by M. J. Konkel
Once all the eyes of the community were on her, Mary started to slouch, and her shoulders came together as if she were trying to shrink out of view. She mumbled something in a little voice that almost nobody could hear.
Joe knew Mary was very introverted, but she was also smart. He asked, “Could you please speak up louder, Mary? If you an idea, we really need to hear it.” He needed ideas to counter Span’s plan.
“We don't have time for this nonsense,” Mr. Span muttered.
Ron Latz, a lanky boy with long brown wavy hair who was sitting next to Mary, spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear. “She said 'what about Ridgeback Island Park?'”
Ridgeback Island was about eight or nine miles south on the Mississippi on the Wisconsin side of the river. It was a beautiful island that should have been a state or county park, but somehow ended up in private hands with a long-term lease from the city of Lincolntown which was the small town just down the road from it. Back in the 50's, the city greatly expanded its city limits to include the island and then promptly leased it out, leading many to speculate that the mayor and city council members of that time profited. The island was mostly a high steep piece of land about a mile long that jutted out of the river like the back of some giant sea serpent. It had some flat areas on top that were used as campgrounds, some flat areas around the base down by the river and a few additional flat spots that were used for various purposes such as picnic areas and playgrounds. The entrance to the park came from high ground alongside the bluff and over a bridge to a high flat top stretch on the north end of the island. Millers Slough, a shallow back water channel off the main channel of the river, separated the island from the shoreline. If the river rose as much as Roger said, it would be a good deep channel, leaving the bridge as the only way onto the island.
“I think that is an excellent idea, Mary. I volunteer to go check it out first thing in the morning,” said Joe.
“Now just a damn minute!” Mr. Span protested. “There is no need to check it out. I am in charge and I say that we are staying right here.”
Joe responded, “You were never in charge here, but if you want to stay, nobody is going to drag you out of here. As for the rest of us, I think that everyone can make up their own minds.”
Mr. Span glared at Joe for a moment, and then stared at Deputy Comlin as if he expected the deputy to do something. But Jerry just continued examining his fingernails. Mr. Span turned and stormed out of the gymnasium.
Chapter 17
Breakfast was served in the school cafeteria starting about a half hour before dawn. It seemed like almost everybody was there fueling up for the big day ahead of them and the room was loud. Those who volunteered to cook were having a hard time keeping up feeding everyone. There was a sense of urgency and anxiety among the people, but there was no longer the panic because they had hope and a plan. Maybe.
Joe and Rob took Rob's red Jeep Cherokee out to Ridgeback as Joe and Karen no longer owned a vehicle. Joe suggested that Rob should repaint it camouflage, but Rob was not amused. Roger Zanzi and Jack Currents were following in another car. They were wary, but Joe saw no signs of dinosaurs on the trip out. They slowed down as they came to where there was a parking lot with a huge American flag flying over it on the right side of the road. The sign by the road said HARVEY'S RV WORLD, and the lot was full of RVs and campers.
“How many do you count?” asked Joe.
“Sixteen RVs and nineteen campers.”
“That's what I got too. Let's continue to Ridgeback.”
The bridge to Ridgeback was only a couple of hundred yards further. A sign at the bridge stated that the park was closed for the season, but there were no barriers to block their way. Although many people had made up their minds the night before or in the night and were already in the process of moving, Joe and the group were there to scout out the island anyway. The first thing the group did was assure themselves that the only way onto the island really was over the bridge; it was. Then they crossed the bridge to check out the campsites.
“Wow!” exclaimed Joe. “Luck is finally with us.” The campground was half-filled with large campers and RVs.
