhouse.
Outside one of the spring-hatched roosters jumped a hen which made a commotion that attracted the attention of Big Red. He ran over from where he’d been scratching next to the barn and chased the younger bird away.
John shook his head, “Gotta say one thing about that boy, he doesn’t miss a chance does he. When ever he thinks Red’s not looking he’ll top a hen.”
His father nodded. After a moment he said, “I reckon it must be in the air.” There was something about the way he said it that caused John to give him a quizzical look but his father went back to hammering and said no more.
Ding-ding! Ding-ding! The sound of the farm bell could be heard out in the pasture where John and his father were examining the rye grass and vetch and trying to gauge the impact the ice storm may have had on its survival and growth. He grinned at his dad and said, “Heather’s playing our tune. I could do with a cup of hot coffee.”
The two men walked up to the house, shucked their muddy boots and went inside. The girls were setting out plates of sandwiches on the table and ladling out bowls of hot soup. Robert poured coffee for himself and his son. The family set into eating, concentrating on their plates with little conversation. In the background the noon news came over the kitchen radio. The weather forecast predicted the days high only in the low forties and another hard freeze expected that night with a chance of frost for the night following and a warming trend for the days following.
John looked at his father and said, “When the temperature starts staying above freezing I expect we’ll see that pasture mix taking off again. At least the rye grass should, I don’t know about the vetch. The book says it’s pretty cold hardy though so I reckon it should do OK.”
Robert nodded. “Looks like we ought to be able to finish the last of the tables and tray racks in the greenhouse. Shouldn’t take long to knock together seed flats after that. This weekend when Ann and Lisa will be home we can come up with some sort of seed starting mix, then fill the trays and get our first seeds in. Looks like what we’ve got under the plastic row covers pulled through but they’re going to grow slowly if temperatures stay low. If it goes to the low twenties and stays there for a while they’ll freeze even with the row covers.
John nodded and said, “Yes and with getting last night’s ice storm so early in the year I think we can count on it setting a new record this year. Wouldn’t surprise me if it went into the single digits, maybe even hit zero.”
Brittany looked up and asked “Do you think it might snow? That would be cool! I haven’t seen snow since I was a little girl and visited my uncle Nick in Maryland one Christmas. Maybe we could even build a snowman and have snowball fights!”
Robert chuckled. John grinned and said, “Snowmen! Lord, I hope not but this year it just might could snow that much. Most I’ve ever seen here was back in the Christmas ice storm of ’89. Went down to eleven degrees, ice everywhere, snow too. Had snow on the north side of the house for three days. Lost power just like now and burst the water pipes. Probably could have gotten enough snow together to make a decent snowball but I don’t think there was enough on the whole yard to make even a small snow man.”
Melinda’s eyes lit and started talking excitedly with Brittany about playing in the snow and Heather chimed in as well. Robert asked John, “Has Mel even seen snow?”
His son replied, “Yes, three, no four years ago when we went up to visit Ann’s parents in Maine. Saw more than I wanted to see! Hit a patch of ice and slid the car into a ditch full of snow. Like to have froze my behind off trying to get the car out. Fortunately, some fella in a big 4x4 Ford came along and pulled me out. The family thought it was funny and said it was just a fact of life up there.”
The men went back to their meal while the three girls happily talked about their various snow experiences and hoped there would be deep snow in Florida, an idea that John devoutly hoped would not come to be.
After the weather forecast there was local news which segued into national and international news.
<i>In a ceremony on the steps of the Old Capitol Building today Governor Bush signed into law the “Work To Eat” bill that passed out of the House-Senate conference committee yesterday. One of the provisions of this bill include a requirement that all persons receiving disaster relief or other types of aid administered by the state must prove they are gainfully employed in order to continue receiving the assistance. This is expected to greatly increase enlistments in the National Recovery Corp due to job losses resulting from the asteroid impact and its aftermath. Other provisions include instituting child care centers in as yet unnamed areas and a relaxation of child care licensing requirements to better allow unemployed parents to be able to find work.
Another bill that will have significant impact on the state is the “Streamlined Justice” measure introduced simultaneously last week in the House and Senate. In spite of heavy opposition the bills passed both house but with significant differences that will have to be resolved in conference committee. Some form of the bill is expected to emerge next week to be sent to the governor’s desk where he has indicated he will sign it into law. There are major differences between the House and Senate versions but both have as their basic tenets proposals to limit felony conviction appeals to just two. Other provisions that were added as amendments will have to await the final conference committee decision.
Nationally Senator Clinton of New York today introduced legislation authorizing the Treasury Department to recall all U.S. paper currency in order that new currency may be issued at an exchange ratio of ten to one to start immediately upon its passing into law with an exchange deadline of six months after which all old currency still in circulation will become valueless. The stated reasoning for the bill was to bring under control the run away inflation that has driven the U.S. dollar to less than a quarter of its pre-Impact value and still falling. This in turn will enable the Federal Reserve System to begin reopening banks across the nation which will then allow businesses to have access to credit in order for the economy to begin to rebuild. The bill immediately came under hostile fire by a number of senators. No corresponding bill has yet been filed in the House but a sponsor is expected to file such a motion next week. President Bush has indicated a willingness to sign such a bill if it can be brought to him in a form he finds to be acceptable.</i>
John and Robert both sighed disgustedly together. “Well, that’s that. If Clinton’s proposing it and the President has already said he’s sign it you know it’s going to pass no matter how much hooting and hollering goes on. It’ll all be for show. There goes Ann’s salary, our retirement plans, your Social Security check, the whole ball of wax. Notice they didn’t say anything about reducing the value of things like mortgages by ten to one. Well, all I can say is they’d better or they’ll be courting a damned revolution!”
Robert just shook his head and went on eating.
<i>Also on the national scene President Bush is expected to formally propose two nominees on Monday to fill vacancies on bench of the Supreme Court. The names of these two nominees have not been released.
Internationally reports have begun to arrive from the Argentine capitol of shots being fired at the Presidential Palace as unit of the army have begun taking stations at major thoroughfares in the city. E-mails received from persons working near to the palace indicate they believe a coup may be underway but we have not been able to confirm this. No response has been received from the Argentine public affairs office. Argentina has been suffering from an economically disastrous plunge in the value of its currency leading to devastating hyper-inflation and default on its international loan payments. We will continue to bring you the latest information as we receive it.</i>
John turned off the radio and said, “I’ve had about all the bad news I can take for one day. I’m going back to work.” He stood, put on his hat and went out onto the porch to put on his boots. A few moments later Robert finished his meal and did the same. With lunch over Brittany left to clean the bathroom while Heather and Melinda cleaned the kitchen. Heather worked in a busy, industrious fashion.
“Why are you in such a hurry Heather?” Melinda asked, “No one’s going to give you a prize for speed washing or something.”
Heather retorted, “Mama told me last night that I could go over to the Daniels for a couple of hours today after lunch. I want to get done so I can go over there and still have enough time get supper ready and do my schoolwork before mama gets home.”
Mel’s face soured, “Thought so. Gonna spend some more time in the hayloft with Stevie?”
Heather’s face reddened, “So what if I do? Why do you care?”
The other girl sighed disgustedly, “Heather, I can’t believe you’re doing this. What will your parents say? You’re taking a terrible chance! You could… well, you know.”
The older girl slapped aggressively at the plate she was washing with the dishrag. “I know what I’m doing Mel! It’s not like I’m ignorant or something. My mom’s a nurse and my dad’s a doctor. They taught me things. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“You hope.” Mel said as she hung the dishcloth she’d wiped the table with and left the room. A few minutes later Heather drained the dishwater, wiped off the counter and hung her dishcloth too then left for their bedroom.
A moment later she was livid with anger as she screamed “Melinda! I know you took them! Give them back!”
Melinda was in the dining room doing her school work and shouted back, “If you won’t act like you’ve got any sense then your friends will have to do it for you! Nothing’s stopping you from going to the Daniels without them.”
Heather shot out of the bedroom towards the dining room where Mel was at. As she passed Brittany stuck her head out of the bathroom with a scrub brush in her hands “Took what?” she said. “What are you two shouting about?”
“Never mind!” said Heather exasperatedly, “It’s nothing! Just go back to what you were doing,” before she hit the dining room door. “Mel, give them here!”
“NO!” Melinda shouted back as she leapt from her chair, “You’re being stupid! I’m trying to keep you out of trouble!” She ran for the kitchen only to meet her grandfather coming the other way having just come in the kitchen door.
“Uhhhh!” Melinda squeaked as she quickly sucked in her breath in a state of surprise. Heather shot through the door, “Give them he… OH!” she exclaimed when she saw why Mel had stopped.
“Hi grandpa” Mel said in a weak tone, “Is there something I can get for you?” Anxiety showed on both of the girls faces.
“No,” Robert replied, “I’m going to the necessary. Is there a problem? Why are you two shouting at each other. I could hear you from the porch.”
Heather forced a weak smile and said, “Uh, nothing. It’s nothing. We were just arguing over who got to use the calculator next. Weren’t we Mel?”
The wide eyed younger girl nodded her head affirmatively, “Yes sir. I took the calculator from Heather so I could do my school work and she wanted it back. That’s all.”
The grandfather eyed them both then said, “Well then, keep it down. Your dad has another calculator in the desk drawer in the living room.” He went on through and into the bathroom and shut the door. When he finished he left the house and went back to work in the greenhouse.
Outside one of the spring-hatched roosters jumped a hen which made a commotion that attracted the attention of Big Red. He ran over from where he’d been scratching next to the barn and chased the younger bird away.
John shook his head, “Gotta say one thing about that boy, he doesn’t miss a chance does he. When ever he thinks Red’s not looking he’ll top a hen.”
His father nodded. After a moment he said, “I reckon it must be in the air.” There was something about the way he said it that caused John to give him a quizzical look but his father went back to hammering and said no more.
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Ut Oh! Besides Argentina being in BAD trouble, freezing weather in Florida and possible snow and the imminent devaluation of the US dollar, it looks like Heather is "dancing in the sheets". 
Great going with the story, Alan. Thank you so much for taking time this holiday weekend to feed us starving addicts with more of your story. Another wonderful installment!
Great going with the story, Alan. Thank you so much for taking time this holiday weekend to feed us starving addicts with more of your story. Another wonderful installment!
Albuburbia
Membership Revoked
Dancin' in the hay, I'd say! 
Hay! Hay! You kids stop that!! HAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
Hay! Hay! You kids stop that!! HAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
GREYGHOSTt
Contributing Member
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
Sorry guys, I've spent more than half the day with the chainsaw cutting up truckloads of wood and I'm too sore to concentrate on the story tonight.
I'll get the next piece up on Tuesday. Interesting developments coming (but I'm not saying when).
Hope everyone had a good holiday.
.....Alan.
I'll get the next piece up on Tuesday. Interesting developments coming (but I'm not saying when).
Hope everyone had a good holiday.
.....Alan.
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
October 18, 2002 - Down on the Farm
John heard the dogs start barking so he stepped out on the front porch. The van from the university was at the gate and Ann was just getting out. He went through the gate then gave his wife a big hug and a kiss. Picking up her bag he said, "Lisa said something about Luke coming this weekend? He change his mind?"
His wife replied, "No, he came with me. He just needed to see the Stricklands so he had the driver drop him off there. He brought out Ellie's new arthritis medicine from town. He should be here in an hour or so I think. He'll probably take a look at the man Ed shot too if he's still at their house."
He nodded his head and they went into the house, shutting out the chill of the evening. In the dining room Lisa was helping the girls bring supper to the table. Robert came in from the barn and after everyone had washed their hands the family sat down. Ann asked, "Shouldn't we wait for Luke?"
Lisa replied, "No, when he called this afternoon he said he wanted to talk to the Stricklands when he dropped off Ellie's new meds. No point in making the family wait an hour waiting on him to show."
Grace was spoken and the family set into their supper. Presently the conversation turned to matters in town and Ann said, "The university is getting ready to start classes again. There's talk they might start in November but the Provost says they'll probably wait until the new year when fuel and food shipments should have settled into something stable. No one's sure how the money end is going to work with the Federal government in disarray and the banks still not reopened. He did say there was going to be a LOT more work-study requirements for students and they'd be doing a lot more practical day-to-day work than before. Sounds like the university is trying to save on labor costs. No one knows yet how big the hit to their funding is going to be but it's going to be very big. The ag colleges are going to be important again, much more so than they've been for many years. The engineering school is gearing up too. Come Monday when the van comes to get me it may not be burning petroleum at all!"
