Dave's Story

[iamnobody]

Back at the cabin, they unloaded the car and took everything inside and put the guns on the table and then locked the cabin door and closed the curtains. Mae told him that Granny had explained to her last night what it meant to be a prepper but why did he need ALL these guns.

Dave told her he had been watching the economy going down for several years. That the cost of things were going up at a fast rate but paychecks weren't keeping up. Mae said she was only being able to buy fewer things when she went to the store because of lack of money.

He said he had bought the extra guns for her and Granny so that they would also be safe and that they would choose to work with him. Mae had a stunned look on her face and then angrily said she hoped he didn't think she was going to sleep with him because he did this.

Dave told her – no, women had left a very foul taste in his mouth and he wasn't interested in that. This was a business arrangement of their loan and a work partnership and nothing more. If they no longer wanted that, he would move on and they would still have their loan, payable to him. Mae saw the blank stare in his eyes, and Granny was squeezing her arm hard. She looked at Granny, then at him and said they had a partnership. He said fine and he would get construction crews in here shortly, and in the meantime, lets hide these guns in his car and they pretend they know nothing of them.

[iamnobody]

During the evening, Mae could hear his computer running, so she knew he must be using his laptop out in his car. When she went out in the morning, he was already up, had wood split for her and had water heating over a small fire he had made inside a fire ring of stones. She saw a pack of instant oatmeal nearby. He saw her and said good morning.

After breakfast Dave asked to speak with them. He told them the construction crews would be here in 2 days, bringing the people and all supplies. They would camp out here and the buildings should be done in a week. Dave told them he was ready to start plowing and have the fields ready to plant.

Mae and Granny said they weren't planting all the fields, just a few acres. Dave then ran some ideas by them about “truck farming” and some fruit trees and berry. Also about “high tunnels” to extend their growing season. The women liked that when they understood what high tunnels are.

Dave ordered several high tunnels 20 feet wide and 100 feet long. They would come later in the week. Then he got on the tractor and after a few test runs to get the feel of driving it, he started plowing all the fields. He was done before the construction crews showed up.

The crews kept their promise and the buildings were done in short time. The crews had their own campers but they didn't turn down Dave's goodwill offerings of bacon, eggs, sausage, burgers, cold water and ice tea. The last day he even bought them all steaks. He helped out where he could, carrying supplies to the workers.

On their last day, the high tunnels arrived and were unloaded. The construction crews didn't have any more work for a week, so they jumped at Dave's offer for them to erect the high tunnels for more pay. He had the 4 high tunnels spaced out. It would have been easier to tend them if they were close together but he looked at the spaced out as being like running backups of his computer. Safety if something happened to 1 of the high tunnels.

After the crews left, Mae and Granny looked out over the farm and could see a lot of good change – buildings, fields plowed, high tunnels and a tractor. Dave would start planting tomorrow. Mae looked at Dave and thought maybe he wasn't as big of a city slicker as she had thought. His bib overalls even had the newness wore off.

[iamnobody]

Mae and Dave had went into town to buy seed at the feed mill. Got the field corn and then truck farm seeds of assorted vegetables. While at the feed mill, he heard a commotion from the office “I can't fix this. Its locked up tight.” The owner stomped out mumbling “computers” Dave asked what was wrong and the man said something about being hacked.

Dave asked if he could look at it, saying he was a geek, while looking at Mae and grinning. One look at the computer and he saw that some hacker had everything froze up. He got his laptop out of the car and plugged it into the computer. Within a short time he fixed it, sent the virus back to the senders hard drive and then sped the feed mill computer up. The owner was very happy, saying his business would have been hurt bad and he needed help in keeping it open. Dave sensed a business opportunity and closed the office door. A short time later he walked out as a silent investor of the feed mill.

Dave and Mae stopped at the diner for lunch. The diner was also having computer problems. Someone was trying to steal the credit card info. Again Dave fixed things and walked out of there as a silent investor plus a contract for supplying fresh crops for the diner.

They needed to stop at the small store selling groceries. They were having computer problems too. A few minutes of his time and again Dave was a silent investor and a contract to suppy fresh crops for the store to sell.

[NCWEBNUT]

Sounds to me like dave is going to be part owner in a town

[iamnobody]

Over the next few days, the 3 of them got the planting done. The fields looked good and rain was expected tomorrow. Dave took the time to sight the guns in. He made sure never to turn the selector switch to full auto. He spaced the shots out over days, so that any locals wouldn't get nosy.