“I don't see any cars or trucks. Let's take a drive around the loop and make sure.” Not counting RVs, the only vehicles on the island besides their own were a couple of golf carts at the park's headquarters building. They checked out a few of the campers and RVs and found that they were locked. The campers and RVs were shut up for the season, but left on the grounds. They would find out later that evening that none belonged to anyone in Brown's Station. Ridgeback Park was expensive; accessible only to those with excess wealth and most of the citizens of Brown's Station did not qualify, although a few had occasionally camped in tents in the lower campsite where there were no facilities, electricity or running water. The campers belonged mostly to wealthy folks from up in the Cities, or over in Milwaukee or Chicago. Joe counted the spaces which was easy since there were numbered stakes marking each site. The group discussed it and agreed that there should be enough space for everyone, but probably not enough RVs and campers. They would have to take the campers and RVs from Harvey's and park them between the ones already on Ridgeback, but they would still be a little short. And who would get which one? People would be very cramped. They radioed their findings back to Brown's Station, and the move was on. They were in a race against the rising river.
On the way back to the Brown's Station, Joe and Rob formulated some additional plans. When they got back, they found a few semi-truck drivers. Then they went out to the trailer court towards the south end of town. Many of the people that lived there were in the process of loading their cars or trucks with their belongings, and others had already left with a load on the way to Ridgeback. Joe and Rob had them all stop loading their vehicles and start preparing the trailer homes to be towed. They had to cut wires, water pipes and sewer pipes. Some trailers needed new tires. Tires would have to come from those already transported so those with working tires were prioritized. Belongings inside had to be stowed away and secured. Once the process was underway, Joe and Rob left, just as the first of the two trucks was arriving. The trailer homes would add the extra sleeping space missing from the RVs and campers.
On the way back to the school, they stopped at the Zippy's downtown to fill up with gas. A generator was hooked up so that there was power to run the pump.
Rob commented as they were filling up his jeep. “There is a lot of gas here that is going to go to waste once it floods.”
“I know, and it’s going to pollute the river too. We’re going to be downriver of this. We need to put as much as we can into cans to take. But I am afraid most of it will be lost.”
They arrived back at the school shortly after the Zippy's stop. Joe found Robbie and James playing in the gymnasium while being watched by Grandma. The kids were excited to see him, running up and giving him a big hug. A minute later his dad walked in, having just returned from transporting his second load of belongings out to Ridgeback. They all went together and found Karen, who was at the make-shift medical center, and then they went to the cafeteria for lunch.
“We should enjoy this now while we can,” commented his dad. “Soon there will be no more ice cream or coffee.”
“No more coffee! Jeez, I never thought about that. I can't live without my coffee,” exclaimed Karen.
“Oh, you'll survive, my dear,” Joe consoled.
Rob leaned over and whispered loud enough for all to hear, “Yeah, just don't tell her that we're going to eventually run out of chocolate too.”
“Oh my god! Chocolate! I could just as well as go feed myself to a freddie,” Karen faux lamented.
“Freddie? Is that what those rexes are to be called from now on?” asked Rob.
“Yes!” Karen said emphatically.
“Yeah,” Joe said meekly. He took a bite out of his peach and chewed. “I think that we need to start thinking about more than just surviving. We need to start planning how we are going to
live in this new world. We all need to come to grips with the fact that we might be here for a long time. It is even possible we may never return to the old world that we knew.”
“Don't be so pessimistic,” Rob's wife, Gerry, complained.
“I am being realistic,” Joe countered. “Phenomena like what brought us here must be rare. How many missing people ever returned from the Bermuda triangle? I think that we should plan like we are here to stay even though we all hope to return.”
“What about the Professor?”
“He may be able to get us back. In fact, he is probably our only chance. But we don't know if there is anything he can do, even if he is some type of genius. Besides, he is still in some kind of stupor.”
“What should we be doing differently?” asked Rob.
“Well for starters we should be saving these.” He took the pit out from his peach. “And any other type of seed, pit or whatever that we might be able to plant. We can't assume that something won't grow here. The temperature seems warmer than what we are used to. We need to plan where on Ridgeback we can plant gardens and fruit trees. We need to get as many domesticated farm animals as we can save onto that island. Or other islands.”
