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Post by paulk on Aug 22, 2021 18:10:44 GMT -6
You do an excellent job of expressing in words emotions that each of us have felt. Thank you.
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Post by paulk on Aug 22, 2021 19:34:10 GMT -6
refresh, refresh, refresh
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 23, 2021 0:35:43 GMT -6
"You're still building a house for Becky? Why?"
"Cal, she'll find someone again. Have faith. Now, let's go see how they're doing on the basements."
Cal drove the K5 across the dam to the first building site. "Now, who's house will this be?"
"Becky's. What is that they're building?"
"Looks like a frame. They're probably going to cover it in tarps and run space heaters under it to keep the concrete from freezing until it cures."
They drove to the other site and they were basically mirroring the work from the first site. They got out to check the work..
"Hey Cal!"
"Hey Bill. How's it going?
"Like clockwork. We're throwing up a tarp frame to keep the concrete warm while it cures."
Cal smirked at Siobhan who in turn, stuck her tongue out at him.
There wasn't much else to see so they headed back to the house.
Are we going to be able to put the houses on the RanchNET?" Siobhan asked.
"As soon as the ground thaws up. I know you have no idea what I'm talking about, but I bought a ripper and pipe layer for the tractor. We'll run a communications cable out there."
"What about water, I know about the power."
"Right out of the lake, Of course, it will be run through a filtering and purification system. It will be better than the 'pristine' city water in Grand Junction."
As they were entering the house, Siobhan's phone rang.
"Mrs. Coleman, this is Carl Berger of Berger and Shultz Advertising returning my call."
"Yes Mr. Berger."
"I was wondering if you had given our proposal any consideration."
"Yes Mr. Berger, we've have. Amy would like to give it a try."
"Excellent! Could you meet with us in my offices on Bay street at your convenience?"
"Well, Amy is in school every day. Would it be possible to meet on Saturday Morning?"
"That would be perfect. Would 10:00 fit your schedule?"
"That would be fine Mr. Berger."
"Very well. I look forward to meeting with you Saturday morning at 10:00. Good bye"
"Good bye Mr. Berger."
"PATIENT COMING IN!"
Donald came out of his office. "What" Who?"
"Dec Cunningham is bring Maddy in by chopper. She's in Labor."
Carla ran to grab the gurney out of the ambulance with Ted on her heels. They took the gurney out back of the clinic.
They heard the helicopter before they saw it. Then it appeared.
"GO STRAIGHT OUT TO THE HELICOPTER! DEC WON'T LOWER THE RPMS AND WILL KEEP THE BLADES UP. WE PUT HER ON THE GURNEY AND GET HER OUT OF THE WAY!" Ted yelled.
Dec came barreling in, quickly flared, then softly settled on the skids, just as Ted said he would. They got Maddy on the gurney and rushed her into the clinic.
Doc checked her as soon as she entered the exam room. She was currently dilated to 5 cm. For birth, she needed to reach 10. Lisa stayed with Maddy when Donald left the room. Donald went out in the waiting room as Dec barreled through the door.
"Easy hombre!" Donald said, throwing up his hands. "She fine, but not ready yet. Sit and calm down for a second. Take a few deep breaths.
Emilia came in with a small suitcase.
"Christine, would you take Emilia in and get her scrubbed and gowned?"
Emilia followed Christine through a door.
"Now, Dec, Maddy has dilated to 5 cm. She still has some time before she gives birth. I don't want you to go in there all excited, As soon as you have settled down, we'll get you scrubbed and gowned.
Three hours later, Dec and Maddy were proud parents of a baby girl. Shawna Elizabeth Cunningham.
Dale Anderson called Siobhan.
"Siobhan, we've got the contract ironed out. I've got a meeting scheduled for you and Cal to sign it on Tuesday."
"Okay, Thanks Dale. How did it end up?"
"You got it just the way you wanted it."
Amy's first project was for a jewelry store account. They described the scene they wanted and Amy took notes. She kept asking them to repeat something and finally Siobhan stepped in.
"Stop!" Siobhan pulled out her phone and selected the voice recording app and pressing record.
"You may continue."
At the end of the meeting, they had everything recorded.
Before they went home, Cal stopped by a store and bought a small Sony voice recorder with a micro SD chip for Amy. When they got back to the Ranch, Siobhan used the recorder to duplicate what had been recorded on her phone. Amy listened to the recorder and quickly understood how to operate it. She went into the art room and began drawing, occasionally listening to the recording.
One of the people that Cal had on the lookout for merchandise sold in bulk contacted him about a railroad car full of merchandise from a train derailment. Cal bought it sight unseen and had it shipped to the Ranch. There was almost two trailer loads of it, palletized and in boxes. It had been a while since he had bought something like this. Cal told Charlie and Gary to leave it alone. He would go through it and tell them know when he had something to inventory. Usually, what he didn't keep, he would haul to an elderly lady who made her living in flea markets. She would get 60% off a 60/40 split. You can only keep so many toaster ovens and boxes of plus sized clothing for women.
In an empty area on Level 3, Gary had placed the pallets for Cal to go through when he had 'thinkin time' to do. There were a number of things that brought Cal was down there today. Becky was flying home for the weekend, dredging up Pat's senseless death, the current political situation, the rising crime in the Grand Junction area…many things preyed on his mind. He needed some quiet time.
Cal was going through some boxes of kitchen utensils, deciding what to keep for future use themselves, what to keep for future barter, and what to send to the flea market, when Becky silently came up.
"Need some help Daddy?"
"Sure. Go through that box there."
In times past, she had helped him do just this thing. They silently went through their boxes. He stopped when he quit hearing noise from her. Standing up, he turned, only to see her staring down at a pair of gloves in her hand, silently crying.
Cal walked over to Becky, gently took the gloves from her hand and held her in his arms. He released her and led the crying young woman over to the wall and sat down, pulling her onto his lap, cradling her in his arms.
"Over the years, I have lost loved ones through circumstances beyond my control. Each one, heart-wrenching. Slowly, I would overcome the grief, only to be pulled back into a pool of despair caused by hearing a song, or finding something lost long ago and found, or even in a moment of déjà vu. No matter what the circumstances, it hurts just as much as the first time. Slowly, I began realizing that every time that happened, I came out stronger, slowly healing the wounds. Soon, I began to remember the happy times we had together, and not the grief of loss. You begin realizing there's still happiness out there in the world and you hunger to seek it.
Baby Doll, I have a lot of painful yesterdays but you have a lot of promising tomorrows…"
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Post by gipsy on Aug 23, 2021 7:54:18 GMT -6
Good morning.
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Post by paulk on Aug 23, 2021 12:41:38 GMT -6
refresh
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Post by sniper69 on Aug 24, 2021 8:00:38 GMT -6
ncsfsgm - Thankyou for this excellent story. You have a great way of helping the reader to understand Becky's emotions with the loss of Pat.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 24, 2021 13:41:15 GMT -6
Siobhan had the builder combine the crews on the two houses as much as they could to get Bill's house completed before he graduated. Becky was attending a summer session to finish her degree. Toward the completion, Siobhan shang hai'd every hot body on the Ranch to move food, furniture, bedding….everything that goes into making a livable house. Cal rescued two or three by improving the road from the dam to the houses and swearing to Siobhan it was necessary for the continuation of freedom in the free world.
