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Post by iamnobody on Jan 6, 2021 16:08:34 GMT -6
I've been lurking and reading all the fine stories on here. I've started a short story and hopefully it is decent enough to read but I am no where near the quality of the writers already posting on here. Also I type with 2 fingers so am slow.
John's Story
John was sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair while waiting on his wife to finish getting supper ready. It had been a long day of work for him since getting up at at 6AM. There was many things to do even though it was only 5 acres and a small cabin. But it was all paid for and owned by him.
John was 30 years old and had been a hard worker all his life. So at 6 ft tall and 190 lbs, he was in fit shape and good health. He had bought the 5 acres of land located on top of a mountain at the end of a 3 mile long winding dirt road with steep drop offs when he was 20 years old. By the time he was 23, the land was paid for and he started building the cabin with his own hands, buying materials every payday and working in the evenings and weekends building. The cabin was finished when he turned 27. He then started adding some buildings for livestock. Just small stuff like 2 pigs, some chickens for eggs and meat, and some rabbits. Also a garden, some berry plants and some apple and plum trees.
John was a Christian. He accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ when John was a teenager. When he bought his land, he started attending a local Independent Baptist church. The Bible was not only taught but also studied. It was a very conservative church. John was very active in church activities. When John was 28, the old preacher suddenly died. A new preacher came to take over, kind of young at 25yrs. He had even graduated from a bible college. This new preacher introduced John to a young Christian woman from the area that the new preacher came from. She lived 2 hours drive time from John.
Her name was Sally. She started coming to church on a regular basis. She was a christian. Attending bible studies and taking part in the different church activities. She traveled the 2 hr distance every week. She was 25yrs old, 5ft 3in tall, 105lbs, crystal clear blue eyes and long black hair to the middle of her back. And whether she wore dresses or skirts, it was always modest looking.
A whirlwind courtship started. John said they would do it God's way – no sex before marriage. They made it to their wedding without having sex. The wedding was attended by a small group of family and friends. That night, she was the first for him and he was the first for her she said.
She got pregnant that night to John's delight. John went to every doctor's appointment. Well 8 months later during a severe rain storm with lightning flashing and thunder booming, a baby boy was born. The storm knocked down electric lines, trees and was washing things away. So John delivered his son there at his cabin. A few days later they were able to make it off the mountain to the doctor. The doctor did a complete checkup on his wife and son and pronounced both healthy. Said even though the baby was early at 8 months, lungs, heart and everything checked good.
Present day with John on his porch in a rocking chair. The last 30 days at been mind boggling. It was if someone had flipped a switch. The economy went from good to horrible in a few days. John worked several evenings at a big retailer food warehouse in the freezer area at -10 degrees. It was very cold, nasty work but he had a wife and child to support. He had been working there since he was 20yrs old, 2nd shift on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. But even they ran out of food to ship to the stores. It had been 14 days since the stores were empty of food. Word was that in the towns people were becoming savage. John still had a few days of food left for him, Sally and his son.
As John was thinking about how to stretch the food supply, the sound of 2 pickup trucks with revving motors coming up the road intruded into his thoughts. They could be seen now and John recognized the one truck as belonging to Rick, a known local bad boy, hoodlum and small time criminal. He was always drunk or high on drugs and never worked but always had many women around his place trying to get his attention.
John quickly stepped inside his cabin and grabbed his Remington 870 Express 12G shotgun while telling Sally to stay inside with his 2 month old son. Stepping back outside while racking the shotgun action to chamber a round of 000 buckshot, he saw Rick and 3 other men already out of the trucks and headed to the porch.
Before John could say a word, he suddenly felt an intense pain in the back of his head, his numb hands dropped the shotgun as his knees collapsed under him.
John found himself on the porch floor looking up as everything whirled around like a merry-go-round. What he could see was his wife Sally nestled into Rick's side while she held his son in one arm and had a cast iron skillet in the other hand.
