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Post by sniper69 on Jan 29, 2021 11:04:06 GMT -6
I figure when Kevin said that drugs ..."do nothing but cause problems!" and "a look passed her face Kevin had no clue how to interpret", that maybe she and her husband were looking for an out of the way place for their drug operation. Or maybe I'm reading to much into the story? Either way, I'm thoroughly enjoying the story and look forward to reading more as it is posted.
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Post by arkansascob on Jan 29, 2021 13:48:11 GMT -6
Great point sniper. Scoping him out to see what he is all about.
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Post by texican on Jan 29, 2021 20:01:31 GMT -6
Yep Listen to the dogs Kevin. Think with the right head. She cant be nothing but bad news. Cant wait to see what brett has in store for us with this story. He has never disappointed. COB Yep, a hot married woman on the prowl spells: 'DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON". Kev definitely needs to stop by the bar and see Tammy even if he has to drag or would it be pulled in by the hounds. Brett, remember us poor males can only take so much temptation before something breaks. Thanks for the chapter. Texican....
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Post by cutter on Jan 29, 2021 21:22:27 GMT -6
Having unsuccessfully married twice, women are nothing but trouble.
put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car and close the lid. Wait 15 minutes and open the trunk. See which one is happy to see you.
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 29, 2021 23:16:45 GMT -6
After 50+ years, I can say that's one thing I got right the first time.
Probably helps that both of us had multiple good examples in our families...
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Post by texican on Jan 30, 2021 21:16:51 GMT -6
Having unsuccessfully married twice, women are nothing but trouble. put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car and close the lid. Wait 15 minutes and open the trunk. See which one is happy to see you.What a vivid imagine. Just make sure the wife is not armed. C, You do know the third one is the charming one. Maybe one day you will find a real woman, but if not, this is what is meant to be. Texican....
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Post by bretf on Feb 1, 2021 8:02:03 GMT -6
Thank you all for the nice comments, insightful comments. These always give me something to consider that maybe I hadn’t considered before.
NC, maybe I should change Cindy's name to Jezzie, or something like it. Cutter, I don’t think I’ll try your experiment. Although, some days my wife is so busy, she might love 15 minutes uninterrupted if I gave her a pillow.
Papa, good for you. I wasn’t so smart and it took two tries to get the right one.
Chapter 5
Kevin finished working in the garden for the evening and headed for the house. He had an urge to look toward Harvey’s house, even though he’d watched the two vehicles drive away an hour earlier. Shaking his head at his foolishness, he whistled and said, “Hey guys, ready for supper?”
Jack and Jill’s enthusiastic tail wagging and body squirming confirmed they were. Opening the screen door, he reached in and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened. Puzzled, he flicked it up and down two more times with the same results. “Huh, I guess the bulb burned out,” he said to his pals.
It wasn’t quite dark outside, with just enough muted light entering through the windows he was able to navigate his way to the kitchen. When he flicked the kitchen light switch, he got the same results. “What the …?” he asked the dark room.
He thought about the causes. Blown breakers seemed wrong since the power was out in at least two rooms. The power bill was paid automatically from his bank account each month so that shouldn’t be it. It must be a power outage, but he’d check the breaker box anyway, just to be certain.
Looking into the dark kitchen, he tried to recall which drawer he kept the flashlight in, at least had kept it in before Debbie left. Heck, he might not have it any longer for all he knew. He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight function. It’d do until he found the real flashlight. Hopefully, he’d find it.
The drawer he hadn’t pulled open and looked in for months was a jumbled mess, as if someone had rifled it for anything useful. Sighing heavily, he shifted the items around with his right hand as he aimed the phone’s light with his left. “Well, she didn’t take it,” he said as he located the flashlight.
Kevin pushed the switch and sighed again when it didn’t light up. He shook it and tapped it on the counter and pushed the switch a second time. “Come on, light,” he said.
It did, barely. The faint beam was pitiful. “I guess I need to get some batteries.” He turned the light off and set the worthless flashlight on the counter.
“I guess this is all the light we have,” he told Jack and Jill, holding the phone up. “Let’s check the breakers.
At the panel, he didn’t detect any that’d tripped but switched each off and on to be sure, including the main breaker. “I guess we eat in the dark, guys.”
