ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Jul 20, 2022 11:10:06 GMT -6
Thanks.
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Post by iamnobody on Jul 20, 2022 11:13:14 GMT -6
I get the exact opposite response.
I am a delusional old man because I don't stop every day at the store to buy food for my supper.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 21, 2022 8:10:51 GMT -6
Chapter 90
Matt heard a phone ring and went back into Grandpa’s bedroom. There it was, still plugged up and charging. Matt picked up the flip phone and said, “Hello,” “Matt, you need to come into the office. Something has come up.”
Clay looked at the house then turned and looked around the property.
”I need a dog.” Clay thought.
Clay liked Hank’s dogs. After he was introduced to them, it was like he was a welcomed friend, but they always seemed on alert when someone other than family were around. In Chicago, he would have been relegated to one of the “toy dogs” that were popular that cost thousands of dollars in vet bills every year. Clay’s grandfather once said any dog that couldn’t eat chicken bones without choking wasn’t worth a shit. Enough on that line of thought for now. He needed to go find out about propane tank, or tanks, depending on what size they offered. The finish workers looked like they could get along all right without his help so he left and went down to Shell Knob to the propane dealer there.
“Yes sir, how can I help you?”
“I’m looking to buy or lease an underground propane tank.”
“The underground tanks you have to buy. What size are you looking for?”
“What size do you have?”
“For the underground ones we have them in 300, 500 and 1,990 gallon tanks.”
“Do you install them?”
“Yes sir, we do.”
“I’ll take two of the 1,990 tanks.”
The man’s eyebrows rose. “Yes sir. What is your address?”
Clay walked out of the building smiling. They would do the installation and fill the tank on Saturday. They really didn’t have that much to do. The gas line was already run in the house to the kitchen. All they had to do was bury and connect the gas line to the box at the side of the house. A cut-off had already been installed there. Looking at his watch, he decided to go take Jess to lunch. He had time before they delivered and installed the appliances.
Matt frowned as he looked at the model home. He was looking for something a little less modern. He walked out of the display home and drove on down the highway. He headed south on 39 and after passing through Viola, he saw something that interested him. A crew was assembling a log cabin. It looked to be maybe 1500 square feet with a two car garage. There was a builder’s sign out front. Writing down the phone number, he drove on toward Branson. That was something he needed to do to. He didn’t even have a phone. His grandfather had a flip phone he used to take hay orders but Matt had never needed one after he’d moved there, actually, he threw his away after so many people kept calling him. He found a store in a mini mall on the edge of Branson that sold phones and went in. He ended up with an iPhone SE and an iPad and an unlimited text, talk and data plan for a hell of a lot less than it had cost him six years ago. The sales lady helped him set everything up and even helped him select some apps that would be helpful. Matt was feeling closer to the outside world and he was beginning to get a little intimidated. He took the boxes to his truck and sat there for a few minutes. He was on the verge of a panic attack but finally calmed down. Getting out, he walked across the parking lot to a convenience store and got one of those frozen Coca Cola things. He hadn’t had one in years. Sitting in his truck, drinking the slushy Coke, he wondered what was at the bank Mr. Hollings said he needed to check on. Finally, having calmed down, he called the number he’d taken off the sign and found their location. The GPS he had in his truck was years out of date so he used the map app on his phone to get him to the business location.
The salesman was friendly and asked all kinds of questions to determine Matt’s wants and needs. He showed him several floorplans and elevation pictures until one caught Matt’s attention. It was perfect! It was just the room layout he envisioned. Matt’s heart raced a bit.
“Can you tell me more about this cabin and what steps I need to take?”
Earl followed the car for about a mile before he turned on his lights and pulled the vehicle over between the industrial park and the 37/112 intersection. The car had been weaving across the center line and the driver might be intoxicated. He called in his location and ran a tag check. It came back for a different vehicle. Earl unfastened the retention strap on his holster and got out. As he got to the left rear of the car the door flew open and a man came out with a pistol and fired, striking Earl in the chest. Earl’s shot was a fraction of a second behind and caught the man on the bridge of the nose, dropping him like a wet load of laundry. Earl held his chest as he staggered back to his vehicle. Grabbing his mike the last words he said before slowly sliding down the side of the SUV was, “Officer down! Shots fired! industrial park!”
Diane’s head turned at that awful warbling of the SPT, walked over and picked up the handset.
“Diane! It’s Jaelyn! Earl’s been shot! I’m taking Kacie to the hospital now!”
“I’ll come up there and stay with the kids. Until we find out more, I’ll keep them at home.”
Diane grabbed Maddie and ran out the door.
Hank pulled in behind Clay as he turned into his driveway. Clay parked next to the shop as Hank pulled up behind him.
“Hey Hank! What’s up?”
“Got something for you.” Hank said, taking the boxes out of the back of the truck.
“What are these?”
“Sound powered telephones. You are, between Earl, Gene and my place are the only one not on the party line. I’ve got wire to connect you up but we need to figure out a way to get the wire under the paved road. When we ran Earl’s, there was a cable crew with one of those drilling rigs that bore under the road and for a few bucks they ran the wire for us.”
You are really into this prep stuff, aren’t you?”
“The way things are these days, anything can happen. I just want my friends and family to make it through.”
“I guess I see what you mean. The big cities are turning into jungles.”