Gabby was knees deep into the preparations also. Jacque and Cal hid out as much as they could but were tracked down time and again. Francine got where she was just as bossy as Siobhan. The first weekend Becky got involved, you could see her slowly coming out of her shell. Everyone was cautiously optimistic.
Everyone was excited as Bill's graduation date drew nearer. The date fell within Becky's Spring Break so she would be able to attend also. She would meet them there. In lieu of enduring the 5 ½ hour drive to the school Siobhan, insisted Cal fly them there. Alice was more than willing to look after the kids. Cal agreed; it was easy enough to have a rental waiting at the FBO.
Cal would borrow Matt's TBM for the trip, but he was getting tired of borrowing faster planes. The Otter had served it's purpose, but after flying the TBM, when he flew the Otter he felt like he needed to get out and push. After the graduation, he'd see about finding something faster.
Cal, Siobhan, Amy and Gabby met Becky outside the Academy and convoyed in. Amy was taking pictures of different subjects the entire time. Sitting there with nothing else to do but wait, Cal opened his graduation program. Listed were awardees of the class. He choked up on what he read.
Outstanding Cadet in Aeronautical Engineering IMO
William R. Coleman SFC William J. Hannon USASFC Fallujah, Iraq He didn't know Bill was going to do this. Bill Hannon had willed him the Ranch and in a way, helped get his family to this point. That's the way of life, he guessed. Hard men die so that others could live free.
After the lengthy ceremonies, all 700 cadets threw their hats into the air. They were graduates. Cal and his family made their way toward the field and finally, like a bloodhound, Gabby found Bill. They all hugged and congratulated him on his award and graduation. Amy took as many pictures as she could. Eventually, Bill had other things to do and had to attend to them. The Coleman family walked back to their vehicle and said good bye to Becky and took Gabby to a hotel where she would wait for Bill's departure in the morning. He was granted leave time, so he was coming home before having to report to Pueblo.
Cal turned in the rental keys at the FBO and loaded his girls on the TBM. A little over an hour later they landed at the Ranch.
Bill and Gabby showed up a couple of days later, just in time for dinner. It didn't take long for Siobhan to spot the diamond Gabby was nonchalantly sporting. Her squeal could be heard throughout the house, bring everyone hurring to her. After dinner, Bill sat with Cal in the Great Room talked about his reasons for the engagement.
"Dad, with the exception of you and Mom, and it really is a toss-up, Gabby is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is my anchor. As for my goals, they haven't changed, she has become my catalyst for wanting to achieve them. I want to do my time in service and come back here and turn the 'Test and Evaluation Center' into something. As for getting married, that's up to Gabby. She'll know the time. She knows how I feel."
"Well, Bill, I and your Mother are behind you 100%. Whatever we can do to support you on this end, just let us know."
Gabby and Siobhan came in. Gabby was so excited she was ready to pop.
"Billy, we have something to show you." Gabby said, almost bouncing on her heels. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of his chair. Siobhan got a light jacket and Gabby led them to an EV and drove everyone out toward the lake. The closer they got the more road improvements Bill was seeing. As they were crossing the dam, Bill spotted the houses.
"What's this?" Bill asked. Gabby just smiled and kept driving. They passed the drive to the first house and continued on. Pulling up to the second house, Gabby came to a stop in front of the 3-car garage.
Gabby got out and Bill came around to stand with her. Gabby took his hand and looked up.
"Welcome home."
Bill looked into her shiny eyes, then over to his smiling parents.
"Billy, while you are off attaining your goals, this is where I will wait for you. I will always wait for you."
Bill looked like he was about to become emotional. He drew Gabby into his arms and hugged her. They held the embrace for a few seconds until Gabby broke away.
"You must see inside!"
"She pulled Bill up the steps and across the porch, opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Bill to enter. Bill stepped across the threshold and walked slowly inside, looking around. It looked as though someone was already living there. There were those little curios a woman would display placed around and doilies laying under lamps and vases. In the fireplace were the remnants of a fire that had warmed the room. A glance through the opening to the kitchen showed a dish towel neatly folded, laying on the granite counter. Gabby showed him through the house, showing him the amenities.
"What do you think?" Gabby asked.
"With you here, it feels like home." Bill smiled.
Bill turned to his parents. "I know you had some great input to this. Thanks."
Becky could see the airfield in the distance and called the tower.
"Hotel Tango Romeo this is November six zero five Alpha Delta, requesting landing instructions."
"Five Alpha Delta, you getting fancy on us, Becky? Come on in. Winds 285 at 5. Clear to steer."
Becky grinned. Mike was feeling frisky today. She came in from the south and floated in. She taxied over to the hangar and sat for a minute filling out her log. She closed her log and got out, taking her bag out. A guy walked out of the hangar and was coming toward her.
"Becky, I need your log book."
"And who are you? Wait, you're the guy from…"
"Yes, I'm sorry for your loss. I'm Craig Jensen. "I'm Cal's Aircraft Mechanic. I've been checking maintenance logs and you should be coming up for a 100-hour oil change. I just wanted to check your pilot's log against it.
She looked at him a moment, the went and retrieved the log.
"Thank you, I'll put it back in the plane when I'm finished."
Craig turned and walked away. Becky watched him for a second then went to grab an EV from the shed.
"ANYBODY HOME!"
Amy came out of the art room, Brigid, Kaitlin, Evan, and Grady came from the Rec Room, and Alice peeped out from the Kitchen.
"Where's Momma and Daddy?
"They went with Gabby to show Billy the house."
"Oh."
"Come. I want to show you my painting."
Becky followed Amy into the art room. Sitting on the easel was a partial painting of a couple, Amy was working on a raised hand between the couple, working on the flesh tones.
"What are you going for here Amy?"
"This will be Gabby and Billy. He'll be in his uniform. Gabby is standing close to him, her hand raised slightly with them looking at the engagement right he's given her. I'm going to put a tear right there."
"Amy, that's wonderful! I can't wait until you finish it!"
"Becky, are you all right?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I heard Momma and Daddy talking and she said you are sad."
"Well, I have been sad, but I'm doing better now. You go ahead and get back to painting. I'm going to go put my bags in my room."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 24, 2021 13:45:07 GMT -6
Gabby was driving them back to Siobhan's house when they saw Joshua pull over and signaling them to stop.
"What's up Joshua?" Cal called out.
"You get some free time, stop by. Nothin' pushin'."
"All right. I'll stop by tomorrow."
Gabby continued on. When they pulled up to the house Cal noticed the EV. He knew the EV was from the airfield shed. He'd put it there yesterday.
They walked into the house and Brigid came running from the direction of the Rec Room, arms extended out like she was an airplane, zoomed toward her Daddy.
"NO RUNNING IN THE HOUSE, YOUNG LADY! Siobhan scolded, trying hard to be serious.
"Where's Becky, Brigid?" Cal asked.
Brigid pointed toward the bedrooms and wiggled to be let down.
