Capt Teach
Veteran Member
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Capt Teach
Capt Teach
We Interrupt This Program...
- Thread starter A.T.Hagan
- Start date
mule skinner
Inactive
Lets don't let this get lost in the back pages.
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GREYGHOSTt
Contributing Member
more PLEASE 
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
December 15, 2002 - Renewal
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen." The man in black holding the book nodded to the men with shovels and they began to fill the grave as large flakes of snow began to fall thickly about them. John would have as soon used the backhoe to put the dirt back like it had been used to take it out but the other men thought it more fitting that Rick's fellow posse members do it themselves.
When the hole was filled and the carefully cut squares of sod replaced over the top the men put their shovels in the cart. "I'll be glad never to have to do this again" Sheriff Freed said. "I carry these men like weights on my soul."
Miguel put on his coat and began to button it. "My friend, every man of good conscience who must involve himself in such matters feels the same. It is not given to us in times such as these that we may be safe from all hazards. Our friend Richard chose to join the posse of his own free will knowing there would be dangers but knowing as well that men must band together in unsettled times to protect their loved ones. It could have been any of us."
The men walked out of the graveyard towards the church. A community meal had been collected and large pots of hot coffee to warm those chilled by the fifteen degree weather and falling snow. John, Mike, and the Sheriff collected cups of the steaming brew and went to a table to go over the paperwork. As Mike began to sort the papers John asked "So how many brothers does Archie Lauren have and where are they?"
The Sheriff quirked an eyebrow and replied, "So you figured that one out did you?"
"Hell Sheriff," John said tersely, "he looked like him and who else would it have been? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together."
"Well, fortunately for us there were only two Lauren brothers and we've accounted for them both now. The father died a few years ago, their mother is in a home, or was anyway. They've got one sister who moved to Idaho. The brother you killed yesterday was Heath Lauren. FDLE has a file on him as well as Archie. Heath lived up to Perry in Taylor county. He came down from there with Wayne Stukey, Kenny Sanders, and Denny Redman, members of his Klan cell we believe. Lucius Nelson was a member of Archie's cell and we think the last one not yet in custody or dead. Denny is the one you took into custody yesterday and he's been singing sweetly so it may be that FDLE and the Taylor county sheriff might be able to pick up a few more up there to account for some arson, home shootings, and a lynching they're investigating. He seems pretty resigned. Your… dog… seems to have taken the starch out of him."
John studied the photos of the men in the file, then said, "It's a pity we couldn't have taken Heath alive as well. I'd like to see him and his brother swing side by side. That may sound bloodthirsty, but I won't apologize. These predators struck at my family and I won't be happy until they've all hanged."
"Reckon I can understand that John. If it were my family I might feel the same way. You may well get to see Archie Lauren literally swing. We're going to force a vote on the public execution issue in Tuesday night's county commission meeting and I think this incident will put us over the top on it. Them university bleeding hearts are about to find themselves outmaneuvered."
Reading down to the bottom of the page, John signed the report then looked up at the Sheriff. "Good. I'll be there. I don't know if I'll bring Melinda or not. Ann and I will have to discuss it. Might give her some tangible closure." Looking up he saw Rick's sister, Sally Starling, come into the room. "Sheriff, if you'll excuse me I think I'd better go and speak to Sally. She's Rick's sister. She and her two kids have been living at his place with him since the Impact."
The man got up and crossed the room to greet the woman. The Sheriff studied her for a moment then asked Mike, "Was she a dependent for Rick?"
The deputy looked at her as well and said, "Well, she and her two kids were living with him. I think she was working out to the mall before the Impact so I expect she's out of a job now. I guess you could say she was his dependent in a manner of speaking. Rick was divorced, along about ten or twelve years ago as I recall he told me once. Don't think there were any children. So far as I know Sally will inherit his place but how she's going to support those kids I don't know."
Taking a deep drink of the cooling coffee in his cup the Sheriff said, "Probably going to be difficult to make the case but I feel an obligation here. Rick Young was acting on my behalf as a member of my posse while it was conducting its official business. We owe him something for that. I don't know rightly what I can do for her but there's got to be something. I'll look into it when I get into the office on Monday."
The line began to form at the tables so the Sheriff stood and walked over to give his condolences to Sally then he and Mike got into their cruiser and went back into Gainesville. Miguel, Ed, and Jimmy came and sat at John's table to eat. "How's Mel taking it John?" Ed asked.
"Pretty well I think. She was pretty shaky for a time after we got her home both from the fright of the thing and the cold. She hadn't taken any rain gear with her over to Rick's so she was soaked through when we found her. I think she'll come back from it alright. Personally, between us I think shooting that fella had a lot to do with that. She got some of her own back."
Miguel asked, "Do you think we're going to see more of these men? Perhaps you should send Ann and Melinda away for a while."
John's jaw took a set and he said nothing for a moment. "No, I think we probably won't see anymore of these people. The Klan has lost ten men in this affair. They've never had a lot that would actually get out and do something more than parade around in a sheet. I think they'll cut their losses. Their hard-core true-believers are very few in number thankfully and they don't expose themselves lightly. I couldn't think of a safer place for Ann and Mel to be than right here in a community that knows them and will look out for them. Look how fast we reacted when they grabbed Mel. That was their undoing actually. I don't think Heath Lauren expected us to able to react nearly as quickly as we did. If he'd made it back to the federal highway with Mel before we could get ourselves organized things might have turned out much differently."
Jimmy smiled and said, "Hell, if it hadn't been for those dog hunts your dad and Ed here put together we'd never have been organized enough to move so fast. When the deal went down we already had our communications set up and men willing to participate. We'd cut off his line of retreat and was putting pressure on him from the other side before he even knew what was going on. Even if he'd had a radio or scanner to listen in on our traffic he couldn't have done much differently than what actually happened."
Ed joined in, "Them dog hunts and the posse tracking down them rustlers did a world of good. A big part of the reason we had so little trouble around here I'd bet. Word gets around and the low-lifes on the make will go elsewhere looking for easier pickings."
The meal gradually wound down and the men took their plates to the kitchen for the clean up. When the kitchen and meeting room had been squared away they all shrugged into their coats and went outside to go home. "Porch thermometer said fifteen degrees this morning when I left to come here this morning and the weather man said it would go to at least ten degrees tonight and it's only mid-December. January is going to be mighty chilly!" He cranked up the truck, let it warm for a few minutes and drove off.
-- -- -- --
He pulled up to the house, went through the gate, and parked the truck under the barn shelter behind the tractor. Smoke rose from the stack and he smiled at the sight of it. He walked up to the house and stepped through the door. The girls were taking loaf pans out of the oven. "What's cooking?' he asked.
Mel grinned and said, "Raisin bread! And it came out great! Would you like us to bring you a couple of slices with some butter when it cools?"
"That would be nice, darling. Throw in a cup of coffee and that will very nice." Her father tousled her hair then asked, "How are you feeling today?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders than said, "I'm a little tired but OK I guess."
He nodded. "Well, that's fine. It will pass. That bread looks very good! It'll make great toast for breakfast tomorrow."
Heather said, "Thanks. It's the first time we've tried something like this. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. You've got so much wheat in buckets we decided to grind it and start making more yeast raised breads. We're even trying to develop our own sourdough starter."
"Well, that's definitely something to look forward to! I like sourdough but we never could keep a starter going very well."
John took off his hat then said, "I'm going into the living room and catch some news."
He walked into the next room and found Ann and Lisa there mending clothes and talking. Seating himself in what he'd come to call his radio chair John turned to face the women then said, "Mel seems to be recovering from yesterday as well as can be hoped."
Ann looked up from the button she was working with and replied, "I was afraid she was going to be ill after the way she got soaked and half-frozen and the fright she went through. A long hot bath and a tiny taste of your whisky seems to have melted the cold out of her. She slept until ten this morning. Brittany didn't stop shaking all afternoon but she eventually calmed down. She's very upset that she let those men get close enough to grab the shotgun. She said she didn't like the looks of them as soon as she saw them. It's going to take a few days but I think they'll both come through it."
"Children like Mel and Britt often do come back from these sorts of experiences if they're not actually seriously injured or lose anyone that is close to them." Lisa explained, "Mel may well have nightmares for a time as her subconscious hashes it all out but I expect those will fade in time. Keeping them busy and active will help a lot. Looks like Heather will take care of that. She's on a real tear with this baking thing lately. It seems to have really fired her imagination. I wish I'd have tried to get her interested in cooking years ago! At the rate those three are going they'll be wanting to set up their own catering business."
John grinned, "Well, I don't know about catering but if they're willing to make a go of it I'm willing to set them up in business. At least a small one anyways. With the excitement of the day yesterday I wasn't able to tell you I made the deal with Eddy. I'll pick up the hogs Christmas Eve night. The goslings we'll get come Spring. We're getting enough corn to carry them through till next summer but the rest of their needs we'll have to come up with ourselves. The feral dogs left around here had better watch out - they've suddenly become a resource to be exploited."
The women smiled and looked at each other. "What will you have?" Ann asked Lisa, "The goose girl or the pig girl?"
Lisa giggled. "This isn't what I envisioned Heather doing last Spring but this may do them some good. Her grandfather would be pleased."
The women fell to discussing the possibilities so John turned to his radio, punched the power button and began to scan the frequencies. Radio Moscow was midway through their English language news service.
<i>…fighting in Northern Iraq between Turkish military forces and combined Kurdish and Iraqui forces is being hindered by deep snow over the battle area. In a terse communiqué released by the foreign ministry the Turkish government rebuffed the demands by the United States to withdraw troops from the disputed region stating that Turkish military action there was in response to viable threats to the internal security of that nation. Iranian government officials have not yet responded to the latest American communiqué on the subject of their troops inside of Iraq. Russian foreign ministry officials are acting as intermediaries between the two nations.
In a statement released today the foreign ministry of the United Arab Emirates the newly risen leader of that nation Sheikh Saladin bluntly stated "The internal problems of the nation of Iraq should be left to the people of Iraq and to her neighbors. The United States has no role to play in this area and should withdraw its forces." No response to this statement has yet been released by the U.S. Government.
In Brazil military strongman General Juan deLeon, acting at spokesman for the military junta now in charge of that beleaguered nation, again stated that trials of suspected rioters and resistance figures by military tribunals will continue. The governments of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay have protested the high handed tactics of the new military regime in Brazil. The government of the United States has released no statement about the matter. It is thought the new Brazilian government may be officially recognized by the U.S. as early as next week.
Others matters concerning the U.S. is the ongoing struggle between the U.S. Federal government and the state governments of a number of Western U.S. states such as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, North and South Dakota over administrative control of lands owned by the Federal government. Sketchy reports have reached Europe of open strife between groups in favor of direct administration of these areas and Federal forces with rumors of a number of deaths being unconfirmed at this time.</i>
"Ha!" John snorted, "You can trust the Russians to try to maximize any little division within the U.S. they can find. Probably nothing more than a fist fight in Nye county, Nevada and they'll have it as the beginning of a civil war."
<i>Further reports from the U.S. indicate that vigilante forces from the states of New Mexico and Arizona have passed into Mexico on missions of retribution and plunder. The Mexican government has strongly protested these actions to the new U.S. Federal capitol in Denver. Mexican President Vincente' Fox stated that if necessary he would station Mexican army troops on the border to stop these raids. "These American banditos are not citizens of the Aztlan principality and have no legal business within the Mexican state. If they continue their depredations we will be forced to bring them to justice."
This has been the English language service of Radio Moscow. Further news will be broadcast 2000 hours Greenwich Mean Time.</i>
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen." The man in black holding the book nodded to the men with shovels and they began to fill the grave as large flakes of snow began to fall thickly about them. John would have as soon used the backhoe to put the dirt back like it had been used to take it out but the other men thought it more fitting that Rick's fellow posse members do it themselves.
When the hole was filled and the carefully cut squares of sod replaced over the top the men put their shovels in the cart. "I'll be glad never to have to do this again" Sheriff Freed said. "I carry these men like weights on my soul."
Miguel put on his coat and began to button it. "My friend, every man of good conscience who must involve himself in such matters feels the same. It is not given to us in times such as these that we may be safe from all hazards. Our friend Richard chose to join the posse of his own free will knowing there would be dangers but knowing as well that men must band together in unsettled times to protect their loved ones. It could have been any of us."
The men walked out of the graveyard towards the church. A community meal had been collected and large pots of hot coffee to warm those chilled by the fifteen degree weather and falling snow. John, Mike, and the Sheriff collected cups of the steaming brew and went to a table to go over the paperwork. As Mike began to sort the papers John asked "So how many brothers does Archie Lauren have and where are they?"
The Sheriff quirked an eyebrow and replied, "So you figured that one out did you?"
"Hell Sheriff," John said tersely, "he looked like him and who else would it have been? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together."
"Well, fortunately for us there were only two Lauren brothers and we've accounted for them both now. The father died a few years ago, their mother is in a home, or was anyway. They've got one sister who moved to Idaho. The brother you killed yesterday was Heath Lauren. FDLE has a file on him as well as Archie. Heath lived up to Perry in Taylor county. He came down from there with Wayne Stukey, Kenny Sanders, and Denny Redman, members of his Klan cell we believe. Lucius Nelson was a member of Archie's cell and we think the last one not yet in custody or dead. Denny is the one you took into custody yesterday and he's been singing sweetly so it may be that FDLE and the Taylor county sheriff might be able to pick up a few more up there to account for some arson, home shootings, and a lynching they're investigating. He seems pretty resigned. Your… dog… seems to have taken the starch out of him."
John studied the photos of the men in the file, then said, "It's a pity we couldn't have taken Heath alive as well. I'd like to see him and his brother swing side by side. That may sound bloodthirsty, but I won't apologize. These predators struck at my family and I won't be happy until they've all hanged."
"Reckon I can understand that John. If it were my family I might feel the same way. You may well get to see Archie Lauren literally swing. We're going to force a vote on the public execution issue in Tuesday night's county commission meeting and I think this incident will put us over the top on it. Them university bleeding hearts are about to find themselves outmaneuvered."
Reading down to the bottom of the page, John signed the report then looked up at the Sheriff. "Good. I'll be there. I don't know if I'll bring Melinda or not. Ann and I will have to discuss it. Might give her some tangible closure." Looking up he saw Rick's sister, Sally Starling, come into the room. "Sheriff, if you'll excuse me I think I'd better go and speak to Sally. She's Rick's sister. She and her two kids have been living at his place with him since the Impact."
The man got up and crossed the room to greet the woman. The Sheriff studied her for a moment then asked Mike, "Was she a dependent for Rick?"
The deputy looked at her as well and said, "Well, she and her two kids were living with him. I think she was working out to the mall before the Impact so I expect she's out of a job now. I guess you could say she was his dependent in a manner of speaking. Rick was divorced, along about ten or twelve years ago as I recall he told me once. Don't think there were any children. So far as I know Sally will inherit his place but how she's going to support those kids I don't know."
Taking a deep drink of the cooling coffee in his cup the Sheriff said, "Probably going to be difficult to make the case but I feel an obligation here. Rick Young was acting on my behalf as a member of my posse while it was conducting its official business. We owe him something for that. I don't know rightly what I can do for her but there's got to be something. I'll look into it when I get into the office on Monday."
The line began to form at the tables so the Sheriff stood and walked over to give his condolences to Sally then he and Mike got into their cruiser and went back into Gainesville. Miguel, Ed, and Jimmy came and sat at John's table to eat. "How's Mel taking it John?" Ed asked.
"Pretty well I think. She was pretty shaky for a time after we got her home both from the fright of the thing and the cold. She hadn't taken any rain gear with her over to Rick's so she was soaked through when we found her. I think she'll come back from it alright. Personally, between us I think shooting that fella had a lot to do with that. She got some of her own back."
Miguel asked, "Do you think we're going to see more of these men? Perhaps you should send Ann and Melinda away for a while."