He was just finished with a M16 when Mae stopped by and asked if the offer to shoot was still open. Dave was surprised but asked if she knew about shooting. Yes, her late husband had taught her. So he showed her the selector switch and to make sure it stayed on the semi auto for now and to only fire 1 shot. Her shot was in the bullseye and she was surprised at the low recoil. Mae said Granny would want to try tomorrow. Dave left her carry the rifle back.

On his computer he looked up an ammo store he had heard about online, located in the midwest. It was still open for several hours so he called the owner about a bulk purchase. Yes the owner had in stock and could ship his order. The owner was surprised Dave was paying with a credit card. It was shipped to the feed mill and the ammo store owner was going to personally drive the “plain” delivery truck and call Dave when he was 60 minutes away.

Delivery day and Dave was now stocked up on ammo which had been stored in the basement under the chicken coop. The owner met him at the feed mill and for extra money, agreed to a home delivery. He had:
100,000 rds of IMI 147gr FMJ for the FAL
100,000 rds IMI 55gr FMJ for M16
10,000 rds IMI 230gr FMJ for 45ACP
10,000 rds IMI 115gr FMJ for 9mm
20,000 rds CCI 40gr LRN for 22LR
20,000 rds Federal 150gr SP for 308
5,000 tds Brennke slugs for 12G shotgun
5,000 rds Federal 00 buckshot for 12G
1,000 rds Federal #4 shot for 12G
1,000 rds Federal #6 shot for 12G
Mae was in disbelief at the amount but Granny just nodded.

[kaijafon]

oh my! another "bad woman" story.

But maybe a "GOOD woman" too?

Let's see how this goes!

[9idrr]

Jan 29, 2022 21:16:27 GMT -6 kaijafon said:

oh my! another "bad woman" story.

Let's see how this goes!

Hey, sometimes the bad ones can be the best ones, or so some guys wanna believe.  ;^)

[texican]

Mae looked at Dave and thought maybe he wasn't as big of a city slicker as she had thought. His bib overalls even had the newness wore off.

Yep, Dave is a goner and just doesn't know it yet.

Thanks iam for the chapters.

Texican....

[iamnobody]

The 50 chickens he had bought would start laying in a few months. He had also bought 20 Cornish Rock chickens for meat. They would be ready to butcher at 8 weeks of age and should be about a 5 pound carcass. The 12 Toulouse geese were growing and he should be able to have some roast geese by fall. The rest he would carry over winter as breeding stock. He had picked up 2 feeder pigs to raise til fall. Granny was already talking about the hams and bacon from them. The field crops were already up and doing fine, though it was a struggle to keep the deer out. He ended up stretching several strands of electric wire and putting in motion detectors which activated those dancing air figures you see in people's yard for the holidays.

Dave was also picking up some computer work online. He would be making $50,000 working a few hours a week. Also the 3 businesses in town that he invested in were making some money too. The economy was in a steady decline. His money in the bank was now only earning 1% and he still had over $16,000,000 yet.

He started buying food to store – dried beans, rice, pasta, oatmeal, grains. He bought mylar bags and O2 absorbents, packaged the food in the bags and sealed them, which were stored in 5 gallon buckets with lids. He laid in spices and dried fruit.

He added men's work clothing – pants, shirts, socks, underwear, sweaters, coats, hats, gloves and boots. He did the same for women but left Mae in charge of that. They all got stored away.

He bought several freeze dryers. Mae and Granny had never heard of them but once Dave told them it could preserve vegetables, fruits and meats for 20-30 years, he ended up buying 10 of the freeze dryers. He also bought 2,000 quart canning jars and 10,000 canning lids and 3 pressure canners.

Dave had an outside kitchen made and built 2 wood cookstoves and 2 wood fired ovens which pleased Mae and Granny. No more heat from cooking inside during the summer. Next were 2 smokers for preserving meat.

After talking with the locals about what was the popular calibers locally, Dave placed another large order with the ammo store in the midwest. The owner was very happy and delivered the load. This delivery was
100,000 rds IMI FMJ for FAL
100,000 rds IMI FMJ for M16
50,000 rds CCI 40gr LRN for 22LR
10,000 rds Federal 150gr SP for 30-06
10,000 rds Federal 150gr SP for 308
10,000 rds Federal 150gr SP for 30=30
10,000 rds Federal Tru Ball slugs for 12G
5,000 rds Federal 158gr for 357 Magnum
All ammo was repacked in metal ammo cans for storage. Dave also ordered some magazine pouches and belts to carry the rifle mags.