Robert asked, "What's it going be using, coal?"
Ann said, "Close. They've very nearly got three wood burning vehicles ready to go. They're trying to work up a means to run one on methane too."
John asked, "These wood burners powering a steam boiler or are they using the combustion gasses directly?"
"Direct combustion is my understanding. Wood is heated and the gasses it gives off are then burned in a motor. I saw one from a distance yesterday as they were making test runs. Strange looking sight to see a school bus with a furnace on the back belching smoke. I understand they're trying to build a steam driven model as well."
Her husband shrugged, "Well, I suppose for at least a medium term solution it might help with the petroleum shortage we're having now but I can't see how they'll compete when the ports and pipelines reopen. I would like to see them in action though. You said they were working with methane again. Are they producing it themselves?"
She nodded her head, "Yes. Everyone still has to go so there's no shortage of the raw material. The mechanical engineering types are cooperating with several of the ag faculty on that project to build expedient, small methane generators and convert stationary power plants to burn it. Mobile power plants like trucks are more difficult because of trying to store the gas. There was a lot of work in this area done back in the seventies but it all died out in the early eighties. The books and papers are all still in the library collections though so they're digging them out and updating them."
John took a forkful of beans and considered for a moment. "It seems to me that with seven people and the livestock here we've got plenty of the raw material necessary for producing the gas. If they have a good small scale design that could be used on a small farm could you bring us copies?"
"I don't know. I don't work with them but I can try and investigate. If they come up with a viable design they're going to need to farm it out for hands-on and that sort of thing. Maybe we could build one of our own. Maybe we could store it in our LP tank?"
No one knew enough about the mechanics of producing and using methane to say so conversation drifted to other topics and the family reached the end of their meal. They were just starting in on their cake when the dogs became noisy again. Melinda got up to go see what they were barking at and came back to the table and said, "Daddy, it's Dr. Luke at the gate. He's got a COW with him."
This caused raised eyebrows around the table except for Anna and Lisa who adopted poker faces.
Mel's father said, "Well, how about that? Reckon I'd better go out and see if Luke has taken up rustling as a side line." He stood and walked out the front door. The rest of the family followed shortly afterwards.
Outside Luke was just closing the gate behind him, a Jersey cow on a long lead standing nearby. With a grin John asked, "Luke, you find that thing wandering the roads or did you liberate it from somewhere?"
The doctor laughed and said, "I swapped it for some magic beans."
Melinda looked closely at the creature and said, "That looks like Mrs. Ellie's cow."
Her father looked at the cow more closely himself and said, "Be damned! That is Ellie's cow isn't it? Why are you bringing it here?"
With a grin Luke said, "Thereby hangs a tale. Harken O King and I will enlighten thee to the tale of the Doctor and the Cow."
The girls giggled at this and he continued, "As a matter of certain fact, this is NOT Ellie's cow. It is IN FACT - my cow." He then handed the lead rope to John who looked at him questioningly. "Now, O King, she is YOUR cow."
John looked at the lead rope in his hand and asked, "Luke, how did you come by Ellie's cow? She didn't give it to you to pay for her arthritis medicine did she?"
Luke replied, "No, the exchange has nothing to do with her medicine nor my services but it does have much to do with her arthritis. You see, Ellie came to the Archer clinic last week to see about getting a better medicine for her arthritis which has been worsening these last few months. As a part of the encounter she allowed to Lisa as to how she was going to have to give up milking because it aggravated her condition. Lisa told this to me and we worked out a deal. I just concluded it a little while a go and here she is!"
The new owner stroked the neck of the cow and said, "Luke, this is a huge gift! A good milk cow was worth hundreds of dollars BEFORE the Impact. I can't imagine what one would be worth now. This is too much. I can't accept her."
The doctor shook his head, "No, on the contrary. It's not really enough. John, you did my family a real service by bringing them out here in the midst of a disaster. You gave them shelter, food, and safety at a time that I was hard pressed to do so. Hell, the fact of the matter is that I was providing them shelter but the food and safety part were really becoming very dicey. So far as I'm concerned I owe you a herd of cows but just now one is all I can manage. Take her. Ellie was glad that she's going to a good home and sends her blessings."
John looked at his wife, then cut his eyes at Lisa and then back to Ann. "You knew didn't you?!"
She laughed, "Yes John, I did. And I told them you'd be a hard sell too. You never could accept a gift gracefully. Age seems to be mellowing you." The three girls walked up and began to stroke the cow's flanks.
He grinned and said, "OK Luke, we accept her." He doffed his hat and bowed to the doctor. "Thank you most generous lord for your magnanimous contribution to the Horne farm."
Melinda grinned and asked, "Are we really going to keep her daddy? Cool! Our own dairy cow!"
Her father grinned back, "Well, small hands, maybe in a week you might not think she's so cool."
A puzzled look crossed Melinda's face. "Small hands? Why wouldn't I think she's cool?"
His grin grew wider, "Because YOU are the one who is going to milk her! You, Brittany and Heather that is. I'll leave it to the three of you to work out your own schedule providing she's milked TWICE a day, EVERY day, and at the SAME two times a day. Comprende?"
Mel's face grew wide again. "But why us? You and grandpa usually handle the larger stock."
"Because milking the cow is traditionally a job given to children. It's where the term 'milk maids' comes from." John began to sing "On the third day of Christmas the Doctor gave to me - three maids a milking, two wives conspiring, and a milk cow to make a daaiirryy!"
Melinda clapped her hands to her ears, "OK! OK daddy! I'll milk the cow! Just stop singing!" and started giggling.
Heather's face showed concern and Brittany looked uncertain. "Uhh, milk a cow, Uncle John? I don't know…" the older girl hesitated.
Her mother arched an eyebrow. "Well I DO know. I'm sure Mrs. Ellie would be glad to teach you three how to milk. She'd probably be tickled, in fact. I milked when I was a girl in Ohio." She grinned then continued, "It builds character, my father used to tell me. Especially when it was below freezing and blowing snow."
Heather said, "But mom, that was years and years ago."
Her mother replied, "So it was, all the way back in the Sixties as a matter of fact. Grandpa's a doctor too, remember? Never did understand why he wanted to keep all of those animals when we could simply have bought what we needed at the grocery like everyone else. Now I'm beginning to understand what he was getting at. Store bought milk never has tasted quite right to me since I left home. It'll do you good girl!"
Heather's father chuckled, "Your mother wouldn't take me seriously back when I was trying to get her to go steady with me until I agreed to learn how to milk cows myself. My folks thought I'd gone out of my mind but I did it. Your grandfather said that anyone who'd accept getting swatted with a manure soaked tail for the regard of a girl had to be in love!"
Heather and Brittany still looked uncertain but raised no further protests and soon were stroking the cows head.
John rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we'll for sure have plenty of feed stock material for our own methane generator now. Holy cow! Luke, I just realized a serious problem here. We don't have enough feed or hay to keep a dairy cow through the winter."
Luke held up his hand in a calming motion. "Not to worry, we've got that covered too. Actually, it was your goodwife who enlightened us to that problem when Lisa first brought her into the conspiracy. Not only did I buy the cow I bought the hay and feed that Ed had planned to feed her. You'll just need to work out with him how best to bring it over. He'd planned out her feed requirements when he sold his cattle to the Recovery Command and kept it back. He says if your winter grazing makes OK you should be able to save a fair amount of the hay."
The temperature was steadily dropping so John began to lead the cow to the barn and the group followed. "Luke," he asked, "just out of curiosity, if you don't mind my asking, what did she cost you? With inflation eating up paper dollars by the day she must have cost you a real bag of money."
"Actually," he replied, "I didn't buy her for paper dollars. My investment adviser is, or was, a real nut for diversification. Saved me a small fortune in the dot.com bust actually. One of the things he convinced me to buy is gold. Not stocks or futures, but the real thing. Truthfully, I was never much of a gold bug but he did put me into a small quantity of coins. I bought $20 Double Eagle gold pieces. Ellie drives a hard bargain but we both made out OK. In a manner of speaking you could say I bought the cow, equipment, feed and hay for $80.00. Damn cheap considering what you've done for my wife and daughter."
John tied the cow into a stall, filled her hay rack, and water bucket. He looked at her udder and asked, "Did Ellie say when she usually milks? Her bag is looking full. By the way, what is her name? I don't recall ever hearing her say."
Luke said, "Seven and seven but she said you can adjust the time to suit you if you do it slowly. She's giving three gallons a day just now. She freshened four months ago so she reckons you should get at least another year before she needs to be bred again. When she does need to be serviced you can take her down and let one of Ed's Hereford or Angus bulls do the deed. Come to think of it, I didn't ask Ellie what the cow's name is. Didn't occur to me but I'm sure it's on her papers. Ellie gave them to me."
"Her name's Dandelion." Melinda said, "Mrs. Ellie once told me that all her milk cows are named Dandelion. Daddy, can we make home made ice cream?"
Her father grinned and said, "Sure, as many times as you kids want to crank the churn. And whipped cream, and hot chocolate and just about anything else you can make out of dairy products. Probably end up feeding part of it to the hogs and chickens. Damn good feed as a matter of fact."
"Well, as a part of the deal, I did promise Ellie that you'd keep them in milk but that probably won't be more than a gallon or two a week at the most. I'm sure you'll be able to get by on the nineteen or twenty gallons a week this will leave you."
"Twenty GALLONS a week!" Brittany exclaimed, "How much milk can we drink?"
Ann chuckled then said, "Well, we're about to find out."
Lisa glanced at her watch. "Seven and seven you said? Well, it's a little past seven now. We'd better rustle up a bucket of warm water and a cloth to wash her bag with and another clean bucket to milk into." She reached out and took Luke by the hand and said, "You look like you could use the practice. Think you can still remember how?"
Luke looked mildly alarmed at the prospect, "But Lisa, I haven't milked since you moved out of your parent's place. I'm a surgeon now!"
She grinned at him and said, "Good! It's that delicate touch that works so well."
John heard the dogs start barking so he stepped out on the front porch. The van from the university was at the gate and Ann was just getting out. He went through the gate then gave his wife a big hug and a kiss. Picking up her bag he said, "Lisa said something about Luke coming this weekend? He change his mind?"
His wife replied, "No, he came with me. He just needed to see the Stricklands so he had the driver drop him off there. He brought out Ellie's new arthritis medicine from town. He should be here in an hour or so I think. He'll probably take a look at the man Ed shot too if he's still at their house."
He nodded his head and they went into the house, shutting out the chill of the evening. In the dining room Lisa was helping the girls bring supper to the table. Robert came in from the barn and after everyone had washed their hands the family sat down. Ann asked, "Shouldn't we wait for Luke?"
Lisa replied, "No, when he called this afternoon he said he wanted to talk to the Stricklands when he dropped off Ellie's new meds. No point in making the family wait an hour waiting on him to show."
Grace was spoken and the family set into their supper. Presently the conversation turned to matters in town and Ann said, "The university is getting ready to start classes again. There's talk they might start in November but the Provost says they'll probably wait until the new year when fuel and food shipments should have settled into something stable. No one's sure how the money end is going to work with the Federal government in disarray and the banks still not reopened. He did say there was going to be a LOT more work-study requirements for students and they'd be doing a lot more practical day-to-day work than before. Sounds like the university is trying to save on labor costs. No one knows yet how big the hit to their funding is going to be but it's going to be very big. The ag colleges are going to be important again, much more so than they've been for many years. The engineering school is gearing up too. Come Monday when the van comes to get me it may not be burning petroleum at all!"
Robert asked, "What's it going be using, coal?"
Ann said, "Close. They've very nearly got three wood burning vehicles ready to go. They're trying to work up a means to run one on methane too."
John asked, "These wood burners powering a steam boiler or are they using the combustion gasses directly?"
"Direct combustion is my understanding. Wood is heated and the gasses it gives off are then burned in a motor. I saw one from a distance yesterday as they were making test runs. Strange looking sight to see a school bus with a furnace on the back belching smoke. I understand they're trying to build a steam driven model as well."