Back in the kitchen, he scooped dog food and poured it in Jack and Jill’s dishes. They ate with gusto, unconcerned about the lack of light while Kevin wondered what he’d eat. If it was a power outage, he didn’t want to open the fridge and lose the coolness it contained, and besides, he couldn’t cook anything or rewarm it in the microwave if he’d wanted to. He pulled the pantry door open and shown the light at the few items inside, looking for something, anything, he could eat straight out of the can. A tin of sardines was all he saw. He chuckled, thinking the only reason it was there was that Debbie and the kids would never eat them and he’d forgotten he’d bought them.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” he said as he took the can to the silverware drawer for a fork.
The phone in his hand flashed a “low power, shutting down” warning as he pulled a fork from the drawer. The room was instantly dark, as the sun had completely set. “Well, isn’t that swell.”
Going by instinct through the room, with his hands before him in case he was off, he made his way to the door and stepped outside. Jack and Jill had finished their dinner and trailed him. Enough ambient light remained he was able to see to pull the tab and open the can of fish. He ate, the dogs cleaning up any drops and drips. When he was finished, he said, “I hope you guys can put up with me, going to bed without shower or brushing my teeth.”
They didn’t mind. After slowly making his way to the bedroom, he sat on the edge and removed his shoes and socks. His pants and shirt were dropped haphazardly and he wormed his way under the sheets. Jack settled on one side of him, Jill on the other.
Despite his fatigue and the comforting presence of the dogs, he didn’t fall asleep right away as his mind raced. This is stupid. A power outage and I don’t have a dang thing for light. I don’t have anything to eat. I’m incompetent. With that thought, he saw Debbie’s image, saying pretty much the same thing. You’re incompetent.
His mind drifted from Debbie to Tammy and he saw her clearly, shooting him the looks he couldn’t read. Did she think he was incompetent? Tammy was replaced by Cindy, the knowing smile. Maybe they all think I’m incompetent. I’m lying here with no light or food in a power outage. It’s not like power outages are all that rare. Maybe they’re right and I am incompetent.
The dogs snuggled closer to him as if they sensed his need for comfort. Jack rested his head on Kevin’s chest and Jill gave him a sloppy kiss on the side of his face.
He smiled. “Thanks, guys. We’ll, I mean I’ll do better. Tomorrow we’ll figure out some emergency lighting and go from there.”
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Post by ydderf on Feb 1, 2021 13:34:27 GMT -6
Was Cindy the distraction while her partner checked out the house? I though am unsure his ex left him anything worth stealing. Thanks Bret
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Post by bretf on Feb 4, 2021 19:36:14 GMT -6
Chapter 6
The dogs nuzzling him and whining got through Kevin’s deep sleep and he raised his head groggily. “Okay, okay, I get the message,” he said and tried to raise. It was hard, with the bed covers held down on each side by a dog. “C’mon, give me some room.”
He rolled over, thinking he’d have more success if he got on his hands and knees and pushed himself up. It worked, with Jack hopping off the bed as the covers gave way on his side, although he continued to nuzzle Kevin from the floor. As he untangled himself from the covers, he glanced at the window with all the light streaming in. It took several moments for it to sink into his foggy mind.
His eyes shot open, fully awake and he looked at his alarm clock. The red numerals were flashing on and off. He turned to his watch and muttered, “Dang, guys, we’re going to be cutting it close if we manage to not be late.”
Rushing into the kitchen, he poured kibble into the dogs’ dishes and opened the back door for them to be able to get outside when they finished. While they did their thing, he hurried to the bathroom to do his.
Rather than a shower, he gave himself a cursory wipe down with a washcloth, and then brushed his teeth. The tooth brushing was fast and he’d like to have spent more time and done a better job; running his tongue over them before he started proved how gross they were from skipping the previous evening. Throwing his clothes on, but not buttoning his shirt or tucking it in, he rushed to the truck, whistling for Jack and Jill. They came and apparently thought Kevin was playing from the way he was moving. Jack jumped up and hit him with his front paws, leaving dirty prints on his shirt. Shaking his head, he examined the spots and decided not to go back for a fresh shirt. Either he could get the footprints off or he couldn’t. He got the dogs into the cab, followed them and started the engine.
Kevin barreled down the lane, mindlessly. It was a stark contrast to the way he generally drove, going slow and watching for wildlife. In town, he pulled into McDonalds to grab some sausage biscuits, one for breakfast and another for lunch. The drive thru line had several cars so he parked and rushed inside.
With his bag in hand he hurried to the door, pushed it open, and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Well, hi, Kev. Fancy meeting you here.”
