2nd Earth 2: Emplacement

by Edward Vought

We know we cannot expect to get great crops every year, that’s why we plant almost double what we think we will need, so that even if we have a mediocre season, we will still be able to get by. Plus when we do have an excess we preserve it to be used when needed. I love spring time because everything seems to come alive after the long cold winter. Putting in the crops keeps most of us pretty busy, either actually plowing and planting or keeping the equipment running. Once it is in the ground, it has to be cultivated and taken care of, but we are not quite as busy as with the planting. This year we found two projects to keep us busy after the crops are all in, at least for now. We stagger some of the planting to keep everything from being ripe at the same time.

  The children have some books that show children playing on swing sets and using slides and other wonderful toys in the yard to amuse them. Our children asked me why they don’t have those same kinds of toys in our yard. I really didn’t have a good answer, other than I have never really thought about it. Since that’s not an acceptable answer, we went looking for swing sets, and all the other great things children love to play on. We find exactly what we are looking for in one of the small public parks in town. Between there and the schools in town, we find enough heavy duty swing sets and slides for each group to have some. We even find some monkey bars, and other things for them to climb on and around.

  When James and Jenna heard what we are doing, they drew up the plans for some really great areas that the children can climb on and in, like a clubhouse that we can build with wood. Each group has a team of people that are setting these areas up for the children. I don’t know who is more excited, the adults setting them up or the children. We are building platforms that they can climb up to, rope bridges and monkey bars connecting two or more of the platforms and little clubhouses. Even the not so young children, say they would love something like this to use to get in shape. Teddy is voted to be their spokesman, when he comes to me to ask if it would be possible to build an obstacle course, like Uncle Tim told them about. I am very diplomatic; I tell him I’m sure Uncle Tim can build them a beautiful obstacle course.

  Actually I have missed running the obstacle courses we used to do regularly in our training. Between all of us with military experience, we come up with what we feel will be a very challenging course, but that will be a lot of fun as well. As soon as we finish with the playgrounds, we will start on the obstacle course. You would think we have enough to do, but with so many willing workers just about every project is fun. The playgrounds take a little longer than we anticipated, because the mothers want swings and teeter totters big enough for them to use, while they watch the children. We are now into April, and both Robin and Dayna are getting quite large in their pregnancies. According to Doctor Betty they are due about a week apart, around the middle of May. Little Timmy is two now, and is getting to be quite a handful. He is taking after his sisters Tammy and Tina, the twins; in fact he may actually be as much of a handful as the both of them were.

  He thinks he is invincible when he is playing outside with his sisters and cousin, Jon, who is about a month younger. It’s a good thing that Zeus and Missy, our dogs are as diligent as they are, because those two will try to go wherever they see somebody they know. We fenced in the playground in all the groups, to make sure the little ones can’t go very far. I for one never realized how difficult it can be to watch little ones, like our sons, until I was watching them outside one day. Unless I was right beside them when they decided to take off and go somewhere, I had all I could do to catch them quickly. Between the fence, the dogs and us parents and older brothers and sisters, at least we can keep them in the playground. We have some small objects to keep them busy, and some sand boxes for them to play in. This parenting stuff isn’t as easy as I thought it was.

  We can finally start the obstacle courses, and the older young people are very happy to help. As I said, those of us with military backgrounds have designed what we feel are some real challenges yet fun for anyone doing the course. We decided to use the natural lay of the land in the woods between the groups in our area, and to build a second course in the woods near the church. Both woods are different in the way we set them up. The woods near our group do not have much water in them, but we are able to put a couple of rope bridges across the stream, and a place where you have to jump out and catch a rope, to swing over the stream. It’s not as easy as it sounds, because the bank on the opposite side is steep, and you have to be careful not to come up short or you will fall back into the water.

  We tried to make the obstacles tricky, but not necessarily difficult. We built a wall that you have to get over. There is a series of logs that you have to run the length of. There is about thirty feet of logs that are about two feet off the ground, if they get slippery from someone falling off the rope bridge, they can be a challenge. I think the most challenging obstacle, is the one where we have logs high and low in two layers starting at just above ground level, and going up to a height just about six feet up. You have to go over one log and under the next weaving through the entire obstacle that way. If you fall you have to go back and start that obstacle over. I think the young people like the climbing towers the best. We have at least two on each course that you have to climb up one side then go down the other side, using a rope to get down. At the end of the course there is another swing across a small ravine, when they get over that, there is a rope climb of twenty feet. At the top we put a bell, so that if you can make it to the top, you get to ring the bell telling everyone you made it.

  The young people helped build every obstacle on both courses, and had excellent suggestions on how to make it better, and even more challenging. Many of the young people keep track of their times and are constantly trying to better them. The young men are not the only ones who enjoy the obstacles, just about all of the young ladies fifteen and up enjoy running them as well. We have decided to build another obstacle course, for the younger people who are not quite up to the more challenging courses yet. They are helping us design and build it as well. Please don’t tell the young men about this, but when we, meaning those of us with military experience, ran the course for the first time, we didn’t do as well as some of the young men did. Teddy, Don, Dan, Chip, and Marty all beat our times by a minute or more. Some of the other young men like Josh, Isaac, Jake, Adam, Ben, and Hank beat their times convincingly.

