Post # 72
A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing
George's phone rang and they heard right away that he was talking to his brother Frank. A couple of seconds later George held up an finger then his palm out toward Patty and Gerry, like he needed a minute of privacy with his brother. He turned his back to the two of them and walked across the parking lot to put some distance between them. They watched patiently for George to come back, but the private conversation continued longer than expected. Gerry could see that Patty was getting anxious.
“Patty, how much do you trust Frank?” Gerry asked quietly as if he already knew the answer.
“What?” She asked as if startled out of her own thoughts. “Well, I guess I'd have to say a lot. HE and my dad have been close friends as long as I can remember.” She answered after getting her attention on the question.
“Well I think Frank trusts his brother enough to confide in him and ask his advice about what has been going on in Hollerton. I also know from talking with Carl that Pete trusts George enough that George has already been out to the lodge even before we talked to you about needing some help. As a matter of fact that was even before the family took me in as part of what they are doing. He was there when the lodge was handed over to Carl and Colleen. I'm saying this because I know you are anxious, but you have earned a reputation within our family as a puzzle worker. So, you ought to be able to figure out that two very trusted men are talking together about the arrangements that are ahead of us. Do you think you should be feeling very anxious right now?”
Patty thought a minute. “That sure was a round about way of telling me to relax and stop worrying.” Patty sounded a little exasperated.
“Answer me honestly, Patty,” Gerry replied. “If I had simply said, 'Patty you need to calm down and stop being anxious.' would you have simply followed my directions and calmed yourself?”
A few seconds later Patty blew out a puff of air and answered, “Nope. I wouldn't have relaxed at all. Thank you, Gerry.” she spoke quietly but kept staring at George who was still on the phone.
Finally, George lowered his arm that was holding his phone and started walking toward Patty and Gerry. He first handed the phone to Patty and said, “Frank wants to talk with you, Patty.” Then he motioned to Gerry to step away with him. Once they got a sort distance away he stopped to speak with Gerry. “I'm sorry this is taking so long. My brother is under a lot of stress right now. He was very worried about Patty, both for his own peace of mind and for the sake of his long time friend, Jim Decker. I Tried to reassure him about you folks up on the mountain without revealing too much about what you all are trying to do up there. He, actually both of them, Frank and Jim, were full of questions, and I had to be careful what to say, because I have an obligation to Peter, Carl and their wives.”
George paused and looked Gerry in the eye. “Do you have the money with you for that equipment you want, or do you need to arrange to get it before you complete the transaction?”
“I got it just before I came here.” Gerry replied.
“The price Jim quoted to you?” George asked.
“Yep.” Gerry replied.
George nodded, and waited for Patty. They both looked at Patty who was going through a spectrum of emotions, but trying to control her voice. She walked over to Gerry and handed him the phone. As she did, she was shaking her head and said to Gerry very quietly. “This is not what I want.”
Gerry was suddenly concerned. He took the phone and said, “Hello?”
He was surprised to hear Jim Decker rather than Frank on the line. “Who am I speaking to?” Jim spoke in an abrupt and challenging tone.
“This Is Gerry Kerry.” Gerry answered in a calm and unruffled voice.
Jim continued. “When you were at my house, what was your favorite among the things I served?”
Again Gerry was calm. “The peach cobbler.”
“Okay, Gerry. I have been worried. You seemed like decent folks, but Patty seemed … too quick to trust you. Frank has been talking with his brother and apparently he's convinced you guys are trustworthy. I hope so. Here's the deal. I am not going to be getting out of town for a while and I need you all to watch out for Patty. Do you have the money to pay for that equipment you wanted at the price I quoted?”
“Yes, sir. I have it with me.” Gerry replied.
“That's good. It's a sign you people are prepared to act with integrity. Frank is taking Gene Lassiter's truck to the store. He's going to get it loaded with your equipment. Gene has a long bed truck with a topper on it, so it all should all fit and the load will not be visible driving on the streets here. Frank's brother and his wife are going to drive up here without you and Patty. George is driving Gene's truck back to you, and his wife will take their truck back. I do not want Patty even close to this county, is that clear?” Jim was talking like he was giving orders to his staff.
