Out of Gas

by Randy Dyess

  At the end of September, Kelly’s employer ran the numbers and was shocked at how bad the summer season was for their restaurants. To avoid bankruptcy and possible closure, Texas Restaurants announced the closure of another thirty percent of their under-performing restaurants around the country. They also made deals with the remaining headquarters staff to take a “temporary” salary decrease of over forty percent. Kelly agreed, but with some provisions. She got them to agree to an immediate bonus of twenty percent of her annual salary. She would also be able to work from home four days of the week and only come into the office on Wednesdays. It took some negotiations, but Texas Restaurants realized Kelly would be critical over the next six months while they downsized thousands of employees from the shutdown restaurants. Kelly walked out of the negotiations with the unwritten understanding that once all the employees were gone and all the paperwork filed, she would be out of a job. No one at Texas Restaurants knew about Kelly’s new life, so they were surprised when she wasn’t fazed at all by this suggestion and agreed.

  The move with Kelly’s employer solved several of the Turner’s problems. Kelly was now able to work from home and be with the girls all the time like Mark was. The bonus allowed the Turner’s to refill Mark’s farm budget after spending their money of the new houses. Their monthly budget dropped because they no longer had to supply gas for Kelly to drive into work each day. With the large number of potential renters available, they were able to get out of their new lease and move out to the farm. This saved even more money each month. Mark celebrated by going out and picking up three puppies from the local animal shelter he was going to train to be guard dogs for the family. He also celebrated by buying six horses and all the equipment needed to both ride the horses and use them to pull a wagon and farm equipment. Mark planned on making his living after the meltdown by manufacturing horse-drawn farm equipment and selling trained guard dogs. Kelly celebrated by planting a large herbal garden and spending an additional two hours a day learning as much about herbal medicine as she could. She wanted to help the community out as much as possible after the meltdown.

  At the end of September, the American government announced a very large stimulus package. The president went on the air and told everyone listening, the crisis was over and the economy was showing signs of recovering. People should go out and start spending money on Christmas presents to celebrate the crisis ending. Many people did just that and spent what little they had in savings or credit on purchases they felt they deserved after the panic of the summer. Mark ended up throwing his biscuit at the screen and laughingly watched while three puppies appeared out of thin air and fought over the biscuit. He had to finally give up and put two more biscuits on the floor to stop the crisis that was developing in the Turner household. He called it his own stimulus package and stated it would have more of an effect on the world than the official one out of Washington. He laughed at his own little joke while Kelly, her parents, his parents, and even Cheyenne just rolled their eyes at him with grins on their faces.

  Chapter 21

  By the end of October, Americans could see the stimulus package had positive effects on the economy. Gas prices went down by at least $1.50 a gallon after the announcement. The government announced they asked for an unheard of mid-month jobs report. The results of the report showed large numbers of Americans had been put back to work due to the results of the stimulus package. Mark, Owen, and their group looked at the raw data and shook their heads. The economy did not get better. The fuel supply shortage was still there. Nothing had changed except for the lies from the government and another large amount added to the federal debt.

  Mark knew the stimulus package would not work, but he didn’t let the announcement affect his plans. He continued working on building up the farm and learning all he could from RJ’s dojo. His work at Plains Airlines was all but done and he scheduled his last day to be the Friday before Thanksgiving. His staff had already left and Mark hadn’t been to the actual headquarters in over six weeks. He and Owen often met at the Madill diner Mark had taken Kelly’s grandmother to eat. They jokingly called the café, “Plains Headquarters North.”

  Owen gave his notice and would leave the Friday before Christmas, but would only collect a third of the bonus they promised him. He shrugged when he told Mark the amount was a lot more than he had told himself he would get at this point in time.

  Mark spent more and more time with Owen as their duties with Plains Airlines became less and less and his business with the community increased. Owen, RJ, and Mark drove to almost all the community member’s houses and interviewed them about their immediate plans and the plans they had made for the upcoming meltdown. As Owen believed he would, Mark was able to spot glaring holes in most members’ plans and recommend changes which were both easy and quick. Mark impressed many of the members with his ability to visualize their plans. They were grateful he made them aware of the problems they would face if they did not fill the holes he found. They were very grateful for him helping them make sure their family members would not suffer because of a simple thing they did not plan for or took for granted. During a discussion of veterinary medicine supplies at Andy Brown’s house when Mark brought up something he had been on his mind while driving all over the Madill area.

  “I’ve been thinking about something as we have been driving around,” he said to the group. “Owen once told me he had a map of his property and had found out about his neighbors and put their property on the map. I figured others have done the same thing.”

  “I have one of those maps as well. What’s the matter?” Andy interrupted.

  “Is there a master map? Has someone created a map of all the properties in this area owned by our members and filled in what we know about the area? What about all the land we drive by every day? Who owns it? Who leases it? What is it being used for?”

  Andy looked at Owen and RJ and replied, “Why do you think it is important?”

