Arks of America

by D A Carey

  Vince was a secret optimist masquerading as a cynic. At times like this, the cynical side won out. He wasn’t sure what this whole thing taught them other than civilization was more fragile than most people wanted to admit. They had sadly proven that many citizens were eager for an opportunity to feed the more abhorrent side of their natures.

  It was the mayor’s announcement that prompted Luke to stop by that day to tell Vince there was meeting with the neighbors to discuss next steps after taking down the barriers. The neighborhood had been upset with Vince and his drastic actions, thinking he’d overreacted. The homes in this choice location near the river a few miles east of Louisville were a target for the hoodlums. Vince’s plan had worked despite some vehement opposition. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, and most of the nearly two hundred homes between the blockades had finally been protected.

  He finished the Taquitos and went back out on the porch to have a beer and listening to talk radio, the dogs relaxing at his feet. One of his favorite programs was Larry Elder, who on today’s show shared a quote by Robert M. Hutchins that reminded Vince of some thoughts that went through his mind when meeting with the neighbors at the firehouse: “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” Hopefully the events of the last few weeks would snap his neighbors out of their indifference.

  People were happy to pretend everything was over and would be fine. They were tired of walking a mile or two to their cars outside the barrier when they needed to go somewhere, tired of travelling in convoys for safety.

  Through the period of unrest, some workplaces remained open. While some hired private security, others were considered essential enough to the city that National Guard forces were deployed to protect them. More workplaces had telecommuting contingency plans and technology in place so they could keep getting things done by working remotely, although on a degraded level. Many places just shut down, and people lost pay. Vince found it unreal that the mayor and governor could just issue an announcement that all was okay and everyone would go back to work as if nothing had happened.

  One family with a dead husband, a son beaten and traumatized, and a fatherless little girl would always carry the physical and emotional scars from the men who brutalized her and her mom. Their lives would never be the same again. That was nearly two weeks ago and had been the catalyst that drove Vince to create the blockades. How many hundreds of stories like that were repeated around the nation that would permanently scar the country?

  The violence finally died down to manageable levels, and order was being reestablished. The governor announced he would dismiss the National Guard tomorrow, and the Army units had already been sent back to Fort Knox. The police came to investigate the shooting from two weeks ago, and the funeral home collected the man’s body. It was a gruesome reality that his body had been stored in the basement where it was cooler for so many days until the funeral home could make arrangements for transport. When the group originally took the woman and her daughter to the hospital, they hadn’t known what else to do with the body of the father. The funeral home wasn’t operating during the martial law period, so the body waited, alone in the man’s own basement.

  << Dave >>

  Dave met with a group of investors outside of San Antonio. The meeting took place at a luxury resort in the Hill Country area that boasted a great golf course, lazy river, and other amenities.

  Something about this group didn’t sit well with Dave. He chalked it up to general unease and that people were different all over. Dave was a great judge of people yet sometimes worried he was too picky. There were about forty investors at the Texas location. He was assured that more would follow. In theory, these were Dave’s type of people. This was the breadbasket of where he should get his funding.

  The Texas site was pre-chosen and paid for by his company months before in anticipation of the need. If a community never moved from the planning stage to reality, the property alone would have escalated in value and turned a profit. This group had more than enough seed capital to get the ball rolling in a big way and were anxious to begin on the charter phase. That wasn’t unusual, because the plan was for each community to use their freedom to customize their charter within reason to attract people with similar interests who could live and work together comfortably, the hope being it would make the community pull together better if they shared common interests or goals.

  During the course of the presentation, Dave reminded them several times that they would be members and investors and could draft their own charter within the rules and template of the corporation. He believed it was important to remind them that the overall company still held controlling interest in each community. The corporation could and would use that controlling interest to void any rules in the charter that were unethical or biased in any way. Dave made eye contact with a few of the leaders of the group to emphasize this part of the plan. He didn’t want to come across as the heavy, yet it was important they understood the rules from the beginning.

  He made arrangements to take some of this group to the Kentucky location for a walkthrough later in the year. The Kentucky location was shaping up to be a showcase location. The town, marina, orchards, and restaurant turned out great. The entire location, with its community buildings and homes, were rounding into form and would show well. That location had the unintended bonus of creating a support community around it as well. It had been well received by local businesses and farmers, providing them with a direct source for crops, animals, and other necessities.

  He didn’t want to show anyone the South Park Colorado location anymore. That was his home, and while he did like some of the people, he wasn’t quite ready to invite them there yet. Additionally, there was the matter of operational security. While these people were well on their way to being major shareholders in the company and knew conceptually there was a charter town in the Colorado mountains, they didn’t have the “need to know” more than that.

