Just then Lulu came jumping off the bus all excited. Most girls her age would be acting shy meeting new people. But not Lulu. She jumped out with a big smile on her face.
“This is my daughter, Luanne. We call her Lulu.”
“Well, hello there, Lulu. I was the one that asked for Mo,” and I stuck out my hand.
She giggled and reached out and shook hands. “Why do you call my daddy Mo?”
“Well, that’s the nickname we used to call your dad when he was in the Army. Just like your nickname is Lulu, we called him Mo as a shortcut for Mosley.”
She looked at her dad saying, “MOOOO!” in a funny voice and started giggling again.
“Great! I won’t hear the end of that.”
MO’s wife stepped off the bus. She was a very attractive slim black woman, probably in her late 30’s.
“This is my wife, Angela. Honey, this is Vince.”
I shook her hand, “I want to know how this guy suckered you into marrying him?”
She was quick and immediately replied, “He got me drunk,” which caused another outburst of laughter.
Just about that time, Kim came out saying, “I’m sorry, I was on the phone.” She looked at me, “They’re being fueled now.”
I must admit, a big sigh of relief came over me when I heard they got the fuel.
I nodded with a smile, “Everybody, this is my wife, Kim. Kim, this is Angela, MO’s wife.” They shook hands, both with a smile.
“And this is Lulu, their daughter.”
“Well, aren’t you a sweetie,” Kim said with a smile.
Lulu said hi with a bit of an embarrassed smile.
“And this is Tag and Mo.”
She walked up to Mo, “Hi Calvin,” and gave him a hug.
She then looked at Tag, “So this is the famous Tag,” while giving him a hug as well.
“I’ve heard so much about you guys; I feel like I already know you in a way.”
Tag looked at me, “Well, I hope not all the stories.”
I raised my eyebrows and got a shit-eating grin, “Well, I tell Kim everything, and yes, that includes the wall in Nuremberg.”
Tag turned red, “Oh my God, you didn’t really tell her that story, did you?”
Mo and I burst out laughing, and then Kim joined in after thinking about the story I told her.
Angela got a puzzled look on her face and asked, “What’s that mean?”
Mo, while still laughing, said, “Just something in Tag’s history.” Angela rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Well come on, let’s get inside.”
We all sat in the living room talking a mile a minute about the size of MO’s bus, their travel adventures, how Mo was lucky to find Kim’s Facebook page and what was going on in the world.
We found out that Mo earned his upper degree and became a High School Basketball coach. College is where he met Angela. She also became a teacher and taught 4th-grade math.
We learned Red had opened an auto repair service and turned it into a pretty large operation.
They told us how Wit received his secondary MOS and stuck with being a Medic.
Tag, who was a Juvenile Officer for a few years, got so frustrated with the system that he finally quit and started a construction company.
I gave them the background on what happened with my injury, the surgery, and how Kim and I met. So much was being talked about, I never got to fill them in on Mike and Paul.
Looking at Mo, I asked, “Do you remember when we first met?”
He got a strange look like he was thinking back.
“I arrived in Kitzengen when the brigade was out at Reforger. I had already recognized what a hell hole it was, and you came walking into the room with Torrez and ……”
Mo burst out laughing, “I remember that. You had a look on your face like, “Where the hell am I?”
“Yeah and when you saw me sitting there with that look, you started laughing just like you are now. I remember asking you “What’s so funny?” You said something like, “Man, I know what you’re feeling. I felt the same way when I arrived here.”
“Oh man, I forgot all about that.”
Kim and Angela looked at each other like “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
“Well, I have to check on dinner,” Kim stated.
Angela laughed, “I’ll join you and let the clowns go back in time.”
Kim and Angela seemed to hit it off right from the beginning. They talked about their jobs, their husbands, and the stories they heard over and over again about the guy’s Army days.
A burst of laughter came from the guys. Angela walked over to the entrance to the living room and then signaled Kim to come over and watch.
“Tag, remember when we were on that recon, and Mo and I came over the hill with you following about 50 yards back? I saw that column of tanks coming right at us, and our Bradley did a 180 while traveling at about 35 mph. I’ll never forget your face when we spun around,” I said laughing loudly.
“Well hell, I thought you were nuts, and we were going to have a head on until I saw the tanks. I remember you flying across that open area with your smoke generator on, but it was barely kicking out anything. How you didn’t get blown away is beyond me.”
Angela said to Kim, “Look at them. They’ve forgotten we’re even here.” Both of them burst out laughing.
Mo yelled out, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, we just remembered a joke we both heard,” Kim replied while laughing.
Lulu ran into the living room and sat next to me. “Mr. Johnson, I hear you have some horses.”
“Well, we do. We have two. If you want, we’ll take you out to see them tomorrow if it’s ok with your mom and dad.”
“Oh, can we daddy?”
“Sure baby.”
“You know, we also may see some deer.”