[iamnobody]

Granny suggested a place she had heard of in Ohio that sold a lot of “old fashioned” products. Dave looked it up online and finally found Lehman's. Granny's eyes were shining with excitement as she looked over Dave's shoulder at the many products. He ended up buying several Aladdin kerosene lamps and replacement parts, several bigger manual meat grinders and sausage stuffers, assorted Lodge cast iron skillets and camp dutch ovens in assorted sizes. When these items arrived and Granny had them in her hands, she said if she was younger, she would give him a big kiss. Dave quickly found a reason to go outside because Granny had her normal hunk of chewing tobacco in her mouth.

Dave ordered medical supplies – bandages and medicine, but wasn't satisfied with the level of medicine he could get. Online forums had talked about using animal antibiotics. He ordered some of that in powder form. Granny suggested he talk with the local midwife / herbalist.

Mae went with him to see the midwife whose name was Ruth. Ruth was an older woman in her late 40s and was sitting on the porch steps. As they walked up, she was looking at both of them. Ruth looked at Mae and said “so you finally pregnant”. Both Mae and Dave turned red faced and Mae said Ruth wasn't funny. Ruth just chuckled and asked what she could do for the 2 of them.

Dave told her he was after info and explained what he wanted to do. They ended up spending most of the day with Ruth as she talked about many different herbs. She showed them inside where she had shelves full of dried herbs and dark bottles holding herbal tinctures. He had many notes when he left and ideas of also what Ruth could use to help in her business.

He got online and found a great source for bulk dried herbs from a company located out west in the Rocky mountains. Another place in Canada had many different herb seeds and plants for sale. Dave not only wanted to have the dried herbs for medicine but wanted to grow herbs for a constant fresh supply.

Once the dried herbs, seeds and plants arrived, Dave and Mae went over to Ruth's and surprised her with what Dave had bought extra for her, along with midwife supplies Ruth said she could always use. Ruth cried when she saw everything and told Mae she had a good man and kept talking before Mae could correct her. Ruth agreed to come over and help Dave with planting his herb seeds and plants. She also wanted to see the small still he had bought to make alcohol for making herbal tinctures.

[iamnobody]

By mid summer, Dave was looking out over the farm at everything growing. The crops were flourishing, the apple and plum trees looked great, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry bushes were well established, the Concord grape vines all bushed up, the herbs coming along nicely. He was searching his mind about what else would be needed, what else was missing.

One early morning he was exercising as normal before the daily chores. Not like having a gym setup but he could still jog, do pushups, situps and other exercises. Unbeknownst to him, this morning Mae had gotten up earlier than her normal and was standing on the porch with her cup of coffee. She was watching Dave exercise. She had mostly only seen him in bib overalls but this morning he was in sweat pants and a tight T-shirt.

Composing herself, she called out that she had never seen him exercising before. He just grinned and told her she was never up early enough to see it. Mae went back inside the cabin where Granny was sitting at the table and smiling at her. Granny said that Dave has really made this farm come alive with his hard work, that he was no longer a city slicker, that her husband had been dead for several years and she could love again. Besides, Dave's muscles fill that T-shirt out very nicely. Mae blushed and told Granny to shush.

Dave asked about the winters and was told they can get nasty. Sometimes it was bad enough that no one could travel for days. When the State did plow the roads, they were still in bad shape. He asked about getting a truck and snow plow. Mae said they could go see Cooter about one.

At Cooter's, he saw a bunch of cars and trucks parked around a garage. Inside they found Cooter under a car, working on it. Coming out, Cooter said “hey Mae, what can I do for you.” She introduced Dave who told him he was looking for a truck and snow plow. Cooter stood there stroking his bearded chin, saying he didn't have any but he thought his cousin had something, let's go see him.

All 3 piling in Dave's car, they went to see Cooter's cousin Clevis. Arriving, Clevis had a setup better than Dave could hope to find. Clevis had a mid size 4 wheel drive dump truck, snow plow, tire chains and all 6 tires were brand new. Clevis had just rebuilt the motor and transmission and would guarantee it. Dave ended up buying it and Mae followed him home, dropping off Cooter along the way.

[karpacian]

If I was a suspicious person, I would think our hero had something to do with all those computer hacks. Several in a couple hours, different stores, in a small town? And this stranger fixes them all quickly? Very interesting, guess it’s a good thing I’m not a suspicious person.

[ydderf]

I would have wanted to fire each used gun before leaving.

[iamnobody]

Dave ordered more food, mylar bags and O2 absorbents. Also for the small grocery store and diner in town, they did have small basements, so he ordered several loads of canned and boxed foods for them.