  At least we can laugh about it, the worst part is that Jenna, Morgan, and Sara beat our times as well. Melissa and Becky finished just a little slower than we did. Now Dayna and Robin can’t wait to have the babies to see if they can beat my time. We think this is a good thing, because it shows us how much we need to stay in shape, even if we are very busy making a living. We have a pretty well equipped gym or workout room, set up in the barn where the dormitory is, so we have been using that since our rude awakening. We have also started running in the evenings at least three or four days a week. We always have plenty of company when we run. It looks more like a parade than a bunch of old guys trying to get back into shape.

  The weeks go by so fast when we are as busy as we are. I don’t think any of us have ever worked any harder than we are now, but we all enjoy what we are doing so much, it doesn’t seem like work. Dayna has another baby boy. He comes into the world complaining about pretty much everything in general. We name him Thomas, after Dayna’s father, he weighs in at a solid eight pounds, twelve ounces and is twenty-two inches long. Not to be outdone, Robin has a boy that is no less loud in voicing his opinion, and weighs almost a full pound more than Little Tom. We seem to be on the Grampa kick, because Robin asks me if I mind naming him after her father, whose name was Allen. Our daughters were all hoping for a little sister, but since the last eight babies born in the community have been girls we really need some of the opposite sex, just to survive.

  Mike and Morgan are causing trouble again. Not really, but they did come home today with a suggestion that was more in the form of a request. It seems they were out checking the countryside for
farms that we may be able to use, when they came across an old golf course. Naturally it is totally overgrown, but they think that with a little, actually a lot of work, it could be playable. I have never played golf, so to me it would not be worth spending the effort to get the course playable again. I much prefer to sit on the couch with my two new little men, and relax after working in the fields all day. That is if I could get them away from the girls, who never seem to get tired of taking care of their little brothers.

  Naturally Jenna and James want to go and see what will be required, and now it seems like everyone, but me, thinks it would be a great idea. They all say we don’t have enough ways to relax, and golf would be a very good way to. The course in question is closer to Doc McEvoys group, and since he played golf before the war, he is interested now. First thing in the morning we take a walk over to see the golf course. It is not as big as some courses, but looks like it is definitely salvageable. It will probably never be as nice as it was before the war, but we could definitely make it playable. We find a large building that appears to have all the equipment they used to mow the grass on the course, and pretty much everything we will need to get the course back in playing shape. When the children hear about the golf course, they ask if they can play golf. Of course they have no idea how to play it, but they are excited to try anything that looks like fun.

  The women didn’t want the others to know that they have no idea what golf is, so they wait until we get home to ask me. I am explaining it to them when Teddy and Kathy come into the kitchen where we are sitting, and show them some books they have that show people golfing. They are still pictures, so I explain that you hit a small ball with a club designed to hit the ball a certain distance. The younger children hear the word ball, and come running into the kitchen to show us a couple of golf balls they found today at the course. They are excited that they have the right kind of balls to play golf. Dayna still looks confused, so I ask her if anything is troubling her. She asks me if there is such a thing as miniature golf. I tell her that there definitely is, I have even played miniature golf. I ask her where she heard of that.

  She says that there is a place in town that has a big sign that says “Miniature Golf”. I don’t recall ever seeing that sign, but I have no doubts that it is there. I explain the difference between regular golf and miniature golf, and everyone at least in our family, agrees that it would be fun to try it. We decide that we will check it out in the morning. We get up and do our chores as usual then I tell Tim, Ken, and Gary what we have planned. Tim says that Charity, who had another baby boy a week after Dayna did, heck I never even noticed that she was pregnant, remembers seeing the same sign Dayna did. They named the baby after Tim’s dad, his name is Kevin. To get back to the conversation with Tim, I tell him that I am concerned because I am always hearing about things and places in town that I have never even noticed. As a SEAL, we depended on powers of observation, and our memories to keep us alive. I am afraid that I am beginning to get careless, and not observing as I should be.

  Tim tells me that I’m absolutely right, I’m getting careless, and I am not noticing everything that I should. I was hoping for a little less blunt answer, but if you can’t take criticism don’t ask for it. I start to tell him that I will be more careful when he, Ken, and Gary start laughing. Tim slaps me on the back and tells me he is only kidding. They all tell me that the miniature golf course is on the edge of town, in an area that we have only been to once, when we first came to this area. Our wives know about it because they were driving when the youth were emptying the homes in that area of food and canning supplies. When we went through we were looking for guns and food, not entertainment.

  When he mentions that, I do seem to recall seeing something like that, and thinking that sometime down the road it might be fun to play that game again. I mention that and they all laugh and tell me that I’m pathetic.

