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Post by kiwibutterfly on Dec 23, 2021 0:15:43 GMT -6
And as usual, great chapters thanks again.
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Post by cavsgt on Dec 23, 2021 0:26:23 GMT -6
As usual very nice Thank You
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Post by gipsy on Dec 23, 2021 8:17:31 GMT -6
Another member of a tight group. Thanks for the updates
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Post by paulk on Dec 23, 2021 8:42:27 GMT -6
Thank you. Great as always.
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Post by ydderf on Dec 23, 2021 18:55:12 GMT -6
Well done thanks.
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Post by texican on Dec 23, 2021 23:33:48 GMT -6
Trace and Sarah are a couple now. Wedding to follow? You can take wood ash and spread it around homes, buildings and sheds which will help to keep insects out. Thanks n for the chapters. Texican.... But what would it do to the soil PH? Screw up the plants?
g, Did this for many years and no problem with the plants or grass. Texican....
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Post by freebirde on Dec 24, 2021 8:56:26 GMT -6
But what would it do to the soil PH? Screw up the plants?
g, Did this for many years and no problem with the plants or grass. Texican.... Some plants like a high Ph or if you have acid soil or water it would balance it out. Another project for Gil or science project for Billy would be making lye from the ash.
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Post by CountryGuy on Dec 24, 2021 9:37:34 GMT -6
Loving this story and eager for MOAR... With all the airtraffic in and out maybe they need one of these... www.pilotmix.com/xe-ultralight-helicopterOr maybe one of those next conex boxes will have a few boxes with drones and FLIR...
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Post by NCWEBNUT on Dec 24, 2021 13:08:00 GMT -6
Loving this story and eager for MOAR... With all the airtraffic in and out maybe they need one of these... www.pilotmix.com/xe-ultralight-helicopterOr maybe one of those next conex boxes will have a few boxes with drones and FLIR... That's an affordable single seat craft, less than some custom Motorcycles and able to go anywhere and land within its rotor Diameter.
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Post by NCWEBNUT on Dec 27, 2021 10:34:05 GMT -6
Can we see some more story please
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 27, 2021 14:03:10 GMT -6
Chapter 152
Sunday, Gil and Grace were surprised to see Trace, Sarah and Carrie arrive for church. Grace walked over to Sarah and Trace headed to where Gil was standing.
"Sarah wanted me to come." Trace said meekly, when Gil didn't say anything.
Gil grinned. "I'll sit where I can get to a fire extinguisher in case you suddenly burst into flames."
Gil looked around. There seemed to be more new people there than usual. That bode well for the church as far as he was concerned.
After the sermon, the Reverend made a point to shake Trace's hand. "It's good to see you decided to attend today. I hope a certain lady had some influence in that."
Trace blushed and Sarah grinned.
Gil was cooking burgers and dogs that afternoon so the Bluff View crowd went home and changed into more casual clothes and met at the Conner's. Glen came out of the guest cabin and walked over to the gathering. Gil introduced him to everyone and got the grill going.
Glen walked over. "I'm going to have to revise the priorities of my list of things to buy, Gil. I couldn't get out of bed. That has to be the best sleep I've had in a decade. It was like I was stuck to the mattress and my body wouldn't let me get up."
Gil grinned. "Welcome back to the world of the living. I like roughing it too, but I like a good night's sleep even better."
Gil went inside and came back out with a tray bearing five glasses, a bowl of ice, and an unopened bottle of River Bank whiskey. The men took a glass and poured a couple of fingers in each, Gil added a couple of cubes of ice to his. Glen started to do the same but Brad stopped him.
"Glen, try it first without the ice so you get the full experience. You can always add ice later."
Glen took a taste and his eyes opened widely. "WOW! This is excellent!"
"Gil makes that." Trace said.
"Well, I haven't had whiskey in quite some time but my tastebuds tell me this is the finest I've ever tasted."
Gil raised his glass. "An gefallene Kameraden"
Everyone else raised their glasses "An Kameraden"
"What else do you do here beside making whiskey?" Glen asked.
They all chuckled. "Well, we try to be as self-sufficient as we can. We raise most of the food we eat and take local game now and again. None of us has to work for a living so we focus on living and watching each other's six." Brad said.
"Great life." Glen nodded.
Gil poured drinks again. "Well, now you've been coaxed out of your badger hole, you can enjoy living along with us. What do you want to get done at your place first?"
"I guess I need to call about that hovercraft tomorrow. That will be the key for me."
Gil nodded. "You might as well stay another night. They don't open up until nine, their time.. They're on Central Standard Time. We can have breakfast while we wait for them to open up."
"Sounds like a winner."
Glen, where's your beard? I thought Mountain Men wore a beard."
"Couldn't get used to those things. Most I've gone without shaving in years is three or four days. That was back last year when we had that big snow."
"How did you fair through that? Colt asked.
"Snug as a bug. I always keep plenty of deadfall collected and in the dry. I didn't have any warning but I had food, heat and water, although I did have to crack the ice on the spring a couple of times."
