by Mark Goodwin
"I would love too!" Karen said. "Are Shelly's parents coming to the wedding?"
"As long as the gas pumps are still pumping, Mr. and Mrs. Simpson intend to come. They are in Louisville, it’s really rough there." Janice answered.
"Shouldn't they try to sell their house and move out if they can?" Karen asked.
"They think this is just temporary. They think everything will sort itself out and go back to normal." Janice said.
"Are they delusional?" Karen asked.
"Shelly told me they voted for Howe, and they think he is going to get everything back together when he gets in office. So yes, I guess they are delusional." Janice said.
"Some people just believe whatever they are told." said Karen.
"That’s what got us into this mess." Janice replied.
Janice went into her bedroom and came back holding a long white dress. "I made this for Shelly. I’m going to give it to her for Christmas."
"Oh, it’s beautiful! She’s going to love it. Does she know about it?" Karen asked.
"No, I took the measurements from her clothes." Janice said.
"So she’s going to think she doesn't have a wedding dress until the day before the wedding." Karen said.
"I'm mean, ain't I?" Janice said with a smirk.
The two laughed and continued planning the wedding. It was nice to have the wedding to keep their minds off of the problems of the country. It was something that felt normal in a world that wasn't.
CHAPTER 39
“There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.”
-George Washington
Pastor John Robinson walked to the pulpit. He prayed and then addressed the congregation.
"Folks, I know this Christmas is tough. I know that many of you really made a sacrifice to be here tonight for the Christmas Eve service. Many of you have not been able to attend regularly because of fuel prices and other hardships brought on by the ongoing economic collapse. I am proud to see so many of you tonight. This is the biggest turnout we have had in weeks. It shows that you have remembered the true reason for the season."
Pastor John went on to read the Christmas story from The Book of Matthew.
After reading the scripture, he continued "We just read in Matthew 2 that Jesus' father had a dream where an angel told him to take Jesus to Egypt to escape the evil King Herod who had vowed to kill him.
Folks, in three weeks, Anthony Howe will be taking office. He has vowed to disarm us. As you have heard Paul Randall say, you don't build a police state unless you intend to use it. I anticipate that once arms are no longer an issue for Howe, that he will then attack our right to worship. I have no intention of being herded into a cattle car peacefully while a criminal occupies the White House and breaks the law of our land.
God provided for Jesus' family to bug out to Egypt through the gifts of the wise men. One of the gifts they brought him was gold. That sustained them during their exile in Egypt.
God has provided for us as well. We have converted what liquid assets the church held into gold so that its value could be preserved. We have also purchased an adjacent farm next to the property that was left to the church by Howard Young. We have already begun building rudimentary living quarters there. We have stockpiled some amount of food, weapons and ammunition.
We have decided that the two farms will be the place where we draw our line in the sand. After much thought and consideration, we think it is far more defendable than the church property. We think the terrain is much easier to use to our advantage. We also think it’s wise to get out of Boise. We expect that cities will be primary targets for arms confiscation.
I think all of you know our range master, Albert Rust. Albert is also the commander of the 12th Battalion of the Idaho Free Militia. Albert is going to say a few words. Albert come on up."
Albert walked up to the pulpit and stood by Pastor John.
Albert began "Folks, I know Christmas Eve is not the best time to be talking about militias and strongholds, but it is the time when we have the most people here at one time.
I came to Pastor John and volunteered to take the leadership role for our tactical response to whatever Howe intends to do in January. I wanted to make sure that Pastor John was free to continue being our spiritual leader. We will need his guidance more than ever.
I have also spoken with the 29th Battalion out of Coeur d'Alene and the 35th out of Lewiston as well as our friends in the 43rd Battalion out of Moscow. They have all committed to come to the base camp which we have decided to call Young Field in honor of Howard Young who donated the property. The number of militiamen totals just over 600. I will be at a table in the back to take volunteers for those who would like to sign up for the Idaho Free Militia.
As a side note, the Militia was offered positions to stand alongside of the Idaho National Guard. We declined because of the differences in what we considered appropriate rules of engagement.
I will say the governor of Idaho has committed to resist any Federal troops on Idahoan soil. He affirmed his commitment to defend the Constitution and more specifically, the Second Amendment. However, the governor has said that his orders to the National Guard will be fire only when fired upon. The Idaho Free Militia commanders had previously decided that federal troops invading Idaho was an act of aggression sufficient for lethal force. The Militia’s orders are fire on sight. Please keep this in mind when you decide if you are ready to join.
Of course, we should all continue to pray for peace, but if the enemy will thrust violence upon us, we have no other choice than to defend our families, our freedom and the law of our land, which is the Constitution.
Thank you so much. Merry Christmas."
People began to clap. It started low and rose to a roaring standing ovation. There was much to do; much training, and much preparation, but in their hearts, Liberty Chapel was ready.
CHAPTER 40
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
-Ephesians 5:31
Matt and Karen went to Adam's for Christmas morning breakfast. They enjoyed a feast of grits, biscuits, scrambled eggs, country ham, redeye gravy and homemade strawberry preserves.
