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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 21, 2022 19:34:52 GMT -6
At the ripe age of 11 Merv didn't quite understand that last one but since Grandpa told him, he stored it away in his memory. Once Merv was able to answer any question Grandpa would put to him about guns and when he could easily recite from memory the four rules of shooting safety, Grandpa told him it was time to finally go to the range. That was the day that Grandpa, with Grandma watching on and beaming, walked to the gun cabinet in the corner of the living room. He reached up taking the key from off the top and unlocked the oak and glass door. He told Merv to come here.
Grandpa reached in and took out a little magazine fed .22. “Merv, I’m proud of you. You’ve done well learning all about how to be safe with a gun, but now it’s time to prove you understand all that and actually do it. This is now your rifle. You know how to handle and take care of it, now I’ll teach you how to shoot it. I bought this from the Sears catalog in 1967 when I was 15. I saved up every penny I paid for it by mowing lawns, delivering papers and helping bail hay all summer till I had the $35 to buy it. I probably shot more squirrels with it than there are alive today in this entire county.” He went on “This little rifle let your Great Grandma put a lot of squirrels and rabbits on the dinner table when I was growing up. Your Daddy learned to shoot with this same rifle.” Merv got a surprised look at hearing that news, after all he thought his Dad was as much against guns as much as his Mom was. Knowing how much Grandpa loved to pull Merv’s leg and he looked to Grandma, she just gave a small melancholic smile and nodded her head yes. He saw his Grandpa also have a bit of a sad look on his face.
“Yep your Daddy was taught the same things I’ve taught you, even though he don’t act it nowadays, he was taught just the same. Yep, he was taught better. He used to be a very good shot and was rarely without this little rifle for most of his days growing up on this farm, it was usually within a close reach. He put plenty of meat on our table with it and also put many a groundhog in a permanent hole. So, now, you take care of her and she’ll treat you right, just like a good woman, isn’t that right Mother?” Merv turned to see his Grandma smile and shake her head. “And don’t you forget it you old Coot.” “And someday Merv I hope you’ll teach your kids and maybe even your Grandkids what I’ve taught you and that you’ll pass this rifle on to them.” Grandpa paused as he looked towards Merv’s Gram “...and I pray you never turn your back on who and what you are, nor what you know and love.” For the first time in his life, Merv saw his tough as nails Grandpa tear up.
From then on, every time Merv would come to stay with them, Grandpa would take him out to the back corner of the farm to the old shale pit and they’d shoot and Grandpa would teach him something new. Grandpa had a small shooting range set up there and that was where Merv was taught to hit what he aimed at and to do it every time. Grandpa said anyone could hit a target from a bench, being able to shoot from any position took skill. Grandpa Merv told him a man had to know how to shoot under stress, shoot while moving and to hit a moving target. So he'd have Merv move from place to place and shoot at different targets from different positions. Over things, under things beside things, sitting, kneeling, laying on his side, laying on his back, he'd make him run back and forth from one side of the pit to another, stop, pick up his weapon, slow his breaths and shoot. Merv loved every minute of it and every minute he spent with Grandpa.
Every time Merv would start to get good at a certain skill or drill, Grandpa would change it and ratchet things up. Merv loved the constant challenge. One of his favorite things Grandpa came up with was that He’d rigged up a couple old clotheslines on wheels so he could hang a target and then move the targets back and forth. Merv had to learn to aim and shoot those targets. Sometimes they’d be moving right to left across the range, other times they’d come racing up the range towards him or maybe would be retreating away from him. Grandpa would tell him, “Buddy, if you can't hit this, how the hell do ya think yer ev'r gonna hit a deer or a turkey that's running or fly'n?” Once he couldn’t miss with that .22, Grandpa introduced him to a Mossberg youth 20ga and a skeet thrower and all sorts of new challenges. After that it was a .Sig/ Hammerli Trailside .22 pistol.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 21, 2022 20:14:07 GMT -6
There went my social credit score again. It won't be long before I have a negative social credit score. iam, You mean your social credit score was positive. Miracles do happen. Texican... What is this "social credit score" that you speak of?
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Post by gipsy on Jul 21, 2022 20:28:49 GMT -6
Thanks. I believe this is chapter 18?
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 21, 2022 20:55:31 GMT -6
Thanks. I believe this is chapter 18? Actually the completion of 17. I've been splitting some of the chapters into more than one installment so I can post something while I finish the second half or as I proof the other portions.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 22, 2022 9:13:37 GMT -6
OK
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Post by iamnobody on Jul 22, 2022 11:04:50 GMT -6
What is this "social credit score" that you speak of? SOCIAL CREDIT SCORE
Its heavily in use in China right now and is very rapidly spreading to all “developed” nations.
Basically it is a score given by the government, corporations and media to a person based upon how compliant you are with their agenda and propaganda.
The higher your social credit score in number, means you are an obedient citizen.
Questioning the official government narrative, speaking out against what a government is doing or saying, buying non approved things, visiting web sites that the government does not approve of will cause your social credit score to be drastically lowered.
A low social credit score can get you black listed / canceled. Companies look at that score when you apply for a job, if you apply for a bank loan, apply for renting an apartment. A “bad” score can get you refused. A bad score will also get any government funds reduced or stopped – welfare, social security, pensions.
So basically a bad social credit score will cause a person to lose every thing in today's society – job, housing, money, entrance to stores, etc. You become a non person that can't participate in society, an outcast, a bad person.
It is being quietly, but quickly implemented here in the US.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 22, 2022 15:53:05 GMT -6
18
Merv loved it when he got to go spend time with his Grandparents on their small farm, and not just because he'd get to shoot. About every month or so, his Grandma and Mom would each drive about an hour to meet up at about the halfway point between their houses to hand off Merv. That split the two hour drive for both of them so neither had to do a four hour round trip. It worked out well and was convenient. Normally Merv would get to go see them anytime he had long weekends from school. That usually worked out to about once a month due to all the “teacher in service days” they’d get. He'd also got to spend a good chunk of summer and holiday vacations there too. Merv would have loved to just stay all summer but his parents always had some reason or another that he'd end up needing to come home for a few days every few weeks.
Merv loved doing just about everything around the farm. He'd help his Grandma with her garden, be it planting or helping to harvest the food; he hated weeding but understood why it had to be done and he loved the results that came from it He also loved all the recipes she would make and that she’d often have him help with, teaching him how to cook and bake the food's they'd grown. He recalled a time when he was young, asking his Gram “Well I’m a boy, why do I need to learn to cook, isn’t that for girls?” Before she could answer him, Grandpa, who’d come into the room from behind Merv, spoke. “Boy that is just plain stupid talk. Don’t you like to eat?” Merv nodded his head yes.