“I agree with you completely on that plan. I was going to ask George if that would be acceptable, before we finalized the plan. Patty's safety is important to us.” Gerry was calm but firm. “That is also very fortunate about Gene's truck. He didn't mention that point to me.”
Jim paused as if he had not been expecting that kind of reply. “Okay. It's good that we are on a similar page here. I have to apologize about these circumstances. I am fighting multiple illegal actions being taken here in Hollerton. My bank account has been frozen, and I need an out of town attorney. There is an attorney over in Clear Creek named Jenkins...”
“Hank Jenkins? Yes, we know him. He has done some work for us.” Gerry interrupted Jim spontaneously, and then he regretted jumping ahead of Patty's dad. He figured, too late that Jim was accustomed to staying in the lead on everything.
“Good, good.” Jim was now off balance and not so commanding in his demeanor. “Anyway, I need to ask you to deliver the payment for that equipment to him. But first, I want you to take twenty percent of what you were going to pay me and keep that out to compensate you for taking care of Patty until I can arrange a safe place for her.”
“That is not necessary, Jim. That has already been arranged.” Gerry replied.
“No, I know you guys do not have your houses built yet. I need her to be inside, not camping out in the woods, who knows where. I don't know how much cash she had with her, but I know it will run out soon with her staying there paying for her food and such. I'll ...”
“Jim, please slow down and listen. It's already covered. She doesn't need to pay us money. Right now she is sleeping in a spare bed inside a large new travel trailer that belongs to Mister and Mrs. Cooper. There is a facility near by that is currently filled with the families of your former employees. We are keeping them and her safe while they work for us to get another facility built as quickly as possible. If any of those families decide to leave, she will be able to move into the … lodging they vacate, if that is what she wants. Best I can tell, this is what she wants right now. We are not charging her or any of them for the food and lodging. But we are paying them for the work they do that helps us.”
Jim was quiet. So quiet, Gerry was beginning to wonder if he had lost the connection. “Jim? Are you still there?”
“Gerry, I'm sorry. Patty tried to tell me this and I wouldn't believe her. I thought she was spinning a yarn so I wouldn't worry. Look, I still want you to take that twenty percent out and give it to her. If they've managed to lock up my account they could be doing the same to her account. I told her to send her bank card with George with her PIN to see if he could get any of her money out for her to have cash before she looses all she has. Things are just getting crazier day by day.”
“Jim, I have a better idea. We can let Patty try to get some out at an ATM … when we take the money to Hank. I'll still give her the money out of the payment to you, but I don't want to put George at risk of trying to use a debit card belonging to someone else there in Hollerton. If the Sheriff there is already arranged something with the bank there in town, there is no telling how he will try to spin this. At least if she tries using her own debit card in a different county, they won't have picture of someone else trying to use the card. If they have a picture of her using her own card, that is not illegal, and they still won't know where she is staying. I'll make sure the ATM is not in Fox County and not in the county where our site is located, nor in the county where George lives.” Gerry was planning this as he was talking and catching himself in several possible slips that might narrow the search if there was a search for her.
“Oh, Widow Maker. I didn't think of that. Good catch, Gerry. Thank you. Can I talk to Patty-Cake. I need to eat some Crow-Pie. Thank you, Gerry.”
Gerry hit the mute spot on the screen and turned to look for Patty. He saw her standing off by herself with her back to everyone and her arms folded. He walked over and spoke softly. “Patty, I had a talk with your Daddy. I think he wants to apologize to you.” He held out the phone and backed away as she took it from him.
George came up to Gerry and put his hand on Gerry's shoulder. “Her dad is a hard man for some people to deal with. How did it go?”
“Right now he is eating some hard earned Crow-Pie.” Gerry was trying with limited success to cover his frustration with Jim. “I'm sorry Brother Rogers. Sorry, again. I'm not supposed to call you Brother since I'm not one, huh? I just keep hearing my new family calling you that and I slipped. I know Jim is under a whole lot of stress right now. We need to cut him a little slack I guess. It just torqued me to hear him accuse his own daughter of lying to him just because he hadn't seen enough people trying to do the right thing before.”
