Didn't like beets or turnip greens when I was a kid. Nor as a young adult. Nor as a parent of teenagers. Nor when our "kitchen chemist" younger daughter thought she had found a way to fix them that I would like - this being the cook who took the challenge of "Scarborough Fair" Chicken (song's refrain has "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme") and made an edible dish the first time and a "make it again" dish the second time. I do NOT like the turnip greens other people have urged me to eat for 70+ years - case closed. Same for beets.
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
"Would you rather have just water or some stone soup?"
"I'll peel."
"You seemed interested in Jack's granddaughter."
"She's smart, she's pretty, she's been in a gunfight and she has her own rifle! She's like some of the pioneer women we read about in American History."
"Can she cook?"
"When I asked, she said she could do simple things from memory and her Grandma is teaching her more stuff."
"Then maybe she is a 'pioneer woman'. Have you found anyone for Will?"
"Her cousin Lily has red hair. Is that a good start?"
"Will has always liked red hair so maybe it is. You're both a long way from pairing off so things could change a lot in a few years."
"From what Mr. Wilson said, things will keep going back in time - no electricity now, no cars when the gas is gone, no tractors when the diesel is gone and we'll be farming with horses, learning to shoot a bow and arrow..."
"What about doctors?"
"Maybe an 1862 Army tent hospital?"
"Not the care we've become accustomed to in the 21st century."
"People really lived that way?"
"For centuries, Bobby. People who were strong and smart managed to survive a long time. We do have a well with a hand pump and your Grandma was showing me where the spare parts are. Your Grandpa had made a notebook about which things can be repaired, where the repair parts are located and how to make those repairs. Everything from installing new leathers in the hand pump on the well to digging a new pit and moving the outhouse."
"We really could live here a long time?"
"Perhaps the rest of our lives. The only useful jobs early on will be related to producing food and maybe clothing, raising animals for food or work or providing some type of medical care and maybe teaching kids to read, write and do arithmetic because a good farmer keeps notes about crops and animals and needs to calculate how much seed to plant and how well his crops did. Your Grandma has a book on herbal medications - many 'modern' medications originated from some natural source, such as aspirin actually being made from chemicals found in willow bark - and we'll be foraging for some of those plants."
"No more grocery store or Wally World?"
"Perhaps a 'Trade Day' each month for people to barter what they have more of than they need but a 'store' needs a steady source of stock to always have the things people want or need."
"Maybe a general store like the old westerns have?"
"A place that stocks 'dry goods' which can survive on a shelf for months is the most likely 'store' to be open in our future. Clothes, boots, cloth and other sewing supplies, seeds, hand tools, maybe flour if someone grows wheat and can grind it or corn meal if someone grows corn and can grind it…"
"An old mill with a waterwheel?"
"Correct. There is one out on Mr. Sanders' property but I don't know if it still works."
"Could me and Will get it working? Grandma said we have 15 acres of corn."
"I think you should talk with Mr. Sanders. Perhaps you pay him rent for using the mill? Maybe you charge people 10% of their corn meal for the grinding work and you split that with Mr. Sanders? Think about what's needed to make that into a business and write it up."
"And that really was a business 200 years ago, wasn't it?"
"It was. See if there's anything about running a mill in that old set of encyclopedia over there."
---
"Dad?"
"Yes, Janet?"
"We're ready for power in the vet office. Dave has the outlet polarity/GFCI tester to check the wiring of all the outlets."
"Then let's give you power. Breaker 21 for the general lighting, breaker 22 for the surgical lighting, breaker 23 for the East and West wall outlets and breaker 24 for the North and South wall outlets. Not exactly to the NEC standards but as close as we can get with the parts I have in stock. The list on the breaker panel door has that info and the breaker number is written on each light switch and each outlet."
"Same as in the house?"
"Correct. If you need to know which breaker a light or outlet is connected to, you usually need to know quickly so I started marking those things as soon as we moved in. All the plumbing is OK?"
"Cold side delivers cold water; hot side delivers hot water. All the drains run freely. I don't remember seeing any on-demand LP water heaters this small."
