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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 10, 2023 19:41:45 GMT -6
When The Bough Breaks
Getting There – Where Is There?
Peter was getting very frustrated. His plan just was not working, at least not so far. Always in the back of his mind was a growing concern that time was getting short. He needed a place to get himself better prepared for what was certainly coming, but that preparation would take time to be done right. If the balloon went up before he was ready, it could get very ugly for him. Of course things were going to get really ugly for almost everyone, but seeing the danger and not getting ready for it would be really stupid, wouldn't it? Also, as Marion 'Duke' Morrison was known to say, “You can't fix stupid.” At one point, while looking for a good location he had discovered that many properties in his new home state were being auctioned off by the state, because the owners had failed to pay their property taxes. He had once seen this as an opportunity to possibly acquire a piece of undeveloped land out away from things at a bargain price. The opening bids were prescribed to start at merely the cost of past due taxes plus some added government fees. This meant it was theoretically possible to acquire a piece of land for a tiny fraction of its assessed value. With his financial situation this might be only way he could afford what he really wanted without taking out a mortgage. However, as he examined these properties more carefully He started having second thoughts. These tax auctions were one more example of how the system was setting up for unavoidable self destruction and taking as many bystanders as possible with it as collateral damage. As Peter was sitting in his temporary apartment in the town of Beaver Creek, he was praying and meditating on what he had learned in the last two years. It was winter again and the auctions had shut down until spring. He had spent a lot of time and effort on this plan of his, yet right now it did not feel like he had wasted his time. Instead he felt like it had been a good learning experience. Now if he could just understand how to wisely apply what he had learned. One good thing about not finding “his land” yet was that he had spent more time saving money to use in buying some land. He had also been able to learn a few things about what might be problems or advantages regarding any parcel of land that he was really looking to buy. Peter had thoroughly enjoyed looking at potential properties. The hills and forests were so beautiful. The activity of actually walking a property and looking closely at the terrain the vegetation mix, and signs of wildlife seemed to refresh him deep inside. He was pondering the various parcels he had explored in the past few months. He rolled them over in his mind as he considered his tentative plans for building a home and sustaining himself off the land. Obviously the properties he had found and missed in the auctions the first two years were not going to be where he would finally settle. However, he could now see more clearly the need to adapt the details of the plans in his head to make them fit with the physical topography and features of whatever land he was able to acquire. The bigger question seemed to be, “How can I afford a piece of land like I need?” His thoughts wandered here and there over the last two years of searching and examining land that might work, and he began to realize that was the real problem. He had been spending too much time looking for something that might work. What he needed to do was to decide what exactly would work and then go find that. As he pondered this problem, several unexpected details from the last two years began percolating up to the surface of his thoughts. He realized he had gotten focused on the characteristics of those properties on the auction lists rather than on the characteristics of a property that would truly fit his needs. He needed to really clear his head and redefine his goal and the strategy for getting there. Two Years Earlier Peter had to get away. He had told his “boss” that he needed a short vacation. He hadn't taken a real vacation in several years. Besides, his boss was technically not his employer, only his license supervisor, along with apparently being his client poacher. His “boss” had the power examine everything that Peter communicated with his clients. He also had the power to terminate Peter's ability to continue working in this field at any time. Only an hour ago Peter had discovered that his boss had taken an up and coming young licensee to visit a wealthy potential client whose trust Peter had managed to cultivate. Together his “boss” and this young protegee, representing the firm in Peter's absence, had presented a quick and convincing pitch to the client obtaining his signature on a financial instrument. That meant commissions for both the young protegee and Peter's boss. It also torpedoed the more comprehensive package Peter had been putting together for this new client. Of course Peter had been diligent in running the full package structure past his “boss”, as he had been instructed, before presenting it to the client. Two years before, while working for a different organization, Peter had been “cheated” out of credit for commissions on a really big package. Those commissions should have provide over two million dollars in income for Peter, spread over four years. Only two months later Peter had been “RIFed” by that organization. At least they had been gracious enough to transferred his license to a different firm, if he could find one quickly. This time it was his immediate “Boss” that he worked with everyday rather than a faceless corporate executive high up the food chain, who was stealing his work and income. Peter had rushed home to toss some extra clothes and essentials into a well worn “carry-on” bag that had not been used for several years. On his way to put the bag in his Jeep another thought occurred to him. He threw the bag into the back seat of his Jeep and went back to his apartment. Digging into a closet he managed to find some of his rarely used camping gear. That was quickly and carelessly stuffed into a backpack. The laces of his hiking boots and a sleeping bag were quickly tied to the pack. Then he went to the kitchen. His bag of trail mix was getting low, but he could refill it on the way. What was left of a pack of water bottles along with the trail mix also went into the backpack. It wasn't a pretty packing job, but at this point Peter didn't give a ... care what it looked like. He locked the door and hauled the whole bundle out to the Jeep and threw it in the back hatch. His compact tablet was in the glove box, and he plugged it into the charger cord. Now where? He was hungry so he went to a local, independent burger joint that he liked, where he knew he could connect to a WiFi network. When he got there and ordered a burger, he was almost tempted to get a beer, but knew that was a bad idea. He was not going to shed his frustration that way, especially since he was going to be driving himself – somewhere. He grabbed an empty booth and turned on his tablet while he waited for his burger. He needed to get away from the speeding treadmill. The air here was getting hard to breathe. He was surrounded by seven million people within twenty-five miles of where he was sitting. All of them were trying to beat each other at a win loose game. In his musings about that endemic struggle he realized that all those competitors were making their own special rules for that same game of “I need to win so you have to lose.” With so many dis-coordinated rules like that it became a net loosing game for everyone. Peter closed his eyes and exhaled as much as he could before taking a deep breath. “I need to seriously rethink some things,” he told himself. It took only a few seconds before the busy sounds in his favorite under-crowded burger joint began to crowd in on him raising his level of tension. “This is not what I want to do. This is not who I want to be. This is not where I want to be.” Peter's inner dialog was practically shouting in his own head to make itself heard over the cacophony of sounds surrounding him. He looked around and realized that this was a relatively quiet time here, before most of the lunch time customers usually arrived. He realized that the tension he was carrying went far beyond merely being betrayed again at his job. Peter took his work seriously, and he considered his responsibilities to his clients very seriously. He paid close attention to economics, politics, and cultural trends because all of those could have big affects his his clients investments. He tried to watch all these influences and think objectively about the effects they might have on investments. He even spent time looking back in history to help him understand how trends of the past had impacted past economies. He had become increasingly uncomfortable with the trends in recent years and where they were pointing. As a matter of fact he was beginning to consider more and more his knowledge of prophesy in Bible and wonder about possible connections to what he was seeing in current trends. Is this was just one more cycle of the troubles that had occured in various places and times throughout history or could this be a build up to the “final troubles” predicted in the scriptures. He kept reminding himself of the cautions taught by his Bible professors years ago. All through the last two millennia there had been people in different countries and cultures who because of present troubles and turmoils thought “the end is finally coming.” Those professors also seemed to love reminding their students about the statements in scripture warning that the end would come like a thief in the night and no man knows the day when that will happen. Right now Peter was thinking those professors seemed to miss that the intention clearly stated in scriptures for not giving the exact dates. It was not because the time had not been decided. The intention was always coupled with a warning to stay alert and stay ready every single day. There were also numerous indicators of the signs to be recognized when that time is getting close. One of his personal conclusions was that two or three signs were not enough. When 'the time' was really upon us, all the signs would be apparent to those who were staying alert. Peter had been more focused in recent years on his job and his family, probably to the neglect of his 'spiritual needs'. Life can just get so busy sometimes. Life is tough and this is a dog eat dog kind of world we live in. He had not been considering, for many years now, most of those unanswered questions he had raised years ago when he had been in seminary. One thing he was sure of was that he was not going to get those questions answered by going back to seminary. Also, what he felt like doing to his boss right now was not legal, or spiritually moral, and was bound to turn out badly. So, before anything else, he needed to get away for a while, clear his head, and figure out what to do next. Sitting there chowing down on his burger he remembered how nice it had been a few years ago when he had a chance to use the lodge of an acquaintance who had a vacation place up in the Rockies. Then he remembered a short vacation trip he had taken years before through a region covered with forested hills. The pines there were of course green, but they were interspersed with an equal number of hardwoods. That earlier trip had been in the fall when the hardwoods were just starting to turn colorful. That trip had impressed him with the truly beautiful colors and contours of the land. When he had thrown some camping gear in his Jeep less than an hour ago he had no more clear intentions than to get away from the city. But now he was remembering the few times he had been able to get out in the woods and hills with a longing that he had been missing, or suppressed, for too long. Even when he was a youngster hiking through any patch of woods he could find had given him a sense of adventure and peace unlike anything else. He had too few memories of the amazing peace and well being he experienced from getting out in the woods and hills and hiking around. He pulled out his tablet and began searching for “+forest”, “+mountains”, and “+hiking trails”. Scanning quickly over the hits that came up he realized the nearest places he could find with all of these search keys were hundreds of miles away. “Well,” he thought, “I did say I needed to get away.” Peter had been driving for several hours across prairie land. His map app on the tablet had presented him with a route leaning heavily on the interstate highways. Peter picked an alternate route that used more of the “U.S. Highways” or state highways. He made a point to find a stopping places to stretch his legs at least every two hours. He would not be able to do much hiking if he tried to prove how long he could sit in one place driving before he stopped to get gas. He was largely driving on auto pilot while his mind was turning over countless ideas and thoughts. He tried the radio a few times, but finally gave up on the mindless bla bla bla and the even more mindless commercialized music. Even when he caught a song that he liked, it did not take long on the highway for a station's signal to fade and every new station his scanner function picked up was one where the music was interrupted too frequently with mindless blabbing of disc-jockies or too many commercials. The state line was behind him now, and it was still prairie land as far as he could see. He checked ahead on his map app to see what towns might be ahead where he could get something more to eat. Rather than the next big town, he decided to stop at a smaller one. He slowed down as the speed limit signs directed coming into the town. It was small enough that he had not heard its name before. There were a couple of gas stations on the highway, but he could tell most of the town was centered off the main highway. He pumped his gas paying with his debit card and walked into the small convenience store that all gas stations seemed to be attached to these days. He glanced around the store before walking over to the main counter. There was a lady standing behind the register just watching. As Peter approached she asked, “What kin I do fur ya?” “Well, darlin', if you don't mind my askin', I'm lookin' for a place to get somthin' ta eat.” “We've got all kind of drinks and we have some hot snacks and hot dogs and such. Whatcha interested in?” “No offense, darlin', but I was looking for a place where I could sit down for a real meal. 'Sthere someplace in town you like for that?” “Jerry's is the only place here like that. They're not bad. Take a right two blocks north of here and it'll be on your left on into town. Just watch for the sign.” “Thank ya, darlin'. I 'preciate it.” “No problem, sweetie.” As Peter made his way into town he chuckled at himself for having slipped into the small, rural town dialect without even thinking about it. Even though he was in a different state now, the rural style was not that different. Most of his life had been spent in larger cities where speaking that way would have drawn immediate prejudice about his lack of – just about every desirable trait a human would need to succeed in the civilized world. He remembered growing up in a not so big town, near a larger city. When he was approaching adulthood and went up to the city, he learned very quickly that you had to talk the talk or you would be brushed aside.
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Post by sniper69 on Apr 10, 2023 20:03:17 GMT -6
Thanks for the start to this story. Looking forward to reading more as its posted.
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Post by texican on Apr 10, 2023 22:01:51 GMT -6
pbb,
The only improvement to the story would be more chapters.
Texican....