Her mouth flew wide open with a big smile.
I then whispered to her, “And you can call me Vince if you want.”
“Ok, Vince.”
Kim then walked into the room and asked, “Any idea when Kevin and Greg are going to be here because dinner is just about ready?”
Tag replied, “I’ll check,” and got on his phone.
“Hey, how far out are you guys?......Really?...... Are you guys ok?......Ok, be careful,” and he hung up his phone.
“They’re on their way. They will be here in about an hour and a half, but they did run into some trouble and were involved in a shooting. They’re OK. Red said he would tell us the rest when they got here.”
“Man, the world's just going to shit,” Mo sighed.
Then with a little reluctance, “Let me ask you Mo, what do you think about all these riots and the shit going on that basically started with Socialists United and the Urban Warrior’s demonstration?”
When we were in the Army together, I wouldn’t have hesitated to ask him, but it had been years since I had seen Mo. I obviously asked him to get his honest opinion as a black man.
“The Urban Warriors is just another radical political hate group.
Now, don’t misunderstand me, when this first started out, they were just trying to bring national attention to some of their concerns about certain areas, but since then they have been highjacked by anarchists and the extremists from the radical left.”
He then lowered his voice so that Angela wouldn’t hear, “Angela’s brother is all involved with them. I personally can’t stand the son of a bitch because he’s just a racist thug and just wants to raise hell legally.”
He raised his voice back to normal, “For instance, look how that Jerome Jackson and the Urban Warriors caused all this shit to explode. That moron deserved a lot worse than being shot.”
I jumped in, “Oh my God, I forgot to tell you. Do you remember Mike, my youngest? Well, he’s the one that sniped his ass.”
Tag asked, “Whaaat? Little Michael, who I would play with by chasing him through the barracks? Bullshit!”
“You did,” Mike grumbled as he walked out of the bedroom rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Mo, looking up at Mike and started his classic laugh, “He’s not little Michael anymore, is he? Oh my God, damn we’re getting old. The last time I saw you, your mom was chasing you through the barracks.”
I looked over at Tag, and he was just sitting there with his mouth wide open.
“Honey get in here,” Mo shouted.
Angela came in.
“This is Mike, Vince’s son. He’s the one that shot that scum ball, Jackson.”
All of them started questioning Mike. He gave a very condensed version, partly because Mike doesn’t give too many details about anything but mainly because he didn’t want to be too graphic with Lulu in the room, even though she had fallen asleep.
Tag, then asked, “Well, where’s Paul?”
So, I told them Paul’s story.
“Good grief. They sure went different directions, didn’t they? Man, I’m sorry to hear that,” Mo said sadly.
Tag jumped in, “Remember how he used to come into the barracks and be able to tell us all the information on enemy aircraft and armor? His knowledge always blew my mind. I was sure he was going to follow your career path”
After a bit of a pause as though everyone was thinking back, Kim finally asked, “Hey, is anybody hungry?”
Mo woke up Lulu, and we all walked in to sit at the dining table.
USAF Space Command
“General, I have spoken to the President, and he’s ordering you to lower our DEFCON level. He’s concerned that others may consider it an aggressive action.” the Secretary of Defense commanded with a firm tone.
“But Mr. Secretary, what about……”
“No buts General. This is an order from your Commander-in-Chief. Besides, we’ve received confirmation from the Russian government that the Iranian’s barely have the technology to operate a weather satellite.
As far as your comment about the ruling of the United Nations forbidding Iran from deploying satellites, off the record, this was approved in a side deal when we signed the nuclear treaty with them.
So, I hope these instructions are clear. You can observe their satellites, but you won’t show any aggressive posturing,” he ordered.
“YES, SIR! Is there anything else SIR?” He asked with true anger in his voice.
“That will be all General. Good day.”
“Before you hang up Mr. Secretary, you will be receiving my written resignation within the hour. I won’t be a part of this fiasco. The President made a very dangerous nuclear treaty with Iran. We are going to allow them to keep part of their nuclear program and they even have a 28-day notice before an inspection can take place. We’re also paying them billions of dollars and removing all sanctions. Iran is the largest sponsor of terrorism, and they have stated for the record that their ultimate goal is to destroy Israel and bring “The Great Satan,” which is us, to our knees. Again, I can no longer be a part of any of this.”
In a joyful tone, the Secretary proclaimed, “General, consider your resignation accepted. You’re from another time General. You and your kind just don’t realize that this is a new day. America is now just another peaceful nation in the world community. There will be no more “American Exceptionalism.” We’re now just a part of the United Nations Community.
President Prescott has been our savior as he has transformed America into a peaceful, humbled nation.
We do not need Generals that don’t think that way. Good day, Stanton.”
As soon as the phone call ended, the General declared to his adjutant, “To hell with all of them. They’ve opened our door, to who knows what. It’s time for me to retire. I’m done with these clowns.”