“Well for the short term, I wish there was a way to save all that gas,” Rob exclaimed.
“Gas?” Joe's father asked.
“All the gasoline at the gas stations here in town is going to be under water,” Rob explained.
“Excuse me,” said Mary Jankins, who was eating at the next table. “I couldn't help but overhear your conversation.”
“Oh Mary. Now that you overheard all our secret plans, we are going to have to lock you up to keep you from talking,” joked Rob.
Mary stared blankly at him for a second before Rob spoke again. “That was a joke, my somewhat odd sense of humor.”
“Isn't humor supposed to be funny?” Mary asked.
“She has you there, Rob,” Joe added. “Did you have something you wanted to tell us, Mary?”
“Uh, yeah. Well, my dad has like three milk trucks. Couldn't we like use those to put all the gas in?”
“Mary, you're a genius!” Joe shouted. “That's two brilliant ideas in less than a day. You wouldn't happen to have any others? Do you?”
“Well... I heard you lost both your truck and your car. Why not like just go over to Jim's Auto and get a new truck for moving your stuff? The money like doesn't matter anymore. Does it?”
“I guess most of us are still stuck in old ways of thinking about everything,” Joe admitted. “We had better start thinking a little more broadly if we are to survive.”
Chapter 18
Most people were frantically trying to get everything they owned out of Brown's Station and onto the island. They all had tons of stuff that they wanted moved, not wanting to part with much of anything. There were exceptions though. Those who lived in the trailer houses were not frantic at all as they had all their stuff moved for them and, ironically, they had some of the best housing after the move. Most happily volunteered to help other people move or help the community by boxing and moving stuff from the stores, shops, schools and other public places. A few did not volunteer immediately to help, but they were soon convinced by others of the need for help. There were plenty of complications and mishaps during the move. To get to Ridgeback, they had to cross the Highway 11 Bridge over the Mississippi into Wisconsin and then take Highway 85 south for about seven miles. On the first day Jeremy and Ann Jahones lost a load off their truck coming off the bridge. They had piled up their belongings high in the bed of their truck, but didn't secure them well on their first trip over. There were also some flat tires as various items were lost off trucks and trailers only to be discovered later by a tire.
*****
On the second day of the move, Joe realized that Al Jackson and his companions would not return to their houses before the flood waters rose. He asked Rob to go over to the trailer court and find some volunteers to move Al's and the other guys' stuff. Volunteers were not in short supply.
Several tires were blown pulling the trailer houses on the second day, causing delays. Many of the tires on the trailers were old and worn. But the biggest problem on the second day was that early in the morning a fight broke out over who should be able to get the biggest and newest camper. At first no one seemed to want to take any of the campers or RVs. The camper locks had to be broken as Brown's Station did not have a locksmith, and people didn't want to do that. It felt to them as if they were stealing them. But then Ron Lasgaard claimed the biggest one on the island, and Dan Macksen took exception to that claim. Jerry Comlin and Joe arrived on the scene at about the same time. In fact, the discussion was so heated that nearly everyone that was on Ridgeback at the time gathered to see what all the commotion was about. By the time Jerry and Joe arrived, Ron and Dan were rolling around in the dirt getting quite dusty. They were throwing punches, albeit not very effectively as neither had landed a blow. Joe grabbed Dan and Jerry pulled Ron away from Dan. Both Ron and Dan were still struggling to get at each other.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jerry demanded.
Dan started, “That creep thinks that he should have this camper. It’s the biggest one here and he thinks he can claim it all to his self.”
“I claimed it first!” yelled Ron.
Joe cut in, “Whoa there! Who said you could just up and make claims here?”
“Who died and made you the boss here?” Ron questioned.
“I am not claiming to be in charge here. I am trying to straighten out this mess and be fair about it.”