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Post by gipsy on Apr 10, 2023 22:04:09 GMT -6
Looking forward to more please.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Apr 11, 2023 14:11:05 GMT -6
welcome back.......moar please
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 11, 2023 22:21:25 GMT -6
Post #02 Breaking Away As he sat eating his meal, Peter checked the map on his tablet again. He wanted to get a few hours farther along the highway before he stopped for the night. He would find a motel then, nearer where he was wanting to go. In the morning he could plan his get away in more detail. It was dark by the time he got to the next big town. Peter was tired and pulled up to the entrance of a motel. The brightly lit sign identified it as being connected with one of the major motel chains. He started to check in, but stopped just before he got to the door. On a whim, he mentally inventoried the cash he was carrying and decided to pay for the room with cash rather than with his card. Then he had a mental flash about the process used in most chain hotels for check-in. He turned around and got back into his Jeep. He pulled out of the parking lot and started cruising the streets of the town looking for a non-chain motel. It wasn't long before he found one. On the outside it looked rather dated, but at least it appeared to be in a decent state of repair. As he pulled into the parking lot he thought, “What am I doing? Have I suddenly gone weird? Okay. In for a penny; in for a pound.” He reached up and pulled his phone off the dashboard cradle, scanned the online map once more, then turned it off. Next, he pulled the back off and took the battery out. Finally he took a deep breath and climbed out of the Jeep. When he was getting checked in the night clerk did not ask for his ID. He just asked for a name and his home address. Peter gave his son's address and only his own first and last name. He gave the clerk the cash for his room and the clerk handed over a brass key attached to a stamped brass tag identifying the room number and the address of the motel. Peter wasted no time in getting into his room, out of his travel clothes, and into bed. It was the sunlight sneaking around the edges of the heavy curtains that woke him the next morning. Peter got up and took a quick shower before making his way to the motel's front desk. He saw the same clerk who had been on duty when he checked in the previous night. “I'm fixin' ta git back on the road, Thanks fur the room. Is there a place 'round here tuh get a decent breakfast?” The clerk looked like he needed more coffee to get himself together enough to answer, but he managed to squeeze out a response out in spite of his brain fog. “Well – dere's a place on da way out o' town – on da Wun – headin' north. Yuh might try dat.” “O K. I' just grab my bag and git outa your way. Have a good one.” Peter eased out onto the road and headed east looking for sign pointing to a state highway or county road – number one. He found a sign pointing to the right that appeared to be indicating a state road of some sort with a large “1” on it. Underneath there was an information plate indicating it was a north bound road even though the street it was marking was definitely heading south. A few blocks later the signs indicated he had to make a left turn (to the east) to stay on road “1 North”. A few minutes later he saw a small building with a gravel apron in front, just off the blacktop. Several older pickups were parked in front on either side of a glass door that had a sign inside indicating the place was OPEN. He had turned his tablet off at the motel since there was no wifi available there. Soon he was on the road again. Before he got out of town completely he stopped at a small gas station and managed to find a paper map of the state. Now he was able to navigate a little better without his Map Apps. Ahead of him there were long miles of mostly flat plains. A few hours later he began to see growing signs of woodland patches scattered here and there on the plains. The plains were also showing signs of rolling more rather than being as flat as the terrain where Pete had been living up until yesterday. With the changing scenery Peter was finding the drive time to be less tedious and monotonous. It was still far to early for any fall color, but there were fewer signs of the late summer drying out than the fields that he was accustomed to seeing back in Texas. It was almost noon before the right of way along both sides of the highway was now lined with a tall but shallow band of trees. If he tried he could see cultivated fields behind the barrier of trees, but this whole area must have been forest at some time in the past. With every mile Peter's mood was feeling more lifted. The betrayal that had him enraged only twenty-four hours before had, at least temporarily, been forgotten. Peter was in yet another state now taking yet another two lane state road. All day long he had been periodically jumping on and off of state and U.S. Highways that generally ran either north and south or east and west. He had picked up another paper map after crossing a state line again. He was getting closer to a national forest and the terrain was steadily changing. The roads were narrower and beginning to wind up and down hills. To Peter it was much better than a roller coaster ride. To him the tall thick trees crowding the roadway were breathtaking. The term paradise kept coming into to his mind. He kept checking his paper map where he had found a tiny symbol for a Ranger station marked. He expected he could find more information there. He rounded another curve at the top of a hill and suddenly stopped. He pulled of onto a widened gravel turnout so he was off the roadway and climbed out of his Jeep. There to the north he could see row after row of forested hills and mountains for miles and miles in every direction. He simply stood in awe of the beautiful vista before him. “My God in heaven,” he prayed silently inside his head and heart. “What have I been pursuing so desperately? How did I get so tangled up chasing the wrong things? This is a treasure beyond anything I could find in any career or luxury home in a city. This is so beautiful. Help me find my way, dear God. Help me get my head and heart straightened out before it is too late, please.” For the next several days Peter spent time in the forest and in small towns near it. He talked to people in cafes and stores. He talked to a couple of forest rangers, too. He managed to get some time in hiking through the forest, following marked trails. By the time he decided to return home, he had made up his mind. It was time to make a sharp turn in his life. While visiting several small towns surrounding the forest, he had gotten a comfortable feeling in one of them with the quaint name of Beaver Creek. It wasn't that tiny, but it was only half the size of the “small town” back in Texas where Peter had lived as a boy. It was in a lower valley area outside the national forest. That really meant that years before the area where the town was located had been stripped of trees to make room for some farming or cattle raising. The “national forest” designation had been imposed on the more rugged less farm-able land to prevent it from being totally stripped of trees. The government had realized back between the world wars that it just would not work well for the country to suddenly run out of lumber for construction in another thirty years. Besides the good feelings Peter sensed from his interaction with a few people in Beaver Creek, it seemed like a good location for starting over on his new path. If, or more likely when, the balloon went up and things started getting really bad like Peter expected, this was likely to be a place that would be overlooked at the beginning of the troubles. It was at the crossroads of a county road that led into the forest and a state road skirting part of the outer edge of the forest. That state road had long ago had been used to roughly define part of the outer border of the national forest. That state road probably followed an old wagon trail that stretched for a couple of hundred miles between frontier outposts of a century and a half before. About the only traffic on it today were trucks hauling goods directly to the small towns dotted along the state road and the few cars and pickup trucks going to and from those same little towns. Decades before, the Interstate highway route across the state had been directed around the far side of the national forest. Peter's plan was gradually forming in his head as he drove back toward his home in Texas. His former plans to work toward a comfortable retirement had been undermined, torpedoed, derailed, and devastated time after time. He had finally realized he had been working under false assumptions about retirement for too many years. He felt bad for all the advise he had given others about their retirement plans, but that is what you get when you listen to false propaganda year after year. When you go to a casino looking to strike it rich, it is very important to remember the number one rule. “The house wins.” The only way to not be bound by their rule number one is to not play their game in their house. Peter was returning home without any job prospects up in Beaver Creek, but he had no interest in his old job or the myriad job prospects where he lived in the city. He was going to make a clean break. As he thought about that idea of a clean break he was reminded of how thoroughly the techno-social-economy was able to track your every move. One of his former careers had helped him understand just how thoroughly all those conveniences were exploited without people realizing what was happening. Even the computer operating systems themselves, especially the systems operating smart phones, were now watching every move people made both online and off line waiting for the highest bidder to exploit the gathered information. The convoluted privacy statements the user had to agree to in order to use their devices had so many legal loopholes in the 'protection of your personal information' that the whole requirement of protecting your dat had become a delusional farce. Peter's first steps were not motivated by a paranoia, nor by his technical knowledge of the data mining that was endemic in the current marketplace. His moves were intended to be a deliberate choice to make a total change toward a new way of life. He was NOT going to play by house rules anymore. When he got back home he did not inform his boss that he was quitting. Peter simply did not show up for work when he was expected back. His contract with his supervisors firm included nothing about giving a separation notice. The only constraint on him was a unilateral non-poaching clause if he sought a position with a different regulated financial firm. The first move Peter made was to lease a Post Office box. He filled out a change of address card with the post office pointing to his new P.O. Box, and notified his bank of the new mailing/billing address. He also bought a special debit card with cash that was not not connected to his bank. This card would allow future direct deposits to his new card account using the new P.O. Box billing address. This would allow him to conduct online transactions after his old bank account was closed. The first transaction on his new debit card was to buy a bus ticket to the new state where he had decided to make his home. Then Peter checked online and set up a new account with an aftermarket mobile phone service carrier and ordered a very cheap “dumb phone” to use with the service. He did this with his new debit card. Over the next month and a half he began emptying his bank account converting it to cash and then loading his new debit card. He did this gradually so it would not trigger a report or flag to the banking regulators as suspicious activity. That wasn't so hard to do since Peter's bank balance was already down to a level that he considered abysmal. Peter also went to work going through his possessions, including what was in the small storage closet provided by his apartment complex. Much of what he had went into the category of 'never going to use it again'. That stuff he gave away or carried to a local charity's thrift store. Some items went into his largest back pack. The rest of his truly useful items, including selected clothes, he boxed up in discrete packages with coded labels. There was one crate he had kept, still unused after all these years, that had belonged to his grandfather. He found a storage unit for rent and paid them in cash for a full year's rent. He moved all his storage stuff into that and then went to talk with his son. He had a very long a very long talk with his son, Robert, one Saturday night, about his plan and his reasoning. He also made arrangements for his son to ship some of those coded boxes to him after he established a new address. He also gave his son the key to his new P.O. Box and the information about renewing the lease. He also made plans to sell his Jeep and deposit the check from that sale in his bank account. Robert agreed to use Peter's old debit card to gradually transfer the cash out of his father's bank account and mail the cash to him a little at a time. Finally Peter was packed and ready to go, so he went to Robert's house again to drop off his back pack. Next he drove to a Jeep dealership and sold his Jeep. He called a taxi, since his dumb phone would not connect with an app to get him a cheaper ride, to take him to his bank. He had the taxi driver take him to the drive thru tellers so he could deposit the check from the car dealer in his bank account. Next he went to Robert's house and handed over his bank debit card to his son with the pin number. While Robert drove him to the bus station, Peter was talking to his son one more time about what he was doing and why his son should give it serious consideration for himself and his family. When Peter arrived at the bus station people were already starting to board the bus. He checked in his backpack as luggage and turned to wave before his son drove away. Peter was silently praying that his son would take his recommendations seriously and come join him before long. It was not easy making this break knowing the uncertainty of when he would see his family again. All the activities of getting ready for this break were now behind him. Sitting on the bus in a narrow seat, Peter and being unable to do anything more to pursue his new goals for the next ten hours was a sharp contrast from the last six weeks. The weight of Peter's decision was starting to press down on him. The bus ride was tediously long and boring. For hours and hours his view was limited, matching the unchanging scenery. Peter was besieged by second thoughts and concerns about his family. During that trip he was, once again able to gain some clarity about his intentions and his strategy. Fortunately the bus did make some scheduled stops every couple of hours at either a bus stop or a large convenience store along the highway. This allowed the passengers a chance to stretch, take a quick break, or grab some fast food. As the journey continued the number of passengers was slowly dwindling. Eventually Peter was able to take a vacant seat at the front on the top deck so he could see more of the surroundings. Finally just about dusk they arrived at a bus stop in the capital city of the state Peter had chosen for his new home. He had made a reservation in advance at a nearby motel, so he retrieved his back pack and headed out on foot to settle in for the night. The next morning he was up early to get his breakfast and pick up a bicycle and bike cargo trailer he had ordered for delivery to a nearby big box store. He unboxed and assembled the bike and bike cargo trailer on the parking lot of the store. While there he also bought some supplies for his trip before riding the bike back to his motel. In almost no time he had loaded his back pack into the trailer and checked out of the hotel. The next leg of his trip was going to be just over one hundred and fifty miles. He had decided in advance to take his time and not push too hard. He was in decent physical condition, but was not an avid cyclist. He was prepared to camp out multiple nights if necessary as he made his way to and through the national forest. As it turned out Peter was glad he had allowed more time than he thought he would need for this bike trek. He had not accounted for the fact that most of his trip would include biking up and down hills and ascending to a higher elevation. Beaver Creek was nearly a thousand feet above the elevation of the capital. Most of the forest was at even higher elevations, and Peter had simply not conditioned himself for that kind of rigorous cycling. On the upside of this adventure was the feeling of elation if gave Peter to be taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the forest as he made his way along the virtually empty roads through the forest. It was nearly a week after leaving the motel before he reached Beaver Creek. The first order of business there was to get a room with a bed at “the” local motel. It was a bit crowded with his new bike and trailer in the small room, but he was not willing to trust a padlock on a chain outside a motel overnight. The next morning Peter went to a local cafe he had found on his previous visit to get some breakfast. The local motel owner was smart enough to not mimic the national chains with their 'free hot breakfast' claims. Rudy, the local cafe owner, was a good friend of the motel owner and he knew what a real hot breakfast entailed. Peter was thoroughly savoring his 'home cooked' breakfast after nearly a week of thrown together camp-out food. He was sincerely complementary to the waitress/cashier. “Darlin' tell Rudy for me that this is the best breakfast I have had in a month of Sundays,” Peter commented as she was refilling his cup of coffee. “By the way this coffee is perfect, too.” “Aw, sweetie. That is so nice of you to say. It feels like I've seen you in here before, but I can't recall your name. Who kin I tell Rudy likes our home-style cookin' so well?” “My name's Peter Smith. You kin call me Pete. I'm new in town and lookin' for a place to park myself for a while. If you hear of someone with a spare room, I'd appreciate your lettin' me know, 'cuz I'll be back in here again fer sure.” A few minutes later Pete was paying for his meal when the waitress/cashier asked him. “Where ya working, Mr. Pete. If we hear of a place you might stay, we wouldn't want to have you wait until you pay for another meal here to let you know about it.” “Now you're the one who is being awfully kind. I'm fixin' ta go lookin' for a job around here as soon as I settle my bill with you. For now I'm staying at the motel, but I can't keep that up long term.” “Pete, I don't mean to pry, but now I am curious. You seem like a nice kind of person. I'd probably know it if you were from around here. What in the world brings you this far out from – well, most everything if you don't have a job here, if you don't mind my askin' ?” Pete paused then gave a slight grin. “I don't mind your askin', Ma'am, but that's not the kind of thing I'd be talking about unless it was with a friend.” He gave her a coy smile. “I hope you or your husband won't think me too forward to ask your name 'fore I answer that question, friend to friend.” Now Pete was smiling with amusement. “Okay, Mr. Pete. Either you are a slick talker or you are a decent fella, and my guess is you're a decent fella. I'm Gladys, Rudy's wife. Nice to meet you Pete.” “Nice to meet you, too Gladys. Honestly, I like the scenery. I decided to get out of the rat race and plant some roots in the real world. I was through here recently and decided I like it here. So, I came back.” Gladys looked at Pete holding his gaze for a moment. “So, what kind a work are you lookin' for, Pete?” “Just about anything. I'm not looking to get rich quick. I just want an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.” “You might try talkin' to Harry down at the farm supply store. You can tell him Rudy and Gladys sent you.” “Thank you, Gladys. I really 'preciate that. Tell Rudy 'thanks', too. I'll see you later and I'd like to meet Rudy before long if he isn't too busy.” Harry agreed to give Pete a couple or three days of work over the next week at minimum wage, but that was all he would promise. Pete had paid in advance for another night at the motel, so he was able to work straight through until closing time at the farm supply store. Most of the work was helping customers load purchases like bags of feed or tools and equipment in the back of their pick up trucks. By the end of the day Pete was feeling the fatigue. He headed to the motel to get cleaned up before supper. When he got to Rudy's there was a larger crowd than there had been for breakfast. Gladys was keeping busy running tables and the register, but Rudy was out of sight. Pete surmised he too was probably working like a one-armed paperhanger back in the kitchen. When Gladys came to take his order, she mentioned to Pete that when things quieted down, Rudy wanted to talk with him, if he didn't mind hangin' around a bit after he ate. Pete replied that he had no where better to go, so that would be fine. Pete took his time and even had desert and coffee after his meal. He was hungry after a full day of work. He also realized he had worked straight through lunch time at the farm store. The fried chicken was perfect and the peach pie afterwards was beyond perfect. The crowd was thinning out now and Rudy, Pete assumed, came out of the kitchen as he was taking off his apron. He walked straight over to Pete and stuck out a hand that was half again the width of Pete's. “Rudy Lingelbach, I assume you're Pete Smith. Sorry it took so long. We had a good group this even'.” “No need to apologize, Rudy,” Pete replied with his handshake. “ You have a business to run and that takes a lot of work. I just appreciate your taking time to say hello.” Rudy smiled back at Pete. “Sit down a minute. Let's talk.” Rudy repeated some of the conversation Pete had with Gladys earlier. He also asked how his job hunting had gone. After a few minutes of conversation Rudy shifted the direction he was taking. “Pete, I don't really know you, but Gladys and I both are liking what we're seeing. I know of a place that you might stay for a short time, but there are always risks taking on tenants that you don't already know.” “I understand that, Rudy, and I appreciate your even considering me. I need to tell you up front that I can't afford a lot and I can't be sure yet how long I can stay. I got some work at the farm supply store, but there is no guarantee it will last beyond a week.” “Pete do you smoke?” “No.” “Not anything?” Pete chuckled. “No, not anything.” He grinned. “Do you drink?” Pete paused. “I live alone, and it is a bad idea to drink alone. I sure don't go in for party drinking either. Is that good enough for you?” He looked Rudy in the eye. “Do you do any drugs – at all?” “Not even prescriptions from a dentist for a toothache.” Pete tipped his head and kept a steady gaze into Rudy's eyes. “Are you house broke?” “For as long as I can remember and that goes waaaaaay back,” Pete replied with a grin. “How much stuff do you have to move into a place once you find one?” “Just the bicycle I rode into town and a what I could pack into a small bicycle trailer I was towing behind me.” “Where exactly did you ride in from?” Rudy's eyes narrowed. Here Pete paused again and took a breath. “I rode the bicycle from the capital...after I rode a bus from Texas.” Rudy's eyes grew larger for a moment as he tipped his head slightly to the side. He straightened his head and looked more serious before his next question. “Have you learned how to keep it in your pants?” Rudy's stare was rock solid. Even though he was surprised, Pete's stare was steady as he considered Rudy's question. “Rudy, I am going to have to answer that assuming you are asking me as a friend, because if you're not I would have to take offense at that question. My answer is 'Yes'. I'm no longer a child, and I no longer play childish games. I have not played those particular kinds of games in many, many years and I have no intention of letting those kinds of childish games cause trouble for me or anyone that matters to me, ever again. I'm a grown man and I have keep my self respect to be able to ask my God to help me. I am also wise enough to know for certain that without His help I'm going to be in deep trouble. Does that answer your question?” A hint of a smile touched Rudy's face. “Good answer Pete. Give me a couple of nights and I may be able to get you out of Sam's motel.” Rudy got up and shook Pete's hand again, this time a little more firmly than the last. He left Pete siting there with a curious look on his face. Pete was puzzled about the line of questioning and Rudy's style, but apparently Rudy was pleased. Two days later at breakfast Rudy came out from the kitchen to talk with Pete as he set a breakfast plate down for Pete. “If you can get Sam to hold your stuff until after work today, I can get you into a room right after the supper crowd. It will be $75 a week for one bedroom and a bath. The utilities will be paid. There is a window air conditioner and a heater if you stay that long. There is also a bed, a night stand, a small desk, and a chair. It has an outside door, and you will consider me your landlord. Also there are no doors from your room to the rest of the house and you need to be careful to have no contact with the person living in the other portions of the house. We can do this one week at a time until you can commit to more or you find a better place. Will that work for you?” Pete blinked a couple of times before he stood to shake Rudy's hand. “Thank you, Rudy. Thank you very much!”