Meanwhile, General Baraz and two Russian military advisors had flown back to Tehran, Iran. After meeting with the Ayatollah, they immediately went to their new Satellite Control.
As soon as they entered the room, the first words out of the General’s mouth was, “Status?”
“All systems show green. The unit has been deployed and is currently at station.”
“Well then, let’s deliver our two gifts, to the Great Satan. Initiate!”
Washington, D.C.
With both houses of Congress convening to debate the impeachment of the President, the President had called an emergency meeting of his Cabinet.
Attending were the Vice President, the Attorney General, the Secretaries’ of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veteran’s Affairs.
The President had just concluded a meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As he entered the Cabinet Room, he said, “Please be seated. The reason for this meeting is to discuss ……………”
Suddenly an intense bright light seemed to penetrate through the walls. The last thing the President heard was only a partial sound. A deafening “Cha Poof.”
Johnson Farm
We had just finished a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and homemade dinner rolls. Kim did a heck of a job with very little advanced notice.
Lulu who had seen the pies asked, “Do we get dessert?”
Angela jumped in, “How can you want dessert after such a large meal?”
“Because it’s dessert mommy!”
While laughing Angela said, “Thank you, Kim. This is by far the best meal we’ve had the last several days.”
“You’re very welcome.
Lulu, if it’s alright with your parents, I have apple and pumpkin pie.”
Lulu opened her mouth wide and started nodding her head yes.
Mo said, “Ok Lulu but only a small piece.”
Kim asked, “Who else wants dessert?”
All us guys raised our hands. The ladies laughed, and Angela said, “Let me help you, Kim.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue if they’re going to serve it to us. Let’s go to the living room.” I suggested while grabbing my coffee.
For the next hour, we caught up on our personal lives. Tag told us the devastating story of his wife’s battle with cancer and her eventual death.
They told us how Wit’s marriage ended in divorce and how Red met his Australian wife.
I told the story how Kim and I met and filled them in about Phil and Anna.
After we had caught up a bit, I turned on the news so that we could catch up on events. It seemed as though if you missed 4 hours of news, you would miss some new tragedy going on. It had become non-stop.
Mo asked, “So you watch Fox News also?”
“Yeah, that’s the only news I’ll watch. I also like Lou Dobbs Tonight and Varney and Company on Fox Business News.”
“Yeah, I’m the same way. That’s the only place you can hear the real news anymore. You sure don’t hear what’s really going on if you watch network news or the other cable news services. It seems as though most of them only report the gossip in Washington and Hollywood, just like many of those old Hollywood gossip shows did.”
Tag jumped in, “I hear that. I know for a fact that for the last year or so, CNN reports mainly fake news. Half the time, the news they report is either a distraction from what is really going on or just something to indoctrinate people towards the far-left way of thinking.”
“That’s the truth,” Mo said with a chuckle.
We started watching the coverage of the destruction from the riots in Boston when the Emergency Alert System tone came on, then a voice saying, “This is not a test,…..”
Tag had just remarked, “Oh shit!” when suddenly the power went out.
“Oh man! This is a hell of a time for the power to go out. We have to see wh
at’s going on.” I grumbled while jumping up to grab a flashlight.
Kim came in and started lighting some candles. I looked out the window to see if it was just us or the neighbors as well. Normally I would wait a little bit to see if it came back on. Living in the country, we periodically will have the power go out, usually for just a moment though. But with the Emergency Alert System coming on, I went outside to turn on the generator.
How I have our system set up is we have a master switch on the pole that will shut off power to the house and other buildings.
When the power has gone out for a longer period, such as an ice storm or something, I’ll shut the power switch off at the pole and then plug my 7000-watt generator directly into any outlet outside the house. This sends the generator's power directly into our house grid. It won’t run the 220-volt items like the range or the hot water heater until I can figure out how to connect it to the 220 but it will provide enough for the lights, television, the refrigerator, and freezers.
There are two reasons for shutting the power off at the pole. One is, if the electricity does come back on, it won’t fry the generator. Most importantly, so an electrical company lineman won’t get shocked from the electricity produced by the generator if he’s working on a power line.
Tag followed me as I shut off the power switch. We then heard what sounded like an explosion at a long distance away. Then another one.
“I wonder what that was. Something blew up,” I stated.
“Yeah, one was up north and the second one sounded like it was to the east.” After a pause, Tag said, “Damn it’s dark!”
“Yeah, this is too dark. It’s not usually this dark.”
I hit the switch on the pole, which is in our garden area. I looked to the north and west, and all you could see was the stars.
“This has to be a widespread outage. Normally I can see the lights in the sky from Harrisonville and Kansas City. It’s all dark.”
I walked over to the generator, turned the key and nothing happened.
“Damn it! The battery must be dead.”
I walked into the tool shed and grabbed my jump box which is battery powered. After hooking it up, still nothing.
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