John's jaw took a set and he said nothing for a moment. "No, I think we probably won't see anymore of these people. The Klan has lost ten men in this affair. They've never had a lot that would actually get out and do something more than parade around in a sheet. I think they'll cut their losses. Their hard-core true-believers are very few in number thankfully and they don't expose themselves lightly. I couldn't think of a safer place for Ann and Mel to be than right here in a community that knows them and will look out for them. Look how fast we reacted when they grabbed Mel. That was their undoing actually. I don't think Heath Lauren expected us to able to react nearly as quickly as we did. If he'd made it back to the federal highway with Mel before we could get ourselves organized things might have turned out much differently."
Jimmy smiled and said, "Hell, if it hadn't been for those dog hunts your dad and Ed here put together we'd never have been organized enough to move so fast. When the deal went down we already had our communications set up and men willing to participate. We'd cut off his line of retreat and was putting pressure on him from the other side before he even knew what was going on. Even if he'd had a radio or scanner to listen in on our traffic he couldn't have done much differently than what actually happened."
Ed joined in, "Them dog hunts and the posse tracking down them rustlers did a world of good. A big part of the reason we had so little trouble around here I'd bet. Word gets around and the low-lifes on the make will go elsewhere looking for easier pickings."
The meal gradually wound down and the men took their plates to the kitchen for the clean up. When the kitchen and meeting room had been squared away they all shrugged into their coats and went outside to go home. "Porch thermometer said fifteen degrees this morning when I left to come here this morning and the weather man said it would go to at least ten degrees tonight and it's only mid-December. January is going to be mighty chilly!" He cranked up the truck, let it warm for a few minutes and drove off.
-- -- -- --
He pulled up to the house, went through the gate, and parked the truck under the barn shelter behind the tractor. Smoke rose from the stack and he smiled at the sight of it. He walked up to the house and stepped through the door. The girls were taking loaf pans out of the oven. "What's cooking?' he asked.
Mel grinned and said, "Raisin bread! And it came out great! Would you like us to bring you a couple of slices with some butter when it cools?"
"That would be nice, darling. Throw in a cup of coffee and that will very nice." Her father tousled her hair then asked, "How are you feeling today?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders than said, "I'm a little tired but OK I guess."
He nodded. "Well, that's fine. It will pass. That bread looks very good! It'll make great toast for breakfast tomorrow."
Heather said, "Thanks. It's the first time we've tried something like this. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. You've got so much wheat in buckets we decided to grind it and start making more yeast raised breads. We're even trying to develop our own sourdough starter."
"Well, that's definitely something to look forward to! I like sourdough but we never could keep a starter going very well."
John took off his hat then said, "I'm going into the living room and catch some news."
He walked into the next room and found Ann and Lisa there mending clothes and talking. Seating himself in what he'd come to call his radio chair John turned to face the women then said, "Mel seems to be recovering from yesterday as well as can be hoped."
Ann looked up from the button she was working with and replied, "I was afraid she was going to be ill after the way she got soaked and half-frozen and the fright she went through. A long hot bath and a tiny taste of your whisky seems to have melted the cold out of her. She slept until ten this morning. Brittany didn't stop shaking all afternoon but she eventually calmed down. She's very upset that she let those men get close enough to grab the shotgun. She said she didn't like the looks of them as soon as she saw them. It's going to take a few days but I think they'll both come through it."
"Children like Mel and Britt often do come back from these sorts of experiences if they're not actually seriously injured or lose anyone that is close to them." Lisa explained, "Mel may well have nightmares for a time as her subconscious hashes it all out but I expect those will fade in time. Keeping them busy and active will help a lot. Looks like Heather will take care of that. She's on a real tear with this baking thing lately. It seems to have really fired her imagination. I wish I'd have tried to get her interested in cooking years ago! At the rate those three are going they'll be wanting to set up their own catering business."
John grinned, "Well, I don't know about catering but if they're willing to make a go of it I'm willing to set them up in business. At least a small one anyways. With the excitement of the day yesterday I wasn't able to tell you I made the deal with Eddy. I'll pick up the hogs Christmas Eve night. The goslings we'll get come Spring. We're getting enough corn to carry them through till next summer but the rest of their needs we'll have to come up with ourselves. The feral dogs left around here had better watch out - they've suddenly become a resource to be exploited."
The women smiled and looked at each other. "What will you have?" Ann asked Lisa, "The goose girl or the pig girl?"
Lisa giggled. "This isn't what I envisioned Heather doing last Spring but this may do them some good. Her grandfather would be pleased."
The women fell to discussing the possibilities so John turned to his radio, punched the power button and began to scan the frequencies. Radio Moscow was midway through their English language news service.
<i>…fighting in Northern Iraq between Turkish military forces and combined Kurdish and Iraqui forces is being hindered by deep snow over the battle area. In a terse communiqué released by the foreign ministry the Turkish government rebuffed the demands by the United States to withdraw troops from the disputed region stating that Turkish military action there was in response to viable threats to the internal security of that nation. Iranian government officials have not yet responded to the latest American communiqué on the subject of their troops inside of Iraq. Russian foreign ministry officials are acting as intermediaries between the two nations.
In a statement released today the foreign ministry of the United Arab Emirates the newly risen leader of that nation Sheikh Saladin bluntly stated "The internal problems of the nation of Iraq should be left to the people of Iraq and to her neighbors. The United States has no role to play in this area and should withdraw its forces." No response to this statement has yet been released by the U.S. Government.
In Brazil military strongman General Juan deLeon, acting at spokesman for the military junta now in charge of that beleaguered nation, again stated that trials of suspected rioters and resistance figures by military tribunals will continue. The governments of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay have protested the high handed tactics of the new military regime in Brazil. The government of the United States has released no statement about the matter. It is thought the new Brazilian government may be officially recognized by the U.S. as early as next week.
Others matters concerning the U.S. is the ongoing struggle between the U.S. Federal government and the state governments of a number of Western U.S. states such as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, North and South Dakota over administrative control of lands owned by the Federal government. Sketchy reports have reached Europe of open strife between groups in favor of direct administration of these areas and Federal forces with rumors of a number of deaths being unconfirmed at this time.</i>
"Ha!" John snorted, "You can trust the Russians to try to maximize any little division within the U.S. they can find. Probably nothing more than a fist fight in Nye county, Nevada and they'll have it as the beginning of a civil war."
<i>Further reports from the U.S. indicate that vigilante forces from the states of New Mexico and Arizona have passed into Mexico on missions of retribution and plunder. The Mexican government has strongly protested these actions to the new U.S. Federal capitol in Denver. Mexican President Vincente' Fox stated that if necessary he would station Mexican army troops on the border to stop these raids. "These American banditos are not citizens of the Aztlan principality and have no legal business within the Mexican state. If they continue their depredations we will be forced to bring them to justice."
This has been the English language service of Radio Moscow. Further news will be broadcast 2000 hours Greenwich Mean Time.</i>
G
Glandor
Guest
AHHHH I feel better now, the shakes are subsiding....the pain in my head is less.... Thanks Alan!
G
Glandor
Guest
BTTT
How did this fall all the way to the third page? We can't let that happen A.T. might not see it and forget about us....Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stick up a convienece store so as to get some $$ to buy my next fix of the story
How did this fall all the way to the third page? We can't let that happen A.T. might not see it and forget about us....Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stick up a convienece store so as to get some $$ to buy my next fix of the story
timbo
Deceased
Alan,
I havent responded to your story yet,but here goes.
This is easily one of the best stories I have read in a looooooong
time!
It reads like a classic. It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie.
The book not the tv thing.
This is the modern version of Little House.
It seems I know several of the people in this story.
Thank you for your tremendous effort. It is appreciated more than you will know.
Also my chance to bump this up.
Thank you
Tim
I havent responded to your story yet,but here goes.
This is easily one of the best stories I have read in a looooooong
time!
It reads like a classic. It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie.
The book not the tv thing.
This is the modern version of Little House.
It seems I know several of the people in this story.
Thank you for your tremendous effort. It is appreciated more than you will know.
Also my chance to bump this up.
Thank you
Tim
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
December 25 , 2002 - Christmas
“Cool!” said Melinda and Brittany as they examined the pigs in their stall in the barn. “They’re all for us?”
“For us?”, Heather said dubiously as she eyed the squealing hogs pushing against each other to get their share of the feed that John had just put down.
John grinned and said, “Well, actually just the two females. The other two are castrated males and they’re for the family. As soon as the sows come into heat Eddy will bring over one of his boars to breed them. When they litter you’ll be in business.”
“We’re going to be pig farmers?” Heather asked incredulously.
“Oh Heather” Melinda said exasperated. “Pigs are sooo cool! You should see the little piglets when they’re young! They’re sooo cute. You’ll like them. And WE get to keep the money! Butcher pigs sell for a lot don’t they daddy?”
“Well, we can hope, darlin’.” Her father replied. “You three will get to keep the PROFITS once the expenses have been deducted. How well you manage them will determine how much profit y’all make.”
“But they stink worse than the goats do!” Heather lamented.
Her mother and father laughed and Lisa said, “That’s the smell of money dear. Just keep reminding yourself that’s the smell of money. You’re lucky Uncle John is letting you keep the profits. When I was your age I had to feed the stock for just my normal allowance – not that it amounted to much, I can tell you that! Your grandfather was a big believer on keeping children short on pocket money but long on hugs and kisses.”
“When do we get the goslings daddy?” Melinda asked excitedly.
“Well, that rather depends on the geese, sugar” Her father explained. “Eddy – that’s Mr. Morganstern to you three – says we can expect them in late March or Early April. They’re Chinese Weeder Geese. Supposed to be very efficient at getting most of their feed from range with only a little grain on the side. I’m not sure what they’ll butcher out to but he says they lay well.”
“How come you changed your mind daddy? I thought you said we weren’t never going to have geese?”
John’s faced clouded up at the question and he hesitated a moment before answering. “Well, Mel, I reckon you can thank your mother for that. She insisted that y’all should have a backup plan in addition to the pigs and since we’re already doing chickens and I won’t have a guinea on the place she and Lisa decided geese were the answer. I was outvoted. All I can say is that Mr. Gander had BETTER be a perfect gentleman if you want to stay in the goose breeding business. Do you understand?”
Melinda cut her eyes at Brittany and Heather then said, “Yes sir, I understand.”
Her father looked down into his coffee mug and observed, “I think I’m about due for a refill. How about you guys?”
“We ought to be checking on that ham and getting the turkey ready to go into the oven Lisa” Ann said, “At least this year it’s cold enough that cooking a big meal will feel good. Going to be quite a crowd for Christmas dinner this year.”
“It certainly will be by the time Judy and her kids show up, the Stricklands, and Mike’s family. We’re going to be bursting at the seams!” Lisa smiled, “I have to admit, I’m kind of excited. I’ve always loved big Christmases like we used to have when I was a girl. The house full of people, a smell of wood smoke in the air, snow on the ground. It’ll be just like back home in Ohio.”
John grunted, “I wish all of this snow was IN Ohio, but it’ll be good regardless.”
The parents left the barn for the house leaving the three girls to observe their new charges. After the door shut Brittany asked Melinda, “Are the geese something we shouldn’t ask Uncle John about? He seems a little touchy about them.”
Melinda giggled then said, “Well, you probably shouldn’t. Daddy is embarrassed about it and never discusses them but if you’ll both promise NEVER to say anything in front of him I’ll tell you why.”
The girl refused to say anything further until both the other girls had solemnly promised never to say a word to anyone.
“Well,” she explained, “it’s like this. Dad has this friend by the name of Pete Finnegan who lives up in High Springs. They’re always trying to talk each other into trying new things and once about five years ago Mr. Pete up and got geese. I can’t recall what breed they were now but they were really big and snow white. They were really beautiful and they’d eat corn out of my hand. Then when they were about a year old the gander – that’s the male goose – started feeling his oats and getting really mean. He never bothered me or mama but every time we went up there he tried to attack daddy. Well Mr. Pete kept telling daddy that if he’d just be friendlier with him he wouldn’t attack him so much. He said the gander never attacked him because he fed him every day. So one time when we were there he gave daddy a bucket of corn and told him to let the gander eat some out of his hand. Daddy threw some on the ground then bent over and stuck his hand out full of corn at the gander. Well, the gander acted like he was going to take some of the corn out of his hand but then reached up and bit daddy’s nose!”
The girl started laughing so hard she couldn’t go on. After a moment she collected herself enough to finish her story. “You should have SEEN that! Daddy was using language that mama always scolds him for using and chasing the gander all over the yard with a pistol in his hand shooting at it! Mr. Pete was chasing after daddy yelling at him not to hurt his bird. Mama and Miss Jeanie, Mr. Pete’s wife, were chasing after Mr. Pete yelling at him not to chase an angry man with a gun in his hand! Everyone but daddy was laughing so hard that we could hardly stand up. Daddy never did hit the bird. Said his eyes were watering too bad to see clearly. Later Miss Jeanie told mama that the gander attacked Mr. Pete all the time and they were planning on eating him for Christmas. Mr. Pete had told daddy a story as a joke. I’m not sure if mama ever told him the truth or not. You should have seen daddy’s nose. It was all black and blue and looked like he’d been in a fight or something. After that daddy always swore we’d NEVER have geese for as long as he lived. I was really surprised when he said he was giving us goslings.”
Heather eyed the pigs suspiciously and asked, “Do you really think we can make money from raising and selling pigs and geese?”
Brittany spoke up and said, “Well, I used to make money with my rabbits. Oh, it was never a lot but I paid for all of my expenses and had enough left over to pay my own way to Disney World last year when my church group went. Probably could have made more but daddy, my daddy, wouldn’t let me keep more. I’ve never raised pigs but I’ve seen what goslings sell for and they go for a lot. MaryBeth at church used to decorate eggs, not Easter eggs but really fancy decorations on blown eggs. She called it ‘psyanky’ or something like that. She used goose eggs and said she paid over a dollar piece for them. That’s what a whole dozen chicken eggs used to bring.”
“Daddy paid fifty dollars apiece for our two feeder pigs last year.” Melinda explained. “That was before the Impact so I’m not sure what they’ll bring now but if we can find a way to feed the sows until they litter I’d be willing to bet feeders would bring a good price. If you pasture them they way we do pigs aren’t a lot of work really. While the weather’s really cold we’ll have to keep them in the barn more so we’ll have to muck out their stall when it needs it but that and feeding is about all we’ll have to do. Come Spring the heavy work will be a lot less. I bet we can use the buttermilk and cheese whey to mix with their corn. Maybe any left over skim milk too.”
The older girl shrugged her shoulders and decided to accept the situation. “Well, maybe we will make some money from it. Mama and daddy seems to be on a real kick for me to have a ‘farm life’ like mama had when she was a girl. At least it’ll give me a reason to come over and see you guys a lot.”
“Will you and Aunt Lisa be moving back home soon?” Melinda asked.
“Well, maybe not really soon but dad’s got workmen repairing the house. The looters did a lot of damage but dad says the house is still basically sound. He think they’ll have it repaired before long but the contractor is having a hard time getting materials so he can’t say for sure when he’ll be done. I’m not sure if we’ll actually move back or not. Daddy and mama are dead set on selling the place and moving out here somewhere as soon as they can.”
“I sure hope it’ll be somewhere close by” Brittany said, “I’d miss you if you moved far away. Maybe your parents will buy my parents house – my house now I guess. Though with your dad being a doctor and all it might be too small.”
“Don’t you want to move back into your house Britt?” Melinda asked.
“Well, no, not really. Not with mama…. Well, not after what happened and all. I’m not sure what’s gong to become of it though. Uncle John said he figures it’s going to come to me but the court has to decide. He’s trying to get me a ‘guardian and lightem’ or some such to speak for me to help me get everything straightened out. I told him I’d rather have him speak for me but he said some people might think there was a ‘conflicting interests’ and it would be better that someone who wasn’t responsible for me to speak for me so that no one would think that he tried to take advantage of me. Aunt Ann and Aunt Lisa have been trying to get in contact with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Sarah in Maryland but they haven’t been able to reach them. Uncle John said he’d try to have the sheriff contact them but I haven’t heard if anything’s come of it or not.” Brittany looked unhappy at the recollection of her vanished family leading the other girls to cast about for something to distract her.
“Maybe mom and dad would buy your house.” Heather said, “Then you’d have a lot of money to go to college with! Mom always complained about how long it took to pay off dad’s student loans. You could go to college and not have to take any loans.”