"They use a water-powered turbine to generate power to light the burner and they only deliver 3GPM so they're OK with a true EPA compatible 2.5GPM showerhead or faucet. They were for some custom RV work that was canceled and they were sold for about 20% of the original cost. I bought five 'just in case' and you have three of them - one for the restroom, one for surgery and one for hand washing when going between patients."
"What will I do for hot water when the LP runs out?"
"Maybe a solar hot water? There are lots of electric hot water heaters not being used and one of those could be a decent reservoir for a solar thermal panel."
"With a solar-powered pump to keep the water circulating slowly during the day until it's hot and automatic drainback at night?"
"Correct."
---
"All the outlets test OK on wiring polarity and GFCI trip. Dr. Lloyd, you need to post office hours."
"So I do, Mr. Lloyd."
---
Monday, 1 May, 2028, 23:00 CDT
"You're back on the ham radio, Jack?"
"My 'sixth sense' again, love."
"Don't stay up too late."
"Not past midnight."
'This is WB6---, looking for WA4---, Jack Wilson, in Pebble, Alabama or someone near him.'
'WB6---, this is Jack, WA4---.'
'Message from Rob Wilson in Fresno. Do you know him?'
'My son.'
'Message follows: "Sheri and kids mildly sick. Tesla battery dead and no power to recharge. Need transport to a safe place." End of message. Any reply?'
'Yes. Reply is: "Too late. I texted you about evacuating on 22 April when power and fuel were available. Don't have enough people, vehicles or fuel for round-trip armed convoy towing a 1000 gallon fuel trailer. Rob may be in the 5% that are immune from his mother's mitochondrial DNA - that family line goes back to Central Europe. No info on Sheri. Double the high dose of Tamiflu may work, if available. Sorry you didn't listen about moving last year or evacuating last week." End of reply.'
'I have it. Delivery by bicycle messenger tomorrow. WB6--- clear.'
'Thank you. WA4--- clear.'
---
"You're to bed sooner than I expected, Jack."
"You want the Fresno news now or in the morning?"
"Let me guess. Sheri and the kids are sick, there's no power to charge the Tesla and Rob wants you to come get them?"
"Exactly."
"You said 'double the high dose of Tamiflu' and 'you should have listened last year and last week'."
"Also correct."
"Mr. Wilson, I think we both need hugs."
"Mrs. Wilson, I agree."
---
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Enjoy while you can - my slow posting is still moving faster than my muse and there are only four completed chapters left - or I could nuke them and end it in four sentences...
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Enjoy while you can - my slow posting is still moving faster than my muse and there are only four completed chapters left - or I could nuke them and end it in four sentences...
Nukes, "Why does it always have to be nukes. I hate nukes"
Nukes are an easy way to end a story with no one asking that the characters be resurrected ;-)
If my muse had ideas for a "Book 2", a nuke ending could be a cliffhanger that would have people looking for that next book ;-) Sorry but no sequel - she's struggling to finish this tale.
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Nukes are an easy way to end a story with no one asking that the characters be resurrected ;-)
If my muse had ideas for a "Book 2", a nuke ending could be a cliffhanger that would have people looking for that next book ;-) Sorry but no sequel - she's struggling to finish this tale.
Now, now, sir, you know there's not one person here who'd ever put any pressure on you. Perish the thought. We're all extremely patient, kind, lovin' individuals and wouldn't even think of rushin' that cute, sweet muse of yours. Take all the time you need. Let those hands finish healin'. Don't worry about a thing.
Now, where the Hell did I put that muse voodoo doll... mumble... grumble...
Nukes are an easy way to end a story with no one asking that the characters be resurrected ;-)
If my muse had ideas for a "Book 2", a nuke ending could be a cliffhanger that would have people looking for that next book ;-) Sorry but no sequel - she's struggling to finish this tale.
So the nukes will fly and everyone that is not prepared dies. One way to end it, except what happens to those that survey which is a new story line.
"Momma, why am I peeing in a little bottle after doing the finger stick?"
"Lily, do you remember your Grandpa's lab in the basement?"
"Where he can make insulin?"
"That's also where he can test your urine to determine to determine what your blood sugar level is. However, that testing is more of a ballpark figure than the 96 that your meter is showing because the test he's using causes a solution to change color - and human eyes seeing color is a judgment call. Let me show you. Is this fabric blue, green, bluish-green or greenish-blue?"
