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Post by kaijafon on Apr 3, 2023 9:26:58 GMT -6
Unless you want to play "Ice Road Trucker" you wouldn't get you much closer than Fairbanks. There may be roads and tracks that only the locals know that may be able to get there, but it's not something to be taken lightly. I will use my flying car
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Post by gipsy on Apr 3, 2023 9:58:19 GMT -6
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Post by CountryGuy on Apr 3, 2023 17:43:05 GMT -6
I am more interested in the job then the scenery. I think he is being asked to kick ass and take names. You turning him into Bruce Lee... LOL
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Post by techsar on Apr 3, 2023 17:57:34 GMT -6
Dang it, you got me. Here I was thinking there was another great chapter!
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Post by gipsy on Apr 3, 2023 18:47:10 GMT -6
Nope just a guy that takes no BS
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Post by iamnobody on Apr 26, 2023 11:23:51 GMT -6
M O A R !
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Post by CountryGuy on Apr 27, 2023 19:56:37 GMT -6
Sorry, I have been working on next segment but doing a lot of traveling for work thru the week and trying to get a jump on yard and things for the garden to plant once real spring is finally here.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Apr 28, 2023 0:22:35 GMT -6
You teased me.....lol
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Post by feralferret on Apr 28, 2023 0:37:04 GMT -6
Sorry, I have been working on next segment but doing a lot of traveling for work thru the week and trying to get a jump on yard and things for the garden to plant once real spring is finally here. It is getting to be the busy time of year for outdoor chores. It's really going to cut into my reading time. At least I no longer have to deal with the work part.
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Post by CountryGuy on Apr 28, 2023 19:03:56 GMT -6
50
The day of the meeting Merv spent the rest of the afternoon with Tim going over various items of the project, not specific details of it, but details of the issues they were having with the current job director and the cryptic and limited progress reports. On the drive home he told Matt about the days events, Matt was floored at first. After the initial surprise, he turned to picking on Merv the rest of the drive home. He asked him that now, if he was to become a vaulted Director, would no longer wish to commiserate much less room with the likes of the unwashed masses, especially a simple, lowly engineer. Merv smacked him in the shoulder and told him “silence peasant!”. The three friends briefly talked that night but held off until Friday night. They ordered pizza and sat down with it and cold beers and had a serious conversation that evening. Merv told them how the firm said they would pay his full rent. He told them if he chose to take the job he’d let the firm do exactly that and pay the full amount. He told them that would allow both Matt and Tanya to save their rent money towards whatever they wanted, maybe a honeymoon fund. Tanya scoffed, “There has to be an engagement and wedding before any honeymoon.” Merv grinned as he saw his friend squirm in the hot seat.
Over that weekend Merv called his parents and told them about the opportunity. He spun it towards the professional growth aspect and leaps up the corporate ladder rungs, knowing how to spin it to them, especially his Mom. She was all for it, though of course was worried that he’d be off in the wilds of Alaska and might be eaten by a bear. Hearing her say that made him grin ear to ear. He knew if she could have seen his face she would have been mad at him for it. She got miffed and a bit bitchy that he wouldn’t say exactly where, or exactly what he’d be doing. He just kept telling her it was legitimately a secret, which wasn’t a lie and he honestly had no real details anyway. His Dad was excited for him, asking if he was gonna be able to do any fishing or hunting while he was there. Merv told him he wasn’t sure yet but he sure hoped he’d get a chance.
Merv spent most of the weekend in the shop working on his project, which was nearing completion. He thought as he worked, thinking through different scenarios and he had started putting together lists of questions on his phone. He had a few lists, one was of more work related questions on the project specifics, another was more questions on the training and then the last two were more about personal items to address or then logistics and travel to make everything happen. By the time he shut the shop lights off Saturday night and walked to the house he’d made up his mind that he was 99% a go. Only if some of his questions had negative responses might he change his mind.
Once in the house he grabbed a shower and then a bowl of cereal for a late dinner. He sat munching away as he launched the CAD program on his computer. He’d been working a couple weeks on some parts for his project. He had a couple finishing touches to do on the last couple parts and he’d told Larry, the owner of the fab shop, that he’d have them to him by first thing Monday morning. Merv was fast becoming friends with Larry and several of his guys. When Merv was getting into his project he knew he had some items he wanted to custom build. A few were his ideas on a better mouse trap on some suspension components and the others were more personalized, utilitarian features.