“Me go to college?” Brittany said incredulously. “Nobody in my family ever went to college, I don’t think.”
Heather shook her head with a rueful grin. “I never had a choice. Mom and dad have always said I was going. They’re always pushing me to take the most difficult classes because they said they’d be good preparation for going to college. I told them I didn’t want to go and they said, ‘you can go to college or you can go to jail. Those are your choices.’ After some of those math tests I’ve wondered if going to jail would be better.”
“Mama and daddy say I’m going too. Daddy says that by the time I’m his age life in America will be segregating into serfs and aristocracy and I’d doggone well better be an aristocrat which meant I had to go to college. They’re always pushing me to learn math too. College must be nothing but math and science to hear daddy talk about it. Oh, and languages. Mama is always pestering me to learn some language or other.”
“Your parents are mighty particular about schoolwork” Brittany observed. “Aunt Ann is a lot pushier about it than my parents were. I kind of like it in a way but it’s hard sometimes. I’m two years older than you but you’re doing the same math and English work that I am. Do you really think I can go to college?”
Melinda said proudly, “Daddy says that anyone who really applies themselves can go to college. Then he really leans on you to get your work done. He keeps saying that self-discipline is the only discipline but he seems pretty handy with it if I slack off.”
Brittany said, “He seems like he doesn’t much care to me, other than encouraging us to do our work.”
“That’s because he’s been so busy these last few months.” Mel explained, “When things start to slow down he’ll drag us all into one thing after another. He’s big on what he calls ‘practical everyday problems.’ By this he means making you do all the thinking around the place and he just checks behind you to make sure you haven’t made a mistake. This year I had to do figure all the feed formulas, how much of what to mix together to get the right proportions. Then I had to figure how much per day per animal we should feed, then had to figure how much we should buy per animal and had to divide that by how much we could store. He showed me how to do it all, then checked my work. When I had it all figured out he took me to the feed mill and had me explain it all to the miller and make our orders. It tickled him so much he brought his wife and two sons out, I think they were a bit older, and asked me to explain it all again. When I did he looked at them and said, ‘how come you two can’t do that?’ I was kind of embarrassed but daddy just sort of grinned like he does sometimes when I make him proud then we stopped in town on the way back and he bought me this huge banana split. I was pretty proud too because the miller said he couldn’t find any mistakes in my figuring.”
Heather said, “Well, it’s got to beat doing word problems out of a textbook. I bet we could do all sorts of school problems in the kitchen! I wonder why I didn’t think of that?”
“I was kind of surprised that mama and daddy haven’t had us doing that already” Mel said, “Mama makes me do all kinds of math problems in the kitchen. Maybe because she’s gone all week and daddy works outside of the house so much. With the weather going like it is I bet that won’t last though. Before the Impact it seemed like I spent as much time with a pencil and paper in the kitchen as I did with a mixing bowl. And NO calculators either! Daddy says if you can’t do it on paper with a pencil then you don’t know how to do it. Mama thinks that’s old-fashioned but she won’t buck him. I had to do the paper planning for the garden this year too. How many of what we wanted to plant, how much space per plant which determined how many rows. Then had to figure out how to plant everything so nothing would shade something else and how to make rotations and all that. It was kind of hard, but fun at the same time. Daddy and I went through books and stuff from the Extension service and we talked to the county agent. Daddy says he’s getting old and his brain don’t work too well anymore but it’s really just his way of teaching me stuff and trying to make it fun too. I like it because we get to spend time together instead of him being outside by himself and me stuck at the kitchen table.”
Heather turned and looked at the pigs once more. “Well, if nothing else, when we finally do get to college I suppose we can major in agriculture. We’ll certainly have a lot of experience by the time we get there.”
“Cool!” said Melinda and Brittany as they examined the pigs in their stall in the barn. “They’re all for us?”
“For us?”, Heather said dubiously as she eyed the squealing hogs pushing against each other to get their share of the feed that John had just put down.
John grinned and said, “Well, actually just the two females. The other two are castrated males and they’re for the family. As soon as the sows come into heat Eddy will bring over one of his boars to breed them. When they litter you’ll be in business.”
“We’re going to be pig farmers?” Heather asked incredulously.
“Oh Heather” Melinda said exasperated. “Pigs are sooo cool! You should see the little piglets when they’re young! They’re sooo cute. You’ll like them. And WE get to keep the money! Butcher pigs sell for a lot don’t they daddy?”
“Well, we can hope, darlin’.” Her father replied. “You three will get to keep the PROFITS once the expenses have been deducted. How well you manage them will determine how much profit y’all make.”
“But they stink worse than the goats do!” Heather lamented.
Her mother and father laughed and Lisa said, “That’s the smell of money dear. Just keep reminding yourself that’s the smell of money. You’re lucky Uncle John is letting you keep the profits. When I was your age I had to feed the stock for just my normal allowance – not that it amounted to much, I can tell you that! Your grandfather was a big believer on keeping children short on pocket money but long on hugs and kisses.”
“When do we get the goslings daddy?” Melinda asked excitedly.
“Well, that rather depends on the geese, sugar” Her father explained. “Eddy – that’s Mr. Morganstern to you three – says we can expect them in late March or Early April. They’re Chinese Weeder Geese. Supposed to be very efficient at getting most of their feed from range with only a little grain on the side. I’m not sure what they’ll butcher out to but he says they lay well.”
“How come you changed your mind daddy? I thought you said we weren’t never going to have geese?”
John’s faced clouded up at the question and he hesitated a moment before answering. “Well, Mel, I reckon you can thank your mother for that. She insisted that y’all should have a backup plan in addition to the pigs and since we’re already doing chickens and I won’t have a guinea on the place she and Lisa decided geese were the answer. I was outvoted. All I can say is that Mr. Gander had BETTER be a perfect gentleman if you want to stay in the goose breeding business. Do you understand?”
Melinda cut her eyes at Brittany and Heather then said, “Yes sir, I understand.”
Her father looked down into his coffee mug and observed, “I think I’m about due for a refill. How about you guys?”
“We ought to be checking on that ham and getting the turkey ready to go into the oven Lisa” Ann said, “At least this year it’s cold enough that cooking a big meal will feel good. Going to be quite a crowd for Christmas dinner this year.”
“It certainly will be by the time Judy and her kids show up, the Stricklands, and Mike’s family. We’re going to be bursting at the seams!” Lisa smiled, “I have to admit, I’m kind of excited. I’ve always loved big Christmases like we used to have when I was a girl. The house full of people, a smell of wood smoke in the air, snow on the ground. It’ll be just like back home in Ohio.”
John grunted, “I wish all of this snow was IN Ohio, but it’ll be good regardless.”
The parents left the barn for the house leaving the three girls to observe their new charges. After the door shut Brittany asked Melinda, “Are the geese something we shouldn’t ask Uncle John about? He seems a little touchy about them.”
Melinda giggled then said, “Well, you probably shouldn’t. Daddy is embarrassed about it and never discusses them but if you’ll both promise NEVER to say anything in front of him I’ll tell you why.”
The girl refused to say anything further until both the other girls had solemnly promised never to say a word to anyone.
“Well,” she explained, “it’s like this. Dad has this friend by the name of Pete Finnegan who lives up in High Springs. They’re always trying to talk each other into trying new things and once about five years ago Mr. Pete up and got geese. I can’t recall what breed they were now but they were really big and snow white. They were really beautiful and they’d eat corn out of my hand. Then when they were about a year old the gander – that’s the male goose – started feeling his oats and getting really mean. He never bothered me or mama but every time we went up there he tried to attack daddy. Well Mr. Pete kept telling daddy that if he’d just be friendlier with him he wouldn’t attack him so much. He said the gander never attacked him because he fed him every day. So one time when we were there he gave daddy a bucket of corn and told him to let the gander eat some out of his hand. Daddy threw some on the ground then bent over and stuck his hand out full of corn at the gander. Well, the gander acted like he was going to take some of the corn out of his hand but then reached up and bit daddy’s nose!”
The girl started laughing so hard she couldn’t go on. After a moment she collected herself enough to finish her story. “You should have SEEN that! Daddy was using language that mama always scolds him for using and chasing the gander all over the yard with a pistol in his hand shooting at it! Mr. Pete was chasing after daddy yelling at him not to hurt his bird. Mama and Miss Jeanie, Mr. Pete’s wife, were chasing after Mr. Pete yelling at him not to chase an angry man with a gun in his hand! Everyone but daddy was laughing so hard that we could hardly stand up. Daddy never did hit the bird. Said his eyes were watering too bad to see clearly. Later Miss Jeanie told mama that the gander attacked Mr. Pete all the time and they were planning on eating him for Christmas. Mr. Pete had told daddy a story as a joke. I’m not sure if mama ever told him the truth or not. You should have seen daddy’s nose. It was all black and blue and looked like he’d been in a fight or something. After that daddy always swore we’d NEVER have geese for as long as he lived. I was really surprised when he said he was giving us goslings.”
Heather eyed the pigs suspiciously and asked, “Do you really think we can make money from raising and selling pigs and geese?”
Brittany spoke up and said, “Well, I used to make money with my rabbits. Oh, it was never a lot but I paid for all of my expenses and had enough left over to pay my own way to Disney World last year when my church group went. Probably could have made more but daddy, my daddy, wouldn’t let me keep more. I’ve never raised pigs but I’ve seen what goslings sell for and they go for a lot. MaryBeth at church used to decorate eggs, not Easter eggs but really fancy decorations on blown eggs. She called it ‘psyanky’ or something like that. She used goose eggs and said she paid over a dollar piece for them. That’s what a whole dozen chicken eggs used to bring.”
“Daddy paid fifty dollars apiece for our two feeder pigs last year.” Melinda explained. “That was before the Impact so I’m not sure what they’ll bring now but if we can find a way to feed the sows until they litter I’d be willing to bet feeders would bring a good price. If you pasture them they way we do pigs aren’t a lot of work really. While the weather’s really cold we’ll have to keep them in the barn more so we’ll have to muck out their stall when it needs it but that and feeding is about all we’ll have to do. Come Spring the heavy work will be a lot less. I bet we can use the buttermilk and cheese whey to mix with their corn. Maybe any left over skim milk too.”
The older girl shrugged her shoulders and decided to accept the situation. “Well, maybe we will make some money from it. Mama and daddy seems to be on a real kick for me to have a ‘farm life’ like mama had when she was a girl. At least it’ll give me a reason to come over and see you guys a lot.”
“Will you and Aunt Lisa be moving back home soon?” Melinda asked.
“Well, maybe not really soon but dad’s got workmen repairing the house. The looters did a lot of damage but dad says the house is still basically sound. He think they’ll have it repaired before long but the contractor is having a hard time getting materials so he can’t say for sure when he’ll be done. I’m not sure if we’ll actually move back or not. Daddy and mama are dead set on selling the place and moving out here somewhere as soon as they can.”
“I sure hope it’ll be somewhere close by” Brittany said, “I’d miss you if you moved far away. Maybe your parents will buy my parents house – my house now I guess. Though with your dad being a doctor and all it might be too small.”
“Don’t you want to move back into your house Britt?” Melinda asked.
“Well, no, not really. Not with mama…. Well, not after what happened and all. I’m not sure what’s gong to become of it though. Uncle John said he figures it’s going to come to me but the court has to decide. He’s trying to get me a ‘guardian and lightem’ or some such to speak for me to help me get everything straightened out. I told him I’d rather have him speak for me but he said some people might think there was a ‘conflicting interests’ and it would be better that someone who wasn’t responsible for me to speak for me so that no one would think that he tried to take advantage of me. Aunt Ann and Aunt Lisa have been trying to get in contact with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Sarah in Maryland but they haven’t been able to reach them. Uncle John said he’d try to have the sheriff contact them but I haven’t heard if anything’s come of it or not.” Brittany looked unhappy at the recollection of her vanished family leading the other girls to cast about for something to distract her.
“Maybe mom and dad would buy your house.” Heather said, “Then you’d have a lot of money to go to college with! Mom always complained about how long it took to pay off dad’s student loans. You could go to college and not have to take any loans.”
“Me go to college?” Brittany said incredulously. “Nobody in my family ever went to college, I don’t think.”
Heather shook her head with a rueful grin. “I never had a choice. Mom and dad have always said I was going. They’re always pushing me to take the most difficult classes because they said they’d be good preparation for going to college. I told them I didn’t want to go and they said, ‘you can go to college or you can go to jail. Those are your choices.’ After some of those math tests I’ve wondered if going to jail would be better.”
“Mama and daddy say I’m going too. Daddy says that by the time I’m his age life in America will be segregating into serfs and aristocracy and I’d doggone well better be an aristocrat which meant I had to go to college. They’re always pushing me to learn math too. College must be nothing but math and science to hear daddy talk about it. Oh, and languages. Mama is always pestering me to learn some language or other.”
“Your parents are mighty particular about schoolwork” Brittany observed. “Aunt Ann is a lot pushier about it than my parents were. I kind of like it in a way but it’s hard sometimes. I’m two years older than you but you’re doing the same math and English work that I am. Do you really think I can go to college?”
Melinda said proudly, “Daddy says that anyone who really applies themselves can go to college. Then he really leans on you to get your work done. He keeps saying that self-discipline is the only discipline but he seems pretty handy with it if I slack off.”
Brittany said, “He seems like he doesn’t much care to me, other than encouraging us to do our work.”
“That’s because he’s been so busy these last few months.” Mel explained, “When things start to slow down he’ll drag us all into one thing after another. He’s big on what he calls ‘practical everyday problems.’ By this he means making you do all the thinking around the place and he just checks behind you to make sure you haven’t made a mistake. This year I had to do figure all the feed formulas, how much of what to mix together to get the right proportions. Then I had to figure how much per day per animal we should feed, then had to figure how much we should buy per animal and had to divide that by how much we could store. He showed me how to do it all, then checked my work. When I had it all figured out he took me to the feed mill and had me explain it all to the miller and make our orders. It tickled him so much he brought his wife and two sons out, I think they were a bit older, and asked me to explain it all again. When I did he looked at them and said, ‘how come you two can’t do that?’ I was kind of embarrassed but daddy just sort of grinned like he does sometimes when I make him proud then we stopped in town on the way back and he bought me this huge banana split. I was pretty proud too because the miller said he couldn’t find any mistakes in my figuring.”
Heather said, “Well, it’s got to beat doing word problems out of a textbook. I bet we could do all sorts of school problems in the kitchen! I wonder why I didn’t think of that?”
“I was kind of surprised that mama and daddy haven’t had us doing that already” Mel said, “Mama makes me do all kinds of math problems in the kitchen. Maybe because she’s gone all week and daddy works outside of the house so much. With the weather going like it is I bet that won’t last though. Before the Impact it seemed like I spent as much time with a pencil and paper in the kitchen as I did with a mixing bowl. And NO calculators either! Daddy says if you can’t do it on paper with a pencil then you don’t know how to do it. Mama thinks that’s old-fashioned but she won’t buck him. I had to do the paper planning for the garden this year too. How many of what we wanted to plant, how much space per plant which determined how many rows. Then had to figure out how to plant everything so nothing would shade something else and how to make rotations and all that. It was kind of hard, but fun at the same time. Daddy and I went through books and stuff from the Extension service and we talked to the county agent. Daddy says he’s getting old and his brain don’t work too well anymore but it’s really just his way of teaching me stuff and trying to make it fun too. I like it because we get to spend time together instead of him being outside by himself and me stuck at the kitchen table.”
Heather turned and looked at the pigs once more. “Well, if nothing else, when we finally do get to college I suppose we can major in agriculture. We’ll certainly have a lot of experience by the time we get there.”
mule skinner
Inactive
I thought I left orders to keep this thread on the first page! Don't make me come up there 'cause you won't like it if I do. I am not a nice person.
timbo
Deceased
I see this college thing in a different way.
First,I would think it difficult in these "times" to barely get past the food clothing shelter thing.
For the adults to "push" college says good things about them IMO.
I would think if I were a kid (teen) living in these conditions that focusing on the future,college,etc would be almost impossible.
For Alan to pursue this under the story's circumstances is admirable and hopefully gives the characters and us,the readers hope for a good future.