“You mean what Brother Pete and the rest of you are doing for all those families?” George asked.
“Yeah, it was hard for them to believe it at first. I guess it must be hard for some one who wasn't there to believe, too.” Gerry was chagrined at that realization. “It actually went pretty well once I got him past his disbelief. By the way, You are not going to need to try Patty's bank card at the ATM. That isn't a good idea for your sake. I'll get her to an ATM away from here so the picture that is taken automatically will only get a picture of her using her own ATM, which is not a problem. If there is any flag in the system to find out where she is, which I seriously doubt, it will show up as her being a long way away from here.”
“Oh my. I hadn't thought of that. It seems things are getting bad in ways I never thought to expect.” George was startled.
Gerry looked at George with controlled curiousity. “What ways were you expecting things to get bad, George?”
“I know there are supposed to be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in diverse places, famine, pestilence like that epidemic we had. I also know that the governments will finally turn against false religions. That all sounds terrible enough.”
“So what did you think was going to happen with the requirement for the sign of the beast on your hand or forehead?” Gerry asked.
“I don't pretend to know everything about all the symbolism in Revelations. The earthquakes and wars were hard enough to picture until the pestilence of that epidemic came about. Having those three or was it four earthquakes here was scary, too. I just know it is supposed to get 'BAD'. The truth is I would rather not think about the bad stuff. I just want to focus on the good things that come when the bad stuff is finally over.”
Gerry thought about George's perspective for a moment. “I want to thank you, George for the help you and your wife, Liz, are providing. We certainly don't want to let anything bad to happen to you. I want to get a hold of Pete before we leave. We want to keep in touch by radio at all times, so he is going to drive over this way. I was thinking Patty and I could go part of the way there and take the hand off of her phone and the truck full of equipment we are buying so you and your wife will not be connected to anything we are doing for quite so long.”
“I would be more comfortable,” George started hesitantly. “If you and Miss Decker just stayed right here on the parking lot, 'far way from Fox County', as her Daddy said. Liz and I will meet you back here. It won't be any farther for us to drive, and that will just keep it simple and tidy.”
Patty suddenly appeared next to the two men and handed George's phone back to him. “Thank you so much for your help, brother Rogers, and thank your wife too. Please forgive me being so emotional. It's just...”
“You don't have to apologize, Miss Patty.” George interrupted her. “You and your Daddy are going through a lot of turmoil right now. We are glad we can help. We'll meet you back here before you know it.” With that George turned and went to his truck. He started it up and waved as he drove away.
Gerry was about to get in Patty's truck to call Pete when suddenly Patty wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her head there while hugging him. “Patty? Are you okay? What is the matter?” Gerry gently encircled her shoulders with his arms.
“Thank you Gerry. I don't know what you said to my father but thank you. He actually apologized to me for misjudging me. I can't remember that ever happening before. He actually said I was right about you all and he was wrong. I can hardly believe it!” Patty was glassy eyed when she looked up to Gerry.
“Well, Good! I'm glad to hear that!” Gerry was glad to hear that Jim had apologized but was uncertain what else to say about that. “We need to get a hold of Pete so he can trail behind George and Liz until they come back. George wanted us to stay right here until they get back with your phone and all the equipment we are buying from your father. When they get back with your phone we need to head toward our base work site with all the tools we are buying from your father. We have an added task to get a payment for your Dad to our attorney, and we need to get you to an ATM that is away from here and see if your bank card still works. I have to talk with Bruce and maybe Rob to see how we can work that in with all the other things we are trying to do today.”
“Oh no!” Patty suddenly panicked “They left without my bank card. I forgot to give it to them. We've got to...”
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." Gerry caught her by the arm as she rushed toward her truck. "I told your Dad that was a bad idea. I guess he didn't tell you.”
Patty turned around, stunned. “Yo... you told my Dad that was a bad idea? What did he say?”
“Well,” Gerry scratched his head. “He said something I didn't understand about a widow maker?” He saw Patties eyes get big, but he continued, “Then he said good catch. What did he mean by that widow maker comment?”
“You're sure he said widow maker, then he said good catch right after that?” Patty was almost not believing him.