Her husband shrugged, "Well, I suppose for at least a medium term solution it might help with the petroleum shortage we're having now but I can't see how they'll compete when the ports and pipelines reopen. I would like to see them in action though. You said they were working with methane again. Are they producing it themselves?"
She nodded her head, "Yes. Everyone still has to go so there's no shortage of the raw material. The mechanical engineering types are cooperating with several of the ag faculty on that project to build expedient, small methane generators and convert stationary power plants to burn it. Mobile power plants like trucks are more difficult because of trying to store the gas. There was a lot of work in this area done back in the seventies but it all died out in the early eighties. The books and papers are all still in the library collections though so they're digging them out and updating them."
John took a forkful of beans and considered for a moment. "It seems to me that with seven people and the livestock here we've got plenty of the raw material necessary for producing the gas. If they have a good small scale design that could be used on a small farm could you bring us copies?"
"I don't know. I don't work with them but I can try and investigate. If they come up with a viable design they're going to need to farm it out for hands-on and that sort of thing. Maybe we could build one of our own. Maybe we could store it in our LP tank?"
No one knew enough about the mechanics of producing and using methane to say so conversation drifted to other topics and the family reached the end of their meal. They were just starting in on their cake when the dogs became noisy again. Melinda got up to go see what they were barking at and came back to the table and said, "Daddy, it's Dr. Luke at the gate. He's got a COW with him."
This caused raised eyebrows around the table except for Anna and Lisa who adopted poker faces.
Mel's father said, "Well, how about that? Reckon I'd better go out and see if Luke has taken up rustling as a side line." He stood and walked out the front door. The rest of the family followed shortly afterwards.
Outside Luke was just closing the gate behind him, a Jersey cow on a long lead standing nearby. With a grin John asked, "Luke, you find that thing wandering the roads or did you liberate it from somewhere?"
The doctor laughed and said, "I swapped it for some magic beans."
Melinda looked closely at the creature and said, "That looks like Mrs. Ellie's cow."
Her father looked at the cow more closely himself and said, "Be damned! That is Ellie's cow isn't it? Why are you bringing it here?"
With a grin Luke said, "Thereby hangs a tale. Harken O King and I will enlighten thee to the tale of the Doctor and the Cow."
The girls giggled at this and he continued, "As a matter of certain fact, this is NOT Ellie's cow. It is IN FACT - my cow." He then handed the lead rope to John who looked at him questioningly. "Now, O King, she is YOUR cow."
John looked at the lead rope in his hand and asked, "Luke, how did you come by Ellie's cow? She didn't give it to you to pay for her arthritis medicine did she?"
Luke replied, "No, the exchange has nothing to do with her medicine nor my services but it does have much to do with her arthritis. You see, Ellie came to the Archer clinic last week to see about getting a better medicine for her arthritis which has been worsening these last few months. As a part of the encounter she allowed to Lisa as to how she was going to have to give up milking because it aggravated her condition. Lisa told this to me and we worked out a deal. I just concluded it a little while a go and here she is!"
The new owner stroked the neck of the cow and said, "Luke, this is a huge gift! A good milk cow was worth hundreds of dollars BEFORE the Impact. I can't imagine what one would be worth now. This is too much. I can't accept her."
The doctor shook his head, "No, on the contrary. It's not really enough. John, you did my family a real service by bringing them out here in the midst of a disaster. You gave them shelter, food, and safety at a time that I was hard pressed to do so. Hell, the fact of the matter is that I was providing them shelter but the food and safety part were really becoming very dicey. So far as I'm concerned I owe you a herd of cows but just now one is all I can manage. Take her. Ellie was glad that she's going to a good home and sends her blessings."
John looked at his wife, then cut his eyes at Lisa and then back to Ann. "You knew didn't you?!"
She laughed, "Yes John, I did. And I told them you'd be a hard sell too. You never could accept a gift gracefully. Age seems to be mellowing you." The three girls walked up and began to stroke the cow's flanks.
He grinned and said, "OK Luke, we accept her." He doffed his hat and bowed to the doctor. "Thank you most generous lord for your magnanimous contribution to the Horne farm."
Melinda grinned and asked, "Are we really going to keep her daddy? Cool! Our own dairy cow!"
Her father grinned back, "Well, small hands, maybe in a week you might not think she's so cool."
A puzzled look crossed Melinda's face. "Small hands? Why wouldn't I think she's cool?"
His grin grew wider, "Because YOU are the one who is going to milk her! You, Brittany and Heather that is. I'll leave it to the three of you to work out your own schedule providing she's milked TWICE a day, EVERY day, and at the SAME two times a day. Comprende?"
Mel's face grew wide again. "But why us? You and grandpa usually handle the larger stock."
"Because milking the cow is traditionally a job given to children. It's where the term 'milk maids' comes from." John began to sing "On the third day of Christmas the Doctor gave to me - three maids a milking, two wives conspiring, and a milk cow to make a daaiirryy!"
Melinda clapped her hands to her ears, "OK! OK daddy! I'll milk the cow! Just stop singing!" and started giggling.
Heather's face showed concern and Brittany looked uncertain. "Uhh, milk a cow, Uncle John? I don't know…" the older girl hesitated.
Her mother arched an eyebrow. "Well I DO know. I'm sure Mrs. Ellie would be glad to teach you three how to milk. She'd probably be tickled, in fact. I milked when I was a girl in Ohio." She grinned then continued, "It builds character, my father used to tell me. Especially when it was below freezing and blowing snow."
Heather said, "But mom, that was years and years ago."
Her mother replied, "So it was, all the way back in the Sixties as a matter of fact. Grandpa's a doctor too, remember? Never did understand why he wanted to keep all of those animals when we could simply have bought what we needed at the grocery like everyone else. Now I'm beginning to understand what he was getting at. Store bought milk never has tasted quite right to me since I left home. It'll do you good girl!"
Heather's father chuckled, "Your mother wouldn't take me seriously back when I was trying to get her to go steady with me until I agreed to learn how to milk cows myself. My folks thought I'd gone out of my mind but I did it. Your grandfather said that anyone who'd accept getting swatted with a manure soaked tail for the regard of a girl had to be in love!"
Heather and Brittany still looked uncertain but raised no further protests and soon were stroking the cows head.
John rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we'll for sure have plenty of feed stock material for our own methane generator now. Holy cow! Luke, I just realized a serious problem here. We don't have enough feed or hay to keep a dairy cow through the winter."
Luke held up his hand in a calming motion. "Not to worry, we've got that covered too. Actually, it was your goodwife who enlightened us to that problem when Lisa first brought her into the conspiracy. Not only did I buy the cow I bought the hay and feed that Ed had planned to feed her. You'll just need to work out with him how best to bring it over. He'd planned out her feed requirements when he sold his cattle to the Recovery Command and kept it back. He says if your winter grazing makes OK you should be able to save a fair amount of the hay."
The temperature was steadily dropping so John began to lead the cow to the barn and the group followed. "Luke," he asked, "just out of curiosity, if you don't mind my asking, what did she cost you? With inflation eating up paper dollars by the day she must have cost you a real bag of money."
"Actually," he replied, "I didn't buy her for paper dollars. My investment adviser is, or was, a real nut for diversification. Saved me a small fortune in the dot.com bust actually. One of the things he convinced me to buy is gold. Not stocks or futures, but the real thing. Truthfully, I was never much of a gold bug but he did put me into a small quantity of coins. I bought $20 Double Eagle gold pieces. Ellie drives a hard bargain but we both made out OK. In a manner of speaking you could say I bought the cow, equipment, feed and hay for $80.00. Damn cheap considering what you've done for my wife and daughter."
John tied the cow into a stall, filled her hay rack, and water bucket. He looked at her udder and asked, "Did Ellie say when she usually milks? Her bag is looking full. By the way, what is her name? I don't recall ever hearing her say."
Luke said, "Seven and seven but she said you can adjust the time to suit you if you do it slowly. She's giving three gallons a day just now. She freshened four months ago so she reckons you should get at least another year before she needs to be bred again. When she does need to be serviced you can take her down and let one of Ed's Hereford or Angus bulls do the deed. Come to think of it, I didn't ask Ellie what the cow's name is. Didn't occur to me but I'm sure it's on her papers. Ellie gave them to me."
"Her name's Dandelion." Melinda said, "Mrs. Ellie once told me that all her milk cows are named Dandelion. Daddy, can we make home made ice cream?"
Her father grinned and said, "Sure, as many times as you kids want to crank the churn. And whipped cream, and hot chocolate and just about anything else you can make out of dairy products. Probably end up feeding part of it to the hogs and chickens. Damn good feed as a matter of fact."
"Well, as a part of the deal, I did promise Ellie that you'd keep them in milk but that probably won't be more than a gallon or two a week at the most. I'm sure you'll be able to get by on the nineteen or twenty gallons a week this will leave you."
"Twenty GALLONS a week!" Brittany exclaimed, "How much milk can we drink?"
Ann chuckled then said, "Well, we're about to find out."
Lisa glanced at her watch. "Seven and seven you said? Well, it's a little past seven now. We'd better rustle up a bucket of warm water and a cloth to wash her bag with and another clean bucket to milk into." She reached out and took Luke by the hand and said, "You look like you could use the practice. Think you can still remember how?"
Luke looked mildly alarmed at the prospect, "But Lisa, I haven't milked since you moved out of your parent's place. I'm a surgeon now!"
She grinned at him and said, "Good! It's that delicate touch that works so well."
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
Maiden said:Hot dog!Now John and family have Dandelion the milking cow thanks to Dr. Luke and dealing with Miss Ellie ... feed, cow and all for about $80.00. What a deal!
What a terrific installment, Alan. I really enjoy reading your ongoing story more and more.
THANK YOU!
Yep, all for just $80.
Face value.
.....Alan
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
Yeah, county emergency management must have sent out ten e-mails since yesterday about Edouard. Looks like he'll be back down to just a tropical depression by the time he finally does make landfall. As far inland as I am all we'll see of him is just rain.
He's actually the kind of tropical weather we want since there's little wind, little chance of a storm surge, and a good chance to get enough rain to fill lakes and rivers that our drought has lowered.
.....Alan.
He's actually the kind of tropical weather we want since there's little wind, little chance of a storm surge, and a good chance to get enough rain to fill lakes and rivers that our drought has lowered.
.....Alan.
Green Co. said:
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
October 19, 2002 - Stormy weather
"With all the building we've been doing we're going to need more twelve penny nails before long." Robert said as he drove another home into the milking stanchion he and John were building in the workshop.
John nodded his head. "Reckon it would be a good idea to inventory the consumable supplies to get a feel for what we're running short on. Might have to explore alternatives. Never much tried it before but I suppose if we had to we could probably assemble this stanchion using wood pegs like they used to do in the olden days. Considering what nails and screws are likely going to cost when we go to buy them it might not be a bad idea to at least get a feel for how such construction works." He chuckled, "At least we've got power so we won't be having to make the holes for the pegs using a brace and bit. I never could make a clean hole with one of those things."
"When I was Mel's age that was all your granddaddy had." John's father said, "No power saws either. Your great uncle Obadiah made his living as a carpenter and he did some very good work using just hand tools. Nowadays only the rich would be able to afford a carpenter like that."
Robert went outside to cut more wood for the stanchion leaving John inside making measurements. On the shelf over the drill press the radio was on, tuned to a local talk and news station.
<i>In Tallahassee today the controversial "Streamlined Justice" bill quickly passed out of the House-Senate conference committee after several late night meetings were held to iron out differences between the two bills. Complete details will be available as soon as the full text of the bill can be reviewed.
On the national scene Senator Clinton's "Dollar Devaluation" bill has cleared its first committee hurdle with three more remaining before it makes its way to the Senate floor. The House counterpart to the bill has not yet been introduced.
In California there have been repeated calls in the state legislature to set up a California state bank that will issue its own currency backed by as yet unnamed assets in order to allow the state economy to begin more fully functioning.. The states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho have expressed interest in developing the idea into a regional bank of issue. Unconfirmed reports indicate that representatives of the Bank of Japan and the Bank of China have attended the bank hearings in the California capitol in Sacramento. Treasury Secretary Rubin soundly denounced the idea as ill-conceived and in contravention of U.S. law.