"It changes when you move it."
"That's right. Your Grandpa has a color sensor with a tiny built-in computer which can 'see' 256 levels of red, blue and green…"
"Like the printer puts drops of those colors together to make other colors?"
"Yes, but this is doing the reverse of that by taking a color apart into the primary colors that make it up. Your Grandpa wants to test your urine at the times you've done a fingerstick so he can calibrate that color sensor for the color of the urine test to match a blood sugar level of 96 this time and another time it might be 88 and another time 122."
"So the little computer can read the color and give the number and it'll always give the same number?"
"Yes, we want the numbers to always match. The fastest this process can be done is maybe ten minutes so it will show your blood sugar when you urinated but that answer won't be available for ten minutes…"
"The meter has the 'right now' number?"
"Yes, smart girl."
"Hi, Grandpa. I like being your smart girl."
"I also like having you as my smart girl. You have a sample for me?"
"Right here, Jack. Meter was 96."
"Thanks, Erin. I need to go test this…"
"Me too?"
"When you're dressed for the day."
"Just a minute!"
"Erin, I'm pleased that she's excited about learning to care for herself. She won't be holding a sample in boiling water for three to five minutes any time soon but she will be able to tell someone else how to do the test and the instructions are in a red bind…"
"I'm done!"
"Not sure if that took a minute. OK, let's go see what color you are today."
"You're silly!"
"You're smiling."
"I think maybe you're good at that, Grandpa."
---
"You have your first color to blood sugar number data point, Jack?"
"We do, love. The sensor's 'color' determination that matches 96 on her meter. A few dozen more and I can have the Arduino interpolate between colors to get close values for the likely range. I can also put in alert points if the numbers are out of range high or low."
"And how long will this device last?"
"An unknown length of time but I had three sets of the color sensors so I'll build two more devices and adjust their calibrations as well."
"A backup for your backup?"
"For the important things."
"And you consider our little chatterbox important?"
"I do."
---
Tuesday, 2 May, 2028, 06:00 CDT
'Our WWWH-FM morning news has very little positive content. Two of our news staff, Bob Shay and Sheila Watkins, are out sick with what is likely 2028NK. The rest of us are on double the high dose of Tamiflu on the orders of Doc Barton at County General, which is now more like an 1862 Army tent hospital with kerosene lamps and lanterns for lighting and surgery being done using ether for anesthesia while someone manually monitors breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. We estimate there is enough fuel for us to continue the morning and evening broadcasts for about 90 days.
'Nationally, we have no communications other than some amateur radio traffic relayed to us by people in the area. Any US location with more than 5,000 people probably has no power, no fuel and no food in the grocery stores. They also may have bodies in the streets and little or no access to medical care other than first aid. If you can picture the US as a third world country after a tsunami, you'll be very close to the current conditions in much of our nation. There are rumors of some rural areas where the people have come together to plan for an 1820 lifestyle. With no petroleum-based fuel or LP being produced or delivered, a few prudent farmers may have fuel to handle this year's crops but next year's farming will most probably be powered by people, horses or perhaps some resurrected steam-powered farm machinery.
'Internationally, the BBC is on the air briefly twice each day with status reports that are no better in most areas and worse in some because that island nation imports many things, none of which are now coming in by ship and the Chunnel has been closed for some time. Radio Vatican has brief religious services twice daily and has announced that the new Pope is John the 43rd.
'We'll be back at 8PM.'
"Just a load of good news, Jack."
"You're right, love."
"Nobody has power or gasoline, Grandpa?"
"Katie, the only people with fuel will be those who had a stock of it such as farmers like us who buy in advance when the prices are lowest or the people who have a backup generator and always keep a few weeks of fuel on hand. From the description on the news, it seems most if not all of the power plants are shut down. Without electric power, most of the world we knew will stop very quickly."
"But don't the gas stations still have stuff in their underground tanks?"
"Some may, Lily. How do they get that gas out of those tanks?"
"With the pump you put the credit card in… The screen lights up to ask for your ZIP so it needs power like the pump on the well here?"