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Post by texican on Apr 12, 2023 17:50:08 GMT -6
ppb,
Could it be someone's sister that lives in the other part of the home?
Texican....
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ahsga
New Member
Posts: 34
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Post by ahsga on Apr 12, 2023 18:01:31 GMT -6
It was on previous version of story
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 13, 2023 14:35:19 GMT -6
Post #3 Deeper Into The Shadows
Pete had been curious about some of Rudy's conditions and his manner regarding the room, but the arrangements were pretty clear, and Rudy just seemed like an honest, down to earth man. When Rudy took Pete to show him the room, it was clear that someone lived in the rest of the relatively small house. There was a place on the wall in Pete's room, where it looked like a doorway had been replaced with fresh gypsum board and recently painted over. Pete could not contain his curiosity. “Rudy it may be none of my business, and it isn't really a problem, but may I ask about your concerns for me avoiding contact with whoever lives in the main part of this house? I want to honor your wishes. I'm just not use to being cautioned like that.” Rudy had a serious look on his face. “Pete, you seem decent, but that is just a first impression, since Gladys and I only met you a few days ago. You know this world is full of troubles. I have a sister who owns this house. The rent for the room will be a big help to her, but I simply need to take precautions to protect her.” “That's fine. I can understand that, Rudy. You have my word. You will not have any problems about that on my account. If there are any other conditions that would help to make this work to your satisfaction, don't hesitate to talk to me about them. Thank you again for helping me. I do appreciate your help.” Harry, at the Farm Store, was quite pleased with the way Pete worked hard and was always looking for ways to help out rather than standing around waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Before the end of the week Harry had asked Pete if he would like to stay on and work thirty hours or maybe a just a few more per week. Pete knew without asking there wouldn't be any “benefits” included and it was only a minimum wage job. Pete agreed to take the job and to take his pay in cash if Harry would write out a paper pay stub showing taxes withheld. Pete talked to Rudy who agreed to letting Pete pay for the room on a week to week basis until he could save enough to pay a month in advance. He actually had money to pay in advance, but his reserve seemed very thin for completely starting over in a new place like he was doing here. Pete figured that his pay would leave him a little under $100 per week after taxes and paying rent. He wouldn't be able to keep buying his meals at the cafe, but he could picked up a hot plate and a cast iron skillet at the farm store. That way he would be able to buy some groceries and cook for himself. He asked Rudy to write out a rent receipt for the room, so he could have proof of residency. Pete began corresponding with his son, Robert, using snail mail. His email account had been set up many years before and there were countless accounts of various kinds that had requested his email address for communicating with him and allowing him to easily “login” to their own system. When he decided to “cut loose” from his old life he left all that behind, and he did not want to risk establishing a pattern of communications with his son that could be easily traced and analyzed. It did not sway him that most people would consider this paranoid. He simply knew enough from his work for some former employers just how powerful the monitoring and analyzing algorithms could be. “What most people thought” was shaped and skewed by their ignorance and conditioning. If some one was diligent and focused they still could connect the dots about his preferences and financial activities. His intention here was to stay unnoticed. He had no desire for anyone with an agenda to find any reason to flag his activities and interests as troublesome or even out of the ordinary. He was very intent on obeying the laws, but he had no desire to remain politically and financially correct. It was still possible that the post office records could be hacked and used to perhaps find a pattern of hand written letters being sent between two addresses, but at least one of those addresses would need to have drawn some kind of attention for that to be of interest. Pete was going to need to gradually move the cash from selling his Jeep out of his old bank. Eventually he would also get an income tax refund deposited there as well. His son would be making very small ATM withdrawals and mailing the equivalent cash to Peter over a period of months. If any cash was stolen in the mail, which was supposed to be the reason the public was encouraged not to send cash through the mail, they could easily stop for a couple of months. Later they could either pick it back up or find a different avenue for passing Pete's money to him. Pete learned that Beaver Creek had a small public library. The staff there were mostly volunteers and the selection of books was not great, but they did have two donated computers that could be used to look up information on the internet. Pete used those quite often to research things he wanted to learn about self sustaining practices in a forest setting. There was a lot to learn and to sift through. So many resources on the internet were too brief and included too many untested opinions pretending to be facts rather than reliable information. As for so called reliable sources there were far too many 'reliable' mega-agricultural techniques that were totally unsustainable on a small scale. Pete soon realized it would take more than just reading with discernment to learn how raise enough to feed himself and possibly a few others in the forest. He also was spending time online searching for land that might be available. Rays of Light Among the Shadows Pete settled in to his pattern of working, living very frugally and studying at the library, or reading books he had checked out, whenever he could. Much of what he had left packaged at Robert's place was not urgently needed. He wanted to avoid a flurry of packages being send from his son to his new address so that was working out for the best, too. It wasn't long before Pete found himself wanting a break from the intense regimen of filling every minute he could at the tiny library, so he was taking some time out to bike into the nearby forest. After a couple of months he was looking for something else to fill some of his time. The bicycle only allowed him a limited number of options for exploring the forest in the short spells of time off from work that were available to him. After a couple of months he was able to pick up a few extra hours of work at the grocery store. The owner there was glad he could find another part-time worker rather than paying others overtime wages to clean and restock after hours. Meanwhile, Pete was plugging away at his jobs, living frugally, and trying to add to his savings. Being there in a small town he was getting acquainted with a few people. Some were very nice, and a few others were just not drawing Pete toward developing any close friendship with them. Ruben Sanchez, a younger man working with him at the farm store, was a friendly sort of fella and would talk with Pete occasionally on their breaks. He had made an impression on Pete as a hard worker and a decent person. One evening when Pete was cleaning up after his supper, there was a knock at his door. When he opened the door, Ruben was standing there. “Hi, Pete, I know you weren't expecting me, and I don't want to take up a lot of your time if you're busy, but I do want to ask you about something you mentioned.” “Okay, Ruben. Do you want to come in and talk a minute?” “Oh, thank you, Pete. This will only take a minute.” Pete led Ruben in and offered him the chair at his desk while Pete sat on the edge of his bed. “What's on your mind, Ruben?” “Pete, when we were talking about something in the news yesterday you made a comment that somehow sounded familiar to me. I did some digging and found out why it sounded so familiar. Your comment was...well it was almost a paraphrase of something that I found written in the Bible. Pete, have you studied the Bible at some time in the past or maybe more recently, or was your wording just a coincidence?” Pete thought a moment and could not remember what comment might have prompted this. “Ruben, I'm not sure what comment you're referring to, but in the past I did study the Bible quite a lot. I'm not too surprised that a comment I made might have sounded like it came from the Bible. I've tried to let it guide my thinking. The truth is I eventually got frustrated for quite a spell, because I didn't see eye to eye with my teachers on what words written in the bible actually meant in some places. When I tried to talk about those differences, I was either dismissed or they became rather insistent that I accept their interpretations and simply drop my mistaken ideas. What the Bible really says is important to me, but I don't like the kind of debates some folks get into when they interpret it in different ways and insist theirs is the only way to interpret the meaning. Because of that I haven't exactly been going to church regularly for some time now, if that is where this is leading.” Ruben paused a bit before going on. “Pete, I can identify with what you said about not always seeing eye to eye with what some other folks say the Bible is telling us. I also believe that it is important for us to understand what it is telling us and to let it guide our thinking. I personally believe it should be the guide for the choices we make every day. I'm part of a small congregation here in Beaver Creek. We don't have a preacher, but we do get together every Sunday to have a Bible study. One or another of our brothers of course leads the study, but everyone is encouraged to participate and respectfully share their insights on the lesson during the study. I would really like for you to come and visit. I think you might like it.” “Well, Ruben, I appreciate your asking. I might do that, but, let me think about it.” “That's fine, Pete. You'll be welcome if you choose to come, but there is no pressure. I'll see you at the store tomorrow. You have a nice evening.” With that Ruben was gone. After Ruben left Pete was tossing around in his head what Ruben had said. Pete considered himself a Christian, but he had studied enough to know that a fair amount of what he believed was not considered orthodox teachings by most others who identified themselves as Christians. He appreciated that Ruben had thought enough to extended an invitation. He liked Ruben enough to think they might turn out as friends some day before long. Pete just did not want to open himself up again to endless arguments about what he believed. He had dealt with too many people already who were determined to “straighten out his thinking” about what the Bible was really saying. Those differences were a big influence on him choosing to not attend church and him keeping his faith so private, now. Right now he was in a lonely place with his faith and he knew that somehow needed to change. - - - - - - - - - - “Rob, what's wrong? You don't seem yourself lately. I saw that another letter came from your Dad today. Is that what's bothering you?” Jennifer was setting the table for dinner while Robert was pulling a casserole out of the oven. “Well, no and yes. I'm sorry Jenny. I don't want to put a rain cloud over you. You always feel like such a ray of sunshine for me, every time I look at you. You are such a treasure. I've just been thinking too much since – well since even before Dad dropped that bombshell. It's just the usual stuff, trying to keep the wolves away from the door. Speaking of hungry wolves, isn't it time for Carl to be getting home. It is Bruce and Linda's day to bring the kids home from after school practices, right?” “Yeah. Don't worry, Rob. The season is almost over and the coaches are anxious to win their last two games. Lisa is in the band and the band director is trying to get them ready for contest, but still having to put on a halftime show every week. I think they are all stretching the scheduled times to get just a little more work out of the kids.” “Huh, I guess that's one way to get them ready for the 'real world'. Push them to work harder on their school activities, since they seem to be spoon feeding them their grades. I was asking Carl about how he is getting such good grades when he never studies at home. Did you know the teachers give them study sheets before every test. That basically gives them every question and answer on the test, and nothing else? It wasn't that way it was when we were in school.” Jenny giggled as she folded her apron. “Rob, you are starting to sound more and more like 'your old man'.” She took a more serious tone before continuing. “The teachers are being told to do that so the schools can keep their statistics up. I would hate to be a teacher these days. The system has them all balled up in knots with being told how to follow this agenda and that process. It seems to be that way so someone higher up the food chain can justify their “amazing contribution to improvements” in the education system. It has gotten so bad that the teachers can't even teach the basics anymore!” “So, Jenny, tell me. How do you really feel about that?” Rob was not doing a very good job of hiding his smirk. Within moments his own expression grew more somber. “Jenny, Carl is not getting the education he needs. I don't know how things are in colleges these days, but the same schools that are getting sloppy with how they are educating or kids are still telling the students that they need to go to college to make a good living. How can that work unless the colleges are dumbing down their minimum requirements too?” Rob was scowling now. “Rob, I hate to see you getting stressed by so many things. Carl is a smart boy. Things will work out. They always do.” Rob noticed the gentle smile on Jenny's face and gave her a hug. “See, That's what I'm talking about. No matter what is troubling me, you are always there to bring me some sunshine.” “So what's the news from your Dad, sweetie? Is he doing okay?”'' “I guess. He found work and a place to stay. He wants me to trickle his money from selling his car up to him. He is being pretty particular about this clandestine style separation from his old financial dealings. When he explains his reasoning for each step, it makes sense, but it just feels weird and inconvenient needing to be so careful and deliberately masking his financial activities. There is nothing illegal about it. It just seems sneaky or clandestine. I guess I'll do it the way he wants. He's done so much for us, it seems like the least we can do for him. Say, speaking of Bruce and Linda, how about we invite them over Saturday evening. I could grill something for supper so you won't have to cook. That new movie just came out on DVD and we can watch it together here. The kids don't have any school events scheduled for Saturday do they?” “No, not this Saturday, but if you really expect them to join us, we need to tell them tonight before they try to plan something with their friends. I'll call Linda after we clean up from supper. Oh, Hi Carl, how was practice?” “Hi, Mom, Dad. It was okay. The coaches are getting pretty wound up about the game Friday. You'd think it was a Bowl game or somethin'. What's for supper?” “It's King Ranch Casserole. And we have some blackberry cobbler for desert.” “Awesome. I'll wash up and be back in a jiff.” - - - - - - - Pete was determined to save as much money as he could. In the first couple of months it wasn't as easy as he hoped because he was still getting set up. He had bought a hot plate and started to buy a cast iron skillet, Then he thought a little more and decided to get a cast iron skillet/dutch oven combination set so he had more options. He also remembered he did not have a refrigerator so he had to shop around for small one that would function well for his needs. It was a challenge to find things he needed rather than things that would be really convenient. He found that his decision to significantly change his lifestyle and direction was requiring more adjustments in his thinking and perspective than he had anticipated. Pete still had a small cushion of savings, but he knew it was important to protect that since his goal was to buy some land and build a house on it. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes, combined with a complex system designed to siphon and capture every penny possible out of people's income and savings, had somehow 'conspired' together quite successfully in Pete's life. At the end of the first month in Beaver Creek he had only saved one hundred dollars. Projecting that into the future did not paint a pretty picture for Pete's plans. The extra work in the evenings at the grocery store would help with that. It would also help when Pete had developed or remembered better skills in being frugal. As for the money Pete would be getting from the sale of his Jeep, he would need that fairly soon to acquire another vehicle. By selling it just before he moved and depositing the money in his old bank, there would be fewer breadcrumbs from his old life leading to his new one. In the mean time he was saving some on his monthly expenses by not paying for car insurance. For now he was able to carry groceries and any other purchases he made by either walking or using the bicycle trailer he had purchased. Within a few months of arriving in Beaver Creek Pete was saving about four hundred dollars a month. He was not getting rich quick, but it was hopeful progress as far as Pete was concerned. Pete was avoiding opening a bank account in Beaver Creek. The money he was receiving in the mail along with what he was saving from his work was going into a hiding place as cash. Pete had learned that undeveloped land in this area was selling for somewhere between one thousand and three thousand dollars per acre. At his current savings rate it would be several years before he had saved enough to buy even ten acres of land. Pete was squeezing in as much time as he could manage searching the internet at the library. He had been pouring over any land for sale listings he could find in the nearby region. He was also trying to gather information about forest land management and sustainable agriculture. Another issue was constructing a home once he acquired the land. Finally there was the issue of gearing up his production of food to a subsistence level before moving into the forest. As he learned more he found his concerns about timing weighing down on him. If things fell apart like he expected before he could get established, he might survive in the forest. That, however, was something that required learning a lot of skills and there was little that could be done to cushion the transition from living in society to living long term in the wild. Pete wanted to keep up with current events enough to not be caught unaware when things began to fall apart. He also wanted to avoid falling into the trap of hanging on every blip in the radar in trying not to miss knowing when the 'balloon' had started going up. That on top of his concerns about his current situation and time table projections were starting to wear down on him. He was working on keeping it under control, but his anxiety level was higher than he would have liked. He decided he needed to spend some more time in the woods and clear his head. He made arrangements to not be working at either job for a couple of days and rode his bike up into the forest. Pete was gradually getting better at cycling up and down the hills going through the forest. The extra gears on his bicycle were a major help. When he got to a hiking trail he would walk his bike and the trailer carrying his pack away from the road about a hundred yards before he chained it to a tree out of sight from both the road and the trail. Then he'd harness up his backpack and strike out along the trail. By late afternoon on this particular excursion he was about eight miles from the nearest road where a small stream crossed the trail. At the top of a rise on the other side of the stream, he slipped his pack off and sat down on a fallen log. He wanted to just be peaceful for a while but his stomach was growling with hunger so he decided to start a small fire and settle in for the evening. The weather forecast was indicating still mild weather tonight so after his meal he completely snuffed his fire and leaned back against an oak tree. He had intended to meditate and take in the forest sights, smells, and sound. Within a few minutes he remembered his conversation with Ruben from a couple of weeks before and reached over to pull his Bible out of his pack. As he read, he fell into his pattern from many years before of reading a few verses, and stopping to consider them. Inevitably a thought about what he had just read would bring to mind the words from somewhere else in the collection of writings, and he would search until he found that other passage that had been tucked away in the corners of his memory. Then he would read the new found verse several times, and ponder that just as he had with the previous passage. At some point he dosed off and awakened the next morning wrapped in his sleeping bag. He must have been on autopilot as far as unrolling his sleeping bag, because he did not remember anything other than his reading and meditating the night before. One thing was sure. He was not feeling the tension and stress this morning that he had been experiencing lately. As he walked back along the trail he was reviewing the thoughts he had considered in his Bible study the evening before. He was understanding now that he needed to be more active in exercising his faith rather than just telling himself that he had faith. He needed to follow the clear guidance the Bible had taught him about what to do and how to trust in God first. Then he needed to let go of the worry, confident that when he was putting the right things first, the rest would be taken care of in due time. He also rediscovered those verses in Hebrews that urged the faithful to keep on assembling together for encouraging each other “ as that day draws near.” The bike ride back home was easier than coming out since it trended more downhill. Still, it was late afternoon before Pete was back at his apartment. He was not needed back at the farm store until 6:45 the next morning so he still had some free time on his hands. He decided to make a cornbread casserole in his cast iron skillet, so he got that started before sitting down to review his budget and plans for the coming week. - - - - - - “Professor Horowitz, I don't understand. I thought I was following all the guidelines and met all the requirements for my dissertation. If there is an area that needs more work or clarification, before I deliver it to the doctoral committee, just tell me and I can fix it. I have worked hard for several years gathering data in the field and thoroughly, meticulously evaluating it. I've worked too hard and too long to just be walking away from all that and say, 'Oh, well.' What do I still need to do to at least get it before the committee for consideration?” “Joann, You have done very well in your graduate course work, and you have also demonstrated surprising skills in your field research. You have met all the requirements for a masters degree. As a matter of fact I have received very good reports regarding your work as an instructor here at the university. With a masters degree you will be able to easily get work as a teacher in secondary schools. You might even pick up some extra work from time to time as an instructor at a community college.” “I know that, Dr. Horowitz. However, I have been working to get my doctorate in wildlife biology. You still haven't told me why I cannot present my dissertation to the committee. Is my work just not good enough, and you don't think I can make it better? Where is the problem? ” “Joann, you just don't get it; do you? Your work is good enough, but your conclusions are not acceptable. You cannot expect to do research in the segment of this field you chose for your dissertation and not show any support whatsoever for the influence of evolution in your conclusion. That is just unacceptable. In order to teach at a university level you must show research with conclusions that support scientific facts.” Joann was stunned as she stared back at her professor. “Professor Horowitz, I can only conclude what the data supports. I was very careful to limit biases in my data collection. I documented that process in great detail. I was meticulous in applying objective, academically sound principles when analyzing and interpreting the data that was collected. All of this is laid out carefully in my dissertation. The truth is that the data did not provide support for the primary tenets of the theory of evolution. It did provide insights into adaptation of species to changing environments but not for any species transforming or evolving into different species. I did not try to argue against evolutionary theory. I merely let the data say what it actually said.” “Joann,” the professor now took on a tone of a condescending teacher, “the point is you did not let the data suggest even potential support for evolution of species. In order to receive a Ph.D. it is assumed that you would be qualified to teach at a university level. Unless you understand the need to further the acceptance of evolution as the only sound basis of biological studies, you cannot be considered a qualified expert in the field of biology. If you had been more astute in your selection of data, perhaps you could have found more rational support for what we know is scientific fact.” Now Joann's eyes were opened wide. “Are you suggesting that I should cherry pick the data, and dismiss the volume of data that doesn't fit a predetermined conclusion. That is academically and scientifically dishonest. I will not prostitute my integrity and publish lies just so I get a piece of paper saying I am an expert.” “I was afraid that was going to be your position, Ms. Blankenship. Your stubbornness in clinging to your beliefs rather than recognizing the wisdom of greater academic minds than yours has limited your ability to avail yourself of higher academic opportunities. I will contact the registrar with instructions to process graduating you out of the university with a master's degree at the completion of this semester. I wish you good luck in your next pursuits.” With that he dismissed her from his office.
