Corn
Green beans
Peas
Cucumbers
Summer squash
Tomatoes
Basil
Peppers (I’m not sure what type just yet – probably whatever grows best here)
Potatoes
While I’ll still have to supplement my diet with things like bread, dairy, and potentially meat products, I think that this list gives me a good start at self-sufficiency. I might even consider buying some chickens for egg production and fresh meat, but we’ll see how things go come spring. I can see already just by writing some of this stuff down how much work awaits me, and I don’t even have a chicken coop.
Anyway, that’s the plan as it stands now. We’ll see how much it has changed (or not) by spring.
September 5th
7:21 a.m.
Boy, the days are really starting to move along here. I can’t believe we’re almost through the first week of September. Before I know it, there will be snow on the ground and I’ll be in the midst of winter. CAN’T WAIT!!!
But for now, today is the day I make my trip into town. After a swim and breakfast, I think I’ll take a walk. I might walk up my driveway to the road which is about 200 secluded yards from my cabin site. I’ve traversed the road heading south multiple times since town is southwest of my cabin. But I haven’t really explored the road heading north, so I might give that a shot and see what there is to see. You tend to observe so much more when walking than driving. Treading on one’s two feet is such a better way to see the world.
I think that when I head into town, I’m going to run my errands and then pick myself up a treat. I found this little Mexican joint the first time I came up to Mills Creek to check the place out. They have really great enchiladas! I got takeout from there when I officially moved up here. I might cheat today on my self-sufficiency mantra and grab some cheese enchiladas while I’m there. I know, what would Thoreau say, right? But hell, old habits die hard, and I’m not out here to NOT enjoy myself. If I allow myself a little treat now and then to help perks things up, so be it. Plus, I’ve got a real hankering for enchiladas…or tacos, or burritos, or ANYTHING Mexican right now…with LOTS of sauce!
I NEED SPICY!!!!!!!
Maybe I should go for a little steak Oaxaca. My dad (God rest his soul) used to call it “steak sweat” because it was so mouth-charringly hot. I don’t even know if they have that dish up here. I might have to find out!
9:32 a.m.
My walk was nice. I didn’t see one vehicle pass on the road while I was out. It’s so weird after living in Chicago for so long. There, I couldn’t walk five feet without bumping into someone or dodging a vehicle. Here, it’s like I’m the last person on the planet.
Well, I’m about ready to roll for my trip into town. I’m just killing a little time since I don’t want to leave until around ten or so. My newly adopted burg doesn’t seem to be fully roused until after nine o’clock. I want to give people a little time to work out the morning crankiness and get a coffee or two in them.
I find that people aren’t fully acclimated to the day if you catch them too early in the morning when they’re still getting their motors running. But by ten or a little after, they seem to have gotten themselves up to speed and are more personable. I want a good answer when I ask a sales person at the hardware store about the best way to deal with my mouse situation, not just a “buy a mouse trap” sort of response. I’m not dealing with city rats or apartment mice here, I’m dealing with country mice, and they can be crafty critters. I need to know where their nest is likely to be and how best to get rid of not just one or two but ALL of them.
God, I keep thinking about Mexican food. Just can’t get it out of my head. I’m really craving the stuff. It’s not what I expected to be missing out here. I figured cable television, the sounds of the city, regular interaction with people, or something along those lines would hit me the hardest, but nope, it’s Mexican food. Who woulda guessed?
All right, I think it’s about time to head out. I’ll take the drive into town at a leisurely pace so I have a better chance to look around as I go. I’m still getting the lay of the land, and I’d like to count how many other neighbors I pass along my route.
I might take a stroll around downtown Mills Creek once I get there. It’s a cute little place. Not much to see, but hey, after being out here by my lonesome for over a week, just being around people again might be a rather unique feeling.
12:15 p.m.
Okay, slight change of plans. The pickup truck wouldn’t start. Right now I’m taking a recoup and regroup break while I consider the possibilities. I’m not really a “vehicle repair” kind of guy. My version of working on a vehicle pretty much centers on one of two choices, call a tow truck or nurse the wounded vehicle into an auto repair shop.
This is an aspect of this sort of living that you don’t really consider until you’re faced with it. Miles from town, broken pickup, no phone service. Uhh…now what? I guess I could hitchhike, but with the number of vehicles I saw on the road today (NONE!) I could probably walk to town faster. I guess I could walk to Oscar’s and see if I could bum a ride from him. But I don’t know him that well yet, and I’d feel kind of bad hitting him up for a ride at this early juncture in our relationship. I bet he’d say “yes” in a heartbeat, but I need to start taking things into my own hands out here and learning how to fix my own problems.
3:22 p.m.
Well, that took a while, but I’m happy (and proud) to say that I figured out my vehicle issue all on my own. It took a lot of time reading the vehicle manual that I found in the truck’s glove compartment, but I finally made the connection that if the truck wasn’t even TRYING to start, there was a good possibility that something was wrong with the battery. And once I made that connection, the wheels started spinning.