"How did you know she was here?" Siobhan asked
"Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary."
Bill grinned. Ah! Now it comes out! Dad never read Conan Doyle books, only watched the movies. That phrase only came out later in the Sherlock Holmes' films."
"They wasted our taxpayer dollars teaching you that at the Academy?"
Bill laughed. "No, I learned that from casual research in my earlier years."
Becky walked into the Great Room. "Hi Guys!"
Siobhan hugged her. "You look tired, Sweety."
"I have had my nose buried in the books and working on a project. It helps me… you know."
"Well, don't work yourself sick!"
"Oh no, Momma. It's exhilarating! I may have found a way to make a kind of plastic that won't melt under extreme heat. There would be a myriad of applications it could be used for."
"Don't they already have something like that?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, but it starts breaking down at 1800 degrees Celsius."
"Okay, okay, enough shop talk. I've had a beef stew in the slow cooker all day that should be ready and a loaf of bread dough that's been thawing. Let me bake the bread and we can have an early dinner." Siobhan said
"I'll help, Momma." Becky said.
Alice had already put the bread in the oven and placed a stack of serving bowls on the counter. "I set the timer. Alice said."
"Okay, thanks. Why don't you take off early, Alice?"
"Okay, thanks."
Siobhan peeked at the bread, added some water to a bowl and placed in on the rack under the loaf, then sat down at the breakfast bar with Becky.
"I've always seen you put the water in the oven with the bread. Why do you do that?" Becky asked.
"It makes a hard crust. It soaks up the juices so good!" Siobhan said.
"How long are you staying?" She asked Becky.
"I'll go back Sunday Afternoon."
"Are you REALLY doing okay?"
"Yes Momma. I'm still a little numb, but really, the workload really helped a lot."
"Your Retreat is finished. It needs to be furnished."
"Momma, I don't want to deal with that right now. Don't do anything else. Maybe…"
"Okay, I won't do anything else."
"Momma, at this time, I need to let my brain rest doing mundane things. With the culmination of my project coming up, I can't afford to have a brain fart."
"The timer dinged and Siobhan checked the bread. "Five minutes. "I'll pull the bread out then, let it cool for ten minutes, then we'll be ready.
When the timer dinged again, Siobhan pulled the large round loaf of bread out of the oven and sat it on a cooling rack on the counter. The two women begin filling glasses with ice for iced tea for the adults and pour milk in glasses for the kids.
"Tell the kids to get washed up." Siobhan said.
Gabby and Becky got the kids rounded up to wash their hands. Bill and Cal came in to help get the kids seated. Siobhan began breaking off small chunks off the loaf for the kids."
"YEOW! THAT'S HOT!"
"I'll do that Siobhan" Cal said. He put a small chunk of bread on the bread plates of the kids and broke of larger chunks for the adults. Gabby helped butter the bread for the kids.
After saying grace, the hubbub died down and the family enjoyed their meal.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 24, 2021 13:45:57 GMT -6
The next morning Cal went down to Joshua's house. Aggie told him that Joshua was working on something up at the shop. When he got there, Joshua was making some adjustments on the press.
"Mornin' Joshua."
"Mornin' Cal."
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Well, Minnie Jacobs had to put Oscar into a care facility... Alzheimer's…."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, well, Minnie is a proud woman. She needs money but won't take charity. She's got about six buildings out there filled with stuff that Oscar has collected over the years. She asked me if I wanted to come out and look over things and see if there was something I just couldn't do without."
"What do you think?"
"Well, Oscar was particular in what he bought. He didn't buy junk. Some people might of considered it junk but it won't. I think it'd be worth it."
"Well, let's go take a look."
Joshua put his tools up and washed his hands. In the meantime, Cal called Siobhan and told her where he was going.
It was 15 long miles to the Jacob's homestead. When they got there, Minnie was one the porch with an old dog laying beside her. The dog didn't even acknowledge them.
"Mornin' Miss Minnie."
"Mornin' Joshua." She squinted at Cal. "You Cal Coleman, aren't ya?
"Yes ma'am."
"Yep. I seen ya around a time or two. Ya'll come to look at the stuff?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Well, ya'll have at it. My hip is bothering me a titch this mornin' and I'll just stay here. "
"That's fine Miss Minnie. Oscar has a lot of stuff to go through."
"Ya'll take ya time."
They walked toward the first building, about 100 feet away.
"Why did you start talking like that, Joshua?"
"Some people expect it Cal. Just like you were probably trained. Change to fit the situation, blend in."
They opened the double doors on the first building.
"Whoa! Cal, look at this! Sitting along the wall were four hit-and-miss engines. A Fairbanks-Morse, a John Deere, an International Harvester, and a Field Force. Cal looked them over with his flashlight.
"They looked to be fully restored. I can use these."
They looked over the larger stuff and didn't really find anything else. They could check the boxes later. They closed the doors and went to the second building. The sunlight streamed in as they opened the large doors.
"Holy…"
Sitting there was a portable steam engine. Once used to power threshers and such, It could be moved by horses from field to field. The boiler looked to be around five or six hundred gallons."
"Cal, that could drive a generator head." Joshua commented.
"Yeah, but wood could get expensive and your burning coal in the forge puts out enough dirty smoke."
"That's another thing I want to talk to you about. Do you know you have a large deposit of carbonite on the West side of the Greer place?"
"Carbonite. I've heard the name but…"
"It's natural coke. Somehow, a coal seam caught fire and smoldered without oxygen…probably for years. It produced coke, much more clean burning than coal. I could use it in the forge and you could use it to burn in the engine as backup power."
Cal nodded and thought. "We'd have to mine the carbonite."
"Hand it over to Raygun. I bet he'll figure out a way to open it up."
Cal added the steam engine to his list, along with the hit-and miss engines. There were also parts that looked like they might belong to a steam engine and various tools. Cal added them to his list too.
In the third building it looked like Oscar had dedicated it to old tractor related items.
"What about this tractor?" Joshua asked.
A restored 1936 John Deer 'B' model sat in the middle of the building.
"The problem with farming with antique tractors are the parts to maintain them. Parts from a dozen tractors were probably used to restore this one. We bought our big tractors used, but only after looking at the maintenance histories of those models and buying up parts to maintain them for years. We won't have to go looking and ordering when something breaks."
The fourth building was filled with antique home wares. Cal did pick out a couple of kraut crocks with lids. He like smoked sausages with kraut. There was also a hand-turned cabbage chopper and box of interesting butter molds. They'd look at the other things later. Maybe he'd bring Siobhan over with him. The fifth and sixth buildings had home furnishings. He'd let the women go over that stuff.
They walked back to the house to find Minnie still sitting on the porch.
"Well, Miss Minnie, we found a few things"
Four hit and miss engines Portable steam engine and parts 2 Kraut crocks 12 butter molds
"I'll give you $50,000 for the bunch."
"Land sakes! Is that old stuff worth that much?"
"It is to me. Do you want cash or check?"
"Cash, of you can get it, then."
"We'll be back over on Monday to pick the things up and bring the cash then. Do you mind if I brought my wife over to look at things in the building."