“Well then how do you think you’re gonna eat when you grow up, when you're out of school, out on your own with no Mom or Grandma to do your cooking?” Merv’s 7 year old mind whirled around that. “Now, just cause your Gram does most of the cooking around here it’s not cause she has to or cause I can’t. Now true, my cooking is nowhere near as wonderful and tasty as hers but mind you I do a pre’t fair job if I do say so myself, and I do.” Merv looked on in wonder from Grandpa to Gram who nodded her head yes. From that day on he buckled down on learning to cook all the wonderful food Grandma would show him.
Grandma made ‘real’ food, as Merv thought of it; things from ‘scratch’. Not the stuff like his Mom usually made. Her cooking was more the sort where things got tossed from the freezer to the microwave or she dumped something from a box and maybe added hamburger and water, heated and stirred. Merv's Mom never did any 'real' cooking like Grandma Cole did. She also didn’t do any other sorts of things Grandma did, like gardening. When he’d asked his Mom why she didn't do things like gardening or canning she’d say “oh that’s fine for old people, but the rest of us have jobs and kids that need ran and other things to do, we just don't have time. Besides, what would we do, tear up our beautiful yard to make a garden?” That made Merv ask other questions. Well then why didn’t his other grandparents, his Mom’s parents, do any of it? After all, weren't they also old? She'd give him a disapproving look and then spew forth her reasoning which usually was something along the lines of people that live in the city have more important things to do than people in the country so they don’t have time nor the space for such frivolous things. Besides she would say, city people had lots of shops and groceries to buy all sorts of good foods so why not just go to the store.
Even back then, something about that didn’t sit well with Merv or make sense. He'd thought about asking her what he'd heard Grandpa Merv say many times, ‘Well just where do those city people think all that food comes from?’ but he figured that wouldn’t make her to happy. So, Merv would paddle back in line behind Momma Duck, daring not to wake waves and he'd follow on.
When it was time to, as Grandma called it ‘put things up’, he would help with that and so would Grandpa. Merv came to quickly learn that it meant a lot of hard, long and usually hot hours of work when things in the garden or orchard were ready for picking. Sometimes it meant filling and canning jars, other times it was cleaning and freezing things and other times it was slicing things up to dry them. The work would start early in the morning picking things, then they'd clean and cut things prepping but at the end of the day there’d be dozens and dozens of jars sitting on the table cooling. He loved sitting there and hearing those satisfying ‘pops’ as the lid’s sucked fast and notified them they’d sealed
But he didn’t just spend his time on the range or in the kitchen, he was more often Grandpa’s shadow. He’d be out helping to work on equipment, be it fixing a tractor or bailer or getting the seed drills ready. He’d help feed the beef or to milk the couple dairy cows they had, slop the couple hogs, feed the chickens and turkeys and other animals that were raised there. As he got older he learned how to help with butchering. Everything from the poultry, rabbits and hogs to the beef. He also loved when he'd get to ride along with his Grandpa somewhere in his old pickup. Be that to see other farmers or to go to the parts store or the feed mill. Merv liked getting to see new places, meet new people and hear new stories. As Merv got older Grandpa would let him drive the old Chevy flatbed pickup around the farm and fields. It had gottent he wooden flatbed after the original bed had rusted out and pulled off and turned into a flat bed with some removable stake sides that could be popped on when needed. Soon it was the tractors and other equipment.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 22, 2022 16:44:08 GMT -6
What is this "social credit score" that you speak of? SOCIAL CREDIT SCORE
Its heavily in use in China right now and is very rapidly spreading to all “developed” nations.
Basically it is a score given by the government, corporations and media to a person based upon how compliant you are with their agenda and propaganda.
The higher your social credit score in number, means you are an obedient citizen.
Questioning the official government narrative, speaking out against what a government is doing or saying, buying non approved things, visiting web sites that the government does not approve of will cause your social credit score to be drastically lowered.
A low social credit score can get you black listed / canceled. Companies look at that score when you apply for a job, if you apply for a bank loan, apply for renting an apartment. A “bad” score can get you refused. A bad score will also get any government funds reduced or stopped – welfare, social security, pensions.
So basically a bad social credit score will cause a person to lose every thing in today's society – job, housing, money, entrance to stores, etc. You become a non person that can't participate in society, an outcast, a bad person.
It is being quietly, but quickly implemented here in the US.So basically being a good little slave. There is a gun forum that I am on that is having the same problem. The owner sold to a group from Canada and they are quick to reprimand us if we even hint at using nicknames or bad slang names for politicians.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 22, 2022 17:27:59 GMT -6
Yep I ain't got one.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 22, 2022 17:51:26 GMT -6
[/quote]So basically being a good little slave. There is a gun forum that I am on that is having the same problem. The owner sold to a group from Canada and they are quick to reprimand us if we even hint at using nicknames or bad slang names for politicians.[/quote]
Sounds like it's time to move on and let the site die on the vine. No one needs Canadian socialism either.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 22, 2022 17:52:25 GMT -6
So basically being a good little slave. There is a gun forum that I am on that is having the same problem. The owner sold to a group from Canada and they are quick to reprimand us if we even hint at using nicknames or bad slang names for politicians.[/quote] Sounds like it's time to move on and let the site die on the vine. No one needs Canadian socialism either.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 22, 2022 20:14:01 GMT -6
So basically being a good little slave. There is a gun forum that I am on that is having the same problem. The owner sold to a group from Canada and they are quick to reprimand us if we even hint at using nicknames or bad slang names for politicians.[/quote] Sounds like it's time to move on and let the site die on the vine. No one needs Canadian socialism either.[/quote] Kind of like the folks I talk to on there and been a member for a number of years. Google Outdoor Hub and Carbon Media Group out of bingham Farms Mi. The deeper dig shows they are owned by a Canadian News Family out of toronto.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 23, 2022 12:47:41 GMT -6
19
In hopes of getting his mind off visions of a break in, he turned on the TV. As he figured, after a few minutes flipping thru a couple channels, he couldn't find anything that remotely interested him. He pulled up the streaming channels and even there, nothing. Nothing seemed to catch his interest. How could there be all these hundreds and hundreds of channels and yet nothing of interest. In interest of just having some noise in the background he flipped it over to one of the cartoon channels and turned the volume down low to just provide some background noise. Oh well, maybe he’d read some. He grabbed a car magazine and went and eased himself onto the couch.
