Syndemic Pandemic - Chapter 1
Ron Jackson slipped the three plastic tubes of silver coins into his pocket. The coin shop clerk had an uninterested look on his face. This was the fifth time in as many months that Ron had been in the shop to buy pre-1965 US silver dimes, quarters, and halves. Always a roll of each, without giving his name, and paid for with cash.
The next stop on his monthly shopping trip was the pharmacy. Though he used the same three coin shops to get identical orders of the silver coins each month, Ron was using a different pharmacy for each monthly purchase of over-the-counter medical supplies. The same with the grocery stores.
More than once a checkout clerk had commented on the quantities of the limited number of different items he bought. Ron paid with cash. No credit card, discount card, or membership card that would keep track of his purchases when he bought a half a cart of rice and topped it off with cans of beef, chicken, and tuna as his only purchase for the day.
There were many grocery stores in the city, and even hitting three each month, it would be a long time before he had to make a second trip to any one of them. Hopefully he would have his preps where he wanted them before then and he could buy just a regular selection of items to rotate out his preps and replace them with fresh.
When he arrived home after the shopping trip, Ron took everything down to the basement of his small two story, three bedroom, six bath house outside of the city. The basement was much larger than the footprint of the house and had been built as a disaster shelter from the start. It included plenty of storage space, including three actual storage rooms. And the attic was full height, with a load bearing floor for additional storage.
Ron smiled as he put away his purchases. The storage rooms were filling up nicely. It had been a long hard road to get to the point where he was now. There were several lean years as he worked on getting the initial phases of the homestead completed.
During those early phases Ron lived a frugal life, renting a room from an elderly couple to live in and a bay in a storage facility to hold his small initial purchases of preps. He was making excellent money working at one of the underground gold mines in the area. Every spare penny went into the homestead.
The land, considered remote, wasn’t very expensive. Ron developed the long range design and plans after the land was acquired and began the process to turn the property into the homestead of his dreams.
Like the land, the dirt work he hired done to contour several areas of the property, dig the excavation for the future basement of the house, and excavate for a swimming pool, didn’t cost all that much. The small two-person company was in dire need of the work and gave Ron a great deal. They basically threw in for free the work to excavate an area for fuel tanks to be installed.
One of the contoured areas was planted with hardy varieties of fruit and nut trees, the largest and most mature ones Ron could find.
Blackberry brambles and wild roses were planted alternately around the perimeter of the property. A section of heavy chain link fence would be installed every year until the dual barrier was completed.
Strawberry towers were constructed and planted, and an asparagus bed created and planted. A large open garden plot was tilled and Ron began the process of developing it with manure and compost brought in from a couple of the ranches in the area that needed a way to get rid of their animal wastes.
The installation of two wells and a large septic system were the next step. Once they were paid off, the work started on the construction of the basement. One step at a time it was constructed with provisions to build the house over it.
Once the basement shelter was finished the excavation was filled in around and over it, leaving the raised foundations for the house exposed. Ron moved out of the rented room and into the basement. Everything from the rented storage room was moved to the basement, except for some last ditch supplies that Ron moved into a much smaller and cheaper storage unit.
Ron had debated for a while which project to start next. With the open excavation for the pool beginning to deteriorate, it didn’t take long for him to decide to put in the pool. He’d known what he wanted for some time, and the excavation had been dug for the specific model.
With his fingers crossed, Ron had called the fiberglass pool manufacturer and asked about the forty by sixteen foot rectangular pool with shallow and deep areas. It was still available. Ron put in the order and breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be a month before the delivery and installation took place. During that time, Ron gathered the materials to construct an outdoor kitchen and living area. When the pool was installed, Ron hired the concrete installers to put the pool surround in, plus the large patio slab for the outdoor kitchen and living area.
It took him the rest of that summer to complete the pool house and cabana for the pool, and the outdoor kitchen and living area. While he was doing much of that work himself, he contracted for the fuel tanks he wanted to be delivered and installed in the excavation that was ready for them. Eight tanks were installed, three diesel, two gasoline, and three propane, with appropriate pumps and dispenser systems.
That next winter was a rest and recuperation period for Ron. He needed to rebuild the savings for the down payment on the house. He’d funded everything up to that point with the savings he’d acquired since first getting the job at the gold mine.
The house, however, would be financed. Ron had done some fast talking at the bank, describing what were actually security features of the house design as energy saving features. The Skousen exterior wall of steel frame construction with gravel fill was a heat sink, Ron had explained. The other security aspects of the house, such as the triple pane laminated glass windows and operating shutters, were also referred to as energy saving.
With the housing decline in full swing at the time, Ron didn’t have any trouble finding a contractor that would build the house just the way Ron wanted it. It took the summer to complete it, but the house was finished before the first snowfall of the winter.
Another recuperative winter led to the completion of all but one of the major components of the homestead. The outdoor kitchen and living area was roofed over and enclosed with large screen windows that could be covered with panels for severe weather.
Three green houses were erected, one over the pool, that connected with the pool house cabana that was part of the outdoor living area. The other two greenhouses were for food production. Both were pretty straight forward, except for the LED grow lights for use during low light level times. A small earth sheltered combination animal barn was constructed with fish tanks, worm beds, well ventilated rabbit hutches, enclosable area for honey bee hives, and a chicken house with fenced and roofed open area.
The final element of the homestead, that Ron was currently working on, was a large multi-use barn and workshop, also earth sheltered. It would include a four bay parking garage; two maintenance bays one with a work pit, and one with a lift; and three bays for workshops. The upper story and basement would be storage for the workshops. An attached pole barn would eventually be used for storage of other equipment Ron wanted to get for the homestead.
It had taken ten long years, but Ron was beginning to feel like he was at least approaching being adequately prepared for whatever fate might bring. Except romance.
He wasn’t ready for Mary Beth Higgins. She was a tall, leggy, brown haired, brown eyed, beauty that took a job as a rock crusher operator at the mine. She rode the same transport bus that took Ron to and from the mine from a parking lot on the edge of the city.
Ron couldn’t help but notice her. There were guys all around, each trying to talk to her on that first day. He just sat back and watched as she made it clear she wasn’t interested in any overtures. It took a first month before she was finally being left alone to her thoughts during the trips to and from the mine.
But then, on the first day of the new shift rotation, Mary Beth sat down beside Ron on the bus. “Mind if I sit here?”
“Of course not,” Ron replied. “Just surprised you want to. You usually sit back by yourself.”
“Yeah. Too many morons hitting on me. Finally got that stopped. But I’m not antisocial. I just like my privacy. You don’t seem the pressuring type. You haven’t even tried to talk to me.”
“Well,” Ron said slowly, “with your looks and all… I just figure you are way out of my league.”
A small smile curled Mary Beth’s lips. “Even a friendship?” She held out her right hand. “I’m Mary Beth Higgins.”
“Ron Jackson,” Ron replied, taking Mary Beth’s hand into his. She squeezed firmly and released the grip. “So. Why me?”