“It’s not only the crime problem! Have you ever taken a look at the U.S. debt? Some say we are around $30 trillion in debt. That’s not quite right. When you factor in commitments for which the government has no way to pay – “unfunded liabilities” – it’s closer to $130 trillion from what I’ve figured out. You could probably come up with different numbers depending on your source of information. When you factor in the world’s debt from fiat currency, there isn’t enough wealth to pay it off if we strip mined the entire planet. Governments may crash, economies may fail, but individuals and small groups can thrive if they are prepared.”
Hanks phone rang.
Hank looked at his phone and the caller I.D. showed it was Diane.
“Hello?”
“Hank! Earl has been shot! I’m at Kacie’s with the kids.”
“Okay, I’m on my way!”
Hank pulled into Kacie’s driveway and went into the house. Diane was making a snack for the kids.
“Have you heard anything more?” Hank asked.
“No, nothing yet. Why does this keep happening to Earl?”
“Earl is doing his job. I think it was Einstein that said, ‘The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.’ Earl tries to make up for all those people who turn their heads with a blind eye to the evil of this world.”
“I wish Jaelyn would call and let us know what’s going on.”
“Well, let’s just keep the kids calm and…”
Hank’s phone rang….
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Post by solo on Jul 21, 2022 8:23:07 GMT -6
Hopefully, that vest helped leave him with just a big bruise....
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Post by gipsy on Jul 21, 2022 8:52:37 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by paulk on Jul 21, 2022 18:11:10 GMT -6
I'm too old to keep hanging off cliffs by my fingernails! More PLEASE!
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Post by udwe on Jul 21, 2022 19:15:47 GMT -6
Love this story!
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 21, 2022 20:34:10 GMT -6
I'm too old to keep hanging off cliffs by my fingernails! More PLEASE! I have found that Installing a winch on my Rascal scooter and securing the line to a nearby tree helps when I am near cliffs like this.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Jul 22, 2022 18:28:34 GMT -6
Watch out CLIFF ahead, sharpen your nails.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 22, 2022 19:57:31 GMT -6
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 22, 2022 20:16:50 GMT -6
Would you all want some cheese with those whines. Bacon flavored smoked Cheddar or Blue Cheese if you please sir.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 22, 2022 21:04:06 GMT -6
Being close to Wisconsin I can get you some Blue that will curl your nose hairs.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 22, 2022 21:37:20 GMT -6
Chapter 91
Hank and Diane herded the kids into the waiting room at Mercy Hospital. Hank took Mary and Donnie up to Earl’s room while Diane stayed with Maddie. She was too young to go. When they got to the room Kacie was inside with Earl. The kids wanted to hug their father but he was a bit sore right then.
“You’ll do anything to get time off, won’t you Earl”
Earl got off half a chuckle and winced.
Earl mouthed some words to Hank he didn’t want the children to hear.
“Seriously buddy, what’s the damage and how are you doing.”
“I just got a cracked rib but the doctor wanted to keep me overnight for observation.”
“And a big bruise!” Kacie added.
Hank turned to Kacie. “That means Dudley needs to heal up. If you need any lifting or hauling, give me a shout. Clay is ready to jump in and help too. I’m going to let ya’ll visit now. I’ll go to stay with Maddie so Diane can come up.”
“Thanks Hank.”
Jaelyn was down in the waiting area talking with Diane when Hank went down. Hank took Maddie to get a drink water at the water fountain while Diane and Jaelyn went up. Fifteen minutes later they came down.
“Jaelyn is hitching a ride back with us.” Diane said.
“That’s fine. Quickdraw McGraw turned out okay.”
“He was lucky!” Jaelyn said.
“Better than being unlucky.”
“There!”
They finally got all the furniture in. Clay and Carol had laid down all the area rugs before the deliverymen had arrived and Carol directed them on where to place everything. By the time Jess got there after work, they had started hanging curtains. Jess got busy washing and drying linen and towels. Clay took a break to put a pizza in the oven and around 7:00 they stopped to have beer and pizza.
“You’ll have fresh, new sheets to sleep on tonight.” Jess said.
“Thank you. I needed the extra pair of hands. Now all I need to do is bring in my shaving kit and a change of clothes and I can spend my first night here.” Clay said.
Carol laid a file folder on the table with the debit card Clay had given her.
“Well, here are all the invoices and your debit card.”
Clay opened the file and the first invoice was Carol’s. Clay got up, got his checkbook and wrote a check for the amount plus a 25% bonus.
“Thank you Carol. You have done a wonderful job. If you ever need a glowing reference, you can count on me.”
“Thank you Clay. This is very generous. I really had a lot of fun.”
“Well, it was fun working with you.”
“Well, my job here is done. If you need anything, please feel free to call me.”
“Thanks again, Carol.”
Clay and Jess walked Carol to her car and watched her drive off.
Matt drove down to the RV site to check everything out. His grandpa had set up six pads down in the southeast corner of the property with water, sewer and electricity for the folks that just wanted to camp in or near the national forest. They were within easy walking distance to the forest near one of the established trails and in the summer time they usually had a few visitors. In the winter, not that many. Matt guessed they might have three or four RV campers but not that many. His grandfather had put in a cistern and a Solarjack water pump that kept the cistern full. The Solarjack would pump while the sun was shining until the float switch stopped the pump, keeping the tank full. Matt had kept the place mowed with the tractor mower deck and it was a nice, quiet place to come if you just wanted to get away. Mat drove back toward the house and pulled over where he was going to cut trees to build a drive up to his new house site. He would clear a 36’ wide area for the road and had a few trees to clear out at the house site. That would give him enough firewood for three or four years. The site was on a rise above the fire road/driveway and would give awesome views from both the front and back porches. Well, first, they needed to get the land cleared and get a well in. Joe, Craig and Bill were coming tomorrow to help him get started.