A strange ringing woke him, it took him a sec to realize it was the new phone, that was apparently the default ringtone. “Damn that's annoying, I'm gonna have to change that. Hello...” “Hi Sweety, how are you feeling?” before he could answer her “We're stopped for the night and just got into our room. Dad and I are going to go get some dinner and then call it an early night. We want to get an early start tomorrow morning. You sound like you were sleeping?” “Yeah, I'd sat down to read a little bit and must have dosed off. I want to thank you guys again for all the help the last two weeks and for being here for me.” “We’re your parents, what else would we do?” “I guess, but regardless, thanks.” “You're welcome and you’ll see, someday you’ll be a parent, you'll do whatever it takes for your kids to be safe and happy.” That comment unintentionally hit a fresh nerve in light of his divorce and the loss of the family he thought he’d been trying to build. “Well I better let you guys go eat and all this talk of food has got my stomach rumbling now. I'm gonna get around here and get myself something to eat.” “OK Sweety, I'll call and check in tomorrow once we're home.” “OK sounds good, thanks for letting me know you all made it safe. I love you guys.” “We love you too, Dad says love you.” “bye”
When he hung up he realized just how much his hand and wrist were throbbing. Merv spent several minutes gingerly working his way up off the couch and onto his feet. Once up he got fully upright he felt a little dizzy so he stood and leaned on the couch for a minute till it passed. It did make him reconsider if maybe he should have stayed with his parents for a week or two but that thought passed quickly as he envisioned his Mom helicoptering over him every minute of the day. Between his arm and his still very tender ribs and back he decided he needed one of the pain pills.
He went over to the kitchen cabinet, picked up the thankfully, non child safety topped bottle, and flipped the lid off with his good hand. He shook one out onto the counter before closing and setting the bottle back. As he picked up the small white pill he looked at it for a second recalling his Docs warning. As he looked at it he wondered how such a little thing meant to help people could end up destroying millions of lives. He popped it in his mouth and took a swallow off his water bottle. Realizing it was getting low he stepped sideways to the sink and turned on the faucet to cold and waited for it to feel cool. When it felt like it was getting there he flipped the little lever on the side of the faucet mounted water filter and began to refill his bottle. He couldn't stand the taste of the water here without it being filtered. For the first few days after he moved in with Jimbo he'd dug his Sawyer Mini water filter out of his camping gear and used it to drink the water. He went out like the 3rd day after work and picked up this filter. Jimbo said he didn't see anything wrong with it until he tasted the filtered water to which he said “Damn that is different, what the hell have I been drinking up till now.”
Just getting off the couch and to the kitchen seemed to have zapped his energy. No way was he up for cooking something tonight. He looked in the cupboard to see what all his Mom had picked up for him. As he perused the couple boxes of cereal there he grinned when he eyed the colorful box of his favorite cereal from when he was a kid. Moms, ya gotta love them. So he pulled the box down and popped it open and got a bowl and spoon. He filled the bowl and then went over and got out the milk to cover his cereal and then he put it back. He grabbed a banana off the bunch laying on the counter and deposited his dinner onto the kitchen bar top. He ended up standing at there at the breakfast bar munching away at his cereal. When he finished he drank down the fruity flavored milk, rinsed his bowl and spoon in the sink and left them there for now, He'd wash them in the morning. Merv was going to try his laptop again, but then had another idea but first he needed to hit the bathroom to take a leak.
He sat dawn at the kitchen table and starred at the phone for a minute. He tapped in the number from the slip of paper and waited. “ICU, this is Nurse Brady” “uhh yes, Nurse Jansen please?” “Matt?” “Umm, no this is his friend Merv Cole.” “Oh, Merv. Well she's not here right now. I had heard you went home this morning” “Yeah I did, now to try and get settled in.” “I understand that, it can take some time to adjust. I think Tanya’s down on another floor covering for a girl that went home ill. I could try transferring you down there.” “Oh, umm... no, that’s OK. She'd given me this number and said it was direct to the nurses station so I could use it to call and check on our friend Jimbo.” In a hushed voice he heard “We’re not supposed to give patient status to non-family.” “Oh, I see.” She could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Oh that’s right, I forgot I heard that you three were all step brothers, a blended family or something?” Merv perked up and smiled at the creative loop hole she offered. “Yes, yes ma’am, that is the case, he’s the ugly brother.” She laughed “I thought so, well I can tell you that there has been a slight improvement in his condition, just this evening he’s started to react to some stimuli tests we give him but he's still not regained consciousness.” “Well that does sound good and I really appreciate you sharing it. Thank you Ma'am.” “It's Jane, and you're welcome. I wish I could tell you he was fully awake but this is a good sign. I have to run now but give us a call tomorrow.” “I will, I hope you have a good evening. Bye” “Bye Bye.”
As Merv hung up he felt a little better and much more optimistic about Jimbo’s condition. From what Tanya had told he and Matt the other day, any improvement at this point was a good sign. “That's right Jimbo, you fight.” He bowed his head and said another prayer for his friend. He pulled up his contacts on his laptop and punched in another number. “Hello?” “What’s up asshat?” “Oh you know just got done busting out 100 push ups.” “Huh, you couldn’t do two push ups before all those broken ribs, you sure aren’t doing it now. Hey, I wanted to let you know I’m back at the apartment, my parents dropped me off this afternoon.” “Good, I was wondering how you made out.”
“Yeah, hey had you talked with your Nursey Babe today?” “That’s Ms Nursey Babe and my future wife to you and no. Why?” “Dream on, she's just feeling sorry for you with you being all special needs like you are. I’d just called up to check in on Jimbo and ended up speaking with a nurse Brady, ahh Jane it was. I guess Tanya had to go to a different floor to fill in for someone who went home ill. Sort of ironic, work at a hospital and go home if you get sick where as when most people get sick at home they go the the hospital. “Well Nurse Brady was kind enough to reminded me that since we are all step brothers she could share his condition with me.” “Since we’re WHAT?” Matt starts hard laughing… “Oh shit don’t make me laugh asshole, it hurts. Dear Lord, it's bad enough having to be both of you twos friend, now we all have to be related?” “Yep, welcome to the family. Guess that makes you the red headed step child. Anyway, she let me know that Jimbo showed some signs of responding tonight to some stimuli tests they give him a few times a day. So I figure that with what Tanya told us the other night that might be a good sign.”
“Yeah that’s awesome, it is good news. Tanya sent a quick text earlier saying she was swamped but would try to text if she got off at her regular time and they didn't end up holding her over. Hey maybe this weekend we could go see him.” “Now how are we gonna do that gimpy? You can’t get around any better than my gimp ass can and I hate to remind you but I'm betting your truck is in an impound yard still tore all to hell and we didn't fit well in my little shit box before I got my new incredible hulk sized left hand and you got your new chicken wing stance with that broken collar bone.”
“Well my home nurse is coming by Friday afternoon to check on me.” “You got a home nurse?” “No jag off, Tanya is coming by.” “Oh really... good for you, she seems like a great gal.” “Yeah thanks. She's gonna drive down Friday afternoon. Wait, I got my head up my ass, that isn't gonna work. She'd have to drive us back there, back here and then she'd have to go back home. That would be a hell of a lot of driving back and forth for her.” “For sure, I mean it's like three hours each way so you're talking 12 hours out of her weekend driving. And you guys aren't even dating yet. I mean what a way to send a gal running for the hills by turning her into your and your buddies Uber.” “Yeah that's the truth. And we sure aren't gonna find an Uber to do it. You know, unless he gains full consciousness I doubt they’d let us in to see him.