  “Well, l for one thing it would be nice to have a map of our territory. A map everyone can use to find their nearest community member in times of trouble or when they want to say ‘Hello’ if they are in the neighborhood. I understand I’m new here, but at least I’ve been around on these trips. Kelly wouldn’t know where the nearest group of members lived if she broke down and needed help. I think we should create a map and handbook and let everyone know about them. I would also recommend we gather all the knowledge each of our members have about their neighbors and area farms and put it on the map and in the handbook. Most of us know our neighbors, but it would be nice to have a master collection of everything we know. Something we fill in with more information as time goes by and the area and situation changes. I bet we find a farm or two owned by a ninety-year old man in Chicago or Houston who has no intentions of coming out here. He probably leases the land to hunt on and hasn’t seen it in years. It would be nice to know about that land in case we need it for some purpose.”

  “Like what?” RJ asked.

  “Let me give you a scenario. Imagine a thousand acre ranch a few miles up the road from here. A company in Houston owns the place and they go out of business after the meltdown. No creditors are left to take the land over because they think the land is worthless or because all the creditors are out of business themselves. Eventually, the county would take the place over because of back taxes, but they’re out of business as well. The land would sit there and go back to nature. In the meanwhile, before this all ends and the county figures it out, what prevents refugee squatting on the land claiming the land is his? We wouldn’t know any different so we couldn’t call his bluff. They may be nice people or they may not. If we knew more about the land, we would be able to use it better after a meltdown. Even if we leave the place as raw hunting land, at least we know we are not hunting on someone else’s land. Land they are trying to get to so they could live on it and live on the deer we just hunted out. If we knew more about it we could make a better informed decision.”

  “I
see what you mean. We would know which land is not ever going to be lived on by its owner or relatives. Land that is owned by a corporation or by someone who lives too far away to get here,” Owen chimed in.

  “Yes,” Mark responded. “We decide if we are going to use the land for hunting, farming, haying, pasture land for our herds. We might even resettle refugees on the land we found fit enough to join our group. I also think we should visit each of the vacant properties to make sure nothing is going on there right now?”

  “What do you mean?” Andy asked.

  “Wouldn’t it piss you off to find out later the ranch a few miles up the road from here harbors a meth lab or marijuana field? The truck you see driving in and out of the place is not checking on cattle, but hauling bales of weed or bags of meth in its trailer. I figure we need talk to every community member about the people who live next to them. Get people over to the county offices to look up as much information on the surrounding properties as possible. Once we start doing that, compile everything into a master map. I can coordinate the master map and talk to our members about their neighbors, but I need others to go to the county offices. I don’t think I’m the one you want snooping around the land. I’d fall and break my leg or walk straight into a meth lab without even knowing it,” Mark said chuckling.

  “Point taken,” Andy laughed. “I have the right people in mind to look over each property as we find out about them.”

  “I can talk to our retired lawyers and investigators about going to the counties. They would be happy to do it once we tell them why,” RJ said

  “I’ll help Mark,” Owen said. “We’ll figure out what we want on the map and let everyone know. We will also come up with a way to print it out for everyone and keep it online for others.”

  “I’ve started a little data farm at my place,” Mark replied. “I’ve bought several computers and a lot of spare parts I’ve stored to keep them running for years. I’ve got them on a special circuit in my office with cleaner electricity than most of the rest of the farm to prevent power surges. I should be able to keep them going for years after a meltdown.”

  Owen looked at Mark and said, “If we can get this done before I leave Plains, we can use their plotters to print out copies for everyone.”

  “Don’t worry about the plotters.” Mark looked at Owen with a little grin on his face. “When we closed down the fifth floor, I found several pieces of equipment left. The equipment is all at my house and it includes one of those plotters. We just need to go out and buy paper for it.”

  “I’ll handle paper. I’m sure plenty of paper is lying around somewhere at Plains,” Owen laughed.

  Back home, Kelly was having a different conversation with her sister, Cindy. “What do you mean Fred is losing the shop?”

  “No one is getting their car fixed anymore. We’ve hung on for months now with one customer here and one customer there. Ever since the major manufacturers stopped allowing him to get their computer codes, all he has been able to do is work on older cars. No one is fixing those up because of the gas prices.”

  “It’s bad everywhere. Mark only has a few weeks left at Plains and I’ll be gone sometimes around March. They are closing down restaurant after restaurant and after I finished up the paperwork, I’ll be in the next group to go.”

  “What? What are you going to do?”

  “That is the reason we took over the farm and have moved up here,” Kelly said. Kelly went on to talk about what her and Mark had discovered and what they had been doing over the last several months. They talked for over two hours before Kelly asked Cindy. “Would you two consider selling off and moving up here with us?”

  “Live on a farm? Fred has never lived anywhere other than Dallas. I don’t know what he would do on a farm.” Cindy responded.

  “Why don’t you drive up her for Thanksgiving and look the place over and let us know what you think. I’m sure Mark would love to talk to Fred about his plans and our plans. Mom and dad just love it up here.”

  “I talked to her yesterday. The way she talked about the farm and their new house made me think about calling you.”

