Grid Down Perceptions of Reality

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  Fred interrupted, “Okay ladies, let’s go look at your new house.” They said their goodbyes and rode down the paved road, taking a left onto a dirt road.

  When they arrived at the place, Jane and Amy couldn’t believe their eyes. It was a beautiful two-story log home with a green metal roof, and right on a nice looking trout stream. It was a dream house. They walked into the house and in the center was a massive old-style river stone fireplace, with a high efficiency stove built in. The rustic wooden furniture fit the cabin perfectly, and above the fireplace was a huge mounted elk head. The living area was open all of the way to the roof, and the other half had a log staircase going up to what they assumed were the bedrooms. There was a bedroom downstairs, just off the pantry and a door to a basement. There was a full bathroom and short hallway that led to the kitchen. It had a washer and dryer in the mudroom, and led to the back door and a three-car garage.

  Neither Jane nor Amy could believe their eyes. Amy asked, “How come somebody else hasn’t taken this place all ready? What is it, haunted or something?” she laughed.

  Fred chuckled, “No. No ghosts that I know of. Believe it or not, the remaining folks wanted to stay in their own homes, so it’s wide open and you’re more than welcome to move in. We have no idea what happened to the owners, but it’s been almost a year and nobody has showed up.”

  Jane and Amy were so excited and could hardly wait to tell the boys about this incredible find. The girls were sure that the guys would jump at this perfect place.

  Over dinner that night, they explained the events of the day and described the house so fast that the men couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They all agreed that it sounded perfect and they would check it out in the morning.

  There was no debate about moving and the next week was spent taking everything over to a new location. Joe had borrowed the horses and wagon to haul their belongings and supplies to the new house.

  Everybody was extremely happy with the new place. Jane was especially happy to find a stainless steel Berkey water filter system, with the charcoal filters, in the kitchen. That was a lucky break for them, because the ceramic ones tend to crack and split in the cold weather.

  The first thing Michael did was to explore every single room, including the garage and basement. He reported that the garage had a small workshop set up and the basement had the water pump and a heater plus cupboards and lots of storage.

  He asked if he could have an upstairs bedroom and they told him they would discuss it at dinner. It took three trips to get all of the supplies to the new house, Preston and Joe returned the horses and wagon.

  They all agreed to let Michael have a bedroom upstairs, discovering that there were three bedrooms. Joe and Jane would take the one with the master bathroom and Preston and Amy could have the downstairs bedroom and bathroom.

  Later that week, over at the junkyard, Bob had built his prototype of the gasifier, and had it up and running. It was working like a champ and when loaded up with small pieces of wood, it would run for about two hours. He had it hooked up to a generator and it was putting out power. He was almost as excited as the other men, knowing it meant more could be built and help provide power to other homes.

  Having the generator providing power, he was able to use the power tools he needed to start mass-producing more of these gasifiers, and hopefully enough for everybody.

  The following week, the wheat harvest began and the majority of the people were out in the fields with anything that would cut the stems. They had sickles, machetes, grass cutters, and even kitchen knives. One man had the job to keep all of the tools sharpened. He had rigged up a foot pedal-grinding wheel and was able to sharpen all the tools.

  It was a real community effort, as the people cut the tops off, they were collected and put in bushel baskets. Others hauled them to the cleaning area. This is where the wheat kernel, called the wheat berry, was rubbed off onto a sheet. Once the pile was big enough, it was then used to toss the wheat into the air to winnow the outer husk, or chaff, and clean the wheat berries. The idea behind this was the wheat berries were heavy and the chaff, once broken free, would be taken away with a light breeze. The trick of course was to have the correct amount of wind and not toss it too high. Maybe if they were lucky they could have a combine running for next year’s harvest. That would make all their life so much easier. The modern combine was truly one of man’s better inventions. Not only did it cut the stocks, but it also broke the outer husk off, throwing it out the back and leaving nothing but the clean wheat berries.