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Post by gipsy on Apr 13, 2023 15:23:45 GMT -6
My way or the highway kind of thinking is a huge problem these days.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 16, 2023 20:28:12 GMT -6
Post #4 Baby Steps
Pete was keeping himself very busy working two jobs now and trying to get himself ready for the troubled times that he was certain lay ahead of him. Since the break to clear his head in the woods, he was still aware of the uncertainty of the time he had remaining before the “balloon tether” was cut and the expected troubles entered a new phase, but he was keeping calm – mostly. He had gotten into a mode of keeping his immediate contingency plan in his head. It would be ideal, or rather closer to ideal, if he had already been farther along in his preparations. If, however, things took a sudden turn for the worst “tomorrow” or even “today” he had make-do plans for ways he would cope. In the mean time he kept working and saving and gathering information. Occasionally he would find something that would be important for his make-do plans and spend a little money on that. He was trying to keep purchases like that to a minimum, however. Pete was making acquaintances with a few more people in Beaver Creek. He was trying to be friendly, yet still being cautious about that. He suspected that it was not wise to let too many people know too much about his plans. He was also keeping evidence of his plans to a minimum. He was holding all the money that had been transferred through the mail by his son in cash. He had hidden it in a place he considered safe from prying eyes. He was adding to his cache of cash on a weekly basis from his earnings at his jobs. He had gotten comfortable with saving money on groceries and essential needs. Robert had sent him a box of his winter clothes. He had insisted that Robert have the package picked up at his ( that is Rob's) employer's place of business and that it be addressed to simply Mr. Smith c/o The Farm Store in Beaver Creek. Pete was occasionally indulging himself by going to Rudy's after supper and having a piece of pie or cobbler with a cup of coffee for desert. Rudy and Gladys were obviously masterful at delighting Pete's taste buds. Pete also found the two of them to be delightful people. Ruben was also becoming a friend of Pete's Their breaks at work were short, but they also managed to converse together as they worked. Pete was getting to where he could now load a pick-up bed full of feed bags with Ruben while talking without getting winded. Ruben was not pressing Pete, but he did occasionally mention an activity he was involved in with his congregation. Pete's thoughts following his excursion to the woods finally won him over. He decided to accept Ruben's previous invitation to visit a meeting of his congregation ... once. When Pete arrived he was a little uneasy. He had visited many churches before, and the first visit or two were always interesting. In some bigger churches, many people simply did not notice a visitor unless there was a call for all the visitors to stand and be recognized. This would be a smaller group and Pete was sure he would stand out as a visitor. Sure enough before he even got in the door people were welcoming him and making sure they got his name. Several recognized him from his working at the farm store. Once he managed to get inside, he was surprised when Rudy and Gladys came up to welcome him. They immediately became his unofficial escorts introducing him to others there and telling him how glad they were to see him at the meeting. Ruben also made his way through the small crowd in the meeting room and shook Pete's hand while he put another hand up on Pete's shoulder. Pete was very unaccustomed to the greeting he was receiving. He was impressed with more than just how many people were recognizing him as a visitor. It was the special kind of warmth in their greeting that seemed unusual to him. The unusual aspects of Pete's experience did not stop with the kind of reception he received. It became clear very quickly that this meeting did not follow the format of Sunday meetings at any churches Pete had been to before. One of the 'brothers' from a small town twenty miles away gave a short talk on a Bible subject. It wasn't a sermon. It was just a talk. Soon after that the congregation started their Bible study. One of the other 'brothers' was leading the study. Pete was sitting between Ruben and Rudy and as the Bible study began, someone reached over and handed Pete a printed program including a Bible passage they were studying and a printed discussion of the passage. There were two things about that Bible study that really surprised Pete. The first surprise was that the brother leading the discussion made very few comments about the passage. Instead he was working through the passage asking questions rather than giving answers. The rest of that surprise was how many within the congregation were eager to answer the questions. These people had actually studied this passage and the commentary before coming to the Bible study. Pete was more accustomed to people coming to Bible studies where one or two people dominated the discussion, and most of those attending kind of showed up to listen in rather than participate. The second surprise was even more of a shock to Pete. Half way through the study one member of the congregation dropped a doctrinal bomb. They made a comment that went against a doctrine that was widely held among churches. The study leader was waiting patiently for the participant to complete their comment while Pete was cringing inside at what would come next. This was one of the very points that had caused so much trouble between Peter and his professors many years before. What happened next left Pete stunned. Rather than correcting the doctrinal mistake of the most recent participant, the leader reaffirmed what had just been said. Not only that, he cited several more scripture verses from other books in the Bible supporting that conclusion. Pete barely heard the remainder of the Bible study discussion. How could these people be sitting here acting like they all accepted what had just been said? After the meeting Pete had some questions for Ruben. “Ruben you mentioned that you did not have a preacher. Was that visiting brother that gave the talk your substitute preacher until you find one?” “No, no, Pete. He was an elder from a sister congregation over in Clear Water. One of our elders went there today to give a talk in Clear Water. We don't use preachers or 'pastors'. We rotate the responsibility for giving talks among the elders in this congregation and a few nearby congregations. Brother Wilson who led the Bible study today is one of the elders in our congregation. I am so glad you came today, Pete. I'm guessing you are not use to our style. What did you think?” Pete was watching Ruben carefully for his reactions as he replied. “Ruben, I have to tell you it was not what I was expecting. It would take some getting use to for me, but I guess I would say I found it – refreshing.” Just then the elder who had led the Bible study stepped up to Ruben and Pete. “Brother Sanchez I saw a new face sitting beside you today. Would you mind introducing us?” “Of course. This is Pete Smith. Pete is new in town and we work together at the Farm Store. Pete this is John Wilson.” “Good to meet you, Pete. It's very nice to have you visiting. I hope we see more of you. I hope you found our meeting informative and helpful. If you have any questions we would be glad to answer them.” “I was just mentioning to Ruben that I found it very different but refreshing. I like the feelings I get from the people here. The format of your meetings is not what I was expecting, but the Bible study was very good. I was impressed by the level of participation. I – I think I may come again next week. I may have some questions to ask later, but in the mean time, thank you for a very interesting Bible study.” Pete excused himself and was trying to make his way out of the small building. That took longer than he expected. It seemed like everyone there wanted to welcome him and invite him back. When Pete returned to his apartment he was surprised at how good it felt to find such a welcoming and warm group of people, most of whom had never before met him. It suddenly occurred to him that during their Sunday meeting They had never “passed the plate” or mentioned collecting contributions for the expenses or “the work” of the organization. He wasn't sure if this would last, but for now he surprised himself by wanting to go back the next Sunday. With the weather getting colder now in Beaver Creek, Pete knew he would need warmer clothes and in a few instances different winter clothes from what he had needed back in Texas. He managed to get a few of those extras he needed when they came on sale at the farm store where he worked. He might have found better prices at a big box retailer, but the nearest one was too far away to be practical for a bicycle ride there and back. He also realized that if he could make do with a minimum of purchases this winter, he could pick up more winter clothing on clearance when the weather began to warm up. Pete was also realizing how fortunate it was that he was working at the farm store. He was able to discover and learn about many useful and previously unfamiliar tools, equipment, and materials there that he would be needing to make his long term plans work. Some of what he was learning was from his conversations with the customers as they were shopping or as he was helping them load their purchases. It did seem a bit odd to Pete that he still had not even seen Rudy's sister who lived through the wall from him. He rarely heard a few muffled noises indicating someone was actually occupying the other part of the house. His outside door was on the opposite side of the house from the front door and garage. His door was also toward the town so he never had a need to go around toward the other side of the house. He had noticed when walking home one afternoon before dark that there was a small fenced area out off to the side of the rather open lot the house was on with what looked like a small shed and a chicken coop inside the fence. There was also a small patch that looked like a neglected garden just outside the fenced area. He had every intention of honoring his word to Rudy, but he had always been a curious and observant kind of person. Telling Pete to not have contact with someone he had never seen before was kind of like telling a kid, “Close your eyes, and do not imagine a white horse running wild across the plains.” The first thing that kid is going to visualize in their mind is a white horse running wild across the plains. Before Pete realized it the calendar turned and it was January already. The winters here were definitely colder here than back in Texas. They weren't a whole lot colder, but enough to notice the difference. The biggest difference was the fact that it did not warm up nearly as much between the cold fronts here as it did back in Pete's old home. Pete was still adjusting to this and found himself staying inside more once he got off work. Of course here there was no mall and no fast food places to go and grab some junk food. There was also no family to visit. He found himself becoming closer to several of the people in Ruben's congregation and was even visiting regularly at their mid week meetings. He had also begun meeting with Ruben once a week for a personal Bible study. Pete was getting into a rhythm now in his new life, but he never forgot this was only a temporary transition phase.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 18, 2023 14:36:05 GMT -6
Post #5 After the Holidays
“Robert, I have to hand it to you and Jenny. It is nice to just kick back with good friends and relax after the holiday frenzy. Thanks for inviting us over again.” “No problem, Bruce. The holidays can get a little crazy, and it's nice to get back to a more normal routine.” “Oh, so you are seeing Linda and I as just part of your routine?” Robert was now chuckling. “You know that's not what I meant, Bruce. I meant that Jenny and I feel like we can relax and be ourselves around you. By the way, I think is it's good the way Carl and Colleen can be friends and spend time together without it being an issue about dating or not dating. At their ages that seems to get in the way far too often.” “You got that right. Having a daughter in this day and age is really scary. Linda and I are trying to teach her self respect, being careful, and all that, but the crap our kids are exposed to in school is – well you know what I mean. I know you and Jenny well enough that you are trying to raise Carl right. It's tough being a good and decent parent these days. Speaking of being a decent parent, how's your Dad doing? I haven't seen him around here lately. I didn't even see his Jeep out front here a single time during the holidays.” Rob paused and stared at the television screen so Bruce would not see his expression while he tried to formulate an answer. “Sorry, Bruce. I got distracted there. He's keeping busy, living his own life. We keep in touch.” Bruce's face changed to a skeptical look. “Rob this is me you're talking to. Don't try to B.S. me. I know you too well, and I hope you count me as a real friend. If you don't want to talk about it, then okay, but don't feed me some line and expect me to bite. I'm really sorry if there is a problem between you two. I would hate to see that. If you decide you want to talk or not that's your choice. Just don't forget I am your friend, Rob.” “Bruce I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's just, well, There are some things my Dad wants to be kept private, and I had not thought about anyone asking me about him until just now. I haven't quite figured out what to say about him.” Bruce opened his mouth like he was starting to say something but stopped himself. “Okay, Rob. No questions. Just know that, well, if there is anything I can do to help...” Bruce could see some concern on Rob's face, but he decided to change the subject. “Can you believe the merchants. They push, push, push for the last two months of the year to get every last dime we have, then Wham! January hits and they have all their after Christmas sales! I tell you, Rob, it's a conspiracy to make us all go broke before we can start a new year.” Bruce was trying to laugh, but Rob was not joining in. “What's wrong, Rob? You are not quite yourself tonight. Is this thing about your Dad troubling you, or is it something else?” “Sorry, Bruce. I've just been thinking too much about some things my Dad has been talking about. I didn't invite you over to hash through that stuff. We just wanted to have a good time tonight. What you say we gather our families, get some popcorn going, and start the movie?”