After breakfast, everyone went into the living room to open presents. Gifts were a bit sparse, but Janice made sure everyone had something to open.
Janice handed a beautifully wrapped box to Karen. Karen opened the present carefully to keep the paper intact. There may not be anymore Christmas paper for a while. Perhaps it could be reused.
"It 's Risk!" Karen said. Janice had bought several board games to give as presents before Walmart had closed down. She anticipated that these items might become scarce.
Matt opened the box Janice handed him. "Monopoly" he said.
Janice said "I know that is probably not what you asked Santa for, but I figured if we ever lose television and internet, we will need some form of entertainment."
"That was a great idea Janice." Matt said. "We love them."
Shelly opened her box and found the beautiful wedding dress that Janice had made. She gasped with surprise. She began to cry as the emotion overwhelmed her. Shelly grabbed Janice and held her tight. She was finally able to say "Thank you so much."
Normally, Christmas night was a time for just relaxing. Not this year. Everyone was chipping in to get the house ready for the wedding the next day. Janice was straightening up the house. Karen was in charge of the cake. Matt was making the appetizers for the reception. Adam and Wesley were helping Matt, but doing more sampling than production. Shelly was trying on her dress for Mandy and Carissa.
The day of the wedding came. About 20 people from the church the Bairs attended came. Shelly's mother and father also came.
Shelly's parents brought her a couple of small Christmas gifts. Her mother, Mrs. Simpson, took her for a walk prior to the ceremony.
"Shelly," Mrs. Simpson began "Your fath
er and I want you to be happy, but I hope you know what you are doing. If you change your mind, you can come back home with us tonight."
"Mom," Shelly replied "I love Wes."
Mrs. Simpson continued "I know you do dear, but your father and I have the feeling that you’re doing this because of all this end of the world nonsense. I know that Wes and his family think things are going to get worse, but they are a bit pessimistic. Once Anthony Howe takes office, everything will get back to normal. It always does. People thought the end of the world would happen in 2000. They had some idea that all the computers were going to shut down and we were going to start living in caves. We just want you to think for yourself. Be rational."
"I am being rational Mom." Shelly retorted "You and Dad are in denial. Wes didn't convince me things are going to get worse. It’s just common sense. Mom, there are no more Walmarts, we are on a five gallon a week gas ration and people couldn't afford more than five gallons a week anyway. Social Security has been cut by 15%, the dollar is crashing, cities are burning to the ground or being taken over by gangs, and people are dying just like Paul Randal predicted."
"Paul Randal triggered a lot of this Shelly. He caused a massive panic and that’s what set all of this off." Mrs. Simpson said. "Now he’s inciting insurrection against the government. That man is a terrorist. Please tell me you are not getting involved in that cult."
"Mom, you can't be serious. Paul Randall, a terrorist? Where did you get that?” Shelly quizzed.
"All of the news channels are saying he’s a terrorist. The man is trying to start a civil war. We have enough trouble without Paul Randall starting another war." Mrs. Simpson said.
"You are the one who need s to think for yourself. Those are the same news channels who have been telling you everything is going to be fine. You and Dad need to get out of Louisville while you still can." Shelly said.
"Well, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree." Mrs. Simpson said. "But just promise me that if Wes or his family start taking sides with Paul Randall, you will come home. We will come pick you up. Just call us."
Shelly didn't say anything else. She knew it would just lead to more arguing. She returned to her side of the house. Her and Wes had been kept apart to avoid seeing each other before the wedding. Janice had insisted on it.
Shelly ran into Adam. "Are you ready?" Adam asked.
"Hair and makeup are all set, I just have to put my dress on." Shelly replied.
"I can see that. You look stunning, but I was refereeing to mentally and emotionally." Adam said.
"Absolutely!" Shelly exclaimed.
"All right then."Adam said. He had not been ready for such a convincing response. "We are sure ready to have you as part of our family."
"Thanks, that means so much to me." Shelly said.
"Oh, and a heads up, I may have made your father mad. Wes had warned me not to talk about guns and such, but we got into what I thought was a civil discussion about politics, and he walked away." Adam said. "Sorry, I didn't' mean to cause any friction for you today."
"Don't even think about it anymore." Shelly said. "I know it wasn't your fault. They believe what they want to believe."
Adam went to get dressed and Shelly finished getting ready as well. Her father came into the room after she was dressed. He gave her a big hug and started to repeat a similar lecture to what she had just received from her mom.
Shelly stopped him and said "Dad, we have been trying to change each other's minds for a couple of years now. Today, can we just accept each other and enjoy the day?"
Mr. Simpson agreed and he walked out to the yard where an archway was set up where they would exchange vows. Chairs were lined up on either side of the aisle. The archway way decorated with pine boughs and natural mistletoe that Wesley had shot out of the tree tops.