"Well, when you get the solar put in, you won't have to do that anymore." Brad said.
The ladies brought out the meat and Gil started cooking. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying the companionship.
They were sitting in Gil's office when he made the call. The manager remembered and yes, they had the model with the options Glen wanted except the half-cab cover, but could have it installed by the time they got there. They could run him trough the one-day training course when he got there. Gil handed the phone to Glen so they could exchange banking information to get the deposit made. When he ended the call, Glen was grinning.
"Well, it's set!"
"Good. They say when I would be ready?"
They said it only took a day to install the canopy."
"Then it will be ready when we get there. Want to leave in the morning"
"Sounds good. I need to get back across the river and put together my travel bag."
They left early the next morning and drove all the way through to Danville, Indiana, between Indianapolis and Bloomington, Illinois. Except for "nature" stops they were able to go all the way with refueling. Gil had filled his extended range tanks and could have gone all the way to Rockford, if needed. Gil got them rooms at the Best Western and they went to find a place to eat, finally ending up at Shark's Grill, stuffing themselves with fried catfish. The two turned in early that night for an early start on the final three hours of their trip to Rockford.
Neither was interested in a big breakfast so they settled for bear claws and coffee when Gil stopped to fuel up at a Love's outside of Danville. They hit a bit of morning traffic on I-39 south of Rockford, but reached Universal Hovercraft right after they opened. The manager immediately took them to see the craft, brightening Glen's eyes. They went into the office and completed the paperwork transferring the rest of the money to the company's account. For the rest of the afternoon, Glen went over operation and maintenance of the hovercraft. Glen had a ball running the hovercraft up and down the Rock River.
They arranged to leave the trailered hovercraft there overnight and they would pick it up the next morning. After getting rooms at the Sleep Inn off I-90, they had an excellent dinner next door at the Tavern on Clark, along with a few beers.
Gil and Glen decided to drive straight through with nothing but stops to answer the call of nature and to switch drivers, so Gil filled the tanks at the Rockford CDL on the way south. They finally rolled through the Bluff View security gate at 1915 that evening, tired, but happy. Parking the truck at Gil's house, they got out and stretched.
"You may as well stay in the guest cabin tonight. Your first trip over should be when you can see. Let's go get some mead."
They took their bags out, Glen setting his on the deck, and went inside. After giving hugs and kisses, Gil retrieved the mead and mugs.
"I think I'm going to build a shelter next to the hangar for the two hovercraft and for a place to park your vehicle. More or less a concrete pad with a cover."
"I'll pay for half." Glen said.
"You don't have to do that Glen."
"Gil, what the hell am I going to spend my money on?" That hovercraft didn't make a smudge in my bank account."
"Okay then. Once you are ready, give me a yell and we'll find you a vehicle. You'll be fully mobile then."
"I want to get that stove ordered and the stuff to do the bathroom."
"I'll come over tomorrow and we can make some measurements. We can pre-fab the walls and have them up in no time. You can pick up a water tank at Tractor Supply and install a float valve. That way the 12-volt pump will only run when needed."
"I probably need to put in something to purify the spring water. I guess I've been lucky not to have gotten Giardia or something. I hate the chlorine taste too."
Gil grinned. "I got just the system for you."
"Well, thanks for the mead. That drive tired me out. I'm going to go and pass out on that mattress."
"Okay Glen. I'll come get you for breakfast and we'll get you in the water."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 27, 2021 14:05:38 GMT -6
Chapter 153
After breakfast the next morning, Gil and Glen took the hovercraft down to the edge of the river and off-loaded it. Glen had no problems backing it off the tilt trailer and maneuvering it around. Gil placed the box with the radio with extra batteries for it in the cargo area and backed off, watching Glen enter the water. Glen rode around the river for a bit, checking out the area where he wanted to leave the water. The lake level was about 20 feet below full pool so the bank had a slight incline. He picked his spot and increased power and climbed the incline easily and went out of sight around a bend in the clearing. Gil locked the trailer bed back into the travel position, parked and unhitched it next to the hangar. He then went back to the house to draw up plans for a vehicle shelter.
Gil saw the ad for the 1988 Chevy Suburban for sale and called about it. The lady said it hadn't been driven since her husband died and gave Gil permission to stop by to take a look at it. She lived over near Cherokee High School so it didn't take very long to get there. The lady pointed to a garage building off to the side of the yard and he walked over to it. When he went inside, he sucked in a breath. Gil checked the interior, opened up the hood and looked at it, disconnected the trickle charger then got in and attempted to crank it. I was hard to start at first, reasonable, since it probably hadn't been started in four or five months. The engine smoothed out after a couple of minutes. He shut it down and connected the trickle charger. Going back to the house, Mrs. Holly came to the door when he knocked.
"Mrs. Holly, how much are you asking for the truck?"
"Well, it's old…would $6,000 be too much?"
"No Ma'am…. in fact, it's too little. I'll give you $10,000 for it. I can have you cash money back here in about 2 hours."
"Well then, it is yours."
"I'll be back in no time."