Early Progress
Pete had been in a happier mood the last couple of months. It was good to have more people to talk with that he already knew cared about values that were important to him. He felt like he could talk about ordinary daily cares and events without worrying whether or not he might say something politically incorrect that would get someone's hackles up. He was still working hard and doing his research, but he was more relaxed now. His sense of urgency had not diminished, but it was not stressing him like it had before. His letters to his son were also more positive in their tone. He still mentioned his concerns to his son from time to time, but he spent more of his time saying positive things about what his experiences in Beaver Creek and asking about what Rob and his family were doing. By April Pete was beginning to think about that neglected garden site behind the house. He knew his gardening experience was not extensive, and he would eventually be wanting to plant crops when he was able to find a piece of land. He decided to have a meal at Rudy and Gladys' cafe on Friday and to ask Rudy if he might plant some vegetables there. He was sure there were many things about gardening that would be better learned by doing than by reading. Since the cafe would probably be busy on Friday evening, Pete decided to go later in the evening and try to talk with Rudy after things slowed down. “Well if it isn't Mr. Pete. I've got some blueberry pie left tonight. Would you like some of that and a cup of coffee?” Actually, Gladys, If you have anything left I would like a dinner plate. I'll take anything you made, 'cause I know it will be good. Surprise me.” “You just have a seat, Pete, and I be back shortly.” In no time at all, Gladys was back with a plate piled with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and buttered carrots. “Here ya go, darlin'. When you finish that I'll cut you a piece of that pie I promised ya.” “Thanks, Gladys. And, later when y'all have things wrapped up, I'd like to talk with Rudy for a second, if ya don't mind.” Gladys nodded and smiled before hurrying off to tend to more customers. Later when the crowd was thinning out, Rudy came out wiping his hands on a small towel. “Gladys said you want to talk to me. What's on your mind, Pete?” “Rudy, I want to tell you again how much I appreciate your finding me a place to live, here. I also wanted to ask a favor about that if you think it would be okay.”
Rudy's jaw shifted to the right a little as he looked Pete in the eyes. “What would that favor be?”
“If it would not be a problem, I was wonderin' if I might plant a garden out back of the house. It looks like there was one there before, but it was not being worked by the time I got here this past fall. I don't know if your sister has any intention of gardening again out there or if she would mind. As a matter of fact I haven't even met her. I just know you asked me to think of you as my landlord so I'm asking you.”
Rudy got a curious look on his face for a moment before he replied. “I tell ya what, Pete. Give me a couple of days and I'll have an answer for you.”
It was the next Sunday when Rudy stopped Pete after the congregation's Bible study. “Pete I talked to – my sister – about that garden and that shouldn't be a problem. Of course, you are getting a late start for around here. Anyway, she didn't have time to work it last summer and is not sure she would have time this summer either. So if you want to, go ahead. She just asked that you not use any insecticides or weed killer on the ground. She had a few other preferences about how to do it, but decided since you'd be the one tending it, she wouldn't try to tell you how to do your own work.”
“I'd be glad to hear any pointers on gardening...” Pete noticed a change in Rudy's expression and changed directions in what he was about to say. “So, if you have a friend with some experience in gardening who could give me some guidance, I would appreciate your letting me know. Thank you, Rudy. This helps me a lot.”
On the way back home Pete was puzzled. He still didn't understand Rudy's protectiveness about his sister. Could it be that because Pete had only been in town less than a year, and Rudy was still was uneasy about trusting him around his sister? Pete knew nothing at all about Rudy's sister, and he really had too much on his mind to think about that any more. He had a garden to put in and he did not have a tiller. In order to keep his budget intact he would have to turn the garden soil by hand. From what he could see of the old garden plot, it had not been as big as he wanted and that meant breaking new ground. Depending on the soil and how long it had been since the old garden patch had been cultivated, it might take a fair amount of effort just to re-till that part.
The next day Pete had bought a garden turning fork and a few other hand tools from the farm store. When he got to his apartment he had only a few minutes before the sun went down, so he decided to use them in the garden first and worry about supper later. He learned quickly that the garden was going to take a lot of work. The soil was mostly thick clay with a few rocks mixed in. There was very little organic matter in the soil, even though there had been an attempt at a garden there in the past. He was so focused on getting as much dirt turned as he could in the little time he had that he failed to notice the sky getting darker. What he finally noticed was the headlights of a car pulling into the driveway and flashing in his eyes as he looked up. He stooped over to grab the rest of his tools and carried them around to his door. That's when he realized he had no outside faucet to wash the clay off his turning fork. He used a small hand spade to scrap off as much damp clay as he could before carrying his tools inside.
While Pete was cleaning up and cooking his supper, his attention was drawn to how his one room space was getting more crowded now. His room was not that big. With his bed, a small desk, a small refrigerator, a bicycle, a bike trailer, a narrow clothes rack, and a small chest for other garments and miscellaneous there was little space left for his new tools. He was going to need to get more creative in stashing all of his stuff. He had been musing just a few days before about how well he had done in radically reducing his life down to bare necessities, but he was already out of room.
It was taking longer than he had hoped to get his garden in. Pete was working extra hours with two jobs, and on Sundays plus one night during the week he was “going to meetings” with his new found congregation. That did not leave a lot of daylight for him to work the soil. He had bought a few square bales of straw that had gotten wet at the farm store. A truckload had been delivered on pallets covered with light tarps, and a frayed cord holding down the tarp had popped loose when a rainstorm blew in over night. He managed to talk one of the customers into dropping the bales off by his rented room late one afternoon. He spread them out over the garden patch he had been turning and walked back and forth over it for an hour pressing the straw down on the loosened dirt so it wouldn't blow away before the next rain. Fortunately, the rain came again that same week.
It was almost May before he got all of his seeds planted. By that time he had splurged and bought some more straw to spread on top of the ground for mulch. He wanted to try out a method he had read about, but it sounded a bit odd. He had finally decided to set up an experiment. In several areas he simply sowed the seeds on top of the straw letting the seeds fall down among the straw on top of the soil. In other patches he used a hand spade or trowel to dig in and plant the seeds at the depth in the soil recommended on the seed packets before re-spreading the straw on top. In another area he simple scraped the straw away, sprinkled the seeds on the bare dirt, then covered them up with the straw. Then he had to wait and hope for rain. While this climate was slightly cooler here than back in Texas, it was also wetter by about ten inches of rain per year.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 18, 2023 14:48:12 GMT -6
I just wanted to add a few quick comments here to my old friends, and newer friends too. While here at the beginning I am for the most part following the unfinished story "Out Of THe Shadows", please be assured that will not last for long. There will soon be sections I will be cutting out of that previous version and other sections I will be reworking to take this story in a different direction. Because of this I have been able to re-edit these early postings more quickly and get them to you. Soon the more serious re-writing will take hold and it will take more time between new postings. I hope you will stay with me and not get too anxious for MOAR. I also hope the story will feel more like an actual story rather than a thinly masked commentary on current events. I hope you all enjoy it, and, as always, your comments are welcomed.
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ahsga
New Member
Posts: 34
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Post by ahsga on Apr 18, 2023 14:59:06 GMT -6
Thank you
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 20, 2023 15:12:31 GMT -6
Okay, friends. The next post has only proofreading changes from the comparable post in the story "Out of the Shadows". I honestly laughed out loud at my own writing at one point, though. Four years ago I wrote about two mothers who were grousing about the school calendar and musing that their kids would be having to go year round before long. Sure enough, the school where my wife teaches announced last month that they would be switching to year round school at the end of this spring semester.
I hope you enjoy reading this posting again.
Paul
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 20, 2023 15:16:35 GMT -6
Post #6 Young Growing Things
Pete was relieved that he did not need to water his garden. The rain in May and June was adequate and also fairly regular. It surprised him that some of the seeds he had sown, and even those he had sown under the straw, sprouted before those he had 'planted' in the soil. The rates at which the young plants grew after sprouting varied quite a bit. Being an analytical thinker, he had kept notes about what and how he planted. He intended to watch carefully and record the progress of the plants. His expectation was that some types of garden vegetables would do better than others with one method or the other. He also expected that some types of vegetables might not grow as well in this type of soil. Rudy never offered the name of anyone experienced in gardening to help him. Pete figured he had just forgotten about the suggestion with his taking care of so many details running the cafe. By late June some of the vegetables like lettuce and greens were showing signs of being ready to harvest soon. Others, like peppers, squash, beans, and tomatoes were starting to put on blooms and small fruits. Pete was having to pull a few weeds and grasses that were sprouting up through the straw where his mulching had been thinner. He had no idea how much his garden would be producing, but this was why he needed to put in a garden now rather than waiting until he had his own land. Meanwhile he was still reading as much as he could about gardening and homestead style farming. Pete was also periodically searching online for small parcels of land that might be for sale in the area. Everything he was finding was way out of reach from what he could yet afford. Most parcels with just a few acres included a house on the land. He was sure that was a factor in the price per acre being so high, yet when he found enough acres without a house already built the price per acre of the realtor's listing wasn't that much lower. He knew that eventually he would have to buy a vehicle to be able to go take a real look at the land, but he did not want to do that until he had to. Every month he could delay getting a vehicle would add to how much money he could save before picking up insurance and upkeep expenses on a vehicle. - - - - “Jenny, I just can't believe what they're doing with the high school schedule next year. Classes are starting in the middle of August and the band director is starting practices two weeks before that!” I know Linda. That's the same time the football coaches are starting required practices 'before school starts'. You know Carl was on the school's baseball team this spring and with the bi-district and regional playoffs he didn't finish up until almost the end of June.” “It seems like they are trying to stretch the school year longer and longer each year. I guess it won't be long until the kids are having to go practically year round.” “What doesn't make sense though is that the school year is getting longer, but the kids aren't learning any more than they use too. Rob actually found out that the teachers are being told that they cannot give the students homework. All the teaching and all the 'study time' on assignments has to be done during the class periods. And yet they encourage the kids to participate in sports, band, and any other contest category they can come up with so the school can win trophies or recognition for this or that school achievement. It just seems inside out to me, Linda.” “Jenny it's not just the schools that seem inside out. Bruce is always griping about how at the factory they spend more effort proving that they are following this ISO standard or that new ISO standard for the processes they follow than actually checking and improving their quality and productivity.” “Ya know, Linda, it makes me wonder what kind of world our kids are facing when they grow up and try to make it on their own. Rob has talked about how it seems that American owned companies making goods are moving more and more production offshore, and most of the factories that are growing here in the States are owned by foreign companies. Something just doesn't seem right there.” “Okay, now I am out of my league. I don't even try to understand international economics anymore. Believe me, though, Jenny. I do understand your worries about our kids. Do you have any idea how rare it has gotten for couples to have marriages like the two of us have with our husbands? I mean neither of us are rich, but we have a steady income, knock on wood. More important is how we both have real partners and our relationships are strong. I just pray that Colleen can find a good partner someday like we did.” “Don't I know it. I almost made a big mistake before I met Rob. I was really smitten, I thought, by a guy I met in college. I thought he was prime husband material. I am so glad I listened to the warning bells I was barely hearing. I found out later that he got a high paying job right out of college and got married right away. Four years later he was divorced. And he has married again, several times.” “Girl, that's what I'm talking about. And I know you are just as worried about Carl. He's a fine young man, but he is a – young man. There are some very attractive girls out there that are looking for a sugar daddy to capture. The problem is when that is their primary motivation, it won't be long before they find another sugar daddy that they think might be a better catch.” “Linda, Rob and I both are trying to be good parents. We try to talk to Carl about making wise decisions instead of clever decision. We even talk to him about our relationships in the family instead of just hoping he catches the right ideas by osmosis. I just hope he doesn't get lured into a bad mistake.” - - - - “Mr. Cochran, I know you are accustomed to hiring either young teachers fresh out of college, or teachers with a little more experience who are somewhat older. Well I am both and neither. I'm not so young and I don't have more experience teaching high school. At the same time I am a little older, I am fresh out of college with a master's degree, and I did teach a few classes that were mostly students fresh out of high school at the university while I was in graduate school. I would really like to teach. I like to cultivate and grab the interest of young students in this subject that surrounds us and shapes our environment every day.” “Well, Ms. Blankenship, I will admit that it is unusual to find a...ur...uh, teacher with more life experience who still has your enthusiasm for her subject. It is especially hard to find teachers who are as qualified that are willing to teach this far out...well in this area. I am willing to take a chance with you on a one year contract. After that we will just have to see how this goes. I will present your name and credentials to the school board and ask for their approval. If you are approved you will be notified and information will be sent to you for our teacher training starting in August. Thank you for coming in.” Joann was really hopeful about this job. It was closer to her home than the university had been, so that was a big plus, and it would be a full time job, even if it was a teacher's pay in a 'poor' small town school district. If she got this position she would not have to move, 'though it would still a bit of a commute. Thankfully, the part time job she had at the grocery store in Clear Water during her last two semesters at the university had allowed her to add a few more hours per week since her graduation in December. With her school work finished, she had been spending many hours every week looking all over this part of the state for a full time position. This one in Barnsville was the only one that looked promising. She had become all too accustomed for the last seven years to very long hours and pinching pennies every day in order to survive. If this job came through she knew she could make it until her first real paycheck in September, that is if she could keep her car running just a few more months. - - - - Pete was surprised at how well his garden had fared this summer. He was getting more fresh vegetables than he had expected, and he still had not watered once. Some of the things he planted had not done as well as others, but he was actually growing more than he could eat of other crops. He mentioned it to Rudy and Gladys after one of the meetings and they suggested he bring the extras to them periodically. “Pete, there are some in our congregation that don't have as much as others. As one of the elders, I become aware of things like that from time to time. We don't make a habit of supporting anyone just sitting around looking for handouts, but from time to time a brother or sister needs a little help and encouragement through a difficult time. I can see to it that the fresh food that is more than you need gets to someone who is needing a little help without embarrassing them by announcing to others that they are struggling at the moment.” “Rudy, that would be great. It would make me happy to know it was helping someone who is really needing it. That's a wonderful idea.” As the summer wore on Pete's garden was producing more and more. He was still saving his money, but he decided he was harvesting so many vegetables he ought to start canning some for the winter. He had no equipment or supplies for that, and he only had one hot plate to cook on. He thought about that and remembered seeing a design for a cinder block rocket stove when he was at the library looking online one day. The more he thought about that the more he liked it. He could get enough cinder blocks at the farm store for less than the cost of a hot plate. He could use them outside while he was canning and then disassemble them when they were not in use. But where would he get the wood? He could get that in the forest, of course. He could gather plenty just picking up fallen branches on the forest floor. Pete bought ten cinder blocks at work and brought them back to the house in his bike trailer. He did not need that many for the stove itself, but he decided he could use the extras to lift it higher off the ground. To keep the blocks out of the way until he was ready to use them, he lined them up on the ground at the edge of his garden. On his next day off he rode his bike to the forest and started gathering fallen branches. He had to break them short enough to fit inside his bike trailer. For a few of them that were a bit thicker, he used his camping hatchet to cut them short enough. Before long he had a trailer full of small branches and headed back home. His next step was to get a canner and some canning supplies. Those he got at the farm store. He talked to his boss who agreed to order one of those pressure canners that had the metal screw clamps. These were designed so that the lid sealed metal to metal rather than using a rubber or silicon gasket. It cost a lot more than other brands, but Pete was convinced in the long term it was worth the extra cost. He also needed to buy some canning jar supplies. He had to dip into his savings for the pressure canner, but he was spacing the rest of the purchases out over several pay periods. He was also studying online articles about canning, since he had never done this before. It was probably more than obvious to some, but Pete, being a novice at the idea of preserving foods beyond using a refrigerator or freezer, was finding out that some vegetables were better suited to canning than others. He had grown up thinking that spinach was a kind of dark green mush that came in a can or in a frozen brick from the supermarket. The first time he noticed a plastic bag with small oval leaves in the produce section labeled 'baby spinach' it was very confusing to him. He did learn to like those dark leaves in a salad, though. Pete's eating habits were changing more now with a garden producing a different variety of fresh vegetables. Many foods he had never bothered to buy in the grocery stores were ready for him to eat, even if he was not ready with a recipe for fixing that food. With his garden forcing a new inventory into his micro-kitchen he was scrambling to avoid being wasteful. Meanwhile, he was also providing fresh vegetables to people in need within the congregation without knowing who they actually were. Rudy kept thanking him for his 'donations', but was not forthcoming about who they were going to. Pete managed to get the rocket stove and canner going, and was trying to learn what he was doing with the equipment. He finally worked out boiling the jars inside on the hot plate and filling them with the vegetables. Then he lidded them before carrying them outside to the pressure canner. He bought a few more cinder blocks to make a work space outside. He used jar tongs to take the finished jars out of the canner and set them on a towel to cool. He actually got to where he could turn out some pretty good canned items, after he had made a few failed attempts. He had decided to try a few batches in small jars for small portions at first. Then he would try opening the canned vegetables and reheating them to see if they had actually turned out well. Pete was finding some complicated recipes online but was looking for simple, healthy, tasty things he could do with his fresh food. He eventually found some sites suggesting they had forgotten recipes of the pioneers and simple canning recipes for vegetables. He wasn't so sure about how many recipes the pioneers had for canning, but it did give him some new simpler recipes to try. He also liked being able to cook outside during the summer. The canner he bought was rather large and absorbed a lot of heat from the rocket stove. That helped him resolve to include a 'summer kitchen' in his plans for building a house someday soon; at least he hoped it would be soon. His sense of urgency would not leave him, yet he still felt a quiet confidence like he was somehow still on the right path to getting ready. - - - - Jenny and Carl had just walked in as Rob was getting the table set. Jenny had put some jalapeno-cheese cornbread in the oven before going to pick up their son Carl and Colleen, Bruce and Linda Cooper's daughter, from their after school activities. It was the first week of school and the new school year always seemed like it started up with a flurry and a crazily pressured schedule. The cornbread recipe was one she got from Rob's dad. It was almost like a cornbread casserole cooked in a cast iron skillet in the oven. She had a batch of pinto beans slow cooking in the electric crock pot since the night before. Rob had fond memories of this meal, which was a good thing. It seemed like prices for almost everything were climbing. It also seemed like the pay raises where Rob worked were becoming only token changes that were not keeping up with the real cost of living. Carl seemed to be extra hungry tonight. Of course his appetite all summer had been staggering. He was almost six feet tall now having had a startling growth spurt over the last four months. “Take it easy, son. There is plenty here. You don't have to race to get your share.” Rob was half chuckling at his son's feeding frenzy. “Sorry, Dad I have a lot of studying to do before I go to bed.” “Studying? What happened to the teachers never giving homework?” “Oh, this isn't homework. It's football. I have a lot of plays to learn and what the execution rules are for each one at my positions. I have a chance to make the varsity team, but only if I know exactly what I am supposed to do when the coach calls a play.” “So, you have to study hard for your extra-curricular activities, but not for your school subjects?” Carl paused for a moment. “That's kind of messed up, huh, Dad? Our classes are so different. They are working so hard to make sure they pass everyone they can that it's hard not to get bored sometimes. All you have to do is to actually do the exercises the teachers give us in class and you pass. Some of the kids don't even try half the time, so the teachers have to offer bonus work to make sure they get enough points to pass. If you've done all the original work and then the bonus work too, it all adds up even if you make a bunch of mistakes. They even give you time in class to do the bonus work. All you have to do is use the time they give you.” “The sports and things like that are a different story. That's competition. Colleen was even talking about how in band not everyone gets to march on the field. The director has some precision maneuvers designed and if any student is out of line from the assigned spot in the formation it reflects badly on everyone else. He has a pool of younger or less diligent players 'on the bench'. If someone is not staying consistently in the right positions on the field and making the patterns look sloppy, he will pull someone 'off the bench' to take their place right in front of everyone.” “This was a great dinner, Mom. Thanks. I gotta run and get to studying. I'll wash dishes this weekend to make up for it.” Rob had a concerned look on his face and exchanged glances with Jenny. “Jen, I don't like this. Is this really the way we want our son to learn what is and isn't important? I mean sure, it 's good that he is learning to apply himself and work hard at some things, but it just seems there are things he should be learning that he's not being taught. He's too smart to be wasting his time in classes where he is being taught there is not much to be learned. I really don't like him being fed the idea that is doesn't matter whether you do your best or not.”