In our rural farming population of say the 1870's,formal education came dead last for most people.
The area of Alan's writing is certainly changing back to this type of society.
I think it is uplifting to me,a reader, that the author is giving us hope for the characters here to get a jump start back into more modern times and not being mired in the USA of the 1870's
Go Alan go!
First,I would think it difficult in these "times" to barely get past the food clothing shelter thing.
For the adults to "push" college says good things about them IMO.
I would think if I were a kid (teen) living in these conditions that focusing on the future,college,etc would be almost impossible.
For Alan to pursue this under the story's circumstances is admirable and hopefully gives the characters and us,the readers hope for a good future.
In our rural farming population of say the 1870's,formal education came dead last for most people.
The area of Alan's writing is certainly changing back to this type of society.
I think it is uplifting to me,a reader, that the author is giving us hope for the characters here to get a jump start back into more modern times and not being mired in the USA of the 1870's
Go Alan go!
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
Writing is a funny thing I'm finding.
There have been some pieces of this story that I was particularly pleased with that seemingly drew a yawn from the readers. Other posts that I banged out quick because I was short on time (and inspiration, if truth be told) drew many favorable comments.
It's educational for me as a writer anyway. The parts in the last post where Melinda discusses what her parents have done with her are what my wife and I plan to do with our daughter when she's old enough to start that level of homeschooling. The little piece where John mentions a coming American divide into serfs and aristocracy is something that I personally think is happening even as we journey through this story.
Reckon I need to work more on better telling the story to make my message less obvious. One of my most favorite writers - Robert Heinlein - always had it that messages should go by Western Union and he was right. Tell an entertaining story first.
.....Alan.
There have been some pieces of this story that I was particularly pleased with that seemingly drew a yawn from the readers. Other posts that I banged out quick because I was short on time (and inspiration, if truth be told) drew many favorable comments.
It's educational for me as a writer anyway. The parts in the last post where Melinda discusses what her parents have done with her are what my wife and I plan to do with our daughter when she's old enough to start that level of homeschooling. The little piece where John mentions a coming American divide into serfs and aristocracy is something that I personally think is happening even as we journey through this story.
Reckon I need to work more on better telling the story to make my message less obvious. One of my most favorite writers - Robert Heinlein - always had it that messages should go by Western Union and he was right. Tell an entertaining story first.
.....Alan.
Renegade
Veteran Member
To us GI's, the messages are sometimes almost redundant, BUT, to a DGI I believe a lot of what you have written would be like a wakeup slap in the face. Some of the sheep I know would need the message to jump out of the story and hit em between the eyes.
Either way, I am enjoying the story. You are indeed a great writer.
BTW....You do realize that you have created a bunch of addicts, therefore it is your responsiblity to make sure you don't end this thing any time soon!!
edited to fix spelling and noticed grammatical errors...which is why I'm not a writer....lol
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
<i>edited to fix spelling and noticed grammatical errors...which is why I'm not a writer....lol</i>
Good grief! If I stopped to worry about spelling and grammatical correctness I'd NEVER get a word written!
Took me a while to learn that but it eventually dawned on me to just tell the story first.
Iron out the nitpicky stuff when you're done but tell the story first.
Y'all need to be cajoling OddOne and Cowardly Lion to pick up the pace so you'll get your regular fixes after I wrap up <i>We Interrupt This Program...</i>
I've got the idea for the next story but I need to do some research first because it's partly in a field I'm not very strong in. I know what I want to accomplish, I'm just not real sure of how to get there.
.....Alan.
Good grief! If I stopped to worry about spelling and grammatical correctness I'd NEVER get a word written!
Took me a while to learn that but it eventually dawned on me to just tell the story first.
Iron out the nitpicky stuff when you're done but tell the story first.
Y'all need to be cajoling OddOne and Cowardly Lion to pick up the pace so you'll get your regular fixes after I wrap up <i>We Interrupt This Program...</i>
I've got the idea for the next story but I need to do some research first because it's partly in a field I'm not very strong in. I know what I want to accomplish, I'm just not real sure of how to get there.
.....Alan.
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
January 24, 2002 - Departures
John walked out of the courthouse buttoning up his winter coat. It felt strange to him to be openly wearing a pistol in the courtroom but the Sheriff had insisted on it. "You're a sworn deputy, John, you need to look the part. Wear a suit, polish your boots, pin your badge to your lapel and strap on that hogleg you favor. Them folks in the jury box need to know you're a law man, not some jumped up vigilante." Given the rapidity at which the jury had reached its verdict he figured the Sheriff must have known what he was talking about. The trial had started promptly at 8:00 a.m. that morning and by 4:30 that afternoon the jury had judged and condemned Archie Lauren and his accomplices. Their appeal would be heard the next week. If denied John expected to be back in Gainesville day after to witness their hanging. The Sheriff had been right about that too. After a stormy and prolonged meeting of the county commission the likes of which no one could ever recall having seen before the decision had been in favor of permitting public executions in Gainesville for the first time in nearly a century. He found this nothing short of astonishing given the liberal nature of the major university town. Many institutions had been leveled by the Impact, some of which were only now starting to crash.
The snow was beginning to fall again, heavily enough to limit visibility in the declining light. He reached the truck and started it, giving private thanks it caught. Neither the truck nor the battery was really up to the kind of winter weather normally found much closer to the Mason-Dixon line. There was little vehicular traffic so leaving the downtown area proved to be easy even in spite of the impending darkness and snow. Gasoline prices were showing signs of stabilizing since the dollar revaluation (dollar DEvaluation as most called it) and was now at approximately fifty cents a gallon if you had a ration card, seventy five cents a gallon if you had to buy on the free-market. John had developed the habit of shifting the decimal point in the price one place to the right so he could determine the "real price" even though wages, dividends, and every other form of income had been revalued as well. Supposedly he was supposed to be reimbursed for his official travel but he wasn't sure if he'd ever really see it or not. If it meant seeing Lauren and his cohorts hang he'd write off the cost gladly enough.
Within a few minutes he reached the university campus and crossed it to reach the agricultural research labs and teaching halls hoping to catch Ann before she hopped the bus home. She was just putting her suitcase outside the outer door of her building when he pulled up. He got out and crossed the snow covered sidewalk and picked up her bag. "Hey lady, you goin' my way?"
Ann adjusted her hat and then gave her husband a kiss. "I thought you'd be in court longer. Are they through for the day?"
He smiled and said, "Yep. They're finished for the day. In fact, they're finished altogether. He's going to hang."
She absorbed the news for a moment then said, "I suppose it would be unseemly to shout 'hurray' but I can't help it. I never thought I'd ever hear myself say something like that but after they threatened to murder my child so they could murder my husband I won't feel bad for thinking it. It's the honest truth."
John led her to the truck just as the bus pulled up with a wheeze of brakes and a belch of wood smoke. Ann walked over and told the driver she was riding home with her husband. The bus pulled out and they followed, then went down the hill towards the health center. "How'd you get Luke to come out this weekend? Seems like he spends every weekend at his place supervising the work on his house."
"Well, wouldn't you if you were in his place?" Ann asked. "But I think there isn't any working going on this weekend. Luke said something about being hung up waiting on some plumbing. They're not very far from being done I think, the basic parts anyway. The kitchen plumbing, some drywall to be hung, and then painting."
"In a way I'll be sad to see them move out." John observed, "I'll miss all that cooking energy that Heather has been putting out. I think Mel and Brittany will miss her a lot too."
"I wouldn't miss them too fast darling. Lisa has really been doing yeoman's work on looking for a country place. In fact, I think she really is interested in buying Brittany's house. It's got the acreage they're looking for, good outbuildings and the house is basically sound. She's figuring they can just clean it up and work on developing the property into a homestead and then maybe expand the house when materials and labor become more reasonable. It's for sure they're not going to get the kind of return on their house they'd have gotten before the Impact. Do you think the courts will move on it before long?"
John shook his head. "I don't know but it could be. I ran into Brittany and Hank Gartner this morning in the court coffee shop since there was a hearing about Brittany's parents estate on the floor below me. He thinks they'll clear her inheritance fairly fast, it's pretty straightforward. Her parents had the place about half-paid for so if it's sold that's what she'll get, along with anything in the house that she wants to keep. He said he's willing to put the house on the market right away since Brittany has no desire to try to keep it and couldn't make the mortgage payments anyway. The bank her parents financed the mortgage through expressed a willingness to wait on the sale. I imagine the court wouldn't look too favorably on them trying to lean on Brittany. That Hatcher's willingness to buy the place would make everything much easier. Hank's pretty sharp though so Luke had best be willing to do some serious dickering."
Pulling up behind the health center John had no problems finding a parking space. "Well, I'm sure Luke will enjoy his country squire role if they do buy it." Ann said, "I hope they do. It would be nice to have them within a short bike ride of us. Luke's probably head down into his dictation again so I'll go and bang on his office door. Keep the truck warm!" She got out and walked across the snow covered driveway into the health center. John turned on the radio for something to pass the time while he waited. The local NPR station was in the middle of its evening news coverage.
<i>Repercussions continue to reverberate between Denver and Mexico City over last week's battle outside of the Northern Mexican town of Ciudad Juarez between Texan and New Mexican National Guard units, Texas Rangers and groups thought to be comprised of Villaist raiders and Aztlan revolutionaries. Several areas on the western side of the city were severely damaged in the fighting. Mexican President Vincente' Fox has demanded that President Bush immediately stop all cross border actions by U.S. forces or he will be forced to instruct the Mexican Army to neutralize future cross border incursions by what he has termed "New Mexican and Texan adventurers." President Bush after meeting with the governors of the border states yesterday released a statement this morning attempting to ameliorate the state of tension between the southwestern U.S. states and Mexico. "We should give diplomacy a chance to lower the tension between our nations before our ability to trade under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement are compromised." When asked for comment the Governor of New Mexico replied "we'll be happy to trade with anyone just as soon as we've hanged the bandits who are preying on it." The Governor of Texas declined comment pending a closed door meeting of the Texas legislature today.
In other domestic news Energy Secretary Robert Hayes announced today that emergency shipment of home heating oil would be increased to the Northern Tier and New England states as the record breaking cold of the Asteroid Impact winter weather continues unabated. Priority on road and rail shipments have been given to these areas following the loss of the Great Lake ports due to the inability to keep the St. Lawrence Seaway free of ice. Department of Transportation spokespersons indicate that supplemental ice breaking ships and machinery are being rushed to the area but scarcity of such equipment due to the global nature of the problem is hampering the effort. Minnesota National Guard troops are continuing their house to house efforts to locate stranded and freezing residents in need of evacuation in the wake of yesterday's record breaking blizzard. Snowfall this winter in that state has exceeded all others since records were first kept there.
Army Corp of Engineers representatives testified before Congress today in Denver that they expect to have most Mississippi river ports cleared of debris from Memphis nearly to the sunken city of New Orleans which will allow the many oil terminals there to begin receiving shipments again as the oil companies are able to bring them back on line. Work on the terminals themselves has been hampered by the severe winter weather. Some grain shipments are already being received.
Internationally Saudi Arabia announced today that it had reached agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Syria, and Libya on what they are calling "a set of Common Cause Accords" though details of what are in these accords were not released. Official representatives from Egypt, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Pakistan attended but have not indicated if they will also sign on to the accords. Unofficial representatives from Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Indonesia also attended. The State Department declined comment pending receipt of details about the nature of the accord.
Radio Moscow announced today that a skirmish broke out along the Russian/Chinese border in a densely forested area west of the port city of Vladivostok. Chinese Army officials indicated the matter was nothing more than a large patrol becoming lost and inadverdently crossing the border. Russian army officials in Vladivostok state the Chinese crossed the border in force and were repulsed. Russia and China have had a long history of skirmishes along their many thousand mile border. Increases in border skirmishes usually reflect increasing tension between those two nations, which heretofore have had a long period of quiet. People's Liberation Army officials in Beijing stated the responsible commander would be severely disciplined for his carelessness.
Also in Asia today Philippine Navy officials report increasing frequencies of skirmishes between Chinese gun boats and armed fishing vessels in the Spratley Islands. The Philippine government is sending naval reinforcements to the area as tensions increase. The Vietnamese government is also sen…"</i> Ann opened the door and Luke climbed into the jump seat in the back, then his wife loaded up. "I had to drag him away from his dictation again." She sighed. "You should see his office!"
The doctor grinned ruefully. "I'm afraid the profession of medicine is practiced nearly as much on paper as it is in the clinic or operating room. I see my scheduled patients in clinic or the O.R., emergency patients on an as necessary basis, and in the cracks I have to keep up with the paperwork. Somewhere in there I sleep, eat, and have a life. With the economy being the way it is the hospital has had to cut the housekeeping staff to the bone so non-vital areas like offices don't get cleaned much."
Ann laughed, "That's the truth. While I was badgering him to stop I went around his office picking up cups, wrappers, napkins, plates and some stuff that I couldn't identify and dumped it all in this office trash can and then dumped it in the can out in the hall. Well, anyway, I'm glad we're on the way home now. My office has been FREEZING. They've cut the maximum temperature down to sixty six and would cut it down further if it wouldn't cause condensation problems in the computers! I sleep with two pairs of socks on in the dorm. I don't think I've been warm all week!"
John grinned. "Well, the girls said they were going to whomp up a mighty pot of beans and bread for supper tonight. Heather's really getting this sourdough thing down. We had sourdough pancakes for breakfast this morning. Which reminds me, we're about out of syrup so I want to stop at the grocery and see what they've got. Likely won't have any real cane syrup but plain old table syrup will do for the kids. We need more hot sauce too. Beans we've got, condiments we're running short on."
Luke said, "That's serious. I like beans well enough but I need Tabasco to get them down. We'd better stock up."
John pulled away from the health center, spinning his tires slightly at the uphill light onto Archer road but quickly getting traction enough to move forward. He was getting more experience at driving on snow and ice than he'd ever wanted.
Three miles down Archer road he pulled into the parking lot of the Albertsons supermarket there were only a half-dozen cars to be seen. He stared at the front of the building, no longer boarded up but well lit and open for business. "We haven't been in here since before the Impact. Last time I really noticed the place was that riot that happened here the night we brought Mel home from the hospital. You can still see a few bullet holes there over the windows. "
The doctor scrutinized the building then said, "You can see bullet holes. I remember that riot, the police were afraid it was getting out of hand when it spread across the street to the neighboring shopping center. First we knew of it was when several truckloads of troops pulled up to secure the hospital. Captain Swift was not a pleasant man to be sure but he did keep things from getting too far out of hand in the early days."
The three climbed out of the truck and walked through the snow to the doors. John noticed the adjoining Albertson's liquor store was gone and now being occupied by a new company. As they approached closer he could read the sign in the window which said, "Australian Relief Authority." This struck his curiosity so he said, "Let's go in. I want to see what they're about."
Stepping through the doors he found a clean, well lit area largely empty of furnishings but with a half dozen desks and plenty of chairs. In the back of the store space he saw many pallets stacked with bags which he assumed were various food supplies. A young woman with an Australian accent that John found very pleasant greeted them at the door. "G'day! You look like this is your first time. Have you come to apply?"
Somewhat taken aback by the idea John said, "Uhm, I'm not sure. Apply for what?"
The girl looked at him rather quizzically and said, "Why, for aid and assistance, of course. Have a seat here at this desk and we'll get you started."
He looked at Ann and Luke who both shrugged their shoulders so he sat down in the indicated chair.
"Right then." She said very industriously, "Let's have your name."
"I'm John Horne. That's my wife Ann. This is Luke Hatcher, he and his family live with us."
"Very good. Do you have any children or other dependents? How many are in Mr. Hatcher's family?"
John replied, "That's Dr. Hatcher, actually, he's a surgeon. We have a ten year old daughter whose name is Melinda and another twelve year old girl named Brittany Tiersdale who is our ward. Dr. Hatcher's wife and daughter live with us as well."
"Very good" The girl said absently as she entered the information on her laptop computer. "You say Dr. Hatcher's a surgeon. We don't get many doctors in here but we've had everything else! Is anyone else in the household employed?"
