Post #25
School's Out – Forever?During this process of settling in, Joann had asked Peter several times if in his trips to the various towns he had seen any sign of congregation meeting places for their spiritual brothers and sisters. The tiny towns they had been visiting had very few prominent church buildings and he had not seen any meeting halls of the religious group he and Joann had committed to support. Pete had asked a few times but had always been either brushed off with a touch of disdain or told there weren't any of those folks that they knew of living nearby. One man he asked got an odd look on his face and leaned toward him an started talking like he was offering some unsolicited advice.
“Mister, I'm not sure who you are or why you 're lookin' for any of them folks. You might as well not bother. Just as this so called epidemic thing popped up they all disappeared. They quit meeting together. They quit buttonholing people on the street with their religious tracts. They even stopped knocking on doors with their literature and offering Bible studies and such. I heard that their national headquarters told then to stop what they'd been doing like they were giving up, or else thought it was too late. I didn't know any of them personally, but they must not be very committed to what they professed if they let a fake epidemic scare them into hidin'. It's just as well, if you ask me. Lots of folks thought they were a nuisance, always questionin' others 'bout what they believe, and tryin' to get people to read what the Bible says rather than just listening to what their betters told them the Bible says.”
Pete was silent for a moment before he responded respectfully. “I appreciate your sharing that information. You have a good day now.” When he got back to his truck he asked Rob if he had his cell phone, and if he could get a signal on it. Carl told him that on the way back he might get a better signal at the top of one of the higher hills. When they got to the top of a high one, Pete pulled over and asked to borrow Carl's phone. He dialed a couple of numbers before he got an answer from Ruben Sanchez They talked for a few minutes as Ruben explained the decisions that had been made and forwarded to the congregations. “They gave it a lot of thought and prayer, Pete. It wasn't about either supporting or arguing against any claims or prevention measures the governments were touting or implementing They simply considered that the way we were meeting together in large groups twice a week, plus going house to house and store to store to reach others with the message, and decided that manner of spreading the gospel would also clearly raise the risk of spreading any contagious diseases that might arise. That would be contrary to our responsibilities both to others and to our own brothers and sisters. You know from our studies of The Revelation to John that there is more pestilence to come, and more trouble from the Beast turning against the Harlot. We have to continue our work, but we have to adapt our methods to the conditions as they are changing. The virus, at least this one, can't crawl through the phone lines or the internet.”
Pete thought about that for a minute. “I get that Ruben, but where we Joann and I are now the phone reception is sketchy. If we can't go out looking for people who are receptive, it doesn't leave many options. We may have to use radios out here. Is there any way you can help me find some of our brothers and sisters out this way? It would help a lot If we knew where to find some of them just to stay in touch with the way things are – progressing.”
“Sure, Pete. Give me a couple of days and I will get word to you and them so you can find each other.”
After Pete got off the phone he explained to Rob what was going on and what he had heard in town.
“Dad, I know you have always been religious, but since you moved away, that is up here in this region, You have been a lot more – well focused, committed. It seems like your faith and beliefs are a lot more important to you. You talk about it more with us all through the day, and you make a point of talking to strangers about it, too.
What, is that about?”
Pete was quiet as he drove down the road for a while. Finally he started to talk. “Rob, I have always valued the my religion and what I considered the wisdom in the Bible. I spent most of my life studying history, and different cultures, political systems, and economic systems. I guess I was always hungry to make sense of the world and what was happening around me. There is this legend about Vince Lombardy when he first took over the Green Bay Packers. Supposedly the first day of practice he started out by reteaching those professional players the fundamental rules of the game. His famous first words to them were 'Gentlemen, this is a football.' I guess I figured it would be hard to play the game of life well if I didn't understand the rules of how it all works. It took me years to understand that the Bible really is the Key to understanding the real rules. It is THE rule book that explains both the rules and the fundamental truths about strategies and tactics for living a great life.”
