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Post by gipsy on Nov 29, 2022 13:22:15 GMT -6
Oh Gee A prize. What fun that will be.
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Post by accountant on Nov 29, 2022 14:19:20 GMT -6
Thanks iam.
Another great story!
A.
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Post by bluefox2 on Nov 29, 2022 17:15:33 GMT -6
Sounds someone is about to kick the Grizzly Bear and win the stupid prize. Should never poke da bear.
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Post by feralferret on Nov 29, 2022 23:05:31 GMT -6
Diy, I think you just hit the nail on the head.
Iamnobody, another fine chapter. Thanks!
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Post by iamnobody on Nov 30, 2022 10:11:06 GMT -6
Ralph looked at the 2 Police that stepped away, both were older guys. He asked them why. They responded that they weren't going to be thugs to enforce evil. That they saw the younger Police and officers playing politics and that is not what they had joined to do. Ralph thanked them and the men who had come to his rescue. The men said they were tired of being considered as and treated as if they were slaves of the government instead of the government working for the people.
By that Winter, there were rolling electric outages and rationing of heating oil because of shortages. The government could never explain it to the satisfaction of the people why there were outages and shortages. By Spring he had all kinds of offers of men helping him to plant and tend the crops in exchange for food. It was a lean Summer but Ralph was able to feed a lot of people.
That Fall, the government said they wanted to brighten people's lives by providing something nice for them and they would start with the wonderful veterans who had served the country. They announced they would be holding large celebrations for them and a good steak and lobster dinner afterwards, all veterans were invited to attend. Excitement was in the air as plans to attend were made. Even the small towns and rural areas hired buses to transport their local vets to the big celebrations. The day came and the vets were gathered in the stadiums to hear words of praise from the officials. They welcomed the praise as too often they had been ignored or mistreated by the government. At each stadium across the country, the official spoke and said they would now get their just rewards for serving the government. At the end of his sentence, many machine gun crews of foreign soldiers wearing blue helmets jumped up from their waiting places, set up their guns and starting shooting down into the crowds of veterans from all directions. Many fell where they stood, others ran towards the exits only to find other enemy soldiers there shooting at them. It was later estimated that 3,000,000 vets fell that day. Others that did escape the stadiums, found more terror outside as helicopters and gunships unleashed death from above. Many others were hauled off to camps to be “re-educated.”
Weeks later Ralph went out to do the milking and found several ragged looking men in the barn.
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Post by iamnobody on Nov 30, 2022 10:14:26 GMT -6
I'm all caught up on what I have written ahead.
I have a nasty head cold that is messing up my brain cells for the last few days.
So not sure when I will write some more....
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Post by hunter77 on Nov 30, 2022 10:22:46 GMT -6
Look forward to seeing what happens next. Hope you get to feeling better. I just got over the same stuff.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Nov 30, 2022 13:19:41 GMT -6
I am enjoying your story, so please rest up and heal fast so you can get back to it for us. Kiwi
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Post by feralferret on Nov 30, 2022 15:57:04 GMT -6
Get well soon!
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Post by motherhen on Dec 1, 2022 14:27:16 GMT -6
Hope that you feel better soon! I am really enjoying this story.
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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 Dec 2, 2022 10:36:07 GMT -6
Take care of yourself. We will wait patiently.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 2, 2022 11:09:09 GMT -6
Take care of yourself. We will wait patiently. But there were 3 MOAR hounds howling outside my window last night.
On the bright side I MAY be getting better, only slept for 17 hours this time.
And in the fog of the sickness, I had a lot of story line swirling around inside my brain. Now I just need to make notes before I forget it all.