On the way to the house to get the cash, Gil called Trace to get him to drive the Suburban back to Bluff View. Getting the cash out of the safe, he picked up Trace on the way out. When they got back, Gil had Trace park the Suburban beside the hangar and took him back home. Gil pulled out his radio and changed to the frequency he had programed on Glen's radio on.
"Glen, you got your ears on?"
A few seconds later, Glen answered.
"Yeah Gil."
"I've found the answer to your vehicle problem. It's parked over next to the hangar. Talk to you later."
When Gil got out of his truck at the house he heard the hovercraft coming across the river. Smiling, he went into the house.
About 30 minutes later, Glen knocked on the door.
"Come on in Glen."
"How much do I owe you Gil?"
"I'll make you a deal. It's yours for $10,000."
"Oh no, I can afford the price you paid for it. I looked it over good. Whoever restored it did a hell of a job. They either replace or rebuilt the drive train, has new tires, new belts, the engine you could eat off of. New plugs and wires. That thing is worth at least eighteen to twenty-five thousand"
"Seriously Glen, I only paid $10,000. The lady wanted six, I gave her ten. The signed title is in the glove compartment. All you need is insurance and get it registered."
"You want a check or cash?"
"Cash, if it's not a problem, and don't go taking it out all at once. Bank reporting laws and all that." Gil wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Glen. "Here is your code for the gate. If you go now, you can get everything done this afternoon."
"Thanks Gil. I'm outta here."
Gil watched as he walked down the hill and out of sight.
Trace woke and felt heat coming off a body. He moved over behind her and kissed her neck after moving her hair aside. Sarah immediately came awake and stretched a bit without moving around.
'I've got to get up before Carrie wakes."
"I'm tired of you having to sneak out in the mornings. Will you marry me?"
Sarah sat up and looked down at Trace. "Well, aren't you Mr. Romantic!"
"Okay, I retract my question." Trace said, getting up and heading for the bathroom. Sarah quickly left the room and went upstairs and got her shower.
Carrie was eating a bowl of oatmeal went Trace came in. He marched over next to Carrie and placed his hand on Carrie's shoulder.
"Carrie, do I have your permission to ask your Mother to marry me?"
"Of course!" Carrie squealed.
Trace went around the table and knelt next to Sarah's chair and pulled out a ring.
"Sarah, will you marry me?"
Stunned, Sarah just nodded.
"Answer him Mom!"
"Yes….YES! I'll marry you!"
Trace slipped the ring on her finger, then pulled her up out of the chair into his arms and kissed her."
"Okay, now officially I can say I don't mind you spending the night in his room Mom." Carrie grinned.
Sarah blushed and turned to the sink, rinsing the frying pan.
"Sarah, would you get in touch with Reverend Jim and see if he has some time to talk with us?"
Sarah looked over her shoulder at Trace and nodded.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 27, 2021 14:07:37 GMT -6
Chapter 154
Gil siphoned off the rest of the mead into the flippy bottles and placed last bottle in the case. Stacking the filled case on the hand truck with the rest, he took them back and placed them on a shelf in the storage chamber. He went back and cleaned the carboys and associated equipment he had used and turned them up in the rack to drain. His next "duty" was to taste the whiskey in the barrels, rinsing his mouth out after each barrel, and marked one barrel for bottling. He was getting ready to leave when Grace called him on the radio.
"Gil, you have a delivery here."
Puzzled, Gil answered. "Okay, I'll be right there."
After locking up Gil headed back down the ridge. He couldn't think of what the delivery could be.
After reading the invoice, Gil got the tractor, attached the forklift blades and set the two pallets down next to the equipment barn. Looking at the invoice, Gil figured it could only be something Bill had sent. He would send a message and see what this was about. Gil covered the two pallets with tarps and secured them, then headed to the house.
Bill's reply to Gil's message was "Talk to Cal" and gave him Cal's secure satphone number.
Cal chuckled when he answered the phone. "It's a positive pressure system out of a deactivated ICBM missile site. It provides protection from outside gasses and nuclear contamination. The manuals, installation instructions and power requirements are inside the cases."
"You got someone we can talk to if we run into problems?"
"Sure, just call this number if you run into difficulties."
Gil ended the call and thought a moment. He was familiar with a smaller system. They used them in their tents in Iraq to protect them from poisonous gasses. He'd have to go through the manuals and instructions and see what they needed.
Gil read through the manuals and installation instructions and saw he'd have to rent the rock drill again in Kingsport to drill a ventilation shaft. That would have to wait until they got the garden planted.
Gil ordered the items needed to upgrade the battery bank in the chamber complex and helped start planting the first two weeks of the garden, then he and Brad went to Kingsport and rented the pneumatic rock drill. The intake pipe to the safe cell required a minimum five inch hole and it took all of a month to drill it out. Once everything was connected, Gil ran the system for three days to get a mean power consumption and recharge rate. After reading the results, Gil added more batteries and another wind turbine further up the ridge to maintain the charge. It was a little overkill because the overpressure filter system wouldn't run unless it was needed, but it was ready.