Sally is yelling at Rick why he took so long to come get his son and her. John is trying to make sense of what she is saying and what just happened. “Rick's son?” Sally tells him “Yes, Rick's son you idiot” “He wasn't born early. Rick is a real man unlike a wimp like you.”
The last thing John saw was Sally's booted foot right before it connected between his eyes and the blackness of unconsciousness pulled him under........
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 6, 2021 18:42:31 GMT -6
Just can't trust them furriners from 2 hours away...
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Post by tiredmedic on Jan 6, 2021 20:53:45 GMT -6
Seems like a good start.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 6, 2021 21:26:17 GMT -6
Good start and probably a moral lesson in there somewhere.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 7, 2021 13:39:02 GMT -6
The next thing John was aware of was seeing the local Sheriff and deputy standing over him asking if he was alright. John slowly sat up and told them he thought he was except for the pounding headache. John looked around and saw it was about noon so figured he must have been out since last evening. The Sheriff said he had some bad news for him. John said for them to come inside where he could get some cold water to drink, some aspirin and a comfortable chair to sit in.
When John stepped inside the doorway, he could see everything was in shambles. Furniture was slashed and overturned, clothes thrown everywhere, and in the kitchen he could see where a jar of home canned tomatoes was broke on the floor and a partial bag of wheat flour spilled over the counter. Cabinet doors were wide open and he could see that the shelves were empty. There was no food left.
Everyone picked up a kitchen chair and sat down at the table. The Sheriff asked John what happened. John told them about Rick and 3 men showing up, how his wife Sally had hit him from behind with a cast iron skillet, how she said his son was Rick's, and then how she had gave him a kick between his eyes as she was leaving. How that knocked him out and he knew nothing til he saw the Sheriff and deputy standing over him.
The Sheriff told John he had some more bad news for him. That they had been called out this way this morning for a report of vehicles wrecked over one of the steep drop offs. Someone had noticed skid marks at the hairpin turn with the 100ft straight down drop off. Someone was going too fast for the turn and the loose gravel skidded them over the side of the road.
The Sheriff and deputy found 2 pickups mangled at the bottom. No survivors. There were beer cans and whiskey bottles scattered throughout the trucks. The Sheriff guesstimated they tried taking the hairpin turn at over 80mph. There were 6 bodies recovered. Rick, 3 men, Sally and the baby.
Later that day John's preacher and deacon stopped by because they heard what happened. John told them what had happened, from Rick showing up, to Sally hitting and kicking him, to the wreck. When he was done the preacher looked at John and asked him what John had done to Sally to make her do those things. That John had to of done something to that poor woman to drive her to doing such actions to get away from him.
John is flabbergasted by what the preacher just told him, that John was the blame and cause of Sally having sex with Rick before John's marriage to her, for her getting pregnant by Rick and her letting John think it was his baby, Sally hitting and kicking him and then leaving with the baby and taking all the food, and then dying in the wreck. The preacher said it was all John's fault and the deacon was shaking his head in agreement with the preacher. The preacher told John he would be under church discipline for his wicked, sinful actions, that he would not be able to participate in any church activities until he repented of his sinful actions. All John would be able to do is attend services, sit there and keep his mouth shut. Then the preacher and the deacon left.
John sat there with his aching head in his hands still trying to absorb the events of the last 2 days. He got up and went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He felt the large goose egg of a knot on the back of his head from the cast iron frying pan and he could see his 2 black eyes from Sally kicking him. His stomach was rumbling with hunger but there was no food left. Sally and Rick had taken it all and was now scattered all over the wreck site. He heard his chickens clucking.
Better tend the chickens. His few chickens were scratching around in the coop. He checked for eggs, found 2 of them. At least he will have something to eat. Put a scoop of mash into the feed trough. John stood there staring at the chicken food. The mash was ground by the local feed mill. All it was is ground corn and soybeans with some added vitamins. No added oyster shell because John fed that separately as free choice for the chickens to strengthen their egg shells. And no added medicines either. John realizes he won't go to bed hungry.