Internationally unrest continues today in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on this second day of a government ordered bank holiday. The temporary bank closings were ordered by the central government in an attempt to cut losses and restore investor confidence which have been devastating the national economy. Many of the problems besetting this small South American nation are spill-overs from the free-falling Argentine economy and the steadily sickening Brazilian economy. The flattening of the import/export trade resulting from the asteroid strike and the coastal devastation resulting from the Impact tsunami are blamed for the worsening state of economic health of these Latin American nations.
Breaking news is arriving about yet another contact between New Mexico National Guard troops and a large band of Mexican Villaist raiders. Details are sketchy at this time as to the precise location of the battle but preliminary reports state that fourteen Viliaist bandits were killed and three National Guard soldiers. In a press briefing yesterday President Bush once again appealed to Mexican president Vincente' Fox to better patrol the Mexican side of the border to prevent further raids. The President stated that if the cross-border raids did not soon come to an end he would have no choice but authorize military operations on the Mexican side of the border to quell the problems of lawlessness and banditry now taking place in the region.</i>
Robert came back into the shop with the new wood. John looked at his dad and grinned, "Shades of Blackjack Pershing! I've got a Springfield rifle, just need to scare up a campaign hat and some puttees and I'll be ready to go. I wonder if the folks along the border down there are organizing the way we have. With radio communications those bandits might just find themselves warmly greeted the next time they came to town."
<i>In the Middle East today a new leader in the United Arab Emirates has come forward by the name of Sheik al-Hassan bin Saladin. Little is known about Sheik Saladin but according to Al Jazeera television he shares the ideology of the radical sunni muslim Salafia sect that preaches the expulsion of westerners, an end to corruption, and a return to Qu'ranic law. This creed is said to be very similar to that of Prince Sultan, now head of the neighboring Royal House of Saudi Arabia. In fact, the Saudi royal government announced today that it was sending representatives to the UAE capitol of Abu Dhabi in order to formally recognize the new government.
Further news from Saudi Arabia announces the arrest of Prince al-Waleed bin Talal on charges of moral degeneracy and corruption. The prince is one of the largest individual Saudi investors in U.S. assets and was a major part of the pro-western bloc of the Saudi royal family. No word from the prince has been heard since his arrest.</i>
The two men nailed the last boards into place. With construction completed they broke out a can of paint and put on a first coat. John said, "As cool as it is tonight this paint won't be dry before the morning. We'll have to finish it up tomorrow. It's nearly supper time so why don't we call it a night?" His father agreed and with that they cleaned their brushes and headed to the house.
Inside they found Lisa and Heather putting supper on the table. Ann, Melinda and Brittany came in from the greenhouse where they'd been filling seed flats. They all sat to the table but John noticed Luke was missing and inquired as to his whereabouts. "Sally Starling called a little while ago. Her daughter Judy has some sort of fast spreading red rash." Lisa said, "It sounded like an allergic reaction so Luke said he'd come over and take a look at it since the clinic won't be open before Monday. Said he wanted to talk to Rick anyway so he might as well go."
John grinned at her and asked, "He's not going to buy Rick's pigs too is he?"
Lisa laughed, "No, I think he'd be completely at sea with pigs. At least cows he knows a little something about."
The family said grace and began their meal. John noticed that Lisa and Heather spoke very little to each other through the meal and there seemed to be some tension between the mother and daughter. Since neither brought up the matter he did not inquire. Supper passed quietly and when it was finished Heather began to gather the dishes. Ann asked, "Do you two need some help with cleanup or can we finish with the seed flats?"
"Actually Ann," Lisa replied, "if it's not inconvenient, I'd like to talk to you. Girl to girl like."
Ann said, "OK. It's warmer in here anyway. Britt, you want to work on your school work?"
John asked, "Who's turn is it to milk the cow this evening?"
Melinda replied, "It's mine daddy. Miss Ellie and Aunt Lisa gave us all lessons this morning and I've got first go at her tonight."
"Well, I'm going to give you a break this evening which maybe you can use to work on your school work with Brittany. I'm itching to see if I can remember how to milk a cow myself so I'll do the milking tonight" He grinned, "I may need Aunt Lisa to come and give me lessons too. It's been more than thirty years since I've milked a cow."
John stood and filled a small pail with hot soapy water, gathered up the milk pail, put on his hat and coat and went out to the barn. The females began to gather up the supper dishes and Robert went to his room. In the barn John carefully washed Dandelion's bag and dried her with a clean cloth. He situated himself on the low stool that he'd cut down for the work and tried to recall the necessary technique. His back was stiff and he grunted to himself, "This will be a damn sight easier when we get that stand and stanchion in here. No wonder young girls always did this kind of work, they're more limber!"
Dandelion stood patiently munching on her oats as John fumbled underneath eventually getting the first squirts of milk into the bucket. The old pattern began to come back to him and he gradually smoothed and speeded his milking so that the bucket began to fill. Forty five minutes later she was finished so he wiped off her bag, covered the pail, put on his coat and headed back to the house. He stopped by the gate to pick up on the mail on the way in so he walked up to the front door instead of going in the kitchen. On the porch he found his father with the insulated coffee jug and a bottle of whiskey. Inside he could hear voices, some sounding angry, some plaintive.
"Dad, it's forty five degrees out here. Kind of cool to be sitting on the porch isn't it?" He asked his father.
Robert took a sip of his coffee and said, "Too torrid inside tonight. More comfortable on the porch."
John shook his head and went into the house. He could hear raised voices coming from the kitchen.
"Melinda! How could you?! That was none of your business!" Ann's voice echoed through the house.
"She's Heather's friend, Ann! She was just trying to help keep her out of trouble!" Lisa's said angrily.
John slowed as he approached the door into the kitchen unsure whether he should venture further, but then wondered what he was going to do with the bucket of warm milk in his hand. He went forward and opened the door.
A wave of heated female voices washed over him - "MOM! I know what I'm doing!"
"Shut up Heather! You wait until your father finds out about this!"
"You two have been hiding this from me for days! I thought I was your friend!"
"Lisa, it's none of her business!"
"She was only trying to help!"
"I'm fourteen! I know what I'm doing!"
"You're not old enough for that! Where did you get them!"
"From the clinic! You told me about them!"
"I didn't tell you to GET them!"
"You both hate me!"
"We were just trying to keep from hurting you Brittany!"
"You shouldn't have been telling ANYONE about it! You shouldn't have been DOING it in the first place!"
"I was careful! You told me what to do!"
"You were being stupid! I was trying to help you!"
No one took notice of him at all.
The man stood for a moment unsure of how to proceed. Brittany, Heather, and Melinda were in tears and everyone was red in the face. Finally, he decided to cross the kitchen and put the milk pail on the counter next to the sink for straining. He edged past the table they were all standing around and put the bucket down with a loud "thunk." No one noticed.
Free of the pail he turned towards the feuding females and cleared his throat. No one noticed.
He did it again, louder.
Still no one noticed.
"Excuse me" he said. The argument raged.
His patience gave out. "QUIET!" he shouted.
The heads of all five females turned towards him like the turrets of tanks.
"Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"NO!!!" came five voices speaking as one.
-- -- -- -- --
John poured himself a cup of coffee and took an appreciative sip. "So, dad" he said, "ever tried your hand at cheese making before? Looks like we've got the raw material. Got have something to do with all that milk." He took another sip of coffee then poured in a measure of whisky.
"No, can't say that I have," came the laconic reply, "but the ways things are going tonight that bucket you just took into the house may curdle up all by itself."
The two men sat on the porch gazing at the stars over the trees. Presently Luke hove into sight and came through the gate. He stared at the two men on the porch and said, "It's got to be close to forty degrees out here. Why are you sitting on the porch?"
John quirked an eyebrow at him and said, "Well doc, it's like this. A prudent man will know that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."
"Care for a cup of joe?"
"With all the building we've been doing we're going to need more twelve penny nails before long." Robert said as he drove another home into the milking stanchion he and John were building in the workshop.
John nodded his head. "Reckon it would be a good idea to inventory the consumable supplies to get a feel for what we're running short on. Might have to explore alternatives. Never much tried it before but I suppose if we had to we could probably assemble this stanchion using wood pegs like they used to do in the olden days. Considering what nails and screws are likely going to cost when we go to buy them it might not be a bad idea to at least get a feel for how such construction works." He chuckled, "At least we've got power so we won't be having to make the holes for the pegs using a brace and bit. I never could make a clean hole with one of those things."
"When I was Mel's age that was all your granddaddy had." John's father said, "No power saws either. Your great uncle Obadiah made his living as a carpenter and he did some very good work using just hand tools. Nowadays only the rich would be able to afford a carpenter like that."
Robert went outside to cut more wood for the stanchion leaving John inside making measurements. On the shelf over the drill press the radio was on, tuned to a local talk and news station.
<i>In Tallahassee today the controversial "Streamlined Justice" bill quickly passed out of the House-Senate conference committee after several late night meetings were held to iron out differences between the two bills. Complete details will be available as soon as the full text of the bill can be reviewed.
On the national scene Senator Clinton's "Dollar Devaluation" bill has cleared its first committee hurdle with three more remaining before it makes its way to the Senate floor. The House counterpart to the bill has not yet been introduced.
In California there have been repeated calls in the state legislature to set up a California state bank that will issue its own currency backed by as yet unnamed assets in order to allow the state economy to begin more fully functioning.. The states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho have expressed interest in developing the idea into a regional bank of issue. Unconfirmed reports indicate that representatives of the Bank of Japan and the Bank of China have attended the bank hearings in the California capitol in Sacramento. Treasury Secretary Rubin soundly denounced the idea as ill-conceived and in contravention of U.S. law.
Internationally unrest continues today in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on this second day of a government ordered bank holiday. The temporary bank closings were ordered by the central government in an attempt to cut losses and restore investor confidence which have been devastating the national economy. Many of the problems besetting this small South American nation are spill-overs from the free-falling Argentine economy and the steadily sickening Brazilian economy. The flattening of the import/export trade resulting from the asteroid strike and the coastal devastation resulting from the Impact tsunami are blamed for the worsening state of economic health of these Latin American nations.
Breaking news is arriving about yet another contact between New Mexico National Guard troops and a large band of Mexican Villaist raiders. Details are sketchy at this time as to the precise location of the battle but preliminary reports state that fourteen Viliaist bandits were killed and three National Guard soldiers. In a press briefing yesterday President Bush once again appealed to Mexican president Vincente' Fox to better patrol the Mexican side of the border to prevent further raids. The President stated that if the cross-border raids did not soon come to an end he would have no choice but authorize military operations on the Mexican side of the border to quell the problems of lawlessness and banditry now taking place in the region.</i>
Robert came back into the shop with the new wood. John looked at his dad and grinned, "Shades of Blackjack Pershing! I've got a Springfield rifle, just need to scare up a campaign hat and some puttees and I'll be ready to go. I wonder if the folks along the border down there are organizing the way we have. With radio communications those bandits might just find themselves warmly greeted the next time they came to town."
<i>In the Middle East today a new leader in the United Arab Emirates has come forward by the name of Sheik al-Hassan bin Saladin. Little is known about Sheik Saladin but according to Al Jazeera television he shares the ideology of the radical sunni muslim Salafia sect that preaches the expulsion of westerners, an end to corruption, and a return to Qu'ranic law. This creed is said to be very similar to that of Prince Sultan, now head of the neighboring Royal House of Saudi Arabia. In fact, the Saudi royal government announced today that it was sending representatives to the UAE capitol of Abu Dhabi in order to formally recognize the new government.
Further news from Saudi Arabia announces the arrest of Prince al-Waleed bin Talal on charges of moral degeneracy and corruption. The prince is one of the largest individual Saudi investors in U.S. assets and was a major part of the pro-western bloc of the Saudi royal family. No word from the prince has been heard since his arrest.</i>
The two men nailed the last boards into place. With construction completed they broke out a can of paint and put on a first coat. John said, "As cool as it is tonight this paint won't be dry before the morning. We'll have to finish it up tomorrow. It's nearly supper time so why don't we call it a night?" His father agreed and with that they cleaned their brushes and headed to the house.
Inside they found Lisa and Heather putting supper on the table. Ann, Melinda and Brittany came in from the greenhouse where they'd been filling seed flats. They all sat to the table but John noticed Luke was missing and inquired as to his whereabouts. "Sally Starling called a little while ago. Her daughter Judy has some sort of fast spreading red rash." Lisa said, "It sounded like an allergic reaction so Luke said he'd come over and take a look at it since the clinic won't be open before Monday. Said he wanted to talk to Rick anyway so he might as well go."