On their next run to Sam's and COSTCO, they were met with climbing prices and shortages of items. Grace restocked with peanut butter, washing detergent, dish deterrent and many other things they rotated through their storage. On the way home a news alert came on the radio about a riot and looting at the Mall of America south of the Minneapolis - St. Paul airport. What the looters didn't take, they burned. Three security guards and two police officers were killed.
This prompted the Bluff View people to intensify their awareness when they were in urban areas. Knoxville was worse, but they were cautious even in Rogersville. In recent weeks, three guys tried to rob Bud's Gun Shop and two were killed as they pulled guns and started making their demands. The third guy made it almost to their getaway car outside before being felled with a bullet in the spine. More people were becoming aware of what was going on across America.
Drake brought up the solar/wind system and the men helped him install it. Glen had been hauling over the bags of concrete mix and the prefab sections of the bathroom all week but didn't want to get started until the electricity was in. He did make up the forms to pour the concrete floor. As they worked on installing the PV panels and the wind turbine, Billy helped Glen bring over the concrete mixer and the chainsaw to have ready to start construction.
Glen finally had electricity! After helping Glen get the place wired, they installed the 12-volt lighting fixtures and the radios Gil had recommended. After Drake left, the hard job of getting the concrete mixed and poured began. It took several hours to get it all poured and troweled. Once it had dried enough, they covered it with a large plastic sheet and let it dry for the full 30 days. During that time, they went through the pile of old barnwood siding to collect enough to side the bathroom, giving it perfect camouflage in the shaded woods.
Gil and Billy were adding an overhang to the hovercraft garage for Glen to park his Suburban under when Deputy Dave Gibson drove up. Grace had warned Gil he was coming.
Dave got out of the Explorer and walked over. Gil set down the cordless drill he had been installing the roofing screws with and came down on the ground.
"What brings you around Dave?"
Dave chuckled. "I guess you'd call it a 'Health and Welfare' visit. Hadn't seen you around in a while."
"Yeah, we don't get to town much with all the troubles. Hadn't really needed to."
"We haven't had too many problems. Most of them are near the interstates. Most of the places have two or three armed guards now. We get calls every day about reports of out-of-state vehicles in the area and we try to check them all, but people have their guns ready, just in case."
"That's good, Dave." You guys don't have enough people to cover everything. It's good the people are taking more of an interest in protecting themselves."
"Yeah, we've been having meetings throughout county explaining the laws. It would take a damned fool to come in here and buck up against these people.:
"Unfortunately Dave, this country has more than its fair share of 'damned fools' to go around."
"Yeah, I suppose you are right. Ya'll getting by all right?"
"Yeah, just helping out Glen Smith a little bit."
"That's good. That scoundrel Cleaver has him over the barrel with the no deeded access to his land.
"Not any more. Glen has a hovercraft he goes back and forth across the river with. That's his Suburban sitting there. When he's over on this side of the river, he parks his boat in the garage and uses the Suburban to do his errands. We're building this overhang to park his truck under when he's on the other side."
"That's good he has a way to get around now."
"Yeah, he's happy he can now haul in things for his creature comforts now."
"Well, I'd better get on the road. You take care and don't forget we're on CB too."
"Okay Dave. Stay safe."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 27, 2021 14:09:01 GMT -6
Chapter 155
Gil dumped the heads and began collecting the condenser drippings. As the measuring cup filled, Gil poured it into a clean carboy for cutting later on. This run was about 190 proof and he would need to cut it with spring water. For trade whiskey, it was still pretty good stuff. Gil had ten, twelve bottles cases he could fill. Each bottle sealed with a cork and further sealed with black wax. Brad came in to help him and when the carboy was half full, Gil added the right amount of water and checked the proof. Satisfied, Gil had Brad start filling bottles. Brad sucked on the siphon hose to get the flow started and then clamped the hose off.
"WOW! Now that will take the enamel right off your teeth!" Brad exclaimed.
Gil chuckled. "It's not for drinking but for trading."
They stacked the cases in their trade goods section. Gil washed the carboys out and would leave the still to cool down for a day before doing a cleaning of it.
"Why didn't you put some of that in barrels?" Brad asked.
"I'm not wasting my good barrels on trade whiskey. Anybody willing to drink that won't really care whether it's aged or not."
Shannon won another bid on a container in Charleston. Gill called his contact down there to see what he could find out about it. Later that afternoon he received a call back. No drugs or explosive components were inside the container. The original seals were still on the doors and the loaded container weighed less than 3 tons. The container empty only weighed 1800 pounds. Definitely light cargo.
Gil and Grace headed into Rogersville with Grace. She wanted to stop and get some Sure-Jell and he wanted to go to Tractor Supply for some clevis shackles. When Gil stayed on 11W instead of turning into town she waited patiently until he turned off the highway onto East Main Street and came into town from the northeast.
"Why do you do that?" Grace asked.
"What?"
"You never enter town the same way twice. You're always taking a side street or several. You never take a direct route."