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Post by feralferret on Dec 2, 2022 18:05:44 GMT -6
Just don't let the story lines crash into each other in the fog.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 3, 2022 10:17:14 GMT -6
There were 5 of them, short haircuts and standing tall. He saw 2 lever action rifles as they squared off against him. Even though Ralph's hand was on his Ruger GP100 in its cross draw holster, he held up his other hand in the universal sign of stop. He told them he had a hunch they all were on the same side and they should talk before making any hasty actions. As a sign of good faith they all would keep their hands polite and he would start. He slowly took his hand off the butt of his GP100 and held his hands out to the side. He saw 4 of them look to 1 guy on what to do. He shrugged and all of them relaxed somewhat.
Ralph said he suspected they were veterans who were on the run. He saw them shift themselves and knew he was right. He told them out here few people believed the lies the government put out about the veterans. The official government story was the veterans had been planning on attacking the government and taking over the country. When the government tried arresting them at the “celebration” the veterans had opened fire and the government had been forced to defend itself. Ralph told them if they would trust him, he would get them some hot food. They slowly nodded yes. He asked them what caliber their lever actions were – 30/30.
Ralph went up to the house and told Cassie he needed hot food and tea for 5 men. He explained what was going on. The children jumped in and helped out. Ralph was praying what to do concerning the vets. Soon Cassie told him the food was ready. Ralph got up off his knees and went to the ammo locker and got 2 boxes of 30/30 ammo. He told Cassie to take her AR15 but to keep it pointed politely. As a safety precaution, he had the children arm themselves with their Ruger 10/22s. He went into the barn first, seeing the vets sitting on some hay bales. They saw him and then they saw Cassie and each man got on his feet and said ma'am.
The vets finished eating the hot stew with chunks of cornbread. Then Cassie pulled out the apple pie she had baked yesterday and the men started drooling at the sight of it. When done they thanked her for feeding them. Ralph pulled the 2 boxes of ammo out and said he could tell by the way they were holding the rifles when they met, that they were holding them ready as clubs rather than rifles ready to fire. He held the ammo out to them. They asked him why he was trusting them. He said they trusted him to bring them food and not bring the police. That he was now returning that trust by giving them ammo. He said they could stay as long as they wanted.
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Post by frankie on Dec 3, 2022 11:44:52 GMT -6
I'm so glad you're better. I love this story.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 4, 2022 7:08:35 GMT -6
When he went out the next morning to milk the cow, he found 1 man already milking and the other 4 cleaning the stall and the barn. They said they would also feed the poultry and hogs if he showed them where the feed was and explain the “contraptions” they were housed in. Ralph explained the movable pens and feeding of sprouted grains and how there was a farm stand where food was sold. That there were acres of garden produce growing vegetables, orchards and ponds growing fish. 1 pond of catfish and 1 of carp. All the men had the same reaction, CARP! YUCK!
By then Ralph knew Cassie would have breakfast about ready and he led them to the outdoor cooking area. The men were impressed with the stoves and the tantalizing smells. They marveled at how the egg yolks were such a deep orange color. Cassie yelled breakfast was ready and the vets were about run over as 12 children came running from the house, headed for the tables set up. The vets looked at Ralph with a raised eyebrow. He said when times got bad, children were left here at the farm. There were both boys and girls and several races there. He told them they all were now their children, as if they had been born to him and Cassie. The meal was bacon, eggs and fried potatoes and everyone dug in after Ralph prayed the blessing over the food.
After the meal the men asked Ralph what needed done. While Cassie and some of the children helped clean up, the rest went with Ralph to the market garden and were hoeing out weeds and some picking produce. One of the vets maintained watch with the rifle, he stayed off to the side where he could watch around. 1 of the children cried out and threw down the stick. Before Ralph could respond, a vet called out “medic, we have a splinter.” The vet with the backpack on trotted over and knelt before the child, asking to see. The child looked to Ralph who nodded and then the child held out his finger. Soon the splinter was out, disinfected and band aid applied. Ralph said thanks and the things would be replaced that were used. Some quick pieces of fruit for lunch and Ralph said people would start arriving for the farm stand.