“Yeah, I told him it might cause a problem if the sheriff arranged something with the bank there in his county about holding or watching for your bank card being used and they got a picture at the ATM of someone other than you using your card. I know he is under a lot of stress and he just wasn't thinking clearly.” Gerry was trying to think back through what was said to be sure he wasn't leaving out something significant. Oh, yeah, After he said good catch he said thank you, then asked to talk to you.”
Patty was still stunned. “When I was little I asked Daddy about what that meant. He told me that when I was born mommy asked him to stop cussing when he got mad. She didn't want their little girl to grow up cussing like a lumberjack. He told me that sometimes he would get so mad at something going wrong he just needed to find a word that said how bad it felt to for things to be so bad. He told me that Widow Maker was a lumberjack term for something so dangerous it could kill someone yet it could be avoided if you would just think before you got hurt rather than being careless. He said that was just a horrible thing to think about a family loosing a daddy just because someone forgot to think.” She was quiet for a moment. “He was very, very grateful you caught that, Gerry. That has to be why he was so different on the phone with me after you talked to him. He was apologizing for a lot of things, and thinking differently about … a lot of things.” Patty was almost whispering as she finished. Then she said again, “Thank you, Gerry.”
Gerry was now really embarrassed about so much attention being given to him. He had just been trying to help with the process and now Patty was acting like she and her father thought he had done profound, like the Lone Ranger riding in on his white horse, to rescuing the family, and riding off before they could even get his name. He wanted to change the subject, quickly. “Lets get in the truck and contact Pete. Maybe he can figure out something with... Hey that's Jenny and Linda.” He ran to the edge of the parking lot waving both hands over his head. One of them saw him because the slowed and turn in at the very edge of the lot. He ran up to them and through the window explained to Jenny about the needed change in plans. It was far easier to explain through an open window than to do so cryptically over the radio. He was aware that Betty, Gene's wife, was in the back of their truck where the partitions were still up, so he was careful about his wording. She had likely gotten at least some clues where she was while in the grocery store, but it was up to Linda and Jenny, not him, to decide how much they judged they could trust her so far. When he finished they drove away in a hurry to get the groceries unloaded at the lodge and to talk directly with Rob before heading up to Gerry's farm. They also promised to relay word to Pete that he needed to provide a radio link for Brother George rather than for Gerry and Patty, and to explain the new task/transportation need to Bruce when they got to Gerry's place.
Gerry turned to go back to Patty and her truck. She had not tried to follow him when he ran to catch Jenny's attention. He nearly stopped in his tracks when he realized it would be over two hours before Brother and Sister Rogers could get back. He tried to steady his pace. He reasoned that if he and Patty followed Jenny back to the haven, they could help unload the groceries, but there were so many people there to help already, their contribution to the effort would be of no significance. The two of them would just have to turn around and come back here wasting that much gasoline. But two hours? With her anxiety level where it is? Gerry said a silent prayer off the cuff. 'Lord, if you are listening, I kind of need some help here.'
He got to Patty and updated her on him updating Jenny and Linda. He then started telling her that it would be over two hours before they could leave here and he was not sure what they could do about that. He suggested they climb into the truck where at least they would have comfortable seats. He was opening the door for her when a minivan pulled into the parking lot and started driving slowly over toward them. It stopped with the driver's door near them and the window was smoothly running down.
“Hello.” an older gentleman with white hair greeted them with a friendly smile. “I'm Mark James. I was coming to the meeting hall to get some literature and saw you and your truck. Is there something I can do for you two young people?”
“Brother James? I'm sorry, Mister James, I'm Gerry Kerry. I saw you when we were all here to see Carl and Colleen get baptized.”
“Yes, yes I do remember your face. I don't believe we got introduced. Are you two new around here?”
Gerry laughed and lifted his head up relieving some tension. “ Brother James I am, I guess you could call me a partner with the Smiths and Coopers. This is Patty Decker. Her Father's best friend Frank is the brother, the biological brother of George Rogers. It's a complicated story, but we are waiting for George and Elizabeth to come back here with some things they are bringing to us from her father and George's brother.”