  Even with those long hours of hard work, everybody worked together because they understood how important having your daily bread was.

  The wheat harvest took five full days. After they were done, the cattle were put in the field to fatten up on any of the grain that was missed, and clean the field. Their by-product, of course, would help fertilize it with their own special piles.

  In roughly two weeks, the sweet corn would be done and another massive harvest would be needed. The corn, of course, was eaten fresh but most of it had to be stripped off the cob. Again the teamwork was amazing. While some of the people were harvesting the corn, filling up bushels, others hauled it up to the cleaning stations. The job of those people would be to strip off the outer layer and then using a homemade tool, stripping the kennels off the cob. Massive drying racks were set up using window screens; there purpose was to have dried, cracked corn for grinding up into cornmeal.

  The stripped cobs were fed to the pigs, which most ate the entire thing, and some was dried out and ground as fodder for the cows. Several acres of corn were left to dry on the stocks, and would be harvested and hand shelled later, and then used for animal feed.

  The last big harvest was the Great Northern white beans. Again, these were collected and put in baskets, hauled up to a cleaning station where the husks were broken off and the beans were put out to dry. There was no loafing around. Your share was being determined by the amount of hours you worked.

  Once the final harvest was done, they had a big Harvest Festival. Aside from great food and music, they planned weddings at the same time. The local Deacon from one of the churches, served as the minister for those couples that wanted to get married. Of course the women were making a huge deal out of this. Amy and a local 19-year-old girl, named Barb, were getting married at the same time. Wedding dresses were located. Clothing accessories and shoes for the wedding parties. Wildflowers and roses for decorations and bouquets. The brides were going to be beautiful for their special day. Everyone pitched in and helped to make this day of celebration special for everyone.

  The whole town went on a hunt for nice dressy clothes and shoes. Jane and Amy convinced the women to go find beautiful clothes and shoes, make up and everything they could think of. A hair dresser was located.

  Jane and Amy asked for help from all the women and really wanted the whole town involved with the celebration. This would be the first day since the world had ended that they would celebrate life and love. All the people here needed that. They needed to remember that life could be good and fun too. Life was not just hard work, hungry bellies and living in fear. They needed to the feeling of hope, happiness and a bright future in their hearts, even if it was just for one day.

  A feast fit for kings was prepared to be served after the ceremony. They even had a local country-western band playing live music for the occasion. This was the biggest event the community had gathered for since the lights went out. Everyone was looking forward to it and everyone did their part to make it the best festival ever.

  Preston, with the help of junkyard Bob, had melted down a gold coin and made them into rings. He used sandpaper and lapping compound to polish them out.

  Amy and Jane were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The big day was finally here. Preston borrowed a suit and tie, but still wore his combat boots. He strapped on his .45, because the world was still a dangerous place. Almost every person carried a gun wherever they went, jus
t in case something came up.

  Joe came up to Preston laughing, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You’re going to be stuck with her forever.” He handed Preston a Mason jar that had clear liquid in it. “Here, take a drink to stop your hands from shaking.”

  Preston took a smell and it made his eyes water. “Where in the heck did you find moonshine?” He took a drink and put it down. “Wow. That’s some strong stuff.”

  He took another drink and handed it back to Joe. “You have the rings ready, right?”

  Joe looked confused, “Rings? I thought you had them.”

  Preston scowled at Joe and said, “Don’t give me that nonsense. You’d better have them on you. Do you know how many hours of work it took me to make them?”

  Joe let out a big laugh and said, “Of course I have them. By the way who’s giving Amy away?”

  Preston was struggling with his tie and said; “Ty said he would do it, since it’s his place that we’re having this festival at.”

  A local church had brought over a small organ and they could hear it begin to play. Preston looked at Joe with a panicked look. “Oh, no. I think that’s my cue. Let me get one more shot.”