  “Did she tell you all the stuff we have done so far and how they agreed with us about the upcoming economic meltdown?”

  “Yes. I’m still not sure about that. I think we are going through a hard time and everything will be better later. The president said the stimulus package was working and the price of gas did go down.”

  “It looks like everything is getting better, but we’ve discovered alternative news sites which have the real numbers and not stuff adjusted by the politicians.”

  Cindy didn’t say anything for a few minutes and Kelly thought she might be struggling with trying to figure out how to end the conversation. Cindy said after a few minutes. “What would we have to do?”

  Kelly spent the next hour going through what Cindy and Fred needed to do before it became too late. She emailed the links for web sites, online materials, and told her about the mobile home lot they used to buy their house and their parents’ houses. After Kelly went through everything, Cindy said she had enough information and she wanted to spend more time talking to Fred. She agreed they would see everyone for Thanksgiving and couldn’t wait to see the place. Kelly said they could come up anytime and stay as long as they wanted without any pressure from them. She just wanted her little sister to be alright.

  That evening, Kelly told Mark about her conversation with Cindy. He agreed it would be nice if they lived with them instead of ending up living in a dump the government would give them after losing their home. Mark started thinking about what they would do if others in their family have the same problem. I realize Cindy and Fred may be able to scrape up the money for a mobile. I worried about other family members couldn’t afford to move right away or would wait until they lost everything before making the move. They would need to figure out how to house more family members who may or may not be able to get a mobile home or other structure in place. Even if they figured out housing for everyone, the septic system would not hold any more houses attached to it. He wasn’t sure about the electricity being able to handle the extra load needed for more houses. He was pretty sure the water pump couldn’t pump enough to handle the extra water needed during busy times. They barely had enough water pressure as it was in the morning when everyone was talking showers at the same time at his, his parents’, and Kelly’s parents’ houses. Mark knew they were on the last bits of their money and what they did have coming in was already slated for something they needed. He needed to think about this for a few days and talk to a few more people. He was sure they would come up with something if Cindy was moving in and if others needed to move to the property as well. They had plenty of land, just not enough infrastructure and housing to handle their entire families.

  It did not take Cindy and Fred more than three days to talk everything over and call Kelly back. “Hey, Sis. Would you two mind if we come up the week before Thanksgiving? The shop’s closed down for the month and we want to talk to you two. The girls only have school a few days during the week so we are going to take them out earlier. It’s not like they are really learning anything with the way the schools have changed this year.”

  “Come on up and visit. Between our house, mom’s house, and Mark’s parents’ house, we have plenty of room. You can help me make Thanksgiving dinner. Almost all of it is coming from our farm or a friend’s farm.”

  “Really?” Cindy replied.

  “Yep. We had a great garden this year and planned on this. Our neighbors are supplying the turkey and dressing and grain for the bread, but we are supplying all the other vegetables except for cranberry sauce. I’ll even make my own sour cream and butter from a neighbor’s milk cow. We have goats and milk them, but the cow’s milk is better for butter and sour cream.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard from mom how dad has fallen in love with his goats. She says he has more energy now than ever and can’t seem to stop talking about goats, goat milk,
and goat cheese. She said he is like a broken record.”

  Kelly laughed as she also had to listen to her dad talk all morning about a new goat cheese he was going to try to make for Christmas. The cheese was a soft cheese so it should be aged enough by Thanksgiving. “Yeah. I got an earful this morning. He went on for half an hour about a cheese they make in France that he needs to try for Christmas.”

  Both of them laughed again and Kelly wondered when was the last time Cindy and Fred had something to laugh about in their lives. Cindy ended the call by saying they would be up on the Saturday two weeks before Thanksgiving and she couldn’t wait to see the farm and everyone.

  Mark was able to figure out how to build a septic tank without too much fuss and arrange for another well to be dug on the property. Working with Owen and another member of the community, they were able to build a sturdy water tower for each of the wells. The water towers increased the water pressure without having to buy expensive high-volume pressure water pumps. By the time Cindy, Fred, Emily, and Jared came for their visit, everything was ready for another mobile home if they chose to move to the farm. They ended up selling all their stocks, cashing in their CDs, and draining their bank accounts to buy the last mobile home on the lot. The lot owner promised the home would be set up the week after Thanksgiving.

  The Friday before Thanksgiving week, everyone celebrated Mark’s last day at Plains Airlines. Even though he had been with Plains for over twenty years and it had been his only adult job, he was not sad to be done with them. He had never gotten over how they treated everyone with the fuel shortage lies and out-sourcing so the executives could grow their bank accounts. He knew hundreds of people who had worked at Plains for years who were put on the curb when Plains was done with them. Mark was at least happy he got a six month’s severance package for his twenty years of sixty hour weeks. He celebrated by shredding his ID badge and burning the remains. He said afterward he should have hung it, shot it, shredded it, burned it, and scattered the ashes in the pig pen. Everyone told him he was going overboard and shredding and burning should be enough.