So, You Want to Live Past Next Tuesday

by Billy Bob Richardson

  “As I said, my ancestors were pretty smart men and fairly honest. However, after the War of Northern Aggression, they had what might be called hard feelings toward the politicians in Washington. They saw no reason to go strictly by the rules. So, what they did was this. The head of the family registered for his 640 acres; he also registered in the names of his children even if they weren’t 21. Back then when a man came to town about twice a year no one really knew him that well. So trim a beard, or shave, and he presented himself as his sons. The women in his household also registered for themselves and their daughters. Then his brothers did the same.

  “After the five years, they proved up and owned the property. The head of the family purchased all the homesteads except some of his brothers for a stated $20, not that any actual money changed hands. He then registered the new deeds. Did it again with the addition of land down at the town we now live outside of. In the end he owned, outright, thirty homesteads up here. The ones up here were all contiguous, but they don’t actually form a square. The way it is laid out it is a little longer than it is wide. We own six miles along both sides of the stream. 85% of the land is on this side of the stream.”

  “How much land did that give him, Madd?”

  “There were originally fourteen homesteads down by town. Some of the land down by town has been sold over the years but the land up here has never been sold. It comes to thirty square miles. Not big as far as big ranches go, but big enough.”

  “Thirty square miles? I can’t even imagine how much that is.”

  “It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t.”

  “What about neighbors, how far away are they?”

  “We don’t actually have neighbors. All the land to the west, north and east are national forests or wilderness areas. South we have a corridor that is about seven miles wide that leads down to the nearest road, which is an old logging road that has been overgrown for years. The logging company’s land abutted ours for the entire seven miles, and the rest is national forest. It was all logged off over thirty years ago but the trees are grown back and significantly tall and thick. Land around town was selling then and the folks sold some improved farms and land. With the money they purchased the logging rights, at much reduced prices of course.”

  “I thought you said it was all logged out about then? Why buy land that was clear cut?”

  “It was mostly, not entirely; some of it was so remote it wasn’t considered economical for the technology of the time. The timber company was a small operation by today’s standards and thought it a heck of a good deal to sell the rights to something they couldn’t harvest for thirty or forty years. Over sixty years ago that small company was in financial trouble and the family council purchased the company for five cents on the dollar.”

  “The light dawns. You guys control the timber and the land so you control the access.”

  “Now you have it, my friend.”

  “Does anyone even know this land is up here, Madd?”

  “I am sure that if one could find the plat book for this region it would show up. And we do pay taxes on unimproved ranch land every year. As long as we pay on time every year, no one has any reason to look into where the land is or exactly how to get to it. It doesn’t hurt to have family in the county assessor’s office, either. Hunting season, it’s possible hunters may cross some of our land, but the only obvious improvements have been the bunk house and it is fairly well-hidden by trees. Besides, they have hundreds of thousands of acres of forest all around us to hunt. Plus with no roads they can access coming close, they have a long ways to come to get to where we stand right now.

  “You can’t really see where the old stream-bed goes or the home place from here because of the fold in the hills. Let’s ride along it and head on back toward the bunkhouse.”

  “I can see why you would like to get something going here, all this land looks like it could be a picture on one of those big calendars. It makes a man feel like he is in a special place somehow.”

  “You are preaching to the choir, Al.”

  “That depression over there that the old bed runs into must have been a pond at one time. There are several more downstream. What I would like to do is dig out those places, make them something like twenty feet or maybe thirty feet deep, and then divert the river into them. Then stock them with fish and have an ongoing renewable food source. We can also create a stock pond for cattle and horses at several places. Not only that, if we divert the river we will have irrigation water much closer to the fields. There are a couple of places where a hydroelectric plant might be placed. As it stands now the river is much further away and it is ten feet below the level of the surrounding land. That means we have to pump the water up out of it and then pump it at least one and a half miles to where we need it. If we change the flow of the river along our property line back to the original stream bed, we will have 20’ of fall before it gets down to the level of our current property. We will be able to use some simple gate dams so that the fields can be irrigated by gravity.”

  “I can see you have given this a lot of thought, Madd. Was this included in the plans you mentioned having?”

  “Yes, it is just one of many sets of plans we have on hand. There are other things I have in mind for up here.”

  “I am no rancher or farmer Madd, but I can see the value in everything you have mentioned so far. I remember when we were back at that lodge when I first met the family the guys all said you wanted to build something like that back home, this is obviously the place you had in mind.”

  “You got it, Al. That is exactly what I would like to do. Not that whole hotel of course, just the style and the openness of the place. Huge logs, giant fireplaces, apartments for the family. For practical reasons the exterior walls won’t actually be log. Probably concrete stained and formed to appear as if they are logs. Something along the lines of a great northern lodge. That would allow us the room to have big family gatherings and sit down dinners for a couple hundred plus of the folks. Give us someplace to play and be entertained through the long cold winter months.”