Again that small smile as she spoke. “Don’t really know. Mostly, I guess, because you weren’t after me.”
“What if I decide to do that?”
“I’ll deal with that if it happens. For the moment, just someone to talk to would be nice. I usually just read during the ride, but I don’t have anything good at the moment. Do you read?”
“Not as much as I’d like to,” Ron replied, truthfully. “Mostly manuals and do-it-yourself books. Some fiction. I read the… Uh. Probably wouldn’t be interested in that.”
“What? Something you can’t tell me? Playboy, maybe?”
Ron smiled. “Nope. Just something I doubt you’d be interested in.”
“Try me,” Mary Beth said. There was a real challenge in her voice.
Ron felt himself responding to it. “Well, I read prep and PAW fiction. Disaster stories. Things like that.”
“Really? What’s so special about those that you think I wouldn’t be interested?”
“Well… most of the people I know have no interest in them.”
“Or the things that they make you think about doing, in order to be ready for such things in real life?”
He couldn’t help it. Her words startled him and it showed. “Uh… well… yeah… sorta kinda.”
Mary Beth lowered her voice. “I bet you are a prepper, aren’t you?”
“You… uh… know the term?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m a member of several forums and boards that have discussions about things like that.” Mary Beth mentioned a couple of the forums she was on.
“I’m on both of those, too!” Ron replied. “You won’t spread it around…”
“No more than I would want it spread that I’m a prepper.”
“You don’t have to worry about that with me. As far as I know, you are the only one that has any inkling I am. I’m not going to mention it to anyone. I’d really rather not discuss it at all, actually.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
“Uh…”
Mary Beth laughed, the sound pleasant in Ron ears. He had to smile.
“You choose,” Ron said.
“What do you think about the new benefits package?”
Ron responded and a quiet conversation followed about the benefits, and then the workplace in general. It continued until they arrived at the mine and had to split up to go to their respective jobs.
With little expectation that Mary Beth would again choose to sit with him after the way he’d put her off about his preps, Ron took a seat on the bus and leaned back, intending to get a few minutes of sleep.
He opened his eyes when he felt a body slide onto the seat beside him. “Napping?” Mary Beth asked.
Ron nodded, and then, before he thought about it, said, “I didn’t really think you’d want to sit by me again after this morning.”
“Why’s that? It was interesting. You know how you feel about things and say so straightforwardly.”
“Didn’t sound pedantic and know it all?”
Mary Beth smiled and shook her head. “Not completely,” she said, stressing the ‘completely’ just a little.
Ron found himself laughing and in the midst of another conversation with the beautiful woman. This one was about the goings on in the small city that furnished much of the personnel for the mine.
The two continued to sit and talk on the rides for three weeks before Ron finally asked Mary Beth if she would go see a movie and have dinner with him.
“Oh. The adventurous type! Sure. I’d love to go with you. But Dutch.”
“I was going to spring…”
“I insist,” Mary Beth said, watching Ron carefully.
It seemed important to her, so Ron quickly nodded and said, “Okay. Sure.”
Mary Beth smiled and relaxed. “Thank you, Ron. I don’t think you’re one of those that think paying for an evening like we’re planning entitles you to more than a kiss on the cheek, but I’m not willing to take a chance. I like you and want things to work out so we’re friends before we go anywhere else.”
“You think there is a chance?” Ron asked, a bit wide eyed.
There was that little smile again. “Yes, Ron. I do think there is a chance. I don’t want to mess it up. I hope you don’t either.”
“Absolutely not! You just keep guiding me in how this stuff works and we’ll get along great.”
“Not a problem,” Mary Beth said softly. Then she laughed and the two were again in the middle of a discussion. This one about what movie and where to eat.
Things went well, and, as Mary Beth had implied, Ron got a quick kiss on the cheek before she went inside the apartment where she lived in an older part of the city.
Ron was debating where to bring up the subject of preparedness with Mary Beth one day as he waited on the transport bus for her to join him. He had to smile when he didn’t have the chance. When Mary Beth sat down, she was smiling. “I could use a little help our next days off. I’m going to rent a storage room and move some of my preps there. The apartment is stacked all over with totes of supplies. I can barely turn around in it.”
“Sure,” Ron replied. “I have a small rental room where I keep some supplies. And, if you want…”
Ron’s words trailed off.
“What were you going to say, Ron?” Mary Beth asked softly.
“Well… Perhaps it is too soon… But I thought… Perhaps you might want to store a few things at my place. I decided some time ago you have a place in the shelter, if the worst happens. I just haven’t found the right time to try and tell you.”
Ron’s eyes searched Mary Beth’s face for any sign of censure. Instead of censure, he saw a pleased expression. “Thank you, Ron,” she said. “That means a lot to me. I still want to have some supplies in a storage room, as well as at the apartment, but having a secure place to go if things get too bad here in the city would be a great relief to me. Yes. I would like to move a few things to your place.”
“Good. That makes me feel better.”
“It does me, too,” Mary Beth responded.
It took both days of their time off to get Mary Beth’s things moved. Rather than rent a second storage room, Mary Beth finally agreed to accept a key to the lock on Ron’s storage room, and store the supplies she wanted in the city, but not in the apartment, in the same storage room.
“I want you to feel like you can come out at any time, if you feel the need to get away from the city.” Ron dropped his eyes, but then looked at Mary Beth again. “I took the liberty of getting one of the bedrooms set up for your use.”
“Oh, Ron! That is so sweet! Thank you!” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “If it is all right, I’d like to bring a few additional things out. Besides the prep items.”
“Of course. You can consider the room yours. I put an exterior door latch set on it so you can keep it locked.” Ron handed Mary Beth three more keys. “This one is the back door key, and these are the bedroom door keys. Both of them. I didn’t keep one.”
Mary Beth looked at the keys for a moment. She handed Ron one of the bedroom door keys. “You might need to get in for some reason. Better keep one, just in case.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Ron replied, dropping the key into his pocket
Rather shyly, Ron showed Mary Beth around his homestead when she followed him out in her compact pickup truck loaded with the totes she wanted to store there.
“This is amazing, Ron!” Mary Beth said rather breathlessly. “You’ve done a great job. This is something I’ve only dreamed about.”
“Come on in the house. I’ll show you your room and we can bring up your stuff.” Ron led the way into the house and headed for the stairs. “I use the stairs for most things, but we’ll use the elevator to move your things.”
“You have an elevator in your house?” exclaimed Mary Beth.
Ron colored slightly. “Yeah. I plan on living here a long time. There will come a time, I’m afraid, when I won’t be able to navigate the stairs very well. So I decided to go ahead and put in the residential elevator now. Sure makes it easier taking things up and down, rather than carry them on the stairs.”
“This is great!” Mary Beth said when she saw the bedroom and attached bath. “I wasn’t expecting my own bathroom.”
“Each of the bedrooms has a bath and there is a hall bath down stairs, plus two in the basement. Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the house before we start unloading.”
Mary Beth followed Ron as he led her through the rest of the house. Then they went down into the basement. “Oh, my goodness! This is amazing!” Mary Beth looked around as Ron pointed out the features of the basement shelter.