"Shucks no! Bring her on over!"
"Okay ma'am," Cal said, tipping his hat, "we'll see you on Monday then."
Cal and Joshua got in the truck and headed home.
"What do you think, Joshua?"
"I really don't know what one of those steam engines would go for, but it all sounds about right."
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Post by gipsy on Aug 24, 2021 17:16:53 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Did I catch a bit of interest in Becky's future?
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Post by paulk on Aug 24, 2021 17:43:30 GMT -6
Thank you!
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Post by udwe on Aug 24, 2021 21:08:51 GMT -6
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by paulk on Aug 25, 2021 11:31:02 GMT -6
Next please.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 25, 2021 22:26:49 GMT -6
Siobhan invited the Hatleys and the Shaners over for a cookout on Sunday afternoon. It was really the first Spring day that it had been comfortable to be on the patio without the heaters. Cal had made the steak pinwheels again and was going to cook Elk steaks over charcoal using home-made charcoal.
Ben had studied making charcoal and, with the help of his father, had built a kiln six feet across with a lid. It took him a couple of ash-filled kilns before he got it perfected. Joshua laughed, talking about Ben's experiences.
"I thought that boy was black, but he was blacker than a coal miner's butt when he got through sorting that charcoal out!"
The charcoal turned out great so Cal had paper sacks ordered and informed Ben he could sell the charcoal at the market and the profits were his, minus the cost of the firewood he used. They all sat down at the big patio table and had their meal.
"How is school, Becky?" Helen asked.
"It's going fine. I'm really enjoying it."
"Oh, Becky, Craig called and your oil has been changed." Cal said.
"Okay. Tell him thanks."
"Jim, you wouldn't believe what I found yesterday. Four hit and miss engines and a steam engine."
Why the hell do you need a steam engine?"
I can hook a generator head to it and use it as backup to recharge the battery banks.."
"That would work." Jim nodded.
"Where'd you find those?"
"Oscar Jacob's place. His wife, Minnie had to put him into a care facility. She's selling off some things to pay bills. I'm taking Siobhan over there on Monday to look at some things."
"Oh! Siobhan, can Mary and I go over with you? We love looking through things!"
"Take some cash with you." Cal said.
Becky kissed her Mother and Father and carried her bag down to the EV. Placing her bags in the back, she headed to the airfield. As she drove up to the hangar, she noticed the plane had been turned around. Dropping her bags off next to the plane, she returned the EV to the shed then walked back to the plane. Becky put her bags in the storage area and noticed her logbook was laying on the seat and a folded note taped to the stick. Taking the note off, she unfolded it and read:
"Sorrow comes in great waves… but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain." Henry James
She read it once again, folded it back up and slipped it into her logbook.
On Monday, Cal, Shay, and Dennis took the Unimog, towing a tilt-bed vehicle trailer, to the Jacobs' homestead. Siobhan, Gabby, Hellen and Mary followed in two other vehicles.
Cal stopped in the yard and went up on the porch and knocked on the door. Minnie opened the door and recognized Cal with a smile.
"Miss Minnie, we've come to pick up the engines and other things. Here his what we agreed on. Cal handed her a large envelope containing five currency straps of one hundred dollar bills.
"My! That's a lot of money!."
"If my wife has anything to do with it, She'll have some more for you. You don't mind them looking through the buildings, do you?"
"Heck no! You tell them to spend all they can!" Minnie closed the door, cackling.
Using the work crane on the Unimog, they loaded the hit and miss engines into the bed of the truck. After chocking the wheels and strapping the engines down, they then backed the trailer up to the opened doors of the steam engine building. Attaching the wench cable to the steam engine, they slowly winched the engine onto the tilted bed. Shay had wheel chocks ready. Slowly, the bed tilted to level and Shay chocked the wheels and Dennis locked the bed down and they began strapping the load. Cal told them he'd stay here a while and to park the truck and trailer under the equipment barn.
Cal walked to the building he'd told the women to start with and looked in the door. Their faces were smudged with dust opening boxes, looking for treasures. There were several things laid aside he assumed were their selections.
"Siobhan? Do you need me to stick around?"
Siobhan turned to him. "No, I don't think so. We may be a while."
"Okay, do you have enough money?" Cal grinned.
Siobhan held out her hand and Cal pulled all the bills out of his wallet and handed them to her. Shaking his head he went and got in his truck.
When Cal got back, he rounded up Darryl and Joshua to go look at the carbonite deposit. They rode over to Dale's in Cal's truck and walked the1/4 mile back in to the deposit. Darryl looked around and said he could blast it out and use the excavator to break it up. They would have to build a road back in there but it was to be seen just how much the deposit held. Cal told Darryl to take charge of the project. Before he did any blasting though, he needed to warn Dale because it might spook the horses. When they got back, got with Dennis and Shay and told them to work with Darryl on scraping out a road to the carbonite deposit and then went looking for Barry.
"Barry, I've got an idea I need some help with."
He took Barry down to the equipment barn and showed him the steam engine and explained his idea.
"Yeah, that can work. I can wire it in. Why don't we set it up down near the Processing House and run it when they use the flash freezer instead of the 30 Kw? We have that head that came off the generator with the blown motor we can use."
"Sounds like a plan. Pick out a spot and we can build a 3-sided shelter for it with enough room to store a truck load of coke under shelter."
"Will do. I need to go into town to get a some things to make this Rube Goldberg contraption work "
"I'm not in a hurry. I want to build a concrete floor so the metal wheels aren't setting directly on the ground."
"Do we have rebar?"
"Yeah . Check the building supply shed. I know Joshua ordered a load last month I'll get you some more workers.
Becky stared at the screen. She passed. Not that she had worried. Everything seemed to click into place. The professor had helped her fill out the patent paperwork and got the patent lawyer look it over and submit it. The last few weeks hand been demanding, but fulfilling. Nevertheless, she still felt an emptiness in her life. She needed to start work with Bryan as soon as she could. Staying busy seem to help.
Cal, Siobhan and Gabby, along with Brent and Della Chason flew up in Cal's new plane, a Piper M600 for the graduation. It was a little overkill but it was fast…almost twice as fast as the Otter. He could take off and be at Centennial in 45 minutes. Becky was coming back to the Ranch right after graduation. What she couldn't fit in her Tahoe, Cal would take back on the plane. Gabby was going to ride back with Becky and Brent, Della and Erin would fly back with Cal.
When they got to the condo, Becky and Erin were doing some last-minute cleaning and had their things packed and stacked in the den.
"Did you clean the fridge Becky?"
"Yes Momma. I left some bottled water and sodas in there. I gave the frozen stuff to a neighbor."
"Siobhan and Della walked around, giving a Mother's inspection to everything."
"Shouldn't you two be getting ready?"
"The ceremony isn't until 2:00, and besides all I'm wearing under the gown is a T-shirt and shorts." Becky said.
"Dad, I called the cleaning service, like you said. They gave me a key box to hang on the door. They'll come in once a month to do any cleaning that needs to be done."
"Okay, good."
"What are you going to do with the condo?" Siobhan asked Cal when Becky went in to get her gown.