  Dave promised to make arrangements to send a small security team to Texas to protect this location and the equipment sent here for the groundbreaking. Many of the security folks training in Colorado were being deployed around the country to different locations before training was complete. Getting replacements was a slow process, leaving the South Park location thin. The risk was necessary because some of the critical businesses and communities in the middle of construction were not prepared to protect themselves. It was a calculated risk that the South Park location could be protected with a smaller force.

  << Liz >>

  Liz was surprised to receive a call from Dave Cavanaugh. She appreciated having him to talk to about the situation in Chicago. She’d been able to get very few calls through despite repeated efforts to contact her agent, her family, or the studio. She had grown to trust Dave in a short period of time and confided in him like a favorite uncle that had her best interests at heart. She was comforted when he promised to help get her out of the city if things got worse.

  After hanging up with Dave, Liz felt more hopeful. Even so, she still wanted to be safely ensconced at the mountain retreat in Colorado, recharging while the world got its sanity back. She worried about her family in Kentucky, even though her concerns were probably unfounded. They came from strong country people who knew how to take care of themselves and could go for weeks without needing much from the city. They would hardly notice the difference.

  Liz was aware Dave was building a companion site in Kentucky to the one she’d signed up for in Colorado. She supposed she should have invested at home. In her heart, she always believed that no matter how bad things got, someone would get it fixed in a few days. If she was going to spend some time on an extended vacation while society went through its tantrums for a few weeks, then what better location than a pristine Colorado mountaintop town?

  Liz shared those exact thoughts on the phone with Dave. At the time, she hadn’t noticed Dave did
n’t respond; he’d just moved on to the next topic and promised to have someone check on her family. He emphasized that as a member of the extended charter town family, she could always come to him. He cared about her, and they looked out for each other.

  Chaos

  “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”

  - Aldo Leopold

  << Vince >>

  Usually Vince texted Kate. He preferred hearing her voice but got more frequent contact with her when texting. When they did talk on the phone, the conversations soon devolved into awkward silences. He missed when she was younger and talking to her was so natural. Vince wanted her to know how terribly much he missed her yet didn’t want to drive her away with uncomfortable emotional pressure.

  With the riots going still going on strong in Chicago, Vince decided to call while he was at Carrollton. Kate was a strong-willed person with plans to become a lawyer. As strong and determined as she was, when Vince spoke to her, he detected that underneath she was worried and a little scared. Having self-doubt was not something Kate was used to. The reality of the riots and chaos was different and not something most people were prepared for.

  “Dad, I’m going stir crazy because Mom and Malcolm won’t let me go anywhere except next door.”

  “They’re trying to keep you safe, hon.”

  “My friends are posting some of the craziness around the city on social media sites. They’re seeing it firsthand and taking pictures.”

  This terrified Vince. It was ominous to hear that some of Kate’s friends hadn’t posted anything after going out to see the chaos in person. “Hon, you have no idea how dangerous that is,” Vince said, more sharply than he intended.

  “You might be right, but this is history. In twenty years I don’t want to say I stayed home when everyone I know saw history in person, like Tiananmen Square or the hippies at the National Mall,” Kate responded.

  “Kate…”

  “By the way, Malcolm ran off some looters that banged on our doors and windows.”

  None of this helped allay Vince’s fear for their safety. Still, he forced himself to remain calm and reassuring for Kate’s benefit.

  ***

  Driving curvy country roads was relaxing for Vince. He’d left the Carrollton location a few minutes ago and was trying to find a family farm owned by the Pendletons. He’d driven these roads many times and hunted this area and never would have guessed these folks were related to the famous actress. Uncle Dave asked him to talk to the family and assure them she was safe, and if it was necessary they would send a team in to bring her home.

  After finding the place and meeting them, they were as down to Earth as anyone else in the area. As a matter of fact, a couple of them seemed familiar. He might have known them from a casual conversation at a feed store or perhaps one of the music nights at the local winery called Smith-Berry.

  The matron of the family, Grandma Jean, told him they were worried sick about Liz up there in Chicago. Vince assured her that his uncle had talked to Liz and that she was safe in the penthouse at the Waldorf Astoria. They tried calling her again while he was there but couldn’t get through. The family was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to tell them if things got worse and she needed help.

  “Rest assured,” Vince said, “my uncle is working on a way to get her a SAT phone. As soon as he does, I’ll make sure to tell you. If your land line or cell phones aren’t working, I’ll come bring you a phone too.”

  Vince’s assurances gave them a level of comfort. What they couldn’t know was that it added a level of stress for Vince. It was another group of people he now felt responsible for. At heart, Vince was a protector. Although these people didn’t truly need it, it was in his nature to feel a sense of responsibility for people he liked and cared about. He supposed that was why he could be so standoffish to people at times, as an emotional self-defense. It wasn’t in him to not to try and help people he cared for or liked. The secret kryptonite for Vince was that he liked a lot of people who had no idea he did.