"Yes, smart girl. Without power for some type of pump - even a hand-powered pump - that fuel might as well be on the moon as far as most people being able to get it."
"Most people? Some have a way to get it?"
"Yes. Some of us have portable fuel pumps which can run from a vehicle's battery and if we have long enough hoses we could pump that fuel out of the tanks."
"Why aren't you doing that?"
"Do we need it right now?"
"We're not driving the van and you're only driving the wood tractor."
"That's 'wood gas' tractor but you're correct: we're not using any vehicle enough to justify trying to get the fuel at the feed and seed which is the closest place and the fuel keeps longest if it's in a cool place."
"Like the underground tanks, 'cause it's always cooler in caves underground than outside."
"Very good analysis, smart girl."
"We can do more gun stuff today?"
"First there are chores and then there will be breakfast and then we talk about what else we need to do today."
"If I gotta."
"We all 'gotta'."
---
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
"Rider out by the gate, Jack. Looks like the Sheriff."
"Probably with a Reserve Deputy badge and paperwork for me."
'Yes, Paul?'
'Official business, Jack.'
'I think that means you're looking for an unpaid hired gun. Sorry, but I don't have any business cards with a white knight on them. Gate's opening.'
"I see paper in your hand, Paul."
"Just needs your signature and a witness."
"After I read it."
"Chief Deputy?"
"You have more military experience than anyone else in the 200 people who are still alive in the county so you are the most qualified and possibly the best armed. Did I see a child with a .22 at that window?"
"Katie Jones. She accidentally got double the high dose of Tamiflu when her older brother told her to take his so Susan wouldn't know he wasn't taking it. Doug didn't take it, so neither did Charley or the twins."
"I saw what looked like a couple of controlled burns as I rode by."
"Funeral pyre for Doug and the kids and then the house because we didn't think we could clean between the flooring planks well enough to ensure it was safe. Their animals are here and Katie milks our one cow and her two cows and Lily, our granddaughter from California, is feeding all the chickens and bringing in the eggs."
"You and Susan took Katie in?"
"She had nowhere else to go and she asked if she could call us Grandma and Grandpa. Bo and some of his cousins tried to take over the farm and Bo shot Katie when she said 'No' but she was in a Kevlar vest so she just has a nasty bruise from the .22."
"I thought I recognized one of the people on the Roman warnings. You want guardianship papers?"
"If there's someone to process them. Katie also needs some proof of ownership for the farm. The land was donated by Molly's mother so it's appropriate for it to go to Katie and not one of Doug's relatives."
"Here are blank forms for both things, plus some other forms you might need. I'm sure you can make a copy, so make two copies of the ones you need and save these as masters for future needs. Then fill out the copies and get one of each back to me. Deputy Simms and I are now the entire law enforcement and judicial presence in the county, thanks to you for the Tamiflu and thanks to Doc Barton for telling us to double the high dose."
"Status on WWWH-FM?"
"The one tech and two news people who consistently did masks, gloves and Tamiflu are showing no symptoms. All the others are. The tech was worried about the tower lights only being on when the generator is on so I asked him how long it's been since he's seen or heard any aircraft. He made the connection that the lights are only needed to warn aircraft and it appears there are no longer commercial or private aircraft flying."
"Anything military?"
"I heard what might have been a chopper South of me this morning but I couldn't see it for the trees on the hill on that side."
"We've not heard anything. I'll tell the others and we'll make notes of what we hear and see. Did you know that Gertrude Worthington's daughter came out here from town and she's a dentist? We couldn't provide power or running water but we moved her office to the Worthington place."
"First time we've had any dental care that close in maybe ten years. I'll pass the word. Payment?"
"Probably food or labor or clothes for her boys and maybe pre-65 silver if people start using that. Are you aware of any other kids in the county?"
"The Dobbins family has four kids and they're off Lake Thomas Road about 10 miles West of you. Stairsteps of boy-girl-boy-girl from about age six to age twelve. I'll ask Simms if he remembers any others that are alive and I'll tell the people I encounter about the county now having a dentist. Get Susan in here to be a witness and I'll swear you in."
---
"'Chief Deputy Wilson'? That feels odd on my tongue, Jack."
"Mine too, love. It means that Paul, Deputy Simms and I are the law in this county."