I know when we were there they did but I think only because we were patients and I think they made some exceptions.” Well don't forget, as you said he's family after all, I mean how could they turn us away from seeing our brother.” “True but unless Scotty is going to beam us up and then over we have a logistics issue to figure out.” “I don't know man we need to figure something out. I know his folks told me they had to go back home up to Michigan to deal with work and other things. They'd mentioned that if he's going to be down a long time they might need to get him transferred to a hospital or care facility close to them so they can have him close.” Merv was a bit surprised at that news but then he figured it probably made sense for his family to have him close to give him the support he needs.
“Yeah I can understand that. This has to be terrible on them. I keep praying for him and I feel guilty that we aren't there with him.” “Yeah I know what you mean. Oh hey i have an idea. I talked with Timmy the other day, he'd called me at the hospital. He said he'd tried calling you but didn't reach you, you must have been in rehab or stroking off or something. Anyway, he said he and Bossman and a couple others from the office had wanted to come see us but then we got released. Maybe we could get them to run us up a day this week?” “Hey not a bad idea, be worth a shot.” “Hey when we hang up, can you text me Jimbo's parents contact info you have. I kept missing them at the hospital and I want to touch base with them and see if they need anything and to make sure they're OK with me still staying here with Jimbo being laid up. I feel like a sponge so I was gonna offer to cover rent and the other bills.” “I'm sure they aren't thinking your a sponge.” “Well maybe but I know they have a load on their mind and a lot of costs with the travel and all.”
By the time they hung up, Merv's computer had went into sleep mode so he had to wake it back up. As it opened he noticed the minimized tabs and pulled them up and found himself looking at the lists he'd been working on the afternoon they left for the trip. He re-read some of the items and notes and decided this was something he'd need to revisit. With what had happened in the previous two weeks he realized how frivolous some of the items now were and some new ones that seemed critical needed added. Realizing how close he'd come to death changed his thoughts and viewpoints on several things. He decided some of the items had moved up to a critical level while others were so trivial he was almost embarrassed with himself for thinking not that long ago that they were some sort of priority in his life.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 23, 2022 12:56:57 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 24, 2022 17:57:18 GMT -6
19 (cont)
For tonight, he minimized the lists and pulled up some of the normal 'news' sites he usually perused. There were a couple local ones that focused on the going on's around the Capital and there were a couple national ones. As he glanced thru the first few headlines they just didn't seem right, for the first time he realized how pointless most of the topics were. The articles seemed about the same as they'd always been, things like what some actor did, what sports star said or or did, what new cause was out there to support. He began to realize the sites and their 'brands' news hadn't changed but that maybe he was looking at it all differently. As he skimmed over a couple articles with a more critical eye he realized it wasn't a news article, there weren't facts, there was only 'feels' and opinions.
After about sixth site he thought they all seemed about the same and really had no news worthy content. How had he never noticed this before? Now though, he noticed many of the articles were basically the same, regardless of the site, you could pick out the common talking point they were trying to push. He'd always considered himself to be a centrist when it came to politics and most topics so he had always looked at sites that most would consider on both sides of the aisle. He was now realizing things weren't really that different on either side. He found it odd that they both had the same topics and then took polar opposite positions. He also noted that both sides didn't actually delve into the topics or root issues, they only wanted to fan the smoke and talking points and to make things visceral and emotional. They did their best to try and piss off the other side. Neither actually presented ideas for resolution or plans to resolve them nor to try to come to an agreeable compromise. The articles actually didn't consist facts or research, it was all “I feel” or “I believe” statements, faux window dressing at best. News had all turned into just opinion pieces; none of it could truly be called unbiased, factual reporting and definitely not investigative reporting.
As he was thinking about this sham a memory came back to him from a long late night road trip he'd been making for work. It had been some radio show interview he came across as he'd been scanning for channels. He didn't know the name of the show, its host nor the guest but the points the man spoke on struck him deeply. The man talked about things he'd never learned in history class in high school or in college. It was such a fantastical and odd story that initially he didn't believe it, thinking the guy was some nut job, some sort of ultra right wing nut job. But as the man spoke he couldn't change the station. In the intro portion the name seemed normal and sane, nothing made him think otherwise that he was irrational, that was what had kept him from dismissing him outright and changing the station. As the interview went on it began to bore it's way deep into his brain and soul.
The man had started to explain that the modern media was all about 'being first to report”. The idea of reporting “facts” didn't matter, being first to report did. He explained how the main stream media discovered that the majority of people just consumed what they heard and took it as fact. After that, they would become suspicious of any other reporting that contradicted the first version they had heard. Whatever they heard they'd recite back as fact and many would take those 'facts' on as their own talking points and their own beliefs on the topic. The man went on to explain that once a person had chosen their 'brand' or side of the aisle, anything they heard from the other side had to be lies. Merv had taken it in but realized he'd never fully untangled his own mind from it
The speaker continued on and discussed one of the most mind blowing things Merv had ever heard up to that point, maybe even to his present position. The speaker told of how many of these tactics used by the media and corporate America went back to the propaganda tactics perfected by the Nazi's. The very tactics they used to sway millions of their population; tactics they used to twist the beliefs of their nation to socialism. He explained that the Nazi's hadn't invented those methods, in fact they had borrowed the manipulation tactics from the burgeoning field of marketing and advertising that was being developed in the United States to drive consumerism. If they could drive loyalty to whatever brand paid enough money, be it Chevy or Ford; Kellogg's or General Mills; Coke or Pepsi then the Nazi's could 'sell' National Socialism. Or modern media could sell democrat or republican based on who paid them more or who could benefit them more. The speaker expanded on how at the time America had been a hotbed of 'progressive socialist' ideas for the Nazis. Sadly, the USA was where they got many of their most evil ideas. As the man had continued on, Merv had found himself so riveted to the program (ever wonder why they call it a program? because you're it's 'programming' that you're receiving) that he pulled off to the side of the road to listen when the signal threatened to be lost. The guest went on to talk about how a group of Nazi's had visited the US in the 30's to specifically see the use of eugenics, sterilization and birth control, first hand. From that visit, the seed that would grow into one of the the most evil and deadly actions the world ever witnessed, the “final solution”, was planted. Merv was astounded to learn all of this. Yes, the plan that would cause the massacre of millions of Jews, gays, mentally handicapped and any others that Adolf and crew decided weren't Aryan enough or Nazi enough. A concept that would launch the world into a true world war and claim millions of lives, all from 'progressive' things happening in the USA. Now where could those men have gotten such a sick and twisted idea?