He asked the vets to stay out of sight in the barn for now. They saw during the afternoon, large numbers of people come to the farm stand. They were surprised at the low prices and how Ralph put extra into the bags of poor and elderly people. They saw other people trading their work for food. By evening the people had all left. Cassie and children went to prepare supper while the vets helped tidy up and milk the cow. Supper was ready and everyone followed their noses to the tables. It was fish patties, rice and pitchers of milk or tea. After the meal, the men complimented Cassie on the fine meal. The vets said they had never had catfish patties before and they were great. She laughed and told them they still haven't, these were carp patties. They had a stunned look on their face as they realized how many times they had thrown carp back because they weren't good eating.
The next morning Ralph asked the medic what supplies he needed. He would be able to give most of what he needed. The vets asked him about the long barreled AR15. He told them the barrel was 24 inches long so that the 64 grain soft points would do a better job. He regretted that he hadn't been able to come up with a parts kit to make it a 3 shot burst function. The lead vet said “hey Scrounger, can you come up with 3 round burst kits.” “Sure, how many you need?” Ralph said he had need of 12 kits – not a problem. Listening to the news as they talked, they heard of how the cities were really turning into nasty places. Big city officials were rationing food.
Ralph made a decision and asked how soon they could get the parts plus he wanted to get some loads of food too. Scrounger said to just give him the word and he could get them right away. It would cost some buy off money. No worries there. Let him place some calls for orders and he would tell them when to leave. Later that day Ralph told them they could leave tomorrow. He gave them a credit card and prayed over them for safety and success. They left early in the morning in the farm truck.
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Post by cnk479 on Dec 4, 2022 12:14:06 GMT -6
Thanks for the update I am really enjoying the story so far
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Post by feralferret on Dec 4, 2022 21:43:22 GMT -6
Thanks for another fine chapter.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 5, 2022 8:26:26 GMT -6
They headed up to the nearest Army bases 4 hours away, brainstorming as they went on how to get what they wanted. Scrounger said it worked for him in the past to approach the Quartermaster, most of them were always running a hustle on the side making money by selling equipment and supplies for money. They knew security was very relaxed on any base. Back at the farm Ralph was praying for the success and for God to bless their efforts.
They got to the base and were able to just drive right in. Finding the Quartermaster office, they went in. Before they could say a word, the Quartermaster looked them over and then said “its about time you got here. You Seal team members should show us more respect.” The Quartermaster went on to say that the plan to start “pacifying” the countryside and he had the supply manifestos for them to look at. The vets looked it over and it showed a major mobilization for this local area. The head vet looked at the Quartermaster and said it wasn't good enough, it needed to be at least tripled. The vets would be in charge of this operation. Get a move on it.
Walking outside the vets let out a sigh of relief, then headed to the armory. Once there they saw several tractor trailers backed into the dock and being loaded. Walking inside they got the 3 round burst kits, then ordered the crews to load every single bit of ordnance into trailers. They ordered fuel tankers, field generators, water distiller units, field hospitals, field tents, field kitchens. They had the Armory load every weapon onto trailers. Basically they were stripping the base of everything so that it couldn't be used against the people. There was only 1 problem, they were looking at 20 tractors hauling duel trailers plus 4 Humvee with mounted guns, and there were only 5 of them.
They walked off to side to discuss it. The 1 vet said he had a suggestion. He said you all know I am not a Christian and don't know if I believe in God but our boss Ralph believes and we have seen that he is definitely blessed. So maybe we could try praying for a solution. As they were praying, just around the corner was a soldier that had heard them and he quickly left. The vets had barely finished praying when this soldier was back with 19 other soldiers. He stepped forward and told them he had heard them speaking. The vets tensed up. The soldier continued saying that he figured they were the good guys trying to help stop this insanity. That him and the other 19 wanted in and would help drive the trucks. The vets said they would have to make a call. Hello boss, have items requested plus more. +20 here that want to get out of cesspool. Request your okay to enlist them.