He’d checked around the region and had found a few fab shops that he contacted about building his creations. He had made a short list based off of the info he’d found on their websites. He had visited two shops that were closer to him, the first one he was only at about ten minutes before he thanked them for their time. He left disappointed as they were nowhere close to what they presented on their website, they didn’t have much in the way of capabilities, skill or quality. The second place it took him about a half hour before he wrapped the visit. He’d not got a great feeling from the owner on their initial greeting, he seemed a bit on the shady side. Once Merv saw a few examples of their work he quickly knew they didn’t, and likely couldn’t, do what he claimed and they definitely weren’t the right place. He’d wrapped work early one day so he could drive over to the third place. It was a bit of a drive and he was apprehensive driving there, not sure what to expect after the first two shops.
At the third shop, he found Larry. Larry’s shop was near Hagerstown and it was well equipped with everything from CNC mills and lathes to laser cutters and laser welders and everything in between. Besides that, he had the people that knew how to use them and use them well. They were very modern yet had that old school craftsmanship mentality. Larry was the owner, and he gave Merv a very good feeling. He explained to Merv they did simple stuff to pretty crazy things and that they often worked on R&D projects for various government projects, everything from military and aerospace to NOAA, while also working for several large companies that were nearby, who were involved in industries like a heavy truck manufacturer, a construction equipment manufacturer and others. Merv was impressed but also thought he might be out of his league on what things would cost.
Merv and Larry had hit it off from the start on that first visit. Merv was extremely impressed with the cleanliness and professionalism of the shop and he was beyond impressed by the quality of their work. He knew it wouldn’t be the cheapest place but he knew anything he had them build would be of the best quality. Now if only it was in his price range. Merv was impressed enough with Larry that they sat down and discussed what he was wanting done. Merv explained his one off project. He pulled out his laptop and fired it up to show Larry what he wanted. Merv went thru explaining the reasons he was doing what he was, and where he felt it improved and resolved issues with what he could buy off the shelf. It was Larry’s turn to be impressed with Merv. Beyond that Merv shared the portion that would involve more of the craftsmanship skills of his people. Larry was further impressed when Merv pulled up full 3D CAD with full specs, a BOM (Bill of Materials) of specific items he wanted used and everything had fully dimensioned and toleranced 2D drawings.
He’d been enjoying working with Larry the last couple months. Larry and his guys had been able to make a couple suggestions on the designs to help make them more manufacture friendly and help keep the costs down. Merv had returned the favor, helping when Larry asked for a hand on some of his customer’s jobs where the engineering and design work was a bit over their heads. Merv had been enjoying the partnership and he was totally blown away with the parts he’d received so far. By the time he closed his laptop that night his last two parts designs and drawings were done.
The next morning, Merv was up and left early, making the drive into the District solo so that he’d be at the office early. He was feeling a bit anxious and had some butterflies in his stomach. The unknown adventure that was ahead had him both excited and nervous. From what he could tell he was the first in the building that day. As he was standing there waiting on the coffee pot to finish dripping out its black goodness, Tim walked by. He paused and took a step back “You’re here early.” Merv just shrugged “Coffee?” “Let me drop my stuff in my office.” Five minutes later Tim was back in the small coffee mess. Merv filled Tim’s outstretched coffee cup. “So did you make a decision? Wait, before you answer, let’s go down to my office.” Merv followed him the couple doors down and into his large office. Tim waved Merv towards his guest chair as he went to his bag. When he turned around he had a small brown sack. “Bagel?” “Sure” said Merv as he reached into the bag. “There’s some plain cream cheese in the bottom of the bag and there should be a knife to spread it.” After Merv grabbed out a napkin, plastic knife and a small tub of the cream cheese, he spread it out on the corner of Tim’s desk as Tim sat down and did the same with his. When Tim had his done, he took a bite, followed by a sip of coffee before he broke the silence. “So, what did you decide??”
“You know me, I can’t resist a challenge.” Tim smiled widely at him. “Though you also know, I have questions I want to get answered and I started a few lists.” Tim smiled again “Sounds reasonable and I’d expect nothing less from you. So I guess I should say congratulations Mr Director?” Merv unconsciously shrugged with a weak smile. “Well we’ll let Mark and John know first thing. I know they were already working on a packet of things, in hopes you would accept, for a plan to get you involved as much as possible to the level you can before your clearances come back.” “So then they were assuming I’d take it?” Tim looked at him “I wouldn’t say they were assuming it, but they were very hopeful. Truth be told, if you didn’t, I don’t think they knew where to go next.” “Well what about you, if I can handle this I’m sure you could have handled it.” “Honestly they’d mentioned it and I told them, I’m not the wilderness, roughing it Boy Scout type. I like my comfy bed, warm house and expensive daily coffees.” “True, you are a bit of a prima-donna.” Merv says with a smile. Tim picked up the phone and dialed a number and Merv heard his side of the conversation “Good morning. I wanted to see if Mark and John are in and if we can come up to speak with them. Thirty minutes; that’ll work, see you then.” As he hung up Tim looked at him “eat up, we have an appointment in thirty.”