“Oh, I see.” Mark replied like he had no clue what they were talking about. “Well, if George and Liz are helping you, I don't want to interfere. I just didn't recognize your truck and I didn't expect anyone would be here right now. I'll get what I came for and be on my way. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.” He started to raise his window and Patty called out to him.
“Brother James, wait!”
He stopped the window and lowered it back down. “Yes, Miss. Is there something wrong?” He looked very concerned.
“Oh, no, Brother, I mean Mister James. There is nothing wrong, here.” she said then ducked her head and quietly said, “unless you want to talk about what is wrong with the rest of the world around us.” She looked up and said, “Actually that is what I wanted to ask. There is an awful lot that seems wrong all around us. Do you have some time to talk with us about that?”
Mark looked at Patty and then at Gerry. “I believe I can take some time to do that. Would you mind coming inside. I think when Brother and Sister Rogers get back they will recognize my van and come inside to find you.” Brother James maneuvered around inside his minivan and a couple of minutes later he rolled his motorized wheel chair out the back and down the automated ramp onto the pavement. Gerry and Patty followed him over to the door to the meeting hall, where he unlocked the door and led them inside.
At the haven, Jenny pulled up to the lodge and the three ladies piled out. Betty went inside to gather some help for the unloading. Jenny had stopped on the way in from the east end of the mountain to fill Rob in on the developments, before she proceeded to the lodge. As they were unloading groceries and putting them away Joann quietly informed Jenny and Linda that there was a large root cellar/basement under the lodge where there was more room to store non-perishable or semi-perishable foods. She had discovered it accidentally when exploring an old shed close to an outer wall of the lodge, which was filled with very old, rusty tools. Joann hurried along the effort to unload their truck, so she could send them on their way. She assured Jenny and Linda that she and the other ladies could get the groceries all organized and stored after Jenny and Linda were on their way.
While Jenny and Linda were completing their mission number one, Rob was code talking with Bruce to let him know that the cowboy discovered a toy box loaded with toys while watching the baby's game. And that the two main squeezes, of Rob and Bruce, would be on their way soon with information about an additional task that should be added to the days schedule. Pete, who was by himself on the way toward the area between Bear Creek and Hollerton, was laughing at the terms and labels his son had chosen. He was both curious and puzzled however about the nature of the additional task that was mentioned. Colleen and her father were in about the same place with the transmitted message, but Randy was totally clueless about everything that was said and why Colleen and Bruce thought it was all so hilarious.
It was about forty-five minutes later when Linda and Jenny arrived at Gerry's house. They spoke quietly about the full message. Randy heard some of it but the only town he knew about was Hollerton. Bruce had brought him to the cattle farm with a bandanna over his face. Betty, again, had ridden in the back seat behind the partition. The explanation about the toy box and the additional task were made fairly clear, except for the dollar amount that was involved, and no mention was made about the portion being held out for Patty. They figured that the contents of the toy box would be clear enough when everyone was back at the worksite, and the situation with Jim Decker and the Sheriff back in Hollerton was information about the outside world that would be meaningful to everyone who had fled from Hollerton.
Meanwhile Colleen and Randy had been gathering information about repeaters for their base radios, but also some information from the outside world through C.J. and coincidentally through Hank Jenkins, as well. The federal government seemed to be having a grade school style Field Day coming up with new regulations and restrictions because of the problems being encountered in unnamed cities, like the three which were 'minimally affected' by the recent inconsequential earthquakes. The W.H.O. was being called upon to help inside the U.S. to take charge of the management of the public health departments in any statistical metropolitan areas of over a million people as defined by the U.S. Census bureau. This would only affect major urban areas of over a million people within the U.S. according to the newscasters. What Colleen and Randy were able to determine was that even though only nine cities in the US have over a million people, according to the Census Bureau data, there are over sixty such statistical areas in the U.S. Some of those defined areas have core cities of just over 100,000 people, but the 'area' defined by the Census Bureau includes multiple counties in order reach the 'over a million' designation.
They also learned that federal department of transportation was being charged with “a more proactive role” in overseeing the various state railroad commissions and overseeing the various state law enforcement organizations in charge of policing commercial vehicles on the U.S. Highway and Interstate Highway systems.