“I noticed that it was a lot further down than a normal basement. And the stairs and elevator are shielded from the rest of the basement, aren’t they?”
Ron nodded. “It’s not real obvious. I’m surprised you noticed. Yeah. Had to have that shielded right angle for the entry to stop radiation coming in from above. The outside exit stairs are the same, with a barrier wall between them and the basement.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Mary Beth said, looking closely all around. “Do you have an escape tunnel, in case the exits are blocked?”
Ron smiled. “Of course. Over here.” Ron showed Mary Beth the entrance to the tunnel that led from the basement out some distance from the house. “It has a drop point at the end to let the soil fall down when you open a hatch. Then you can climb out and push through the sod.”
Moving over to one of the storage rooms, Ron pointed out the one rack of empty shelving. “Plenty of space for your totes.”
“Man, you weren’t kidding when you said you were stocked up. This has been some tour. But I guess we should move the things and then I’ll make us some lunch.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Ron protested. “I can make something. Or we can get something in the city.”
“I’d like to show off a little, Ron. Let you know how good a cook I am.”
“Well… I guess… You really don’t have to prove anything.”
“I know. I just want to.”
So Ron got the hand cart and they began moving the items from Mary Beth’s truck to the basement storage room and her bedroom. The cart and elevator made it much easier. With that work done, Ron turned Mary Beth loose in his kitchen while he sat at the counter and watched.
As she worked, Mary Beth asked Ron, “When do you think you’ll get rabbits, chickens, and fish?”
“I don’t have the time to care for them properly right now,” Ron said. “Probably try to get them just before things happen.” He laughed. “If it’s possible to figure out the right moment. Otherwise, I’ll try and get them just after things start, but before they are too bad. At least, I hope I can do that.”
“I’m going to have to learn how to convert live animals to meat on the table.” Mary Beth looked over at Ron. “Do you plan to hunt?”
“Some,” Ron replied. “I haven’t in a long while, but I can. And dress the carcass. Big game, which is the most likely out here, along with some small game and birds. I’ve been looking for a farm or ranch fairly close that is prep oriented where I can get beef and pork in the PAW.”
“Not interested in raising them yourself?”
Ron shook his head. “Not really. And I don’t like goats or sheep, which I probably could raise here. Depending on the actual disaster, I’d rather take a couple of deer or an elk every year to provide red meat.”
Mary Beth nodded. “I like venison, but I really prefer elk.”
“You hunt?”
“I did some with my dad when I was in my teens. Since he passed on, I haven’t gone. My mother sold his guns after he died. I don’t really have a good hunting gun at the moment. Just my defensive arms.”
“I have what we might need in that department,” Ron said.
Neither mentioned the ‘we’ that Ron used.
The two fell silent when Mary Beth served the lunch. Both were hungry and were occupied with their own thoughts as they ate.
“That was good!” Ron said finally, leaning back in his chair. “You are a good cook.”
“Thank you. I really am. I just don’t get much chance. I do need to pick up a couple of the available cookbooks for using storage foods. I think I could do okay, anyway, but better to have some additional ideas.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ron replied. “I’ve got some cooking reference works. Even some that include a few prep food recipes, but nothing specialized.”
“I’ll get something ordered next week.” Mary Beth began to clean up after the meal and Ron jumped up to help her. It took only a few minutes and Ron started the dishwasher as Mary Beth wiped down the counters.
“I guess I should be heading back,” Mary Beth said after a pause. “Thanks for the accommodations and the help, today, Ron. It makes me feel much better to know I can come here if the worst happens.”
“It was no problem. And knowing I’ll have some help with things makes me feel better, too.” Ron walked Mary Beth out to her truck and then watched as she entered and drove away. He sighed and turned back to the house, wondering if perhaps one day Mary Beth might be inclined to be more than friends.
Syndemic Pandemic - Chapter 2
Three months passed. Mary Beth and Ron went on several additional dates. They were becoming closer, but neither was quite ready to take the romance a step further. That was about the time when Ron began to notice a trend in news. He pointed it out to Mary Beth on a trip in to the mine.
Keeping his voice low, Ron said, “Have you noticed the number of reports of flu-like illnesses breaking out here and there?”
“I saw something on the news, but it was just one isolated incident,” Mary Beth replied.
“That’s the thing. I’ve seen several reports, and they are always isolated outbreaks. But there seem to be more and more of them. I posted on a couple of the prep forums about it. There were several responses. Mostly tin-foil hat speculation. But there were a couple that confirmed a problem in their area.”
“What did they say?” asked Mary Beth.
“That the doctors weren’t having much luck figuring out what it was. And it was turning out to be seventy percent fatal, even with the treatments they were trying. The thing is, there are outbreaks all over the US, as well as some overseas.”
“You think it is natural… or something else?”
“I’m worried it might be something else,” Ron said, his voice very low. “I know it sounds like tin-foil hat and conspiracy theory stuff, but I’m getting worried. It just seems to crop up with no warning in almost random areas. The two most common elements are that it is happening in schools and hospitals environments more than anywhere else.”
Mary Beth was leaning close, too, as she spoke. “You think it could happen here?”
Ron nodded and looked into Mary Beth’s eyes. “I do. With all the school aged children living at your apartment building, I’d like you to move out to my place. Start avoiding crowds. And take sanitation cautions. And if push comes to shove, rubber gloves and P-100 masks at work.”
“You’re really worried!”
Ron nodded. “I know there will be some ribbing, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Ron opened up his lunch box. “I brought masks and gloves.” He handed Mary Beth four of the masks and four pairs of exam gloves. “I’d like it if you kept these with you. Any indication of illness around you and on they go. That’s what I’m planning.”
“Okay. I will.”
Ron sighed in relief. “And moving?”
“Let me think about that,” Mary Beth replied. Both leaned back in their seats, to think.
That afternoon, when they met on the bus again, Mary Beth told Ron, “I’ve thought about what you said. If you are sure it is okay, I’m going to pick up a few things at the apartment and then head for your place. You sure it won’t be a problem?”
“Not a problem for me. And it sure would make me feel better.”
“Okay. I should be out around eight. I’ll bring a pizza or something.”
Ron nodded. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Mary Beth was becoming a major part of his life and he wanted to keep it that way.
It only took a few minutes to take Mary Beth’s suitcases and a couple of totes up to her bedroom when she arrived. They had the pizza in the living room, watching the news. There was only one mention of the outbreak. But it was yet another new one. When the news began to repeat, the two cleaned up after the meal and Mary Beth followed Ron down to the basement.
“I want to add this latest outbreak to the map,” Ron told her as they approached the command center area of the shelter. There were several large scale maps with overlays on the wall.
Mary Beth looked at the marks on the map. “All these are outbreaks?” she asked, more than a little stunned.
“Yes. Every report I get I mark. Some aren’t quite as clear cut as others, but I’m pretty sure all of them are related.”
Mary Beth shivered. “Thanks for letting me come out here.”