He bought a bunch of fishing supplies – hooks, line, sinkers and several cast nets. He added gun cleaning kits, gun scopes and etc. He asked the women what else could he get. Mae asked if he had stockpiled any chocolate – no. Mae asked if he knew that women NEEDED chocolate. So he ordered lots of chocolate, those several pound bags of mini chocolates like Hershey chunks, mini assorted chocolate bars, etc. As a surprise, he also ordered some of the premium Godiva chocolates and gave a box each to Mae and Granny.

[texican]

As a surprise, he also ordered some of the premium Godiva chocolates and gave a box each to Mae and Granny.

Dave is definitely paving the way with Mae and will have lots of help from Granny.

Thanks iam for the chapters.

Texican....

[iamnobody]

Mae asked about bath soaps, shampoos, dish detergents and laundry detergents. Dave told her to make up a list of what they wanted and he would order it. Granny said to remember Fels Napha soap and washing soda so that they could make their own laundry detergent. Dave said they should get some tubs to use for washing clothes and washboards.

They kept their skills honed with the guns but never firing more than 1 shot a day per day, and those were spaced out so as not to draw attention.

One day it was a clear blue sky day, a nice 78F temperature. Early in the morning at breakfast, Dave suggested that they get some food and head down to the local river and have a picnic and do some fishing. The women were excited at that, so while they were grabbing some food, Dave started loading his station wagon with folding chairs, fishing gear, etc.

Down at the river, he cleaned up the fire pit that was already there and it didn't take long to set their picnic up. All 3 of them got their fishing rods and soon had their lines in the water. By the time they were ready to start cooking lunch, they had several Bluegill, 2 Bullhead catfish and 1 decent size Carp to cook along with the burgers and hotdogs. After lunch, Granny decided to take a nao in 1 of the chairs while Dave and Mae went back to fishing. They were sitting close to each other with the fishing rods propped on forked sticks and lines in the water. It seemed to be a lull in the fish biting and Mae saw him just staring into the passing water.

Looking back, she saw Granny sound asleep, then looked at Dave still lost in his thoughts. Mae softly asked him who the woman was. What? Huh? She said the woman who left such a foul taste in your mouth. He turned back and stared into the passing water and was quiet for several minutes.

She was my wife. We had been together since age 15. He was the nerdy geek while she was the beautiful, popular girl that every one liked. They went to college together and afterwards got married. She had become a manager at a company while he became a VP at an IT company. They had a very wonderful marriage and he was very happy. Then at age 35, she had died in a horrible car wreck. Months later he had found her diary, pics and videos which destroyed his illusion of a wonderful marriage. She had been unfaithful the whole time they had been together, she had only been using him for money to live a fancy lifestyle and she had aborted 2 babies without his knowledge. Mae told him his wife was a piece of garbage.

They both sat there in silence for a while, watching the water swirl by. Then both their fishing rod tips starting jerking with bites. They set the hooks and the commotion woke Granny up. Mae finally landed a big Channel catfish and Dave landed another Carp. Granny was already making plans for tomorrow of making fried fish and French fries. Yum! They spent the rest of the day lazying along the river, then headed home.

[iamnobody]

Reading on the prepper forums, Dave realized he needed some radios. He ordered several shortwave receivers, a couple of CB radios and about a dozen hand held radios for staying in contact around the farm.

He had a tractor but how long would fuel last in a SHTF. So he bought a bunch of quality shovels, rakes, hoes and etc. After talking with Mae and Granny, he ordered a bunch of non hybrid seeds. He also had installed 2 fuel tanks for on the farm, 1 for clear kerosene for the Aladdin lamps and another of stabilized fuel for the tractor.

Dave asked Mae to go along on another trip to Ruth, the midwife. Ruth was touched that he wanted to know what supplies she may need some more of. She named a few off and then said some baby blankets would be great for the newborns. Maybe some baby formula for the rare mother that wasn't producing milk. Dave said he would order and she would get a delivery in a few days. 4 days later Ruth watches as a box truck pulls up to her place and the back is packed full of boxes filled with midwife supplies, blankets, baby clothes and powdered baby formula. She was crying with happiness as the empty truck left.

[ydderf]

Thanks

[iamnobody]

One morning as the 3 of them were eating breakfast, Granny told Dave that having all that info on the internet was wonderful when looking up how to do things, but what about when the internet goes down in a SHTF. Having books with written know how would be great. So he suggested they make lists of subjects to get books on. They compared lists, ordered at least 1,000 books and had them delivered to a store in town, so they could use a fork lift to unload the heavy boxes.

