Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  Bye for now.

  Sunday, January 19,

  Nix the laundry and the water situation plans.

  Mick sat straight up in bed last night and said "she didn't say anything about the restaurant."

  There's a restaurant at the big truck stop. The entrance is near the back of the convenience store and through a little hallway, past the bathrooms. There's a payphone and a couple of newspaper boxes along with an ancient Pac-man machine in the hallway.

  Diane didn't mention anything about the restaurant when she told Mick what had happened. We asked her about it this morning and she didn't even know it was there.

  We finished our breakfast in a hurry and Mick hooked up the flatbed trailer to Jason's Dodge. We took the Jeep, the S10, and the Dodge. We were going to loot that restaurant. The entire way there I prayed that the military convoy had missed it. I prayed hard.

  We saw the white delivery truck Jason had mentioned and decided to wait 'til we were on our way back to check it out.

  The front of the truck stop is a mess. There’s cars and trucks abandoned in the parking lot, and most of them have their windows busted. A couple of them have bullet holes through their shattered windshields. They're parked all willy-nilly, with no rhyme or reason.

  The inside of the convenience store, and the garage area on front of the building, is destroyed. There's no food left in the coolers or on the shelves.

  There's plenty of motor oil, windshield wiper fluid, air gauges, magazines, and stuff like that. Mick said "take all the motor oil," so we did. He said we also need to take all the tools from the garage, but we'd get them later. He wanted to get to the restaurant first.

  I saw a pretty little crystal dragonfly on one of those standing displays near the counter. I stood there, wondering how it made it through the destruction and chaos. I wanted to take it, but I didn't.

  We headed to the back of the store and crowded into the little hallway that leads to the restaurant. The doors were closed, and there was a big ol' chain wrapped through the door handles with a big ol' padlock holding it together. Mick turned, and the group parted like God parted the red sea, so he could go back to the truck and get the bolt cutters. We held our breath while he was gone (not really).

  Right as that big ol' padlock snapped we heard a crash from the front of the store. Mick whispered, telling us to get down on the floor and be quiet while he and Jason checked to see what was going on. Not even a full minute after they left, we heard Jason yell "IT'S A MOB!"

  "GET UP HERE AND SHOOT!" Mick hollered.

  I felt like my heart had jumped into my throat. I led the way for the rest of us as we ran, with pistols raised, straight to the front where Mick and Jason were aiming and firing as fast as they could into a big crowd of HDI's. Two HDI's had already made it into the store and were crashing through the aisles toward us. A third was almost over the windowsill behind the sales counter. Marisa and I aimed our Glock 17's and took those monsters out.

  We turned to the front and joined the shooting spree. It was Mick, Jason, Jeremy, Marisa, Hisa, and me. We took down a total of twenty-two HDI's and we didn't get a scratch on us. After we were sure that they were all dead for good, Hisa fainted.

  Maybe I was being insensitive, but I knew Hisa was gonna be fine. I told Mick to put her in the back-seat of the Jeep and get us into the restaurant, and to "hurry it up."

  As soon as we opened those big metal doors the smell hit us. Their last buffet was already growing mold, and it stank. We looked around and could plainly see that the place had gone undiscovered.

  We all shouted various "hoorahs," jumped up and down, and gave each other high fives. Marisa was doing that dance where you move your fists around in a circle while she sang "oh ye-ah, it's your birthday, gonna partay, gonna e -eat." I had to stop jumping, because of my back, but I was no less excited than the rest of 'em. I hoped that the kitchen and storage area wouldn't disappoint us.

  Jeremy, Jason, and Mick went out to the vehicles and drove them around to the back door entrance so we wouldn't have far to travel while loading.

  Mick had to cut another big ol' padlock from another big ol' chain on the back door before we could open it.

  The big sign that hangs above the back door entrance was laying upside down on the pavement. It used to read "Jack's Grill," now it reads "J k ri l."

  Mick said that Hisa was sitting up, holding her head in her hands, in the back-seat of the Jeep when they went to pull it around. He opened the door to make sure she was alright and she looked at him and said "owww what happen my head?" He told her "you passed out again." She said "owww sorry," and Mick told her to lay down while we loaded the booty..