I had gotten a brand-spanking new battery for the truck on the seller’s recommendation right after I bought it. He said that it had “been a while” since he’d replaced the battery and that with the way the winters were up here, it probably was the best investment I could make.
Knowing that, I found it hard to believe that the battery would have died already unless I left the headlights on or a door ajar so that the truck’s interior lights remained on. But I know the headlights were off because I parked right out in front of the cabin. And I was almost positive that I would have noticed the interior cab lights on when I passed the truck in the darkness. Therefore, I didn’t think it likely that the battery was dead. This led to an inspection of the battery and its components. That’s when I realized that one of the cables connected to the top of the battery had come loose. After a few minutes of finagling and tightening, I got the loose cable back on and secured. A minute after that and I had the truck fired up.
I’m very proud of my success. Granted, it wasn’t a major repair, but I’m pleased that I was able to diagnose the issue and resolve it all on my own. That’s what it’s going to take to live out here, a lot of hard work, perseverance, and self-reliance. I’m sure I’ll make plenty of mistakes along the way, but that’s just part of life, isn’t it?
For now, however, the trip into town has been postponed until tomorrow. But that’s all right. Other than not being able to satisfy my craving for Mexican food, I’ll survive.
8:07 p.m.
I’m calling it an early night again tonight. The mental stress that accompanied the whole truck repair kind of sapped me. Plus, without internet and cable television, there aren’t as many distractions to keep me up at night. Like my pre-electric-age ancestors, when night falls, it means it’s time for reading or bed. I’m finding that I like it better that way anyway. Then I’m energized and up early to attack the day with vigor and vitality.
September 6th
7:46 a.m.
I’m working on eating my breakfast as I write. I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. I scrambled the eggs in the left over bacon grease. While it might not be very healthy, it makes
for incredibly delicious flavor that imbues itself throughout the eggs.
After breakfast, I’ll go for a dip in the lake. The water is starting to get really cold. It was never that warm to begin with, but I’ve noticed lately that I’m barely able to tolerate the temperatures. It won’t be many more days before I’m going to have to hang my towel up indoors for regular showers in the cabin bathroom.
9:54 a.m.
I’m almost ready to head into town…again. It’s a good day for it. There is a light drizzle of rain making outdoor work mostly a no-go. But that rain won’t hurt the taste of my Mexican food! I can’t wait!
12:21 p.m.
I think I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.
So I just got back from town. No one was there. And by “no one” I mean, absolutely NO ONE! It was like a ghost town. No cars driving. No stores open. Nothing!
The grocery store had the windows smashed out, and it looked as though it had been looted. I didn’t go inside to find out, but that’s the way it appeared. The hardware store looked the same. There was trash in the streets and it appeared as though the town had been in this state for at least several days.
What the hell happened?!
The whole situation was eerie and left me feeling rather rattled. I high-tailed it out of there fearing that there had been some sort of nuclear accident or chemical spill that I might not have heard about and that had left the place a toxic environment.
I drove back home, but now I’m kicking myself, wishing I had stuck around a little longer to investigate. What is my next step now? Do I chance going back into town? It could be dangerous, but how else am I going to figure out what happened? I could be in danger here if I just sit around and do nothing. I mean, SOMETHING happened. And it didn’t look like it was anything good. I guess the whole town could have hit the lottery and just gone wild, taking off for the Bahamas and leaving the place to be looted by outsiders, but I think the odds of that having happened are slim to none. No, I think it has to be something bad. But what? It certainly wasn’t nuclear Armageddon? Even as secluded as I am out here, I think I probably would have noticed that. Toxic spill? I would think that they (i.e. the government) would have notified people (even outside of town) of something like that. Lead in the water? I know that’s been a problem in Michigan. Maybe it’s something like that. But again, wouldn’t the government have informed people of what was going on? Maybe they didn’t tell me since I’m on a well system here and I’m not affected. Even then, wouldn’t I have heard at least something about what was going on? Maybe not. Since I’m new in the area and without phone or internet, maybe I was just sort of scanned over. And wouldn’t they have shipped in bottled water for the population if lead in the pipes was the issue? I think that would be more likely than just abandoning the town at the first signs of trouble.
Those are the only things I can come up with, but none of them really make any sense.
I think I’m going to take a ride over to Oscar’s and see if he knows what’s going on.
2:01 p.m.
There was no one at Oscars. I didn’t get a response when I knocked at his door at least.
What in the hell is going on here? This is crazy! Am I the last person on earth? I mean, I wanted seclusion and privacy, but this is taking it a bit far.