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 20, 2023 16:25:04 GMT -6
Post # 7 Let's Get Real
Joann was excited about her new job. There were all these young minds that knew so little about the world around them, and she now had an opportunity to wake them up. The training and orientation for new teachers was mostly about administrative procedures and rules the teachers had to follow. That was the boring part of her job as a teacher. Then there was the in service training for all the teachers which was another way of saying, “We [the school administration] want to be sure you get plenty of pep talks about how well we are doing our job of enabling you as teachers to teach, and to be sure you understand that without our help you would probably not have a clue how to be effective as a teacher.” Joann was determined that she was going to make this more than just a job. She was going to go beyond merely meeting the minimum requirements. She wanted to make a difference to her students. Joann quickly realized that she was not the only teacher who was trying to be the best teacher she could be, but there were others who, for one reason or another, had become cynical about their ability to make a difference. Joann was undeterred. She would simply have to resist letting the attitudes of the cynical rub off on her. Her strategy was to make her students hungry for learning more, to stretch and push her students' natural curiosity. She was often staying late at the school working to enliven the environment of her classroom, pressing forward finding activities and visual aids to stimulate the creative abilities of her students. She wanted to teach them not only to take in the information they were handed, but to actually think about that information. She wanted them to test their own learning and thinking about how the world around them functioned. After driving home she would throw something together to eat and then spend more hours trying to plan ways to make the lessons even more interesting for her students. Week after week for her it became the same routine. Striving all day to help her students learn the subject, while also trying to teach them the basic skills, like reading, that she had mistakenly thought they were being taught in their previous years of being moved through the school system. She also had to spend time most days meeting the requirements of the school administrators for documenting all that she was doing, and why she thought those activities were necessary and helpful for the students to reach the school's academic goals. It began troubling her when she realized that the goals being presented to the teachers by the administration were frequently including the word 'students', yet the goals were always formulated in terms of the school's statistics rather than the growth of the individual students. It did not take long for the school year to become exhausting and frustrating for Joann. Every Saturday she was “oversleeping” and not getting as much done as she had hoped. Every Sunday, after the congregation Bible study, she routinely began feeling anxious about catching up or trying to concentrate enough to maybe get just a little ahead for the week to come at school. - - - - Pete was getting better acquainted with Ruben both at work and after the congregation meetings. One day Ruben asked an unexpected question. “Pete, I once asked you why you moved here from Texas, and you gave me the same dodge you have given everyone else about a change of scenery and liking trees better than endless miles of grass. If you have some secret that you don't want to spread around, then that's your business, but that had to be a really big change for you to come here. You have family back home, and you had no one here. You don't seem like you have the personality to be a hermit, Pete. I am still a little puzzled about what you plan to do, now that you are here with all this new scenery. Canning vegetables and cooking on cinder blocks is not exactly improving your view of all these trees, is it?” Ruben's smirk was poorly hidden by design. Pete took only a moment before he began to reply. “Ruben, I do love the trees, and I also love the hills. God made a truly beautiful world for us, but I am especially fond of this part of his creation. As for what I plan to do – Ideally I would like to buy some property here so I can enjoy the scenery better. The problem is that due to some history, which I do not relish rehashing, I do not have the money to buy any yet. I am saving as much as I can until I can afford a small space in the woods where I plan to build a house and settle down. In the mean time there are some skills I need to develop like gardening, so that when I can afford the right place, I can actually make my plan work.” Ruben looked very thoughtful for several minutes. “You are serious about that, aren't you, Pete? I have a pretty good idea how much you are able to save since I work with you. It sounds like you are planning to grow a lot of your own food when you find a place in the woods, but it will likely take several acres in the woods because the trees can create a lot of shade where your garden plants can't get enough sunlight. Can I offer a suggestion about finding a piece of land?” “You sure can, Ruben. So far it looks like I may be saving for a long time before I have enough to buy my dream property.” Pete was rolling his eyes while referring to his dream property. “I need to warn you. The price of undeveloped land around here has been going up in the last couple of years. Check out this website.” Ruben began scribbling out a web site address. “Every year there are a lot of properties that are sold at auction because the property taxes haven't been paid for several years. Maybe you can manage to pick one up for a lot less than market value. I know a few people who managed to buy a house that way and avoided having to take out a mortgage. They were mostly houses that needed repairs, but itt helps an awful lot on your expenses if you can start out without having a monthly house payment. If you are really looking for undeveloped land, like you described, You may have to find something that is land locked. That means there are no roads to it. It's land surrounded by other land that someone else owns. Then you have to work out with one of those owners between the nearest road and the land you want about permission to cross their land and get to yours. Its best to do that amicably without having to take them to court. The courts will grant you the right to get to your own land, but that can get contentious and makes a lot of money for the lawyers on both sides.” “Thanks, Ruben, I'll look into that. Now as for that hermit thing, I have too much on my plate to take care of right now to worry about that, but I do hope I can talk my son and his family into joining me here someday.” Pete did consider Ruben a new friend, so he was walking a thin line between not lying to him and not telling him everything that was on his mind at that moment. Pete found a day to take a break from his gardening and canning work one rainy weekend in early November. Most of his crops were no longer producing as the weather was getting colder and staying overcast most days. Pete had not bothered to build a roof over his outside canning operation so it was effectively shut down for the season, anyway. He spent much of the day on a computer at the library studying the website Ruben had mentioned to him. There was a steep learning curve here to make sure he understood how this tax sale process worked. He was being meticulous to make sure he understood any 'gotchas' that might pop up. There were a number of properties scattered around the state that had been put up for auction in the previous year without any bidders offering the minimum bid. He found that surprising since some had what he considered a very small minimum bid shown. All of the properties listed like this were apparently residential lots within various towns around the state. None of them were rural with more than an acre of land included. As he studied the processes and the information on the site he decided this tip from Ruben just might become a real gold mine for him. There was a schedule of auction locations and dates beginning in late spring the following year. This way he could plan in advance when to get time off from work to go to the auctions. What he did not know yet was how many properties would be put on the auction block next year. - - - - “Dad, I really appreciate you and Mom coming to watch the game last night. It's nice to know you two were there for me.” Carl was up early for a Saturday. “Carl I'm glad we got to see you play again. We were surprised you were getting as much playing time in as you did. It was a lot more than in the game last week. The coaches must be pleased with how you are doing.” “Well, that's what I am hoping for. My goal is to be a starter before the end of the season. That's when it will really pay off.” “What do you mean, Carl? How is it going to pay off?” “Well, the coaches look at you differently, of course, but the other guys and girls at school do, too. It's like you are elevated to a different level in the scheme of things. The seniors don't look down on you like you're in a lower class if you are a starter. It's almost like you are on the same level with them even if you are younger and in a lower grade.” “Has there been a problem for you feeling belittled by the seniors, Carl?” “Not exactly. I mean not actively. It's just that the senior guys simply ignore the guys in the lower grades like they don't exist, and … well some of the junior and even sophomore girls act like you don't exist unless you are a senior or a starter on the team.” “So, not all of the girls act that way, but some of them do. Are there some particular girls that you think would be more friendly to you if you made the starting team?” “I don't think so, I know so. Like Sharon Jordan, one of the cheerleaders for example; she's in 10th grade, but she has dated a lot of juniors and seniors. Kim Wilson told me he had asked her to go on a date with him earlier this year, and she turned him down. Then, after the game last week when Kim was in the starting lineup, she came to him after the game and asked if he was still interested in a date with her. Suddenly he was elevated to a different level in the social structure.” Robert was thinking before responding to his son. He was smart enough to know that a parent simply telling a teenager that they needed to rethink their values was not a guarantee that they would. “Okay, Carl, help me understand here. Are you saying that you want to make first string just so you can get dates with the prettiest girls in school, or is there more to it than that?” “No, Dad, it's not just about the girls that guys think are are really pretty, even though that is a factor. It's more like the ones that are just, well, not just the most popular either. Some girls are just unmistakably fine. It's the girls that the guys know are out of their league, unless the guy is a – well someone in the 'in' group at school; you know, the guys who are well known and looked up too. Why would a girl be interested in a guys who is a nobody? Why would they be attracted to someone like that?” “Hmm. Okay, son, be honest with me. Is this about a particular girl you are worried about impressing, or is it about your feeling like you may or may not be attractive to girls in general, or that you want to be attractive to the girls that are among the most popular at school?” It was all Robert could do not to laugh as he watched Carl's face. It was like a fast slide show of changing expressions flashing across his son's face. Robert had his answer even before Carl spoke. “Dad, it's just that... well... how can I... why would a... what do I have to offer that would make a really special girl think I would be worth … their attention? What have I done that is so special. I don't have any skills, special abilities, or achievements. I'm just one more guy in a school full of a thousand other guys. Why would a girl like that want to date me?” “Son, I want you to catch your breath and listen real close to what I'm going to tell you. You are going to be confused about somethings I'm about to say, so try to concentrate. I understand a lot more about what you are thinking than you know. Yours is not the first generation in the history of the world to struggle through the transition from adolescence to being an adult. You are most certainly not the first young man to have strong feelings for a special girl, and to both hope and doubt that she would ever have similar feelings about him. I also remember all about the social caste system in high school. A lot of kids as well as adults try to dismiss it and discount it, but it has stubbornly persisted. The important thing for you to remember, though is this: Dating is an artificial and dysfunctional social phenomena. Did you hear what I just said, Carl? Forget about dating a girl, ever. It's a bad idea. It is a game that was badly designed, so it causes more problems than it solves.” “If you are interested in a particular girl, then simply get to know her as a friend and let her get to know you as a friend. Find things you both like to do and find a time when you can do them together. Don't rush things. If you think of something you might do to make a good impression on her, don't even try to do that. Instead, just be honest and be yourself. If you want to do something nice for her, do it because you want to, not because you want to make an impression on her. If the relationship between you two grows stronger, then it grows stronger. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. No matter what you think you feel about her at the beginning, be patient about her feelings for you and your feelings for her. Carl, you don't want to make her think you are something you are not. If you do make her think you are something or someone that you aren't, that will only cause problems for both of you later on.” “I've probably already told you more than you will remember, so I will stop there. Just try to remember some of it. If you forget something I've just told you; just ask again.” Rob left the room and took a deep breath. He was glad he managed to avoid saying 'Carl you are only a Freshman in High School. Slow down and don't be in such a rush to hook up with a girl you probably won't still know ten years from now.'
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Post by feralferret on Apr 20, 2023 22:34:29 GMT -6
“Jenny it's not just the schools that seem inside out. Bruce is always griping about how at the factory they spend more effort proving that they are following this ISO standard or that new ISO standard for the processes they follow than actually checking and improving their quality and productivity.”
Been there, done that as a QA tech & interim QA manager a couple of jobs back. I was rather frustrated at the General Manager over him having the attitude referenced in the quote.
Paul, thanks for the chapters.
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Post by CountryGuy on Apr 22, 2023 7:14:18 GMT -6
PB, I wanted to ask, had you posted this story on another site? I swear I've read this before.