“Sure thing. You have the run of the place,” Ron told her. “I’m going to bed. Breakfast at five okay?”
Mary Beth nodded. “I think I’ll go up myself. Good night.”
“Good night.”
A week later and the outbreaks were no longer isolated, and the situation was now mainstream news. The illness was spreading exponentially. And it was still unknown just what it was or how to counter it. The death toll was beginning to mount, overloading the mortuary facilities. That became worse when several embalmers in different area came down with the illness. Bodies were literally stacking up in morgues, waiting for burial facilities.
Ron and Mary Beth weren’t the only ones now sporting face masks and exam gloves at work. The mine officials were handing them out, knowing if an outbreak occurred at the mine it would be shut down immediately. Several operations with high concentrations of personnel had already been closed by official decree when the illness spread through their employees and was passed on to customers before it was obvious there was even a problem.
The effort was too little, too late. While there weren’t all that many infected early on, they were all in critical management positions. The mine owners shut down the mine operation on their own when there weren’t enough management people to operate safely.
On the bus, on the way home, Ron and Mary Beth, wearing their masks and gloves, saw and heard half a dozen people coughing and complaining about how they were feeling. It wasn’t their last trip to the mine, but it was the last one as employees.
After a short discussion, and then pulling a large portion of their checking account balances out of the banks they used, Ron and Mary Beth went on a shopping spree. When Ron’s rig was load down, they headed to his place to unload. Nothing was put away. Mary Beth took followed Ron back into the city and this time both vehicles were filled to overflowing with consumables. The shelves in many stores, particularly grocery stores, were emptying rapidly.
This time, when they unloaded, they stored everything away, including what they’d brought out the first time. After a late supper, with few words exchanged, the two went to their separate bedrooms and went to bed, exhausted emotionally and physically.
But both were up at their regular time the next morning. It was Mary Beth’s turn to make breakfast. While she did, Ron was listening to the local swap shop radio show. He put in a call asking for breeding rabbits, fish farming fish, and chickens. He already had worms. They’d been picked up in the fishing department of one of the stores visited the night before.
The listing had barely been broadcast when he got his first phone call. In all, he received seven calls, three about rabbits, three about chickens, and one about fish.
After breakfast, Ron and Mary Beth headed out to see what kind of deals they could make, if any. It was easier than either expected, for the most part. They managed to get three different genetic lines of rabbit bucks, and five lines of does. Ron and Mary Beth took home a total of four bucks and twenty does, the maximum that the hutches would handle.
They got the rabbits settled, watered, and fed, and then headed out again to look at the chickens. Three different breeds of roosters, and fifty chickens, also of various breeds, were in the chicken house by evening, split between laying chickens and the broody chickens and roosters, all also fed and watered.
The fish would have to wait a day. But the extra time let Ron add significantly to the large stocks of rabbit, chicken, and fish food he already had. He cleaned out two of the farm and ranch supply stores in the area.
The following day, Mary Beth went with him again, this time to pick up fish. They got a bit more than they bargained for. The man, elderly, wanted to get rid of his whole fish operation, including growing tanks, transport tanks, and associated equipment, plus additional fish food.
It was more than Ron wanted to pay. He’d really only wanted the fish. But Mary Beth mentioned selling the excess when things got bad, and Ron decided to take everything. It took two days to get everything moved, the fish in their new home, the feed put away, and the extra equipment stored under tarps where the pole barn would be.
“Well,” Ron said the following Saturday morning, “I guess we’re in the rabbit, fish, chicken, and egg business.” He set a collection basket half full of fresh eggs on the counter in the kitchen. “I mated four of the does, and left two eggs under the broody hens, and as far as I can tell, the fish are doing okay. I need to read up on the fish farming though. Just to refresh my memory.”
“I can’t believe we’ve done all this in just a matter of days,” Mary Beth said, putting the eggs over next to the refrigerator. “You want a couple of these for breakfast?”
Before he could answer, the telephone rang. Ron answered it and turned surprised eyes to Mary Beth. “Sure. I’ll come take a look,” Ron said and then hung up the phone.
Mary Beth lifted her eyebrows in question.
“Guy heard the listing the other day about the rabbits, chickens, and fish. He wants to know if I want some hogs, too.”
“I didn’t think you wanted any large stock,” Mary Beth replied. She cracked one of the fresh eggs into the frying pan.
“I wasn’t planning on it. Not any time soon, anyway. It would mean quite a bit more work for both of us. And I’d have to add some things to the homestead to handle the swine.”
“I’m willing to help. I do love my bacon,” Mary Beth said. “I think I can learn to help raise hogs.”
“We can go look after breakfast,” Ron said.
After talking with the guy, Ethan Manning, and seeing his operation, Ron told him, “I’m going to have to think about this for a couple of days. I’ve been laid off from the mine, and it would take a chunk of my savings to put in the hog fencing and another barn.”
“Tell you what,” Ethan said, “I have pretty much everything you need. I was planning on expanding the operation… I’ll sell you the fencing, troughs, and a couple field shelters, and give you all my runts for free to get you started. Can’t help you much with a barn. Don’t really take much.”
“How much?” Ron asked.
Ethan mentioned a price and Ron shook his head and began to turn away.
“Okay,” Ethan quickly said, “I’ll cut it by ten percent, and give you two sows and a boar in addition to the runts.”
“Deal,” Ron said, turning back to Ethan and holding out his hand. “I’ll get someone out here to move the stuff. I’ll need to leave the stock here until I have a place ready.”
Ethan had turned a little surly after making the deal. “Yeah. No problem. Just don’t be too long about it.”
“I won’t. Come on, Mary Beth. I need to make some arrangements.” Ron was on the cell phone, talking to one of his few friends in the area about getting some help when the cell phone lost signal.
“Well, nuts! If it is okay with you, I’d like to go by Xander’s and finish up the discussion.”
“Sure, Ron. I don’t mind.” She was trying her cell phone. It had no signal, either.
Twenty minutes later Ron pulled into the driveway of a small homestead, similar to Ron’s, though not quite as extensive. “Hey, Xander!”
“Hey, Ron. Did your cell phone quit? I’ve been trying to get back to you.”
“Wasn’t the phone. Just lost signal. How about you?”
“Same thing. I don’t know why. I’m in a really strong signal area.”
Ron and Mary Beth exchanged a quick look.
“What? You think this might be because of the flu or whatever it is?”
“I think it might,” Ron said. “By the way, this is Mary Beth Higgins. Mary Beth, Alexander Moorecroft, more commonly called Xander.”
“Hello, Xander,” Mary Beth said, shaking his hand when he offered it. She took out her bottle of hand sanitizer and squeezed a little into both their hands, before rubbing it in.
“Heard you was hooked up with a real beauty, Ron,” Xander said and smiled. “She’s smart, too.”
“Yeah. Uh… The reason I called,” Ron said after a moment’s hesitation, “was to see if you could help me move and install some swine farming materials.”
“Sure thing, man,” Xander said. “I need something to do. I got laid off.”