"Although she is showing no interest right now, I think Becky will come back for graduate school. She just needs some time."
They all traveled to the auditorium in Becky's Tahoe. Tears misted Cal and Siobhan's eyes as Becky walked across the stage, streams of memories and montages of images flashing in their minds. Their baby was facing a new world.
When they got back to the condo, They began loading Becky's Tahoe. When the baggage level reached the bottom of the tailgate window, Cal wouldn't Let her pack any more.
"You need to have a clear view out the back." Cal said.
They loaded everything else of the two girls in the van Cal had rented.
Cal and Siobhan hugged Becky and Gabby and told them to be careful.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 25, 2021 22:28:02 GMT -6
Cal drove back to the FBO and they loaded the plane. After getting everything, and everyone on board, Cal did his walk-around and climbed aboard. Finishing his checklist, he got permission to taxi and was given permission and was given directions. Once Cal was centered on the threshold, he advanced the throttle and began rolling. When he reached his V2, he pulled gently back on the yoke and left the runway. Retracting the landing gear, he continued on the flightpath given by the tower. Reaching the outer limits, he was given permission to climb to 5000 feet and continue his flight plan.
"This plane seems faster than your old plane was, Cal." Brent commented.
"It is. Almost twice as fast." Cal replied.
"This plane is amazing. It can even land itself. The plane can sense if Cal were to become incapacitated and land itself!. Siobhan added.
"I hope it picks an airfield!" Brent replied.
They soon arrived at the Ranch and helped the Chasons unload Erin's things. Cal got Becky's things loaded in the K5 and they went to the house.
"He knew it was coming so he went right into his study and turned on his computer. Calling up the tracking screen in the Monitoring Room, he located Becky's Tahoe nearing Copper Mountain Resort.
He returned to the Great Room and opened a bottle of wine and poured Siobhan a glass.
"I wonder where she is now?" Siobhan muttered.
Cal looked at his watch. "She should be passing Copper Mountain Resort just about now." Cal replied. Her phone rang. It was Gabby. They talked for a few seconds and broke the call.
"They were passing Copper Mountain Resort. How do you do that?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"My superior navigation skills and analytical mind." Cal said smugly.
"Yeah, right. Do you want something to eat?"
"I'll fix a sandwich. I think I'll fry up some bacon for a BLT. You want one?
"Yes." Answered Siobhan. "And maybe a cup of vegetable soup to go with it."
"As your pleasure, Madam."
Becky and Gabby arrived around 10:00 PM. She only took her computer and her overnight bag out of the Tahoe. She'd unload the rest in the morning.
"Are you two hungry?" Siobhan asked.
"No, we stopped at a drive-through and got a sandwich. Anyway, I want to be ready to eat a big breakfast in the morning." Becky grinned.
"Gabby, are you going to stay at the house tonight?"
"Yes, I think so. Papa and Francine seem to require more and more 'alone' time. I think perhaps he'll ask her to marry him soon. I may just go ahead and move in."
"Well good for them!" Siobhan said.
"Well, I'm going to turn in Momma. I'll see you in the morning."
Becky kissed her Father and Mother good night and went to her room.
"Did she say anything one the way down, Gabby?" Siobhan asked.
"Not too much, but I feel she is very much better."
"Cal, Siobhan . May I move my planes to the airfield?"
"Of course you can!"
"On that note, when are you going to Centennial to get Becky's plane, Cal?"
"When she is ready. Soon, I'm sure." Cal replied.
Siobhan was cooking bacon and eggs and Cal was making blueberry pancakes when Becky came in, talking on her phone.
"Get over here right now! My mouth is watering from the smells! Okay, see you in a bit."
"Gabby is on her way. This smells so GOOD! I was dreaming about breakfast last night."
Becky poured a cup of coffee and sat at the breakfast bar and watched her parents.
"I've missed this. How's Billy doing?"
"He's doing great!" Call replied. "Of course, ground school was old hat to him. He's just trying to fly like they want him to."
"Has Gabby had a chance to fly up there?"
"Not yet. He really hasn't had that much time off. He's flying T-6s right now. When he transitions to T-38s, he'll have more time off."
Gabby walked in and immediately grabbed a cup of coffee. "Good morning."
"Good morning Gabby!"
Gabby sat at the bar and sipped her coffee.
"Hey Gab, want to fly me up to Centennial to pick up my STOL?"
Gabby's eyes brightened. "Sure! When do want to go?"
"Let's go after breakfast. I want to get the plane back here and fly more."
"Hey! This gives me a chance to bring my two planes over here. We could fly them over here then I could fly you to Centennial!"
"Dad, could you fly us over in the helicopter?"
"Sure, now eat your breakfasts." Cal said, setting the platter of pancakes on the bar.
Siobhan added the bacon and eggs and went to get the kids washed up.
The two girls wolfed down their breakfast and Cal took his time, aggravating an anxious Becky. Finally, he got up to rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher.
"Ready?"
They rode to the airfield in an EV and found Craig draining the engine oil out of the S-70.
They came to a stop by the helicopter.
Craig stood up from a squat when he noticed them.
"What's up?"
"I was going to use the 70 to run these two over to Jacques to bring Gabby's two planes over here."
"I can run them over."
"Okay, thanks." Cal said.
Craig went over and washed his hands and went out to the MD600 to take the tie-down off the rotor blades. He did his preflight and yelled over to the girls, "You coming?"
Gabby and Becky got in the back and Craig started the turbine. He soon hover-taxied over to the runway and took off, flying a beeline to the winery. In less than ten minutes he landed on the apron of the hangar and the girls jumped out, thanking him. As soon as they were clear, he headed back to HTR.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 25, 2021 22:28:57 GMT -6
The girls used the tug to move the two aircraft out on the apron and did their pre-flights. Gabby took off first. She was already parked at the airfield when Becky landed. Becky taxied to the parking area, turned around and parked with the wings over the tie-down anchor points. Gabby helped her quickly tie the plane down and got into the Cirrus, taxied to the runway, and took off.
Gabby grinned. "Oh-h-h-h, that is one hot mechanic!"
Becky sat in her seat and glanced over the instrument display.
When Becky got back from Centennial, she was quiet for the next couple of days, she did talk to Bryan and John and she showed them her research papers and a sample of the plastic. They told her to take off until the end of the month to relax and settle in.
Finally, she went to her Mother.
"Momma, will you take me over to the house?"
Siobhan, knowing what house she meant, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Of course, Sweety."
They took an EV over to Becky's house. Becky got out and mounted the steps. Hesitantly, she opened the door.
The difference in air temperature enveloped Becky as she stepped over the threshold and entered her future sanctuary from the world. It felt…..comfortable. She walked through the house and noted things she would get to furnish the house, taking pictures with her phone as she went. First would be her bedroom. Then she would outfit the Kitchen, Dining area and Living areas would be next. But again, there was an office area she would need to get outfitted also. The spare bedrooms could wait.. With all the windows, there was great lighting so she wanted to keep the furniture light colored also.
Siobhan watched her as she walked through the ranch style log home. She was happy to see Becky was thinking and planning.