Turning to the 20, they were told that for now it was okayed but the boss would talk to each one later. At that moment a Captain and his 2 aides / bodyguards showed up. The Captain wanted to know okayed for what. The vets looked at the Captain and his aides in disbelief. He was all dolled up and his “aides” were in short pants that displayed their parts. The Captain had been looking forward to spending an afternoon with his aides. The vets told him these 20 soldiers were being transferred to their team effective immediately. They were needed for the operation to subdue the surrounding area. The Captain blustered, a female soldier walked in front of the aides / bodyguards, looked them in the face and quietly said “boo.” The 1st aid peed himself and had a puddle forming on the floor. The other aid was sobbing and sucking his thumb.
The lead vet said we have a mission to complete, for the Captain to stand aside or be reported. He had the 20 plus his men arm up, close the trailer doors and mount up and left the base. Later that evening at camp they made at a side road, his men laughed and didn't know how he pulled that off without laughing. He posted rotating guards at 1 hr shifts. Tomorrow they would head for the food. He called Ralph, using code words to update him.
In the morning he felt a lot better traveling. The day before he wanted to put as much distance as possible from the Army base. At the evening camp, he had extra firepower broke out. His caravan of tractor trailers was a huge fortune and a big target out here on the road. Arriving at the warehouses for the order pickup, he had the soldiers wait at a distance with the trailers. He took 2 of his men and 2 of the soldiers with him. Inside the warehouse office, he told the receptionist that he was here to pick up orders. She said she would need to run his credit card before filling the order. The lead vet said she could verify the card limit but she was not going to charge the card till the order was complete and he verified the load. She didn't like it but agreed. Then smiled when she verified it was an unlimited limit. He told her to start loading, he had some orders to pick up at the sister warehouse that dealt with non food items. These warehouses were owned by a very large well known box store company. The same happened there too.
A woman soldier was talking with a woman worker, the soldier waved him over. Turns out the warehouse manager was loading him up with out of date and damaged canned goods. He called in 2 of the armed jeeps which made a show of screeching halt in view of the office window. The warehouse manager was not happy and gave the women the evil eye and said she was fired. The lead vet says she now works for me. That he assumes the manager likes his job or does he have to report him to the home office.
Forcing the manager in front of him, he took the woman and 4 armed soldiers with out onto the work floor. That got everyone attention. The vet asked about how many tractor trailers were available. The manager said only 3 but the woman said there were 12 tractors and 24 trailers. The vet said he was tired of being cheated, that if the manager tried any other garbage, he was being reported for fraud investigation, the manager paled. The vet said to get the garbage off the trailers, load them full of basic canned and dry foods. He wanted to be leaving in 1 hour. The woman said she knew people here to drive the trucks, even pulling duel trailers. Finally paying the bill, 59 minutes later they pulled out. Grouping them with the Army trucks, he went to the non food warehouse.
The same thing happened there. They had to pull junk off the trailers. That manager wasn't happy either. There was only 10 tractors there and 15 trailers. The same woman worker knew enough drivers there. They loaded every bit of clothing for children, women and men for all seasons. Along with all the footwear. Soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, over the counter medical supplies, tents, ropes, Lodge cast iron cookware. When done, this warehouse was as empty as the food warehouse. The vet was thinking about this company. It was a BIG box store, had a reputation of treating its workers nasty and now they had tried cheating customers. That evening the vet told the conditions to the new people about staying long term. He updated Ralph about what happened and saying they should be back by tomorrow early afternoon. Again guards were set out.
Morning saw them on the road towards the farm. ½ way there a van is suddenly riding the tail of the last tractor. He stupidly tries forcing the tractor off the road. The soldier radios it in and 2 armed jeeps speed back. The van pulls up along the cab, the soldier sees some faces looking back at him, several young men with gang tattoos looking back at him. The soldier unhooks a grenade from his vest, pulls pin and lobs it through the open window. End of problem. The rest of the trip was uneventful. 20 minutes out, the vet phones Ralph asking where to park. Ralph says he will show them on arrival, the vet chuckles at that.