Copyright 2010
Ron Jackson slipped the three plastic tubes of silver coins into his pocket. The coin shop clerk had an uninterested look on his face. This was the fifth time in as many months that Ron had been in the shop to buy pre-1965 US silver dimes, quarters, and halves. Always a roll of each, without giving his name, and paid for with cash.
The next stop on his monthly shopping trip was the pharmacy. Though he used the same three coin shops to get identical orders of the silver coins each month, Ron was using a different pharmacy for each monthly purchase of over-the-counter medical supplies. The same with the grocery stores.
More than once a checkout clerk had commented on the quantities of the limited number of different items he bought. Ron paid with cash. No credit card, discount card, or membership card that would keep track of his purchases when he bought a half a cart of rice and topped it off with cans of beef, chicken, and tuna as his only purchase for the day.
There were many grocery stores in the city, and even hitting three each month, it would be a long time before he had to make a second trip to any one of them. Hopefully he would have his preps where he wanted them before then and he could buy just a regular selection of items to rotate out his preps and replace them with fresh.
When he arrived home after the shopping trip, Ron took everything down to the basement of his small two story, three bedroom, six bath house outside of the city. The basement was much larger than the footprint of the house and had been built as a disaster shelter from the start. It included plenty of storage space, including three actual storage rooms. And the attic was full height, with a load bearing floor for additional storage.
Ron smiled as he put away his purchases. The storage rooms were filling up nicely. It had been a long hard road to get to the point where he was now. There were several lean years as he worked on getting the initial phases of the homestead completed.
During those early phases Ron lived a frugal life, renting a room from an elderly couple to live in and a bay in a storage facility to hold his small initial purchases of preps. He was making excellent money working at one of the underground gold mines in the area. Every spare penny went into the homestead.
The land, considered remote, wasn’t very expensive. Ron developed the long range design and plans after the land was acquired and began the process to turn the property into the homestead of his dreams.
Like the land, the dirt work he hired done to contour several areas of the property, dig the excavation for the future basement of the house, and excavate for a swimming pool, didn’t cost all that much. The small two-person company was in dire need of the work and gave Ron a great deal. They basically threw in for free the work to excavate an area for fuel tanks to be installed.
One of the contoured areas was planted with hardy varieties of fruit and nut trees, the largest and most mature ones Ron could find.
Blackberry brambles and wild roses were planted alternately around the perimeter of the property. A section of heavy chain link fence would be installed every year until the dual barrier was completed.
Strawberry towers were constructed and planted, and an asparagus bed created and planted. A large open garden plot was tilled and Ron began the process of developing it with manure and compost brought in from a couple of the ranches in the area that needed a way to get rid of their animal wastes.
The installation of two wells and a large septic system were the next step. Once they were paid off, the work started on the construction of the basement. One step at a time it was constructed with provisions to build the house over it.
Once the basement shelter was finished the excavation was filled in around and over it, leaving the raised foundations for the house exposed. Ron moved out of the rented room and into the basement. Everything from the rented storage room was moved to the basement, except for some last ditch supplies that Ron moved into a much smaller and cheaper storage unit.
Ron had debated for a while which project to start next. With the open excavation for the pool beginning to deteriorate, it didn’t take long for him to decide to put in the pool. He’d known what he wanted for some time, and the excavation had been dug for the specific model.
With his fingers crossed, Ron had called the fiberglass pool manufacturer and asked about the forty by sixteen foot rectangular pool with shallow and deep areas. It was still available. Ron put in the order and breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be a month before the delivery and installation took place. During that time, Ron gathered the materials to construct an outdoor kitchen and living area. When the pool was installed, Ron hired the concrete installers to put the pool surround in, plus the large patio slab for the outdoor kitchen and living area.
It took him the rest of that summer to complete the pool house and cabana for the pool, and the outdoor kitchen and living area. While he was doing much of that work himself, he contracted for the fuel tanks he wanted to be delivered and installed in the excavation that was ready for them. Eight tanks were installed, three diesel, two gasoline, and three propane, with appropriate pumps and dispenser systems.
That next winter was a rest and recuperation period for Ron. He needed to rebuild the savings for the down payment on the house. He’d funded everything up to that point with the savings he’d acquired since first getting the job at the gold mine.
The house, however, would be financed. Ron had done some fast talking at the bank, describing what were actually security features of the house design as energy saving features. The Skousen exterior wall of steel frame construction with gravel fill was a heat sink, Ron had explained. The other security aspects of the house, such as the triple pane laminated glass windows and operating shutters, were also referred to as energy saving.
With the housing decline in full swing at the time, Ron didn’t have any trouble finding a contractor that would build the house just the way Ron wanted it. It took the summer to complete it, but the house was finished before the first snowfall of the winter.
Another recuperative winter led to the completion of all but one of the major components of the homestead. The outdoor kitchen and living area was roofed over and enclosed with large screen windows that could be covered with panels for severe weather.
Three green houses were erected, one over the pool, that connected with the pool house cabana that was part of the outdoor living area. The other two greenhouses were for food production. Both were pretty straight forward, except for the LED grow lights for use during low light level times. A small earth sheltered combination animal barn was constructed with fish tanks, worm beds, well ventilated rabbit hutches, enclosable area for honey bee hives, and a chicken house with fenced and roofed open area.
The final element of the homestead, that Ron was currently working on, was a large multi-use barn and workshop, also earth sheltered. It would include a four bay parking garage; two maintenance bays one with a work pit, and one with a lift; and three bays for workshops. The upper story and basement would be storage for the workshops. An attached pole barn would eventually be used for storage of other equipment Ron wanted to get for the homestead.
It had taken ten long years, but Ron was beginning to feel like he was at least approaching being adequately prepared for whatever fate might bring. Except romance.
He wasn’t ready for Mary Beth Higgins. She was a tall, leggy, brown haired, brown eyed, beauty that took a job as a rock crusher operator at the mine. She rode the same transport bus that took Ron to and from the mine from a parking lot on the edge of the city.
Ron couldn’t help but notice her. There were guys all around, each trying to talk to her on that first day. He just sat back and watched as she made it clear she wasn’t interested in any overtures. It took a first month before she was finally being left alone to her thoughts during the trips to and from the mine.
But then, on the first day of the new shift rotation, Mary Beth sat down beside Ron on the bus. “Mind if I sit here?”
“Of course not,” Ron replied. “Just surprised you want to. You usually sit back by yourself.”
“Yeah. Too many morons hitting on me. Finally got that stopped. But I’m not antisocial. I just like my privacy. You don’t seem the pressuring type. You haven’t even tried to talk to me.”
“Well,” Ron said slowly, “with your looks and all… I just figure you are way out of my league.”
A small smile curled Mary Beth’s lips. “Even a friendship?” She held out her right hand. “I’m Mary Beth Higgins.”
“Ron Jackson,” Ron replied, taking Mary Beth’s hand into his. She squeezed firmly and released the grip. “So. Why me?”
Again that small smile as she spoke. “Don’t really know. Mostly, I guess, because you weren’t after me.”