  “You can’t even admit that you are getting senile Zeus. You may not be much older than we are, but all that sex takes a toll. When we came here just a couple years ago you didn’t have any children. Now you have how many, ten or is that twelve? You better slow down Jon boy; we need a healthy Zeus to keep the bad guys away.”

  Dayna is coming toward us and hears what Tim is saying. She smacks Tim and tells him and Ken that if they keep it up, she is going to tell her sisters that they are trying to ruin her sex life. Charity and Carrie are walking toward us and tell her she doesn’t have to tell them, they heard every word, and they better not hear it again, or they will not have to worry about aging prematurely. Ken and Tim act properly chastised, and we can all laugh about it. I know I say it a lot, but it really is great to have good friends and family to joke around with. Dayna asks me if I am ready to take her and the children into town to see the miniature golf place. Charity, Cassie, and Carrie all want to go along, and if they are going, so are their husbands. Hope and Lindsay have become our best babysitters, as well as very helpful working around the farm. Dayna already asked them if they would watch the babies while we go into town, so Charity, Cassie, and Carrie leave the children under five with them at our house.

  When we get to town, Teddy and Nickie know exactly where the miniature golf course is. They explain that they saw it when they were cleaning out houses, and although they had no idea how to play it, they thought it would be a great place to go for a date, under other circumstances. The course is in pretty good shape, considering how long it has gone without maintenance. All the supplies you need to play are right here, so we pass out putters and balls to everyone, and show them how the game is played. The boards where the ball rolls are raised up in places, so the ball doesn’t roll like it would if it was smooth, but everyone thinks it’s great anyway. We men let the wives and children continue playing, while we discuss the best way to go about this. We all agree that this would definitely give the young people, and those of us who are not so young, a way to relax and enjoy ourselves.

  Since the course is not in bad shape, we decide that we will try to move the entire course to the farm and set it up there. We are discussing where we can put it, when Dayna and Charity come over and tell us they think it will go perfectly between two of our barns, in an area that is only used for walking anyway. Plus those barns are only used for equipment and not for animals. We know exactly where they are talking about, and agree that this should fit into that spot nicely. It is difficult to pull the young people away before they finish their game, but we really have to get back and outline this project to the committee, then get started moving everything. The young people and the wives say that we can start right now by taking all the balls and putters, along with the boxes of scorecards home with us.

  The children can’t wait until we can get the course set up. Some of the adults feel the same way about the full size course as well. When we present the idea to the committee, the vote is unanimous to proceed. There was one suggestion that we put the course more centrally located for all the groups, but we all agreed that it should be in a group since the children will be playing. We don’t want them wandering perhaps into the woods, or trying to find other groups. We will probably wind up with more than one course eventually so that each group can perhaps share with one or two others. The transfer of the course from its current location to the farm goes much smoother, and with a lot less problems than I would have guessed.

  Each hole is put together in sections, so all we have to do is separate the sections and load them on the flatbed. Some of the wood frames crack, and a few even break, while loading or unloading, but we have plenty of good lumber to repair anything that needs it, and all the help we could want. We even find some carpet or floor covering that matches the covering that is supposed to be grass. We bring several rolls of that back with us on one of the trips as well. It takes us two weeks to get the entire course moved and set up ready to use. Of course we have had a group repairing and making each hole usable, as we bring them over, so every day the young people get to play the holes that are read
y. This has been one of the most popular projects that we have ever done.

  We have had help from the other groups, who also enjoy coming over and playing on the course as well. Even though there is almost always a line waiting to play, there have been no arguments so far. Now that this course is complete, except for some minor things, we want to change; the other groups are looking for courses that can be set up in their areas. We will be happy to help them, some of us men and women have expressed an interest to design and build some holes that are more challenging than the course we have. We feel that it can only help the children if they have to figure multiple angles, to get the ball close to the hole while playing. Most of the current holes require one or possibly two bank shots to get the ball into the hole.

  When we mentioned making bank shots it reminded some of us that we used to enjoy playing pool. I know it appears that we are only thinking about entertainment, instead of our safety and our survival. Actually, that’s all we have thought about for the past couple of years, and now that the threat of invasion is at least much lower than it used to be, and our crops are growing, we feel that some entertainment is not a bad thing. Plus the miniature golf and other things we are thinking about doing, gives us something to do as families, and keeps the young people occupied in a good way. Our young people do have bicycles, and the younger ones have all kinds of toys, but the miniature golf is something we can do as a family.

  When Bob, Trevor, and Blake return with their wives from searching for other people to join our community, they have ten new people, who are more than happy to be out of the cities. When they see the miniature golf course they just laugh, and say that they enjoy going away and coming back, because they are never quite sure what they will find when they return. They, along with the new people, get to try their hand at the game. I have to warn them not to bet against any of our young people, male or female, because they will more than likely lose. Many of us parents have already learned the hard way.