“G … good morning, Tammy,” he said.
Tammy eyed him up and down. “I know I haven’t seen you for a while but you’re sure looking good, although a bit disheveled. Losing that extra weight suits you.”
Kevin flushed at the comment, and said, “Uh, thanks. It’s nice to see you. And not to be rude, but I’ve got to get to work. I’m running late this morning.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, disappointment in her voice. “Well, don’t be a stranger. You know where I work.”
“Right,” he said and hurried to the truck. He had to push the dogs away to get in; they were very curious about the bag emitting the delicious aroma. Drops of drool from Jack’s mouth plopped onto the seat beside Kevin’s leg. Kevin watched the restaurant door for a minute before he shook his head and started the engine. “Don’t be a fool. Last night was bad enough,” he told himself.
#
After a hectic two hours at work on top of the mad-rush at home, Kevin finally had a few moments to regroup. He took one of the sausage biscuits out of the bag and had just taken a bite when his co-worker Phil walked into his office.
“Hey Kevin,” Phil said settling into the chair across from his desk. “Judging by the way you ran in here this morning like your hair was on fire, you were in the area without power last night.”
“I sure was,” he responded around his mouthful of food. He finished chewing and swallowed before he said, “Did you hear what caused it?”
“Yeah, a drunk took out a power pole out on the highway. It didn’t reach my place, though,” Phil said.
“You’re lucky. I pretty much skipped supper because of it, then I overslept since my alarm didn’t go off.”
Phil laughed and said, “According to a Facebook friend of mine, we’re all lucky and this was just a reminder to get ready for the big one.”
Kevin had continued to eat while Phil talked. He was ravenous. When he swallowed, he said, “Lucky? The big one?”
“Yeah, this guy is a total nutcase. I only read his posts to get a good laugh. His stuff is about as far-fetched as those stories on The Onion. Anyway, he said because of those solar flares that’ve been happening, we’re all sitting on a ticking time bomb. According to him, one of these days, one is going to knock out our entire electrical grid and then it’ll be every man for himself,” Phil said.
Kevin raised his eyebrows at Phil as he took another bite.
Phil continued, “But really, I swear he’s a nutcase. He’s not happy unless his spouting off about our way of life ending in one way or another.”
Kevin’s intercom buzzed and Janice’s voice came over the speaker. “I see you back there, Phil. You’ve got a call on line one.”
Phil grimaced and stood. “Well, catch you later. And by the way, Jack and Jill are fantastic. Now I wish I could get a dog.”
Kevin had another bite of sausage and biscuit in his mouth, so he raised his hand in acknowledgement. Glancing at his watch, he saw he had just enough time to finish his breakfast, use the restroom, and get ready for his next appointment.
When he was ready for the appointment, he jotted on a sticky note “solar flares, power grid”. He glanced at the door to see if he had time to see what the internet said about it when he saw the family for his appointment approaching. “I guess it’ll be lunch time reading.”
#
Kevin was shocked at all the information on solar flares interrupting the power grid he found on the internet. Most shocking, was while much of it was from end of the worlders, more than enough came from legitimate scientific sources. He read as much as he could during his lunch break, printed off two documents to read in the evening, and bookmarked several web pages. What he’d read chilled him to the bone. The nation could literally be thrown back into the pre-industrial age.
He’d already decided while sitting in the dark that he had to get batteries and maybe a lantern. But after reading as much as he had, he decided he really needed to get a lot of things. At least what his budget would allow, which unfortunately, wasn’t a lot. But where to start.
During the afternoon, whenever he had a free moment, Kevin considered his situation and the night before. Sure, he had the huge garden growing and a limited number of canning jars on hand, but if the right solar flare hit, the big one, what he had would be inadequate. There was no way he could live on what he was growing, at least not for long. While he’d been wondering before the power outage what to do with the extra produce, he now had an idea, he just wasn’t sure of the best way to go about it.
And what about cooking and preparing food if he didn’t have power. Sure, he could cook over an open fire, but that was inefficient. And lighting. Heat. Transportation. Drinking water. There were more concerns than he could consider all at once and he was getting a headache from information overload and borderline panic.
He closed his eyes, trying the ease the tension building in his head. A comforting head, Jack and Jill, settled on both his legs. Okay, we can do this. Prioritize, and then baby steps until we know what we’re doing. He reached out a hand on each side and mentally thanked Walt for suggesting he get a dog.