“What if I decide to do that?”
“I’ll deal with that if it happens. For the moment, just someone to talk to would be nice. I usually just read during the ride, but I don’t have anything good at the moment. Do you read?”
“Not as much as I’d like to,” Ron replied, truthfully. “Mostly manuals and do-it-yourself books. Some fiction. I read the… Uh. Probably wouldn’t be interested in that.”
“What? Something you can’t tell me? Playboy, maybe?”
Ron smiled. “Nope. Just something I doubt you’d be interested in.”
“Try me,” Mary Beth said. There was a real challenge in her voice.
Ron felt himself responding to it. “Well, I read prep and PAW fiction. Disaster stories. Things like that.”
“Really? What’s so special about those that you think I wouldn’t be interested?”
“Well… most of the people I know have no interest in them.”
“Or the things that they make you think about doing, in order to be ready for such things in real life?”
He couldn’t help it. Her words startled him and it showed. “Uh… well… yeah… sorta kinda.”
Mary Beth lowered her voice. “I bet you are a prepper, aren’t you?”
“You… uh… know the term?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m a member of several forums and boards that have discussions about things like that.” Mary Beth mentioned a couple of the forums she was on.
“I’m on both of those, too!” Ron replied. “You won’t spread it around…”
“No more than I would want it spread that I’m a prepper.”
“You don’t have to worry about that with me. As far as I know, you are the only one that has any inkling I am. I’m not going to mention it to anyone. I’d really rather not discuss it at all, actually.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
“Uh…”
Mary Beth laughed, the sound pleasant in Ron ears. He had to smile.
“You choose,” Ron said.
“What do you think about the new benefits package?”
Ron responded and a quiet conversation followed about the benefits, and then the workplace in general. It continued until they arrived at the mine and had to split up to go to their respective jobs.
With little expectation that Mary Beth would again choose to sit with him after the way he’d put her off about his preps, Ron took a seat on the bus and leaned back, intending to get a few minutes of sleep.
He opened his eyes when he felt a body slide onto the seat beside him. “Napping?” Mary Beth asked.
Ron nodded, and then, before he thought about it, said, “I didn’t really think you’d want to sit by me again after this morning.”
“Why’s that? It was interesting. You know how you feel about things and say so straightforwardly.”
“Didn’t sound pedantic and know it all?”
Mary Beth smiled and shook her head. “Not completely,” she said, stressing the ‘completely’ just a little.
Ron found himself laughing and in the midst of another conversation with the beautiful woman. This one was about the goings on in the small city that furnished much of the personnel for the mine.
The two continued to sit and talk on the rides for three weeks before Ron finally asked Mary Beth if she would go see a movie and have dinner with him.
“Oh. The adventurous type! Sure. I’d love to go with you. But Dutch.”
“I was going to spring…”
“I insist,” Mary Beth said, watching Ron carefully.
It seemed important to her, so Ron quickly nodded and said, “Okay. Sure.”
Mary Beth smiled and relaxed. “Thank you, Ron. I don’t think you’re one of those that think paying for an evening like we’re planning entitles you to more than a kiss on the cheek, but I’m not willing to take a chance. I like you and want things to work out so we’re friends before we go anywhere else.”
“You think there is a chance?” Ron asked, a bit wide eyed.
There was that little smile again. “Yes, Ron. I do think there is a chance. I don’t want to mess it up. I hope you don’t either.”
“Absolutely not! You just keep guiding me in how this stuff works and we’ll get along great.”
“Not a problem,” Mary Beth said softly. Then she laughed and the two were again in the middle of a discussion. This one about what movie and where to eat.
Things went well, and, as Mary Beth had implied, Ron got a quick kiss on the cheek before she went inside the apartment where she lived in an older part of the city.
Ron was debating where to bring up the subject of preparedness with Mary Beth one day as he waited on the transport bus for her to join him. He had to smile when he didn’t have the chance. When Mary Beth sat down, she was smiling. “I could use a little help our next days off. I’m going to rent a storage room and move some of my preps there. The apartment is stacked all over with totes of supplies. I can barely turn around in it.”
“Sure,” Ron replied. “I have a small rental room where I keep some supplies. And, if you want…”
Ron’s words trailed off.
“What were you going to say, Ron?” Mary Beth asked softly.
“Well… Perhaps it is too soon… But I thought… Perhaps you might want to store a few things at my place. I decided some time ago you have a place in the shelter, if the worst happens. I just haven’t found the right time to try and tell you.”
Ron’s eyes searched Mary Beth’s face for any sign of censure. Instead of censure, he saw a pleased expression. “Thank you, Ron,” she said. “That means a lot to me. I still want to have some supplies in a storage room, as well as at the apartment, but having a secure place to go if things get too bad here in the city would be a great relief to me. Yes. I would like to move a few things to your place.”
“Good. That makes me feel better.”
“It does me, too,” Mary Beth responded.
It took both days of their time off to get Mary Beth’s things moved. Rather than rent a second storage room, Mary Beth finally agreed to accept a key to the lock on Ron’s storage room, and store the supplies she wanted in the city, but not in the apartment, in the same storage room.
“I want you to feel like you can come out at any time, if you feel the need to get away from the city.” Ron dropped his eyes, but then looked at Mary Beth again. “I took the liberty of getting one of the bedrooms set up for your use.”
“Oh, Ron! That is so sweet! Thank you!” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “If it is all right, I’d like to bring a few additional things out. Besides the prep items.”
“Of course. You can consider the room yours. I put an exterior door latch set on it so you can keep it locked.” Ron handed Mary Beth three more keys. “This one is the back door key, and these are the bedroom door keys. Both of them. I didn’t keep one.”
Mary Beth looked at the keys for a moment. She handed Ron one of the bedroom door keys. “You might need to get in for some reason. Better keep one, just in case.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Ron replied, dropping the key into his pocket
Rather shyly, Ron showed Mary Beth around his homestead when she followed him out in her compact pickup truck loaded with the totes she wanted to store there.
“This is amazing, Ron!” Mary Beth said rather breathlessly. “You’ve done a great job. This is something I’ve only dreamed about.”
“Come on in the house. I’ll show you your room and we can bring up your stuff.” Ron led the way into the house and headed for the stairs. “I use the stairs for most things, but we’ll use the elevator to move your things.”
“You have an elevator in your house?” exclaimed Mary Beth.
Ron colored slightly. “Yeah. I plan on living here a long time. There will come a time, I’m afraid, when I won’t be able to navigate the stairs very well. So I decided to go ahead and put in the residential elevator now. Sure makes it easier taking things up and down, rather than carry them on the stairs.”
“This is great!” Mary Beth said when she saw the bedroom and attached bath. “I wasn’t expecting my own bathroom.”
“Each of the bedrooms has a bath and there is a hall bath down stairs, plus two in the basement. Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the house before we start unloading.”
Mary Beth followed Ron as he led her through the rest of the house. Then they went down into the basement. “Oh, my goodness! This is amazing!” Mary Beth looked around as Ron pointed out the features of the basement shelter.