  “Madd, I just had another reality check. You really believe that things are going to go so crazy that your family will have to live up here. You aren’t preparing for what might come, you believe it is inevitable, that it will come. You want to create a safe haven for the family, not if, but when things go to hell.”

  “As safe as I can. Where we are now, close to town, is not defensible. It’s too close to the main roads and too many people know about the farms. Even good people will start to do what they must when their families start to starve. We have gone over that part a bunch Al, so no point in going into it all over again. There are things we can’t prepare for but I intend to prepare for everything I can.”

  “Alright Madd, I am with you 100%. Just let me know what I can do to help and I am there!”

  “Thanks, I hope you don’t live to regret joining up.”

  “Never happen my friend, never happen. When you said bunkhouse I imagined something a little more primitive, this is really nice inside.”

  “That would be the girls’ doing. They remodeled and spiffed up the place. Made it more like a home inside. Before they got their hands on it, it was pretty bad. Not only had it housed crustier kinds of guys, it hadn’t been used in fifty years or so. The girls insisted they have someplace nice to stay when working on the cemetery and orchards.

  “Much as I hate to say it Al, we need to get going. I know this has been a whirlwind tour, but time is short for both of us. I wanted to share this place with you, so that you could get some insight into what makes us tic. What drives me and the other guys to prepare, how we want to go about it. I figured it was only fair if you are willing to join us in our mania that you see what drives us.

  “The horses have had a couple hours’ rest, been watered and had a chance to graze some. We should be able to get more than halfway to where we are meeting Ted with the truck and horse trailer. There is a nice
place to camp for the night, then we are up and going like we did this morning and we will be back home in another six hours or so after we break camp.”

  Chapter 6

  Current main family ranch/farm, outside Madd’s house. 3pm.

  “Al, I am going to have to leave you to your own devices, but I’m sure Rose will find something for you guys to do.”

  They had barely stepped away from the truck when Al saw a blond streak coming across the yard and launch itself at Madd. He thought for sure they would both go down, but she might as well launch herself into a brick wall. Madd was the immovable object.

  “There you are, you big hunk of burning love!” cried Itsy. With her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist she planted a big kiss right on him.

  “Hi sweetness, miss me?”

  “You know it stud, now come on in the house and let me feed you.”

  “OK Itsy, but I’ll need to get cleaned up and go see Uncle Roy as soon as we finish eating.”

  Al felt arms slide around his neck and a warm breath whisper into his ear, “Come on lover, let me feed you as well.”

  “Wow Rose, should you be doing that out here?” Laughing, Rose just pulled him into the house and gave him a push toward the bathroom.

  “I’m no giggling teenager buddy, I am a woman grown, and I’ve buried one good man. Who I choose to hug and drag into my house are my business and no one else’s. Get cleaned up and we can eat and talk.”

  “Rose, you make the simplest things sound all sexy!”

  “Get going buddy, before I forget myself and do something neither of us is ready for.”

  Al got going with a big Cheshire cat grin on his face.

  After getting cleaned up Al felt he should get more of a handle on things between them.

  “Seriously Rose, we are sitting here all alone; aren’t people going to talk?”

  “First, the other girls are in the house, just not right here. You may have taken things wrong somewhere along the way. I know that Madd and the cousins probably told you not to take liberties. They were right, but I am 28 and not a virgin. Now, that lets me do a lot of things that the younger girls can’t. As long as we both consent, what we do is our business. Besides, no one is worried you will take advantage of me. They figure if you get out of line I’ll gut you like a fish and drag your carcass out to be picked up with the rest of the trash.”

  “Wow, you sure know how to make a guy feel all warm and fuzzy.”

  “Al, the only thing that keeps me from jumping your bones is that we haven’t known each other long enough. I like you a lot, but you are a mysterious guy with a mysterious past. That’s fine, but that also means I need to get to know the man inside. I not only have to think of myself, but how a relationship with you will affect the family. Keep in mind I am no less dedicated to the family than the Riders are.”

  “Rose, I’m not interested in a quickie, I really want to know you. You are the woman I never expected to meet. As far as mysteries go, you are pretty mysterious yourself. All your ideals, and the way you look at life are so different than anything I ever knew existed. I’ll admit it. I am hooked on you!”

  “I like that Al, just come back when you can and let’s see where things go from there, OK?”

  “That is something I really want to do. I’ll be here when I can, never doubt that.”

  Uncle Roy’s house. 4:27pm.

  “Come on in sweetie, Roy is expecting you; he is in his study.”

  “Thanks, Miss Eli.”

  Madd was ushered into what Miss Eli called the study, although the room was used for council meetings as well.

  “Sit down, Madd. I wanted to talk to you about the council. I think it’s time we made the moves you and I have been talking about for a couple of years.”

  “Get me onto the council?”

  Life could be odd. Since he had been home he had been trying to come up with a way to ease into this very subject. Now Roy was the one to broach the subject. Strange.