  Joe laughed, “Nope, my friend.” He reached up and straightened Joe’s tie, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “You’re ready as is. Stop making excuses and get your butt out there. If you don’t get out there right now, Amy’s will shoot you and yell at me for days about what a lousy best man I was. If you think I’m going to listen to that just because you chickened out, you don’t know me very well. Now get out there.”

  They walked outside there where benches were set up on each side of the aisle. A platform had been built for the Deacon and they walked up with the other bridegroom and his best man.

  Preston thought, “If he looked more scared than me, I’d feel better.” The organ began playing, “Here Comes the Bride”. A cute little boy and girl, that looked about five, walked in front of the brides, sprinkling wildflowers along the path. When they made it to the end, they kissed, turned and walked away. The little boy wiped his mouth on his sleeve and said, “Yuck.” And everyone laughed. The two brides came walking down the aisle, with Amy wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, which was loaned to her by one of the women. Next to her was Barb, also in a beautiful white dress. Both brides looked radiant and beautiful.

  Preston thought, “Oh my God. She is so beautiful.” She had a wild rose in her hair and the dress was flowing behind her. They reached the platform in front, and just then the moonshine started to hit Preston.

  All he heard was, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here,” and then after a few minutes, there was silence. Everybody was staring at him and the minister was nodding his head toward Amy. She was holding his hand, and whispered, “You need to say, I do.”

  Preston felt like he was in a dream, he smiled and said, “Of course I do.” The next thing that registered in Preston’s mind was, “You may now kiss the bride.” Amy wasn’t waiting for him to make the first move, she leapt into his arms, kissing him.

  The rest of the wedding was a blur of food and wine, the typical speeches and then the farewells. Before he knew it, they were loaded up in a buggy and headed off for their wedding night. They were going to take four days for the honeymoon and stay at the house they had just moved from. There, they could have some privacy and be alone.

  On the third day, Joe came racing over to the first house and beat on the door. “You two get decent.” He yelled.

  Preston looked at Amy and said, “What the heck?” Preston threw on some clothes and stepped on the porch as Amy got dressed.

  Almost out of breathe, Joe said, “We’ve got trouble. The Rainbow Warriors. Some Colonel has declared himself governor of the whole state of Wisconsin. He is demanding that all firearms be turned in. Whoever gives up their firearms voluntarily is given food.” Joe paused to take a breath, “He took over some major shipping outlet in Green Bay and now controls hundreds of tons of food.”

  Preston said, “Can’t even enjoy four days of a honeymoon.”

  Chapter 24

  Planning for Battle

  Tomorrow’s battle is won during today's practice.

  - Samurai maxim

  Preston and Amy returned to the cabin as quickly as possible. Joe briefed both them on what was going on.

  Joe told them that because this man elected himself as Governor of Wisconsin, he was going to be sending an army across the land to enforce his policies. As it stood right now, his so called administrations, and army, were the most powerful force in the state, and unless they wanted to conform to his laws, they would have to fight.

  Joe said, “A Northern Alliance was forming, so Fred and Scott were sent to represent our group. The doc was working on setting up a field hospital so wounded can be carried in the back of the wagon, and Jane would be the operating nurse. Amy will be security at the field hospital.”

  Preston interrupted, saying, “Wait a minute. Do we have intel on how big the force is and when they might be coming to our area?”

  Joe said, “Scott selected a few men to travel east and see what they could learn, so we should have some additional information when they get back, but until then, we need to plan and get ready for a fight.”

  Up to this point, having a field hospital set up, and supplies available, was about all they could do. Now they needed to have several different battle plans worked out, so when they knew for sure what the situation was, they could adopt one of the plans and move on it quickly.

  That evening, Joe and Preston were sitting around talking and Michael asked, “Do you think it’s possible that 16 guys could turn around an Army of a thousand men?”

  Joe looked at Preston and then at Michael. He was about to say something, when Preston said, “I don’t know if it’s true or not, but military history is full of incredible documentation of small units stopping superior forces.”