As the sun began setting, Matt sat down and leaned back against a tree and let his mind wander. When he had been picked up in the minor leagues he thought Fate was on his side. But the fact is, unless you're Tom Brady, Elon Musk, or win a $500 million dollar lottery, Fate is never really on your side. Fate just sets you up with short term happiness that leads to long-term pain. Matt realized he had had been carrying the loss of his wife Sarah around his neck like an albatross. She had been gone a little over five years, yet it wasn't until his grandfather died that he finally seemed to be coming out of his shell and discarding his grief. He would always love her and miss her, but her death had helped him recover faster from the loss of his grandfather. He was starting to feel like he wanted to live again.
Clay had all his supplies moved into the shelter and was straightening things up. He needed to go to the grocery store and stock up on fresh foods since he had more cold storage space. He was going to make dinner for Jess Friday night and wanted to fix something special using his cast iron cookware. He locked up and headed over to the Harter House in Branson. Packing the meats in a cooler, he stopped by the Amish Country Store and pick up a jar of Rhubarb Strawberry Jam and a jar of Strawberry jam. A wine shop was his next stop along with a stop at the Lindwedel Winery on his way home.
Clay decided to make beef tenderloins in mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts for Friday night. It wouldn’t take long cooking and he wouldn’t have to take all day cooking. Dessert would be Strawberries & Crème trifle in individual trifle cups he had bought at Bed Bath & Beyond. Those only took a few minutes to put together then popped into the refrigerator. By 3:00 he had all the preps done and really had nothing to do. He took a shower and dressed in khakis and a light pullover sweater, slipped on some topsiders and built a fire in the fireplace. He put on some light easy music on the sound system and poured a glass of Glenlivet. Clay sat there thinking of what to make for breakfast in the morning. Hashbrowns, eggs and bacon was always a good starter. Maybe a pan of biscuits with the jars of jams he had purchased at the Amish store. The driveway alarm sounded so he set his drink down on the side table on a coaster and went to the front door. Clay came out of the front door as Jess pulled up. Clay went down the steps and opened her door for her.
“Hi! How was your first night in your new home?” Jess asked.
“Lonely. But I want to thank you for the mattress topper and pillows. I haven’t slept that good in years.”
“My Pillow has some amazing products.”
“Well come on in!” Clay said, glancing in the back seat and seeing an overnight bag.
When they walked in the front door, Jess saw the flintlock rifle and powder horn hanging above the mantle.
“You hung the rifle! It looks good there.”
“And I thank you again for that. It looks perfect. Glass of wine?”
“Yes please.”
She went through the door first then followed him into the kitchen. As Clay was pouring her wine Jess asked, “ What did you do today?”
“A few preps for dinner. I spent a lot of time just walking through the house and looking at everything. I couldn’t be more pleased. The only things that are missing is a ‘Country Cutie’ and a dog.”
“Well, I don’t have any jean hot pants but I’m claiming that position. What kind of dog do you want?”
“I want a Ridgeback hound like Hank has. They are so intelligent and are good guard dogs. We’re going to pick one out at the breeders tomorrow.”
Clay began cutting up potatoes for dinner. Jess began preparing the brussels sprouts.
Matt browsed the tablet, using his iPhone as a hotspot and began finding out more and more articles and websites concerning self-sufficiency. Going off grid appealed immensely to Matt. He already was using solar power to run the Solarjack, why not use it to power his new house? Matt was getting better at using web searches and started querying about Alternative Energy companies in Missouri, making a list of websites and taking notes. The term “off the grid” popped up and he began checking the sites out when he did that search.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 23, 2022 7:10:22 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 23, 2022 17:03:12 GMT -6
Chapter 92
Clay and Jess pulled into the PetSmart parking lot after leaving the breeders. The pup sat up in the back seat and looked out the window.
“What are you going to name him?” Jess asked.
“Chino. You see how ever so often he’ll kind of squint at you? He looks Chinese.”
Jess grinned and shook her head.
Clay and Jess got of the Wrangler and Clay clipped the leash to Chino’s collar.
“Come on boy, let’s go get you outfitted.”
They walked in and started with a couple of large bags of dry dog food; two cases of wet canned food; a large box of Milk Bones; a new, more “manly” collar; dog shampoo, brush, some squeaky balls and toys, chew bones, water and food bowls, a bed, and an adjustable harness (for growth) with matching leash. At the counter Jess picked out an I.D. tag that they engraved with Clay’s contact information and the name “Chino.” When they had loaded the cart into the back of the Jeep, Jess started to open one of the treat bags to give Chino one of the bones.
“Don’t give him anything yet. I want to see if he gets car sick. You don’t want to drive all the way home smelling dog puke.”
Jess quickly put the bag back.
When they got home, Clay just opened the door and told Chino to “Come.” Chino jump to the ground but stayed by Clays leg and looked around.
“Go ahead Chino, run!”
Chino looked up at Clay pointing and took off running around the yard, kicking up leaves. He would stop and look alertly around then start running around again.