What had his grandparents done, how had they lived. If they hadn’t grown up during the great depression, it wasn’t long after, with the lessons it’d driven home instilled in their daily lives.
He’d hardly known his dad’s parents. He was very young when his dad was killed in Vietnam and had little interaction with his parents afterward. In that era, being a child of only one parent carried a stigma in the school he went to. He’d suffered at the hands of other children so his mom had packed up and moved back to her home town. Those early lessons had been the driving force behind him going into his profession.
Once in the new home in the new town, he’d spent a lot of time around his Mom’s parents. They lived close, after all. He concentrated, trying to recall all he could of their home. Of course, they had a garden, but what else, what did they have that’d allow them to live simply, and if necessary, without power.
His mind drifted back into his grandparents’ home. It was small and simple. On a high shelf in the tidy kitchen were four oil lamps. Okay, that’s what they had for emergency lighting. And candles. He recalled several candles set out, ready to light if need be.
In his mind, relying on childhood memories, he descended the stairs into the dark basement. The walls were harsh, unfinished concrete, laced with spider webs. He’d never liked to go down those steps when he was young. It felt like he was entering a dungeon, his imagination running wild at what he might encounter. Decades later, he could still feel the fear he’d had going into the dark basement.
Once he cleared the stairs, in the poor illumination from a single bare incandescent bulb, he could look around. Dark shadows remained, places he was too afraid to venture into. Most times he went to the basement, he was sent, and he went to a specific part of the spooky place. Thank goodness a second light bulb hung for better light in the confined space.
A room had been framed in and the walls lined with shelves. The shelves were loaded with Mason jars, most filled, a lesser number empty, ready to be re-filled. Large tins with lids sealed tightly held flour and sugar. A pressure canner sat on a high shelf beside a water bath canner. One shelf held cans of food; soup, stew, chili, Spam. There was more but the memory wouldn’t form completely so he allowed his mind to drift outside.
When he recalled the small barn and pasture, one more item from the cellar room came to mind. Grandma also had a churn, skimming the cream from the milk their cow produced and making butter.
He pictured the chicken house and pen, several hens wandering and scratching in the dirt looking for bugs.
His mind drifted to the garden, with its oversized patches of corn, winter squash, potatoes. Again, it took him back to the cellar room and he saw the wooden crates loaded with potatoes and squash during the winter. He saw the hand grinder near the gallon jars of shelled corn and the partially filled jar of corn meal.
His mind drifted to the shed. Everyone in the area they lived in had a shed on their property. No one paid for storage units. Inside the shed - he smiled absently, he hadn’t been afraid to go inside it - nestled against one wall was the dust-covered wood cookstove that’d previously been inside the house. He recalled the chimney rising from the back side of the kitchen wall and the capped hole in the wall where the stove pipe had gone through. Grandma had switched to a gas stove, but the woodstove was there, ready to be put back into service if it was needed.
A few lawn chairs were stored there, as well as the spring-cot and rolled mattress grandpa set up under the maple tree to take naps during the summer. There was more in the shed, tools and apparatus he had no idea what they were for.
His mind drifted, mining the long-buried memories. Something was different in his grandparents’ pump house. What, what was it? Like his, a pressure tank stood near the well casing. The pumps were different; his well had a submersible pump and his grandparents had a pump on a wood base beside the tank, but that wasn’t the memory he sought. There was something else that’d intrigued him when he was young. What was – that’s it. Grandpa had a hand pump bolted onto the well cap. It would take work, but even without electricity, Grandpa could still get water.
He had a sudden pang, wishing he’d spent more time with his grandparents and learned all he could about how they lived. But it was too late. They were both gone and so was his mom. So many resources had been right in front of him and he’d never taken advantage of it. And life didn’t grant do-overs. Looking back, he could kick himself for squandering the chance to mine their knowledge.
Absently, he scratched the dogs’ heads. “We can do this, guys. It’ll take baby steps, but we can do it. Hopefully, it’ll all be in time.”
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Post by texican on Feb 4, 2021 20:53:29 GMT -6
bret,
To late to acquire more info from the dead unless the grandparents and mom keep notebooks, cooking books, etc. Kev needs to do more searching.
A couple or more solar panels and batteries will help as would a little propane genset. Needs to test the stored food, acquire lamp oil, etc... Kev has a lot to learn, lots to acquire and needs help.
Tammy walked by him and will walk into his and the dogs' lives. Tammy has knowledge that Kev needs. Kev needs to wake up and court Tammy before it falls apart.