He took 2 cups of the chicken mash into his kitchen. He took a pan and added 4 cups of water and put it on the stove to heat. When the water was boiling, he whisked in the chicken mash to cook just like he would cream of wheat or Farina. 2 hard cooked eggs and a couple of bowls of the cooked chicken mash left John with a full belly.
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Post by texican on Jan 7, 2021 14:56:31 GMT -6
ian,
Just like the self righteous to condemn an innocent man.
John will have to step up his game plan to overcome his dead wife and become self sufficient.
Thanks for the story.
God bless us, America and President Trump.
Texican....
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 8, 2021 9:35:00 GMT -6
The next day John was feeling a little better even though he had slept on the porch all night.. At least his head wasn't pounding and his eyes weren't quite as black looking. He was able to carry all the destroyed furniture outside and get things tidied up. He looked in his bedroom and saw some of Sally's clothes strewn around so he gathered them up and put them on the pile of destroyed furniture. He went back in and looked at his bed. The thought of her being in that bed after being with another man was making him want to puke. For all he knew, she might even of had Rick in that bed too. It was polluted so he hauled it out to the pile in his yard. There wasn't much left in his cabin when all the bad things were removed. They had really trashed his place while he was knocked out. John splashed some kerosene over the pile, lit a rolled up newspaper and tossed it on the pile.
It took about an hour to burn but everything was now ashes. He went and fed his livestock of chickens, rabbits and 2 pigs. He guessed that Sally had forgot about the livestock in their drunken spree of destroying his things and cleaning out the cabin of food. Feeding the livestock reminded him he was hungry. John remembered the leftover chicken mash he cooked last evening and took the leftovers from the fridge. It reminded him of scrapple so he cut it into slices and fried them. Nothing fancy but filling.
When done he got into his truck and headed down the mountain and drove 20 miles to the local town. First stop was the bank for some money from his savings account. He needed groceries. He got several $100 dollars and then went to the only grocery store in town, got a cart and started through the aisles. He found the shelves basically empty. He ended up with a box of mac and cheese, 2 individual packs of Ramon noodles, a dented can of corn beef hash and a small can of sardines. As he was putting the small bag of groceries in his truck, he noticed several guys watching him and then starting to move towards him. John hurriedly got in the truck, turned the key and as soon as the motor started, sped out of the parking lot.
When back at his cabin, he put away his meager groceries, thinking they won't last him long. What to do.... He got on his computer which somehow didn't get smashed by Sally and Rick. He typed in the search box “what to do when there is no food on the grocery shelf”. It returned 1,000's of results. He scanned the first page and it was all government sites telling people with no food to go to the nearest FEMA location for help. No FEMA location near him for several 100 miles, besides, John didn't like the idea of depending on someone else feeding him. John always had trusted in God to take care of him.
By the 5th page of results he started coming across something called prepper sites. John clicked on one of the sites and was curious at the different things posted. Another site had different articles which also led to video channels showing how to do the things talked about. Even some other sites which had what was called PAW fictional stories. John looked at the clock which read 2AM. He had been reading the prepper sites for 10 hours. John curled up on the floor with a blanket for some sleep before his normal wake up time of 6AM.
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 8, 2021 16:02:23 GMT -6
It's usually considered impolite to say "MOAR!" until there's been no more story for over 24 hours, so I'll just say "MO" ;-)
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 9, 2021 8:44:04 GMT -6
It's usually considered impolite to say "MOAR!" until there's been no more story for over 24 hours, so I'll just say "MO" ;-) You all have to contend with shy muses. I contend with typing with 2 fingers and they are stiff and cold this morning with 20F and a heavy frost. Need to wrap them around a cup of mint tea to thaw them out and see about some more story that hopefully will be passable interesting.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 9, 2021 9:13:53 GMT -6
It's usually considered impolite to say "MOAR!" until there's been no more story for over 24 hours, so I'll just say "MO" ;-) You all have to contend with shy muses. I contend with typing with 2 fingers and they are stiff and cold this morning with 20F and a heavy frost. Need to wrap them around a cup of mint tea to thaw them out and see about some more story that hopefully will be passable interesting. Would you like us to send you some handwarmers to speed things up?