Clay and Jess unloaded the Wrangler as Chino played, finally figuring out that squirrels were fun. Jess laid the bed hear the doorway to the dining area. Later, they found Chino would pull the bed as close as he could to where Clay would sit. Clay went to the door and called Chino in and he bounded up the steps only to slide to a stop at the doorway. He cautiously looked into the Great Room then walked slowly inside, walking around the room inspecting everything. Jess showed him his water and food bowls near the pantry and he thirstily drank almost the whole bowl. Clay was glad he’d bought the mat that went under the bowls. Chino had about as much water on the mat as he had in his stomach. Jess refilled the bowl and Chino took a couple of more laps then sat down, looking up at them.
“Go ahead and give him a treat.” Clay said.
Jess got him a dog biscuit and Chino gently took it in his mouth and went over and laid down. He quickly devoured the biscuit and made sure not a crumb remained.
“Well, he’s made himself at home.” Jess said.
They walked back down into the Great Room and Clay laid a fire in the fireplace.
“Go make me a sandwich, woman!”
Jess lunged at Clay and started tickling him until Clay fell back into his Lazy Boy. Jess twisted around and sat on Clay’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Chino sat nearby, head cocked to the side and watched.
For an 8 month old male, Chino was affectionate but also started to show he would be a vigilant watchdog. Sunday afternoon he alerted to a vehicle pulling off the highway onto the gravel driveway, letting Clay and Jess know someone was there. It was Hank.
“Hey Hank, come on in!”
“No time. I just wanted you to know that cable crew will come by and run the wire for the SPTs in the morning. They are working up in the Cape Fair area.”
Chino walked up next to Clay and squinted at Hank.
“Well look here! When did you pick him up?”
“Yesterday. His name is Chino.”
Hank chuckled. “I can see why. Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mary and Donnie walked beside their father’s wheelchair as the attendant pushed him down the hall to the front door as Kacie pulled the car up to the portico. Kacie got out and opened the door as Earl gingerly got out of the wheelchair and sat down in the front seat. The kids climbed in back.
“Do you want anything while we’re out?” Kacie asked Earl.
“No. Let’s just get home. I think I’ll be more comfortable in my recliner for a while.”
When they got home, Diane had left a Dutch oven full of her elk stew along with a loaf of freshly baked bread that was still warm.
Matt grinned when he ended the call. They were cutting and fitting the logs for his cabin and estimated it would only be six weeks to start erecting his cabin. They were quickly clearing the trees for the road bed and would soon have the bulldozer out to start removing the stumps and clearing the building site. Each foot they cleared was a measure of success to Matt and the exercise made him feel better.
Matt spent his evenings reading articles on off-grid living and finally got frustrated with his limited abilities with the iPad so he went to Springfield and bought a laptop computer, printer, a case of paper and extra ink cartridges. He also got a two-drawer filing cabinet to store the printed articles he wanted to keep for quick reference. The alternative energy aspect had him fascinated. The power line coming from the county road received little attention from the electrical co-op so he frequently lost power. He wanted to convert completely to alternate power and be done with it. It would be costly but after what he had found in the safe deposit box at the bank, it would be a drop in the bucket. He even found a self-contained solar system that he could put at the RV area that would handle all the power requirements. Matt found a calculator Excel spreadsheet that helped him tabulate his power requirements so when he got around to talking to an AE company, he’d know exactly what he needed, and that would have to be soon. Things were moving quickly.
Hank finished loading the wood storage cubby on the fireplace and turned to Earl.
“Feelin’ better today Earl?”
“Some. At least I can bend a little without hurting.”
“They find out anything about the other guy?”
“He was illegally in country. They found 100 pounds of meth in the trunk, along with 1500 fentanyl pills and $150,000.”
“Whoa! That was a haul.”
“Yeah. But it’s like dipping water out of the ocean. No matter how much you take out there is always more that comes right back.”
“Well, a tree comes down one chip at a time, if you use an axe.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you can use an axe or you can use a chainsaw or you can blow the tree up at its roots. There are many ways to tackle the problem but nearly all of them aren’t going to be supported by the politicians because they benefit from the drugs one way or another. If you can secure the county and show the people benefit from the suppression of drugs and crime, more counties will do the same thing. Soon the drug runners and criminals will find easier places to target, making more people see the benefit of getting rid of them. Keep the criminals out and the support for law enforcement and normality we once had will grow.”
“Yeah, I wish the government would really declare war on drug producing countries and bomb the hell out of them and quit sending them foreign aid. The money just goes into the corrupt politicians pockets.”
Kacie walked in. “Hank, can I get you something?”
“No thanks Kacie, I was just leaving. If you need anything, please call.”
“Okay, I will. Wait, let me give you Diane’s Dutch oven back.”
“Yeah, tell her to fill it back up and send it back.” Earl said.
“EARL!”
“Well, it was good!”
Kacie brought the pot back from the kitchen and handed it to Hank.
“Okay, thanks. Earl, heal up and let’s get back to shooting.”
“Okay Hank. I appreciate your help.”
Monday morning, Chino alerted that someone was at the road. Clay put him on his leash and walled down the drive. Hank and the operators of the drilling machine were starting to set up to put the wire under the road. The work went quickly and they were soon packed up and on their way.
“Clay, I’ll go get the tractor and trencher and we can bury this at the house. I’ll leave you plenty of wire to run to where ever you want the phones.”
“Hank, you know I’m new to this ‘being prepared.’ “When do I know when I am prepared?”