So much to do and so little time and money.
Thanks for the chapter.
Texican....
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remembergoliad
Member
if you send friend req on FB, message me too. I won't accept if I don't recognize you.
Posts: 158
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Post by remembergoliad on Feb 4, 2021 21:07:55 GMT -6
Great start, Bret! Thanks for the new story, interested in seeing where this one goes.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 4, 2021 21:10:37 GMT -6
My maternal grandparents didn't have the garden, but they kept chickens and they went to the Farmers' Market regularly for things to can. I remember my grandmother, my mother and an aunt in the kitchen at the Roper gas stove canning veggies. They also made sauerkraut in a big stoneware crock. Lots of biscuits and cornbread. Nothing fancy, but we never went hungry ;-)
Water? Very much depends on where you are. Our county's rainfall records go back decades and we could manage on just the water collected from 238 sqft of asphalt roof would provide us with 7 gallons/day year-round with the 250 gallon storage tank (yes, needs a lot of cleaning, but I have filters and activated carbon). Using 2 gallons/person/daily allows for 21 gallons/week for bathing. The current tank has been overgrown by the ivy so it's almost not recognizable. I think that might be called "lazy OpSec" ;-)
The "pre-filter" uses two 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels (one smelled of Mountain Dew when I got it ;-) The output from the overflow connection on barrel 1 goes to the bottom of barrel 2 and its overflow goes to the 250 gallon tank. Most of the roofing granules and other particulates settle out before they get to the big tank. The Sawyer Point Zero Two filters down to 0.02 microns which gets protozoa, bacteria and viruses. There's always the rocket stove for boiling water if I also want to do that. Based on the "40 gallon" rating of the basic Brita filter, 10lbs of activated carbon are good for filtering some X,000 or XX,000 gallons of water (don't have that reference at hand so you're relying on my memory).
Time to finish the tiling I started earlier...
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Post by solo on Feb 5, 2021 8:49:29 GMT -6
So many times that early in our lives we have these wonderful living examples, yet being young and invincible, we don't use or learn from those examples. Growing up the way I did, I lived a bunch of the examples, raising chickens, cows, hogs, growing the garden and watching my parents preserve anything and everything. Yet, I became a creature of the world and haven't been in that life for some odd three decades now. And still as I am on active duty, and thus somewhat of a Nomad, I am limited to small gardens at each stop. And you know what? I long for the simpler life. Even as I type this note on this evil contraption connected to the evil web.... Guess it is just me getting older.
Solo
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 5, 2021 11:29:58 GMT -6
The grandparents had a pantry under the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms, with lots of home-canned things on the shelves, alongside the grocery store canned goods. There was also a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen - if you don't recognize the term, Google can provide pictures. They always had a couple of kerosene lamps and probably a metal kerosene jug (no plastic bottles of "lamp oil" 65+ years ago ;-) There was a box of strike-anywhere matches in a metal holder on the wall next to the Roper gas stove - house heat was a gas floor furnace with the pilot light lit by a match held in a straightened coat hanger with a match-sized loop at the business end of the hanger. Yes, I was already curious about how things worked when I was in single digit ages and I helped my grandfather replace the electric motor on the home-built window fan (including the wiring changes for reversing the direction of motor rotation) when I was maybe 10 or so. I have kids "doing" in some of my stories because I "did" all sorts of things - possibly not a common set of learning opportunities?
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Post by udwe on Feb 5, 2021 13:47:14 GMT -6
Tis story keeps getting better and better!
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Post by bluefox2 on Feb 5, 2021 21:03:03 GMT -6
So many times that early in our lives we have these wonderful living examples, yet being young and invincible, we don't use or learn from those examples. Growing up the way I did, I lived a bunch of the examples, raising chickens, cows, hogs, growing the garden and watching my parents preserve anything and everything. Yet, I became a creature of the world and haven't been in that life for some odd three decades now. And still as I am on active duty, and thus somewhat of a Nomad, I am limited to small gardens at each stop. And you know what? I long for the simpler life. Even as I type this note on this evil contraption connected to the evil web.... Guess it is just me getting older. Solo Not necessarily older just wiser.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Feb 6, 2021 14:29:01 GMT -6
Having unsuccessfully married twice, women are nothing but trouble. put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car and close the lid. Wait 15 minutes and open the trunk. See which one is happy to see you. Ha Ha.....Cutter..... This is me too..... Having unsuccessfully married twice, MEN are nothing but trouble.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 6, 2021 15:57:45 GMT -6
Those two sound like a match ;-)
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Post by cutter on Feb 6, 2021 18:26:56 GMT -6
Kiwi, I agree with you. Men are always the problem.