About twenty five minutes later they headed upstairs to the C Suite. Tim spoke to Jennifer, the executive assistant telling her they were there to talk with Mark. “He let me know he was expecting you Tim and Merv.” She glanced at Merv and gave a big warm smile. “I’ll be right back.” As she turned and headed through the office door Tim looked at Merv, waggled his eyebrows with a big grin “I think someone caught her eye.” Merv shook his head “Shut up, she’s just being nice.” Tim just grinned and chuckled lightly “OK, you stick with that delusion.” A moment Jennifer came back out the door “Mark is ready for both of you.” “Thanks Jenn.” Tim said as they walked past her. As Merv followed Tim in he thanked her for holding the door, ““Thanks.” She smiled at him with a sparkle in her green eyes. “You're welcome.”
As they entered Mark stood up from his chair “Gentlemen, Good morning, I hope you both had a great weekend.” Tim responded “Thank you I did.” Merv just nodded affirmatively. “So, I’m assuming you have an answer in regards to our proposal?” “Yes Sir, err Mark I do. It’s a yes for me.” “Excellent!” Mark came around from behind his desk where he’d been standing and briskly shook Merv’s hand. “So take a breath and hang on, now things are about to go into overdrive.” Mark said. “As John and I told you last week, we’d preemptively started the process for getting your clearances. You’ll have to fill out some documents and likely go thru an interview or two with an alphabet agency or three. We’re going to try and pull some strings to see how quickly they can fast track it. We have some contacts at the Pentagon and they have some contacts at the FBI and State who we hope can help expedite it.
I have to fly out to California tomorrow and John is tied up in Boston until end of the week or next. I’ll go ahead and get Jenn to have an office set up for you up here.” “Mark, I don’t need an office. I mean I like the remote thing unless I need to be here and to be honest, it would just get set up and I’ll be headed north. I appreciate the sentiment but it would just be a waste of resources at this point.” “Your right Merv, well said. OK, there are a couple open offices in the hall so feel free to use any of them when you come into the office or stay down in the bullpen.” “The bullpen?” Merv inquired. Mark chuckled “I believe you engineers call it the “Cube Farm?” Merv grinned “Yes, yes we do.” The three men all chuckled. “So make yourself comfortable wherever. Jennifer also has a packet of items and info on some of the schools we talked about sending you too. Take a look and if you know of any others you think might be better or that you should go to, I’ll leave it up to you. Jennifer, will be helping you with any of your admin and travel needs and she has a contact list to get you anything you need internally. She’ll also get you a new company credit card, this one won’t have a limit like your current card. I trust you to use it judiciously but if you need it, you need it.”
“I’ll be back hopefully at the end of the week though not sure when we might see each other next as I think you’ll probably be headed out of town to begin training before I get back.“ Mark held out his hand and Merv took it again as Mark looked him in the eye. “Thank you Merv, you don’t yet know just how important this is to the company and our country but thank you for taking this on and do not hesitate to call myself, John or Tim for any help you might need. You have our full support and backing to do whatever you think needs done to get things one track and completed.” “I’ll give you my best.” “That’s what we’re counting on. I’ll let you go get to it as I have to make a few calls. Stop by Jenn’s desk and she’ll get you started and let you know what she needs you to do.”
With that the three all bid goodbye and Merv and Tim turned and headed back out to the executive office area that was Jenn’s office. As they walked out and pulled Mark’s door closed Jennifer turned around with a big smile. Tim spoke first “When you get things done up here stop back by my office as I have some more briefs I can share with you now.” “Will do.” “Bye Jenn, go easy on him.” Tim said as he departed. Both Merv and Jenn blushed a bit, which was exactly Tim’s intentions. If they could have seen more than his back as he walked off, they would have seen an ear to ear smile.
“Well Merv, as Mark said, I have things already started and I have some packets of various things. One pack is for your clearances. You need to provide references and other personal info and history and answer a list of questions. The second packet contains info on some of the wilderness schools we found along with various equipment and companies but Mark said you might have a pretty high level of knowledge in that area so maybe you know of other programs or which skills you might need refreshed or to learn. The last packet is more of an HR variety that has updates on your compensation package and benefits that you’re now entitled to with your Director position. It also includes things like updating your contact info, next of kin, etc.” “Thank you Jenn. Let me say thank you from the start, I appreciate all your help on this. It looks like you’ve put in a good amount of time on all of this already. Also thank you for all the things I’m sure you’re going to help me with in the coming weeks.” Jenn smiled and blushed even more “Just part of my job.” “Maybe, but thank you anyway.”