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Post by techsar on Apr 22, 2023 10:59:01 GMT -6
Thanks for your efforts on this story. The rewrite seems to be smoother and better fleshed out than the original. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the updates.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 22, 2023 13:55:50 GMT -6
Country Guy,
It was never posted on another site, unless someone stole it from me to post elsewhere. I started posting this story, on this site only, in 2019 under the name "Out Of The Shadows". All of those posts were absolutely original work of mine. I never finished it in spite of multiple attempts on my part to restart my efforts. You may have read those early installments three and a half years ago. If so that is why it sounds so familiar. Very soon this new thread will begin to diverge from that previous story line.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 23, 2023 13:25:07 GMT -6
Post #8 Scratching For a Living
When summer break had hit, Joann was at first elated at the freedom from pressure. Very soon, though she started thinking about ways to help her cope better once the winter semester resumed in August. She had noticed the garden behind her house that was being worked by that new person in town, Pete something. Brother Lingelbach was handling all the arrangements and rent collection for her, but she had figured out who the tenant was when she noticed that new face during the Sunday meetings of the congregation. The garden idea was something that tugged at her all through her college and graduate school work, but the long commute and pushing to get through her degree programs just took too much time for her to do justice to a garden. All through the spring term, her efforts to prepare lesson plans and preparing ways to get her students really engaged had also devoured all of her days and too much of her weekends. The tenant was working the old garden plot, and with it just hadn't made sense to her to be starting a separate garden plot that late in the year. But, there was that old chicken coop. Maybe if she could raise just a few hens, it would feed her need to be connected to the real world of plants and animals. There were problems with that idea, too, of course. She wouldn't be able to get chicks at the feed store until next spring. Then she thought how perfect it would be if she could order some eggs to hatch in her classroom next spring. She could start planing and gathering supplies now to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks right there in the biology classroom. For the student it could be an ongoing lab project getting their attention and incorporating observations and practical biological study techniques into every class period. If she was really going to do this, then she needed to have a place to take proper care of the young chickens at the end of the school year. She would also need a plan and adequate place to continue raising the chickens when the winter months rolled around. She had decided to spend time and effort to get the coop ready before the summer break was over. The biggest problem was going to be feeding the chickens. Ideally they could be allowed to feed themselves scratching in the fenced part of the yard. With her being away all day five days a week during the school year they would need to be able to get into the coop from the yard for shelter when the weather was bad, but into the yard on a daily basis so they could forage for food. Realistically she had seen a need to expand the fenced area or keep the number of chickens very small. She didn't want to get into buying processed feed at the farm store year round, so they needed enough yard to forage without stripping every inch of the yard down to the dirt scratching for bugs and seeds among the grass and weeds. Her eye was drawn to the garden that her tenant had been working. Even in early June, there were a variety of scattered greens growing here and there. As she walked back to the house the wheels in her head were turning. She spent some time through the summer cleaning up and repairing the chicken coop. Next spring was a long time off, but school would start up again in August. After that her time to work on the coop would be severely limited. By the time school started up she was pleased with the laying boxes, perch rods, and access doors she had fixed for the coop. She had also bought a few fence posts and a small roll of chicken wire, which she had stored inside the coop, with the intention of expanding the chicken run later. By the time school started she was pleased with her progress and hopeful about how her project would progress over the next year. She had noticed recently a stack of cinder blocks that looked like an outdoor fire place or cooking structure of some sort. She was curious about it but had never been outside there when that Pete person was working on the garden to ask about it. Pete had been out looking over the garden plot in late August and decided that he was going to need some more straw for the garden. What he had put down earlier in the year had been soaked into the soil by the normal rains and trampled in as he has tended the plants and harvested vegetables. Now there was very little mulch effect remaining. He talked to his boss at the farm store and found that in a few days they would be getting in another load of straw bales along with some feed hay. It seemed that every year about this time there were customers wanting to refresh their bedding straw for their livestock or to add mulch to their garden grab some hay to store away before the weather turned cold for the winter season. Pete paid in advance for several bales of straw; more than he had bought in the spring. He also asked one of the regular customers to help him by dropping off an extra few bales by his apartment later in the week. When Pete got home after the straw came in his first job was to break them up and start mulching the garden plot again. He laid down a thick layer of mulch and found he still had several unbroken bales in reserve. That Thursday when Joann was leaving to go to the mid-week congregation meeting she noticed that more straw had been spread on the garden plot. After the meeting she made her way over to see Rudy and Gladys. “Hi, Gladys, Brother Lingelbach. I'm sorry I don't get to stop and chat with you very often. It seems with my teaching job my time is always pressed. Of course I know yours is too with you two having to run the cafe every day.” “Well, sister Blankenship, we all have responsibilities and challenges. You don't have to make apologies to us. How is that teaching job going? You'll have to be getting back to it in a few days, won't you?” “Actually, classes have already started up again. I have really enjoyed having a break this summer, but I'm excited about getting back to teaching now. I really enjoy being able to teach the kids, but it seems like there are so many other responsibilities that I never dreamed would be considered requirement for teachers. I guess that is just part of the way things are for most jobs. I wanted to ask you about something, Brother Lingelbach. You know that tenant you found for my extra room?” “I hope there hasn't been any trouble, has there?” Rudy was looking slightly concerned. “Oh, no. It's been very quiet. If it weren't for the garden out back I might almost forget someone was there. I just wanted to ask about your impressions of him; Pete isn't it? I've been toying with the idea of raising a few chickens next year, but there are some issues about caring for them with my hours and commuting and all. I was wondering about seeing if I might arrange for some help from him regarding the chickens, if he is interested of course. I just wanted to get your opinion about dealing with him or not for something like that.” Gladys and Rudy looked at each other for a few seconds, before Rudy replied. “He works with Ruben at the Farm Store, and he has visited at the cafe a few times. He's also meeting with Ruben once a week for Bible study, but he only comes occasionally to our mid-week meetings. We have been hearing good things from Ruben, and we are hoping he will be joining us soon, but we won't know that until he makes the decision.” Gladys put her hand on Joann's arm. “The word around town is that he is a hard worker and a decent man. But we all know you can't judge a book by its cover. If you want to contact him about arranging for some help, it would probably be safe, but you know to be careful, anyway. Let us know if you need any help.” “Thank you, Gladys, Rudy. I appreciate your concern and your help. You two have a good evening.” It was a mid September Saturday morning when Joann walked around the house and knocked on Pete's door. Pete wasn't expecting anyone and it was an hour before he needed to get to the Farm Store for work. When he first opened the door, he did not recognize Joann. Even though he had seen her at the Sunday meetings, they had never spoken or been introduced. “Hi, I'm Joann Blankenship and you are Pete …?” “I'm Pete Smith. Actually it's Peter Smith, but not Petersmith as one word or uh one name. Just call me Pete. Say, haven't I seen you at the Sunday meetings?” “Yes, I've seen you there too; just never introduced myself. I wanted to see if I might get some help from you.” “Whatcha got in mind ... Joann was it?” “I've seen that you've been working that garden out back and I've been impressed. Using straw for mulch instead of buying bagged mulch, and mulching during the winter instead of waiting 'til just as you're planting in the spring. That's good, real good.” “I really don't know what I'm doing out there. I'm just trying to think through some things and trying to see how it works out. Back in Texas if the ground was not all covered it would be dry and hard by time to plant, so you had to break it all up again. I just thought the ground might stay softer if the moisture was kept in until time to plant.” “Well it probably rains a bit more here than in Texas during the winter, but with the mulch in place before spring it gives time for the straw to break down and gives the insects food close to the shelter of the ground so the soil is healthier. That is especially true with straw or leaf mulch. A lot of bagged mulch is course bark. That's better than nothing but the insects can chew up and poop out the grasses and leaves faster than hard bark. That's the best way to get started. Of course after the systems get going the bark and wood chips, not sawdust, can add... I'm sorry, I'm taking up your time and not getting to why I wanted to talk to you.” “No need to apologize. I like learning about this kind of stuff. What was it you wanted help with?” “I have been thinking about trying to raise a few chickens this next year. I've got a coop out here, as you've seen, but with my job I have some limitations on my time for taking care of them.” “Wait, This is your house? Uh, does Rudy know you are talking to me?” Joann looked confused. “How did you know I talked to Rudy and Gladys?” “Well he asked me to avoid contact with you. I thought that was being a bit overprotective of his sister, but I told him I would honor his request, since he was helping me out. But I guess maybe there is a history – that I don't need to know about, but you're obviously not married and – I'm sorry. I think I need to shut up before I cause – Did you talk to Rudy about talking to me about – the chickens? ” “Rudy and I are not related by blood or marriage. He is my brother in the faith. He was just looking out for me since you were very new in town when he told you that. And, yes, as a matter of fact I did ask Rudy and Gladys about talking to you about the chickens. I wanted to check your references before I discussed any arrangements with you. Now where were we before that? Oh, yes. Chickens. Follow me.” Joann turned quickly and started walking toward the chicken coop. She stopped rolling her eyes just before she got to the coop and turned to face Pete again. “Okay, Pete...er Smith. Let me explain. Ideally I would like to let the chickens roam free and scratch for their own food: seeds, bugs, worms, plants. Around here that is a problem because an adequate fence around the yard to keep the chickens in and predators out would be expensive. An alternative would be to stay out here with the chickens to watch over them and keep them from wandering off.” “So, I know nothing about taking care of chickens, but you want me to be your chicken tender? I already have a day job, and an part time evening job.” Joann closed her eyes for a second so he wouldn't see her eyes rolling again, then held up her hands. “ I know how things are right now. We each have to work at jobs to get paid enough to buy the things we need. I'm just walking through this so you understand what I am thinking. I want to raise some chickens to learn some of those things that are not found in most books and articles on raising chickens. But there are practicalities I am trying to think through. I could leave them in the coop all day and let them out for a few minutes after I get home, but that is not ideal and I would still have to buy virtually all their food. However, buying chicken feed at the Farm Store is not my idea of the healthiest diet for laying hens. I might as well buy factory eggs from the supermarket. Not only that, the feed is an added expense in caring for them.” Pete stood there waiting, but Joann said nothing more. “So where is your thinking headed that you think I can help you?” “I was just thinking. I saw some of the greens and late cabbage leaves that you did not harvest last season. There were even some spent Brussels sprout stems with small sprout heads barely developed. All of those would be awesome for chickens.” “So you want me to let the chickens feed in my garden?” “No, no, no. I was only thinking,” Joann paused for a moment with a thousand mile stare. “Sorry. It's just that There are so many interactions in my head about the fringe leaves in the garden and the insects and the chickens and the soil. There is a whole ecosystem here waiting to thrive, but we are conditioned to use methods that keep them isolated from each other where they can't interact.” “Ah, I get it. The leaves and stems that are trimmed off and not used can feed the chickens, and the waste from the chickens can make compost to feed the soil.” “Pardon the chicken pun, but that is only scratching the surface. If the leaves and trimmings are thrown on the ground and the chickens are allowed to access it in stages their eating the leaves, scratching for bugs underneath, and pooping there too means they are speeding up the composting process. You don't even have to turn the compost pile. They stir the pile for you. ” “Okay so let me think this through. I could trim away the poor quality leaves on greens, cabbage, spinach, and such. I could even trim the poor leaves and stems from other plants and toss them all to a 'chicken patch' for lack of a better term. We could let the chickens out to feed on the leaves they wanted and any bugs that are attracted to that environment. If these leaves are already close to ground the garden the bugs will be attracted to the leaves readily accessible on the ground rather than climbing to the heights to find food and then back into the ground for shelter. As a patch becomes a rich compost mix from chickens scratching and pooping we can start another 'chicken patch' and let the compost mature before spreading it in the garden as a fertilizer.” Joann waited for a moment after Pete stopped. “My first idea, that is what I intended to ask was if I could have the scraps and trimmed leaves from your garden to just feed a few chickens, or maybe if it isn't too much trouble to plant an extra patch, a small patch, to grow more greens or grains to help feed them. Then you started ... I really like your ideas, but that could become a lot more work. There's also the issue of maintaining the right balance of leaves in the 'chicken patch'. And don't forget the issue of having time to watch the chickens while they are scratching and feeding if we go that way. They have to have enough time foraging or we would still have to buy feed for them.” “Didn't you say you wanted to learn the things about raising chickens that you don't find in articles on the internet? That's the same reason I started this garden. If I'm understanding right there is potential for learning the practical details of exactly how the chickens and garden can be mutually beneficial. Studying concepts is only the first step. Learning how to apply those concepts is where knowledge can make a difference in the real world.” “So, Pete, I thought I was going to be negotiating for a favor, but now it sounds like this is turning into a joint learning project. Are you sure this is something you want to do?” “It's definitely caught my interest. Let me ask, are you wanting to raise chickens just for observation, for egg production also, or for uh chicken as a food source too?” “Well, of course there is the learning element, but I see fresh eggs as one cheap but healthy food source where I don't have to worry so much about eating the results of Dr. Jekyll's secret chemistry experiments.” Joann made a smirky face. Pete was laughing out loud at that comment. “I hear that. Since you know more about chickens, why don't you figure out how many chickens we'll need for the egg production you want as a target, and by the way I could easily handle two to three eggs a day. Then let me know what plants and how many we'll need for the number of chickens you decide on. I'll get busy planning this years planting and getting the garden ready.” “Okay, Just remember this is a learning experience for me, too. I'll be estimating based on what I can dig up, not on my own hard experience.” “That works for me, Joann. I'm afraid I have to run. I need to get to work. We can talk more after you get your research together?”
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Post by feralferret on Apr 23, 2023 18:22:26 GMT -6
It looks like a good symbiotic relationship. Both for the chickens and garden, and for Peter and Joann.
Thank you for the story chapter.
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Post by solo on Apr 24, 2023 8:41:59 GMT -6
That initiation of a relationship had just the right amount of organic development (pardon the pun with the chickens and all). It felt very real. How many strong relationships form over something benign like that, a conversation about chickens, or like you opinion on something etc. Great job. I've read this in the previous form, will very much enjoy the new path you take it down.
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Post by pbbrown0 on Apr 25, 2023 11:52:51 GMT -6
Post #9 A New Path Ahead?