"Want to go furniture shopping? Siobhan asked?"
"Yes, I think so. I need to get the bedroom and kitchen furnished at a minimum."
"Honey, I hope you don't mind, but I kind of already bought a lot of things for your house already."
Becky smiled and hugged Siobhan. "I forgive you Momma."
"John, let's get a battery mold turned out on the CNC. This plastic of Becky's just may revolutionize the manufacture of batteries for years to come. I want to build a battery case and see what happens when we overheat it."
"I agree, Bryan. I'll get Geoff and the men right on it."
"Dale, we're going in five minutes."
"Roger, I'm ready."
"Raygun" nodded to Dennis, who gave the airhorn three long blasts. Darryl counted down and removed the safety bale on the blasting device and pushed the button. There was a loud "WH-H-U-U-M-M-M-P-P-P", the ground lifting about a foot and settling back down again and a small cloud of dust.
""THAR SHE BLOWS! See Cal! Slicker than possum fat on a hillbilly's jaws!. Darryl did his little happy dance in a little circle.
"Dennis! Run that excavator down there and start digging. You shouldn't have anything bigger than a softball down there."
Dennis started moving the excavator to the blast site while Shay was positioning a dump truck to be loaded with the natural coke.
Cal keyed his radio. "Dale, everything all right down there?"
"Yeah Cal. Horses only raised their ears."
Cal got in his truck and drove back to Jonah's blacksmith shop and parked out of the way. Ben was there waiting with a ToolCat that had a combo bucket attached, near a concrete holding bin had been constructed by the building to hold the coke. Ben was going to use the ToolCat to move any spillage. Fifteen minutes later, Shay drove up, skillfully backed up to the bin and dumped the load into the bin. The bin was full, but so little had spilled out that Ben and Joshua just picked up the few pieces and tossed them onto the pile. Cal nodded.
He walked down to the shed that covered the steam engine and took a look at the bin chute that had been constructed by Joshua to load the bin. It folded down and a door covered the opening when not in use. They now had it up in place, waiting for the first bucket load of coke to go sliding down into the bin. Ben and Joshua came down, Ben driving the ToolCat.
"Looks good, Joshua." Cal said.
"We'll see, Cal. Haven't tried it out yet, but it should work. Ben! Park that thing over there out of the way!"
"I reckon you've figured out this other bin. We needed some place to dump the load where it could be scooped up without getting dirt and gravel in when we loaded the chute."
"I figured as much. I hear Shay coming."
Shay pulled up, backed the dump truck up to the bin and dumped the load. Ben cranked the ToolCat and scooped up the first bucket. Dropping it in the hopper, it traveled down the chute, through the opening on the side of the shed and dropped into the bin. Cal walked around the side of the building and watched the process. In just a few minutes, Ben had the outside bin emptied and the inside bin full.
Barry came down and started a fire in the boiler, actually, he loaded coke into the boiler and used a propane torch to get the coke burning. Thirty minutes later Barry pulled a lever and the flywheel started turning. Barry had Isolated the circuit to the flash freezers and had mounted a red light over the side door of the Processing House that would come on when the electricity to the freezers was on. When Barry engaged the generator, by pulling and setting another lever, the red light came on. Barry checked the voltage output on a meter and flipped a switch on the panel and the freezers began running.
The engine was relatively quiet. Only the "chuff" was heard as each cylinder released its steam charge at the end of the stroke. It was somehow satisfying to see a machine from over 100 years ago chugging away, and also thrilling.
Barry walked over. "Let me show you something."
Barry pointed to a new-looking pipe coming out of the boiler. "That was where the pressure release valve was. If the pressure got too high, the operator would climb up there and release the pressure manually. We replaced the valve with a modern one that will automatically open and vent the steam through this pipe to…" he flipped a lever and the bellowing sound of a steam locomotive sounded. "If you hear that sound, then the engine has overheated and needs to be attended."
Cal grinned. "That's slick!"
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 25, 2021 22:29:39 GMT -6
"Cal, we've got a situation."
"What's up?"
"Harry has been working on a case for a Brenda Shore. Her father was big into trucking and left her with several hundred million when he died. She had some suspicions regarding her husbands unfaithfulness and it has grown into something else. We wired her home on the Tiera Rado Golf Course with sound and video in every room. We're legal because she owns the house. It looks like he is going to make her disappear next week while he is on a trip to San Francisco to look at a 'new' business opportunity. We've got him on video and sound talking to at least one conspirator. Jeanie tapped his phone, which is not admissible in court, but a look at his phone records gave us a name, and that is. We have the suspect under surveillance."
"We convinced Mrs. Shore, nee Campbell, to 'hire' Astrid as her live-in Personnel Assistant, so she's covered 24/7. I talked to the Police chief and the golf course is just outside his jurisdiction and won't be incorporated for another year or so, I talked to Earl and unless they can catch whoever is going to make the snatch, they probably can't charge the husband with anything. Earl is willing to let us handle this but we have to catch the snatchers on the act."
"And your problem is?....."
"Oh, we have no problem. As soon as the husband leaves, we'll have four men inside the house until things go down. Mrs. Shore won't be leaving the residence and will be moved to her safe room if there is any incursion. We'll use Zap Wrap Bola Capture Devices and tasers to subdue the intruders. A little interrogation will be needed to implicate the husband."
"Sounds like you have everything under control. Do you need anything from me?"
"Nope. We've got this."
"Cal, the hangars are here. I'm sending out Hank Davis to survey the sites."
"That's great, Will. Tell him to come on out and I'll show him where they go."
"What are you doing now?" Siobhan asked.
"I'm putting in two more hangars. One for Bill, Becky and Gabby's planes and a separate hangar for the S-70 and Craig's MD600."
"And the reason for this?"
"Bill recommended it. It's part of a long-range plan."
"And what is his long-range plan?"
"I don't know but as long as it doesn't interfere with current operations, I'll leave it to him."
Siobhan shrugged. "Becky and I are going shopping today to look at living area furniture."
"How is she doing?"
"Much better. She's getting her life back, day by day. She's not ready to live in the house, she's just dressing it up."
Amy had e-mailed her proto-sketches in and they were pleased, so she began painting the scenes they requested. She had finished the painting of Billy and Gabby, but had only let Siobhan see it. Siobhan melted when she saw it. The painting just glowed with love. It was in the scene, it was in the adoring looks they gave each other, it was in the gestures they gave. Siobhan took it in and had it framed. Amy would wait until the right time to give it to Gabby.
When Amy needed a break, she would pick up a sketch pad and dabble with different poses of Becky. She finally settled with one of Becky on top of the mesa. Her head was turned slightly to the right, looking over her shoulder. The wind was moving her hair…. and she was smiling. That was the Becky she wanted to paint.
Blake Shore kissed his wife on her cheek, picked his bag up and want to the garage. Placing the bag in the back, he backed the BMW down the drive onto the street and headed to the airport.
Astrid was cautious, but not alerted…yet. Nothing would happen until he was in a place he could corroborate his alibi. Crowds only gave you autonomy. Seldom would anyone in a crowd remember you. No, he would wait until he was firmly established in some meeting where someone could truthfully say he was there. The surveillance team followed Blake all the way to Grand Junction Regional and would monitor him until his flight left. Andy had other investigators waiting at San Francisco International to pick up surveillance there.