It looked little more like Christmas than a wedding, but there were no flower shops still open. Imported flowers were a thing of the past already. They had to work with what they had. It was a chilly 42 degrees outside where the wedding was but the sun was bright and everyone was warm from being inside around the fireplace prior to the ceremony.
Adam officiated the wedding. No formal registration was made with the courthouse. As far as they were concerned, a wedding was a promise between two people and God. Those who attended were the witnesses. In the mind of Wesley and Shelly, the government should have never been involved in marriage certificates. Like so many other areas of life where the government had interjected themselves, a wedding was none of their business.
During the reception, Mr. and Mrs. Simpson kept to themselves. Adam tried to be friendly, but he could tell they weren't interested in small talk.
Adam and Matt walked around to the barn with a couple of the guys from church that had shown up for the wedding. Matt had met Eddie Cooper and Frank Johnson at church, but only in passing.
Adam said to Matt "Frank here is the commander of the Eastern Kentucky Liberty Militia."
Matt replied "OK, I remember you were telling me you trained with them a few times."
Adam said "Maybe a little more than a few. We were always on the phone, so I didn't like to say much. I know 'militia' is a keyword for the NSA Prism program. The entire conversation gets stored in the NSA mega computer in Utah for review once certain keywords trigger the conversation."
Eddie added "Adam was our tactical commander because of his experience as a Marine in the sandbox."
Frank said "We’re going to start training two days a week if you would be interested. When I say two days, I mean 48 hours. Sleeping out in the cold and getting ready for whatever is coming. It makes more sense than training four or five days a week for a few hours at a time. Everyone has a family and things to do. This allows them to do both until the time comes to make a stand."
"I am going to talk it over with my wife before I give you a commitment, but I am definitely interested." Matt said. "How many guys are we talking about?"
Frank said "We were 85 in November. We took off the month of December for Christmas and New Year’s. We’re going to start back up on January 2nd. So far we’re looking at around 400 men with the old guys and new recruits."
"I guess people are motivated now." Matt said.
"Yes" Frank said "But we have to be more careful than ever who we discuss the militia with now."
"Why is that?" Matt asked. "The Second Amendment prescribes the need of the militia. I would argue along the same lines as Paul Randall; it’s not about a right. I think the Second Amendment was spelling out a duty of the citizen to join a militia."
"I would agree with you" Frank said. "But the government has convinced the Tories that the Bill of Rights is an obsolete document."
"What are Tories?" Matt asked.
Eddie answered "In the American Revolution, the Tories were the colonists who were loyal to the crown."
Adam said "We like the term because it's so descriptive of our modern loyalists and because it's unrecognizable to most of them. Very few of them have any knowledge of history beyond 1960."
"If they did, they wouldn't be Tories." Eddie said.
The men all laughed. They continued to fill Matt in on what level of training they had done up to this point and what type of training they intended to begin in January.
Meetings like these were going on all over the country. Brothers, cousins, friends, church congregations and coworkers were spreading the word. A decentralized militia was swelling. The people in the heartland of America were in a much better position than those in the cities. They were prepared for the worst. They did not want war nor did they seek violence, but if it was to be shoved into their lap, they would meet their aggressors with valiant effort.
Matt and Karen went home to get Miss Mae and came back to Adam's to stay for a few days. They gave their house to the newlyweds so they could have a simple honeymoon. Karen did her best to fix up the house and put out some nice candles and things for Wes and Shelly.
Adam offered to let Sh
elly's parents stay the night before heading back to Louisville. They refused and headed home. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson never arrived home and no one ever heard from them again.
CHAPTER 41
"To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones."
-George Washington
Anthony Howe peered out the window of the New York Governor's Mansion in Albany. The snow was a blanket of purity over the grounds. He thought of the snow as a symbol of a clean start to the new year. Christmas was gone now, but looking out the window of the opulent home into the snow reminded him of the Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslas". It was rather like that. "I am something of a king." he thought to himself. "In just over two weeks, I will go from being King of New York to being King of America."
He had hoped and dreamed of someday being King of The World. "I suppose that dream has been beaten into submission and snatched from my palm." he muttered under his breath.
Despite the lies he told the press, Howe knew there was no way out of this mess. He had seen the intricacy of the debt. He knew the true cost of the wars and of the precious dependants of the state that had kept his party in power for so long.
The snow and brutal cold weather in the North had calmed much of the violent riots. Although, the news stories of theft and murder for goods and property kept rolling in. As he considered the chaos being reported in the major cities, he thought perhaps Paul Randall could be right about the die off. If he was right about the majority of the die offs being in the major population centers, he would have to devise another method of retaining power besides the election. 95% of the counties that had voted for him were in large metropolitan areas.
Howe recalled the conversation with Al Mohammad from the New Years Eve party the night before.
"Howe" the president had said "I’m not going to sugar coat this. The Treasury is going to be tapped out on February 1st. You are going to have to hit the ground running. You will have 10 days after the inauguration to secure another loan from the IMF. I think you learned your lesson, but don't try to dictate terms with them. They are short on funds and short on temper.