“Mom, Dad, I need to talk with you about something.” It was mid-March and Carl had been out of school for the better part of the week already during Spring Break. He had been home alone during the days while Rob and Jennifer were at work. Robert and Jennifer were not very concerned, because he was showing himself to be reasonably responsible for his age. He had just turned sixteen earlier this month. His statement however surprised his parents who had been conversing over dinner while Carl had been unusually quiet up to that point. Rob saw the look on Carl's face, so he put his fork down and leaned back in his chair before he spoke. “This looks like something important, Carl. Go ahead. We're listening.” Carl was looking down at his plate rather than at his parents when he started tentatively speaking. “I've been doing some thinking this week; well, more than just thinking and I've been thinking about this for a good bit longer than just this week. Now don't fall out of your chairs. I know teenagers are supposed to never think of turning to their parents for advice until after they've messed up. The truth is I think I need some help in thinking this through so I don't mess it up.” Jenny took a deep breath and let out an audible sigh. Then she looked to Rob with obvious concern. Rob spoke to his son with very measured tones. “Carl I don't know what this is about, but it is obviously important. It's important not just to you but to your mother and I as well. Whatever this is about, take your time and talk to us. We will do what ever we can to help you.” Carl looked up to his parents and saw the concerned looks on their faces. “Look, there is nothing to worry about. I haven't messed anything up already. I'm just looking ahead and trying to sort somethings out; some important things. This is complicated, and I don't know where exactly I should start. Okay, let me start here. You know I have been taking a lot of advance placement classes for the last few years. The counselors at school are pushing for me to keep that up, except, well they are trying to get me to pin down which track of advanced courses I'm going to take over the next two years.” “So, your having a hard time choosing the right path to take?” “Not exactly, Dad. It's more complicated than that. Yeah, I'm interested in a lot of different things, and the counselors think I need to pick one path or another and really focus in one area. I started out trying to learn more about each path, hoping it would help me clarify what I want to do, not just for the next two years but on past college. That's what they are really pushing for, even if they don't come right out and say it. When I got to digging in to things, I really got frustrated. I talked to teachers about the courses. I talked to some juniors and seniors that are ahead of me about what they are learning from the courses in those tracks. Yeah, some of them are just going through the motions, but some of them are really serious about the tracks they are on. They are looking hard at getting in to prestigious schools and how to qualify for scholarship money, and then maybe graduate school after college, and on, and on.” “This week I've had more time to do some serious surfing for more information. That's when I started questioning a lot of the information I was getting at school. Do you have any idea how many college graduates can't get a job in their field of study? I'm talking about ANY job in their field, not even part-time. After spending years in school focused on that one field of work they can't find a job even related to what they studied. I know that there are published statistics indicating you have a better chance of getting a better paying job by going to college, but that gap has narrowed to the point it is now insignificant if you are using sound analytical principles. To be honest after spending a lot of time looking at the data put out on government websites, I am not real confident about the integrity of a lot of the data they are publishing.” “Carl, first take a deep breath. You are looking at a very complicated pile of information. Back up a minute. Have you thought about what you really want to do and why you want that?” “Actually I have Dad, except I don't have much to base that on. Think about it. They have career fairs at school where they talk about the kinds of things that people in different careers do. Everyone tries to present a dressed up, over simplified version of what people do in different career fields, but they don't get into the real nitty-gritty of what people do in those careers. They mostly talk about education requirements salary ranges, which I'm sure are skewed upward, and a (highly buffed until it practically glows, idyllic) view of how what it someone in that profession does. How can I know whether I would like doing those things, when I am only imagining what it would be like without ever having done it? It sounds cool when you say a civil engineer designs bridges and dams, but what is it like to really go through the tedious and rigorous calculations to make sure it is all going to fit together right and not fall apart? Let's suppose I spend the next six or eight years on a career track studying for that. Then let's suppose I am lucky enough to even land a job in that field and eventually get to work on a project like that. How do I know I'm not going to be miserable doing a job I worked ten, fifteen years, or more to acquire?” Rob and Jenny were silent. They didn't have a quick answer for “their little boy”. Jenny spoke first. “Carl, you are a very smart young man. Don't get caught up in being afraid of going down the wrong path and failing. What ever you put your mind to, I am sure you will be able to do it well.” “Thanks Mom, but the point is not about succeeding or failing. It's about making good choices. What good is it if I make a success of a career, if succeeding requires doing things that are not right for me or for my family?” “Carl, does this have anything to do with what my Dad decided to do? I know you miss him. I do too. Is that what started this?” Carl got a surprised look on his face. “No, I don't think so. I hadn't thought about a connection there until just now. I think it started last Fall when we were talking about – uhm – my wanting to be a starter on the football team. You remember telling me to not try to impress someone else, but to be who I am? I listened to you and thought about what you were saying. I began to see how much I was choosing to do because of what I though someone else might think of me if I did or didn't do those things. As I thought more about what you said it made more and more sense to me. I gradually tried following your advice and began feeling like I was on a better path through the forest, even if I didn't yet know where it would take me. Does that make any sense to you?” “Well, thank you son. I think I understand what you mean.” Rob was taken aback that Carl had given so much thought to that conversation without ever mentioning it again. “Carl, you said earlier that you wanted our help before you messed something up. Is there something you are considering doing that you want our input on before you make a choice?” “Yeah, kinda. I'm just not sure, because I'm guessing you might not like my ideas or agree with my reasoning.” “Well, Carl, you can't know how the play will work out unless you snap the ball. Can you?” “Funny you should mention that, Dad. Here is what I am thinking. One: I don't want to play in the baseball or football programs in school anymore. It might be fun, sometimes, but I have more important things that need my time and attention. Two: I don't want to choose a career track in the high school curriculum. They may push me into telling them I am picking a track, but if so I want to pick one that places fewest constraints on what courses I must take. Three: I want to find a job while I finish school, but not just a job anywhere to make a little money. I need a job where I can see and learn more about what real jobs in the real world are like. I know there are career tracks in high school with job programs connected to them. Those they have at my school are not for me. I may need to transfer to one of the other high schools that allow other types of jobs in their programs. Hopefully I can find a job or some jobs where I can learn some things that will help me find a kind of work I might enjoy, at least a little, when I have to provide for my family. I don't mean a job where I can play around and do cool things. I mean an area of work where I can feel good about the work I'm doing and still make a decent living to support my family. Fourth: I'm thinking I might not go to college at all. If I do go to college I don't want to go straight from high school into college, just because I can make good grades in high school. As for the reasons, you and Mom have shown me that family and responsibilities are both important. If I find a career that eats me up, I won't be able to give my family what they deserve. If I find a career that takes years to prepare for and then years more to pay for the preparations, it's going to be really hard to provide my family with what they need. I sure don't want to put that kind of preparation and debt into a a career that is only a gamble that I might someday get a payback for all that preparation. You do know that the effective income for people in our country has been going steadily down for a lot longer than I have been alive, don't you?” “Carl, I have to say I am surprised you took that talk we had as seriously as you did. I'm not at all disappointed, I just didn't expect so big a change in your thinking. I sure didn't expect it to change this many areas of your perspective or the direction of your thinking this fast.” “Well, I didn't either, Dad, but when I looked at what you told me it made sense. The more I thought about it the more things I realized, and one thing lead to another.” “Let me suggest something else and I hope this helps, too, Carl. Don't rush too fast to burn your bridges until you are convinced you won't want to back track. You did the right thing talking to us before taking action. Also, it won't hurt to continue talking things out with us while you are considering what steps you want to take. Sometimes when you say something out loud that you have been thinking about it doesn't sound so right as you had first thought. Other times saying it out loud to someone helps you to see more clearly that you are on the right track. In the mean time, I suggest you start looking for a job that fits what you think you need to find. See how that goes before you commit to changing your whole mode of education.” After supper Carl had gone to his room and Jenny wanted to know what Rob had said to their son to make him decide he didn't want to go to college. “Sweetie, I had no idea it would lead to this. He was talking about how important it was for him to get on the first first string of the football team, even though he was only a sophomore, because that was the only way to get a date with a trophy girlfriend. I was trying to get him to think in terms of developing a real friendship with the right girl rather than showing off who he was dating. Tell me how I was supposed to foresee that kind of advice would lead him to this?” “Are you serious, Rob? That is what started this? Well of course you were right to guide him toward better values. Wait you don't think... He did keep mentioning in all of what he was saying that he was concerned about when he has to provide for his family. Rob he's much too young to be worrying about things like that. He needs another ten years before he starts making plans to start a family. You don't think he is crushing on some girl already do you?” “Jenny, I sure don't want him jumping into that kind of thinking for a number of years yet, but it sounds more to me like he's trying to use his head and think ahead about what is coming down the road. It kind of makes me proud that he isn't satisfied to simply act like a lemming rushing into the sea. You said it yourself. Carl is a very smart kid trying to become a young man. That isn't a bad thing, is it?” “No, Rob. I guess it isn't. He just seems to be growing up too fast. I suppose that's better than growing up too slowly. I just hope he doesn't rush to grow up too quickly and jump to wrong conclusions.” “Jenny, I'm sure he will draw some wrong conclusions along the way. The thing is he listened to some advice that was offered and then spent some time before he drew his own conclusions. Then he apparently did a lot of research and looked for more advice before acting. It makes me think he may do alright eventually.” Rob, when you mentioned your dad, I could tell that you are still wondering about him and the decision he made. Are you thinking he made a good decision, or not?” “Darlin', I don't know how that is going to turn out for him. He has to make his own choices. Maybe it was the right choice for him, but I can't see that as a choice that would work for us. We are in very different circumstances than he was. I'm guessing he will have to make some adjustments along the way. We all have to do that. You can't exactly make a big decision and rigidly cling to your first planning no matter what happens around you. The world couldn't care less about conforming to all your expectations. You have to be able to adapt your plans as you learn more.” - - - - Joann was catching her breath as spring break was starting. She could see that Peter had been busy over the winter. He had put up fencing in the area between the coop and the garden. When she looked more closely she realizes he had fenced in two narrow runs from the coop to the garden and had divide the expanded garden area into three sections with more fencing. She knew he had also gotten a lot of planting done in the garden, but she was not certain about exactly what plants he had seeded, so far. Some were just beginning to leaf out, while other areas were obviously planted, but they were not even sprouting yet. She and Pete had talked some during the winter, but Pete had never actually given her a list of what seeds he had picked up at the farm store. She had stopped at the farm store on her way home from her job a week before and asked when they would be getting in chicks to sell. They told her it would be the last week in March, so she was starting to plan for how to keep the chicks in her classroom for a while before transitioning them to the coop as they got older and bigger. Joann decided to walk out to the coop and give it a look over. She had reworked the nesting boxes and perching rods back in the summer and early fall, but it had not been used in several years and she was sure it would still need some work before it was ready for young chickens. She was also a little concerned about how soon Pete might have vegetables ready from the garden to feed the chicks. She was thinking she would probably need to start the chicks out on chick feed from the store. When she opened the door she stood there for a moment just staring. Instead of a dirt floor needing straw there was now a very smooth layer of concrete. Over in one corner she saw a stack of eight bales of straw. On one of the walls, suspended with brackets a few inches off the floor, was a watering device that had narrow trough surrounding the bottom edge. Nearby, also attached to the wall, was a collection of capped PVC pipes mounted vertically. At the bottom of each was a small “Y” fitting with the bottom of the “Y” plugged just above the floor. She remembered seeing something similar online as a way to make a feeder for chickens. Feed could be poured into the top of the pipe and the feed would flow down into one side of the “Y”, but the flow would be caught by the narrowed sharp angle of the “Y” at the bottom. As the chickens ate the feed from the open side of the “Y” more of the feed could slip down into the gaps. This made it easy for the chickens to access the feed without scattering so much of it into the straw with their natural scratching. The vertical pipes were large enough to hold a significant supply of feed so it would reduce the need refill it too frequently. She stood there for more than just a moment pondering these new additions to her chicken coop. Joann decided it would be a good idea to talk with Pete about the chickens and garden when he got off work this evening. About seven-thirty that evening she walked around to his door but did not see a light on in his window. She knew the farm store where he worked closed at seven. He also worked after hours some daysat the grocery store. She decided to try and catch him before he could leave for work at the farm store in the morning. They opened at seven-thirty, so she decided, so he would be awake early. The next morning she was knocking on his door at six-thirty. When he came to the door only seconds after she knocked it surprised her. “Pete, I didn't know your exact work schedule for today, but I need to talk with you about our garden and chicken plans. Is this a good time?” “Sure. I've been thinking it would be a good idea to talk some more about that, but my schedule has been busy and you've been leaving fairly early and getting home near dark. I take it you have a bit of a commute to your teaching job. Either that our you work long hours.” “Sometimes it feels like it's both. I teach in Clear Creek, but even after I get home there is still work to do with lesson plans, grading, and stuff. I'm on spring break right now and I need to make the most of my time here this week. You didn't tell me you were going to pave the floor of the chicken coop.” Pete thought he might have heard a little edge in her voice when she mentioned the concrete floor he had put in the chicken coop. “No. I hope that was okay, but I kept not connecting with you. I thought it was a good idea and felt like if I was going to do it, I needed to get it done before working on the other things in there. I hope that's okay.” “Yeah, I notice you had made several changes that we hadn't talked about. I do wish you had talked with me first, but I guess that is as much my fault as yours. I just had not planned on that expense. How much did that cost?” “Don't worry about it. It's already paid for, and I made the decisions without talking to you first.” “I didn't say it was a bad decision or decisions. I just did not expect it. I'm not going to let you make improvements on my property without compensating you. Just tell me how much it cost you for the materials and how long you worked on it.” “Whoa, I didn't mean to upset you. Let's just talk about this a minute. We had talked about a joint project with both of us learning about the interactions of the chickens and the garden produce. I figured that if the chickens were needing to spend a lot of time in the coop rather than in the garden because of our work schedules and not having an adequate fence we would need to have an easy way to move their poop to the garden. Obviously we don't have time to coop break them, so they are not going to wait until we let them out of the coop for them to go.” Pete was trying to keep a straight face with only limited success. “I did some reading and the concrete floor sounded like a good idea. It makes it easy to scoop out the poop and straw, and then clean the floor for fresh straw or wood shavings. I don't see that as a property improvement as much as it is a garden improvement. You are right. I should have discussed it with you first. But its already done. I hope we aren't going to need to keep meticulous accounting of all our expenses. I already bought a lot of seeds and straw for the garden, but I haven't kept the receipts. Some of those seeds will produce food for the chickens, and some will be food for me and for you if you want it. That could get a little tedious if we start trying to figure how much of the produce you are eating and how much I am eating. How are we going to determine what portion of the seeds I should pay for and what portion you will pay for what you eat, not to mention accounting for what the chickens eat and how much of that should be paid for buy you or me. Then there is the problem of any excess produce that we have to give away rather than let it spoil. I think that could get more tedious than either of us want it to be. I really hope that doesn't become necessary.” “Okay, I see your point. I'm sorry I reacted that way. I'm just use to keeping tight control over my expenses and I hadn't planned on that expense. It was a good idea, by the way. At the same time it's not fair for you to be paying for all of that and paying for the seeds and straw. So far, you've been doing all the work and I haven't done anything on this project.” “Okay, How about this? There are more expenses coming. We don't have the chickens yet, and we may have to buy some feed for them if the garden isn't producing enough at the beginning or into the winter. I also think we may need to make some additional minor improvements on the coop. We need to talk more frequently about what is needed and when, so when we talk we can discuss what you will buy and what I will buy to keep it fair. Does that work for you?” “That makes sense. I'm just not use to partnering with anyone where there are continuing expenses involved. I can carry my own weight with the expenses, now that I'm not a full time student anymore.” “So, you haven't been teaching that long?” “No, I had worked before, but when I went back to school to get my degree I had only part time jobs. Money has been really tight for the last seven years. This is my first year as a full time teacher, and I am still adjusting to that.” “I see. So, you wanted to talk about what we need to do next in our project. Oh I almost forgot – that extra fencing. We haven't talked about that. I'm afraid I got that idea from some of my reading and just ran with it. If you don't like it, I can take it down.” “Yep. You've been pretty busy running off on your own without letting me in on what you're doing. I saw what was going on with the feeders and watering containers, too. So, what are your plans with the fencing?” “I'm sorry, Joann, When I first came here I got this message that seemed to say, “Keep away from my sister!” That was a bit of a startling message when I first got here. I just wasn't accustomed to that kind of cultural attitude. I understand it a lot better now, but I guess subconsciously I was avoiding talking to you more than I should. Anyway, the fencing is something I read about. If you let chickens into a garden area, you have to ride herd on them very tightly or they will totally destroy your plants. However, selecting and trimming leaves from your garden, then delivering it to your chickens takes much more time and effort. It also deprives the chickens of being able to forage for insects and larvae. A solution that has worked for some people is to partition the gardening area. The chickens can forage in a spent area of the garden for a period, then they can be channeled into a different area for a period. That way they can naturally forage with out destroying your crops. Their scratching and naturally fertilizing the garden area is helpful and the only labor required from us is opening the right gate to let them get to their work. As an added bonus, it reduces the problem of rabbits and other critters getting into our garden. It also helps control the number of problem insects that will be re-infesting the garden areas in the following year.” As Pete was talking he was aware that Joann started out with a concerned, serious look on her face. That gradually changed and he saw the sparks of her thoughts beginning to light up her face. She seemed to be growing almost excited about the concept. As he was finishing, however, it seemed there was a thoughtful change that came over her which was beginning to mask her fascination with the segmented chickens-in-the-garden concept. “Uhmm – What do you think?”
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