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 9, 2021 10:19:31 GMT -6
When John woke up, he realized it was Sunday when he normally went to church for several hours. So he tended his livestock, took a shower, got dressed and headed out so that he would be there for the 2nd hour of service. When he arrived, he entered and took a seat in the last row of pews. A young husband and wife got up and moved away from where he sat. Most people ignored him, one person did give him a slight nod. The new young preacher that had only been there 2 years got up to begin the sermon. He gave a sermon on a husband being responsible for his wife and since she is the weaker vessel and so pure, that a wife is not responsible for anything she does. Towards the end, the preacher told everyone that with the food shortages going on, it was their Christian duty to share what they had with each other. And not forget to take care of him, the preacher. As people were leaving, John overheard a husband and wife try to give food to the preacher., some beans and rice. John knew they were a poor couple with little money. The new, young preacher told them the beans and rice were not good enough for him, that as God's man he was entitled to better food like steak and etc. That the couple would have to find better food to give or God would not be happy.
John went home, grabbed the can of sardines for his lunch. At least the sardines were in mustard. He got his bible to do his own reading and studying like he normally did. He went to lay it on the table but it fell out of his hand and fell open. A verse seemed to leap off the pages at him “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Now in the past John had always seen that as the people perishing because they didn't want to learn about God. This time as he was rereading the verse he thought would this also not apply to current times and the fact that John knew very little about what to do with the food shortage situation. He surely would perish if he didn't have food. John closed his bible and put it away. Those prepper sites kept intruding on his thoughts so he sat down at the computer to read in them again. This time he did set an alarm for 3 hours so he wouldn't read so long, though he did hit the snooze button on the alarm several times so he could read longer.
A new day dawns and John does his morning chores. Early morning the coroner calls and says that his autopsy is done. Sally and the baby's bodies will be picked up by her parents since according to them everyone was lying about what happened to their poor sweet innocent daughter. So they would bury them at their family plot. Never mind that the coroner's report shows a very high blood level of alcohol and some illegal drugs for Sally.
Tuesday and John is planning a trip into town, town to see what supplies he could get. He was getting his checkbook so he could write checks for things but then remembered what the prepper sites stressed – cash purchases so there was no paper trail of him buying. So first stop at the bank. He was getting in his truck when he remembered another thing – gun for protection. His Remington 870 Express 12G shotgun he had before was now a piece of twisted metal and wood because Rick and Sally had taken it with them and after the wreck, it was now junk. The only gun he had left was his deer rifle which he had left in the shed last week. It was a Savage 340 in 30-30 caliber and a Tasco 4x scope on it and a 20rd box of ammo. So after remembering those guys coming towards him at the grocery store the last time he was there, John went and got the rifle. He checked the bore to make sure it was not clogged, loaded the mag with ammo and placed the rifle and ammo behind the seat and headed off to town.
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Post by texican on Jan 9, 2021 13:21:43 GMT -6
John is waking up.
Texican....
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 9, 2021 16:28:47 GMT -6
It's usually considered impolite to say "MOAR!" until there's been no more story for over 24 hours, so I'll just say "MO" ;-) You all have to contend with shy muses. I contend with typing with 2 fingers and they are stiff and cold this morning with 20F and a heavy frost. Need to wrap them around a cup of mint tea to thaw them out and see about some more story that hopefully will be passable interesting. I've been dealing with shy - sometimes AWOL - muses for a long time. I've learned to take what they offer. I'm no touch typist, but many years of programming for a living did get me up to using six fingers and one thumb. My writing now needs a lot of proofreading and spellchecking, as after 70+ years those fingers are arthritic and don't move as well as they once did - which leads to a lot of "off by one key" typing errors :-( At least there are free word processors which include basic spell checking ;-)
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Post by cutter on Jan 9, 2021 20:59:59 GMT -6
So far so good. I'm very much looking forward to more of this story when you have time and your Muse cooperates.