John grinned at her and asked, "He's not going to buy Rick's pigs too is he?"
Lisa laughed, "No, I think he'd be completely at sea with pigs. At least cows he knows a little something about."
The family said grace and began their meal. John noticed that Lisa and Heather spoke very little to each other through the meal and there seemed to be some tension between the mother and daughter. Since neither brought up the matter he did not inquire. Supper passed quietly and when it was finished Heather began to gather the dishes. Ann asked, "Do you two need some help with cleanup or can we finish with the seed flats?"
"Actually Ann," Lisa replied, "if it's not inconvenient, I'd like to talk to you. Girl to girl like."
Ann said, "OK. It's warmer in here anyway. Britt, you want to work on your school work?"
John asked, "Who's turn is it to milk the cow this evening?"
Melinda replied, "It's mine daddy. Miss Ellie and Aunt Lisa gave us all lessons this morning and I've got first go at her tonight."
"Well, I'm going to give you a break this evening which maybe you can use to work on your school work with Brittany. I'm itching to see if I can remember how to milk a cow myself so I'll do the milking tonight" He grinned, "I may need Aunt Lisa to come and give me lessons too. It's been more than thirty years since I've milked a cow."
John stood and filled a small pail with hot soapy water, gathered up the milk pail, put on his hat and coat and went out to the barn. The females began to gather up the supper dishes and Robert went to his room. In the barn John carefully washed Dandelion's bag and dried her with a clean cloth. He situated himself on the low stool that he'd cut down for the work and tried to recall the necessary technique. His back was stiff and he grunted to himself, "This will be a damn sight easier when we get that stand and stanchion in here. No wonder young girls always did this kind of work, they're more limber!"
Dandelion stood patiently munching on her oats as John fumbled underneath eventually getting the first squirts of milk into the bucket. The old pattern began to come back to him and he gradually smoothed and speeded his milking so that the bucket began to fill. Forty five minutes later she was finished so he wiped off her bag, covered the pail, put on his coat and headed back to the house. He stopped by the gate to pick up on the mail on the way in so he walked up to the front door instead of going in the kitchen. On the porch he found his father with the insulated coffee jug and a bottle of whiskey. Inside he could hear voices, some sounding angry, some plaintive.
"Dad, it's forty five degrees out here. Kind of cool to be sitting on the porch isn't it?" He asked his father.
Robert took a sip of his coffee and said, "Too torrid inside tonight. More comfortable on the porch."
John shook his head and went into the house. He could hear raised voices coming from the kitchen.
"Melinda! How could you?! That was none of your business!" Ann's voice echoed through the house.
"She's Heather's friend, Ann! She was just trying to help keep her out of trouble!" Lisa's said angrily.
John slowed as he approached the door into the kitchen unsure whether he should venture further, but then wondered what he was going to do with the bucket of warm milk in his hand. He went forward and opened the door.
A wave of heated female voices washed over him - "MOM! I know what I'm doing!"
"Shut up Heather! You wait until your father finds out about this!"
"You two have been hiding this from me for days! I thought I was your friend!"
"Lisa, it's none of her business!"
"She was only trying to help!"
"I'm fourteen! I know what I'm doing!"
"You're not old enough for that! Where did you get them!"
"From the clinic! You told me about them!"
"I didn't tell you to GET them!"
"You both hate me!"
"We were just trying to keep from hurting you Brittany!"
"You shouldn't have been telling ANYONE about it! You shouldn't have been DOING it in the first place!"
"I was careful! You told me what to do!"
"You were being stupid! I was trying to help you!"
No one took notice of him at all.
The man stood for a moment unsure of how to proceed. Brittany, Heather, and Melinda were in tears and everyone was red in the face. Finally, he decided to cross the kitchen and put the milk pail on the counter next to the sink for straining. He edged past the table they were all standing around and put the bucket down with a loud "thunk." No one noticed.
Free of the pail he turned towards the feuding females and cleared his throat. No one noticed.
He did it again, louder.
Still no one noticed.
"Excuse me" he said. The argument raged.
His patience gave out. "QUIET!" he shouted.
The heads of all five females turned towards him like the turrets of tanks.
"Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"NO!!!" came five voices speaking as one.
-- -- -- -- --
John poured himself a cup of coffee and took an appreciative sip. "So, dad" he said, "ever tried your hand at cheese making before? Looks like we've got the raw material. Got have something to do with all that milk." He took another sip of coffee then poured in a measure of whisky.
"No, can't say that I have," came the laconic reply, "but the ways things are going tonight that bucket you just took into the house may curdle up all by itself."
The two men sat on the porch gazing at the stars over the trees. Presently Luke hove into sight and came through the gate. He stared at the two men on the porch and said, "It's got to be close to forty degrees out here. Why are you sitting on the porch?"
John quirked an eyebrow at him and said, "Well doc, it's like this. A prudent man will know that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."
"Care for a cup of joe?"
Last edited:
So both bills have passed. ACK! "Streamlined Justice" bill and "Dollar Devaluation" bill. This isn't going to get pretty!
Glad to see that John can still milk a cow after 30 years.
OH! But Heater is SO busted! Her Mom knows now. I knew what Heather was looking for the other day ... now I really know because she "got them from the clinic". Yep, Heather's been dancin' in the sheets ... er ... hay that is. I wonder how all this will pan out?
Thanks, Alan, for another terrific installment!
Glad to see that John can still milk a cow after 30 years.
OH! But Heater is SO busted! Her Mom knows now. I knew what Heather was looking for the other day ... now I really know because she "got them from the clinic". Yep, Heather's been dancin' in the sheets ... er ... hay that is. I wonder how all this will pan out?
Thanks, Alan, for another terrific installment!
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Alan THAT was written by a man who has CLEARLY walked into one or two conversations in which he THOUGHT he had skin in the game and had found out that this is not the case.
BEEN THERE...
Went and got a drink myself...
C
BEEN THERE...
Went and got a drink myself...
C
grannyclampett
Inactive
Wow.
Just a thought
Inactive
Great story Alan!!! It just gets better as it goes on!!! Please don't end it too quickly!!!! The withdrawals could be devastating!!!
Sammy55
Veteran Member
Chapulin-
I agree with the "hint, hint", BUT I almost had a heart attack!! I was SO EXCITED because Alan had written another chapter and I couldn't hardly even wait for the computer to finish loading up the next phase of the "addiction"! Then, my hopes were dashed!! It was only a few comments.........no more Alan chapter, yet.
But I'll add my hint, hint to yours.
Alan- I'm hooked. Don't stop!! My hubby is still wondering why I find your book so fascinating that I literally RUN to the computer when I get home (and he only gets a quick kiss!)
I have pasted all of the chapters onto our computer for him to read whenever. He hasn't yet. Wouldn't you think he'd want to know what has me so fascinated!! His loss!!
I agree with the "hint, hint", BUT I almost had a heart attack!! I was SO EXCITED because Alan had written another chapter and I couldn't hardly even wait for the computer to finish loading up the next phase of the "addiction"! Then, my hopes were dashed!! It was only a few comments.........no more Alan chapter, yet.
But I'll add my hint, hint to yours.
Alan- I'm hooked. Don't stop!! My hubby is still wondering why I find your book so fascinating that I literally RUN to the computer when I get home (and he only gets a quick kiss!)
I have pasted all of the chapters onto our computer for him to read whenever. He hasn't yet. Wouldn't you think he'd want to know what has me so fascinated!!
His loss!!This is the 16,450th view and 273rd post.
Sixteen thousand four hudred fifty views.
Not bad for a board with 1,800+ registered members - that'd mean that the views work out to just over nine per member.
Hey A.T., I think you've got a winner in the works here...
oO
Sixteen thousand four hudred fifty views.
Not bad for a board with 1,800+ registered members - that'd mean that the views work out to just over nine per member.
Hey A.T., I think you've got a winner in the works here...
oO
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
November 02, 2002 - Jack Frost
The bus pulled up in front of the Horne farm with a belch of wood smoke and a sigh of brakes. Ann stepped down and behind her came an older man in a blanket lined denim coat then a younger man in a bright yellow Goretex jacket. John met them at the gate, gave his wife a welcome-home kiss then turned to the two men. He stuck his hand out to the older one and said, "Howdy Dr. Martin. Good to see you again."
The man shook hands and then turned towards the younger man and said, "This is Adam Kincaid. He's Nick Smith's graduate assistant come out to check on the wheat and oat plantings you put in for him. Nick's been feeling a little puny these last few days."
John shook his hand as well and said, "Y'all come into the house, supper's about ready. We had a hog butcherin' yesterday so the girl's have made up a mighty pot of pork stew and corn bread tonight."
As they stepped up on to the porch Dr. Martin said, "Well, it's been good weather for butchering with the snow this week. Ann's been telling me about your homestead. Have you found pasturing the hogs makes a difference in your feed cost?"
"Yes," John replied, "Most definitely. Might not work for a large operation but for the two we raise every year putting them on pasture saves me about fifteen to twenty percent on feed and makes a major difference in the taste of the meat. Needed to get them put away though since they'd be burning calories to stay warm rather than putting on weight with the weather being the way it is."
They entered the house and the men put down their overnight bags. John asked, "Will y'all be staying the weekend like last time?"
Dr. Mitchell Martin, forage specialist for the University of Florida, replied, "No, not this time. We'll get out early and make our measurements and recordings then the bus will be back for us about noon. We've got three more test areas besides yours to work this weekend and that blizzard freezing Texas at the moment is expected to reach here by Sunday sometime. Houston's received six inches of snow already. If we get half that we won't be able to make many of our measurements so we're going to have to hit it at a run."
"Well, I hope you'll at least stay for lunch then. Heather's got a veritable cauldron of pintos slow cooking on the woodstove."
Dr. Martin nodded and he and Adam smiled the he said, "Well, we wouldn't want to miss out on that. Do you breed your own hogs or buy feeder pigs?"
"No," John replied, "we've always bought feeders. With our present circumstances it might not be a bad idea to breed our own but the two we butchered were both castrated males so we'd have to come up with breeding stock from somewhere else. The only thing we breed here are goats and chickens."
Lisa stuck her head out the kitchen door and said, "Everyone come to the table. Dinner is ready."
Ann smiled, "There's nothing like coming home from a cold day at work to a hot meal!"
John frowned at this and asked, "Aren't they heating the buildings on campus?"
His wife replied, "In a manner of speaking. Fuel is still so short that there's a mandatory 68 degree maximum for office areas and don't even think about bringing in your own electric heater. That might be OK for some but the old buildings we're in leak heat badly. I'm taking my wool socks and leggings with me come Monday."
As everyone sat to the table Adam said, "That's a good idea. It's going to be cold this winter. The NOAA reports I receive predict we'll very likely go below zero at least down to Ocala sometime in December or January. There's going to be a serious crisis in heating oil this winter in the northern states, maybe natural gas as well. They may have to reduce the maximum heating temperature even more before it's over. I've been toying with the idea of building a stove to burn old journals to heat the lab."
Dr. Martin chuckled, "Well there's a thought. Got enough old paper down in the basement to heat our building for the next couple of years I think."
John gave the grace then Lisa began passing around the cornbread as Heather ladled out the stew. No one spoke much at first except for Adam who said, "This is very good! It's been months since I've had a home cooked meal."
Heather, Lisa, Melinda, and Brittany all smiled at this and Lisa said, "Thank you. We're glad you like it."
Adam continued, "I never was much of a cook, I'm afraid. When you're a grad student there never seems to be enough time to cook a full meal anyways. I have to wait to go home… I mean I had to wait to go home for real food."
Melinda asked, "Where are you from Adam?"
A troubled look crossed the young man's face. "Baltimore."
"Oh." Melinda replied, "I see." and looked down.
Conversation lagged for a time then John asked, "Adam, you said you get weather reports form NOAA. What are they predicting is going to happen this winter? According to my almanac our average first frost date isn't even for another two days yet and we've had an ice storm and snow already."
Adam looked at Dr. Martin as if to give him the first response. The older man buttered another piece of corn bread and spoke. "To be honest, no one seems to be very sure exactly what's going to happen this winter or the following winters for that matter. Adam, your wife, and I were part of a group from the University that participated in a teleconference this week for agricultural specialists put on by NOAA, NASA and the Geological Survey."