“You don’t, you just do the best you can. Every night I scan the sites for ideas and new things. Just as when I was in the Army, you start out building a quick fighting position, then a bare foxhole, then that changes to a foxhole with overhead cover. Always keep improving your foxhole. Clay, things could really get bad. You’ve got good instincts. You’re a good shooter and pick up on things quickly. You’ll going to be afraid at times and that’s okay, we all are or will be. If things go into the toilet there will be a swarm of people making their way to who knows where and they will try to take what you have and won’t have any qualms of killing you for what they want. When things get hairy don’t shy away from trouble or you’ll be lost. You can’t be thinking of dying or you certainly will. Fight like you’re the third monkey on the ramp of the ark and don’t stop firing until it’s over. Just think how many of the of the bastards you can kill. You will be fighting for the existence of your friends or family.”
“Well, friends anyway.” Clay said, frowning. “I don’t have any family.”
“Bullshit! I’ve seen how you look at that girl…what’s her name….Jess, from the gun shop. You don’t have family right now but I think you put that shelter in because you have hopes and dreams for the future. You weren’t just keeping up with the Joneses. You better get what you can while you can. Life is short and is never easy. If the SHTF, the rule of law will go out the window and you could find yourself fighting for your very existence…for Jessica’s existence. But you will have your friends to support you also. That’s why I gave you the SPTs. We can quickly come to each other’s aid. You’ve already started with the basics with your shelter, food and ammo. Build from there with the things you need and like. Build for the future. Get enough for 1 year, then when you accumulated enough, plan for three years and so on. Ammo, you can never have enough ammo.”
“Okay, Hank. Thanks for your advice and help.”
“I’ll go get the tractor.” Hank said.
Matt stepped back and grinned. Last tree. Joe finished cutting the limbs off the trunk while Matt backed the tractor up and hooked the log hook on it, preparing to drag the log over with the others.
“Matt, that’s going to be a lot of wood to split. You need one of those hydraulic splitters to split this stuff up and a shelter to store it under. Me and the boys could put up a pole structure in no time.”
“Where do I get one down here?”
“Tractor Supply most likely.”
“Well, Let’s get this log moved over with the others and you and I can sit down and make up a list of what we’re going to need to build a wood shed while Craig and Bill clean up the limbs and throw them on the burn pile.”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 23, 2022 18:05:24 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. We need to get Matt onboard soon.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 24, 2022 9:18:58 GMT -6
Chapter 93
The well drillers pulled the rods out through the gushing water and finally the bit. They immediately began placing the casing into the ground and finally the water was gushing through the 4” pipe.
“Why is the water still gushing up?” Mat asked the driller.
“We hit a section of the aquifer that is lower than the rest. There is positive pressure that is pushing the water up. We need to get this capped!”
They finally got a valve and diverter bolted on, filled around the pipe with quick setting hydraulic cement and were eventually able to cut the flow off.
“Well, I can definitely say you have water, and plenty of it for longer than any of us will live,” the driller said.
Joe and Craig were already digging around the well head and leveling to pour a slab for the 6x12 well house. Matt’s intention was to build the house out of concrete block and have the masons face it with the same stone they did the foundation with. At the same time, Bill was unbolting the diverter in preparation for running the water lines before the concrete was poured. Matt was using the tractor with the 4-in-1 bucket to move stumps and placing them on the burn pile. When he had that all moved, he attached the blade on the tractor and leveled the area out where the bulldozer had cleared, followed with a landscape rake to clean up pieces of roots and debris. He didn’t know why his grandfather even had the rake, he’d never had a use for it but apparently he’d bought it at a sale one time. Grandpa had done that a lot. He’d bought many things at sales that he knew he’d have a use for someday. Once, he had bought a fiberglass underground diesel tank from a chain of defunct service stations over in Newton county, had it inspected and re-certified and would fill it with diesel whenever the price of fuel was favorable. Matt really hadn’t had any idea how much it held when full but there was stabilizer and anti-fungal treatment in 55 gallon drums in the storage barn. Matt was just now starting to pay attention to things like that. He was a lot more attentive to things than he had been in the last five years of funk he’d been in.
The first thing Bill put in was a no-freeze hydrant with a temporary support post so they could have running water onsite. After they had the 6” thick slab form squared and staked, they went back down to the equipment barn and brought the trailer of ready-mix concrete with rebar, a water hose with sprayer, bridges and tie wire and attached the PTO concrete mixer to a tractor and brought it up to the site. Mixing and pouring the concrete was a piece of cake. They had the concrete floated and troweled before dark.
The basement and foundation would be handled by the pros. Matt didn’t want to take a chance on screwing something up. One change he did have to the plans was to have a doorway bulkhead added to one of the basement walls so he could add a root cellar in the future. All he would have to do was dig out for whatever size cellar he wanted, chip the un-reinforced doorway out and there you go. The architect thought it was an interesting idea.
Clay worked until he had brought up and stacked three trailer loads of wood to the woodshed, almost a cord of wood. He even gathered the branches, cut them up with loping shears and stacked them in wooden crates he had bought from Kacie. He called them his “kindling boxes.” There wasn’t much debris left when he cleaned up a deadfall. Part of the property was beginning to look like a park so he was going to start going into the national forest and keep some of his firewood on his property for just-in-case. He had almost four cords of good, seasoned wood to burn, hopefully more than he would need this winter, but he did like to keep a fire burning in the fireplace which brought a thought to his mind. He would need to have someone come in to clean the chimney in the spring or summer or do it himself. He put his tools away, called Chino and went in the house. Opening up his laptop, he left it to boot while he went to get a glass of iced tea. He logged in and did a search first for “chimney cleaning.” He knew he had to clean the flue at least once a year to keep from having a chimney fire and he didn’t have the tools to do it with…yet. Clay got out his list of the little thought about items he had run across once in a while that he would need to purchase sometime in the future. He added the flue cleaning brushes to his list. He read down the list and decided he had enough to warrant a trip to the hardware store. Finishing his tea, he rinsed the glass and set it in the sink. He called Chino and they got in the Wrangler and headed to the hardware store in West Branson, about 20 miles away.