“I noticed that it was a lot further down than a normal basement. And the stairs and elevator are shielded from the rest of the basement, aren’t they?”
Ron nodded. “It’s not real obvious. I’m surprised you noticed. Yeah. Had to have that shielded right angle for the entry to stop radiation coming in from above. The outside exit stairs are the same, with a barrier wall between them and the basement.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Mary Beth said, looking closely all around. “Do you have an escape tunnel, in case the exits are blocked?”
Ron smiled. “Of course. Over here.” Ron showed Mary Beth the entrance to the tunnel that led from the basement out some distance from the house. “It has a drop point at the end to let the soil fall down when you open a hatch. Then you can climb out and push through the sod.”
Moving over to one of the storage rooms, Ron pointed out the one rack of empty shelving. “Plenty of space for your totes.”
“Man, you weren’t kidding when you said you were stocked up. This has been some tour. But I guess we should move the things and then I’ll make us some lunch.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Ron protested. “I can make something. Or we can get something in the city.”
“I’d like to show off a little, Ron. Let you know how good a cook I am.”
“Well… I guess… You really don’t have to prove anything.”
“I know. I just want to.”
So Ron got the hand cart and they began moving the items from Mary Beth’s truck to the basement storage room and her bedroom. The cart and elevator made it much easier. With that work done, Ron turned Mary Beth loose in his kitchen while he sat at the counter and watched.
As she worked, Mary Beth asked Ron, “When do you think you’ll get rabbits, chickens, and fish?”
“I don’t have the time to care for them properly right now,” Ron said. “Probably try to get them just before things happen.” He laughed. “If it’s possible to figure out the right moment. Otherwise, I’ll try and get them just after things start, but before they are too bad. At least, I hope I can do that.”
“I’m going to have to learn how to convert live animals to meat on the table.” Mary Beth looked over at Ron. “Do you plan to hunt?”
“Some,” Ron replied. “I haven’t in a long while, but I can. And dress the carcass. Big game, which is the most likely out here, along with some small game and birds. I’ve been looking for a farm or ranch fairly close that is prep oriented where I can get beef and pork in the PAW.”
“Not interested in raising them yourself?”
Ron shook his head. “Not really. And I don’t like goats or sheep, which I probably could raise here. Depending on the actual disaster, I’d rather take a couple of deer or an elk every year to provide red meat.”
Mary Beth nodded. “I like venison, but I really prefer elk.”
“You hunt?”
“I did some with my dad when I was in my teens. Since he passed on, I haven’t gone. My mother sold his guns after he died. I don’t really have a good hunting gun at the moment. Just my defensive arms.”
“I have what we might need in that department,” Ron said.
Neither mentioned the ‘we’ that Ron used.
The two fell silent when Mary Beth served the lunch. Both were hungry and were occupied with their own thoughts as they ate.
“That was good!” Ron said finally, leaning back in his chair. “You are a good cook.”
“Thank you. I really am. I just don’t get much chance. I do need to pick up a couple of the available cookbooks for using storage foods. I think I could do okay, anyway, but better to have some additional ideas.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ron replied. “I’ve got some cooking reference works. Even some that include a few prep food recipes, but nothing specialized.”
“I’ll get something ordered next week.” Mary Beth began to clean up after the meal and Ron jumped up to help her. It took only a few minutes and Ron started the dishwasher as Mary Beth wiped down the counters.
“I guess I should be heading back,” Mary Beth said after a pause. “Thanks for the accommodations and the help, today, Ron. It makes me feel much better to know I can come here if the worst happens.”
“It was no problem. And knowing I’ll have some help with things makes me feel better, too.” Ron walked Mary Beth out to her truck and then watched as she entered and drove away. He sighed and turned back to the house, wondering if perhaps one day Mary Beth might be inclined to be more than friends.
Syndemic Pandemic - Chapter 2
Three months passed. Mary Beth and Ron went on several additional dates. They were becoming closer, but neither was quite ready to take the romance a step further. That was about the time when Ron began to notice a trend in news. He pointed it out to Mary Beth on a trip in to the mine.
Keeping his voice low, Ron said, “Have you noticed the number of reports of flu-like illnesses breaking out here and there?”
“I saw something on the news, but it was just one isolated incident,” Mary Beth replied.
“That’s the thing. I’ve seen several reports, and they are always isolated outbreaks. But there seem to be more and more of them. I posted on a couple of the prep forums about it. There were several responses. Mostly tin-foil hat speculation. But there were a couple that confirmed a problem in their area.”
“What did they say?” asked Mary Beth.
“That the doctors weren’t having much luck figuring out what it was. And it was turning out to be seventy percent fatal, even with the treatments they were trying. The thing is, there are outbreaks all over the US, as well as some overseas.”
“You think it is natural… or something else?”
“I’m worried it might be something else,” Ron said, his voice very low. “I know it sounds like tin-foil hat and conspiracy theory stuff, but I’m getting worried. It just seems to crop up with no warning in almost random areas. The two most common elements are that it is happening in schools and hospitals environments more than anywhere else.”
Mary Beth was leaning close, too, as she spoke. “You think it could happen here?”
Ron nodded and looked into Mary Beth’s eyes. “I do. With all the school aged children living at your apartment building, I’d like you to move out to my place. Start avoiding crowds. And take sanitation cautions. And if push comes to shove, rubber gloves and P-100 masks at work.”
“You’re really worried!”
Ron nodded. “I know there will be some ribbing, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Ron opened up his lunch box. “I brought masks and gloves.” He handed Mary Beth four of the masks and four pairs of exam gloves. “I’d like it if you kept these with you. Any indication of illness around you and on they go. That’s what I’m planning.”
“Okay. I will.”
Ron sighed in relief. “And moving?”
“Let me think about that,” Mary Beth replied. Both leaned back in their seats, to think.
That afternoon, when they met on the bus again, Mary Beth told Ron, “I’ve thought about what you said. If you are sure it is okay, I’m going to pick up a few things at the apartment and then head for your place. You sure it won’t be a problem?”
“Not a problem for me. And it sure would make me feel better.”
“Okay. I should be out around eight. I’ll bring a pizza or something.”
Ron nodded. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Mary Beth was becoming a major part of his life and he wanted to keep it that way.
It only took a few minutes to take Mary Beth’s suitcases and a couple of totes up to her bedroom when she arrived. They had the pizza in the living room, watching the news. There was only one mention of the outbreak. But it was yet another new one. When the news began to repeat, the two cleaned up after the meal and Mary Beth followed Ron down to the basement.
“I want to add this latest outbreak to the map,” Ron told her as they approached the command center area of the shelter. There were several large scale maps with overlays on the wall.
Mary Beth looked at the marks on the map. “All these are outbreaks?” she asked, more than a little stunned.
“Yes. Every report I get I mark. Some aren’t quite as clear cut as others, but I’m pretty sure all of them are related.”
Mary Beth shivered. “Thanks for letting me come out here.”