Much of this evil was spearheaded from a lead champion of eugenics, an evil woman by the name of Margaret Sanger. He went on to explain to the audience that if her name didn't ring a bell, maybe the institution she helped form might, Planned Parenthood. Yes, the mother of Planned Parenthood and champion of eugenics was a major impetus for part of the Nazi Final Solution. She had created the organization to use 'birth control' to help eliminate the 'undesirables' from society. To her that included blacks, Jews and any others she and her fellow eugenicists felt were 'misfits' to society. Her end goal was population control and 'racial perfection'. A few of her quotes sent chills down Merv's spine. “More children from the fit and less from the unfit. That is the chief aim of birth control” “Birth Control: to create a race of thoroughbreds” from a New York Times interview in 1922 she said, “Superman is the aim of Birth Control”. Her aim of a superior society was to be achieved thru use of birth control, sterilization, segregation and by removal of people of 'weak mind', 'weak body', poor health and poor economic conditions. Under her supposed guise of 'helping' women she desired to eliminate those she saw as inferior races and unfit people, including women themselves if need be, and with force.
He'd swore that night he'd be vigilant and more observant of the media but he'd grown lax and also in the rise of social media he'd not seen the evil had transformed itself. As he thought on his own failure he also began to realize how far left and superficial his own wife had been and how far she'd started to pull him down the rabbit hole. Even if he'd not been a willing participant in her ways, he believed he was just as bad thru his complacency to say anything about it or to stand up to it. Another thought came to him and it made him sad but also thankful, his Granddad. He thought about how disappointed Grandpa Merv would have been to meet Merv's ex and to see where he'd allowed himself to be led. For his Grandpa never seeing that, Merv was indeed thankful. He Then thought of how he'd failed to uphold his promises and to also not carry on the things his Grandparents had taught him, the things they'd exposed him to and that he'd loved.
As he sat there in the semi darkness, his mood matched his surroundings. Merv was deep inside himself, reflecting and contemplating more, just like that morning next to the duck pond. All of this, the divorce, the attack, the hospital, Jimbo; all of it had brought up deep seated ghost and items. In this moment Merv decided he would now think of things and actions in his life and look at them thru the lens of what his Granddad would have thought right. Thru that context he'd move forward and let this lens now become the litmus test for things and actions in his life.
As he sat there he just kept asking himself, 'what the hell happened?' How had things gone so far sideways? How did they go from a simple guys weekend out camping and cutting up, his buddies only trying to cheer him up to where they were. Jimbo in the hospital with brain trauma and in a coma and he and Matt both busted and broken and Matt's truck destroyed. First thing was to take care of himself and to get healthy, both physically and mentally. Second he'd do whatever he could to help his friends do the same. Third he'd get out of this hellhole of a city and get back to the values of his Grandpa.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 24, 2022 17:59:17 GMT -6
20
It had been about four months since Merv came home from the hospital. I that time there had been a lot of things happening and a lot of changes. One positive but also negative was Jimbo. He'd finally regained consciousness but his parents had moved him to a facility close to there home where they could help with managing his care and rehabilitation. He had a long road ahead of him. He'd need to relearn how to do many things including walking and feeding himself. Merv and Matt would both video chat with him each week just to say high and that they are there pulling for him and praying for him. It was tough for them to see him in such a condition. It drove home their own mortality and the preciousness of life.
Merv had packed up Jimbo's apartment and helped load everything up for when his parents moved him back to Michigan. That had left him with out a place to stay but things had worked out well. When Matt's roommate had found out about the violence and the fact that a bunch of criminals might show up at the address he quickly came up with a reason he needed to move out. So that freed a bedroom for Merv. As the two of them recouped they talked and both agreed they were tired of living in DC and also of the stupidity that came with it. They decided they'd look for a place outside they city and deal with the daily commute. However, they were hoping their company would be good with them working remote most of the time and only needing to come in to the office maybe a day a week or even every other week.
Initially Matt had mentioned maybe to the east in Maryland and Merv said no way. He explained that he planned to take up shooting again which meant purchasing some firearms and also meant he was going to work on getting his concealed. Matt had never really thought about it. He'd shot a shot gun a few times when he'd went with an uncle to a sporting clays range. He admitted he did enjoy it but that it also slightly scared him. Merv told him that he'd been taught by the best and he'd be happy to teach Matt. They were able to convalesces for about 3 weeks and then started working from home. Much of what they did on a day to day basis was with a computer so with their high end laptops and high speed internet they both were easily able to get back to their projects. After about 3 weeks they presented Bossman with their proposal about working remote. He wasn't sure but they did point to the fact that they were right then and he had to admit they were getting everything they were asked for complete and had even caught up on some things that had gone to the side burner while they were healing up.
The following week Bossman called and told them that he'd gotten approval for them to continue the remote work and it'd be on a probationary basis and that for now they'd need to come in one day a week. That was great news to both of them. With that they started looking for a place to rent in either Virginia or West Virginia. They really didn't like any of the areas right around the DC limits as it was the same sort of mentality and a lot of restrictions. So they started looking out to the west towards the Winchester, VA area to the tip of the eastern corner of West Virginia near Harpers Ferry. That would put them into roughly a one and half hour drive of the District and their office in the northwest area of DC.
One Saturday morning Merv came back from a jog. As part of the changes in his life he'd started working out vowing to loose the fluff he'd put on while married and to get back in shape and toned. Matt and Tanya were sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop, cups of coffee and bagels. Tanya had become a weekend fixture around the apartment, at least the weekends when Matt wasn't at her place in Lynchburg. “whew look at you, all sweaty and hunky this morning...” “hey hey... no telling the roomy he's looking all hunky...” Teasingly Tanya hung her arm around Matt's shoulders “ahh poo bear, don't be jelly, I only got eyes for you stud muffin” she ended with a kiss on the end of his nose. Merv slipped his shirt back on feeling a bit self conscious... “Well what I was gonna say before Ms Hornball here pipped up is that we think we might have found a place. It's up near Wheatland, WV. From what I can see it'd be about an hour and a half into the office from there. Now who knows what that translates into with traffic but it's in the area we had decided on.” “Oh cool. Well let me grab a shower and get dressed and then I want to hear about it.” “For sure and we want to talk to you about something else.”
Merv was back in 15 minutes, shower, shaved and just in a pair of shorts and a tee. He went and poured himself some of the coffee. He took a long sniff. “It's bourbon pecan.” Tanya said. “It smells amazing.” Merv reached up on the top of the fridge and pulled down a bottle and proceeded to pour a touch of Bailey's Irish cream in it. He swirled the cup some to mix it in and took a sip. “Damn that's tasty.” He headed to the toaster and dropped in a bagel to toast. “OK, so now tell me about the place or what is it you wanted to talk about?” he leaned back against the counter and looked at them as he took a sip. Tanya looked at Matt “go ahead, it was your idea.” she smiled.