"Stretched kinda thin, aren't you?"
"Perhaps not, with only 200 living residents now."
"Close to 80% die-off, then. Better than the early estimate of 90% because so many people out here at least have a kitchen garden and keep chickens?"
"Reasonable assumption. The survivors may also have the option of pigs and perhaps a cow from their now-deceased neighbors, plus whatever those neighbors' gardens may produce."
"So an abundance of some foods this year and more of the same next year if they save seeds and then plant and tend bigger gardens or the gardens and the animals next door."
"Emphasis on that 'if'."
"True."
---
"Dad, I see pages with 'steam engine' on them. You're looking for yet another source of power?"
"Tom, these two articles are on converting a small gasoline engine to run on steam. I can weld up a boiler and we have plenty of wood for heating that boiler so a converted engine that delivers even one horsepower might be very useful to power an irrigation pump out in a distant field. It could run for hours, if needed."
"You don't have power to run a pivot sprinkler for a large cultivated area but you could water a smaller field by simpler means if you can move the water. Having a steam engine near a source of clean water provides water for the boiler and water for the fields. How do you get a horsepower rating?"
"There's a ballpark formula which is based on the diameter of the piston and the steam pressure. It's also affected by the speed at which the engine runs and we know that these small gas engines are designed for speeds up to 3000 or 3600RPM for the four cycle engines and easily double or triple that for the small two cycle engines. I'd expect the converted engines to last a long time at the typical under 1000RPM of a steam engine."
"Where'd you find the conversion info?"
"There's an Instructable, there are several saved videos from YouTube** - including one of a small four cylinder engine - and there are copies of several web pages about computing the power of a steam engine."
"Four cycle or two cycle engine?"
"A two cycle is simpler to convert but a four cycle just needs another lobe on the camshaft which isn't a big deal if you have welding equipment and a machine shop. We may want to add bigger flywheels to compensate for the lower RPM."
"OK, I'm hooked. What are the specs on the engines you have available?"
"In the yellow folder. Notepad and pen beside it. Calculator on your left."
---
"Jack, what's Tom smiling about?"
"Erin, I just gave him an engineering problem to solve."
"Something that will hold his attention for hours?"
"Possibly for days, as there are possibilities for building your own and doing hands-on testing."
"Something Lily can be involved in?"
"Parts of it. The project is converting small gasoline engines to run on steam from a wood-fired boiler and maybe designing and building that boiler and connecting the engine to a water pump to water the garden or bigger crops."
"So lots of diagrams and converting engineer-speak into kid-friendly words?"
"Yes."
"Lily will be thrilled to be doing 'engineer stuff'. She couldn't visit the nuke plant but now he'll be doing something she can see and touch."
"And I'm confident she can learn to fill the boiler with water and build a fire in it."
"A 'Daddy and me made something' project which has benefits for all of us. You're a good Dad and a great Grandpa."
"Thanks, Erin."
---
"Jack, any ideas on Lily's birthday party?"
"Susan, I asked Paul about other kids in the county and he said the Dobbins family survived."
"Four kids from six to twelve or so?"
"That's what he thought."
"We need to know their exposure status and that of the Bradleys. At one child per year of age, having Katie, Will, Bobby and those four would be the right number and there's a good mix of boys, girls and ages. Not last year's typical birthday party for a seven-year-old but probably our new normal."
"We're learning a lot of 'new normal'. I should start dumping the output of the fridge's ice maker into plastic bags and transferring that ice to the freezer to have plenty of ice for the ice cream churn."
"Electric or hand crank?"
"You think some boys around age ten or twelve might like to show off their muscles to the local girls?"
"Interesting bit of matchmaking you're proposing, Mr. Wilson."
"Would it have attracted you at that age, Mrs. Wilson?"
"As a matter of fact, it did. Having Tommy Breslin bring me a dish of the ice cream he had cranked was also an attraction - until he opened his mouth and all he could talk about was Tommy Breslin."
"I think this group might do better than that. Bobby was very impressed that a GIRL had a rifle and he wasn't totally full of himself: he did ask Katie if she could cook."
"That's a mature question for age twelve."