Okay, time to take a deep breath and regroup. No Oscar….town is deserted…no idea why. Let’s see. I guess my best bet is to make another trip back into town. I feel like a real dummy now for not having investigated more when I was there earlier today, but at the time, I was so rattled that I wasn’t thinking straight. Going from planning my big Mexican lunch to finding out the town is desolate and ransacked is not part of a typical day. And when the thought of some sort of chemical spill hit, I kind of panicked. The idea still makes me wary of returning, but how else am I supposed to figure out what’s going on? And I would think that if something like that happened, they’d at least have put up roadblocks or posted notices on the outskirts of town notifying people of the situation. Maybe they did put up signs and I just didn’t notice them because I wasn’t particularly looking. I’ll pay closer attention this time.
5:04 p.m.
Well, it’s not a chemical spill, and it’s not lead in the drinking water. What has happened appears far worse.
So I didn’t find anyone in town when I returned. The place was still just as I left it this morning, totally deserted. Therefore, I took some time to walk around and explore. While I didn’t learn much at first other than whatever happened came with the local grocery store being raided of just about every product on its shelves, eventually I found several newspapers. One of the newspapers was from Traverse City. The other one was from Detroit. I’ve been reading them for the last hour in my cabin because once I realized what was going on, I got kind of spooked and wanted to get back to the relative safety and seclusion of my cabin.
So what DID happen? Well, I guess that living off the grid and without much communication from the outside world has its downsides. I had no idea that over the past few weeks a new and terrible virus that I guess they’ve termed the “Su flu” has ravaged not just our country but the world!
Who knew? Definitely not me! But apparently a lot of other people because according to the newspapers there have been waves of looting, rioting, and chaos reigning supreme across the country and around the world. I guess it has even touched our little part of the world way up here in Mills Creek.
So according to the newspapers I found, this Su flu thing is highly contagious and extremely deadly. I have no idea what the status of things is now in other parts of the state or country. From what I read, they weren’t having much luck figuring out how to treat this particular flu strain which apparently originated in China. I guess it spread rapidly there and quickly moved to other parts of the world through air travel.
I read about all the places being closed in Detroit due to fears of the spreading flu or lack of employees to staff facilities – libraries, government offices, businesses, and the likes. There was an article warning against using public transportation due to fears of crowded trains and buses being Petri dishes for the flu. There was an article about the start for public schools being delayed due to flu fears. There was an article about sporting events being canceled since attendance was next to nothing. Gosh, I can’t imagine people not wanting to sit shoulder-to-shoulder in stadiums with a deadly flu raging around them. There was also an article about Detroit area hospitals, as well as hospitals in other major cities, being overwhelmed by flu patients. In some instances, the hospitals were turning people away or shutting their doors completely because of lack of staff and inability to treat the arriving patients. It said that flu carriers heading to hospitals were only furthering the spread of the virus.
Then there was a real pick-me-up article about the spread of the flu and associated mortality rates. According to the CDC, “There are no specific statistics on the spread of the Su flu or mortality rates as of yet.” Apparently, overwhelmed hospitals have stopped reporting cases. The article went on to quote an expert who estimated that exposure rates across the United States could come close to 85 percent or higher by the middle of September or even earlier. And with no cure, he expected accompanying mortality rates to be the same. The article ended by trying to give people some hope, saying that the CDC was working closely in conjunction with state, local, and federal agencies to coordinate a response to the flu and assist survivors.
The date of the newspaper was September 2nd. By the looks of Mills Creek, they weren’t very successful combating the flu here. And I have no idea whether the bigger cities might have fared better because they received more support and attention from government agencies, or worse because they were jam-packed full of sick people. If Mills Creek has become a ghost town due to this thing, I can only imagine what the bigger cities must be like. Ugh, it gives me the willies just to think about it. Thank god I’m not in Chicago. I’ll bet people there were going crazy!
There are
so many thoughts and emotions swirling around inside my head. It’s like a blender whirring its contents wildly up there. I’m not sure what to think or do. I guess the first thing should be to see if I can find someone else around to confirm what’s going on. I mean, it’s not that I don’t doubt the newspapers, but I’d just like someone else to explain to me first hand what they’ve seen and experienced here in Mills Creek. Maybe it’s not that Mills Creek was hit by the flu so much as by panicky residents. Maybe the majority of people here are okay, they’ve just evacuated town. It could be that they’ve set up a camp or moved to more secluded spots to hold out until this thing blows over.
Wow, I still can’t believe what’s going on. It really blows my mind. I mean, who would have guessed? The flu must REALLY have been hardcore to move this fast and take such a toll. I’ve heard stories about the Spanish Influenza or the Plague, but those took longer to spread, and while they were deadly, they didn’t sound THIS bad. Then again, back then, they didn’t have airplanes, vehicles, mass transit, and massive cities crammed full of millions of people who were largely dependant upon the government for aid during an emergency.
I think that tomorrow I’ll return to town one more time to see if I can find someone, ANYONE who might know what’s going on. Or maybe I’ll at least find a way to contact another town around here.
Damn! Now I’m wishing I had a cell phone. And it’s not like I can find a payphone. Those went the way of horse and buggy with the proliferation of smart phones.
The Dystopian Diaries Page 48