“While I was realizing that, I also saw in the book itself that I had been taught a lot of crap about what it says and doesn't say. The more I read it the clearer it became. A lot of what I had been told about it just wasn't in there, and a lot of what is in there is skipped over and discounted by a lot of Bible teachers. It is just an amazing book. Anyway, what it says is so encouraging and so important, I can't not share it if someone is open to listening. Tell me this, Rob. You and your friends talk about sports a lot don't you?”
“Of course we do, we get excited about our favorite teams and how well they play.”
“Okay, and I am very excited about what I have learned in the Bible and I look for opportunities to talk about it. Now you and your friends also talk about politics? What is good, what is bad, what is smart, and what is foolish?”
“Yeah, and lately there's been a lot to talk about. We talk about politics because it is important and it affects the real world we are living in.”
“Okay, Rob, what if I told you that the Bible explains the what and the why of what is really driving politics; what is really going on when you filter out all of the noise, smoke, and mirrors. It's kind of like when Toto discovered the wizard behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. It tells you how to sort out the patterns and paths that the political powers are pursuing so you can make sense of them. It tells you how to weather the winds, waves, and storms of political changes. It even tells you how to look ahead and anticipate how it is all going to shake out and be settled. What if I told you that it actually told you how to make sure YOU end up on the winning team, rather than on the team that gets trampled into oblivion? Do you think that kind of insight might be valuable, especially in times like these?”
“You really believe that, Dad?”
“I've never been more sure of anything in my life, son.”
Now it was Rob's turn to be quiet – for almost the rest of the way back to their new home. “Dad, maybe I need to look into this – Bible – on life, if you will pardon the pun. I may need some help with that, though. I'm not exactly a theologian.”
Pete chuckled. “Son, that's the kind of humor you use to groan about and call a 'Daddy joke' while you rolled your eyes at me. Sure, I'll help, but don't worry about being a theologian. The first four of Jesus disciples were just plain fishermen. You need to understand from the git go, however, that if you are going to look to the Bible for help, you can't expect it to help you if you only want to be a spectator. You are either playing on the winning team or not playing on the winning team. The folks in the stands will simply not understand the game, and the Bible won't be of any help to them.”
That night after supper Rob came over to Pete and got a determined look on his face. “Okay, Dad, where do we start?”
Pete looked his son in the eye and a small smile crept onto his face. “You remember where I said Lombardy started, 'This is a football.'? We need to start 'In the beginning...', the very beginning.”
- - - - -
“Christine, Christine. Do not worry. The outcome of their election is not a real concern. That is only theater. Trust me. In my country we have learned that a government is like a massive train. A weak man or even a moderately strong man as the assigned engineer can do little more than only watch the mechanisms of government to continue on the current railroad. A very strong man may push the train throttle a little faster or ride the brake while the throttle stays open. Unless the one at the throttle can hold his position for at least a decade or more there is little he can do to change the path of the train. Do you remember when the Eagle told its people that the Collective Union had finally fallen? That was nothing more than a weak leader letting go of his control and waiting for a strong leader to emerge. The theatrics that the audiences were watching seemed to be in chaos, but the government where it impacted the peoples lives, what is the word, Jean-Claude?”
“The bureaucracies!”
“Yes, thank you my friend. The bureaucracies continued as if nothing had changed! No matter who is elected to what positions at the top, the parties will continue the theater, but it is the bureaucracies that will report to them what needs attention. The people in those bureaucracies have over time resolved any inner debate within their own minds by staying in their jobs and doing what they are told by their immediate superiors. They will be the ones who will interpret how the details of laws and executive orders will be implemented.”
“Vlad is correct about that.” Jami was showing unusual animation now. “Have you not seen how things have been this year? An impeachment that passed, yet nothing happened, executive orders and pronouncements at many levels of the government about the epidemic that had minimal effect on the epidemic, but major effect on the society. Demonstrations and anarchy in cities prompted strong reactions from the highest office, but with little effect on those in the streets fomenting the anarchy. The local authorities either encouraged or discouraged those events in their cities with more orders showing little regard for the overt directions from above. The train rails have been laid, and the train on those rails is now unstoppable!”