  “I don’t see any other way, Madd. We are one seat short and I want you to take that seat. I’m afraid Jack may be a problem, though. With enough votes we can get you seated or even add additional seats if there were a reason. All it takes is enough votes. Jack’s opposition to change is getting worse. It’s time to dilute his power. Unfortunately you are the only one I have a chance to add at this point. I know you still have time left on your contract, but you can consult from overseas. With satellite phones and Skype we can arrange times when you will be available for conferences. It has been the plan to have you join at some point after you returned; we will just move it up some.

  “Many of the council member are close friends and I grew up with the older ones. They are my friends. Some of the ones even older than I am are stuck in the past as far as their thinking goes. Especially Jack. I’m not an idiot, I realize that even I’m not progressive enough for you, but Jack is impossibly stuck in the past.”

  “I’m game, Uncle Roy. It may have been our plan to get me on the council, but I doubt most of the others have had that same plan. Something you should consider. I’m going to rock the boat by advocating serious change as soon as I can. The council will soon regret letting me in. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but the time for nicety-nice is over.”

  “Understood, but I think we need to start making some preliminary moves. I don’t like what I see in the news and what is happening around the world. Plus Jack is pushing for us to use what monies we have for some useless projects. We need fresh thinking on the council and you will give us that. These men are my friends, people I have known all my life, but it’s time for some changes. There are three or four that are holding us back from really getting into gear for what may be coming.”

  “Yes sir, I have seen it over and over in the decisions of the last few years. They hold back progress in several ways. I have an idea I want to present to you, Uncle Roy. If we can shoehorn me into the council I want us to call for a vote. We need another council member to be chosen to help dilute the voting power of Jack and his allies.”

  “Who did you have in mind?”

  “Ivan. He is seen as mature and level-headed by most of the members and should be acceptable to most everyone. He has always been considered a candidate. Not this soon of course, but they can hardly object to someone they have been grooming for a seat all these years. Ivan has been playing his cards close to the vest, and Jack believes he can influence him.”

  “That might work Madd, we just need the votes and I’m not sure we have them. It won’t hurt to try of course. With Ivan on the council we won’t have to get a quorum to buy toilet paper.”

  “Then we have a plan?”

  “I think so, Madd. There is a council meeting this evening at 7pm. I will try and get us the votes we need to get you on the council tonight. Come and sit in the kitchen; I’ll send for you if we can get you voted on.

  “Yes sir, I’ll be ready.”

  Roy had always been someone he looked up to. He held the man in great esteem, but his limitations were an issue. Madd really hoped that he would be judged lightly for what he was about to do. It really bothered him, but if things went the way he wanted, Uncle Roy was about to be blindsided.

  “One more thing Uncle Roy, and this is personal. I am going to officially announce that I am taking Itsy into my personal family.”

  “Madd, I know you two are in love, but some of the family might feel at sixteen she is still too young.”

  “Uncle Roy, I love and respect you as a mentor and head of the family, but this will happen. We will continue to conduct ourselves correctly and abstain from questionable activities. There is always the chance that I will be killed when I go back. I would prefer to wait but Itsy wants the comfort of having been legitimately chosen by me for my family. I won’t deny her that.”

  With an intensity that Roy had almost never seen, Madd said, “I will not be denied.”

  “Alright, have it your way. For what it’s wo
rth, I think you are doing the right thing for her.”

  “Thank you Uncle Roy; I will see you at 7.” As Madd walked out, Roy felt the palms of his hands and they were damp; he was sweating. This was a different man than the one he knew from childhood. His intensity was scary.

  After tracking Ivan and the cousins down, they headed for the kitchen in Madd’s house.

  “First, something you guys should know, I told uncle Roy I was going to officially claim Itsy for my household.”

  “Congrats cousin,” “way to go Madd,” “finally, about time,” came from the four.

  “You should know he didn’t like it and gave me that line about her being too young and I would be offending some of the family.”

  Ivan said, “So it’s OK for you to go and die for your country or come back with missing limbs but you are too young to know your own mind?”

  “Apparently that’s about what it boils down to in the family’s opinion. Don’t mention this yet guys, I have to still tell Itsy. What about you four, where do you stand on your households?”

  “Well Madd we have the social gathering tomorrow, the guys and I were hoping you would make a move so the rest of us could claim our girls,” said Ivan. “We shouldn’t have any problems, our girls are all at least a year or more older than Itsy so there isn’t an age issue for us.”

  “What’s up guys, I can tell something is eating you.”

  “We would have talked to you about claiming our girls but you took off to the high country before we had a chance.”

  “You guys know that whatever you want to do is good with me and you have my full support. I am a little curious as to what I have to do with your claiming your girls, though.”

  “Actually, we were waiting on you,” said Real.

  “Me?”

  “Yes, we didn’t want to make you feel like you had to join us. How would it look if we all got into a relationship and left you behind? How bad would you feel?”

  “Guys, I couldn’t be happier for you, I think it’s great, you guys have known your girls as long as I have known Itsy. Why would I feel bad about it?”