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Post by udwe on Jan 9, 2021 23:52:46 GMT -6
Great start! That preacher is a piece.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 10, 2021 9:38:55 GMT -6
Great start! That preacher is a piece. I am a Christian and over my years I have sadly seen more than 1 preacher behaving like that. In my opinion I believe many so called preachers are not really Christians but are Judas goats in it for the money, position and benefits. They are the hirelings that the bible speaks of, who are not men of God concerned about watching over the flock but are fleecing the sheep instead.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 10, 2021 9:43:58 GMT -6
A stop at the bank for money, then on to the grocery store. John looked around and didn't see anyone hanging around but he didn't take any chances and parked close to the entrance in the nearly empty parking lot. He looked around again, got out and ensured he locked the truck doors. Once inside, John grabbed a cart and started up the aisles. He sees some food on the shelves and hurries to it. A can of Spam - $8, a 1lb bag of instant rice - $3, a gallon of milk - $7, a 16oz can of green beans - $4, a doz eggs - $5, 1lb of cheese - $12, a 1lb of 70/30 hamburger - $15. By now John is shaking, thinking about how he will be able to afford food. He needs to eat so he grabs the items and heads to the checkout and pays for them. At the exit he looks outside to check for people, all clear. He has everything in 2 small bags and is getting the truck door unlocked. John then sees the same group of men from the other day and they are closing in on him. He puts the bags on the seat and grabs his rifle from behind the seat and points it at the guys. They stop, then 1 of them starts moving forward and John works the action to chamber a round. All of them then turn and flee. John puts the rifle's safety on and slides it onto the seat and gets in and starts the truck. He is shaking as he speeds out of the lot. His impulse is to head home as fast as he can but remembers he needs animal feed.
John went over to the feed mill. It was a family owned place that was really more than just feed. It also carried seed, clothing, tools, guns and ammo, trapping supplies. Come to think of it, it was more like one of those old trading posts that catered to the homesteaders. John had never really noticed the other sections because he was only interested in the animal feed before. He placed his order for livestock feed for chickens, pigs and rabbits so while they were getting his order together, John took a stroll through the rest of the store. He saw good work clothing, saw guns from cheaper models to expensive ones, reloading supplies, cases of ammo stacked along the wall. He strolled on over to the feed and seed section and saw stacks of corn, wheat, beans, rice, rolled oats for horses, salt and many other items. All labeled “not for human consumption” John also saw some 50lb bags of something labeled as MOAR feed. He had never heard of any of those but the bag was labeled in big letters with a caution to only feed in small quantities as the feed could cause extreme excitability. He would have to look that up on the internet when he got back to the cabin.
Something was stirring in the back of John's mind, maybe something from a prepper site. John haled one of the employees and asked them about the “not for human consumption” labels, were they treated with chemicals or pesticides? The employee told him none of their feed or seed was treated in any way. That it was labeled “not for human consumption” because it had not gone through the extra steps of cleaning and etc. It may have a little more dirt and stones than human grade food, or more insect parts or the feed is stored in areas that aren't rodent proof. John thanked him for the explanation and went to pay for his order and head home. At least the feed prices hadn't went up.
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Post by cutter on Jan 10, 2021 11:36:23 GMT -6
Thank you for the insight. I had not considered animal feed for use as an emergency food source to feed humans.
I am also a christian. My k through 12 education was in a Baptist Church school. That schools plainly stated goal was to make ministers out of every boy and minister's wives out of every girl. I would pit the education that my fellow students and I received against that of any seminary. I might lose but they would have to work for it. As you say, there are far too many people posing as ministers and preachers and priests and missionaries because they have found positions where the money is too good to pass up. Arguably the best Minister I ever met was The Shepherd of a small non-denominational church in Indiana. He received one paycheck a year that was usually under $500 because his flock felt it important to take up a Christmas offering to show their thanks to him. He made his living on the assembly line at a Ford motor company plant in Louisville.