He was beginning to regret letting his curiosity get the better of him and leading him into this but the idea of applying for foreign aid in his own hometown just struck him as so odd that he went on. "Yes, my wife here works for the university as an agricultural librarian. Dr. Hatcher's wife works as a trauma nurse at the clinic in Archer. I haven't been called back to work yet. No one else is employed."
"OK then" the girl tapped away on her keyboard. "This girl, Brittany Tiersdale, is she receiving any support from the state?"
"No. We've applied for it but the system is badly overwhelmed since the Impact. I have no idea when we'll hear anything about that."
The girl sniffed, "I'm afraid I'm not surprised. The social service agencies here are hopeless. Now then, all I need from you now is your home address and telephone number, if you have one."
He'd never had much use for Florida's social service agencies in any regard but somehow hearing this pretty young girl from another nation slighting them made his hackles stand up. The fact that she was right seemed to make it even worse. He gave her their address and contact information and she entered the data and then apparently went through a series of steps in whatever program was recording their information on her computer.
"It'll just be a moment, Mr. Horne. There's a bit of a lag as the data bounces off the satellites back to home where the main offices works its magic on it then bounces it back here. While we're waiting may I ask if you are in need of heating assistance? That's not our balliwick actually but we scout for your Red Cross and United Way mates when we process our clients."
The entire process was starting to embarrass him so he said "no" rather more curtly than he really intended. Her laptop gave a musical little jingle then the printer it was linked to begin to work. A single sheet of paper rolled out and she picked it up and scrutinized it.
"Very good! The Home Office has interfaced with your national records and everything checks out. Often enough it doesn't. I have your monthly issue right here. If you'll follow me we'll get one of the carts in the back and load it up. I'm afraid we haven't anyway to deliver it for you but you can make multiple trips if necessary. I won't let anyone touch your issue before you can move it all."
They followed the girl into the back of the store where she pulled out an Albertson's grocery cart. "Doesn't this compete with the grocery store?" John asked, "Seems like they'd object to y'all using their storefront and carts and what not."
"Oh no! Mr. Horne, not at all." The girl reassured him. "It's actually in their interest. As I'm sure you know the free-market prices in the stores are quite steep, even with the devaluation of your American dollar. The welfare ration your government can issue doesn't really cover the amount that the people unable to pay free-market prices need so the foreign relief agencies like us, the Japanese, the Germans, Chile, Peru, and some of the other nations are helping to cover the shortfall until you Yanks can get back on your feet again. This keeps the hard feelings that many would otherwise have against your merchants to a minimum and also keeps your food merchants from being totally nationalized by your government. By next fall we'll probably phase out but this winter we are definitely needed."
He nodded his head, "I see" he said, his mind awhirl with the implications of what she'd told him.
"Now I'm afraid your issue is rather small for the number of people in your household due to your having a doctor and nurse living with you but your ward - Brittany did you say her name was? - helps to balance that out. She's in your state records as being fostered to you. If this amount will be a hardship for your household you can apply for a special circumstances waiver."
John asked, "Your home office seems to have a pretty complete access to American records. How did they arrange this?"
"Oh that," she said, "your government arranged that through the relevant United Nations relief agencies so that the various National Relief Authorities and Non-Governmental Relief Organizations like the Red Cross could more quickly speed aid to the necessary people in need here in the U.S. while minimizing fraud and abuse. I'm sorry to say we've had a bit of a problem along those lines but your local authorities have been very helpful in dealing with it."
"I see" he said as she indicated bags and parcels to a young man in a shop apron who began to load them onto John's cart.
"Now then" the girl smiled brightly, "I think we've got you about ready to go. There's your powdered milk, your flour, your rice, your sugar, your dry beans, your cooking fat and because you have children in your household your powdered eggs. There's also a powdered fruit drink which contains the daily requirements of vitamins A & C. Tastes rather like your American Hawaiin Punch I'm told."
John said nothing at first but just stared at the food in the cart. He then turned and looked at Luke and Ann. Luke was stone faced, Ann looked at him expectantly like she was waiting on him to tell her something. A knot grew inside his chest and he felt his face burning. Finally he turned back to the young girl and said, "Miss, I'm sorry. I can't do this. I really do appreciate what your people are trying to do here for those folks who need it but I just can't. I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Thank you, just the same." He turned and began to walk away.
"Mr. Horne!" The girl said and he turned around. She had a sympathetic look on her face. She spoke gently, "I understand. Really, I do. You're not the first who has had… reservations. I won't try to force this on you but if you should change your mind it will be here for you if you want it."
Shame burned through him but he kept his voice gentle as well. "Thank you miss. If I change my mind I'll be back. You've been nothing but kind." He turned again and walked out, Luke and Ann following.
Outside the store Ann touched her husband on the arm and said, "John, why didn't you take that food? It could really help us get through this winter! It's not like we're stealing it. They checked us out, even with Luke and Lisa being with us we're entitled to it."
John shook his head. "Darling, I've never really thought of myself as a proud man before but just then I realized how proud I really am. These people mean well, they really do. They're not doing anything for us that we haven't done for many, many nations around this world in our time when disaster fell upon them but just now I've come to realize what a gall bitter pill such aid must be to anyone accustomed to providing for their families through the fruits of their own efforts. The fact that she was nothing but kind just made it all the worse. We're hard up compared to what we had before the Impact but we're not that hard up and by God so long as I live the Horne family never will be! I bear these people no ill will but WE will take care of our OWN. We came here to buy condiments for God's sake, not ask for charity, no matter how kindly it is offered."
Ann looked him in the face and said nothing for a moment then spoke, "Those whom the Gods would destroy they first make proud."
He said nothing for a moment, his jaw working then finally let out, "I won't deny the truth in what you have said, but a man's got to stand for something or he is no man at all. These folks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If worst comes to worst I'll swallow my pride and walk in here hat in hand but we're not there yet. By the Grace of God we never will be. Now let's go get that goddamned Tabasco sauce."
-- -- -- --
The unbroken snow in front of the gate crunched as John pulled up. Ann got out, opened the gate and he pulled through. She closed it and walked up to the house. Inside they began to take off their hats and coats, the smell of baking bread and beans filling the room.
"Oh my, but that smells GOOD!" John said, "That scrawny sandwich I had for lunch at the courthouse gave up the ghost hours ago. I could eat a bear, hide and all!"
Heather came into the room to fetch the plates to set the table with. "Did you come through Archer on the way back?" She asked.
"No hon, we didn't" her father asked. "Why?"
"Well, because mom hasn't come home yet. She called a half-hour ago and said she was leaving right then but she made it home yet. I'm starting to get kind of worried. "
Luke looked at John. "Reckon we'd better go look for her then" John said, "Hopefully she's just stuck in a ditch but I reckon we'd better get a couple of rifles just in case. Stay close to the radio in case we need you."
John walked out of the courthouse buttoning up his winter coat. It felt strange to him to be openly wearing a pistol in the courtroom but the Sheriff had insisted on it. "You're a sworn deputy, John, you need to look the part. Wear a suit, polish your boots, pin your badge to your lapel and strap on that hogleg you favor. Them folks in the jury box need to know you're a law man, not some jumped up vigilante." Given the rapidity at which the jury had reached its verdict he figured the Sheriff must have known what he was talking about. The trial had started promptly at 8:00 a.m. that morning and by 4:30 that afternoon the jury had judged and condemned Archie Lauren and his accomplices. Their appeal would be heard the next week. If denied John expected to be back in Gainesville day after to witness their hanging. The Sheriff had been right about that too. After a stormy and prolonged meeting of the county commission the likes of which no one could ever recall having seen before the decision had been in favor of permitting public executions in Gainesville for the first time in nearly a century. He found this nothing short of astonishing given the liberal nature of the major university town. Many institutions had been leveled by the Impact, some of which were only now starting to crash.
The snow was beginning to fall again, heavily enough to limit visibility in the declining light. He reached the truck and started it, giving private thanks it caught. Neither the truck nor the battery was really up to the kind of winter weather normally found much closer to the Mason-Dixon line. There was little vehicular traffic so leaving the downtown area proved to be easy even in spite of the impending darkness and snow. Gasoline prices were showing signs of stabilizing since the dollar revaluation (dollar DEvaluation as most called it) and was now at approximately fifty cents a gallon if you had a ration card, seventy five cents a gallon if you had to buy on the free-market. John had developed the habit of shifting the decimal point in the price one place to the right so he could determine the "real price" even though wages, dividends, and every other form of income had been revalued as well. Supposedly he was supposed to be reimbursed for his official travel but he wasn't sure if he'd ever really see it or not. If it meant seeing Lauren and his cohorts hang he'd write off the cost gladly enough.
Within a few minutes he reached the university campus and crossed it to reach the agricultural research labs and teaching halls hoping to catch Ann before she hopped the bus home. She was just putting her suitcase outside the outer door of her building when he pulled up. He got out and crossed the snow covered sidewalk and picked up her bag. "Hey lady, you goin' my way?"
Ann adjusted her hat and then gave her husband a kiss. "I thought you'd be in court longer. Are they through for the day?"
He smiled and said, "Yep. They're finished for the day. In fact, they're finished altogether. He's going to hang."
She absorbed the news for a moment then said, "I suppose it would be unseemly to shout 'hurray' but I can't help it. I never thought I'd ever hear myself say something like that but after they threatened to murder my child so they could murder my husband I won't feel bad for thinking it. It's the honest truth."
John led her to the truck just as the bus pulled up with a wheeze of brakes and a belch of wood smoke. Ann walked over and told the driver she was riding home with her husband. The bus pulled out and they followed, then went down the hill towards the health center. "How'd you get Luke to come out this weekend? Seems like he spends every weekend at his place supervising the work on his house."
"Well, wouldn't you if you were in his place?" Ann asked. "But I think there isn't any working going on this weekend. Luke said something about being hung up waiting on some plumbing. They're not very far from being done I think, the basic parts anyway. The kitchen plumbing, some drywall to be hung, and then painting."
"In a way I'll be sad to see them move out." John observed, "I'll miss all that cooking energy that Heather has been putting out. I think Mel and Brittany will miss her a lot too."
"I wouldn't miss them too fast darling. Lisa has really been doing yeoman's work on looking for a country place. In fact, I think she really is interested in buying Brittany's house. It's got the acreage they're looking for, good outbuildings and the house is basically sound. She's figuring they can just clean it up and work on developing the property into a homestead and then maybe expand the house when materials and labor become more reasonable. It's for sure they're not going to get the kind of return on their house they'd have gotten before the Impact. Do you think the courts will move on it before long?"
John shook his head. "I don't know but it could be. I ran into Brittany and Hank Gartner this morning in the court coffee shop since there was a hearing about Brittany's parents estate on the floor below me. He thinks they'll clear her inheritance fairly fast, it's pretty straightforward. Her parents had the place about half-paid for so if it's sold that's what she'll get, along with anything in the house that she wants to keep. He said he's willing to put the house on the market right away since Brittany has no desire to try to keep it and couldn't make the mortgage payments anyway. The bank her parents financed the mortgage through expressed a willingness to wait on the sale. I imagine the court wouldn't look too favorably on them trying to lean on Brittany. That Hatcher's willingness to buy the place would make everything much easier. Hank's pretty sharp though so Luke had best be willing to do some serious dickering."
Pulling up behind the health center John had no problems finding a parking space. "Well, I'm sure Luke will enjoy his country squire role if they do buy it." Ann said, "I hope they do. It would be nice to have them within a short bike ride of us. Luke's probably head down into his dictation again so I'll go and bang on his office door. Keep the truck warm!" She got out and walked across the snow covered driveway into the health center. John turned on the radio for something to pass the time while he waited. The local NPR station was in the middle of its evening news coverage.
<i>Repercussions continue to reverberate between Denver and Mexico City over last week's battle outside of the Northern Mexican town of Ciudad Juarez between Texan and New Mexican National Guard units, Texas Rangers and groups thought to be comprised of Villaist raiders and Aztlan revolutionaries. Several areas on the western side of the city were severely damaged in the fighting. Mexican President Vincente' Fox has demanded that President Bush immediately stop all cross border actions by U.S. forces or he will be forced to instruct the Mexican Army to neutralize future cross border incursions by what he has termed "New Mexican and Texan adventurers." President Bush after meeting with the governors of the border states yesterday released a statement this morning attempting to ameliorate the state of tension between the southwestern U.S. states and Mexico. "We should give diplomacy a chance to lower the tension between our nations before our ability to trade under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement are compromised." When asked for comment the Governor of New Mexico replied "we'll be happy to trade with anyone just as soon as we've hanged the bandits who are preying on it." The Governor of Texas declined comment pending a closed door meeting of the Texas legislature today.
In other domestic news Energy Secretary Robert Hayes announced today that emergency shipment of home heating oil would be increased to the Northern Tier and New England states as the record breaking cold of the Asteroid Impact winter weather continues unabated. Priority on road and rail shipments have been given to these areas following the loss of the Great Lake ports due to the inability to keep the St. Lawrence Seaway free of ice. Department of Transportation spokespersons indicate that supplemental ice breaking ships and machinery are being rushed to the area but scarcity of such equipment due to the global nature of the problem is hampering the effort. Minnesota National Guard troops are continuing their house to house efforts to locate stranded and freezing residents in need of evacuation in the wake of yesterday's record breaking blizzard. Snowfall this winter in that state has exceeded all others since records were first kept there.
Army Corp of Engineers representatives testified before Congress today in Denver that they expect to have most Mississippi river ports cleared of debris from Memphis nearly to the sunken city of New Orleans which will allow the many oil terminals there to begin receiving shipments again as the oil companies are able to bring them back on line. Work on the terminals themselves has been hampered by the severe winter weather. Some grain shipments are already being received.
Internationally Saudi Arabia announced today that it had reached agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Syria, and Libya on what they are calling "a set of Common Cause Accords" though details of what are in these accords were not released. Official representatives from Egypt, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Pakistan attended but have not indicated if they will also sign on to the accords. Unofficial representatives from Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Indonesia also attended. The State Department declined comment pending receipt of details about the nature of the accord.
Radio Moscow announced today that a skirmish broke out along the Russian/Chinese border in a densely forested area west of the port city of Vladivostok. Chinese Army officials indicated the matter was nothing more than a large patrol becoming lost and inadverdently crossing the border. Russian army officials in Vladivostok state the Chinese crossed the border in force and were repulsed. Russia and China have had a long history of skirmishes along their many thousand mile border. Increases in border skirmishes usually reflect increasing tension between those two nations, which heretofore have had a long period of quiet. People's Liberation Army officials in Beijing stated the responsible commander would be severely disciplined for his carelessness.
Also in Asia today Philippine Navy officials report increasing frequencies of skirmishes between Chinese gun boats and armed fishing vessels in the Spratley Islands. The Philippine government is sending naval reinforcements to the area as tensions increase. The Vietnamese government is also sen…"</i> Ann opened the door and Luke climbed into the jump seat in the back, then his wife loaded up. "I had to drag him away from his dictation again." She sighed. "You should see his office!"
The doctor grinned ruefully. "I'm afraid the profession of medicine is practiced nearly as much on paper as it is in the clinic or operating room. I see my scheduled patients in clinic or the O.R., emergency patients on an as necessary basis, and in the cracks I have to keep up with the paperwork. Somewhere in there I sleep, eat, and have a life. With the economy being the way it is the hospital has had to cut the housekeeping staff to the bone so non-vital areas like offices don't get cleaned much."
Ann laughed, "That's the truth. While I was badgering him to stop I went around his office picking up cups, wrappers, napkins, plates and some stuff that I couldn't identify and dumped it all in this office trash can and then dumped it in the can out in the hall. Well, anyway, I'm glad we're on the way home now. My office has been FREEZING. They've cut the maximum temperature down to sixty six and would cut it down further if it wouldn't cause condensation problems in the computers! I sleep with two pairs of socks on in the dorm. I don't think I've been warm all week!"
John grinned. "Well, the girls said they were going to whomp up a mighty pot of beans and bread for supper tonight. Heather's really getting this sourdough thing down. We had sourdough pancakes for breakfast this morning. Which reminds me, we're about out of syrup so I want to stop at the grocery and see what they've got. Likely won't have any real cane syrup but plain old table syrup will do for the kids. We need more hot sauce too. Beans we've got, condiments we're running short on."