Nothing happened until the afternoon of the second day. The surveillance team monitoring the contact reported two men leaving in a plumbing van from the contact's garage. The "reception committee" was prepared.
The two men drove up into the driveway of the Stone residence and proceeded to the kitchen entrance and knocked. Astrid opened the door and the first man slammed it open with his shoulder. Astrid stepped aside to let him go by and slammed the edge of her hand into se second man's throat and jammed the stun gun to the base of his neck and let go with 95 million volts. The first man was caught in mid-stride with a bola capture device and two darts from a taser. Once subdued, the two intruders where bound to two kitchen chairs and awakened quickly with ammonia ampules.
David Harris pulled the first guy's head back by the hair. "It seems ye yobs r in a tad of barney!"
"Whuh…."
"Schtum yer piehole! The fuzz r going to be charging ye with attempted kidnapping and probably attempted murder, unless ye can prove who put ye up to it! Pretty noice some bloke is going to let yeh take the blame and spend all that time in gaol and get away free as a bird."
"No! I've got a tape!"
"A tape ya say? Where is it?
"My… my house."
"Well, me laddy, these two noice coppers coming tru the door r going to take ye to get it."
Earl walked in and Astrid pulled him to the side to brief him while the two Deputies were handcuffing the intruders.
As they watched the two Deputies lead the men to the patrol car, Earl turned to David.
"Dave, that has to be the worst damn British accent I've ever heard!"
"David frowned. "Hey! So it's been a few years!"
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Post by paulk on Aug 25, 2021 23:11:34 GMT -6
Thank you! More please.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Aug 26, 2021 3:42:13 GMT -6
Thankyou
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Post by gipsy on Aug 26, 2021 8:05:38 GMT -6
Nice wakeup again.
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Post by cavsgt on Aug 26, 2021 11:40:51 GMT -6
Thank You again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 26, 2021 13:29:22 GMT -6
The hangars and paved taxiways to the aprons were completed. Arny helped Craig move the helicopters and planes to their hangers. Later, Craig got the boom truck and skillfully painted 3-foot hangar numbers above all the hangar doors.
Arny and Craig were sitting in the office of Hangar #1 with their feet up on the desk.
"You sure have saved us a lot of work with that computer." Arny said. "Scanning those logs was sure a chore."
Craig had asked Glen to set them up a networked workstation so they could run an aircraft maintenance program. Army sat and read the entries and Craig filled the information into the computer. It took a lot of long hours, but they had all the maintenance logs on the computer now, although they still had to keep the paper logs for inspection purposes. Craig had it set up so a warning popped up on the screen automatically just short of a maintenance event.
"Yeah, It does make things easier."
The phone rang.
"Hi Arny, it's Becky. Could you tow my plane out of the hangar?"
"Sure thing, Becky."
Arny hung up. "Becky wants her plane towed out."
Craig stood up. "Rest. I'll go do it."
Craig took the 727 Tug down to the hangar and opened the doors. He hooked up the tow bar and slowly moved the SuperSTOL out onto the parking apron. As he was unhooking the tow bar, Becky drove up.
"Thank you." Becky said.
"No problem," Craig replied, barely giving her any notice.
Becky gave him a quizzical look, watching him drive away on the tug.
Gabby flew to Pueblo that Friday to pick up Bill and bring him back. They were back by 1700, stopping by his parent's house for dinner before heading to their home.
On the flight back from Pueblo, Bill and Gabby had THE conversation.
"Billy, I want to get married."
"Okay. That is fine with me. Is there any particular reason that you want to get married right now?"
"A lot of reasons. I love you with all my heart. I want to bear your children. You are getting ready for fighter pilot training. I'm aware you are a great pilot, but accidents do happen. If something happens, I want to carry your name for the rest of my life."
"Well, I guess you've thought it out. I'm scheduled to transfer to Shepherd Air Force Base outside of Wichita Falls Texas in about six weeks, so we'll have to fit it in that time frame. I hope you're aware there isn't much chance of a honeymoon."
Gabby smiled. "Every moment we're together, it is a honeymoon."
So, when they sat down for dinner that evening Gabby dropped the bomb.
"Siobhan, Billy and I are to be married before he goes to Texas for fighter training."
Siobhan dropped her fork. "We have to get you a dress! We have to order flowers…a cake…a shower…the reception!"
"Siobhan! Please. I want a simple wedding in the Chapel. I don't need a shower, we already have everything. The reception can be held in the Community Center, and I'll wear my Mother's wedding dress. It will have to be altered, though. My mother was bigger in the bust than I am."
Bill kept his mouth shut and listened as the women planned, just like his Father had taught him.
Cal walked down to the blacksmith shop where he found Joshua fabricating a tool holder for the unique tools they found to maintain the steam engine.
"Hey Joshua. When you can get some free time, do you mind going back over to Millie's and pick out any horse-drawn farming equipment and refurbish it as you get time"
"I was wondering when you were going to get around to that. No problem. I'll pick through it."
"If I'm not around, get the money from Siobhan."
"Okay Cal."
Cal called Nick on the radio and asked him to meet at the big barn. Fifteen minutes later, Nick shows up. He tied up his horse to a corral post and walked over to Cal.
"What's up"
"You know anyone who deals with draft horses?"
"Well, yeah, sorta. Jake Clayton used to raise and train them, like his daddy before him. His grandfather and great-grandfather raised them for the farmers to pull the gang plows and harvesters, back in the day. Jake died a little over two years ago, but the last I heard, He son was still raising and training a few. Not much market for them nowadays except as curiosities. His son has a place near Presho, South Dakota."
"Try to make contact with him and see if he would willing to listen to a business opportunity."
Nick watched Cal walk away. Cal could come up with some strange ideas sometimes, but there was always a reason. Once he locked his teeth into an idea, he didn't let go until his plan was fulfilled.
Cal had a reason. He had heard Harold "Hoot" Gibson talking out on the Liar's Bench one morning about his wife wanting to move down to Florida to be near their daughter in Ft. Walton Beach. She was getting tired of the ever-worsening winters. Harold owned what was basically a "hobby ranch" about seven miles from the HTR, abutting Karen's ranch. It was situated in a lower area that was naturally irrigated and had a stream on it. It had been on Cal's mind to be able to farm using horae power if things got really bad and fuel was hard to get. He would start buying up farm equipment and have someone handle the draft horses. His plan was to build a storage building to stockpile the equipment on the Carlton place as they found and refurbished it. It was going to be slow because horse drawn equipment was hard to find these days.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 26, 2021 13:32:47 GMT -6
Siobhan left Gabby and Bill alone except going over and picking up Gabby's wedding dress. She took it to Helen, who was an expert seamstress and Helen immediately began work on it. Becky came back from her flight and grabbed a Sprite out of the fridge. Taking a seat, she sipped her soda and watched Siobhan writing frantically on a legal pad.
"Calm down, Momma! You're being a Nervous Nellie!"