  Mick sent Jeremy to the front of the station to stand watch and let us know if any danger approached. The rest of us headed to the kitchen and storage areas.

  It was a glorious sight. There was food, rotting in pans on the stoves and counter tops, but there were unopened, #10 sized cans stacked on the shelves.

  We got green beans, carrots, corn, peas, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, squash, pumpkin, beef stew, chili, sweet potatoes, nacho cheese, spinach, turnip greens, black olives, crushed pineapple,, canned ham, fruit cocktail, canned potatoes, apple halves, peaches, prunes (ick), pear halves, pesto, cherries in jars, olives in jars, and sun dried tomatoes in jars.

  We got a few smaller cans of tuna, chunk chicken, canned shrimp, and imitation crab meat. There were assorted packets of dry gravy mix, dry dip mix, and dry sauce mix. There were boxes of cake mixes, pie crust mixes, pizza crust mixes, muffin mixes, cake frosting, graham crackers, Jell-O, and several boxes of Ritz crackers.

  There was 200+ pounds of self-rising flour, 50 pounds of grits, an opened 25 pound bag of powdered sugar, 150 pounds of white sugar with one of the bags three-quarters full, 150 pounds of biscuit mix, 75 pounds of pancake mix, 75 pounds of white rice, 75 pounds of cornmeal, an opened 50 pound bag of cornbread dressing mix, and 100 pounds of regular cornbread mix.

  There was lemon juice, vinegar, salad dressing, mayo, ketchup, mustard, cooking oil, cooking spray, 50 pounds of potato's that have started sprouting from the eye's but-who-cares, and 30 pounds of onions that are also sprouting.

  We got all sorts of pasta, pasta sauces, gravies, honey, syrup, steak sauce, salt, pepper, and other seasonings. We got lard, lard, and more lard.

  Jason opened the freezer and the smell actually wasn't too bad, or we had already gotten used to it by that time. We got six-dozen eggs and close to 20 pounds of margarine. I know I've forgotten things, but I'm sure Caria will bring me a complete inventory sheet if she ever gets finished counting all this stuff. I'm just shaking my head, thinking about all the meat that was ruined in that freezer. No tellin' how much was in there.

  Jason asked Mick why the stuff in freezers had thawed out, 'cause we haven't had any warm weather. Mick said it's because we've only had a few days of below freezing temps, and the sun is heating up the buildings by shining on the roofs and siding, and coming in the windows. There was probably a lot of heat left inside when the power went out.

  We loaded the back of the jeep, the flatbed trailer, and the bed of the S10 with enough food to last at least two months. If we stretch it with the food I already have stored, we might get four months out of it. We're feeding a lot of mouths.

  Mick, Jason and Jeremy used yards of rope, and dozens of bungee cords, to tie everything down. They put two tarps over the flatbed, ran the ropes underneath the trailer to the other side, and tied them down tight so nothing would fall off.

  Jeremy had to shoot another HDI at the far end of the parking lot as we were leaving. We went past the wrecked delivery truck without stopping.

  The entire group is unloading the booty into the basement. I'm in here under the influence of a pain pill, typing on this computer, and putting an ice pack on my back. See ya later.

  2:00 PM...

  Nana made a huge pot of rice and we heated up a #10 can of beef stew to put over it for lunch. It was
delicious.

  Nana says that Diane has been stuck like glue to her all day. Diane says Nana is "prissy," and reminds her of her Grandmother. Nana just smiled and shooed us out of her way.

  Mick believes the HDI's are attracted to sound because they weren't at the truck stop until we started making noise. He and Jason think they came out of the tall grass covering a big field to the right.

  Pop made a greenhouse while we were gone. It's only 6x8' but it looks cool! He says we need at least two more just like it. Jeremy told him he would help build them later and asked if Pop would help him build one at Caleb's house. Pop says we have plenty of plastic, pipe, and concrete blocks, so, why not?

  Jeremy has almost all the bottom floor windows at Caleb’s house boarded up. Marisa says she's waiting for a cook stove before they move in. Jason told her she was just "making excuses," and they’re gonna move in before spring, cook stove or no cook stove.