Please keep the story coming as time and inspiration permit. I am enjoying it and have learned something, so in my opinion, you have already accomplished great things.
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Post by catspaw65 on Jan 10, 2021 14:22:45 GMT -6
That is too funny!
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 10, 2021 16:34:27 GMT -6
That is too funny! I caught that one also
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 10, 2021 16:37:25 GMT -6
A stop at the bank for money, then on to the grocery store. John looked around and didn't see anyone hanging around but he didn't take any chances and parked close to the entrance in the nearly empty parking lot. He looked around again, got out and ensured he locked the truck doors. Once inside, John grabbed a cart and started up the aisles. He sees some food on the shelves and hurries to it. A can of Spam - $8, a 1lb bag of instant rice - $3, a gallon of milk - $7, a 16oz can of green beans - $4, a doz eggs - $5, 1lb of cheese - $12, a 1lb of 70/30 hamburger - $15. By now John is shaking, thinking about how he will be able to afford food. He needs to eat so he grabs the items and heads to the checkout and pays for them. At the exit he looks outside to check for people, all clear. He has everything in 2 small bags and is getting the truck door unlocked. John then sees the same group of men from the other day and they are closing in on him. He puts the bags on the seat and grabs his rifle from behind the seat and points it at the guys. They stop, then 1 of them starts moving forward and John works the action to chamber a round. All of them then turn and flee. John puts the rifle's safety on and slides it onto the seat and gets in and starts the truck. He is shaking as he speeds out of the lot. His impulse is to head home as fast as he can but remembers he needs animal feed. John went over to the feed mill. It was a family owned place that was really more than just feed. It also carried seed, clothing, tools, guns and ammo, trapping supplies. Come to think of it, it was more like one of those old trading posts that catered to the homesteaders. John had never really noticed the other sections because he was only interested in the animal feed before. He placed his order for livestock feed for chickens, pigs and rabbits so while they were getting his order together, John took a stroll through the rest of the store. He saw good work clothing, saw guns from cheaper models to expensive ones, reloading supplies, cases of ammo stacked along the wall. He strolled on over to the feed and seed section and saw stacks of corn, wheat, beans, rice, rolled oats for horses, salt and many other items. All labeled “not for human consumption” John also saw some 50lb bags of something labeled as MOAR feed. He had never heard of any of those but the bag was labeled in big letters with a caution to only feed in small quantities as the feed could cause extreme excitability. He would have to look that up on the internet when he got back to the cabin. Something was stirring in the back of John's mind, maybe something from a prepper site. John haled one of the employees and asked them about the “not for human consumption” labels, were they treated with chemicals or pesticides? The employee told him none of their feed or seed was treated in any way. That it was labeled “not for human consumption” because it had not gone through the extra steps of cleaning and etc. It may have a little more dirt and stones than human grade food, or more insect parts or the feed is stored in areas that aren't rodent proof. John thanked him for the explanation and went to pay for his order and head home. At least the feed prices hadn't went up. This answers a question that has been in the back of my mind for some time after seeing bags of peanuts in a local farm supply store marked the same way.
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Post by texican on Jan 10, 2021 22:21:22 GMT -6
Most animal feed can be eaten by the two legged animals.
You need to read the contents carefully on each bag.
Texican....
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 11, 2021 9:56:06 GMT -6
Most animal feed can be eaten by the two legged animals. You need to read the contents carefully on each bag. Texican.... Be sure the animal feed is not medicated.
Be sure the sacks of seed are not treated with pesticides or chemicals to inhibit rot when planted.
Read the ingredients to make sure you do not have an allergy to them.
Don't forget pet food - dog and cat, both dry and canned. I have of many people with little money eating canned dog and cat food.