Luke said, "That's serious. I like beans well enough but I need Tabasco to get them down. We'd better stock up."
John pulled away from the health center, spinning his tires slightly at the uphill light onto Archer road but quickly getting traction enough to move forward. He was getting more experience at driving on snow and ice than he'd ever wanted.
Three miles down Archer road he pulled into the parking lot of the Albertsons supermarket there were only a half-dozen cars to be seen. He stared at the front of the building, no longer boarded up but well lit and open for business. "We haven't been in here since before the Impact. Last time I really noticed the place was that riot that happened here the night we brought Mel home from the hospital. You can still see a few bullet holes there over the windows. "
The doctor scrutinized the building then said, "You can see bullet holes. I remember that riot, the police were afraid it was getting out of hand when it spread across the street to the neighboring shopping center. First we knew of it was when several truckloads of troops pulled up to secure the hospital. Captain Swift was not a pleasant man to be sure but he did keep things from getting too far out of hand in the early days."
The three climbed out of the truck and walked through the snow to the doors. John noticed the adjoining Albertson's liquor store was gone and now being occupied by a new company. As they approached closer he could read the sign in the window which said, "Australian Relief Authority." This struck his curiosity so he said, "Let's go in. I want to see what they're about."
Stepping through the doors he found a clean, well lit area largely empty of furnishings but with a half dozen desks and plenty of chairs. In the back of the store space he saw many pallets stacked with bags which he assumed were various food supplies. A young woman with an Australian accent that John found very pleasant greeted them at the door. "G'day! You look like this is your first time. Have you come to apply?"
Somewhat taken aback by the idea John said, "Uhm, I'm not sure. Apply for what?"
The girl looked at him rather quizzically and said, "Why, for aid and assistance, of course. Have a seat here at this desk and we'll get you started."
He looked at Ann and Luke who both shrugged their shoulders so he sat down in the indicated chair.
"Right then." She said very industriously, "Let's have your name."
"I'm John Horne. That's my wife Ann. This is Luke Hatcher, he and his family live with us."
"Very good. Do you have any children or other dependents? How many are in Mr. Hatcher's family?"
John replied, "That's Dr. Hatcher, actually, he's a surgeon. We have a ten year old daughter whose name is Melinda and another twelve year old girl named Brittany Tiersdale who is our ward. Dr. Hatcher's wife and daughter live with us as well."
"Very good" The girl said absently as she entered the information on her laptop computer. "You say Dr. Hatcher's a surgeon. We don't get many doctors in here but we've had everything else! Is anyone else in the household employed?"
He was beginning to regret letting his curiosity get the better of him and leading him into this but the idea of applying for foreign aid in his own hometown just struck him as so odd that he went on. "Yes, my wife here works for the university as an agricultural librarian. Dr. Hatcher's wife works as a trauma nurse at the clinic in Archer. I haven't been called back to work yet. No one else is employed."
"OK then" the girl tapped away on her keyboard. "This girl, Brittany Tiersdale, is she receiving any support from the state?"
"No. We've applied for it but the system is badly overwhelmed since the Impact. I have no idea when we'll hear anything about that."
The girl sniffed, "I'm afraid I'm not surprised. The social service agencies here are hopeless. Now then, all I need from you now is your home address and telephone number, if you have one."
He'd never had much use for Florida's social service agencies in any regard but somehow hearing this pretty young girl from another nation slighting them made his hackles stand up. The fact that she was right seemed to make it even worse. He gave her their address and contact information and she entered the data and then apparently went through a series of steps in whatever program was recording their information on her computer.
"It'll just be a moment, Mr. Horne. There's a bit of a lag as the data bounces off the satellites back to home where the main offices works its magic on it then bounces it back here. While we're waiting may I ask if you are in need of heating assistance? That's not our balliwick actually but we scout for your Red Cross and United Way mates when we process our clients."
The entire process was starting to embarrass him so he said "no" rather more curtly than he really intended. Her laptop gave a musical little jingle then the printer it was linked to begin to work. A single sheet of paper rolled out and she picked it up and scrutinized it.
"Very good! The Home Office has interfaced with your national records and everything checks out. Often enough it doesn't. I have your monthly issue right here. If you'll follow me we'll get one of the carts in the back and load it up. I'm afraid we haven't anyway to deliver it for you but you can make multiple trips if necessary. I won't let anyone touch your issue before you can move it all."
They followed the girl into the back of the store where she pulled out an Albertson's grocery cart. "Doesn't this compete with the grocery store?" John asked, "Seems like they'd object to y'all using their storefront and carts and what not."
"Oh no! Mr. Horne, not at all." The girl reassured him. "It's actually in their interest. As I'm sure you know the free-market prices in the stores are quite steep, even with the devaluation of your American dollar. The welfare ration your government can issue doesn't really cover the amount that the people unable to pay free-market prices need so the foreign relief agencies like us, the Japanese, the Germans, Chile, Peru, and some of the other nations are helping to cover the shortfall until you Yanks can get back on your feet again. This keeps the hard feelings that many would otherwise have against your merchants to a minimum and also keeps your food merchants from being totally nationalized by your government. By next fall we'll probably phase out but this winter we are definitely needed."
He nodded his head, "I see" he said, his mind awhirl with the implications of what she'd told him.
"Now I'm afraid your issue is rather small for the number of people in your household due to your having a doctor and nurse living with you but your ward - Brittany did you say her name was? - helps to balance that out. She's in your state records as being fostered to you. If this amount will be a hardship for your household you can apply for a special circumstances waiver."
John asked, "Your home office seems to have a pretty complete access to American records. How did they arrange this?"
"Oh that," she said, "your government arranged that through the relevant United Nations relief agencies so that the various National Relief Authorities and Non-Governmental Relief Organizations like the Red Cross could more quickly speed aid to the necessary people in need here in the U.S. while minimizing fraud and abuse. I'm sorry to say we've had a bit of a problem along those lines but your local authorities have been very helpful in dealing with it."
"I see" he said as she indicated bags and parcels to a young man in a shop apron who began to load them onto John's cart.
"Now then" the girl smiled brightly, "I think we've got you about ready to go. There's your powdered milk, your flour, your rice, your sugar, your dry beans, your cooking fat and because you have children in your household your powdered eggs. There's also a powdered fruit drink which contains the daily requirements of vitamins A & C. Tastes rather like your American Hawaiin Punch I'm told."
John said nothing at first but just stared at the food in the cart. He then turned and looked at Luke and Ann. Luke was stone faced, Ann looked at him expectantly like she was waiting on him to tell her something. A knot grew inside his chest and he felt his face burning. Finally he turned back to the young girl and said, "Miss, I'm sorry. I can't do this. I really do appreciate what your people are trying to do here for those folks who need it but I just can't. I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Thank you, just the same." He turned and began to walk away.
"Mr. Horne!" The girl said and he turned around. She had a sympathetic look on her face. She spoke gently, "I understand. Really, I do. You're not the first who has had… reservations. I won't try to force this on you but if you should change your mind it will be here for you if you want it."
Shame burned through him but he kept his voice gentle as well. "Thank you miss. If I change my mind I'll be back. You've been nothing but kind." He turned again and walked out, Luke and Ann following.
Outside the store Ann touched her husband on the arm and said, "John, why didn't you take that food? It could really help us get through this winter! It's not like we're stealing it. They checked us out, even with Luke and Lisa being with us we're entitled to it."
John shook his head. "Darling, I've never really thought of myself as a proud man before but just then I realized how proud I really am. These people mean well, they really do. They're not doing anything for us that we haven't done for many, many nations around this world in our time when disaster fell upon them but just now I've come to realize what a gall bitter pill such aid must be to anyone accustomed to providing for their families through the fruits of their own efforts. The fact that she was nothing but kind just made it all the worse. We're hard up compared to what we had before the Impact but we're not that hard up and by God so long as I live the Horne family never will be! I bear these people no ill will but WE will take care of our OWN. We came here to buy condiments for God's sake, not ask for charity, no matter how kindly it is offered."
Ann looked him in the face and said nothing for a moment then spoke, "Those whom the Gods would destroy they first make proud."
He said nothing for a moment, his jaw working then finally let out, "I won't deny the truth in what you have said, but a man's got to stand for something or he is no man at all. These folks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If worst comes to worst I'll swallow my pride and walk in here hat in hand but we're not there yet. By the Grace of God we never will be. Now let's go get that goddamned Tabasco sauce."
-- -- -- --
The unbroken snow in front of the gate crunched as John pulled up. Ann got out, opened the gate and he pulled through. She closed it and walked up to the house. Inside they began to take off their hats and coats, the smell of baking bread and beans filling the room.
"Oh my, but that smells GOOD!" John said, "That scrawny sandwich I had for lunch at the courthouse gave up the ghost hours ago. I could eat a bear, hide and all!"
Heather came into the room to fetch the plates to set the table with. "Did you come through Archer on the way back?" She asked.
"No hon, we didn't" her father asked. "Why?"
"Well, because mom hasn't come home yet. She called a half-hour ago and said she was leaving right then but she made it home yet. I'm starting to get kind of worried. "
Luke looked at John. "Reckon we'd better go look for her then" John said, "Hopefully she's just stuck in a ditch but I reckon we'd better get a couple of rifles just in case. Stay close to the radio in case we need you."
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Scottsworth
Inactive
Excellent Alan!
Have you secured movie rights yet?!
Have you secured movie rights yet?!
Alan, once again all you have left me to say is, fantastic work as always.
Seems every nutcase is coming out from within the wood works. KKK, Villaist type raiders and even some Aztlan revolutionaries.
Waiting to see something about the New Black Panthers Party and of course WAR.
I can hardly wait to get home and check the site, to see what's happening with the Horne Family.
Take care, stay safe and watch your six.
Seems every nutcase is coming out from within the wood works. KKK, Villaist type raiders and even some Aztlan revolutionaries.
Waiting to see something about the New Black Panthers Party and of course WAR.
I can hardly wait to get home and check the site, to see what's happening with the Horne Family.
Take care, stay safe and watch your six.
I've noticed that several people have hinted that they have publishing "connections" Alan. I would sincerely hope that you follow-up on those possibilities. The contemporary nature of your writing here, would, to my mind, make the presentation to publishers in a timely fashion something that should be expidited.
You have more than enough verbaige now to dangle in front of a publisher.
Of course you probably know all this.....but I can't help but want to see this and you recieve the recognition and profits you so richly deserve.
John
You have more than enough verbaige now to dangle in front of a publisher.
Of course you probably know all this.....but I can't help but want to see this and you recieve the recognition and profits you so richly deserve.
John
G
Glandor
Guest
BTTT so Alan can find it and give me my next "fix"
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
January 24, 2003- Arrivals
"John to base, radio check. Over." John unkeyed the mike and waited.
"Base to Uncle John. I read you five by five. Over" Heather's voice came out of the truck radio speaker a moment later.
The truck went out the gate and turned right towards Archer. After a few hundred yards John forced himself to slow his speed after he hit a patch of ice and went into a slide, narrowly avoiding leaving the pavement. "Damn it!" he growled, "I hate driving on this crap. How did y'all get through the winter up North every year Luke?"
The doctor grinned, "Mainly we tried not to drive when the roads were icy until after the plows and salt trucks had gotten out. If we did have to drive on ice or snow we had studded tires or chains, neither of which you're likely to find here I admit."
The truck crept along, the headlights reflecting from the snow covered road and trees. Finally, about a mile out of Archer they came upon Miguel's flat bed truck perpendicular in the road with its flashers blinking. Behind the truck stood the man tying a rope underneath a small red car they immediately recognized as Lisa's. John carefully pulled over to the shoulder and the two men got out. The passenger door of the flatbed opened and Lisa got out.
"Hi!" she said, embarrassment plain on her face. "I, uhmm, slid off the road into the ditch when I hit a patch of ice. Miguel was kind enough to come to my rescue."
She walked around the front of the truck and joined the two men as they walked over to where Miguel was finishing his knotwork.
"Buenos noches John" Miguel said, a wide grin on his face. "I'm rescuing one of your females - again. You should keep better track of them!"
John's face went red then he grinned himself. "Well, you know how it is Miguel. They go to school and get ideas about being independent and all. Besides, she's Luke's female, not mine!"
Luke laughed and said, "Looks like I've been remiss in my duties."
Lisa cast a level gaze at them and said, "OK, you guys. That'll be enough of that!"
Miguel said, "I think the rope will hold. John, if you'd get behind the wheel of the car I'll pull you out. I've spread sand over the pavement for traction. Really should use salt, but who has that much of it in Florida?"
The men took their respective positions and with a groaning of the big motor Miguel dropped his truck into first gear and powered the little red car out of the ditch. Once they were both on the pavement he stopped and got out. He untied the rope as John and Luke looked over the back of Lisa's car. The bumper was pushed in slightly but the vehicle was otherwise drivable.
They were considering the situation when Lisa looked up at Luke and said, "Uhhm, honey, you're not angry with me are you?"
Luke looked at her and said, "No, why? It was an accident. We nearly went off the road ourselves getting here. There's a lot of ice on the road since it doesn't see much traffic now."
His wife looked relieved. "There is a lot of ice, more than there was when I came in this morning. I suppose the dark surface of the road must have warmed enough to melt the snow this afternoon and it froze again as the sun went down. If it's still icy on Monday I'll drive more slowly."
John said, "I'm glad to see it was just some ice! I have to admit my heart was in my mouth there for a while wondering if we were going to have… trouble… again. Slick roads we can handle."
With a look of surprise Lisa said, "Oh! I'm so sorry John! It never occurred to me that my failure to come home on time might be interpreted that way. I should have had Miguel call the house for me."
"It's no big deal" John replied. "But in the future I think it would be a good idea to check in as soon as possible. Probably be a good idea for you put a radio or bag phone in your car. We're a little too far out for those tiny handheld cell phones to hit a tower."
"That's a good idea John." Luke said. "We both have the little handhelds but have gotten out of the habit of using them here in the county because they don't have enough power to get a reliable signal. If we buy a house out here we're going to have to have a stronger phone."
Miguel looked interested. "Luke are you planning on moving out of town to live with your rustic cousins?"
The doctor grinned and said, "Yes, we are. As soon as possible in fact. Nothing like a brush with disaster to show you what's important and what's not. As soon as we can get the materials to finish the repairs on the house we're going to put it on the market and look for something out in the country, on this side of the county. John's been a very gracious host but it's getting to be time we find our own place and become a more solid part of the community."
"Well then" the shopkeeper said, "I will keep my eyes open for places for you. I think there will be many homes on the market soon as the economy struggles to revive itself. Now that the government has… rejuvenated… the dollar and allowed the banks to reopen there will be many forced to sell their homes I believe. I may have something to offer you myself in a couple of weeks."
Lisa asked, "Do you think the banks are going to foreclose on mortgages? Surely that would be bad with so many people out of work?"
The man shrugged. "I think the banks must try to recoup something from their investments but whether the government will allow them to take people's homes from them for failure to meet their mortgages I cannot say. Personally, I think we will see many, many banks fail in the near future now that the economy is trying to start breathing again. The shock and paralysis of the Impact is beginning to wear off but the economic impact we are only just now starting to feel. I would not keep anything I would mind losing in any sort of institution. Eventually the failures will slow, then stop and a new world will begin to unfold but we are not there yet."
John said, "Well, I don't know about you but I'm about to freeze. Miguel, you want to come to the house and have supper with us? It's the least we can offer after rescuing our wayward nurse here."
Miguel smiled. "My friend, I accept your kind offer! Carolita and the boys have gone to her sister's place in Otter Creek for the weekend so I was left having to fend for myself. Running a store and rescuing damsel's in distress I have some talent for but I'm afraid my cooking is rather barbarous."
"Very good!" John laughed, "Then let's put Lisa's little crackerbox in the middle and we'll head to the house. That bread the girl's were baking smelled mighty fine when we pulled in a while ago!"
-- -- -- --
Miguel stood and gave the assembled girls a low sweeping bow. "Senoritas, that was a most excellent repast! You have saved me from a terrible fate of eating my own cooking tonight. I am deeply in your debt!"