The later part of the week found Merv driving a rental towards Ohio for a meetup the next morning with an instructor from a well know wilderness school that would show him the way out to the school site. [/font]
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Post by feralferret on Apr 28, 2023 21:26:47 GMT -6
Looks like Merv will have to pick up the pace with the new position and project.
Some of the security clearance crap can be a real pain!
Thanks for another great chapter.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on May 1, 2023 17:08:56 GMT -6
thank you
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Post by solo on May 1, 2023 20:06:19 GMT -6
Wilderness school in Ohio... Let's see... That would have to be the Pathfinder School with Dave Canterbury and Shawn Kelly.... I don't miss to Many Corporal's Corner weekly videos on YouTube..
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Post by CountryGuy on May 2, 2023 6:55:10 GMT -6
Wilderness school in Ohio... Let's see... That would have to be the Pathfinder School with Dave Canterbury and Shawn Kelly.... I don't miss to Many Corporal's Corner weekly videos on YouTube.. Well... I hate to be specific as I've never been there and I don't know their specific procedures and all. I'd hate to misconstrue anything so it's just a school...
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 14, 2023 15:19:42 GMT -6
Sorry for the long delay on this but it's been a crazy and hectic couple months. 51 The next morning found Merv sitting in the corner of the specified gas station's parking lot, as he’d been instructed, in his rented 4Runner. He was sipping a coffee and finishing a sausage breakfast sandwich, both of which he’d bought inside about fifteen minutes ago. He still had about twenty minutes till the instructor was to meet them. There were two other vehicles that had pulled in about five minutes ago that he assumed were here for the same reason. The one was a pretty kitted out Chevy 1500 and the other a small older sedan, maybe a Kia from what he could tell.
For about the 100th time in the last week, he again skimmed down through and re-checked the list of required and suggested gear they’d emailed him. He was finally satisfied that it was all packed away in the back of the 4 Runner, if he had forgotten something, too late at this point. What he could pack in his pack he had, the rest, along with the more bulky gear was packed in some heavy duty, plastic totes. He’d tried to waterproof them using some clear silicone caulk to plug the holes in and around the lip and under the handle areas. Then he had made a small bead the entire way around the underside of the lid where it contacted the bin. He’d used his finger to smooth and flatten that out and allowed it to dry and form a gasket of sorts. The home DIY job seemed to do the trick, at least for all but total submersion into water.
His equipment was a mix of some of his old gear along with some brand new gear he’d had to buy to have all the required items for the training program. It was nice being able to pull out his company card to buy gear based on it being the best instead of being based on what his personal budget could afford. This training would be a great chance to see what worked, what needed to be replaced and what was just useless weight. If any of the new gear didn’t perform as expected, it’d be headed back to where he got it. He was really looking forward to this course and couldn’t get past the fact he was getting to do this for work. However, the fact that he was doing this for work, in hopes his work might not try to kill him by putting him in an environment that could be completely inhospitable to human life perplexed him a bit.
He was going to be here the next twelve days. He would be taking a bit of a hybrid course the school had agreed to put together for the firm, in order to ensure Merv got several key areas covered. The first eight days would be as a student in two of the school’s ‘standard’ classes, the remaining days would be spent covering topics not typically covered this time of year or were ones only in their advanced courses, of which, none were scheduled for a few months. Obviously the project in Alaska couldn’t afford further delays but the firm also didn’t want to send Merv, possibly unprepared, out into the Alaskan wilderness. The firm had discussed with the school’s management the situation and mentioned the need for Merv to be on an urgent project related to National security. They also stressed their willingness to pay handsomely for the inconveniences; thankfully the school agreed.
An old F150 showed up at about 0550 and five minutes later, an early 2000’s Bronco pulled in and parked central to the cars. A man jumped out, standing in the light of the headlights and made a general waving motion to no one specifically. Merv hopped out, zipping his Carhart back up fully and walked towards the man. He stood for a moment, the man waiting on the others to do the same. What looked to be a yuppie couple in their forties, dressed in a mix of North Face and L.L. Bean got out of the Silverado, a hippy looking dude about Merv’s age, with long scraggly hair and beard came from the direction of the Kia and an older man and teenage boy, who by the similarity of their appearance were obviously father and son came from the F150.
“If you are all here for the Pathfinder School, congrats, you are in the right place and already did the first thing asked of you. It looks like all but one was able to do as told and show up on time. Their miss is their issue. Let’s have a quick roll call.” He pulled a folded list from his jacket pocket and started reading down it. When he got to the fourth name and got no answer, he paused a second, looked up and around and then went back to the names. When he was done, he folded the list back up and slipped it back in his coat. “We’re going to leave here and convoy out to the school. Give each other some room, we don’t need anyone getting ass-ended this early in the day. So, follow me, we have about a twenty minute drive to the property.”