  Joe nodded in agreement and Preston continued, “I’ve studied the history of war, and will tell you of a few battles that might answer your question.”

  “The first one dates back to ancient Greece, with the Spartans. The 300 Spartans, as they came to be known, stomped the Persian army and killed over 20,000 of their men. Now granted, there was up to a thousand other Greeks that stood by their side, but still, 1300 men with primitive weapons killed 20,000 Persians. Now that’s the stuff legends are made of. In the end, the Persians finally wiped them out, down to the last man, but they paid a heavy price.”

  Michael wanted to know about the battle, so between Preston and Joe, they explained how the 300 managed to kill so many of the enemy. Preston drew a simple map on some paper, showing how they used a natural canyon to funnel the army through a narrow passage, allowing the Greek to have a superior position over their enemy.

  Joe said, “I know of a better one than that. Have you ever heard the story of the Battle of Longewala in 1971?” Both Preston and Michael shook their heads, so he continued, “It was the war between Pakistan and India. They made a movie about it called “Border”. The 1997 film caught my interest, so I researched it and the true story is even more amazing than the movie was. Imagine this, you are a major in the Indian Army, sent to protect the border. You only have 120 men. The Pakistani army is advancing on your border, and the only thing stopping them is a three strand barbed wire fence, like ones you’d would put up to keep cattle in.”

  “Now, you have one 81 mm mortar, four medium machine guns, one 106 mm antitank weapon, mounted on a Jeep, two antitank recoilless rifles, which you probably know as bazookas, and a handful of landmines that can take out tanks.”

  “Wow, that sounds pretty good.” Michael said.

  Joe continued, “Ah, but you don’t know what they’re facing yet. On the other side of that fence waits 65 tanks, 2,000 infantry, and one mobile infantry brigade. The India defenders also had four aircraft, but they could only fly during the day. Remember, this was 1971 and the night vision technology hadn’
t caught up all around the world.”

  He continued, “The Pakistani’s attacked at night. A patrol of 20 men called the Major and told him of the large number of tanks heading his way. Headquarters gave the Major the choice to do a tactical retreat, or stay and hold through the night. Reinforcements and air support was six hours away.”

  “Okay Michael, you’re the Major and you have no vehicles to transport your men, but it’s nighttime and your men would have a good chance of retreating unseen. Those are your options. What would you do?”

  Michael said, “Stay and fight, of course.”

  Preston chimed in, “Remember, you are responsible for 120 men, most of which are married and have children. Now think about this, if you survive, you have to tell all those wives and children why their husbands and fathers died. That’s a heavy responsibility.”

  Joe continued, “That is what the Major decided. He thought the best chance of survival for his men, was to stay and fight in a fortified position. This was desert terrain and if they were caught in the open, they would quickly be cut to ribbons from the tanks.”

  “The battle started roughly at 12:30 a.m. The Pakistani artillery open fired on the post, killing five camels, of the 10 that were used for patrols. As the 65 tanks approached, the Indian defenders started planting antitank landmines. One infantry man was shot and killed while planting a mine.”

  He continued with the story. “The Indian defenders were waiting in the dark. Their Jeep, with the mounted 106, took out the first two tanks of the battle, and one man was killed. When their infantry hit the barbed wire fence, they immediately thought it was a minefield for the tanks, so they stopped the tank advance. The tanks had been outfitted with an additional external fuel tank, and almost immediately after the first few shots, one exploded, lighting the area up and giving the defenders ample light to shoot them down.”

  “The Pakistani sent their minesweepers in and after two hours they finally reported there were no mines. It was a full moon and the Pakistani’s could not advance across the open terrain, due to the heavy small arms fire and mortar rounds coming from the defenders. This emboldened the Major and he made the decision to stay in their fortified position. This situation totally frustrated the Pakistani commanders.”