  Mick, Jason, and Jeremy are headed back to the truck stop to pick up three 100 lb propane tanks that Mick saw behind the grill area. Oh, how I wish we could use some of our precious water to heat up and take showers in Pop's motorhome!

  They'll also grab any tools they think they need from the garage. They'll stop at the wrecked delivery truck on the way back. I'm a little nervous for them, but Mick says someone will be keeping watch the entire time.

  I told him we'll have to make another trip soon. We need to grab all the paper goods from the restaurant.

  Diane asked Mick if there was any way she could get her motorhome and park it near Caleb's house. He told her that he’d figure it out later, but he was sure we could make it happen.

  She's eighteen years old. We can't tell her not to live in her motorhome or where to park it, and we're not about to give her a five-gallon gas can and tell her to be on her way.

  I'm going out to do a load of laundry before supper. See ya!

  10:15 PM...

  Nana baked two loaves of homemade bread in the cook stove oven today. She mixed up a conglomeration of chunk chicken with mayo and re-hydrated dried apple slices. She also threw in some walnuts from the pantry.

  That chicken salad was yummy on her homemade bread. We had that for supper along with a bunch of half-moon shaped fried apple pies.

  Nana used dried apples that she'd cooked down to mush with enough brown sugar and cinnamon 'til it tasted "right." She put a couple spoonfuls in the center of a flattened piece of biscuit dough and folded the dough over, sealing the edges with a fork. She fried those little half-moon pies in lard and butter. They were dee-licious and I had memories from my childhood, when my great grandma used to make them, come rushing back. It made me feel warm and safe.

  Mick says the delivery truck was completely empty. I told him that the military guys probably got anything that was in there.

  He had an empty gas can and filled it by siphoning diesel fuel from the delivery truck's tank.

  Mick and the boys headed home with the propane canisters. They stopped at the pull-off for Diane's motorhome, and Jeremy drove it to Caleb's house. It's parked back in the trees and has one of the big propane canisters hooked up. Diane has her motorhome, and heat, and she's sleeping there tonight.

  Jeremy and Jason will head back to TSC tomorrow for more fencing and whatever else is left. I told them to check the bathrooms for toilet paper.

  Before we went to bed, Mick pulled something from his pocket and handed it to me. It was that little crystal dragonfly from the display case in the gas station. Lord, I love that man.

  I'm crawling in bed to snuggle up with Mick and go to sleep. Tomorrow, I'll need to do laundry. He wants to work on the water situation. We're down to half of what I had stored. We are now water desperadoes.

  Bye for now.

  Monday, January 20

  I'm a new grandma. Yep, one of the does gave birth to healthy triplets this morning.

  I heard a doe yelling as I was walking to the kitchen to make coffee. I've heard that kind of "yell" many times, so I grabbed my coat and headed to the barn. I grabbed my cigarettes and lighter on the way out. I have four packs of cigarettes left and I'm trying to make them last. I know, I know, don't preach.

  Jason already had the laboring doe in one of the kidding stalls. We watched her push for about ten minutes before the first little booger came sliding out. I grabbed a paper towel, wiped off its nose, cleared its mouth, and handed it back over to its mother. While she was cleaning it, I checked underneath and saw that it was a buckling.

  A few minutes later, she started pushing again. It gets a little crazy at this point because she's trying to push out another baby, and the first one is yelling 'cause he wants to get up and find the milk factory. The poor doe is caught between trying to get the next one here and comforting the one already on the ground. She finally gave it all she had and another little booger shot out. The third kid came out right behind the second. They are both doelings. Yay!

  Doe, and kids, are all doing fine. They're up on their feet and had their breakfast before I had mine. The human kids are begging to go out and hold them, but I told them they’d have to wait a few hours because the doe needs a little recovery and bonding time with her new babies. We'll raise the buckling for meat. We've never used any of our goats for meat, but times have changed.

  Diane loves the new babies. She had plans to start college next fall, to study veterinary medicine. She wants to care for the babies and do the milking. I'm not gonna argue about that, and I'll bet Jason won't argue either. I immediately told her that the buckling's name is "BBQ," but she could name the doelings whatever she wants to name them..