They also expanded the authority of the Corp of Engineers to have ultimate authority over the safety and traffic load decisions for all bridges crossing navigable waterways in the U.S. That got very little press, but it raised some eyebrows among some retired flag officers who are aware of the current political climate.
The press/media organizations had also been very quiet about the financial industry, but apparently a lot of 'unconfirmed' reports were circulation in social media about people having their bank accounts frozen. The media platforms seemed to be also quickly freezing the accounts of those affected, so no one could get much detail about the particulars. Those who were curious were very uneasy about asking too many questions. Some had paradoxically resorted to bashing those complaining about this so called problem to draw attention to it without getting their own accounts frozen.
Bruce had cobbled together a plan for sending Gerry and Patty over to Hank Jenkins with his attorney's fee as soon as they arrived at Gerry's farm from delivering the equipment and Gene's truck to the haven. The plan was for Bruce to extend the network for the Grocery crew. He would be arriving back at Gerry's farm at about the same time he would need to leave there to follow the grocery crew as the network extender. When Linda, Jenny and Betty arrived at the grocery store, Pete would park at the side of the road and wait for them to start their return. At some point while they were on that mission Gerry and Patty would get to Gerry's place. With Pete already out to extend the range of the grocery crew he would be able to shift laterally as soon as the grocery crew started their return toward Gerry's farm. The trip to the attorney was not expected to take very long. It should be only a quick run out and a fast turn around then return. In Bruce's mind they would have to put off until tomorrow, trying to get another storage tank for fuel.
Sure enough, Bruce had hardly finished planning the plan for scheduling who would be where when, especially the routing for Pete, when Linda and Jenny arrived with Betty still in the back seat. Bruce was of course most pleased to see Linda was still safe, but he hurried them along toward their trek to another town for more groceries. The time passed uneventfully for Bruce. He kept in touch with all stations with quick radio checks at random intervals with all the mobile and stationary radio units. When Pete arrived he was briefed on the updated plans and prescribed routing for him. When Linda and Jenny arrived at their destination with Betty they contacted Bruce to let him know their status.
The truck full of grocery shoppers arrived at the large chain grocery store, already feeling tired from the previous excursion plus the time they had spent driving here and there. They felt a slight lift as they entered the store which was brightly lit with 'peppy' music playing, not too loudly in the background. The store had a feeling of being very busy both from the bustle of late morning shoppers and the rushed pace of the store staff replenishing stock and gathering items into bins for their online order customers to come pick up later. Linda saw right away that there would be little chance of negotiating a discount on their large purchase of groceries. This operation was too 'corporate' for that to work. Clear Water had originally been chosen as the county seat of the county because it was the only settlement of any size within the county borders, not because it was centrally located within the county. This store location had been chosen to serve both Clear Water and River Rest, a town on the other side of the river and in a different county. River Rest leaders had chosen in more recent times to promote it's virtues as a tourist friendly recreation resort. Property values there had climbed higher and higher as middle class, and above, families and couples sought a place to periodically retreat from the rat race of the life in the state capital less that two hours away. The 'city fathers' in Clear creek had resisted the flashy progress of their counterparts to the south, preferring to cling to the past heritage of being the county seat in a county of insignificant historical activity. The grocery store chain had bought their land more cheaply in Clear Water just at the end of the bridge connecting the two towns. Clear Water was thrilled at the increase in sales tax that be collected, so they agreed to keep the property and inventory taxes low for this marvelous tax generator.
The ladies decided to divide their shopping list and to split up with each using separate carts. They were all three unfamiliar with the layout of this store, but they were up for the challenge. They seemed on the surface to fit in with the other shoppers. With one exception. When they chose an item to buy, they often pulled the cans or boxes at the front of the shelf out of the way and took an unopened case or two of the product that had been deposited deeper into the shelving behind the displayed product. Linda was not adverse to grabbing a store staff member to get a case off of the top of the shelf unit where they kept the pending inventory ready for filling in where the displayed product would soon be depleted. She wasn't even deterred when they explained to her that it would take some time to retrieve a ladder rig to safely reach those elevated cases.