“So, we have made progress this year, but what comes next?” Christine was now looking to Zhao and Vlad with a stern but questioning expression.
“Simply put, they will have their election, which will further inflame the emotions of an already emotionally raw people. Then the new plague will be introduced. At first it will not be identified, but it will be a more serious threat because of its power. At first some will be even more resentful of the government's actions, but then they will become more fearful because of its visible effects. Fear will turn to anger about the government's ineffectiveness. This plague will affect other countries as well, to varying degrees. There will be scattered fighting both within and between countries . The big show, however, will be within the eagles nest.” Zhao's face was a reflection of a satisfied strategist who could not completely hide his knowing sneer.
- - - - -
“Okay, Jack, Carl, Jimmy. Let's say we want to build a log cabin. We don't have a log cabin built here to look at, yet, but I do have some pictures on my computer of some log cabins that are not yet completed. Look these over for a minute, then we are going to talk about a couple of problems, or things to work out, when planning to build one ourselves.” The boys started leaning in to look at the screen. The youngest boy, Jimmy, who was in fifth grade turned to Pete with a skeptical look.
“Did you say we are going to really build a log cabin, or is this just a 'let's pretend example' so we can work on some word problems? – I'm sorry, – Mister Pete.” Jimmy remembered his manners after he blurted out his question.
Pete looked Jimmy in the eyes for a moments before a slight smile showed on his face. “To be honest, Jimmy, I can't exactly say just yet. You see, building a house from the ground up takes a lot of hard work. Now before we start to tackle a challenge like that there are a number of things we need to figure out. That is we need to solve some problems before we decide if we are up to the task. So my plan is for the four of us to work together to figure out if we are really up to the task before we dive into it. We don't want to get half way into a job and decide it's too hard for us to get it done, now do we?”
Jimmy's eyes got bigger and then he answered seriously. “No, Mister Pete. I guess that just wouldn't be very smart,”
“Okay, boys, here is the first set of problems we are going to work on. Use those pictures to help visualize what I am describing. Let's suppose we are going to build a cabin in the woods, and we're going to make it out of logs. The logs cannot be less than ten inches in diameter nor more than eighteen inches in diameter. Where the logs overlap a the corner joints they will extend at least eighteen inches past the center of the joints. None of the logs can be over twenty four feet long. The logs will be stacked much like you saw in those pictures. We want the walls to be at least eight feet high. If we make a simple square or rectangle cabin, with only one room, what is the largest floor space we can have for the cabin? The second question will be, how many logs will we need to build the four walls of this cabin?”
“Well, first you have to take a foot and a half off both ends of the twenty-four foot long logs. So each log will provide twenty-one feet on the inside walls. So the inside space could be twenty-one feet by twenty-one feet. Hold on. Let me see if I can figure this in my head – two times twenty-one is forty-two, times ten is four hundred twenty, plus another twenty-one is – four hundred forty-one square feet.” Jack was bright eyed and pleased with his answer, but trying not to show it too much.
“That was very good, Jack. You thought through several factors and were able to work out the problem without a calculator or even writing down the arithmetic. Now, Carl, were you following Jack's thinking and calculation?”
“Yes, sir,”
“So, was that the way you would have worked that problem?”
“Mostly yes, but there was something you said that got me to thinking the problem was a bit more complicated.”
“Okay, Carl. Tell us what you were thinking, son.”