Dave was out of room in the basements he had built and needed more room. He called the same out of State construction crew he used before and ordered 3 more buildings with basements. The owner remembered him and told Dave they would be there in 3 days.

With all the chores caught up, Dave suggested another trip to the river for fishing. Mae was all for it, Granny said she was tired and just the 2 of them go as she gave a look to Mae. Granny did say to bring back a mess of fish for her to fry up. It seems the fish weren't biting too well, but Dave and Mae spent time just walking around and talking.

The internet alternative news was reporting the economy worsening. Dave knew the interest earned on his money wasn't much. The construction crew had completed his new buildings and had left.

[texican]

Carp can be good to eat, but is filled with small bones. Most people pressure cook carp to dissolve the bones. Makes great fish cakes.

Texican....

[udwe]

Great story! Speaking of carp, we had a neighbor who canned it.

[iamnobody]

Dave realized they had no way to get water if the electricity went off So he ordered 2 deep well water hand pumps with several rebuild kits. He got 3 of those water filters that sit on the counter plus 100 filters for in them. Also of the smaller personal size water filters that you carry with you and do 1,000 gallons, he ordered 4 dozen of them.

Since he had the new empty buildings and basements, he ordered more beans, rice and grains. This time he also ordered instant mashed potatoes, flour, corn meal, pancake mixes, instant dry powdered milk and pudding mixes. Mae yelled not to forget more mini chocolate candy bars. He ordered a truckload of mylar bags, O2 absorbents and 5 gallon buckets. He needed cooking fats, so added ex-virgin olive oil, coconut oil and canned lard. Granny assured him that when they butchered their hogs this fall, they could make lard and can it in jars.

Dave ordered more rolls of replacement plastic cover for the high tunnels. He thought about ordering more ammo, but just how much ammo was enough? More medical supplies and dried herbs. He stockpiled many cases of Everclear alcohol for making herbal tinctures. More men, women and children clothes of all sizes and seasons.

When the crew was in building the latest buildings, he had them make a 3 sided woodshed for him. Instead of cutting the trees on the farm, he bought cut firewood from other places and ranked it in the woodshed. It was able to hold 50 cords of wood. The only trees he cut on the property were dead ones or diseased ones. He had 2 wood chainsaws and extra parts but also bought axes, mauls, hatchets and 2 man crosscut saws.

[iamnobody]

He had chickens laying eggs but no rooster and no hens that would normally set eggs, so he got 2 roosters and several bantam hens from a neighbor. The bantam hens would set the eggs and hatch out new chickens. This fall he would be getting goats that he had already placed orders for. The farmer said they would be ready by then. Mae wasn't sure about drinking goat's milk but Granny assured her it was good. The meat goats she said would be similar in taste to venison.

They would be butchering the 2 pigs this fall. Dave already had orders in with local farmers for more pigs. 1 farmer was going to sell him a 1 year old boar for breeding and another farmer was selling him 4 female feeder pigs. 2 of those would be for butchering next fall and 2 of them kept as breeders that should throw litters of piglets the following spring.

[udwe]

Wish we lived on a farm!

[iamnobody]

The fresh eggs were welcomed at the store and diner. The customers were grateful to get actual fresh eggs. Dave had found out that those fresh eggs at the store were far from it. He learned “factory” eggs were gathered and stored but did not have a “best buy” date until they were packaged. Often eggs had been in storage for weeks before being packaged. The store and diner also liked the fresh produce. No more wilted lettuce from being shipped 1,000s of miles away. The 3 of them freeze dried a lot of produce and still they had extra. The extra was given to people that were suffering from the down turn in the economy.

Fall was here and the nights were turning chilly. Dave was thinking of how he was going to stay warm at night. He had been sleeping in his car or out under the stars at night. He was considering making a small room in the barn but Granny told him nonsense, he would be sleeping inside the cabin and could throw his sleeping bag near the stove.

With the chillier temperatures, they set a day to butcher the pigs. A neighbor came over that had been doing this all his 70 years. They lured the pigs over to a hoist, 1 at a time, shot the pig between the eyes with the 22LR to stun it, hoisted it up by its hind legs and slit the throat to bleed out. They did it the easy way and skinned the pigs.The neighbor's son used a fleshing tool to remove fat from the hides. Dave was shown how to use the smokers he had and had the “slow” fires going. Extra fat was trimmed from the carcasses. The fat would be rendered down for lard. The hams and bacon would be cured, pork chops made, front shoulders and ribs smoked. For his help, the neighbor wanted both skins, and all the leftovers. Dave was also planning on giving him a side of bacon when it was done curing.