"If you're ever ambushed, Heaven forbid, then you'll know why. But to answer your question, if someone is planning to ambush you, it make it hard for them to pin you down to a specific place they could set up for you."
"You think it's getting that bad?"
"The problem is, you never know until you hear the gunfire."
Gil picked up the shackles and a couple of pairs of the work gloves he liked. They drove next door to Food City and picked up the case of Sure-Jell Grace had the manager order for her. When they left, Food City, Gil went down to Hawkins Street to get back out to 11W.
"Will this mess get any better?" Grace asked.
"Not until the majority of the people decide that socialism has no place in this country. The social programs have done nothing to better the population who were said to need them. It has just made them lazy and refusing to work to make their lives better. It would be better if their security blankets were snatched out from under them all at one time. Sadly, many of them will die, but in the advancement of civilization, they would almost have to. Everyone must contribute to society. Of course we have those who can't work, we would take care of them, but those who are able and don't want to contribute should be like nature intended, either work to eat or die. The politicians perpetuate the problems by offering out the 'free stuff' programs to buy their vote.
"That's awfully harsh."
"Yes, but that's nature. It's gotten to the point where too many people think things in life should be handed to them on a silver platter. Under the Constitution, all men were created equal, but in reality, they aren't really equal. Some people are naturally stronger than others, some are taller, some shorter, some are smarter than others, others are incredibly stupid. Stupid animals in nature don't survive very long. Today, we've got great depositories of information available to anyone who wishes to seek it. Some people gather that information and use it to better their lives. Others ignore it and history and suffer or will suffer for it. Oh, they'll bring up crap about being suppressed or like today, blame everything on white supremacy, but the bottom line is, it is all on them. I laugh every time I hear the term 'white supremacy' because the racist little bottom feeders are admitting another race is better at using the information to better their lives better than the whiners."
Gil stopped at the mailbox for Grace to lean out and grab the handful of mostly advertisements.
They pulled through the security gate and drove to the house. Gil carried the case of Sure-Jell into the house for Grace then went back out and took the clevis shackles to the equipment barn. When he got back to the house, the twins ran from Mollie over to him and locked his legs in a death grip. He was "forced" to read to them until Grace called them to dinner.
Billy walked in just before dinner and changed out of his hunting clothes.
"Did you get anything?" Gil asked.
"Yes Sir. I got a fox. Caught him down by the old barn. I ran the game call with the 'wounded rabbit' call and he came trotting across the field. I need to go back out after dinner and stretch the hide."
"Oh! You could make a fox skin hat for yourself!" Grace said.
"I don't think so Momma. There is that old coonskin hat that maybe I could take apart and use I as a pattern and maybe Grandma can help me make Alan a hat."
"That's sweet Billy. Of course she would. Now go wash those hands good and we can have dinner."
Glen took a metal bottle full of cold spring water out of his refrigerator and took a sip. It was a luxury he had sometimes thought about but never thought he would enjoy it again. He took it out on his small porch and arrange the cushions in the chair and sat down. Billy made him a nice chair and Grace got the cushions for him. The tranquility of the breeze fluttering the leaves in the trees hiding his cabin soon had his eyes slowly closing.
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Post by gipsy on Dec 27, 2021 14:45:01 GMT -6
Thanks for a fine update
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 27, 2021 14:59:03 GMT -6
Can we see some more story please I'm also waiting on him to make it into a movie too, PLEASE
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Post by cavsgt on Dec 27, 2021 15:17:18 GMT -6
Super as always!!! Thank You !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by udwe on Dec 27, 2021 15:55:26 GMT -6
More!
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Post by freebirde on Dec 27, 2021 16:02:22 GMT -6
Glen or Gil should think about getting a larger jon boat or smaller pontoon boat for moving bulky items across the river. Besides it is easier to fish from either. You can enclose the pontoon boat to contain A & A.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 27, 2021 17:14:29 GMT -6
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Post by cavsgt on Dec 27, 2021 17:45:43 GMT -6
Love your story with well researched info., not just off the wall thoughts and opinions.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 29, 2021 6:24:01 GMT -6
Chapter 156
"Every time I see you two together, I tell myself that no two people could make a better couple. I knew you both before you two met and now there is an emanation of love from you two that few could miss. Now, have you decided on a date?"
"Well Reverend, we wanted to see when you are available." Sarah said.
"I'm at the call to all our members at any time of the day, on any day of the week."
Trace looked at Sarah. "Then you name it." "Reverend, I don't want a showy wedding. Just friends…. and a small get together."
"Well Sarah, you have at least 96 members of the church who call you a friend. What about them?"
"Oh! Of course they will be invited. But please no gifts. In lieu of gifts I'd like everyone to give what they can to the church maintenance fund."
"Well, I surely won't argue with you on that. And don't worry about sending out invitations, With a call to two of our more, should I say, garrulous members of the church, the whole southern part of Hawkins County will know about it."
Sarah grinned. She knew just who he was talking about. "Then, would Sunday after next, right after church be okay?" Sarah said, looking at Trace.