The girls giggled then Heather said, "But Mr. Miguel, we're not done yet! There's still dessert to come."
John's eyebrow quirked and he said, "Dessert? Sounds like an capital idea to me!"
Melinda giggled and went into the kitchen with Brittany. They returned moments later with a tall, dark chocolate cake studded with precisely ordered pecan halves. Brittany had a capped metal can that she unlidded to reveal a straw colored home made ice cream.
Miguel's eyes widened and then exclaimed "Carumba! What a cake! You made it yourselves? And the ice cream too?"
John laughed, "You should see what these girls get up to being trapped in the house for so long by the weather. I have to limit how much baking they do to keep from running through our stores too fast. If we didn't all work so hard we'd be positively rotund. Nothing like having your own cow for making ice cream. Too bad we don't have more vanilla."
"Uhh, actually Uncle John" Heather hesitantly spoke, "that's not straight vanilla ice cream. We're getting low on extract so this time we used a little of your whisky and made vanilla-bourbon flavor. You were in court so I called aunt Ann at work and she said that it would be OK."
With a look of mock outrage on his face the man whirled to confront his wife and she laughed. "Oh, don't you look annoyed at me John Horne! If you'd bought more extract instead of spending it all on whisky we'd have plenty for the ice cream."
He grinned and looked pointedly at the girls, "All I can say is that it had better be good. Now don't stand there looking smug, start passing out the goods before the ice cream melts!"
Heather sliced the cake while Brittany dipped the ice cream and Melinda handed round the bowls, giving the first to Miguel. He took a bite of the deep dark cake and closed his eyes. "Ah, yes. What a cake." He looked at John then said, "My friend, what a fortunate man you are to have such children in your household! But you are woefully short of strong backs to help you in your labors. Perhaps you'd care to trade say… Heather for my youngest son Alberto? He could help you with the heavy work and Heather could make cakes for me!" He winked at Heather's father.
Lisa spoke up and said, "On no you don't Miguel Alvarez! I've heard about Latin men! Besides, what would Carolita say?"
Miguel adopted a tragic expression and said, "Alas, but you are right senora. Carolita, she is a strong willed and hot tempered woman. It would soon lead to tragedy for the Alvarez men, I'm afraid."
Luke smiled broadly and cut his eyes at Lisa briefly while facing away from Heather. "Oh, I don't know Miguel. There may be a solution to your problem after all. Is not Roberto a man now and marriageable? Perhaps something could be arranged?"
Heather looked thunderstruck, "Daddy!" she said in a horrified tone.
"Exactamento!" Miguel said, "Perhaps such an arrangement can be made. Traditionally the girl's father would provide a dowry. What do you suggest?"
A crafty look came over the doctor's face. "Well, actually, in this case with Heather being such an excellent cook, and having somewhat less than plain features…"
"Daddy! 'less than plain features' my foot!" his daughter snorted, "Why…"
"Hush daughter!" Her father commanded, "I am bargaining with the father of a potential suitor."
The faces of all of the women around the table began to cloud but Luke pressed on intrepidly. "Actually, in view of the circumstances I suggest that it is YOU who should offer a groom's price for the bride."
Miguel looked disconsolate and said, "Very well, what must be must be. Will you accept an offer in cattle or do you require camels or sheep? Such livestock will take time to collect."
"Cattle!" Heather said in outrage, "Camels? Sheep? Daddy, you are NOT going to… to… trade me off for livestock!"
"Never did like camels" Luke responded, "Had one spit on me in Egypt once. Cattle will do. Twelve young heifers in exchange for my prime young heifer would suffice I believe…" The rest of his words were lost as dish towels and napkins thrown by the females wrapped around his head and the men burst out laughing.
"Really mom!" Heather said exasperatedly, "Did you hear that! Trade me off for cattle and sheep!"
Her mother gazed levelly at her husband, a glint in her eye. "It's just an unfortunate trait when it comes to boys, I mean men, that breaks out from time to time. If we hadn't stopped it when we did they'd be growing hair all over and grunting before long. It's just a cross that we women must bear in order to perpetuate the species."
John took another spoonful of cake and ice cream and said, "Heather, you are quite forgiven for taking liberties with my whiskey. This is excellent!"
Miguel looked thoughtful as he ate more of his cake then finally said, "I have a real proposition I would like to make to Heather, and Melinda and Brittany as well."
Heather looked sharply at him as did Brittany and Melinda but Lisa and Ann looked interested. "What have you got in mind Miguel?"
"It's a business proposition, actually. This cake is excellent as was the bread we had with our meal. As you know it is very difficult to get convenience foods of any description now. Many times I have problems even getting ordinary loaf bread. What I am proposing is to give your girls here a chance to earn some money if they like. I will supply the necessary ingredients, perhaps even some of the equipment if necessary, and the girls make them into such items as cakes, pies, and other comestibles as would be good to sell in my store. I believe I could get quite a mark-up on something as good as that cake which would allow us both to profit in the venture. I would, of course, pay them for their work and something to Ann and John for the use of their kitchen. The girls would be able to cook to their heart's content, make a little money on the side, and I would get very desirable convenience foods to sell. What do you think?"
Heather looked excited as well as Brittany and Melinda. Lisa and Ann looked thoughtful. "Well," Ann said, "I like the sound of it but what about the health department? Aren't there regulations about home kitchens being used to make commercial foods? I'm quite sure we could not pass an inspection. I'm not sure any home kitchen would."
Miguel nodded his head. He considered for a moment then said, "I do not think it will be a problem. At least not for a while yet. Conditions being unsettled as they are many are doing things that would ordinarily be frowned upon by our health police. I will run interference for the girls should any bureaucrats become ruffled. During hard times in the past many people have prepared and sold food from their home kitchens and I am sure it is happening across the nation even now. I believe our health police will simply have to bow to the inevitable until conditions become more normal."
John had been considering the idea since Miguel mentioned it and joined in the discussion. "I think you may have something there Miguel. This could be a real family effort. I supply the physical plant so to speak and the girls supply the skilled labor while you supply the raw materials and do the marketing. For the girl's part we can deal in cash but for the house I'd like to work out a barter deal. Ann here brought home some very detailed schematics and materials lists for a small-scale methane production plant that was developed in India some time ago which have been languishing in their archives for years. I'd like to go over it with you and see what you can come up with in the way of materials for building it. You help us build and expand our plant here and we'll use it to produce your baked goods."
Miguel rubbed his chin and said, "My friend. I think we have the basis for an understanding here. Allow me to source the necessary supplies and determine how much product I'll be able to sell and we can all of us sit down and bargain over the details. I'll be happy to help you build your gas plant. Such an installation could serve as a prototype for others to be built in the community as well. A bit of capitalistic self-interest and a public service at the same time!"
John looked at the girls and asked, "Does this sound like something you want to involve yourself in? It'll be a regular job, a must be done on time and done right kind of thing? Are you up to it?"
They looked at each other for reassurance and each slowly nodded. Heather turned to look at John and said, "Yes sir, I think we're up to it. We'd like to hear Mr. Miguel's detailed presentation when he's got it worked out."
"Very well then" John said as he put his hand out to Miguel and they shook. "Looks like we have the basis for an understanding. Get back with us when you've got your data and we'll discuss this in earnest."
Miguel stood and said, "Excellent! Senoritas, that was a most excellent meal. Ladies, I thank you for your company. It's growing late so I should be off before the snow gets any deeper." John walked him to the front door where he retrieved his coat, put it on and went outside. John came back into the kitchen and said, "Well, that was a fortunate accident you had there Lisa!"
She smiled and said, "Well, I suppose it did come out alright but I've still got to get my car fixed. I'm glad to be home and out of that snow."
The family cleared away the dishes and the girls began to clean the kitchen. Luke said, "I've got some notes that I simply must go over while it's still fresh in my mind" and excused himself. Lisa helped with the dishes. John went into the living room and turned on the radio to try to find some news.
<i>In Los Angeles today rioting broke out in the south side barrios in response to the Immigration Service sweeps rounding up undocumented aliens. President Bush made a statement about the effor…"</i> Ann came into the room and sat down next to her husband. "John, I've got some news of my own tonight."
There was something about the way she said that which made him uneasy but he kept his voice light when he asked, "Oh? What's up?"
"I got an e-mail from Carla yesterday. She's at the base in San Diego." He was sure that something serious was going down now. Ann usually spoke much more lightly when communicating family news.
"Well, I'm glad we've heard from her again. Been a long time since that first letter! How is she? And the kids and Aaron too?"
She stared at the fire in the stove for a moment then said, "It was partially about Aaron that she wrote me. She found my work address through the university web site. She never received the letter you wrote her about your dad dying and there's at least one letter that followed the first one she sent that never made it here. She's been hopping all over the country these last few months as the military moves its assets around. She said they were really trying to disperse as much of their critical functions as they could which meant dislocating a lot of people."
John considered this, "I'll bet they're worried about some sort of mass destruction attack and want to be able to cut their losses if a base is hit. She wouldn't be able to say that outright because it's a near certainty that all electronic communications are monitored now. May be why those letters disappeared too for all we know."
"One of the things she tried to tell us in the missing letters is that Aaron has never been found. She's said the scene at the wharves was chaotic at the time of the evacuation and no one has any idea what may have become of him but he wasn't on any of the ships that made it out of Norfolk, nor does he seem to have made it onto one of the planes that evacuated. As near as anyone can tell he was still in Norfolk when the tsunami hit. Officially he's still listed as 'missing' but she thinks he's dead."
He let out a long sigh, a somber expression cast over his features. "Well, I suppose it was too much to hope to think we'd be entirely untouched by the disaster. We should count ourselves lucky that Carla and the kids survived."
She hesitated a moment then continued, "Surviving is the problem now John. She says the Navy is really stripping itself in order to carry out its mission and is jettisoning everything that might slow it down. She's facing a mandatory hardship discharge because there isn't anyone to be responsible for Cindy and Neil since Aaron was lost. She wants to know if she can come here until she can get her feet under her. I told her that I'd have to talk to you. She's got to have an answer by Monday."
John closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, hands rubbing his temples. "Jesus. When it comes, it comes in waves doesn't it? I figure that if we make a maximum effort to utilize all of our resources we'll get through the winter and far enough into spring to start getting some real food coming in without anyone here having to go on short rations and without having to ask for charity. There's just no way we'll be able to do that if we have to add three more mouths to feed to that equation."
"She's your sister, John. They're family." Ann looked somewhat bewildered at his response.
"Damn it! I know that!" he said harshly, "I know that. I didn't say they couldn't come here. I was just pointing out the hardship it was going to impose on everyone and… and… trying to resign myself to the inevitable. We're going to have to accept relief charity if everyone is going to eat. We've always put away more than we actually needed for just you, Mel, and myself and the livestock contribute even more but every bit of that surplus was taken up when we took in the Hatchers and Brittany. We're tapped out… Like it or not, I reckon I'll have to go down hat in hand and take that relief after all. I'll get over it… eventually… I suppose."
"Hon, I know it's hard but we're entitled to it." She said as soothingly as she could. "We won't be asking for anything that everyone else isn't entitled to. The government has always stepped in during times of disaster and we've done it for other countries for longer than you or I have been alive. It's only fair that they should do the same for us in our time of need."
He let out a long, long sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow just the same. Going to be crowded here for a spell if they show up before the Hatchers are able to move out but we'll get by. It'll take more than that to knock us out of the race."
Neither said anything for a time but just watched the fire burn through the glass doors of the stove. Finally Ann spoke up and said, "There may be a partial answer to the problem, if you're willing to offer it to Carla. She didn't ask but she might be willing to consider it. We could let her just send the kids so that she could stay in the service. That way she'd still be employed in a good job and making a decent wage and we'd have one less person here to feed. Fostering your niece and nephew I guess you'd call it."
He said nothing for a time then replied, "It's an idea. She doesn't have to have an answer until Monday when you go back to work. Let's chew it over until then and make up our mind Sunday night. Taking in her kids would give us one less mouth to feed but it would mean I'd have FIVE kids to cope with during the week when the rest of you are at work. When the Hatchers move out we'll be down to just four but Heather's the oldest and the one who'd be the most help riding herd on the rest. But if Carla was able to stay in she'd be able to help us out monetarily and possibly benefits wise, I don't know. Of course, she could get killed too. Let us not fool ourselves about the amount of fighting our military is going to find itself involved in before matters get back to normal - if they ever get back to normal at all."
He fell silent and they stared into the fire again. John gave a rueful grin and turned to his wife and said, "Well, just when I thought we were finally seeing a clear path to the end we discover there's a valley full of problems still ahead. Let's think about it."
"John to base, radio check. Over." John unkeyed the mike and waited.
"Base to Uncle John. I read you five by five. Over" Heather's voice came out of the truck radio speaker a moment later.
The truck went out the gate and turned right towards Archer. After a few hundred yards John forced himself to slow his speed after he hit a patch of ice and went into a slide, narrowly avoiding leaving the pavement. "Damn it!" he growled, "I hate driving on this crap. How did y'all get through the winter up North every year Luke?"
The doctor grinned, "Mainly we tried not to drive when the roads were icy until after the plows and salt trucks had gotten out. If we did have to drive on ice or snow we had studded tires or chains, neither of which you're likely to find here I admit."
The truck crept along, the headlights reflecting from the snow covered road and trees. Finally, about a mile out of Archer they came upon Miguel's flat bed truck perpendicular in the road with its flashers blinking. Behind the truck stood the man tying a rope underneath a small red car they immediately recognized as Lisa's. John carefully pulled over to the shoulder and the two men got out. The passenger door of the flatbed opened and Lisa got out.
"Hi!" she said, embarrassment plain on her face. "I, uhmm, slid off the road into the ditch when I hit a patch of ice. Miguel was kind enough to come to my rescue."
She walked around the front of the truck and joined the two men as they walked over to where Miguel was finishing his knotwork.
"Buenos noches John" Miguel said, a wide grin on his face. "I'm rescuing one of your females - again. You should keep better track of them!"
John's face went red then he grinned himself. "Well, you know how it is Miguel. They go to school and get ideas about being independent and all. Besides, she's Luke's female, not mine!"
Luke laughed and said, "Looks like I've been remiss in my duties."
Lisa cast a level gaze at them and said, "OK, you guys. That'll be enough of that!"
Miguel said, "I think the rope will hold. John, if you'd get behind the wheel of the car I'll pull you out. I've spread sand over the pavement for traction. Really should use salt, but who has that much of it in Florida?"
The men took their respective positions and with a groaning of the big motor Miguel dropped his truck into first gear and powered the little red car out of the ditch. Once they were both on the pavement he stopped and got out. He untied the rope as John and Luke looked over the back of Lisa's car. The bumper was pushed in slightly but the vehicle was otherwise drivable.
They were considering the situation when Lisa looked up at Luke and said, "Uhhm, honey, you're not angry with me are you?"
Luke looked at her and said, "No, why? It was an accident. We nearly went off the road ourselves getting here. There's a lot of ice on the road since it doesn't see much traffic now."
His wife looked relieved. "There is a lot of ice, more than there was when I came in this morning. I suppose the dark surface of the road must have warmed enough to melt the snow this afternoon and it froze again as the sun went down. If it's still icy on Monday I'll drive more slowly."
John said, "I'm glad to see it was just some ice! I have to admit my heart was in my mouth there for a while wondering if we were going to have… trouble… again. Slick roads we can handle."
With a look of surprise Lisa said, "Oh! I'm so sorry John! It never occurred to me that my failure to come home on time might be interpreted that way. I should have had Miguel call the house for me."
"It's no big deal" John replied. "But in the future I think it would be a good idea to check in as soon as possible. Probably be a good idea for you put a radio or bag phone in your car. We're a little too far out for those tiny handheld cell phones to hit a tower."
"That's a good idea John." Luke said. "We both have the little handhelds but have gotten out of the habit of using them here in the county because they don't have enough power to get a reliable signal. If we buy a house out here we're going to have to have a stronger phone."
Miguel looked interested. "Luke are you planning on moving out of town to live with your rustic cousins?"