When he got to the store, he cracked the windows and left Chino in the Jeep. He went inside and checked on the fireplace equipment. His chimney had a stainless steel chimney liner so he selected the poly bristle brush and bought three of them and the rods. Lining that out on the list, he next got three rolls of electrical tape, different types of glues, painter’s tape, one box each of different lengths of deck screws, then looked over the patio furniture. In the Spring, he was going to have a covered patio built and a grilling area. Hank had a nice area and he was going to steal his layout. Diane had told him who she had gotten to build it for them. The last two things on his list were a shop vac and a leaf blower. The main thing on his mind was to use the vacuum for sucking up the creosote chips when cleaning the chimney but it could be used for many cleaning chores. The leaf blower, well it would be used to blow leaves. He had the blower that attached to the PTO of the tractor but he’d use the smaller blower to move leaves away from the house and buildings and the tractor blower to move them well away from everything. Clay was a strong proponent of not raking if he didn’t have to. He loaded the leaf blower box in the cart and took the cart to check out, then went back to get the shop vac and the extra attachments. As he was loading the items in the Jeep his phone buzzed, signaling an incoming message. The greenhouse crew would be here tomorrow to start on the pad. Clay nodded and let Chino out on his leash to pee. Heading home, Clay couldn’t think of any more pressing chores that needed to be done so he decided he’d load some ammo.
Gene finished the Red Tailed Hawk and set it on the shelf next to the Great Horned Owl. They were part of a mini-series of birds of prey. It was part of the feedback comments from the website. He wanted to do an Osprey before they offered them up for sale. The Special Forces Scholarship Fund could use a donation. Gene went into the house and pulled the Dutch oven out of the stove and checked it. He added the potatoes and onions and placed the lid back on. It would be ready when Jaelyn got home.
Diane made her Thanksgiving dinner list and checked their supplies.
“Are you going to be able to get a turkey big enough to feed everyone?”
“Yes dear. He’s all but in the pot. I’ll get him two days before Thanksgiving.”
“Well, there’s not much left I need to get then. Kacie and Jaelyn are preparing dishes and Clay said he’d bring the Green Bean Casserole. I’m going to take Maddie in and pick up the rest of what I need.”
“Okay, I’ve got some things to do in the greenhouse.”
Halfway between Gene’s and Kacie’s the Jeep began pulling to the right and Diane immediately knew the tire was going flat. She pulled over to a clear area and checked the right front tire. She had picked up something. Diane pulled out her phone and called Hank to come help her.
Matt came over the little rise and saw the Jeep pulled over and a woman who was either pregnant or liked her beer, was standing by the vehicle. Matt pulled his Tahoe over and stopped behind her, turning on his warning flashers.
“Can I help you ma’am?
“I’m fine. I’ve got a flat tire but I live just down the road and my husband’s…that’s him now.”
Hank pulled in front of the Jeep, got out and walked back to Diane. Diane gave the signal that everything was fine.
“Thanks for stopping to help. I’m Hank Tyson and this is my wife Diane.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Matt Richards. Your wife said you lived right down the road. I live at the end of the firebreak about two miles back on the left.”
“Oh yeah. That’s just past our place. Well, it’s good to finally meet you. I haven’t had a cause to go up that firebreak and don’t go calling unless invited.”
“Well, It’s just me up there and unless you need hay not much reason to come up there.”
“Guys, I’ve got groceries to go get.” Diane said.
Hank got the lug wrench out, set the brake and began loosening the lug nuts.
“You said you are by yourself up there?” Diane asked Matt.
“Yes ma’am. Since my grandfather died.”
“I’m sorry. Listen, the neighbors around Piney Creek get together at our house for Thanksgiving and have dinner. I wish you would come and join us and meet the others.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“It wouldn’t be an intrusion, but an invitation. Please join us.”
“Well, in that case…what time should I be there?”
“Any time after 1200. We usually eat around 2:00.”
Hank jacked the Jeep up and finished taking the wheel off. Matt rolled the spare around to Hank then took the flat tire and mounted it on the tire carrier.
Hank finished tightening the lugs and removed the jack.
“I appreciate the help Matt. Please, do come to dinner. I think you’ll enjoy meeting the others.”
“Thanks for the invite and I will be there.”
They shook hands and Matt headed for his truck.
“Just drop the tire off at Baileys and have it fixed.” Hank said.
“Okay, I’ll see you later.” Replied Diane.
Matt walked into the auto parts store and got everything he needed for his winter service on the Tahoe. He had done it religiously over the years and everything ran just fine. He got a new set of wipers, a gallon of anti-freeze,a couple of filters and a gallon of car wash. The Tahoe had a 150,000 miles on it but the diesel engine purred just like it did the first day he bought it. He had no desire to trade it in for something else. He might get it re-upholstered, but that would be it. Making his purchases, he decided to have lunch in town. It had felt good to stop and help the Tysons and made him want to be near people some more. He stopped down the street at a BBQ place and got a brisket plate. It was good. While he was in town he’d go by and check out the wood splitters. Joe was right, he didn’t look forward to splitting all that wood with a wedge and maul. As he left the restaurant and saw the furniture store across the street. He walked across to see what they had, thinking about what he would need to furnish his new cabin.