  The Pendletons expressed no real concerns for themselves other than that their beef cattle and corn crops were not moving to market. The markets in Louisville and Cincinnati were closed, and it wasn’t safe to take cattle or corn to the cities anyway.

  Knowing his uncle was gathering food, Vince offered to buy a good deal of what they had to fill some of the supply bunkers. Before he could take delivery, he needed to ensure the charter town had enough storage for the corn and refrigeration for the beef. He planned to double check that they could secure an option to get the beef butchered. Vince made a note to himself to reach out to some of the local deer processors, feeling sure they’d appreciate the work in barter or trade for their services and be glad to help.

  “I’ll check with Uncle Dave to see if he thinks it makes sense to buy more of the crops and beef for other locations. Shipping problems may slow things down.”

  The Pendletons thanked him profusely. Vince was happy that this had turned out to be a good visit all the way around. He’d found a good source of beef and corn close to the charter town. Additionally, he met some good salt of the earth people that he got along with well.

  As Vince left the Pendleton farm, he was able to get some text messages through to Kate. He was so glad at seeing her reply he pulled over to call her immediately, expressing his joy that she was safe. Kate sounded scared but was handling it well. Vince told her that he would be there for her the moment they were ready.

  “I promise you, hon, I’ll move Heaven and Earth to keep you safe, and your mom too.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary yet,” Kate said, sounding a lot like her mom. “You never know what tomorrow will bring, though.”

  << Dave >>

  Dave hung up the phone with a smile. He’d instructed Louis to work with Vince to make arrangements to buy the beef and corn from the Pendletons. Dave fully understood the value of supporting the American farmer and especially one close to home.

  His mind began to churn immediately when Vince first shared the Pendleton information. When things returned to normal, he was aware of some organic restaurant chains he could route the excess products to. If things stayed bad or got worse, he could redirect that food to his communities. In return, his people would provide protection for the Pendletons as much as possible. Dave always hoped some of the communities would have a more agrarian charter, thinking those would be much needed skills if things truly went bad.

  The American farmer wasn’t as venerated as in the past. That was a shame, considering how important their role was for the country and the world. The community in Texas was working on a charter that included a huge old fashioned Texas ranch around the community. As good as that was, Dave was convinced he needed more. The Texas cattle were longhorns; the Pendletons raised a variation of Black Angus. While longhorns were some of the hardiest brutes on the planet, many people, including Dave, preferred the taste of Angus. It made sense to invest in Angus cattle that would be in high demand for the organic restaurants. For the long term, Dave preferred not to have all his eggs in one basket. He was excited about the Texas community and fully supported what they wanted to do. On the other hand, he couldn’t help feeling some discomfort at the thought that he might be propping up a post-apocalypse Texas land baron. It was essential that the community have the right leadership. They needed to have a strong moral foundation and sense of justice.

  Dave instructed his personal assistant, Louis Clark, to request a small change to the charter town project. This change would create a division head whose responsibility would be to launch an organic foods distribution network as a subsidiary of the Chartertown Corporation. The organic foods division would be invested in and take its direction from board members on the Chartertown mutual fund investment arm of the venture. That division leader would be instructed to search out and foster other su
ch ventures within or around other charter town communities. Dave hoped this would incent more farming and produce to be grown around the charter towns. This process should turn a profit and encourage other communities to become food suppliers as a part of their charter. It would bring money back into their community and help make them more self-sustaining at a local level. Seeing the success and feedback might spur them to over-produce for other communities and incent more agrarian pursuits either as a community hobby or business.

  Dave had another motive for supporting this idea. He openly pushed for reduced fees for people with critical skill sets. Even so, he didn’t think most investors stopped to consider much about what that meant. The few people who did question that clause assumed it meant people like doctors, teachers, mechanics, and solar panel repair people would join. While that was all true, what they didn’t know was that Dave wanted crop workers and farmers, hunters, and carpenters to join as well. And he wanted those farmers and cattle workers to start out on a more even footing and not be viewed as charity cases.

  While Dave was talking to Louis, he also sent instructions to other leaders to get the word out that he would be offering bonuses for any construction workers that made it to work during the crisis. While he didn’t believe the current crisis was the one that wouldn’t end, you never knew.

  When he was done with those instructions, he changed gears to call Gus in French Lick. It was important he get a heads up that Vince and the team might need him. Dave arranged for Gus to get working on a few up-armored all-terrain vehicles for each of the communities with the understanding that Vince may need a couple of them sooner rather than later. “And Gus, don’t make ‘em so clean and pretty this time,” he remembered to add with a chuckle.