“When you you were setting up the problem you mentioned that the logs would extend at least eighteen inches past the center of the corner joints. But, you also had mentioned that the logs might vary in their thickness. So, what Jack was saying about taking eighteen inches off each end of the log's length was right, but wouldn't we need to take off a little more for the thickness of the logs? That thickness would be closing in on the floor space from all four sides and it might not be a lot, but it would be some. That little bit of difference would be multiplied by both the width and length of the floor space, so it might be significant. I was able to get a job in construction for a few months before we came here. It always bothered me that the square footage of the houses were listed using the outside walls rather than the inside measurements. Of course the inside space would have been more complicated to calculate because of the thickness of all the walls inside.”
“Very good, Carl. I see you learned a lot in your construction job. So, Jack, how much do we need to adjust your initial estimate to compensate for the thickness of the logs?” Pete was watching as Jack was concentrated to picture in his mind what Carl had just described.
“Oh, I see. My first 'estimate' would have been to the center line of the logs. So, half the thickness of each log would also need to be taken from the length of the logs at both ends. That is how much they would overlap to the inside from the center line at each corner joint. BUT we can't know that exact measure because that might vary from one log to another. We can only estimate the floor space because the logs vary in thickness.”
“That is exactly right, Jack. That is why conventional construction of houses has gone to using what is called dimensional lumber. Every piece is first cut to a specific length and thickness so the calculations and measurements can be clean, neat, and relatively simple So, Carl, how would you propose that we estimate the answer of how many square feet we will have inside our somewhat square log cabin?”
“Well, half the thickness of each log would likely be five to nine inches. That means we would need to reduce the practical length of the logs, for the purpose of our calculations, by ten to eighteen inches. The average would be about fourteen inches, don't you think?”
“Okay, now let me give you boys some advice, Since we are estimating and we are not using calculators lets use twelve inches as our average. That means our adjusted inside wall lengths would be twenty four feet minus three feet minus one foot which equals twenty feet. So, our answer for the working inside floor space is?”
“Four hundred square feet!” Jack and Carl answered in unison.
“You two are doing very well with this problem solving. Jimmy did you understand how they both got four hundred square feet?”
“Yes, sir. Roughly twenty feet by twenty feet is four hundred feet – square feet”
“That's right. It may be a little less or a little more, but that is close enough for determining our usable space. We need to make sure we are taking into account all the important factors, while not getting stuck in analysis paralysis. We are going to be doing much more of this and digging deeper as we progress. We are going to keep it real as we plan and actually put our problem solving to work getting good results. Now what about the second problem of how many logs will it take?”
“Can I do this one, Mister Pete?” Jimmy was eager to jump in.
“Okay, Jimmy. Take your time. Don't rush. Just think it through.”
“So, if we get an average thickness of the logs that are ten to eighteen inches thick that will be about fourteen inches, but twelve inches is an easier number to work with. It also means that we are less likely to underestimate the number of logs we will need.”
“Very good, Jimmy! Go on.”
“That makes the problem easy. Eight logs high, for eight feet, times four walls is thirty two logs.”
“That's great, Jimmy. And you were exactly right about shrinking the average to make sure we do not underestimate the number of logs needed.”
“When we start looking at trees to use for our construction, we will be using real world geometry, biology, and mathematics to select which trees to cut,. Then we will have to practice some engineering to decide how how to fit them together in a sturdy and efficient manner. We will also be utilize physics and 'environmental science' to make good decisions for long term effectiveness and the comfort of the structure. Do you three think y'all can handle all of that?”
“Papa Pete, I think we can handle it if we work together. Jack had a quick answer that was very good. Then I noticed something he had over looked, but I started over thinking the fine details. Then you showed us how to make a practical judgment call to keep from getting bogged down in the wrong level of detail, yet still keeping practical in our results. Jimmy is quick at picking up on practicalities of our problem solving effort.”
“I like the way you are thinking, Carl. How does that sound to you, Jack?”
“Mister Pete, if this is the way we are going to do home schooling, I think this is cool.”
“Good. I think we are ready to start looking into trees and logs in more detail now. By the way, Jimmy, not final decision yet. We still need more information before we make that decision.”