"Perhaps a good indication that he's aware of at least part of our current circumstances?"
---
'Breaker 21. You listening, Bob?'
'I'm here, Jack. My Farmall is ready?'
'It pulls the four bottom plow just fine. There are some specific steps in getting it running but all that is on paper and laminated to survive the real world of farming.'
'Come on over.'
'I'll drive the tractor. Dave will ride one horse and lead the other one for me to get back.'
'See you soon.'
---
"A lot of steps to get it started but they are simple and logical and it even has pictures!"
"Easiest way to show what's where and how to make adjustments."
"And all the markings are stamped in and filled with black paint for easy reading on the brass valves. Looks like I got my money's worth."
"Take it out to some of your tougher ground, drop the plows, put it in first gear, ease out the clutch and move the throttle up as needed."
---
"Bob, I didn't expect you to plow half an acre!"
"Jack, I like my new toy! It works even better than I expected. How long does this much wood last?"
"On the smaller Ford, it ran the sickle mower for a little over ten acres."
"So maybe three or four acres of this kind of plowing?"*
"That's something for you to test and make notes about and then share with me so I can add it to the 'how-to' book I'm writing on farming with wood-gas-fueled tractors."
"I'll do that. Here's the silver you asked for it and I think I got the better side of this deal."
"A happy customer will be back to buy again."
"Especially when there's only one place to buy."
"One more thing, Bob."
"Yes, Jack?"
"Paul Tucker mentioned hearing a chopper this morning. He thought it might be military but couldn't see it for the trees to the South of him. I think we should be aware of any aircraft operating in the area because we need to know whether they are friendly."
"Agreed. I don't want to be on the wrong end of a Ma Deuce being aimed by someone hungry and unfriendly. You have any ideas?"
"Possibly some surveillance or search and rescue from the depot at Anniston? Or someone hungry from the same place and possibly better armed than we are?"
"Closest likely place and they could have food and generator fuel for months - maybe food for years if they had the 80% die-off I heard on the radio."
"You know anyone there, Bob?"
"If he didn't take his 30 and retire a couple of months ago."
"Does he know where you live?"
"Yes, Captain Joe Braden and his family have been here. You think he might be looking for a place in the country for his family?"
"Things do look different from the air and we don't know if the GPS sats are still in place and functional. He could be trying to follow a road map from the air."
"Jack, can those choppers talk on CB channels?"
"Probably some of them. Can you mow 'CB ch 21' in your South pasture?"
"That's thinking out of the box, but it'll be readable if they fly anywhere near me."
"And there's more than one person listening."
"What do I owe you for this, Jack?"
"First, find out whether they're friendly. Then whether they can or will learn to farm. Then if they'll trade fuel for food. Then if we can get some larger weapons and a better variety of them."
"I'll call you when I need a negotiator."
"Good enough. I might be bringing a young shooter with me as well."
"Katie?"
"If she continues progressing as quickly as she has been."
---
* Any estimated wood gas consumption is pure conjecture as I don't have a tractor to work with or a machine shop in which to build the cooker and filter tanks. Most of the older wood gas generators I've seen are much larger but many were made by DIY designers using found materials: 30 gallon galvanized garbage cans and 55 gallon steel drums are more readily available than "just right" surplus steel and stainless steel tanks.
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
There's a video on Youtube of a generator running on wood gas, so that might be a long term power source.
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
"Sheri, I told you they may not be able to. There's no gas here and there may not be any gas there."
"But he farms! He has stored gas and diesel!"
"Probably just enough for farming this year - not enough to make a 4200 mile round trip and still grow food for people and animals."
"What do you mean 4200 miles? It's just 2100 miles from here to there!"
"It's 2100 miles from there to here before they could take us from here to there - or were you expecting to have Captain Kirk use the transporter?"
"But the Prius gets 30MPG so that's only 70 gallons."
"You expect to get five people, food for the trip and luggage for a permanent move in a Prius?"
"Five? There's just the four of us!"
"At least one more if someone drives in and brings gas for the return trip."
"We'll be in one of those big, dirty, air-polluting trucks?"
"No, we won't be. Read the reply."
---
"But… but… but… he can't do that! We're family! He has to help us!"