He took a swallow of his coffee and continued, "Mind you, this isn't my field but if Adam or Ann will correct any of my errors what they told us is this. They expect the temperate agricultural zones of at least the Northern Hemisphere to shift further to the south. It's not clear yet how large of a shift is coming but judging from the weather we've received already it's going to be fairly large - at least for this winter. I wouldn't be surprised if the state's citrus belt and other semi-tropical plantings don't end up moving as far south as Miami, maybe even out of Florida altogether. We've already lost an average of our last thirty days of growing season here which caught a good deal of fruit still on the trees. They've been trying to harvest the last of the wheat and corn crops in the northern Grain Belt states in blowing snow. With the tremendous amount of late season rain followed by chronic fuel shortages for agricultural use the late hay cuttings were largely lost. This is partially offset by the draw down in the national livestock population to go to immediate food needs. Efforts are being made to bring in more feed and forage from the Midwest and it has been arriving steadily for the last several weeks which will allow those caught unprepared to at least keep their breeding stock alive."
John nodded and said to his father, "We ought to investigate that. Near as I can tell the feed and hay we got from Ed for the cow will run out in late March. If it stays cold longer than normal next year we're not going to have enough for her and maybe not the goats either."
The forage man said, "That might be a good thing because the long-range weather specialists are telling us from the preliminary data they're getting now we may get frost until late April, maybe even into May, which puts it a good month or more past our usual frost date. Better be ready for sticker shock when you see the prices though, I imagine any halfway decent hay will go for more than $10.00 a bale - a square bale - even with government price controls. That's right now. By mid-winter you probably won't find for sale at all."
John winced and shook his head, "Well, that'll certainly hurt. I'll check it out first thing on Monday. Maybe I can talk Ed out of a bit more of his. We'll just have to get all of the mileage we can get out of winter grazing if we can't come up with more forage. Surely at least the rye will grow some more."
Robert asked, "How low do they think we'll get this year and will it be the same next year?"
Dr. Martin said, "It's hard to say. The Gulf of Mexico plays a large role in our weather here and it will give up a lot of heat in the cold times. Should moderate our land temperatures somewhat so maybe we won't see it go much below zero. The more continental interior parts of the country are going to see it really plunge. From about North Georgia up it's going to get cold and stay cold for a long time." He took a bit of his cornbread so the rest of the table digested what he'd told them.
Lisa asked, "Is this going to lower the global temperature? Could it cause an ice age?"
Ann spoke up and said, "They don't know. The question was raised several times during the teleconference but what they really said was 'we don't know.' The do think next year will be cooler than this year was before the Impact but no one is sure if it correct itself the year following or if it will self-perpetuate. Some of the data they've found is showing similarities to Little Ice Age that happened in the Renaissance period which didn't end until the mid-nineteenth century."
"Well," John said, "it's for sure the Impact did put thousands of megatons of water into the atmosphere. We got six feet of rain here before the clouds broke for the first time and I'd be willing to bet the higher elevations got their share of it as well. I don't know how moisture travels across the poles but a lot of it may have fallen as snow there too. I really don't know much about how these things work but I wouldn't think the Impact by itself could lower the ocean levels significantly but if it was the genesis of some sort of self-perpetuating cycle it might could cause so much water to be taken up into polar ice and glaciers that sea level drops. During the last Ice Age the width of the Florida peninsula was more than twice as wide as it is now. Open bodies of water would be fewer and the climate cooler and drier. More than a year or two of that and the Grain Belt is going to over run the Cotton Belt."
Ann looked at her husband and asked, "How do you know that? Is it in one of your books?"
He shook his head, "No, as a matter of fact, I had a long talk with an archeologist from the University specializing in Florida archeology. Do you remember when we took Mel to that Knap-In at Payne's Prairie last year where all those flint knappers were? He was the one with the display of mastadon and saber tooth tiger bones. Of course, some of what he said was only conjecture but he thinks it would be pretty close. This would have been during the height of the Ice Age when most of the northern third of the U.S. was under the ice sheet. He said the Earth went through several periods where it cooled or warmed causing the ice sheets to retreat or advance. During the warming periods the ice withdrew and tremendous amounts of cold water flowed down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. Eventually there would be so much cold water flowing south that it stopped the Gulf Stream. Overall temperatures would begin to drop again, the ice would build up, less cold water flowed south and the Gulf Stream would restart. There's much to that cycle they're not sure of but he was pretty sure when enough cold melt water ran off the ice sheets it would stop the Gulf Stream."
Lisa looked mildly alarmed at this, "But what causes that cycle to stop?"
John looked at Dr. Martin and Adam. He shrugged, "I don't know. They're not sure what caused the last one to stop."
The bus pulled up in front of the Horne farm with a belch of wood smoke and a sigh of brakes. Ann stepped down and behind her came an older man in a blanket lined denim coat then a younger man in a bright yellow Goretex jacket. John met them at the gate, gave his wife a welcome-home kiss then turned to the two men. He stuck his hand out to the older one and said, "Howdy Dr. Martin. Good to see you again."
The man shook hands and then turned towards the younger man and said, "This is Adam Kincaid. He's Nick Smith's graduate assistant come out to check on the wheat and oat plantings you put in for him. Nick's been feeling a little puny these last few days."
John shook his hand as well and said, "Y'all come into the house, supper's about ready. We had a hog butcherin' yesterday so the girl's have made up a mighty pot of pork stew and corn bread tonight."
As they stepped up on to the porch Dr. Martin said, "Well, it's been good weather for butchering with the snow this week. Ann's been telling me about your homestead. Have you found pasturing the hogs makes a difference in your feed cost?"
"Yes," John replied, "Most definitely. Might not work for a large operation but for the two we raise every year putting them on pasture saves me about fifteen to twenty percent on feed and makes a major difference in the taste of the meat. Needed to get them put away though since they'd be burning calories to stay warm rather than putting on weight with the weather being the way it is."
They entered the house and the men put down their overnight bags. John asked, "Will y'all be staying the weekend like last time?"
Dr. Mitchell Martin, forage specialist for the University of Florida, replied, "No, not this time. We'll get out early and make our measurements and recordings then the bus will be back for us about noon. We've got three more test areas besides yours to work this weekend and that blizzard freezing Texas at the moment is expected to reach here by Sunday sometime. Houston's received six inches of snow already. If we get half that we won't be able to make many of our measurements so we're going to have to hit it at a run."
"Well, I hope you'll at least stay for lunch then. Heather's got a veritable cauldron of pintos slow cooking on the woodstove."
Dr. Martin nodded and he and Adam smiled the he said, "Well, we wouldn't want to miss out on that. Do you breed your own hogs or buy feeder pigs?"
"No," John replied, "we've always bought feeders. With our present circumstances it might not be a bad idea to breed our own but the two we butchered were both castrated males so we'd have to come up with breeding stock from somewhere else. The only thing we breed here are goats and chickens."
Lisa stuck her head out the kitchen door and said, "Everyone come to the table. Dinner is ready."
Ann smiled, "There's nothing like coming home from a cold day at work to a hot meal!"
John frowned at this and asked, "Aren't they heating the buildings on campus?"
His wife replied, "In a manner of speaking. Fuel is still so short that there's a mandatory 68 degree maximum for office areas and don't even think about bringing in your own electric heater. That might be OK for some but the old buildings we're in leak heat badly. I'm taking my wool socks and leggings with me come Monday."
As everyone sat to the table Adam said, "That's a good idea. It's going to be cold this winter. The NOAA reports I receive predict we'll very likely go below zero at least down to Ocala sometime in December or January. There's going to be a serious crisis in heating oil this winter in the northern states, maybe natural gas as well. They may have to reduce the maximum heating temperature even more before it's over. I've been toying with the idea of building a stove to burn old journals to heat the lab."
Dr. Martin chuckled, "Well there's a thought. Got enough old paper down in the basement to heat our building for the next couple of years I think."
John gave the grace then Lisa began passing around the cornbread as Heather ladled out the stew. No one spoke much at first except for Adam who said, "This is very good! It's been months since I've had a home cooked meal."
Heather, Lisa, Melinda, and Brittany all smiled at this and Lisa said, "Thank you. We're glad you like it."
Adam continued, "I never was much of a cook, I'm afraid. When you're a grad student there never seems to be enough time to cook a full meal anyways. I have to wait to go home… I mean I had to wait to go home for real food."
Melinda asked, "Where are you from Adam?"
A troubled look crossed the young man's face. "Baltimore."
"Oh." Melinda replied, "I see." and looked down.
Conversation lagged for a time then John asked, "Adam, you said you get weather reports form NOAA. What are they predicting is going to happen this winter? According to my almanac our average first frost date isn't even for another two days yet and we've had an ice storm and snow already."
Adam looked at Dr. Martin as if to give him the first response. The older man buttered another piece of corn bread and spoke. "To be honest, no one seems to be very sure exactly what's going to happen this winter or the following winters for that matter. Adam, your wife, and I were part of a group from the University that participated in a teleconference this week for agricultural specialists put on by NOAA, NASA and the Geological Survey."
He took a swallow of his coffee and continued, "Mind you, this isn't my field but if Adam or Ann will correct any of my errors what they told us is this. They expect the temperate agricultural zones of at least the Northern Hemisphere to shift further to the south. It's not clear yet how large of a shift is coming but judging from the weather we've received already it's going to be fairly large - at least for this winter. I wouldn't be surprised if the state's citrus belt and other semi-tropical plantings don't end up moving as far south as Miami, maybe even out of Florida altogether. We've already lost an average of our last thirty days of growing season here which caught a good deal of fruit still on the trees. They've been trying to harvest the last of the wheat and corn crops in the northern Grain Belt states in blowing snow. With the tremendous amount of late season rain followed by chronic fuel shortages for agricultural use the late hay cuttings were largely lost. This is partially offset by the draw down in the national livestock population to go to immediate food needs. Efforts are being made to bring in more feed and forage from the Midwest and it has been arriving steadily for the last several weeks which will allow those caught unprepared to at least keep their breeding stock alive."
John nodded and said to his father, "We ought to investigate that. Near as I can tell the feed and hay we got from Ed for the cow will run out in late March. If it stays cold longer than normal next year we're not going to have enough for her and maybe not the goats either."
The forage man said, "That might be a good thing because the long-range weather specialists are telling us from the preliminary data they're getting now we may get frost until late April, maybe even into May, which puts it a good month or more past our usual frost date. Better be ready for sticker shock when you see the prices though, I imagine any halfway decent hay will go for more than $10.00 a bale - a square bale - even with government price controls. That's right now. By mid-winter you probably won't find for sale at all."
John winced and shook his head, "Well, that'll certainly hurt. I'll check it out first thing on Monday. Maybe I can talk Ed out of a bit more of his. We'll just have to get all of the mileage we can get out of winter grazing if we can't come up with more forage. Surely at least the rye will grow some more."
Robert asked, "How low do they think we'll get this year and will it be the same next year?"
Dr. Martin said, "It's hard to say. The Gulf of Mexico plays a large role in our weather here and it will give up a lot of heat in the cold times. Should moderate our land temperatures somewhat so maybe we won't see it go much below zero. The more continental interior parts of the country are going to see it really plunge. From about North Georgia up it's going to get cold and stay cold for a long time." He took a bit of his cornbread so the rest of the table digested what he'd told them.
Lisa asked, "Is this going to lower the global temperature? Could it cause an ice age?"
Ann spoke up and said, "They don't know. The question was raised several times during the teleconference but what they really said was 'we don't know.' The do think next year will be cooler than this year was before the Impact but no one is sure if it correct itself the year following or if it will self-perpetuate. Some of the data they've found is showing similarities to Little Ice Age that happened in the Renaissance period which didn't end until the mid-nineteenth century."
"Well," John said, "it's for sure the Impact did put thousands of megatons of water into the atmosphere. We got six feet of rain here before the clouds broke for the first time and I'd be willing to bet the higher elevations got their share of it as well. I don't know how moisture travels across the poles but a lot of it may have fallen as snow there too. I really don't know much about how these things work but I wouldn't think the Impact by itself could lower the ocean levels significantly but if it was the genesis of some sort of self-perpetuating cycle it might could cause so much water to be taken up into polar ice and glaciers that sea level drops. During the last Ice Age the width of the Florida peninsula was more than twice as wide as it is now. Open bodies of water would be fewer and the climate cooler and drier. More than a year or two of that and the Grain Belt is going to over run the Cotton Belt."