“Umm well Merv I wanted to run something by ya and about this move.” He looked at Tanya again. “Well I... uhh I asked Tanya to move in with me. Well with us. After we move.” “Oh cool, congrats to you guys, that's a big step. Well what did she say?” Merv looked towards her as Matt said “yes”. “Really? You want to live with this slob.” She giggled “Hey man, I thought your my wingman, your supposed to help not hinder.” “Oh yeah right.” he chuckled. “No seriously that's great. But hey I got to ask and be honest, are you sure you all want a 3rd wheel as a roommate?” It was Tanya that spoke first “You're not a 3rd wheel, if anything I'd be more of the third wheel.” “Never girl, it's awesome having you around. Besides when you aren't around he's all moopie unless he has that harem of his over to all hours of the night with their loud sex parties, a guy can hardly get a minute of shut eye.” She looked at him with a bit of a stunned look and then at Matt. Merv started to laugh “I see we are going to have to work on your sarcasm detector though. Trust me, he's only got eyes for you. When you're not around he's a sad little puppy. All I hear all day long...'oh I wonder what Tanya's doing' ; ' I miss Tanya' ; 'I can't wait to see Tanya' blah Tanya blah... he just goes on and on.” She looked at Matt and he had a sheepish look on his face. “Ah baby, that's so sweet.” “I'm not as bad as he makes it but yes I do miss you.” “Don't believe him, he is that bad and it's all the time.” Merv said smiling. He looked at both of them as friends and it made him feel great to see them both so happy and in love.
“OK, so since you two are deciding to shack up in sin, tell me about this sin palace you've found for us. But also, how are you gonna commute, it's got to be about the same as it is from here. What like 3 hours?” “Yeah well we talked about that. She won't move in right away. First she has to find a job up here but with the number of hospitals up here and her qualifications and recommendations it should be no problem. Plus, she owns her house down there.” “And that is something I need to figure out. I need to decide if I want to get it ready to sell or if I might want to keep it and rent it out.” “Well from a financial/ mathematics side we can help you figure out if it financially makes sense.” Merv offered.
“Well I appreciate that but besides that, I know there are things that need done to it whether I want to sell or rent so I'll have to find a contractor or handyman to get those done and that's never easy.” “Why do you need a contractor?” Well I don't know how to do any of that.” Merv looked at Matt “What are you looking at me for, I don't know anything about construction.” “Dude, your an engineer, how can you not know basic carpentry? Well then sounds like it's time to learn. I hope your boy toy here is better at other things cause apparently handy he isn't.” “Oh... he's very skilled...” It was Merv's turn to blush... “TMI !!” “Well you asked” “Yeah I guess I did. I tell you what, get a list of what needs done and we can figure out a weekend to go down and knock some things out.” “Really?” “Yes and it'll give me a chance to give the soft hands Ivy League engineer here a lesson in actual hands on engineering.” Tanya picked up Matt's hand, turning it over and gently making a show of petting it. “Now you're not gonna go and get his baby soft hands all rough and calloused are you.” “Hey now, that's a bit harsh” Matt feigned indignation. “Baby you know I love how soft your hands are when you run them all over me.” “Ughh... again TMI.. you two knock it off or I'm going to get the hose and spray you both down.
Tanya put an exaggerated pouty lip on and looked all sad to him “Your no fun, won't even let a girl have fun.” “Oh it sounded like you were having plenty of 'fun' last night and then again this morning.” It was her turn to blush beat red. Matt began to howl laughing “You asked for that one babe.” “OK so if you two horny toads can keep it in your pants for a few minutes tell me about this place you found.”
Matt flipped his laptop around so Merv could see the screen. As he finished putting some cream cheese on his bagel, he picked up his plate and coffee and went over to the table to join his friends. “So this is it. It's an older house and looks outdated but clean. It's pretty good size, says eighteen hundred square feet 4 beds, 3 baths. It has a full basement that's unfinished but looks dry. Has a laundry room and includes the appliances and they all look pretty new and it also already has high speed cable internet. The part you'll like, and something you said you wanted... drum roll please? it has a one car attached garage.” “Dibs” Tanya said. “and... a separate, 40x60 garage slash shop. See here, it's got a big wide roll up door and a man door on the front. That high door looks like it might have been for an RV or truck and then there is a smaller roll up door on the long side that faces the house but it down towards the opposite end of the building. It's got a concrete floor, has power lights and water and looks to have maybe a wood stove in it for heat. It sits on about 1.5 ac has a deck and small patio off the back and a small above ground pool that looks like it might be home to the creature from the black lagoon. I looked at the address from Google satellite and it looks to be an older neighborhood and the houses are spaced apart a bit. Street looks to dead end a few houses down so shouldn't be a lot of traffic. The lot looks to have a line of trees around it sort of blocking off the views from around it. Looks to be pretty rural, there are some farms and things I saw on the aerial view.. best part is they are only asking $1,100 a month which includes trash, but utilities and things are extra and we're responsible to cut the grass. That is almost half of what we're paying now.”
“Wow, that doesn't sound bad. About the same we're paying here for a heck of a lot more room and peace and quiet. Had you contacted the landlord?” “Yeah, I left a message late last evening when we were on our way to dinner and left my number.” “Well if they call you back why don't you see if they might be able to show it today or tomorrow. Well and there a question, how much longer do you have on your lease here? I'd never asked that when we started talking about this.” “My lease was complete about 8 months ago and I'm on a month to month. All I owe them is a 30 day notice. As hot as housing is here they'll have this thing rented a few hours after we give notice.” “That's cool. Can you send me the link to what your showing me there.” “Yeah sure, no problem.” “Well what about you new roomie to be, you've gotten quiet all of a sudden. What do you think about this place?” “Well it isn't gonna make a Better Homes and Garden spread or win any design awards but like Matt said, it does look clean and taken care of. It's just bland and outdated.”
“OK, well I'm gonna catch up on some work and then I'm going to look over the pics some more and maybe check out that area to see what's around there. If you get a chance Tanya you want to write up a list of things needing done at your place. Once we get an idea we can figure out the cost for everything. We'll need to put that into your financial analysis. By the way, what is the housing and rental market like down there?” “Oh it's booming. With Liberty U there and all the people moving in as the school grows and as the industry grows in town, availability is down and prices are up.” Well that's good and should be considered, but depending on rental rates, your monthly mortgage payment, taxes and a monthly maintenance fund, of you rent it can become long term passive income so long as you can get in good renters that take care of the place, who pay on time and preferably like to stay several years.”
Merv filled up his water bottle and before he left the kitchen he looked at his two friends. “OK, I'm going to be in my room with my headphones on rocking out. Just want to let you know should you two be wanting to make any more wild monkey noises this morning.” He had a huge smile and wagged his eyebrows up and down a few times at them. He would have swore Tanya turned almost tomato red.
Merv surfaced from his room just before lunch. He'd finished catching up on work and getting his schedules updated. He'd gotten more done than he initially planned to. He looked around and realized Matt and Tanya must have stepped out while he was working. He headed to the fridge to make a sandwich and grabbed a beer and then went and sat down to watch a little TV while he ate. He flipped thru the channels, stopping when he found one of his favorite block of shows, Powernation TV.