Shortly Ralph hears the convoy coming. Standing on the porch, they see the farm truck, 4 jeeps and 42 tractor trailers, many pulling duel trailers. The people in the convoy see a man, woman and 12 children looking at them.
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Post by 223shootersc on Dec 5, 2022 10:07:43 GMT -6
God always provides for his followers! WE just have to trust and obey!
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Post by feralferret on Dec 5, 2022 16:54:07 GMT -6
Outstanding! LMAO.
Thanks for a great chapter.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 6, 2022 11:22:05 GMT -6
Ralph is standing there in amazement, while the head vet asked if this was a big enough order. Getting orders of where to park and where things would be unloaded, the trucks were being sorted out. They got security set up, tents for sleeping and the field kitchen. They would start unloading the food in the morning, as the tractors and trailers containing the food were leased as part of the order. They had to be returned within 2 weeks. The head vet was having a meeting with Ralph, basically an after action report. He told of the news that the Army was going to “pacify” their surrounding population. God was at work. He sent a spirit of confusion into the Army base. The Army was pointing fingers at each other about who lost all the military equipment. And no one seemed to be able to identify the people that took it.
In the morning after breakfast, it was time for work. The food was unloaded, sorted and stacked. The dry goods likewise. The soldiers were setting up the comms, sorting weapons and gear. Ralph had kept most of the activity away from the farm stand. By day 4 he was able to start talking with the soldiers and warehouse workers on an individual basis. Asking God for guidance and discernment, he explained what was going on and that he was a Christian and this farm operated on Christian principals. He explained that anyone selected would get room and board plus $200 a week. If they chose to leave, they would get $500 cash for their week of work. The soldiers all chose to stay. 2/3 of the warehouse workers chose to leave. For a little more cash, they would help drive the empty tractors and trailers back.
The prisons were being emptied out. Ricardo found himself released 5 months early. Being caught and imprisoned most likely saved his life. That drug deal that went bad, he had been deeply stabbed several times. The police found him at the scene bleeding. Since he was now an inmate, the government paid all the medical bills of him being in the hospital. Now he was healed and back on the streets. He headed back to his home turf. It didn't take long for him to steal a car, make a few robberies for money. He bought a .25 ACP handgun from a guy in an alley. It was loaded with 5 rounds of 50 grain FMJ. Ricardo smiled and thought that it was time to head to the Appalachia.
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Post by freebirde on Dec 6, 2022 13:59:01 GMT -6
Let's see, 5 .25 ACP vs 25 #4 buckshot (.24 in) from one 12 ga shell. Wonder who wins? /s
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Post by bluefox2 on Dec 6, 2022 18:42:39 GMT -6
Let's see, 5 .25 ACP vs 25 #4 buckshot (.24 in) from one 12 ga shell. Wonder who wins? /s My money is on anybody but Ricardo.
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Post by iamnobody on Dec 7, 2022 10:43:19 GMT -6
Over the next few weeks, things on the farm settled down. Security on the farm was 24/7 now, though Ralph made sure it was less noticeable during the day when customers were at the farm stand. Soldiers and the warehouse workers were jumping in and helping wherever there was a need. Plans were made to get all people trained on basic weapons.
Evenings would find Ralph, Cassie and the children sitting out on the porch having fun. Sitting on the porch, Cassie loved leaning back against him while their children ran around playing, often pulling them into the games of tag.
Daily Ralph had meetings with the head vet and then with everyone. The government was trampling all over people's rights and showed no signs of slowing down. The farm was being left alone for now by the government but Ralph knew they would come under attack at some point. History has shown that the government can never let people alone. They always want to control the people they supposedly serve.
Late in the afternoon, Ralph was manning the farm stand. A man stepped up and Ralph asked how could he help him. The man stated that Ralph had something of his and he wanted it back now. Ralph had a puzzled look on his face, when behind him he heard Cassie say Ricardo......
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