A lot of the good canned pet food has quality meat because you can't mistreat animals. When I was a boy, I had a brother that always had a pants pocket full of dry dog food. He was always munching on them and he never suffered problems from it.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 11, 2021 14:55:49 GMT -6
When John got home, he put the livestock feed away in the shed and the few groceries into the cupboards. Then he got on the prepper sites to check out the use of animal feed and seeds as food. He finally found it after some searching. Also some other gems of wisdom about how much food is thrown away in the US because of blemishes, that people won't eat the blemished food because it doesn't look perfect. The advice on using animal feed was to ensure it was not medicated feed and to take extra care in sorting it before using to make sure you removed any rocks. As for using seed as food, make sure that the seed was not treated with any chemicals, pesticides or fungicides to prevent rotting in the ground when it was planted. And not to forget bags of dry dog and cat food. Most of them are a high protein food and the ingredients are basically corn, soy and dried meat products. The person giving the info even said his brother when a young boy had always had a pocket full of dry dog food kibbles and munched on them during the day. The brother was now an adult and didn't seem to be adversely affected by it, though during his teenage years he did howl at the moon several times.
John also found postings and articles about using livestock and fish medicines for human treatments. That most vet medicines were the same as the people's version, only a lot cheaper. But the bad news was that a lot of the vet medicines were recently regulated in that a veterinarian had to write a prescription before you could get livestock medicines to treat your animals. As always, the disclaimer that the person writing was not a doctor or lawyer, so the person reading would have to use their God given brain to decide if they want to use this advise / wisdom. John sat there thinking that was a lot of control the government took over being able to self treat livestock. He wondered if it might come to a point in the future where even buying animal food will be regulated.
John headed for his bed on the floor. Actually a cheap sleeping pad with a sleeping bag on top of it. Not the most comfy but doable. He did plan on finding something better in the near future.
After awakening in the morning, he tended his livestock, then had his breakfast of cooked chicken mash. This time he had some milk to put on it. Maybe he could find some sugar next time he went to town. Then outside for chores. He had no paycheck job because of the economy but there is always things that need done around a home. Several hours work later, he takes a break and continues with his research on the prepper sites. He finds a post about hammocks. Since he is now alone, a hammock sounds good for him. He remembers the feed mill also had a section with camping equipment, maybe they would have one. And that would be a lot cheaper than a new $500 bed. He realizes he needs to start making a list of things for his next trip to town.
That evening is mid week bible study which he always attended but after his reception the past Sunday service, John decided he was staying home and studying the bible on his own. After a scant supper of 2 fried eggs from his chickens he opened his bible to read and study.
The next day John was headed back to the feed mill store. He was already in his truck and had it started when some of his bible study from last night popped into his head. He had been reading about Gideon threshing his wheat in a winepress so that he could hide his food from the enemy. John had been planning on picking up a hammock if they had one plus some more animal feed. It wouldn't be wise to let people see what he had in the truck bed. So he got a tarp from the shed, some tree branches and an old broken yard chair and put them in the truck bed.
When he was several miles from the town, he saw a car on the side of the road with a young woman standing near it. As he got closer he could see a flat tire. Then he noticed the woman was the wife of the young couple that got up and moved away from him during church service. He pulled his truck off the road behind her car and got out. She saw him and avoided eye contact. John says he sees she has a flat and she tells him the preacher told everyone not to talk with him. John tells her he understands and he will ask her some questions and she can shake her head yes or no. Does she have a spare tire – yes. Where is it – points to trunk. Will she open the trunks – yes. John then changes her tire and then wipes his hands after putting away the flat tire and jack. She looks at him and asks him why. John responds that he is a servant of the Lord Jesus and she was in need of help and he was there. John could see tears running down her cheeks as he got in his truck and drove into town.
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Post by cutter on Jan 11, 2021 16:01:22 GMT -6
Very nice payback! It sucks to do someone dirty, only to have them do right by you, just because it's the right thing to do. I bet you have a very devious sense of humor. Love it.
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