"It's fine with me." Trace said.
"Then the 18th it is. Would you like the reception to be held in the Fellowship Hall?"
"Yes. I'll ask Grace and Mollie to put something together."
"Very well, then I'll block that date off."
"Thank you Reverend Jim. Thank you so much."
"Say nothing of it. Now, you to get out of here. You have planning to do."
Reverend Jim took them both by the hand and said a short prayer, blessing their upcoming union.
Gil and Billy were in the shop making fire starters out of wood shavings, short pieces of jute string unraveled from a burlap bag, and Gulf paraffin wax.
"Why did Grandma yell at you for using this corn dodger pan for making these?"
"Because it's old, I found it before she did at the yard sale and I wouldn't let her have it."
"Why not?"
"Because this one doesn't have those corn cob nubbies in it. It makes taking them out when cooled much easier."
Billy dumped the batch of fire starters out on the bench and resprayed PAM into the cast iron pan. Gil was picking up the sticks, wiping them down with a paper towel, then placing them in a shoe box size wooden box.
"I spray PAM on it before we fill it with the mixture to keep the wax from sticking to it. I'll still re-season the pan before I give it back to her. She thinks it's a sacrilege even though we only do this every six months are so. It keeps her on her toes.
Once they had the box filled, they took the remnants and hand rolled little logs. Gil took the pan back to the house and set the oven to 400 degrees to burn the seasoning off of it.
The container was delivered a couple of days later. The driver easily slid it off where Gil wanted it, but it set him to thinking about a real fork lift. He would look into it later.
When Shannon cut the seal, they were expecting just about anything, but not what they found. It was filled with textiles. That is, bolts of cloth some printed with patterns, some plain colored, boxes of men's and women's underwear and dozens of boxes of nylon and cotton thread.
Shannon's eyes lit up.
"What can we do with this stuff? Are we going to be able to get our money back on this?" Gil asked.
Shannon spun around. "ARE YOU SERIOUS? We can easily sell some of this and get the money back but a lot of this I think we should keep."
"Okay, I'll leave it in your hands."
Gil shook his head and went to the house. Grace and Mollie were going over a food list for the reception with Sarah."
"This seems an awful lot for a small wedding reception." Sarah said.
"It might be a small wedding but there's going to be a bunch of people there who like to eat." Mollie said.
"Okay, but Trace said he'd pay for whatever you set up."
"No he won't!" Gil interjected. "I know he can easily afford it, but this is from Grace and me."
"You guys…."
"Hush. Let's get through these plans." Grace said.
Glen moved slowly through the brush, his movements covered by the rustling of the breeze through the trees.
Standing straight up he cradled the Henry rifle in his arms and watched as the guy cleared the tree limbs with the bush axe.
"You're trespassing!" Glen said in a loud voice.
"WHOA! I'm just going where I am told!."
"Well, I'm telling you and the surveyor to back your asses off my property. You're almost a hundred feet outside of Cleaver's property lines. The next time, I'll consider this an invasion."
Glen grinned as the guy scrambled up over a rise and disappeared. He turned and went back to his house and locked the rifle away. Taking the hovercraft over to Bluff View, he got into his Suburban and went into town.
The church ladies were in their prime. As soon as Reverend Jim's sermon was over, they scrambled around while the men and children waited outside and tastefully decorated the church before the wedding. By 1:00, everything was ready and everyone was seated, watching Trace Carter and Sarah Miller become husband and wife. Even Glen showed up in a sportscoat and tie. Mollie had baked a beautiful three tiered wedding cake that would rivel any specialty bakery. When the reception was over, Mollie took Cassie to her house for the week, which suited Cassie just fine. She would get to study with Billy that much more. Trace and Sarah went off for the week.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 29, 2021 6:26:05 GMT -6
Chapter 157
"Don, do you know of any rough terrain forklifts for sale?" Gil asked.
"You know, it's funny you should ask. I've been eying a John Deere 480C Rough Terrain Forklift over at the lumber mill. They have it as excess and I could pick it up pretty cheap. It's up in hours and needs some work done, but It would still be cheaper than most you'll find and not as in such good condition. I don't actually need one that often, but often enough. If you want to go halves, I'm in."
"Go for it Don. I'll split it down the middle with you. I don't need one that often, but it sure would make things easier at times."
'I'll get 'er done, Gil."
Gil ended the call. "Well, that makes things easier." Gil thought.
Glen drove up to the greenhouse where he saw Gil working in the garden.
"Gil, you think Billy would want to help me for a while? I'll pay him."
"I imagine he would. What are you doing?"
"Nailing up 'No Trespassing' signs alone my property line."
"Nailing? Come on up to the shop."
They took a Gator up to the shop and Gill pulled out two drills and six spare batteries, and four boxes of one inch wood screws.
"Will this help?"
"They sure would. I've got 200 aluminum No Trespassing signs I want to out up."
Gill got out two more boxes of screws and added them to the lot. Gil called Billy out of the house and Glen and Billy made a deal.
"You know your exact property lines?"