Ann looked at her husband and asked, "How do you know that? Is it in one of your books?"
He shook his head, "No, as a matter of fact, I had a long talk with an archeologist from the University specializing in Florida archeology. Do you remember when we took Mel to that Knap-In at Payne's Prairie last year where all those flint knappers were? He was the one with the display of mastadon and saber tooth tiger bones. Of course, some of what he said was only conjecture but he thinks it would be pretty close. This would have been during the height of the Ice Age when most of the northern third of the U.S. was under the ice sheet. He said the Earth went through several periods where it cooled or warmed causing the ice sheets to retreat or advance. During the warming periods the ice withdrew and tremendous amounts of cold water flowed down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. Eventually there would be so much cold water flowing south that it stopped the Gulf Stream. Overall temperatures would begin to drop again, the ice would build up, less cold water flowed south and the Gulf Stream would restart. There's much to that cycle they're not sure of but he was pretty sure when enough cold melt water ran off the ice sheets it would stop the Gulf Stream."
Lisa looked mildly alarmed at this, "But what causes that cycle to stop?"
John looked at Dr. Martin and Adam. He shrugged, "I don't know. They're not sure what caused the last one to stop."
N
n4zhg
Guest
Re: October 17, 2002 - Natural Events
Now that I am officially on-line, I'll repeat the comments here I have made elsewhere with regard to this particular part of the story.
To quote a character by another author in another universe: "Some men need to be hit with a brick. Some men need a <B>BIG</B> brick."
:sb:
Bonus points for naming author and book (and no fair for the people who already were told by me chiming in for a while).
A.T.Hagan said:
Now that I am officially on-line, I'll repeat the comments here I have made elsewhere with regard to this particular part of the story.
To quote a character by another author in another universe: "Some men need to be hit with a brick. Some men need a <B>BIG</B> brick."
:sb:
Bonus points for naming author and book (and no fair for the people who already were told by me chiming in for a while).
GREYGHOSTt
Contributing Member
BTTT
I suppose we shall have to wait and see. I am still on the edge of my seat!
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
November 27, 2002 – Anticipation
“Thomas Turkey, you have been found guilty of the crime of being in good taste and have been condemned by the court of public appeal. Sentence will now be carried out. Domino nabisco, et tu oreo!” The axe whistled slightly as it fell and struck home with a solid “thunk” into the wood stump. The bound decapitated bird thrashed momentarily on the floor of the barn and was still.
“Daddy, you are so strange.” Melinda said screwing up her face at her father. “You do this every year.”
John grinned at his daughter and winked at her, “Sure do Mel! Just something to lighten up an otherwise somber occasion. Young Master Thomas here has declined to object though. Run and see if grandpa’s got the water ready yet.”
“Weird, daddy, weird. You’re going to give me a complex or something.” She said as she skipped out the door into the barn yard where her grandfather was firing a large pot of water. “Grandpa, daddy’s killed the turkey and wants to know if the water’s ready yet?”
The older man took the lid off of the pot and looked in. “Tell him to bring it out. It’s hot enough.”
The girl skipped back into the barn and soon came back out with her father and the bird. “Daddy, do I really have to help pluck? It smells so gross when you put the bird in the water.”
“You enjoyed last year’s turkey didn’t you? Well, we can’t cook a bird with its feathers still on so pluck we must. You’re old enough now to start participating in the process. I want you to understand where your food comes from and this is just a part of it. Now stop stalling. Run and get Heather and Brittany. By the time you’re all back the bird will be out of the water.”
His daughter wrinkled up her nose but said “Yes sir” then ran into the house to fetch the other girls. Presently they all three returned accompanied by Lisa. She asked, “Do you want me to assist?”
John looked at her for a moment then grinned, “Ever plucked a turkey or a chicken before?”
She gave a sickly smile and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact. Dad kept hens and raised a half a dozen turkeys every year. Butchering day was a family affair.”
“Well then, I reckon you’ve seen the elephant, or should I say the turkey, and may be excused. Come girls, he should be cool enough to start plucking. The feather’s come out easier while he’s still hot.”
Brittany wrinkled her nose and said “Eww! He stinks! Are we gonna eat that? It looks disgusting!”
Robert chuckled and said, “He won’t smell like that when Ann takes him out of the oven! Just think about how good he’ll taste tomorrow.”
Heather looked pale and said, “Mom, if I don’t eat any turkey tomorrow do I still have to help pluck? That smell is awful.”
Lisa laughed, “I tried that same approach with your grandfather. The first time he actually let me get out of plucking. But he held me to not eating turkey the next day too, no matter how much I wailed. Just breathe through your mouth and start plucking. This is all part of the country experience, dear heart, and like Uncle John said this morning it’s important to know where your food comes from and how it got on to your plate. I survived and you will too. Like Grandpa Robert said, just think about how good it’ll taste tomorrow.”
John hung the bird by the feet from the cross arm of a post and started pulling feathers. After a moment’s hesitation Melinda joined him. Brittany and Heather hung back but with a gentle nudge from Lisa they stepped forward and started in as well. With four sets of hands working the bird was soon denuded. Robert loosely rolled up some newspaper and lit it on fire. Passing the flame over the carcass he singed off the small hairs and remaining pin feathers that were left.
“Now that Mr. Tom here has been shucked out of his suit”, Robert said, “we’ll hang him the workshop overnight so he won’t freeze to age a bit then gut him out in the morning.”
Heather raised an eyebrow at this and said, “You’re going to leave the guts in all night? Gross!”
John laughed and said, “It’s an old practice darling. Been done for centuries. Makes a big difference in the flavor. Don’t worry, the meat won’t spoil.” With that he poured out the water to quench the fire then took the pot over to the hose to wash it out. “Usually we butcher out a few old hens too since we’ve got the pot set up but I decided to take it easy on you three, being your first time and all. Next week we’ll butcher chickens. Nothing like an old hen to make the best chicken and dumplings you’ve ever tasted.”
The girls took the news with an evident lack of glee but no one protested. With the pot clean John hung it on the post to dry then unscrewed the hose from the tap, drained it, and covered the spigot. “Well now that we’re done with that, let’s go in the house! My hands are freezing from the water. This is the coldest weather I’ve ever plucked birds in.” The family walked into the house. As they passed the porch thermometer it read twenty one degrees.
Inside they warmed their hands over the wood stove then the females went into the kitchen to begin working on the midday meal. Robert asked his son, “When do you want to do the rest of the turkeys? Might as well get them into the freezer. They’re plenty big enough now. Don’t see much point in continuing feeding them.”
John picked up the poker, opened the stove door and stirred the fire before adding another log. As he put the tool back in its stand he said, “Reckon we can go ahead and do the other two bronze birds next week when we do the cull hens. We’ll do the bourbon red hen with the gimpy wing too. I don’t know if that’s congenital or not but no sense in passing on bad genes if it is. I want to conserve the rest of the bourbon reds and breed them next year. With five hens and two toms we’ve got the start of a good flock. If we cull ruthlessly we should weed out any bad genes fast enough.”
His father considered this for a moment then asked, “You want to start breeding turkeys?”
“Well dad,” John rubbed the back of his neck, “I think we probably should. We’ve always ordered from McMurray, or Privett, or Ideal but I don’t know if they even still exist now and if they do if they’ll still be able to ship birds next Spring. I’d hate to butcher what potential breeding stock we have now only to discover we can’t get any more poults or chicks. Besides, we know feed’s going to be expensive for at least the next several years. Turkey’s are a lot more efficient at living off of what they can forage than a chicken. Probably be a better idea to use them for meat birds and just keep chickens for eggs, aside from surplus roosters and cull hens. If we have any luck with them by this time next year we could have quite a flock of bourbon red turkeys ready for market and I think they’ll sell big. Acorn crop was sparse this year so next year’s crop ought to be good and we know turkeys get fat on acorns. I’d breed the broad breasted bronze birds too but they’re hybrids and we don’t have a large enough gene pool to fool with all the weeding we’d have to do.”
Robert nodded his head, “Makes sense. Come January we’d better separate out what chickens we want to breed and pen them up separately. We could probably triple the number of hens we’ve got if that old incubator still works. We’ll need to pull it out and check it over. It’s going to need a good cleaning and a coat of paint at least. If the thermostat wafer is bad we’ll have to scare up a replacement from somewhere. I seem to recall the one that’s in it now is the spare we bought when we got it.”
“I expect Bill over to the feed store will have one.” John said, “He’s always had wafers and some of the other common incubator parts that need to be replaced. Never seem to sell many of them but you know the moment I express an interest he’ll want a pretty price. Even if the one that’s in there now works we’d best have a spare on hand otherwise we could lose an entire hatch if it goes bad.”
John looked at the clock on the desk then walked over and turned on the radio. Classical music filled the room for a few minutes then gave way to the news. After a moment’s introduction they began -
<i>The weather heading into the Thanksgiving holiday is predicted to warm steadily through the weekend. Today’s high will be thirty degrees, tonight’s low will be eighteen degrees. The Severe Freeze warning of the last three days continues. Predicted highs for Thanksgiving is thirty eight degrees and forty four degrees for Friday. Skies will remain cloudless with no chance of precipitation for today and Thanksgiving. The Ultraviolet Warning remains in affect and all persons outside are reminded to wear long sleeves, broad brimmed hats or use a sunscreen of at least SPF 15 or higher.
In local news Gainesville Regional Utilities reports a steadily improving flow of coal deliveries to its Deerhaven plant which will enable them to increase the daily electricity ration to twelve hours a day for most areas. A spokesman for the utility stated that if deliveries continue to increase at their present rate that twenty four hour electricity availability should arrive by Christmas. Utility authorities remind all consumers that the sixty eight degree heating maximum ordinance is still in effect and that anyone found to be using electrically dependent heating at temperatures in excess of sixty eight degrees will be fined. Fines increase steeply with repeated offenses. Exemptions for reasons of medical necessity may be obtained at the Gainesville city hall or the Alachua county commission offices.
The Feed The Hungry coalition of the Salvation Army, United Way, and local area churches will be holding a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at two p.m. at the Alachua County fairgrounds and at Florida Field on the university campus. All who are in need and hungry this holiday are invited to attend. Donations of food, clothing, blankets, or cash will be gladly accepted.
In Tallahassee Governor Jeb Bush released a statement today authorizing counties to institute public executions of condemned felons at the discretion of local county commissions. He is quoted as saying, “The wave of violence and lawlessness that has afflicted our great state since the Impact must be stopped. Let all who are considering preying upon their fellow man take heed if they want to keep their neck out of a noose. The People of Florida will not tolerate being victimized any longer.” A motion to institute the practice here in Alachua county is expected at the county commission meeting on Monday, December second. Several groups in favor of and against public executions are expected to be in force at the meeting. Classic Eighty Eight will be providing live coverage.
On the national scene President George Bush signed the “Dollar Revaluation” bill into law this morning in a ceremony in the new presidential office in Denver. Starting Monday, December 2, 2002 all U.S. paper currency issued before August 1, 2002 must be surrendered at any bank or other qualified institution. In exchange, new U.S. dollars will be issued at an exchange rate of ten to one and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. This is being done in order to allow the U.S. banking system to become functional again which will allow U.S. banks to reopen on Monday, January sixth after the exchange period ends on Friday, January third. Any old U.S. currency still in circulation after January third, 2002 will become null and void...</i>
John let out a long sigh. “Well, we knew it was going to happen but that doesn’t make it any easier when the axe finally falls. You can bet that every international holder of U.S. currency or U.S. debt is having a calf just now – breech presentation. Of course, anyone still holding U.S. dollars overseas by now must have been in a coma. This is probably going to start a wave of repercussions that will reflect back and forth for the next ten years. Local prices are going to be all over the map for a while I’d bet. Before the Impact we were selling eggs for a $1.50 a dozen. Now we’d have to sell them for fifteen cents. Last I looked at the Archer market Mrs. Landsley was selling her eggs for $4.00 a dozen and said she’d probably be raising prices again soon. I wonder how she’ll price them come January?