The three women had their grocery carts full in a matter of minutes, and Jenny realized a need for changing tactics. She spotted a someone pushing a flatbed stacked with cases from the back storage area moving through the store to restock a specific aisle of products. She asked Betty to watch their three carts and went over to talk to the teen aged stocker. He disappeared as she waited. Soon he and two other teen aged employees came back with a caravan of three flat bed carts. Jenny asked the teens if they could help by one of them assisting Betty to transfer the contents of the three basket carts to one of the flatbeds while the other two went with Jenny and Linda to get the other flat beds loaded with products.
When all three flatbeds were fully loaded the three employees pushed all three flatbeds up the the checkout area at the front. There was only one employee operating a checkout lane. All the rest were designated as self checkout and self bagging. When the ladies finally got to the “checker” they were informed that they would have to open the crates and remove at least one item from each corrugated crate so the bar code could be scanned. The bar codes on the outside of the cases were for the inventory and transportation system and the software at the registers were not connected to that data base.
They proceeded to tear open each case and remove one item from it for the checker to scan and then enter an item count before going to the next case. With some of the cases collected from the produce department and all of the cases from the meat department they had to remove all the items so they could be weighed, or so that each previously weighed and labeled frozen package of “fresh meat” could be scanned and then put back into the corrugated cases.
The teen aged stockers had stayed close at hand knowing the cases would have to be unstacked in order to scan everything. When all the tallying was done Linda pulled out a stack of cash and started counting out the money. The checker's eyes got very big and she started stammering. “M...M... Maam, I can't take cash. You have to use your card.”
Linda paused and looked up. “What card? We don't have a rewards card or preferred customer account here. We are just paying the regular prices, Sweetie.” Linda smiled.
“N...No. I mean we do not take cash here.” The checker looked stressed.
“I understand that at some of the self serve checking stands they do that to try to speed up the lines, but this is a big purchase. It's over a thousand dollars. We are...” Linda stopped when she felt Jenny squeeze her arm quickly several times.
Jenny signaled for her to lean closer then whispered in her ear, “You and Betty leave. Don't look up at the cameras. I'll meet you outside away from the cameras.” Jenny put her hand on top of the money Linda had laid down and picked it up. She handed it to Linda as she look at the checker and quietly asked. “May I speak with the manager?” The checker exhaled and turned the light on above her register. As the checker looked around for a supervisor, Jenny spoke again. “I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I did not ask for a supervisor. I don't need an assistant manager either. Is the general manager of this store on site, or not?”
The checker's eyes widened and Jenny saw a rise in her anxiety. “Ma'am, I am not allowed to call for the general manager. I can only call for my supervisor. You'll have to ask them what it takes to get the general manager here?”
Jenny played it cool and very pleasantly replied. “Okay. We will play by your rules. Let's start the climb up your chain of command.” Jenny waited patiently as she looked around to find where there might be security cameras. Here at the attended cash register there were cameras pointed at the bagging area and the register itself. There was also one embedded in the new card reader they wanted her to use.
When the supervisor walked over and went to the checker Jenny waited patiently until she turned to look at Jenny.
“Ma'am I'm sorry we cannot accept cash. You will have to use a credit card, debit card, EBT card, even a gift card, we simple cannot accept cash.”
Jenny smiled sweetly and looked deliberately at the supervisor's name badge. “Surely, Margaret, you are not trying to tell me that the whole national monetary system has has died and U.S. Currency is now worthless, are you?”
Jenny notice the shocked look of 'They didn't tell us how to answer a question like that. What am I supposed to say now?'
“I thought not,” continued Jenny. “So some one in your company made the decision to refuse to accept U.S. Legal tender dollars to buy groceries in this store.” Jenny made that statement loudly and clearly enough for customers all around to hear it. Then she spoke more softly. “If you know who it was please tell me, or find someone who does know. Just so we are clear, if you try to stonewall me I will be in contact with your corporate office letting them know that your refused to help me as a customer, and that will not help your career here even if you are just following orders.”