“Sure thing. You have the run of the place,” Ron told her. “I’m going to bed. Breakfast at five okay?”
Mary Beth nodded. “I think I’ll go up myself. Good night.”
“Good night.”
A week later and the outbreaks were no longer isolated, and the situation was now mainstream news. The illness was spreading exponentially. And it was still unknown just what it was or how to counter it. The death toll was beginning to mount, overloading the mortuary facilities. That became worse when several embalmers in different area came down with the illness. Bodies were literally stacking up in morgues, waiting for burial facilities.
Ron and Mary Beth weren’t the only ones now sporting face masks and exam gloves at work. The mine officials were handing them out, knowing if an outbreak occurred at the mine it would be shut down immediately. Several operations with high concentrations of personnel had already been closed by official decree when the illness spread through their employees and was passed on to customers before it was obvious there was even a problem.
The effort was too little, too late. While there weren’t all that many infected early on, they were all in critical management positions. The mine owners shut down the mine operation on their own when there weren’t enough management people to operate safely.
On the bus, on the way home, Ron and Mary Beth, wearing their masks and gloves, saw and heard half a dozen people coughing and complaining about how they were feeling. It wasn’t their last trip to the mine, but it was the last one as employees.
After a short discussion, and then pulling a large portion of their checking account balances out of the banks they used, Ron and Mary Beth went on a shopping spree. When Ron’s rig was load down, they headed to his place to unload. Nothing was put away. Mary Beth took followed Ron back into the city and this time both vehicles were filled to overflowing with consumables. The shelves in many stores, particularly grocery stores, were emptying rapidly.
This time, when they unloaded, they stored everything away, including what they’d brought out the first time. After a late supper, with few words exchanged, the two went to their separate bedrooms and went to bed, exhausted emotionally and physically.
But both were up at their regular time the next morning. It was Mary Beth’s turn to make breakfast. While she did, Ron was listening to the local swap shop radio show. He put in a call asking for breeding rabbits, fish farming fish, and chickens. He already had worms. They’d been picked up in the fishing department of one of the stores visited the night before.
The listing had barely been broadcast when he got his first phone call. In all, he received seven calls, three about rabbits, three about chickens, and one about fish.
After breakfast, Ron and Mary Beth headed out to see what kind of deals they could make, if any. It was easier than either expected, for the most part. They managed to get three different genetic lines of rabbit bucks, and five lines of does. Ron and Mary Beth took home a total of four bucks and twenty does, the maximum that the hutches would handle.
They got the rabbits settled, watered, and fed, and then headed out again to look at the chickens. Three different breeds of roosters, and fifty chickens, also of various breeds, were in the chicken house by evening, split between laying chickens and the broody chickens and roosters, all also fed and watered.
The fish would have to wait a day. But the extra time let Ron add significantly to the large stocks of rabbit, chicken, and fish food he already had. He cleaned out two of the farm and ranch supply stores in the area.
The following day, Mary Beth went with him again, this time to pick up fish. They got a bit more than they bargained for. The man, elderly, wanted to get rid of his whole fish operation, including growing tanks, transport tanks, and associated equipment, plus additional fish food.
It was more than Ron wanted to pay. He’d really only wanted the fish. But Mary Beth mentioned selling the excess when things got bad, and Ron decided to take everything. It took two days to get everything moved, the fish in their new home, the feed put away, and the extra equipment stored under tarps where the pole barn would be.
“Well,” Ron said the following Saturday morning, “I guess we’re in the rabbit, fish, chicken, and egg business.” He set a collection basket half full of fresh eggs on the counter in the kitchen. “I mated four of the does, and left two eggs under the broody hens, and as far as I can tell, the fish are doing okay. I need to read up on the fish farming though. Just to refresh my memory.”
“I can’t believe we’ve done all this in just a matter of days,” Mary Beth said, putting the eggs over next to the refrigerator. “You want a couple of these for breakfast?”
Before he could answer, the telephone rang. Ron answered it and turned surprised eyes to Mary Beth. “Sure. I’ll come take a look,” Ron said and then hung up the phone.
Mary Beth lifted her eyebrows in question.
“Guy heard the listing the other day about the rabbits, chickens, and fish. He wants to know if I want some hogs, too.”
“I didn’t think you wanted any large stock,” Mary Beth replied. She cracked one of the fresh eggs into the frying pan.
“I wasn’t planning on it. Not any time soon, anyway. It would mean quite a bit more work for both of us. And I’d have to add some things to the homestead to handle the swine.”
“I’m willing to help. I do love my bacon,” Mary Beth said. “I think I can learn to help raise hogs.”
“We can go look after breakfast,” Ron said.
After talking with the guy, Ethan Manning, and seeing his operation, Ron told him, “I’m going to have to think about this for a couple of days. I’ve been laid off from the mine, and it would take a chunk of my savings to put in the hog fencing and another barn.”
“Tell you what,” Ethan said, “I have pretty much everything you need. I was planning on expanding the operation… I’ll sell you the fencing, troughs, and a couple field shelters, and give you all my runts for free to get you started. Can’t help you much with a barn. Don’t really take much.”
“How much?” Ron asked.
Ethan mentioned a price and Ron shook his head and began to turn away.
“Okay,” Ethan quickly said, “I’ll cut it by ten percent, and give you two sows and a boar in addition to the runts.”
“Deal,” Ron said, turning back to Ethan and holding out his hand. “I’ll get someone out here to move the stuff. I’ll need to leave the stock here until I have a place ready.”
Ethan had turned a little surly after making the deal. “Yeah. No problem. Just don’t be too long about it.”
“I won’t. Come on, Mary Beth. I need to make some arrangements.” Ron was on the cell phone, talking to one of his few friends in the area about getting some help when the cell phone lost signal.
“Well, nuts! If it is okay with you, I’d like to go by Xander’s and finish up the discussion.”
“Sure, Ron. I don’t mind.” She was trying her cell phone. It had no signal, either.
Twenty minutes later Ron pulled into the driveway of a small homestead, similar to Ron’s, though not quite as extensive. “Hey, Xander!”
“Hey, Ron. Did your cell phone quit? I’ve been trying to get back to you.”
“Wasn’t the phone. Just lost signal. How about you?”
“Same thing. I don’t know why. I’m in a really strong signal area.”
Ron and Mary Beth exchanged a quick look.
“What? You think this might be because of the flu or whatever it is?”
“I think it might,” Ron said. “By the way, this is Mary Beth Higgins. Mary Beth, Alexander Moorecroft, more commonly called Xander.”
“Hello, Xander,” Mary Beth said, shaking his hand when he offered it. She took out her bottle of hand sanitizer and squeezed a little into both their hands, before rubbing it in.
“Heard you was hooked up with a real beauty, Ron,” Xander said and smiled. “She’s smart, too.”
“Yeah. Uh… The reason I called,” Ron said after a moment’s hesitation, “was to see if you could help me move and install some swine farming materials.”
“Sure thing, man,” Xander said. “I need something to do. I got laid off.”
Copyright 2010