Robert took a deep sip of the coffee that Brittany had just brought him. “Well, they had to do something. It’s not the first time the government’s clipped a zero off the dollar to try to bail out the national banking system. I haven’t had a Social Security check come since Impact. There’s got to be millions across the country like me – the ones that are still alive that is. I expect quite a lot of us old folks won’t make it through the winter. The more desperate the situation becomes the more desperate the government’s going to act.
<i>Rioting in the major cities of Brazil is still wide spread after last week’s military coup. In spite of repeated attempts to restore order by the Brazilian Army rioters still control major parts of Brasilia, Sao Paola, and Rio de Janeiro with the entire nation being in a state of martial law. Disorder has now crossed the border into Uruguay with fighting breaking out in the capital of Montevideo.
In a statement today by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld it was announced that the last of the U.S. troops and supplies in Saudi Arabia have been removed from the increasingly fundamentalist Islamic oil rich nation. U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman are being expanded to take over the roles played by the former U.S. Saudi bases...</i> Heather stuck her head through the door and said, “Soup’s ready. Everyone come to the table.”
John reached out and turned the radio off with a click. “Well, at least that’s something to look forward to.”
“Thomas Turkey, you have been found guilty of the crime of being in good taste and have been condemned by the court of public appeal. Sentence will now be carried out. Domino nabisco, et tu oreo!” The axe whistled slightly as it fell and struck home with a solid “thunk” into the wood stump. The bound decapitated bird thrashed momentarily on the floor of the barn and was still.
“Daddy, you are so strange.” Melinda said screwing up her face at her father. “You do this every year.”
John grinned at his daughter and winked at her, “Sure do Mel! Just something to lighten up an otherwise somber occasion. Young Master Thomas here has declined to object though. Run and see if grandpa’s got the water ready yet.”
“Weird, daddy, weird. You’re going to give me a complex or something.” She said as she skipped out the door into the barn yard where her grandfather was firing a large pot of water. “Grandpa, daddy’s killed the turkey and wants to know if the water’s ready yet?”
The older man took the lid off of the pot and looked in. “Tell him to bring it out. It’s hot enough.”
The girl skipped back into the barn and soon came back out with her father and the bird. “Daddy, do I really have to help pluck? It smells so gross when you put the bird in the water.”
“You enjoyed last year’s turkey didn’t you? Well, we can’t cook a bird with its feathers still on so pluck we must. You’re old enough now to start participating in the process. I want you to understand where your food comes from and this is just a part of it. Now stop stalling. Run and get Heather and Brittany. By the time you’re all back the bird will be out of the water.”
His daughter wrinkled up her nose but said “Yes sir” then ran into the house to fetch the other girls. Presently they all three returned accompanied by Lisa. She asked, “Do you want me to assist?”
John looked at her for a moment then grinned, “Ever plucked a turkey or a chicken before?”
She gave a sickly smile and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact. Dad kept hens and raised a half a dozen turkeys every year. Butchering day was a family affair.”
“Well then, I reckon you’ve seen the elephant, or should I say the turkey, and may be excused. Come girls, he should be cool enough to start plucking. The feather’s come out easier while he’s still hot.”
Brittany wrinkled her nose and said “Eww! He stinks! Are we gonna eat that? It looks disgusting!”
Robert chuckled and said, “He won’t smell like that when Ann takes him out of the oven! Just think about how good he’ll taste tomorrow.”
Heather looked pale and said, “Mom, if I don’t eat any turkey tomorrow do I still have to help pluck? That smell is awful.”
Lisa laughed, “I tried that same approach with your grandfather. The first time he actually let me get out of plucking. But he held me to not eating turkey the next day too, no matter how much I wailed. Just breathe through your mouth and start plucking. This is all part of the country experience, dear heart, and like Uncle John said this morning it’s important to know where your food comes from and how it got on to your plate. I survived and you will too. Like Grandpa Robert said, just think about how good it’ll taste tomorrow.”
John hung the bird by the feet from the cross arm of a post and started pulling feathers. After a moment’s hesitation Melinda joined him. Brittany and Heather hung back but with a gentle nudge from Lisa they stepped forward and started in as well. With four sets of hands working the bird was soon denuded. Robert loosely rolled up some newspaper and lit it on fire. Passing the flame over the carcass he singed off the small hairs and remaining pin feathers that were left.
“Now that Mr. Tom here has been shucked out of his suit”, Robert said, “we’ll hang him the workshop overnight so he won’t freeze to age a bit then gut him out in the morning.”
Heather raised an eyebrow at this and said, “You’re going to leave the guts in all night? Gross!”
John laughed and said, “It’s an old practice darling. Been done for centuries. Makes a big difference in the flavor. Don’t worry, the meat won’t spoil.” With that he poured out the water to quench the fire then took the pot over to the hose to wash it out. “Usually we butcher out a few old hens too since we’ve got the pot set up but I decided to take it easy on you three, being your first time and all. Next week we’ll butcher chickens. Nothing like an old hen to make the best chicken and dumplings you’ve ever tasted.”
The girls took the news with an evident lack of glee but no one protested. With the pot clean John hung it on the post to dry then unscrewed the hose from the tap, drained it, and covered the spigot. “Well now that we’re done with that, let’s go in the house! My hands are freezing from the water. This is the coldest weather I’ve ever plucked birds in.” The family walked into the house. As they passed the porch thermometer it read twenty one degrees.
Inside they warmed their hands over the wood stove then the females went into the kitchen to begin working on the midday meal. Robert asked his son, “When do you want to do the rest of the turkeys? Might as well get them into the freezer. They’re plenty big enough now. Don’t see much point in continuing feeding them.”
John picked up the poker, opened the stove door and stirred the fire before adding another log. As he put the tool back in its stand he said, “Reckon we can go ahead and do the other two bronze birds next week when we do the cull hens. We’ll do the bourbon red hen with the gimpy wing too. I don’t know if that’s congenital or not but no sense in passing on bad genes if it is. I want to conserve the rest of the bourbon reds and breed them next year. With five hens and two toms we’ve got the start of a good flock. If we cull ruthlessly we should weed out any bad genes fast enough.”
His father considered this for a moment then asked, “You want to start breeding turkeys?”
“Well dad,” John rubbed the back of his neck, “I think we probably should. We’ve always ordered from McMurray, or Privett, or Ideal but I don’t know if they even still exist now and if they do if they’ll still be able to ship birds next Spring. I’d hate to butcher what potential breeding stock we have now only to discover we can’t get any more poults or chicks. Besides, we know feed’s going to be expensive for at least the next several years. Turkey’s are a lot more efficient at living off of what they can forage than a chicken. Probably be a better idea to use them for meat birds and just keep chickens for eggs, aside from surplus roosters and cull hens. If we have any luck with them by this time next year we could have quite a flock of bourbon red turkeys ready for market and I think they’ll sell big. Acorn crop was sparse this year so next year’s crop ought to be good and we know turkeys get fat on acorns. I’d breed the broad breasted bronze birds too but they’re hybrids and we don’t have a large enough gene pool to fool with all the weeding we’d have to do.”
Robert nodded his head, “Makes sense. Come January we’d better separate out what chickens we want to breed and pen them up separately. We could probably triple the number of hens we’ve got if that old incubator still works. We’ll need to pull it out and check it over. It’s going to need a good cleaning and a coat of paint at least. If the thermostat wafer is bad we’ll have to scare up a replacement from somewhere. I seem to recall the one that’s in it now is the spare we bought when we got it.”
“I expect Bill over to the feed store will have one.” John said, “He’s always had wafers and some of the other common incubator parts that need to be replaced. Never seem to sell many of them but you know the moment I express an interest he’ll want a pretty price. Even if the one that’s in there now works we’d best have a spare on hand otherwise we could lose an entire hatch if it goes bad.”
John looked at the clock on the desk then walked over and turned on the radio. Classical music filled the room for a few minutes then gave way to the news. After a moment’s introduction they began -
<i>The weather heading into the Thanksgiving holiday is predicted to warm steadily through the weekend. Today’s high will be thirty degrees, tonight’s low will be eighteen degrees. The Severe Freeze warning of the last three days continues. Predicted highs for Thanksgiving is thirty eight degrees and forty four degrees for Friday. Skies will remain cloudless with no chance of precipitation for today and Thanksgiving. The Ultraviolet Warning remains in affect and all persons outside are reminded to wear long sleeves, broad brimmed hats or use a sunscreen of at least SPF 15 or higher.
In local news Gainesville Regional Utilities reports a steadily improving flow of coal deliveries to its Deerhaven plant which will enable them to increase the daily electricity ration to twelve hours a day for most areas. A spokesman for the utility stated that if deliveries continue to increase at their present rate that twenty four hour electricity availability should arrive by Christmas. Utility authorities remind all consumers that the sixty eight degree heating maximum ordinance is still in effect and that anyone found to be using electrically dependent heating at temperatures in excess of sixty eight degrees will be fined. Fines increase steeply with repeated offenses. Exemptions for reasons of medical necessity may be obtained at the Gainesville city hall or the Alachua county commission offices.
The Feed The Hungry coalition of the Salvation Army, United Way, and local area churches will be holding a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at two p.m. at the Alachua County fairgrounds and at Florida Field on the university campus. All who are in need and hungry this holiday are invited to attend. Donations of food, clothing, blankets, or cash will be gladly accepted.
In Tallahassee Governor Jeb Bush released a statement today authorizing counties to institute public executions of condemned felons at the discretion of local county commissions. He is quoted as saying, “The wave of violence and lawlessness that has afflicted our great state since the Impact must be stopped. Let all who are considering preying upon their fellow man take heed if they want to keep their neck out of a noose. The People of Florida will not tolerate being victimized any longer.” A motion to institute the practice here in Alachua county is expected at the county commission meeting on Monday, December second. Several groups in favor of and against public executions are expected to be in force at the meeting. Classic Eighty Eight will be providing live coverage.
On the national scene President George Bush signed the “Dollar Revaluation” bill into law this morning in a ceremony in the new presidential office in Denver. Starting Monday, December 2, 2002 all U.S. paper currency issued before August 1, 2002 must be surrendered at any bank or other qualified institution. In exchange, new U.S. dollars will be issued at an exchange rate of ten to one and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. This is being done in order to allow the U.S. banking system to become functional again which will allow U.S. banks to reopen on Monday, January sixth after the exchange period ends on Friday, January third. Any old U.S. currency still in circulation after January third, 2002 will become null and void...</i>
John let out a long sigh. “Well, we knew it was going to happen but that doesn’t make it any easier when the axe finally falls. You can bet that every international holder of U.S. currency or U.S. debt is having a calf just now – breech presentation. Of course, anyone still holding U.S. dollars overseas by now must have been in a coma. This is probably going to start a wave of repercussions that will reflect back and forth for the next ten years. Local prices are going to be all over the map for a while I’d bet. Before the Impact we were selling eggs for a $1.50 a dozen. Now we’d have to sell them for fifteen cents. Last I looked at the Archer market Mrs. Landsley was selling her eggs for $4.00 a dozen and said she’d probably be raising prices again soon. I wonder how she’ll price them come January?
Robert took a deep sip of the coffee that Brittany had just brought him. “Well, they had to do something. It’s not the first time the government’s clipped a zero off the dollar to try to bail out the national banking system. I haven’t had a Social Security check come since Impact. There’s got to be millions across the country like me – the ones that are still alive that is. I expect quite a lot of us old folks won’t make it through the winter. The more desperate the situation becomes the more desperate the government’s going to act.
<i>Rioting in the major cities of Brazil is still wide spread after last week’s military coup. In spite of repeated attempts to restore order by the Brazilian Army rioters still control major parts of Brasilia, Sao Paola, and Rio de Janeiro with the entire nation being in a state of martial law. Disorder has now crossed the border into Uruguay with fighting breaking out in the capital of Montevideo.
In a statement today by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld it was announced that the last of the U.S. troops and supplies in Saudi Arabia have been removed from the increasingly fundamentalist Islamic oil rich nation. U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman are being expanded to take over the roles played by the former U.S. Saudi bases...</i> Heather stuck her head through the door and said, “Soup’s ready. Everyone come to the table.”
John reached out and turned the radio off with a click. “Well, at least that’s something to look forward to.”
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Cowardly Lion
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BTTT
and is there any way to get this story posted as one of those that stay at the top?
cl
and is there any way to get this story posted as one of those that stay at the top?
cl