“Oh no, Ma'am. You don't need to do that. I will try to get a hold of Larry Schick. He is the assistant manager in charge of this shift, and he is the one who told us about this policy. I'll see if he can help you with that information.” The supervisor picked up the mobile radio unit that had been clipped to her belt and started calling for Larry. While she waited Jenny noticed more and more customers waiting in line behind her as well as nearby lines were turning toward her to watch the developments. She over heard the conversation.
Margaret was trying to quietly convey the situation to him but his replies were too clear not to be heard over the radio speaker. “Keep her calm and I will be there in just a minute. Don't let things get bottlenecked. Open new lanes if you need to. Move the other customers along. I'm on my way.”
“Ma'am,” Margaret said to Jenny, “He is on his way. He will be here in just a few minutes to answer your questions.” She then turned away and started calling on her radio for reserve checkers to come to other registers. Jenny even saw Margaret open up a register herself and start calling out to customers that, “Another register is open over here, now!”
Jenny was now standing alone between the empty register and her caravan of flatbeds. She had her back to the register. She wanted to try and slip out to join up with Linda and Betty, but she really wanted to get some real information rather than more assumptions about what was going on. She was startled when a voice close behind her spoke.
“Ma'am are you the one who was asking why... Good heavens! What are all these stocking carts doing here blocking things...Ma'am? What exactly is going on here?”
Jenny looked at the young man who was older than her son, but younger than Gerry. “Mister Schick, is it?”
“You can call me Larry, Ma'am.” he replied politely.
“Mister Larry, I was buying some groceries here at your store, and I when I tried to pay for them your employee told me that legal US Dollars were not being accepted in payment for your goods. We are still the United States of America, aren't we? I know the politics have gotten completely incomprehensible, but did something happen that I missed on the news?”
Larry looked at the carts and then at Jenny. She noticed he looked more confused than actually upset now, He asked as if uncertain rather than like he was challenging her, “Ma'am, are all of these your groceries?” He waved slightly toward the flatbeds.
“Yes they are.” Jenny replied.
“Ma'am, that's a lot of groceries, are you stocking up, or planning on reselling this?” His inflection again was leaving the question open, like he was not assuming those were the only options.
“Yes, I realize that, Mister Larry. I didn't see any signs about limited quantities. Is that a problem? I was not trying to deplete your inventory.”
“No, it just seems a bit unusual and I was simply curious...”
“Mister Larry, I was asking about the money. Can we please deal with one thing at a time? Was this your decision to not take legal US Tender in payment at your store? What would prompt you make a decision like that?”
Larry's expression changed to a more pensive look. “Ma'am,” he spoke quietly. “It seems there is a temporary cash shortage. The banks are clamping down on providing cash drawer currency. The district manager sent out an order to allow only electronic transactions for a while so we don't have to pay the temporary penalties for short term cash for making change and allowing cash back on transactions. We should be back to normal soon.”
Jenny considered her reply. She was debating how to play her attitude to gather her information and decided to risk playing her hunch to save time. “This cash shortage ploy has been tried before, Mister Larry. I don't mean by you, but it was tried just a few years ago and too many people didn't buy it, partly because too many businesses didn't claim that excuse. Unless... Tell the truth Larry, did you buy that at first? Or did you have doubts? Or does this have something to do with the Fed in St. Louis because of that earthquake there? That's it. Isn't it?”
Suddenly the color all drained from Larry's face. “Ma'am please, please keep your voice down. I'm working on my MBA and called my professor last night, because I was just like you. I couldn't make sense of it. He suddenly got real cryptic asking me questions about my memory of some of the lectures he had given in graduate seminars. He made it very clear without ever stating it specifically that what you are asking about is bound to be true. The problem is the potential impact, that can become unstoppable, if people who are not fully educated in macro economics start to panic. Please, don't start rumors, and everything will be fine. Just put your money in the bank, use your card, and everything will be fine in a few more weeks. And... just between me and you, the stakes are too high for them to let you spread rumors like that. Be careful what you say to others. Also, If I were you, i'd be careful about how much you buy at a time. It wouldn't do for people to suspect you of hoarding now, would it?”
Jenny looked Larry square in the eye and replied. "Since when does a weeks worth of groceries qualify as hoarding?" With that she turned and slipped out the doors of the store.