“Fair? Fa-air? I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to fairness,” Ron whined. “But what gives you the right to decide? There is no stinkin’ government here. And it certainly is not you.”
“You're right. We have anarchy. So maybe we should just let all the folks here decide in true mob fashion what they want to do with you.” Joe no longer needed to hold Dan back so Joe was free to turn and face the crowd. “What do you think? Should we toss him into the river for being a greedy son of a bitch? He is pretty dirty from rolling around in the dirt, so he could use a good bath anyway?” There was snickering and positive murmurs from the crowd. But Joe didn't really intend on having Ron tossed in the river.
Ron got the point, but he still pressed on. “Why should he get the camper?” Ron demanded, pointing at Dan who was still glaring back at Ron.
“How 'bout the fact that I have a wife and four kids? And if not us, then at least another family like ours should get it,” Dan replied.
“I still say that there is no government here, and so it should be first come, first served,” Ron demanded.
Someone shouted out “Why don't we form a government then. I nominate Coach Spechright as our leader.”
“What about Mr. Span?” someone else shouted.
“Spanky? You got to be kidding! He couldn't lead a troupe of cub scouts,” someone else remarked.
Jerry shouted, “All in favor of Joe as our leader say aye.”
The crowd roared. Joe was overwhelmed by this sudden thrust into leadership.
“No! If we are to form a government, then we need to have an election and have everyone's vote. I propose we have a meeting tonight in the gymnasium.” There were enough nods and no dissenting voices, so it was agreed upon. “As for this camper, it goes to Dan and his family,” said Joe, looking Lasgaard square in his face with no doubt.
“What? But what about my stuff? Where am I going to put my stuff?” Ron complained.
“We will find you another place. But first we have to find out how many total places we need. In the meantime, put your things over in one of the vacant lots,” Joe suggested.
Ron went away grumbling, but he did move his stuff to one of the nearby vacant lots. Joe watched him go, thinking maybe he should have let everyone toss the son of a bitch in the river.
Joe went to determine exactly how many RVs would be arriving and how many separate dwellin
gs would be required. He wasn't sure though how they were going to decide who got which camper or RV.
The news about an election quickly spread with nearly everyone agreeing to it. That evening, the whole town packed into the overcrowded gymnasium. Mr. Span was there early, shaking everyone's hand that came passing through at the door where he stationed himself.
“That young lady sure had a brilliant idea, using Ridgeback Island,” Mr. Span was telling someone as Joe came up to the door. “We will need good experienced leadership to get us through the hardships that we are going to face over there. Leaders that can recognize good ideas like that.”
“We certainly will,” said Karen as she stepped through the door in front of Joe.
The meeting started slowly, but once started, there was general agreement by almost everybody present that they needed some type of governing body. But there was a lot of debate after that about what form it should take. Mr. Span argued for having one strong leader who decided everything. Joe proposed having a council to deal with issues that needed decisions. A voice-vote favored Joe's plan. After more debate and more voice votes, in the end it was decided that everyone sixteen years of age or older would write down three names on a sheet of paper in their order of preference with their top choice getting three votes, second choice getting two votes and third getting one vote. The seven people with the most votes would make up a council and whoever got the most votes would lead the council. All matters would be decided by majority vote by the council, except if a situation arose where there was not enough time for a council vote. Then the leader of the council would decide, and the matter would be put to the council later, if possible. The leader of the council would decide the agenda of the matters for discussion and moderate discussions. Mr. Span expressed the opinion that the type of government that they were forming would be weak and unable to solve problems they were likely to face. Roger Zanzi countered that a weaker government was more likely to be responsive to the community and questioned why they needed a strong governing body. The meeting could easily have gone on a lot longer than it did, but everyone was tired from a hard day's work and just wanted some rest before another big day. The meeting was concluded with everybody putting their votes into one of the boxes placed on the gymnasium's floor. Several volunteers from the more senior members of town spent a couple of hours tallying the votes.