He watched the host standing in the middle of a dream garage with every tool a person could imagine and several you couldn't, rebuild a small block Chevy that they were equipping with a turbo. Merv's gripe about these shows were that they tried to make it seem like a common guy at home in his garage could do all this just as simple while they are doing it in a shop, fitted with millions of dollars in tools, equipment and machines along with a team of staff. Heck they had their own engine dynos, their own state of the art paint booths and always the latest and greatest welders or machining equipment.
He was watching as the host pulled all these brand new shiny parts out of top of the line aftermarket boxes and then just drop them in place onto an equally as clean and shiny 'used' engine block. Well of course things go together like an erector set for the guy cause you know they've already built it and took it apart two or three times before they ever filmed it. They already took care of 98% of the issues and wrong parts, leaving one or two little things for dramatic effect. He wished just once they'd actually own up to what the actual costs were when they 'send it out” to have the block steam cleaned, mag inspected and then having the it machined, over bored, blue printed and balanced and flat decked before they got it delivered back to them likely for no to little cost other than a mention of a shops name or a short vid clip of the companies shop. Then the boxes and boxes of brand new parts and power adders, no junk yard pull offs here.
Common man they were not, but a guy could still dream of a shop like that. As that showed wrapped up showing some insane numbers off their dyno the next show came on as they rolled that motor into the next shows shop and explained how the 80's square body, short bed sitting in front of the hosts would be transformed into a one off custom lowered truck. Merv was never a fan of low riding trucks but he could admire the aesthetics if not the lack of practicality and those square bodies had a look and when some of the aesthetics like the grill and headlights were changed they were artwork.
As the hosts just got the truck on the lift showing the pristine underside with barely the sign of even surface rust, his phone rang. He grabbed it and saw it was Tayna. “Merv.” he heard Matt and could tell they were on speaker phone. “Yeah” “Hey, we just heard back from the landlord. She's an older lady and did say she could show us the place this afternoon but she'll be away tomorrow. So you free to go?” “Yeah, I'll throw on jeans and shirt to look a little more presentable.” “OK Cool, why don't you meet us down stairs in about 15. I'll pull around and you can hop in and we'll go see her.” “Yep, see you in 15.” Merv hung up and went to his room. He slipped off the shorts and tee and slid on a pair of jeans and grabbed a button down. He pulled on a pair of socks and slid into his cowboy boots.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 24, 2022 18:45:37 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 24, 2022 18:59:51 GMT -6
Looks like Merv is getting back to the roots Grandpa instilled in him.
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Post by iamnobody on Jul 24, 2022 19:20:54 GMT -6
Its amazing how these fictional stories have so much truth in them compared to "real" news on TV.
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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 Jul 24, 2022 19:58:35 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 25, 2022 20:02:41 GMT -6
21
Matt slid up to the curb in Tanya's 4 door JK and he hopped in the back tossing his small backpack on in the empty driver side back seat. “GPS says we should be there in an hour and ten.” “OK, well onward Jeeves” “Yes'um Ms Daisy”. They chatted on the way, about things to look at and check out and questions to ask. And Matt and Tanya told him about what they'd been up to during the afternoon. They'd caught a little traffic getting out of the city so it took them closer to an hour and a half until they were pulling down the street looking for the correct mailbox.
It was a nice looking neighborhood with well cared for houses and lawns. As they saw the house number they pulled into the driveway and up towards the house where a small Buick SUV sat. It was evident from what they'd already saw that this house was likely the ugly duckling on the street. Well ugly was a bit harsh, definitely wall flower. Matt parked and went around an opened Tanya's door as Merv got out. A short, white haired lady, easily in her mid or late 70's got out of the little SUV. As they walked towards her Matt was the first to speak. “Mrs Moore?” “Yes, that's me, Edna Moore.” Matt held out his hand and gently shook her small hand. “I'm Matt, we spoke on the phone earlier. This is my girlfriend Tanya.” Merv saw the two of them smile as they both realized that was probably the first time they introduced themselves as an official couple. “This big guy over here is one of my best friends and my roommate, Merv” “Very nice to meet you Mr Moore.”
“We'll would you like to see the place then?” Almost in unison the three answered “yes, please.” She smiled and waved them towards the front porch. “It might be a bit musty in here. No one has been living here now for about 5 months.” That sort of surprised them. “I had a friend who had been renting it but she got ill and wasn't able to live on her own and had to move to a home up near Martinsburg. I've had my add up for a while but hadn't been able to find a renter. Most come by and see how dated it is and they're turned off. My late husband Charles and I built this house in 1978 and it is for the most part original. I know most people want a place that's modern looking but I just can afford to fix it up. I had a couple or two want it but to be honest I got the sense they'd be trouble so I passed on them.”
She walked them around showing them the rooms. That weren't huge but weren't tiny either. There was a master with on suite master bath and small walk in closet. Down the hall was another bedroom and a 3/4 bath next to it and then there were two rooms with a shared Jack and Jill bathroom. As they went things were in good condition just very dated from the light fixtures to the bathroom fixtures to the carpet and flooring. She showed them the steps to the basement but she opted to not go up and down the steps due to a bothersome knee. The basement had low seven foot ceilings but it was clean and dry and didn't smell musty or with mildew. The floors were painted a gray and the walls with what looked like a white hydrolock. There was a water softener and a boiler system.
As they came back up stairs Merv asked “I see there is a water softener, is the house on a well?” “Yes it is. It's good cold water but has a touch of hard water so we had that put in years ago. But in all the years we lived here and since I don't know of the well ever going dry. It also has septic so no sewage bills either.” “Well that's good. Is that a oil or gas fired boiler down there?” “It is propane, which you all would be responsible for filling. It is both the domestic hot water and the base board heat.” It was Tanya's turn “So does the house have AC?” “No dear, sorry there is no central AC. Years ago when we lived here we'd make it thru most summers OK with the windows open and a couple fans blowing. In the hottest times we'd sometimes move down to the coolness of the basement to sleep. Other renters have used their own window AC units which I'm OK with so long as you make sure it drains properly.”
They made their way to the kitchen, it was sort of a yellow colored counter top with yellow and white trimmed painted cabinets. As they saw in the pictures, the fridge and stove looked fairly new and Merv was happy to see it was a gas range. Edna also pointed out the small laundry just off the kitchen with the washer and dryer and a small deep sink. She then showed them out onto the deck. It was a pretty backyard area over looking the patio and where they'd saw the pool in the picture there was just a big round sand spot. “Oh did you get rid of the pool?” Tanya asked. “Yes I had to, in the years my friend lived here she didn't use it and wasn't able to maintain it and if I'm honest, I sort of forgot about it when she moved out and I forgot to tell the pool guy to keep coming. So when I finally asked him to take a look at it he said it needed a lot of work. The cost just make sense so I had him tear it down.”