"No, he does not. I may be immune but you never helped with his ancestry search on your family…"
"Who cares about a bunch of dead people?"
"Did you hear me say that I might be immune? That's apparently something inherited on the mother's side. Since you knew nothing more than your mother's maiden name, we don't know far enough back to know where your mother's family originated so we don't know whether you and the kids might be immune."
"But won't the kids get it from you?"
"No, Sheri. Mitochondrial DNA is from the mother's side. If you have it, they get it from you. If not, we hope the Tamiflu works for all of you."
"But we haven't been around anyone sick!"
"The news said infected people may show no symptoms until ten days or more after they are infected but they are still contagious during that time. When did you and the kids start wearing masks?"
"A week ago… Tracey's sniffles might be something worse?"
"Very possible."
"Then we must take her to the ER now!"
"The ER where TV news was showing people bleeding from their eyes back before power went off?"
"Not that one! A different ER!"
"They were showing that from all the hospitals within a hundred miles of us."
"But…"
"There are no buts. Dad tried to get us to move back there last year before school started. Your insistence on a school 'with proper educational emphasis on social issues' and your refusal to evacuate after he texted me last week may have killed you, Tracey and Amelia."
"But…"
"No 'buts'. You get in there and tell our children they may die and it's your fault."
"You're horrible!"
"No, the situation is horrible and you don't want to face it."
---
Tuesday, 2 May, 2028, 18:40 CDT
"No response to your reply to Rob?"
"Conditions won't be good for that response until the path from there to here is in darkness so after 9PM their time. Other than saying 'I understand' or 'We have Tamiflu' - maybe both? - there's not much other response. Actually, I'm not expecting a response."
"Would a cup of chamomile help?"
"And some time spent with you."
---
"Momma, why's Grandpa so sad?"
"Lily, he got a message from your Uncle Rob that they wanted your Grandpa to come get them but you know that most gas stations are closed and now you can only travel safely if you are armed and you can carry enough gas for the trip."
"Like Grandpa's big truck but it uses more gas than the van and more trucks mean more gas."
"Yes, smart girl. So your Grandpa can't go get them and your Uncle Rob didn't stockpile gas as your Daddy did so they don't have gas to get here."
"I understand. That means I won't ever see Tracey and Amelia again?"
"It probably does."
"I need a hug!"
"I have one for you. You think maybe your Grandma and Grandpa also need hugs?"
"They do. I'll go do that."
---
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
Post by kansasterri on Aug 25, 2021 7:00:25 GMT -6
A very good story!
And, as a diabetic myself, I might point out that there will not be any sugar in the urine until the blood sugar is up to somewhere around 160. It does vary a bit from individual to individual
My research told me that kids are "normal" with much higher readings than adults so the urine test would be acceptable for a 6-year-old. If nothing shows, the under-160 level is acceptable, if not ideal because you can't see low blood sugar. Doing both tests on a weekly or perhaps daily basis should provide a baseline for when this particular kid's urine starts to show sugar. There's also the possibility that a digital color sensor could recognize smaller color changes than the human eye can see and possibly go somewhat lower than 160 but I don't have the lab or a young diabetic handy for testing (256 digital levels * 3 colors * X possible combinations = a lot more than the 768 colors of simple multiplication).
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks
I don't have a family member with Type 1 but a brother-in-law is a not-well-controlled Type 2 who is dealing with some neuropathy issues from his lack of attention to his condition and his seeming addiction to trying yet another new restaurant :-( My wife lost a cousin to Type 1 and some poor choices so I have a little immediate knowledge and - if you research the quality of the sources - the internet can be very helpful.
Last Edit: Aug 26, 2021 17:21:26 GMT -6 by papaof2
Prelude to the Apocalypse: Dark Days in Alabama | The Shadetree Mechanic The Waif: Treasure Hunt (Lisa Bonner) | The Waif: Growing the Tribe An Accidental Family | Just Another Voicemail: Things Fall Apart The Coming Storms | Care & Feeding of a PAW Fiction Writer's Muse In the Dark | The Recycled Homestead: prelude to the apocalypse? Jack's War Book 1 | Jack's War Book 2 | Jack's War on Winter All books: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01LVX00LP/allbooks