The boy who Merv thought looked to be in his mid teens spoke up “Aren’t we going to wait on the other person?” The bearded man, who still hadn’t introduced himself, replied simply “No. They, like all of you, were told what time to be here. You all respected that and were here on time, they aren’t. Let’s mount up and roll out, the day is wasting.” With that he turned and headed for his Bronco. As he did, Merv headed for the 4Runner and the others to their vehicles. Merv decided he would bring up the rear and waited as the yuppies followed first, then the hippy. The father and son motioned Merv ahead but he returned the wave urging them forward so Merv was the tailend.
He sipped on his coffee as they drove through the dark, at this point he was just following taillights down winding and unfamiliar roads. He saw brake lights as everyone slowed and left turn signals popped on. The convoy turned off the hardtop and onto a dirt road. As they turned, he entered a way point in his handheld Garmin GPSMAP 66i. They continued on for several more miles, Merv the recipient of all the dust kicked up by those ahead so he backed off to give a little more follow distance. The road reminded him of the township roads back around his Grandparents farm. He again saw brake lights and everyone slowing to a stop in the road. He saw the Bronco turn into what looked like an old farm track or logging road. About one hundred feet, everyone stopped again, Merv saw “Bronco guy”, as he’d named him in his head, hop out. He looked to be unlocking a gate. He then jogged back along the line of vehicles to Merv’s window. When Merv saw him approaching, he’d lowered his window. “After you’re thru the gate, close and lock it behind you.” “Got ya.” was Merv’s reply.
Twelve days later, an exhausted, dirty and smelly, but otherwise ecstatic Merv was pulling out thru the gate as he waved towards one of his instructors. As he glanced in the rearview, he saw him pull the gate closed and secure it. It was late afternoon as Merv followed his Google map directions towards his hotel. As he drove he reflected on the things they’d done. Several were refreshers or a twist on the things he’d done as a Scout or learned from his Grandpa our from his time spent camping. Quit a bit was new or a different approach than he’d seen. He felt secure in his wilderness survival abilities to include shelter and fire building, land nav, water purification and other things. He still was a little concerned about foraging for edibles but he knew he had several books that should be at the house when he got back that we’re one foraging in Alaska and western Canada. He’d be studying those for the foreseeable future.
He pulled in and parked at the hotel but before he went and checked in he pulled out his phone and called Matt to check in ald let him know he was still above ground. Matt gave him an udate of things around the house and what was new with he and Tanya both. Merv told him he would probably be home in 4 days. With that he hopped out and got his pack out and some of his gear. As he walked in the door of the hotel he got sideways looks from the young lady at the front desk. She got him checked in and he headed to his room. On his way up in the elevator he got a look at his reflection in the shiny stainless steel doors, He chuckled when he thought of the looks the girl had given him. He realized he looked like a cross, somewhere between a homeless man and a mountain man. When he got in the door he set all his stuff down immediately on the tile floor by the door. He then immediately stripped and went straight into the bathroom.
He turned on the shower and waited a few seconds for it to warm up before stepping in it. He stood there slowly turning for a minute or two just letting the water pressure power wash off the initial layer of grime. Then he got down to washing his hair and scrubbing from head to toe three times. He spent a solid twenty minutes in the hot steamy shower till he felt the grime was washed away along with some of the aches and pains from the intensive class. He finally shut off the water and toweled off. Next he took time to shave off the nearly two weeks worth of beard, he thought it took several years off his appearance. Done with that, he grabbed his small travel bag he’d brought in and retrieved the change of clothes from it along with a hygiene kit. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a pollo before slipping into his Ariat’s, a ball cap emblazoned with a Sig logo and a lined black leather jacket to help keep the chill away.
He went thru some of the gear sorting it out and putting his clothes and some of his web and canvas type gear in a contractor trash bag he had in his travel bag. With the trash bag full of the filthy clothes, he headed back down stairs. As he approached the front desk the girl looked up “Hello how may I help…” she did a second look “Oh… hey it’s you… WOW you clean up nice.” It was out of her mouth before she realized what she said. She blushed bright red. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, it came out wrong.” Merv grinned “It’s OK, I did look pretty scruffy and gross looking when I walked in. I probably looked like the ‘Thing’ that came from the swamp.” He chuckled, and she did and it seemed to relax her.
“I’d like to ask if you could help me with two things?” “I’ll try, what do you need?” she asked. He glanced at her name tag “Well Jaime, I’d like to find a laundromat to wash up my clothes and then I’d like to find a place to get a good dinner, maybe a nice steak?” “Well, we do have a washer and dryer up on the third floor that is free to guests, and we have complimentary detergent.” “I appreciate that but I think I have a few loads here and I’d rather do it all at once. Also, as you saw, some of it is really filthy. I’d hate to hog up your machines.”