The doctor grinned and said, "Yes, we are. As soon as possible in fact. Nothing like a brush with disaster to show you what's important and what's not. As soon as we can get the materials to finish the repairs on the house we're going to put it on the market and look for something out in the country, on this side of the county. John's been a very gracious host but it's getting to be time we find our own place and become a more solid part of the community."
"Well then" the shopkeeper said, "I will keep my eyes open for places for you. I think there will be many homes on the market soon as the economy struggles to revive itself. Now that the government has… rejuvenated… the dollar and allowed the banks to reopen there will be many forced to sell their homes I believe. I may have something to offer you myself in a couple of weeks."
Lisa asked, "Do you think the banks are going to foreclose on mortgages? Surely that would be bad with so many people out of work?"
The man shrugged. "I think the banks must try to recoup something from their investments but whether the government will allow them to take people's homes from them for failure to meet their mortgages I cannot say. Personally, I think we will see many, many banks fail in the near future now that the economy is trying to start breathing again. The shock and paralysis of the Impact is beginning to wear off but the economic impact we are only just now starting to feel. I would not keep anything I would mind losing in any sort of institution. Eventually the failures will slow, then stop and a new world will begin to unfold but we are not there yet."
John said, "Well, I don't know about you but I'm about to freeze. Miguel, you want to come to the house and have supper with us? It's the least we can offer after rescuing our wayward nurse here."
Miguel smiled. "My friend, I accept your kind offer! Carolita and the boys have gone to her sister's place in Otter Creek for the weekend so I was left having to fend for myself. Running a store and rescuing damsel's in distress I have some talent for but I'm afraid my cooking is rather barbarous."
"Very good!" John laughed, "Then let's put Lisa's little crackerbox in the middle and we'll head to the house. That bread the girl's were baking smelled mighty fine when we pulled in a while ago!"
-- -- -- --
Miguel stood and gave the assembled girls a low sweeping bow. "Senoritas, that was a most excellent repast! You have saved me from a terrible fate of eating my own cooking tonight. I am deeply in your debt!"
The girls giggled then Heather said, "But Mr. Miguel, we're not done yet! There's still dessert to come."
John's eyebrow quirked and he said, "Dessert? Sounds like an capital idea to me!"
Melinda giggled and went into the kitchen with Brittany. They returned moments later with a tall, dark chocolate cake studded with precisely ordered pecan halves. Brittany had a capped metal can that she unlidded to reveal a straw colored home made ice cream.
Miguel's eyes widened and then exclaimed "Carumba! What a cake! You made it yourselves? And the ice cream too?"
John laughed, "You should see what these girls get up to being trapped in the house for so long by the weather. I have to limit how much baking they do to keep from running through our stores too fast. If we didn't all work so hard we'd be positively rotund. Nothing like having your own cow for making ice cream. Too bad we don't have more vanilla."
"Uhh, actually Uncle John" Heather hesitantly spoke, "that's not straight vanilla ice cream. We're getting low on extract so this time we used a little of your whisky and made vanilla-bourbon flavor. You were in court so I called aunt Ann at work and she said that it would be OK."
With a look of mock outrage on his face the man whirled to confront his wife and she laughed. "Oh, don't you look annoyed at me John Horne! If you'd bought more extract instead of spending it all on whisky we'd have plenty for the ice cream."
He grinned and looked pointedly at the girls, "All I can say is that it had better be good. Now don't stand there looking smug, start passing out the goods before the ice cream melts!"
Heather sliced the cake while Brittany dipped the ice cream and Melinda handed round the bowls, giving the first to Miguel. He took a bite of the deep dark cake and closed his eyes. "Ah, yes. What a cake." He looked at John then said, "My friend, what a fortunate man you are to have such children in your household! But you are woefully short of strong backs to help you in your labors. Perhaps you'd care to trade say… Heather for my youngest son Alberto? He could help you with the heavy work and Heather could make cakes for me!" He winked at Heather's father.
Lisa spoke up and said, "On no you don't Miguel Alvarez! I've heard about Latin men! Besides, what would Carolita say?"
Miguel adopted a tragic expression and said, "Alas, but you are right senora. Carolita, she is a strong willed and hot tempered woman. It would soon lead to tragedy for the Alvarez men, I'm afraid."
Luke smiled broadly and cut his eyes at Lisa briefly while facing away from Heather. "Oh, I don't know Miguel. There may be a solution to your problem after all. Is not Roberto a man now and marriageable? Perhaps something could be arranged?"
Heather looked thunderstruck, "Daddy!" she said in a horrified tone.
"Exactamento!" Miguel said, "Perhaps such an arrangement can be made. Traditionally the girl's father would provide a dowry. What do you suggest?"
A crafty look came over the doctor's face. "Well, actually, in this case with Heather being such an excellent cook, and having somewhat less than plain features…"
"Daddy! 'less than plain features' my foot!" his daughter snorted, "Why…"
"Hush daughter!" Her father commanded, "I am bargaining with the father of a potential suitor."
The faces of all of the women around the table began to cloud but Luke pressed on intrepidly. "Actually, in view of the circumstances I suggest that it is YOU who should offer a groom's price for the bride."
Miguel looked disconsolate and said, "Very well, what must be must be. Will you accept an offer in cattle or do you require camels or sheep? Such livestock will take time to collect."
"Cattle!" Heather said in outrage, "Camels? Sheep? Daddy, you are NOT going to… to… trade me off for livestock!"
"Never did like camels" Luke responded, "Had one spit on me in Egypt once. Cattle will do. Twelve young heifers in exchange for my prime young heifer would suffice I believe…" The rest of his words were lost as dish towels and napkins thrown by the females wrapped around his head and the men burst out laughing.
"Really mom!" Heather said exasperatedly, "Did you hear that! Trade me off for cattle and sheep!"
Her mother gazed levelly at her husband, a glint in her eye. "It's just an unfortunate trait when it comes to boys, I mean men, that breaks out from time to time. If we hadn't stopped it when we did they'd be growing hair all over and grunting before long. It's just a cross that we women must bear in order to perpetuate the species."
John took another spoonful of cake and ice cream and said, "Heather, you are quite forgiven for taking liberties with my whiskey. This is excellent!"
Miguel looked thoughtful as he ate more of his cake then finally said, "I have a real proposition I would like to make to Heather, and Melinda and Brittany as well."
Heather looked sharply at him as did Brittany and Melinda but Lisa and Ann looked interested. "What have you got in mind Miguel?"
"It's a business proposition, actually. This cake is excellent as was the bread we had with our meal. As you know it is very difficult to get convenience foods of any description now. Many times I have problems even getting ordinary loaf bread. What I am proposing is to give your girls here a chance to earn some money if they like. I will supply the necessary ingredients, perhaps even some of the equipment if necessary, and the girls make them into such items as cakes, pies, and other comestibles as would be good to sell in my store. I believe I could get quite a mark-up on something as good as that cake which would allow us both to profit in the venture. I would, of course, pay them for their work and something to Ann and John for the use of their kitchen. The girls would be able to cook to their heart's content, make a little money on the side, and I would get very desirable convenience foods to sell. What do you think?"
Heather looked excited as well as Brittany and Melinda. Lisa and Ann looked thoughtful. "Well," Ann said, "I like the sound of it but what about the health department? Aren't there regulations about home kitchens being used to make commercial foods? I'm quite sure we could not pass an inspection. I'm not sure any home kitchen would."
Miguel nodded his head. He considered for a moment then said, "I do not think it will be a problem. At least not for a while yet. Conditions being unsettled as they are many are doing things that would ordinarily be frowned upon by our health police. I will run interference for the girls should any bureaucrats become ruffled. During hard times in the past many people have prepared and sold food from their home kitchens and I am sure it is happening across the nation even now. I believe our health police will simply have to bow to the inevitable until conditions become more normal."
John had been considering the idea since Miguel mentioned it and joined in the discussion. "I think you may have something there Miguel. This could be a real family effort. I supply the physical plant so to speak and the girls supply the skilled labor while you supply the raw materials and do the marketing. For the girl's part we can deal in cash but for the house I'd like to work out a barter deal. Ann here brought home some very detailed schematics and materials lists for a small-scale methane production plant that was developed in India some time ago which have been languishing in their archives for years. I'd like to go over it with you and see what you can come up with in the way of materials for building it. You help us build and expand our plant here and we'll use it to produce your baked goods."
Miguel rubbed his chin and said, "My friend. I think we have the basis for an understanding here. Allow me to source the necessary supplies and determine how much product I'll be able to sell and we can all of us sit down and bargain over the details. I'll be happy to help you build your gas plant. Such an installation could serve as a prototype for others to be built in the community as well. A bit of capitalistic self-interest and a public service at the same time!"
John looked at the girls and asked, "Does this sound like something you want to involve yourself in? It'll be a regular job, a must be done on time and done right kind of thing? Are you up to it?"
They looked at each other for reassurance and each slowly nodded. Heather turned to look at John and said, "Yes sir, I think we're up to it. We'd like to hear Mr. Miguel's detailed presentation when he's got it worked out."
"Very well then" John said as he put his hand out to Miguel and they shook. "Looks like we have the basis for an understanding. Get back with us when you've got your data and we'll discuss this in earnest."
Miguel stood and said, "Excellent! Senoritas, that was a most excellent meal. Ladies, I thank you for your company. It's growing late so I should be off before the snow gets any deeper." John walked him to the front door where he retrieved his coat, put it on and went outside. John came back into the kitchen and said, "Well, that was a fortunate accident you had there Lisa!"
She smiled and said, "Well, I suppose it did come out alright but I've still got to get my car fixed. I'm glad to be home and out of that snow."
The family cleared away the dishes and the girls began to clean the kitchen. Luke said, "I've got some notes that I simply must go over while it's still fresh in my mind" and excused himself. Lisa helped with the dishes. John went into the living room and turned on the radio to try to find some news.
<i>In Los Angeles today rioting broke out in the south side barrios in response to the Immigration Service sweeps rounding up undocumented aliens. President Bush made a statement about the effor…"</i> Ann came into the room and sat down next to her husband. "John, I've got some news of my own tonight."
There was something about the way she said that which made him uneasy but he kept his voice light when he asked, "Oh? What's up?"
"I got an e-mail from Carla yesterday. She's at the base in San Diego." He was sure that something serious was going down now. Ann usually spoke much more lightly when communicating family news.
"Well, I'm glad we've heard from her again. Been a long time since that first letter! How is she? And the kids and Aaron too?"
She stared at the fire in the stove for a moment then said, "It was partially about Aaron that she wrote me. She found my work address through the university web site. She never received the letter you wrote her about your dad dying and there's at least one letter that followed the first one she sent that never made it here. She's been hopping all over the country these last few months as the military moves its assets around. She said they were really trying to disperse as much of their critical functions as they could which meant dislocating a lot of people."
John considered this, "I'll bet they're worried about some sort of mass destruction attack and want to be able to cut their losses if a base is hit. She wouldn't be able to say that outright because it's a near certainty that all electronic communications are monitored now. May be why those letters disappeared too for all we know."
"One of the things she tried to tell us in the missing letters is that Aaron has never been found. She's said the scene at the wharves was chaotic at the time of the evacuation and no one has any idea what may have become of him but he wasn't on any of the ships that made it out of Norfolk, nor does he seem to have made it onto one of the planes that evacuated. As near as anyone can tell he was still in Norfolk when the tsunami hit. Officially he's still listed as 'missing' but she thinks he's dead."
He let out a long sigh, a somber expression cast over his features. "Well, I suppose it was too much to hope to think we'd be entirely untouched by the disaster. We should count ourselves lucky that Carla and the kids survived."
She hesitated a moment then continued, "Surviving is the problem now John. She says the Navy is really stripping itself in order to carry out its mission and is jettisoning everything that might slow it down. She's facing a mandatory hardship discharge because there isn't anyone to be responsible for Cindy and Neil since Aaron was lost. She wants to know if she can come here until she can get her feet under her. I told her that I'd have to talk to you. She's got to have an answer by Monday."
John closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, hands rubbing his temples. "Jesus. When it comes, it comes in waves doesn't it? I figure that if we make a maximum effort to utilize all of our resources we'll get through the winter and far enough into spring to start getting some real food coming in without anyone here having to go on short rations and without having to ask for charity. There's just no way we'll be able to do that if we have to add three more mouths to feed to that equation."
"She's your sister, John. They're family." Ann looked somewhat bewildered at his response.
"Damn it! I know that!" he said harshly, "I know that. I didn't say they couldn't come here. I was just pointing out the hardship it was going to impose on everyone and… and… trying to resign myself to the inevitable. We're going to have to accept relief charity if everyone is going to eat. We've always put away more than we actually needed for just you, Mel, and myself and the livestock contribute even more but every bit of that surplus was taken up when we took in the Hatchers and Brittany. We're tapped out… Like it or not, I reckon I'll have to go down hat in hand and take that relief after all. I'll get over it… eventually… I suppose."
"Hon, I know it's hard but we're entitled to it." She said as soothingly as she could. "We won't be asking for anything that everyone else isn't entitled to. The government has always stepped in during times of disaster and we've done it for other countries for longer than you or I have been alive. It's only fair that they should do the same for us in our time of need."
He let out a long, long sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow just the same. Going to be crowded here for a spell if they show up before the Hatchers are able to move out but we'll get by. It'll take more than that to knock us out of the race."
Neither said anything for a time but just watched the fire burn through the glass doors of the stove. Finally Ann spoke up and said, "There may be a partial answer to the problem, if you're willing to offer it to Carla. She didn't ask but she might be willing to consider it. We could let her just send the kids so that she could stay in the service. That way she'd still be employed in a good job and making a decent wage and we'd have one less person here to feed. Fostering your niece and nephew I guess you'd call it."
He said nothing for a time then replied, "It's an idea. She doesn't have to have an answer until Monday when you go back to work. Let's chew it over until then and make up our mind Sunday night. Taking in her kids would give us one less mouth to feed but it would mean I'd have FIVE kids to cope with during the week when the rest of you are at work. When the Hatchers move out we'll be down to just four but Heather's the oldest and the one who'd be the most help riding herd on the rest. But if Carla was able to stay in she'd be able to help us out monetarily and possibly benefits wise, I don't know. Of course, she could get killed too. Let us not fool ourselves about the amount of fighting our military is going to find itself involved in before matters get back to normal - if they ever get back to normal at all."
He fell silent and they stared into the fire again. John gave a rueful grin and turned to his wife and said, "Well, just when I thought we were finally seeing a clear path to the end we discover there's a valley full of problems still ahead. Let's think about it."
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Sammy55
Veteran Member
Alan-
I ALWAYS look first when I get to TB2K to see if you have the latest chapter up. I LOVE your book!! I'll buy it when you get it published. Promise!!
Share your secret of staying young with us, though!! First you write about December 2002...then a few weeks pass...and you write about January 2002. I'd like that kind of time!! Gives you a chance to do it all over again!! 
Sammy55
I ALWAYS look first when I get to TB2K to see if you have the latest chapter up. I LOVE your book!! I'll buy it when you get it published. Promise!!
Share your secret of staying young with us, though!! First you write about December 2002...then a few weeks pass...and you write about January 2002. I'd like that kind of time!! Gives you a chance to do it all over again!!
Sammy55
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
Thanks Sammy!
I corrected the error. When I put 'finis' on this story I think I may do a post on continuity errors that crept in just for a laugh.
I've developed new respect for those screen writers who do this stuff for a living. Trying to keep up with the flow of the story over a course of months without these things slipping in can be difficult at times.
Now that I've got Peanut agitated for not posting a story segment I've got to log off and let the wife have the machine to finish an assignment.
I've got the next piece nearly done, just need to think it out a bit more before posting it.
.....Alan.
I corrected the error. When I put 'finis' on this story I think I may do a post on continuity errors that crept in just for a laugh.
I've developed new respect for those screen writers who do this stuff for a living. Trying to keep up with the flow of the story over a course of months without these things slipping in can be difficult at times.
Now that I've got Peanut agitated for not posting a story segment
I've got to log off and let the wife have the machine to finish an assignment.I've got the next piece nearly done, just need to think it out a bit more before posting it.
.....Alan.