Hank had gone on up to Earl’s to see if there was anything that needed to be done. Earl was up and walking around, although stiffly.
“Hey Hank, come on in.”
“Good, you are moving around.”
“Yeah, they have me this Velcro thing to wear. I’m feeling a lot better.”
“Great! Is there anything you need done?”
“Nope. I’m fine, but I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem. Well if there isn’t anything you need done, I’ll head on back. Don’t be doing any clogging!”
Earl smiled. “I sure won’t!”
“Oh, by the way. Do you know Matt Richards?”
“Know of him. He lives up that firebreak past your house. Lost his grandfather not long back. He’s quiet, stays to himself and raises and sells hay. Almost a hermit.”
“Okay. Well, looks like he’ll be joining us for Thanksgiving.”
“That’s good.”
“I’ll see you later.”
“Take care Hank.”
Hank finished shelling the last of the dried beans. He lad them out on a tarp on the floor at back of the greenhouse to finish drying a little more before he stored them in a bucket with desiccant packs. He’d flush them with nitrogen to kill any insects when he stored them. He’d gotten about 20 pounds of beans. Going back to the house, he saw Diane’s Jeep. He scraped off his boots on the boot scraper and went inside.
“Supper is almost ready.” Diane said.
Maddie, in a coonskin hat, was playing with Xena.
“Tick and I will go get washed up.”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 24, 2022 10:36:21 GMT -6
Another member for sure. Thanks for the update.
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Post by kaijafon on Jul 24, 2022 13:08:19 GMT -6
I love that nickname! thanks!
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remembergoliad
Member
if you send friend req on FB, message me too. I won't accept if I don't recognize you.
Posts: 158
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Post by remembergoliad on Jul 24, 2022 20:36:48 GMT -6
...In the Spring, he was going to have a covered patio built and a grilling area... Ok, so people are all stealing Hank's grillin' area...even people in other stories So, when you gonna cough up some pics or at least a diagram/layout so WE can all steal it too? Thank you for the stories! PS... I also like Maddie's nickname! My oldest carried that nickname until she got to 2nd grade and was playing soccer with kids in middle school and they gave her a new one--Moose. She's in her late 30's now and she still is absolutely FEARLESS on a playing field of any sort....and still the one of the five I see the most. One of the highest compliments one can give one's kids is what I say about her all the time: She's the kind of person I'd enjoy hanging with even if we weren't related.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Jul 24, 2022 23:35:27 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 25, 2022 5:04:32 GMT -6
Chapter 94
The Piney Creek Happy Hound Coonhunter’s Association (as Hank jokingly called their group of friends) gathered on Thanksgiving Day. Kacie and her family, along with Gene and Jaelyn, arrived at 12:00 to help with the final preparations, or the women did anyway. The men sat around the fire pit and caught up on their activities. Jo and Erica showed up then Clay and Jess. Matt showed up right at 1:00. Matt was introduced around and was handed a beer.
“Wow! This is a nice entertainment area you have set up here, Hank.”
“Thank you. We get a lot of use out of it.”
“I’m building a cabin over on the farm and I might just build something like this.”
“Well, I didn’t actually do it myself, but I can tell you who to contact.”
“Yeah, I’d appreciate it. This is nice.”
As the casual talk moved around to different subjects, Matt warmed up to the group. They all seemed like no-nonsense but likable people. He was feeling less tense.
“Who is that sitting out with the men?” Erica asked.
“Oh my God Erica! It’s a man!”
Erica slapped Jo’s wrist. “I know that! But who is he?”
“He lives down the road not far from here.” Diane said. “His name is Matt Richards.
Erica stared out the window at him.
When Diane had seen the rustic-looking dinner table, it was like she was expecting gatherings like this to happen. The food platters and bowls filled the table and with the plates and glasses, there wasn’t much room left on the table top. Desserts were on the hutch and sideboard. Diane asked Hank to say the blessing and afterward the excited talking as they filled their plates was punctuated by the sounds of serving utensils clicking on the dishes. Maddie had her chair next to Hank and was spooning down her food like they had starved her all week. She especially liked the jellied cranberry sauce. When the plates were cleaned there were groans about eating any dessert right then so the women moved out of the way and retired out to the patio with a bottle of wine while the men did the dishes. When the counters and table were wiped down, the men joined them with a bottle of Jack Daniels.
“So Matt, you say you’re building a cabin?” Gene commented.
“Well, maybe a little larger than what people would call a cabin. More like a log home.”
“Yeah, they are popular around here.” Clay grinned. “I just finished building mine and I love it.”
Matt grinned and nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to upgrade a little from my grandfather’s old farm house.”
When the food had settled, coffee and dessert were served. People began drifting off around 6:00 PM and soon it was just Clay, Jess and Matt left with the Tysons.
“Hank you’re running solar power here?” Matt asked.
“Yes, but along with a wind generator that charges the batteries at night. I can hook a diesel generator up to charge the battery bank if need be but haven’t had a cause to.”