Papa, I like you, but hush!
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 6, 2021 20:10:47 GMT -6
Wouldn't be the first match made in pawfiction ;-)
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Post by texican on Feb 7, 2021 0:29:51 GMT -6
pp2 now has a new title: PAW MATCH MAKER. Texican....
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Post by cutter on Feb 7, 2021 23:02:50 GMT -6
For the last time, HUSH! I'm not doing this foolishness again. I'm tired of buying houses I don't get to live in. I'm tired of starting over from scratch. Most importantly, I'm tired of hurting people in the process of getting my heart broken. I'm freaking D O N E, done!
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Post by kaijafon on Feb 8, 2021 11:55:15 GMT -6
Wouldn't be the first match nade in pawfiction ;-) true that!
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Post by bretf on Feb 8, 2021 19:05:37 GMT -6
Texican: thanks for always commenting! Yep, too late, one of the regrets I have of my grandparents. I often ask my parents questions but don’t get more than the knowledge they’ve already passed on. Yes, Kevin has to learn but where to start when struggling to get by. Remember: Thanks, always appreciated. BTW, in editing the Chad Smoke – Ashen Horse story, I recently went over the section where you provided me with such good information. Thanks again! Thanks, Papa. I never knew my paternal grandpa and never spent much time with my grandma or her second husband. You know those memories from youth, I recall my cousins telling me how g-ma sent them a $5 in their Christmas card. My siblings and I weren’t quite Charlie Brown but ours only contained $1. However, my maternal g-parents, were wonderful. I camped and fished with them. Irrigated and mowed the garden and lawn for them when they couldn’t any longer (when I could and all summer since they lived an hour’s drive away). And despite how uncool it was for a teen in high school, I cried like a baby when they passed and missed assignments and was in a funk for quite a while. Still, there was so much more I wish I’d learned from them. Your comment about kraut reminded me, Grandma had a kraut-cutter and a crock she used but I don’t remember eating any of the results. They were the ones with the basement that was so spooky when I was little, but later, I laughed at myself. In a deviation from real experiences, Grandma never used a pressure canner to my knowledge. Many years earlier, someone they knew had one blow up and inflict some pretty serious injuries. Mom grew up afraid of them, though Dad had been around them growing up. Mom was concerned when I started using one but after having her in the house a few times when I canned, she relaxed, slightly. Thanks for reminding me about rainwater collecting. I don’t think about it often as we get on average, 10 inches of water, with most of it falling in the winter. But I’ll definitely keep it in mind, so again, thanks. Ah, tilling. That’s a month and a half away, here. Although I do have hoops and plastic cover over a raised bed to see if the sun will heat the ground enough for germination. Solo, so true. So much to learn and we squander the chance. It sounds like you grew up much the same as I did. And like you, I long for the simpler life. I wonder now how I ever chose the career I did. Yep, older, and seeing what’s important. But that’s my opinion. Papa, the pantry, lamps, matches and holder sound like my memories of my grandparent’s house. (And Grandpa had a one-gallon steel gas can for the Kerosene.) But not the stove. There were no gas lines anywhere close to their house. (In an odd twist, in the last five years, several gas wells have been developed in the area they lived. But they weren’t operational in the 60’s and 70’s) They had a coal furnace, used until Grandpa had a hard time shoveling the hopper full. Then, Dad bought an oil furnace and we spent a weekend dismantling the coal stoker and setting up the oil furnace. Decades later, I can still remember the distinct smell of the coal fire, see the clinkers thrown out beside the garden, and hear Mom chewing me and my sister out for playing in the coal and getting our clothes black. Udwe, Bluefox, thanks much, and BF, I can’t speak for Solo, but I know I’m getting older but the jury’s still out on wiser. Cutter, Kiwi, Papa, Kaij, you’re all making me chuckle. And Cutter, I remember a Bobby Bare show I went to. He sang his song “Streets of Baltimore” and then told a story. One day he ran into the songwriter and he said, next time he thought he needed another wife, he’d just find a random woman and give her his house and save all the steps it took to get there. Thanks everyone. New chapter coming in a day or two.
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Post by cutter on Feb 8, 2021 19:46:34 GMT -6
I've actually said that
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