Merv again noticed what had caught his eye since they pulled in and what he'd wanted to look at since Matt told him about it that morning - the workshop/ garage. “Mrs Moore, would it be OK if I looked at the garage?” “Oh yes, would you mind tough if I don't go over with you, it's just a bit of a walk for me. Here is the key if you'd like to look in.” “Oh thank you.” Merv reached out and took the offered keys. Matt said “I'll come with you.” “Well you guys go look at the shop and I'll stay here with Mrs Moore and keep her company.”
They got to the door and easily unlocked it. Merv found he light switch and the big over head fluorescent lights came on with a flicker and loud buzz. He could see on the one wall there was a workbench built and he could see daisy chains of out let boxes down the length of the walls. The floor was clean but used, you could see decades old oil stains on the floor and a place or two with over spray from spray paint. In the main bay they was a long in floor trench drain that had heavy steel grid plate covering it. They walked to the small room in the back corner which turned out to be a utilitarian bathroom with a toilet and sink but the other part of the bathroom had a wall of cabinets and shelves and on the wall over the toilet was a small propane wall heater. Merv surmised that must be to keep this room warm in the winter to keep the pipes from freezing and the storage must have been for chemicals, cleaners and paints that couldn't freeze.
“Man this is a nice big shop. Definitely plenty of room for some of the projects I have in mind. And did you notice, it's also wired for 220.” “I hadn't, but yeah for sure this shop is the bomb. This garage is almost as big as the house. So what do you think about the place?” “Well we knew it was going to be outdated and it for sure is living up to that billing, but it's very clean. Things are definitely worn and showing their age. I have an idea brewing in my mind that I'm wondering if she'd be open to. But it'll require help from both of you two also.” “What's that?” “Well... I'd like to see if she might take less or even no money for rent, at least some months.”
“What the hell, you smoking something? You want to try to cheat this old lady.” “NO, you know me better than that.” “Well you're not making sense.” “OK, hear me out. I'd like to suggest to her that instead of us paying cash for rent each month, we'll apply the money to various projects to update this place. She'd get to pick colors or finishes as long as they are within a set cost range. If she wants to put any other money into it or to have bigger things done we could work that out with her too. Everything we buy we'd give her the receipts for and we'd also give her the hours of sweat equity we put into it. She can use the receipts for tax write offs for improvements. Then we get the advantage of having a nicer place to live in while we are here and then whenever we move out, the place will be greatly upgraded from where she sits today. We'd also spruce up the curb appeal so it isn't the ugly duckling on an otherwise beautiful street.”
“I'd think that should make the place more desirable and therefore easier for her to rent or sell. I mean how many times did she mention not being able to find handymen or workers to repair or replace thing. Also think of this as a great place and opportunity for you to learn new skills. So when it's for your own place someday you'll know how to do things rather than having to call a guy. You'll get hands on experience and new skills this way.” “Man I don't know. I don't know squat about building or remodeling. Do you think we could pull it off? I mean if we do it it has to be right, we can't half ass it or mess it up for her.”
“Have we met before? When have you ever saw me half ass something? And yes we can do it. I've done about all of it before and I can teach you. What we don't know, well that's what YouTube is for. But before we worry about your DIY class starting we need to see if she's even open to the idea. If she's not interested in my idea, I still think we should get this place. I mean decor excluded it's a huge improvement in a lot of ways. First is how much less a month we'll both save just in rent, we'll have more than double the space, we'll have the extra yard space and then there is that garage. We're away from the city so there isn't all the noise and crime. Also since were in WV, like I told you, I plan on getting my concealed carry permit and from what we talked about it sounds like you want to as well. So once we get our residency moved to WV we can go to the Sheriffs office and apply.”
“So you in?” “I mean I'm game but... well... I um...” “What? But ya got to check with the girlfriend...” Merv chuckled “It's OK I get it. Your new to all the girlfriend stuff and having to ask permission... I was there before. Go talk with Tanya and see what she's thinking. But man, even if you guys decide not to move up here, I think I'm going to. It checks all the boxes for me and you know how it goes. even though it's been sitting here empty, about the time we go think about it for a few days someone will pop up and end up renting it. You know Murphy is always around the corner waiting to screw things up.” “No i get it, let me see where her head is.”
They took a walk around the back of the garage and noted a propane tank. “Well it must have heat?” Matt said. “Naa tank is to small, it's got to be for hot water for the bathroom, we just must have not saw the hot water tank.” They made a loop around the edge of the property, the lawn was mostly flat but did slope gently downhill from the house towards the back left corner of the lot. As they came back around and up onto the deck Tanya and Edna were standing there smiling and chatting away. “So what do you two boys think” Edna asked. “That's a really nice shop, lots of room. Would be perfect for a few projects I have in mind.”
“That was my Charlie's pride when we were living here. I lost him about 8 years ago now. But we built that shop in the early 90's. He drove truck and built it as a place where he could do maintenance on it and keep it out of the weather and then he had a hot rod he tinkered with, his '67 Camaro he bought when he'd gotten back from Vietnam. Then when he retired and sold the truck we got a class A motor home to travel the country and when we were home that's where we kept it and he could work on it. He used to have it all fitted out with compressors and welders and things. But, well after he passed we had an auction and I sold the things, wasn't like I was going to use them and rather than see them sit and rst or go to waste, I knew he'd want to see them going to use.” They could see a look in her eye as she remembered happier times.
“Well Ma'am, I think Matt and I are in agreement but I'd like to let Matt and Tanya talk a minute to see if she's of like mind too but where I'm at I'm definitely interested.” “Well we probably don't need to discuss it, I'm game for it if you two are.” “Oh that's wonderful.” “We would like to talk with you about an idea I had and see if you'd be open to it. But I see it's getting late and we don't want to hold you up from dinner or anything. Or if there is somewhere close by maybe we could all go eat and discuss my proposal?” Edna looked at him for a minute like she was trying to see if he was up to something. “Well there's TJ's Pit Stop in town, it's only a few minutes drive.” “Well then you lead and we'll follow. Oh and here is the garage key and we locked 'er back up.” They spent a minute making sure the lights were off and the doors were all locked before making their way out to the vehicles. Merv open the door for Edna to get in her car then shut the door and ran around to go jump in the back of the Jeep. Matt pulled it over to the side of the driveway so Edna could back out past them, then he backed out and they followed her.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 25, 2022 20:28:39 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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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 Jul 26, 2022 9:04:22 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by solo on Jul 26, 2022 9:53:31 GMT -6
Haven't thought of doing a deal like that. Though I have on occassion offered up if a repair popped up that I'd do it for the cost coming out of the rent. At least two of my land lords went for that as long as I cleared it first. Great idea including it in the initial lease. I am wondering if there is an purchase option consideration as the lady is getting older...
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Post by biggkidd on Jul 26, 2022 11:53:45 GMT -6
I did that once renting a trailer out in the sticks. They paid me cash money when I left since I had done so much work to the place.
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