  She helped me clip the navel cords and dip them in iodine. Jason buried the placenta out in the woods (so predators don't come around) and cleaned the stall. He went back to chopping wood while I put down fresh bedding and made sure momma goat had clean water and an extra cup of food in her dish.

  Diane's out there now, watching the new babies. I'm in here to make breakfast before I start on laundry.

  We'll have fresh goat milk starting next week. Yahoo!

  2:00 PM...

  We think the water situation is resolved, for the moment.

  This morning, while baby goats were being born, Mick and Pop used several bags of quick Crete to pour a "dam" around a 6" PVC pipe.

  Remember that little stream in the woods? The one that runs right down the hill with our property line? Mick and Pop dammed up the stream with mud and sand about twenty feet above the spot where they want the permanent dam.

  Caleb and Michael were responsible for dipping out water at the temporary dam before it went over the top. They poured it into five-gallon buckets. Nana made sugar cookies for them to snack on while they were dipping water. They were relieved by Carisa and Merry about an hour after their "shift" began. When they came in the door, they were soaked to the skin.

  Mick and Pop cleaned the area for the permanent dam and placed a "form" they'd hammered together out of wood scraps. The 6" PVC pipe fits into the bottom of the form and comes out the other side. They mixed the quick-Crete and poured it in. Mick says he wants to wait 'til tomorrow to remove the form.

  They glued, and clamped, three more 6" PVC pipes to the pipe in the form and then, set up the above-ground pool in a two-foot deep hole they've been digging every spare moment they've had for the past few days. The pool is downhill from the permanent dam. Jeremy's been carrying the five-gallon buckets that get filled at the temporary dam and dumping them into the pool. So, there’s forty feet of pipe from the permanent dam to the pool. There’s concrete blocks every six feet, and the pipe is lying across them so it doesn't sag.

  They tied together all the screens we got from Mr. Peterson's house for the "lid." The end of the PVC pipe will lie directly on top of the screen and any water coming through will be screened before it drops into the pool.

  The screens will keep leaves, branches, twigs, frogs, bugs and children out of the pool. I was worried about birds pooping on the screens and algae growi
ng in the pool. Mick said he'll cover the whole thing with a tarp except the little area where the pipe sits, and add a little bleach to the pool to keep the algae down.

  Any dirt or debris that makes it through the screen will fall to the bottom of the pool before we dip water off the top. We'll run the water through our super-wham-a-dine Big Berky water filter that I bought on sale last year. The water will be placed in our empty blue barrels and treated with bleach. We'll continue using the water like we've been doing. Nana said she plans to boil any water she uses for cooking or drinking, and I'll do the same.

  I pray this works. There isn’t a huge amount of water flowing down that stream, except when it rains, but a small amount is better than no amount, right? The guys have plans to clear and widen the stream, if they need to, all the way to the top where it comes out of the hillside about 100 feet above our property line.

  Hisa plans to go up for dipping duty and relieve Jeremy so he and Jason can go to TSC. I wish everyone could be in the house for supper, but we need at least two people on dipping duty, so we'll be taking turns. Maybe, after dark, Mick and I will let the dipping run amuck while we do something more fun, ha ha.

  We have a couple of canned hams simmering in their own juices and crushed pineapple. They're precooked, but we'll simmer them 'til they're falling apart and have them with something or other for supper.

  11:50 PM...

  We all got a little crazy for a while.

  Jeremy and Jason came back within two hours and had a good bit of fencing on the flatbed. They'll unload it tomorrow. There wasn't any propane tanks locked up in the back, but they did bring home two industrial half-rolls of toilet paper that they took from the bathrooms.

  Nana said we could eat anytime. We were all hungry from smelling the ham all day. Supper was gonna be early.

  It was almost 4:30 and I was getting ready to eat when I heard another doe yelling. I told Nana to throw my food on a paper plate 'cause I was headed back to the barn. She threw a couple of biscuits with ham and a few green beans on a plate. I pulled on my coat, grabbed a solar lantern, and went out the door, eatin' green beans with my fingers. We had a dipping crew, supper, and a goat obstetric crew all going at the same time.