"There's so much to do!"
"What's to do? Mary is making a three-tiered wedding cake, Edna is handling the Chapel, the wedding dress has to be altered….all that's left is the reception. That shouldn't be hard to do."
"Helen is working on the dress now." Siobhan said.
"So, that leaves the horrible task of deciding what food to serve at the reception. Easy Peasy!"
Siobhan laid her pen down. "You're right." Siobhan got up and put the tea kettle on the burner.
"So, how was your flight?"
"Calming. Flew up around Schrader Reservoir and landed. I walked around a bit and came back."
"Momma, are you going to be all right if I move up to the house?"
"Oh Honey, yes I will be. But you move when you're ready."
"I think I'll try staying there tonight…just to see."
"That' sounds fine Sweety. There's no fresh food up there."
"I'll come back for breakfast in the morning."
Amy came in quietly with a canvas in her hand.
"Becky, I heard you tell Momma you were going to stay at your house tonight. Would you hang this in your house?"
It was the painting Amy had wanted to paint of Becky. Siobhan gasped.
Becky was stunned. "Amy, do I look like that?"
"You haven't been, but you're getting back to the 'you,' you. This is how I want to see you from now on."
Becky laid the painting down and hugged Amy. "Thank you, Amy. I certainly will hang this in my house. Do you want to ride with me to the framer's and get it framed?"
"Yes!" Amy said, and ran to the art room to put her things away.
Siobhan laid her hand on Becky's arm. "She notices those things."
Siobhan watched as the sisters grinned and talked to each other as they walked out to Becky's Tahoe.
Cal was checking the oil in the K5 when Joshua drove up.
He got out of his truck and unfolded a sheet of paper.
"Cal, I went back over to Minnie's and found a few things," handing Cal the paper.
Cultivator Skid (2) Individual Farm Wagon parts Wagon Box Metal Hardware Kits (3) Wagon, buckboard plans Wooden wagon wheels, plans Planters (4) Ground Driven Manure Spreader (2) Dump Rakes (2) Mandt Double-Box Trailer Potato Planter 7' Disc (3) Two Blade Bottom Plow (3) Seeding Machines (4)
It might not be much, but I had Ben to do an internet search and he found something interesting. Pioneer Equipment Company out of Dalton Ohio makes modern horse-drawn equipment for the Amish. I think they might have everything you'd need. If I were you, I'd take Sylvio and make a trip out there and look it over. I'd start my search there and fill in with the antique equipment."
"I might just do that."
Cal looked up Pioneer equipment Company on the internet. He was surprised, looking through their website, how much horse-drawn equipment they manufactured. Yes, a trip was in order. But first, he needed to see about draft horses.
Cal called Sam and ordered a 125' x 250' foot building to be erected on the Carlton place. He needed the space to start storing things out of the weather.
Nick called and said he'd gotten in contact with Jerry Clayton who was willing to talk with Cal. Cal got on the phone right away and called Jerry.
"Jerry, this is Cal Coleman."
"Good afternoon Cal. So you want to talk?"
"Yes, but in person. Would you be free Thursday, say, around 10:00?"
"Sure, not a problem. I'll meet you at the airfield. Presho is only about a half mile square. There aren't any taxis."
"Good enough, I'll see you Thursday."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 26, 2021 13:41:44 GMT -6
Cal caught Hoot on the Liar's Bench down at the store the next morning.
"Mornin' Cal."
"Mornin' Hoot. You're stirring early today."
I had to come down a get a couple of clevises. I needed to rest my bones for a few minutes."
"Hoot, I heard you mention the other day your wife wanting to move down to Florida." You serious about selling out?"
"As a heart attack! I've had that place on the market for almost two months and nary a nibble."
"Whatcha askin' for it?"
Well, I'm askin' $570,000, but if someone came up with $425,000 I'd jump on it like a duck on a June bug."
"You want cash or gold?
Hoot studied him a minute. "You're not funnin', are you?"
"No Hoot, I'm serious."
"What about half cash, half gold?"
"$425,000? I can do it." Let's get our lawyers together and get it done."
They shook hands and Hoot hurried out to his truck and left.
Cal left at 9:00 for the two hour flight to Presho. There was no tower so he was cautious as he approached the airfield. Not seeing any other aircraft and his radar not indicating any, he set up for approach on the gravel runway. With room to spare he made the turn onto the taxiway and pulled up into the parking area. As he was shutting the engine down, he noticed a man getting out of a truck in the parking lot. Cal finished his shut down and got out.
"Cal Coleman?"
"You must be Jerry." Cal said, shaking his hand.
"Come on, my truck's over there."
They got into the truck and pulled out on a road headed out of the small town.
"So, what brings you to the sprawling metropolis of Presho, South Dakota, Cal?"
"I'm looking to raise draft horses for future use. I'm in the market for some and a caretaker."
"Unh huh." Jerry said.
"They rode about ten miles out into the slightly rolling land and pulled into a farm.
"Well, this is the headquarters of the world famous 'Clayton Draft Horses'." Jerry laughed. "Well, maybe not so famous any more. Not many people use them much anymore but for show. Except the Amish. The Amish buy a few."
They walked down to the barn and looked at the horses.
"I raise Shires. Shires are commonly used for plowing, driving and riding, and are wonderful show horses. Their deep shoulders and wide chests make them a powerful pulling horse. They are considered the largest horse breed, and can easily pull a load of several tons."
"Looks and sounds like what I need."
Cal look around at the barn. "Good size barn."
"Yeah. If I had more sales, I would have to build bigger. I try not to have more horses than I have stalls. These babies like to go in a stall at night. How many horses were you looking for?"
"Probably about sixteen working horses and maybe a four breeders and a stallion."
Jerry's eyebrows raised. What do you plan to use them for?"
"Farming."
"Farming with horses is not much of a paying proposition these days."
"It would be if all of a sudden the situation changed and there was no fuel."
Jerry stood and stared at Cal. "You're prepping for that End of The World stuff, aren't you?"
"Well, let's just say I'm preparing for all contingencies." Cal smiled.
"Well, I only have twelve working horses, a breeding mare and a stallion."
"You know where we can get more breeders?
"Sure, but they aren't cheap."
"I'm not concerned about that. Now, about you and your family. How do you feel about uprooting and moving to Colorado and managing my horses? You'd be on salary, say $75,000 a year and I pay the farm expenses."
Jerry stood there a minute. "I'd consider it but have to talk to the wife and boys, could I give you an answer later?"
"Sure, but whatever your answer, I'm still going to need draft horses."
"Not a problem. I can get you more horses."
"Look, talk to your family, but before you make a final decision, let me fly you down to my Ranch on a weekend and show you around. I don't have the land you'll be living on in my possession yet, the paper work drill and all that, but I can show it to you. That way your family would know exactly what they are in for also."
"Well, let me talk to the family and I'll let you know."
Jerry drove Cal back to the airfield and they shook hands, Two hours and fifteen minutes later Cal was touching down at HTR.
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Post by iamnobody on Aug 26, 2021 14:33:01 GMT -6
"Sorrow comes in great waves… but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain."
Henry James
So true
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