Matt nodded. “I just got in a self-contained unit to run the electricity at six RV pads I have to provide power. I want to go completely off-grid. The Rural Electric Co-op power stays off about as much as it stays on. Who did you get to do your installation?”
“I’ll give you one of their cards. I’m completely satisfied with the work they did.”
“I’ve got one here in my wallet.” Clay said. “I used the same people and I’ll vouch the job they do.”
“Okay, thanks. You’ve really got a nice home here. Where did you get the furniture? I didn’t see anything like it in the store in town.”
Hank pointed at Diane. “You’ll have to talk to Diane. She gathered all that stuff up.”
“I happen to know you like that ‘STUFF’.” Diane rebuffed. Throwing a wadded up paper napkin at Hank.
“Oh! I do! I do!”
Everyone chuckled.
“Well, thank you for the invitation and the food. I had a great time and probably won’t have to eat for two or three days.”
“You’re more than welcome Matt, and don’t be a stranger.”
“Matt got up. “I won’t. You all have a good evening.”
“Nice guy.” Clay said, when Matt had left.
“Yes, but I think he’s seen some sad times.” Jess said.
“What makes you say that?” Clay asked.
“Women’s intuition.” Jess replied. Diane and Jaelyn both nodded in agreement.
Matt watched as the last concrete truck drove away. The concrete workers were moving around and appeared to be doing “touch up” work on the basement walls.. They seemed pleased so Matt was pleased. Matt checked his watch. The truck should be here soon with the self-contained solar unit. He had to go meet them at the intersection of highways 39 and 76 because they weren’t sure if they could find the farm. He got in the Tahoe and headed out after he told Craig where he would be.
The unit he was recommended was normally used in 3rd world countries for providing power and purified water to remote villages. Based out of Massachusetts, the company finally got wise and began selling directly to end users rather than just NGOs. They got paid quicker. The 6’ conex-type container contained a large solar array, two wind turbines, remote monitoring consoles for monitoring from the house, water collection and distillation unit, and an integrated heat pump. Matt didn’t really have any use for the rain collection and distillation capabilities of the unit, but he didn’t have to set them up unless he needed them for some reason. He was told the unit could be set up and operated by owners no matter their education level. Matt hoped he fit within that simple boundary.
Matt got to the intersection and saw Burt Ellison sitting there in his crane truck.
“Hey Burt. They should be here any time now.”
“No problem. I didn’t have anything else scheduled today. What is it I’m unloading?”
“It’s about a two and a half ton shipping container-like thing.”
“Okay, no problem. I can handle up to 8 tons.”
Matt heard a big truck down shifting and saw it turning onto 76.
“Okay, there he is. Let me go talk to him and then follow me out and he will follow you.”
“Let’s do it.”
Matt talked to the 18-wheeler driver then trotted back to his truck and led the procession to the farm. Matt wanted the container set up near the power pole the transformer sat on so he could easily connect to the circuits at the site. Burl set the crane up so there was little danger of connecting with the power lines and lifted the container off the trailer and down to where Matt had set and leveled concrete blocks. In all, it only took about 40 minutes and everyone was on their way. Matt had paid Burl under the table so he got a cheaper deal. Matt took out the key he had been FEDEXed and opened the door on the container. Finding the manuals, he took them out and locked the container back up. He would read up and see how simple it was going to be.
After a week off duty, Earl was ready to get back on patrol. Everywhere he stopped people would asked how he was doing. He was irritated at first but decided it would wear down once he was seen around enough. He was given a new vest to wear and things calmed down to the occasional missing hog.
Taylor climbed in the seat and cranked the UXV to let the engine warm. Jeremy told her to stay until the day after Thanksgiving and eat dinner with them. Dinner! Hell, it was a FEAST! She couldn’t be eating like that often or her thighs would be overlapping the big seat in the UVX like she’d seen some of those women in the wop-wop carts in Walmart. Taylor giggled as remembered Jenna calling them that and asked her what she meant.
Jenna replied, “Haven’t you seen those big women sit down in the electric carts? WOP! WOP! Rolls of fat rolling off the edges of the seat!”
Taylor put the vehicle in gear and waved to Jeremy, Jenna and Brian as she pulled out. She looked at the GPS and it showed she had about a three hour drive to get to her destination. There wasn’t much around the little flag that marked her finish point.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 25, 2022 6:41:24 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by cedarlake on Jul 25, 2022 7:04:48 GMT -6
Chapter 94
The truck should be here soon with the self-contained solar unit.
The unit he was recommended was normally used in 3rd world countries for providing power and purified water to remote villages. Based out of Massachusetts, the company finally got wise and began selling directly to end users rather than just NGOs. They got paid quicker. The 6’ conex-type container contained a large solar array, two wind turbines, remote monitoring consoles for monitoring from the house, water collection and distillation unit, and an integrated heat pump. Matt didn’t really have any use for the rain collection and distillation capabilities of the unit, but he didn’t have to set them up unless he needed them for some reason. He was told the unit could be set up and operated by owners no matter their education level. Matt hoped he fit within that simple boundary.
I was wondering where in Massuchusetts & what the company's name is?
Most of the time, there is a name & description given which causes me to then get side-tracked looking up the information which generally gets bookmarked for later use.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 25, 2022 7:54:10 GMT -6
I was wondering where in Massuchusetts & what the company's name is?
Most of the time, there is a name & description given which causes me to then get side-tracked looking up the information which generally gets bookmarked for later use.
OffGridBox
https//www.offgridbox.com/
Cambridge, MA
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