Glen grinned. "I know the exact lines, but when the surveyor ran the lines, I walked with him and put a roofing tack that had been covered with UV Reactive Blacklight Paint in the trees ten feet inside the property line."
Gil grinned. "Slick!"
Gil relieved Colt on the mandoline vegetable slicer shredding cabbage for the women to mix into the three different kraut mixtures. Mollie, using another mandoline was shredding carrots and radishes, and slicing garlic, onions and the Gochugaru peppers. Grace, Allie and Sarah were weighing and mixing salt into the cabbage in separate pots. They usually made three types of kraut. Gil liked the Kimchi type, and they made traditional and a sweet garlic kraut, which was eye-rolling good with smoked venison sausage..
After they had all the ingredients mixed and a good brine had formed, Gil and Colt began packing the Kraut into the crocks with the kraut pounders Gil had made on his wood lathe.
After getting the crocks packed and laying the ceramic weights on top of the mixtures, Gil and Colt carried them down to the basement and set them on a shelf. Grace following with a pitcher of water to fill the water rims. They would let the kraut ferment for two weeks without bothering it except to add water to the seals.
Billy went the next day to help Glen put up the signs. Glen had purchased enough signs to put one up every twenty feet. If there wasn't a tree there (which was seldom) Glen would cut a sapling while Billy dug a hole and they would mount the sign on the sapling. It took them a couple of days but Glen paid Billy a dollar for every sign and he was happy. When Glen took Billy back over late that afternoon, Grace called them on the radio and invited Glen up for dinner.
Trace and Sarah came back the following Sunday afternoon and found everyone gathered at Gil and Grace's. They were greeted by everyone with the question "Where did you go?!"
Trace and Sarah looked at each other and laughed.
"We had no idea where we were going when we left. We stayed that night at the Marriott next to the airport and discussed where to go and Sarah mentioned she had never been to International Falls, Minnesota, so, we headed there.
"What in the world is in International Falls?" Colt asked.
"Hey! They have the Smokey Bear park. I've got pictures!"
"And of course they have the Bronko Nagurski Museum." Trace grinned. "But the best thing was, we took day trips into Canada and found a little company near Atikokan, Ontario run by Ojibwe Indians that made great moosehide moccasins. We've got a little present for everyone."
Mollie poked Carrie in the ribs. "Is that why you were running around asking everyone their shoe sizes?"
Carrie giggled and twisted away. "Mom didn't want me to say anything."
Trace and Sarah sat down and had a glass of wine and mead with them then got up to leave. Carrie just waved bye to them. "I'll be home after my modules tomorrow. Have fun!" She grinned.
Sarah blushed and they left.
"Billy, when can we go shooting again?"
"If you pass all your test questions tomorrow, I'll take you for a while before you go home."
"All right!"
Gil had only told Grace what he was planning, but he had watched all the canning during the summer and decided as much as they did, they needed a place especially for that. He called the General Steel and ordered a 20x30 foot building to do their food preparation in. They crew showed up the day after Trace and Sarah got back and began preparing an area next to the garden for the building.
Once everyone knew what was going on, Grace, Mollie and Allie began looking at the used restaurant equipment stores in Kingsport and Knoxville and gathered up enough tables, shelves and cabinets. Since it was going to need electricity, Gil would have Drake come up and assess what they needed to upgrade in the greenhouse power shed to accommodate the new building. Back in the Spring, Gil had bought a 1934 Magic Chef gas cookstove at an estate sale. Grace had looked at him sideways but didn't say anything because he usually had a good reason when he bought something. He also bought a large wood cookstove that they would also hook up, but probably wouldn't use it until propane was no longer available.
The presents came in that Trace and Sarah had purchased so they had a cookout at their house on Tuesday. They handed out two pairs of moosehide moccasins to everyone, even the twins. One pair lined with sheepskin shearling. Gil loved them and got the company information from Trace so he could buy more pairs.
Don called back later on that week telling Gil they now owned a forklift together Gil went down to look at it and It looked good. The engine had been gone over; it had new tires and an Earl Scheib paint job.
"That'll do the trick." Gil said. "It's going to be easier using that than the forks on the tractor. The tractor is good for a lot of stuff but occasionally I need something with more capacity."
"Well, I can keep it down here out of the weather. Any time you need it just shout."
"Okay Don. Give me the bill so I can get you paid."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 29, 2021 6:27:16 GMT -6
Chapter 158
Gil bottled the last of the watermelon wine and put the corker and the box of corks away in a cabinet. Dating the wooden case, he set it aside to take it down to the house. The cardboard boxes didn't last very long so Gil had built wooden cases, sectioned and lined with thin strips of Styrofoam with a lid that allowed the necks of the bottles to stick through. With a couple of simple brass hook latches, the lid was secured and the case could be stored on a tilt to keep the corks wet. The hand-holds cut into the ends made the box easier to carry also. He and Billy had made a rack for cases of wine to be stored this way in the storage chamber and was where the cases of strawberry and watermelon wines rested until the ladies burned through what was used at the homes.