“We’ll there is a place not far from here. When you pull out of the parking lot, go right and at the second light, make a left, go two more blocks. You’ll see a small shopping plaza with a Big Lots and a Dollar General. Pull in there and in about the middle of the plaza you’ll see a sign that says ‘Wash Tub’, that’s the place. I think it’s maybe two dollars to wash and two fifty to dry, at least last i heard. As for a steak place, there’s Ed’s Steak House, it’s where people around here go for a nice meal or for special occasions. It’s on the more expensive side but the steaks are always great and their desserts are to die for. From the laundromat, just come back the two blocks to the main drag which is the street out front here, hang a left and go about a mile. You’ll see it on the left. There is a huge sign with big, lit up orange longhorns that says ‘Ed’s’ over top of them.”
“Awesome. So the desserts are that good? What’s your favorite?” “I’m a bit of a creature of habit, I always get the same thing. I do the crispy chicken salad with their homemade ranch. The ranch is so good. And then I always do their tiramisu, it is just so good.” “Well it sounds amazing, I will check it out for sure. Thanks so much.” “Sure, anytime handsome.” Merv felt his cheeks blush this time and he saw her’s rose up slightly. Merv, trash bag in hand, headed for the door. As he did, her eyes watched his backside saunter out the doorway.
When Merv got out to the 4Runner, he tossed the stuff in the back and headed for the laundry. When he got there he went in and saw she was right about the prices on the machines. He went to the change machine, only to find it out of order and then found the prices in the vending machine that had soap and dryer sheets were a lot crazy, he thought. He left his trash bag there and walked over to the DG. He grabbed a small pouch of those detergent pods and a small box of dryer sheets. When he was checking out he asked the cashier if he could get twenty dollars in quarters. She didn’t seem overly happy to give them to him but she did. He headed back to the laundry and proceeded to put in three loads. He started those and then decided while he was at it, he’d do a couple other things. He headed out to the SV and grabbed his sleeping bag and his hammock. He went back and threw those in one of the super sized washers and put it on the gentle cycle.
Merv took a seat and pulled his tablet up to see what if any emails he’d gotten while he was off grid. Most was junk or automated things. He did have two from Larry updating him on a couple of the projects he was working on and included some pictures of the one. Merv smiled as he liked what he was seeing. He always enjoyed when he saw something that previously only existed in his head take shape in the real world. He shot Larry a quick reply and then closed his email. He looked and still had almost 45 minutes to go. He surfed a few of his favorite prep web sites and checked some of the more recent threads and responses. Next he pulled up a newer site he’d found only a few months ago, a website called www.PAWfiction/Proboards.com. He found some really great PAW/ SHTF type stories and a section where amateur writers submitted pieces of works they were currently writing, mostly raw, unedited posts, but he really enjoyed several of the talented authors. He checked out several of the story threads he was following and found several had made multiple posts during the 12 days he’d been away from the world. He just finished the last post on one thread when he heard one of the washers buzz. He went and checked it, things looked good so he started moving them to a dryer. While he was doing that the other two buzzed so he moved those to dry too. When he put the money in it said it would be ninety minutes. He sat down and read a few more updates until the big washer buzzed. He moved the sleeping bag and hammock to one of the large dryers and put it on the gentle setting. It said 80 minutes. With his things drying, he grabbed up the rest of his pods and dryer sheets and headed to the truck. He hoped he was right and that he could leave his stuff in the dryer and not have it stolen. He headed for Ed’s.
Jamie was not wrong, Ed’s steaks were awesome. The rib eye was amazing and could be cut with a fork and the flavor was to die for. The sides were also excellent and big enough to feed two hungry loggers. When the waitress came back and asked, he tempted fate and went for dessert. He paid the bill, gathered up his to-go boxes and headed back to the laundry. For a minute, with his full belly and the tall boy draft he had washed his meal down with, making him both full and sleepy, he forgot about his clothes. He and his full belly had been headed back for the hotel to call it a night but as soon as he drove past the street the Wash Tub was down he cussed himself for being stupid. He flipped a U-turn at the next light and headed back to the laundry.
When he went in and checked, everything was fine and was done and still warm. He quickly tossed it all into two clean garbage bags and he was off for the hotel. When he pulled into the hotel lot he parked over near the edge. He grabbed everything and the bag from Ed’s and headed in. Jaime was at the desk and when she saw him walking in, she had a big smile and greeted him. “Welcome back. How did you like it?”