Gil cleaned up the equipment he used and turned on the carboy dryer and stuck it in the carboy neck for a few minutes. The dryer was something Billy had come up with. Using an old gun type hair dryer, Billy had soldered a stop on the potentiometer so it wouldn't go above 125 degrees. A three foot, 2" hose was attached to the dryer and placed in the neck of the carboy. The insides of the carboy were dry in a matter of minutes. Gil liked the setup better than letting the glass jugs air dry. It used a lot of wattage but wasn't run very long.
Setting a case each of strawberry and watermelon wine and a special case of wines and River Bank for Glen in the back of the Gator, Gil slowly drove down to the house. The women were coming over in the morning for a coffee klatch…Grace called it a Command Group meeting… and she could divvy up the wine then. Gil took Glen's case down to the boat garage and set it the front seat of Glen's truck. He left a note on the steering wheel warning Glen not to be hauling the case around in town.
"Mom, is there such a thing as having two dads?"
Sarah looked up from the dough she was kneading to Carrie working on her computer.
"Well, you know, you can have two grandfathers and two grandmothers, so, I think it is possible. Why?"
"Well, I was thinking. I have Dad in Heaven and I….I have a Stepdad here on Earth….would it be okay to call Trace, 'Dad' too?"
Sarah's eyes got a little damp. "I think it would be okay. Why don't you ask Trace if it's all right when he comes home?"
"Yeah, okay."
Sarah only showed a faint smile as she continued kneading the dough, but her heart was soaring.
When Trace came in later, he hung his hat up and gave Sarah a hug and a kiss.
"M-m-m-m-m, fresh bread." Trace said, reaching for the bread knife.
"One piece. Don't be ruining your dinner."
"Yes Ma'am."
Trace cut the heel off the loaf and got the butter out, spreading the soft butter over the warm bread. Carrie came hopping down the stairs and into the kitchen. She came over to Trace and taking his wrist, pulled his hand toward her and took a bite from the slice of bread.
"Hey!" Trace said, grinning.
Carrie grinned and then her face to on a serious look. "I need to talk to you."
Trace looked over at Sarah, who just shrugged. Trace pulled a chair out from the table and sat down.
"Okay, let's talk."
"I don't feel right when I call you 'Trace'."
"Well Honey, you can call me whatever makes you feel right." Trace said, concerned.
"Well, I asked Mom and she said it would be okay but that I should to ask you…..can I call you 'Dad'?
Trace looked at a smiling Sarah, then back to Carrie.
"Carrie, I would be proud to have you call me 'Dad'."
Carrie grinned and hugged Trace around the neck, kissing him on the cheek.
"Thanks, Dad!"
Glen used the small bow saw and cut the last limb to length and placed it on the stack of wood he had built between two small trees. He tossed the smaller limbs from the deadfall into a depression to provide concealment for wildlife. That made six stacks he had around the area. He needed to start moving wood and getting it to the wood shelter. Going back to the cabin, Glen got his deer cart and started with the stack the farthest from the cabin. After hauling the third load, Glen took a break to sit on his porch and drink some cold water from the Klean Kanteen he kept in his fridge. A noise caused him to lay his hand on the Henry leaning against the porch rail.
"Hey Glen!"
"Come on up Billy!"
Glen watched as Billy made his way up the path and sat down on the steps.
"Want some cold water?" Glen asked.
"No thanks, I've got mine." Billy said, motioning to the water bottle slung around his shoulder.
"That's a nice canteen carrier. You make that?"
"Yep. Dad had a nylon one but I made this out of a deer hide I had."
"You make the buckskins too?"
"Nah. Grandma Mollie made these. I don't know how to sew that well."
"It would be a good skill to have around. Women aren't always around to do things for you sometimes. What are you doing around roaming the ridges?"
"Thinking. I do my best thinking in the woods sometimes."
"Now what weighs on you that you have to do that much thinking about?"
"I don't know. It's just, well…... you know we do all this work and put things aside for when bad times come…. what happens to those people who get caught up in the bad times and didn't prepare?"
"Well, they'd be in a fix for sure. Out in the country, most people were raised to have things set aside. It's the city folks that would have it the worst. You can pretty much expect a total upheaval of social relationships, a breakdown of society in the cities first. The people will be faced with panic and starvation. People would kill for food and things you have they want. Up to that point, you help people as much as you can, then you'll have to go into lockdown and preserve what you have. After things calm down, you can begin picking up the pieces and start again, living as normal a life as you can."
"Are you going to be all right out here?"
"Oh yeah, I'll be fine. Since I've gotten some transportation, I've put away a whole bunch of stuff in caches around here. Should someone want to get cute, I've got surprises all around here, so I don't want you roaming my property without you with me. You could get hurt badly."
"I won't. Well, I better get back. I'm helping Allie haul the canning up to storage this afternoon."
"Okay Billy. You be careful and stay on the trail."
"Okay. See you later, Glen."
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Post by gipsy on Dec 29, 2021 7:09:11 GMT -6
Thanks for the update
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