“Thank you. I appreciate your help tonight. I found the laundry and now have clean clothes and a clean sleeping bag. Also Ed’s was beyond excellent and I’m stuffed to the gills. Oh, by the way, this is for you.” Merv sat the paper bag with the Ed’s logo up onto the guest counter. “One crispy chicken salad with ranch on the side and a piece of tiramisu.” She nearly squealed “No way, you didn’t have to do that. That is so sweet.” “Well I really appreciated your help and earlier you said you hadn’t had dinner yet so I thought I’d return the favor.” “Well thank you so much.” “You are welcome. Now I’m going to run this up to my room and get everything folded.” with that he gave a small wave and headed for the elevator.
Twenty minutes later, his clothes folded and repacked, Merv was lounging back half asleep on one of the queen beds, his sleeping bag was opened and laying on the other as it still had a few damp spots. When he got back to the room he’d immediately slipped off his boots and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. He jumped a bit when the room phone unexpectedly rang. He quickly answered it… “Hello” “Umm Mr. Cole, it’s Jamie at the front desk. I just wanted to say thank you again. The food was so good, it was so thoughtful of you to do that.” Like I said, you are completely welcome and I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “U’mmm I was wondering, will you be around tomorrow? If so, maybe I could take you somewhere for lunch?” Merv smiled “Jamie, that is very sweet of you to offer but I’m leaving early in the morning to head to North Carolina.” “Oh I see, it was silly of me to ask… I’ll let you go.” “Jaime, it isn’t silly. You seem like a very sweet lady and under other circumstances I'd love to get to know you better over lunch. But I’m headed there to do some more training and then about a week later I’ll be flying to Alaska for work, for… well, for I don’t know how long. Probably at least a year.” “Oh well, again thank you and I’m sorry to have bothered you.” “You are no bother and believe me, I’m very flattered such a pretty woman wanted to get to know me. I wish the situation was different. I’m very glad you enjoyed dinner and I hope you have a great night Jaime.” “Thank you, Goodnight.” When Merv hung up he felt a bit sad from the deflated tone in her voice. He did mean what he said, if things were different or he was going to be around the area, he’d love to get to know her better. She was stunning to look at and seemed sweet with a touch of sassy. Merv got up off the bed and went and took a leak, brushed his teeth and headed back to the bed. He stripped and crawled in, he was out in minutes.
In the morning Merv was up at 4:30AM, ahead of his alarm. He got up, took a leak and then proceeded to run a few cups of tap water through the small single cup Kurig in the room, flushing out all sorts of grossness. He often wondered how many people just popped in a pod and made a cup and drank whatever other crud washed out of the machine. By the fourth cup of water it was finally coming out clear with no junk in the cup. He refilled the machine with bottled water this time and set the cup to brew. He was getting ready to close it and push the button but he stopped. He decided he should get dressed and go down to the hotel gym for a bit. He went down and they didn’t have a lot available other than a treadmill, so he ran five miles on it and then headed back to his room. He did stop in the lobby and poured himself a cup of their fresh complimentary coffee and sipped it while he headed back to the room, opting to take the stairs as he did his warm down. Back in the room, he stripped and hopped in the shower. He savored the warmth of the water for only a few extra minutes this time. When he was done, he toweled off, shaved and then proceeded to get dressed in the same clothes from last night. He grabbed his stuff and made a first trip down to get his repacked pack and sleeping bag. He made a second trip, getting his backpack with his laptop and tablet. On this trip he stopped at the front desk to check out. He found himself hoping maybe Jaime was still on but an old man came out. His tag said Archie. Archie got him checked out after a lot of fumbling with the computer. Merv could tell computers were something Archie wasn’t comfortable with, but he kept his patience. Merv told Archie that he wanted to compliment Jaime and what a great job she did the previous night. With that he headed out to toss his bag in the SUV.
It was just after 6AM as Merv made his way out to the 4Runner. Once in the truck, he punched in the address to the NOLS school in North Carolina where he’d be taking the 2 day Wilderness First Aid course to brush up on his first aid skills. The survival school offered a similar course but they weren’t able to get the instructor due to schedule conflicts, hence the need for the five and half hour drive south. As he was heading out of town he saw a small diner that was lit up and surrounded by pick ups. Merv had an idea of what this place was about and pulled in. He got a look from the old guys, most looking to be farmers, who were sitting around sipping coffee. An older lady came over and got him a coffee and a menu. As he sat there sipping the coffee and looking over the menu he was enjoying the banter, joking and harassment he was hearing the men share. When she came back he ordered the biscuit and sausage gravy special and asked for two sunny side up eggs on top and a side of crisp bacon. As she topped his coffee she said “Now don’t you let these old farts in here give you any trouble.” Merv smiled and said “No Ma’am, sure won’t” About that time it got a little quiet and Merv heard a question from one of the men. “Ain’t you Stanley Durpee’s boy?” As Merv realized the conversation was directed at him, he turned in his chair a bit “No Sir, I’m not from around here, just passing thru.” “Getting yourself an early start?” “Yes Sir, stayed here at the hotel last night and now I’m heading down to North Carolina.” Another guy chirped in “What had you way out here in no where?” “Oh I was near here taking some training for work.” “Training… around here? You one of them types down at that survival place?” Merv wasn’t sure how to answer, but figured truthful was best. “Yes Sir, was down there for almost two weeks.” Another chimed in “Now how can that be for work? You a soldier or something, maybe one of them SEALs?” Merv chuckled a bit “No Sir, nothing like that, never was in the military. No, I’m heading up to some remote parts of northern Alaska for a year or more so the company I work for wanted to be sure my skills were up to the task if I got stuck out there.” “A year in Alaska, sakes alive, that sounds more like a vacation to me.” “Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it.”
About that time the waitress came back with his plate and the coffee pot. As she sat it down and topped the cup “You need anything else Sweety” “No Ma’am, I’m good for now.” “Sweety?!?” one of the old timers squeaked. “I been coming here near twenty years and ya ain’t never called me Sweety.” “That's cause there ain’t nothing sweet about you Earl James, your just a sour old coot.” The other guys busted out laughing at Earl’s expense. “Now you all let this boy eat before his food gets cold.” And they did. As Merv was finishing up scraping up the last of the gravy from his plate the men started back asking questions about where was home and what would he be doing up in Alaska. He shared a bit and they all joked around a bit and had an enjoyable time. They all seemed to accept him pretty quickly after he explained he’d often gone to a diner a lot like this one back in PA, with his old Marine Grandpa, in the mornings when he was visiting the farm as a kid.
After hanging out for about 15 minutes he excused himself to use the restroom. When he came back he asked ‘Shirl’ for the check. She told him it was taken care of, and nodded her head towards the men. Merv looked their way, “Yinz didn’t need to do that.” Several of the old timers said “Do What.” Merv grinned and said “Thank you all.” With that he turned back around to Shirl who held out a large styrofoam cup “Here’s a to-go cup of Coffee.” “Well thank you. And here is a tip for you>” And he held out a twenty to her “You meal didn’t cost this much.” “Your right, it didn’t cost me anything.” Then a little more conspiratorially He leaned toward her and held out a $50 “Please don’t say anything till I’m down the road, but please take this and toss it in their coffee kitty to buy them their morning cups of coffee for as long as it lasts.” She smiled and winked “I will. Now you be safe in your travels.” “Yes Ma’am.” With that he turned and addressed the men sitting there “I enjoyed the company and talk this morning but I need to get moving down the road. Again thanks for getting my breakfast, I really appreciate that. Yinz be good.” He sort of gave a wave and started for the door with several wishes to be safe or to have safe travels. One of them shouted to look out for fast women like Shirl, which got a round of chuckles from the men and Shirl shouting “I heard that Bob.” Merv walked out the door, to the jingle of a small bell atop the door. With a smile stuck on his face he headed down the road feeling great for the start of his day.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Jul 14, 2023 15:34:49 GMT -6
Thanks for the update, I've been waiting patiently....or is it patiently waiting lol, whatever I'm happy now and waiting for MOAR.....
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Post by sniper69 on Jul 14, 2023 15:40:38 GMT -6
Thanks for the MOAR snack. The chapter was tasty. Now to see if it satisfies to the next tasty morsel of this great story.
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Post by feralferret on Jul 14, 2023 16:20:27 GMT -6
Great update. Thank you.
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Post by rep1270 on Jul 14, 2023 16:45:32 GMT -6
Thank you. Ralph
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Post by danielsga01 on Jul 14, 2023 18:27:35 GMT -6
worth the wait, thanks
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Post by imahic on Jul 15, 2023 16:01:39 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Been looking forward to it.
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Post by mrooney1 on Sept 7, 2023 6:10:59 GMT -6
is Merv okay?
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Post by CountryGuy on Sept 9, 2023 17:28:31 GMT -6
He is, his creator however has been worn out for a bit and needs to work out the bits of the next installment which is part way complete.
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Post by iamnobody on Sept 9, 2023 17:42:21 GMT -6
He is, his creator however has been worn out for a bit and needs to work out the bits of the next installment which is part way complete. You fooled me I saw the new post with your name and thought it was a new chapter I'm hanging off this cliff still waiting to find out who beat up Merv and his friends
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Post by ydderf on Oct 5, 2023 18:56:24 GMT -6
Thanks CG
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