Owsee, "so you lived on a farm too?"
I said, "yes, it was a dairy farm, we milked about 80 cows."
Owsee, "my translator does not have a word for cows, but we milk goats."
I said to him that my translator made that out to be goats and asked him what they looked like.
Owsee, "well, they're short, have lots of hair, and come in many different colors."
I said, "you could be talking about bartenders."
Owsee, "that's right, but he has no hair. There is a farm not too far down the road from town. We will go one day and I will show you what we call a goat, and the bird we get eggs from."
I said, "I like farms, as long as I'm not working there, ha ha."
Owsee, "yes farms are a lot of work, and I just remembered that the fish in the freezer needs to be turned over. They need more water poured on them to keep it all in good shape."
So we went down to the walk-in freezer. As soon as we went in we spotted a big bucket of berries.
I said, "when do you think she found time to pick all of them?"
Owsee, "maybe while you were asleep. Catalacks like to get up at night and do things or just walk around. That is why they take naps during the day.”
We turned all the fish over and gave them a spray of water. After leaving the freezer I said to Owsee, "that was cold work."
He said, "yes, it can get to you after a while."
I then saw a table with wood carving tools on it and asked Owsee about them.
He said, "I made pipes when I was a boy, and sold them in town. Sometimes a man from the big city would come by and take 10 or more to resell, I was good at carving faces on them."
I said, "so these tools have been sitting there for over 35 years, and no one has touched them?"
Owsee, "yes, that's one thing you can say about this town, there is not a thief among them. You cannot say that about the cities, because of the aliens that come and go."
I said, "it's the same on earth. People move out of the cities to get away from the crime, and before you know it the small town becomes a city with problems."
Owsee, "35 years and this place has not changed a bit, it's as if time stood still here."
I said, "well time didn’t stand still when it came to aging you."
Owsee, "that's because I did not stay here. If I had I would still be that young man, at least at heart."
I said, "do you feel young enough to have another drink?"
Owsee, "I would race you to it but I don't want to embarrass myself."
As we started up the stairs kitty was just coming in and said, "so that's where you are. What have you been up to?"
I said, "we have been turning frozen fish over. How was your day at the shop?"
Kitty, "not bad, more people than yesterday. Before long, I will have to get new stock. That means a trip into the city to find suppliers."
Owsee, "you can use my transport and make a day of it."
Kitty, "did you find the paper you were looking for?"
I said, "yes, and some ink too."
Kitty, "and what will you do with it?"
I said, "we cut it into sheets then put the alphabet on one side and a poem on the other."
Owsee, "and we give a free download of the language, and how to pronounce it, to each of Goo da wa’s customers."
I said, "we are even talking about doing something with the school children."
Kitty, "I want a download too, so I can learn to read before my children do."
I said, "no problem, I'll make a sheet for you and a download tonight."
Kitty, "I have a new recipe I want to try tonight. I forget what it is called, but it sounded good to me. Is there only the three of us tonight?"
Owsee, "did you ask the doctor if he was coming?"
Kitty, "he said he was eating with the Mayor. What about Goo da wa?"
Owsee, "now that his bar is open I don't think we will see much of him unless we go there."
Kitty, "we should take him something from time to time, like I did on the station. I truly think the only thing the man knows how to make it a meat sandwich."
Owsee, "if you want some good recipes, we can download them from my ship. She can make just about anything you can think of."
Kitty, "then how come it's not cooking tonight?"
Owsee, "will you hit me if I say because we had to put its memory chips in storage"?
Kitty, "no, but you can put the notion that a machine can out cook me in storage as well."
Owsee, "I didn't mean any harm in what I said, I'm going to shut my mouth now."
Kitty, "oh, now you're not been any fun at all." And she gave him a kiss on the head. Then she walked over to me and gave me a passionate kiss on the mouth. I asked what that was for and she said, "for being the only one I can do that with anymore."
She went back to the kitchen as I said, "thank you."
Owsee just looked at me and smiled under his mug of ale. I smiled back and said, "sometimes it's good to have a mate."
Owsee, "she will never let you go hungry, that one."
I pushed my empty rum mug toward him and he made me another one of his stay awake orange rum drinks.
I said, "how would you like to hear a stupid joke?"
Owsee, "sure, do I need to be very stupid to understand it?"
I said, "no, but it sounds funnier. Anyway, it goes like this;
“A cowboy is riding along and sees an Indian with his ear to the ground. The Indians says, "one wagon, two horses, a man, a woman, a child and a dog; one hour ago." The cowboy says, "that's pretty good. You can tell all that just from putting your ear to the ground?" He says, "no, they ran over me an hour ago, oh my." Ha ha."
Owsee, "I don't know what a cowboy or an Indian is, but I understand. They ran over me. Ha ha, very funny."
Just then there was a knock and a hello at the door.
I walked over and said, "can I help you?"
The man said, "I'm looking for a Owsee wa sphere."
Owsee called out, "I'm Owsee, what do you need?"
The man said, "I need you to show me where you think the geo thermal well should go."
Owsee, "on the other side of the barn, I'll show you."
So the three of us went out to the other side of the barn and the man drove a stake in the ground. He said the crew would be here at first light, then he left and we went back to the house.
Owsee said he thought they might be able to drive the well in just one day, because of a unseen fissure in the rock that ran under the mountain and across the property. Owsee said that the man told him he had never drove a well in just one day, but once they start, they will keep working day and night until the job is done. I nodded my head as if to agree that this is the way things should be done.
Then the scent of supper cooking got my attention and I said, "something is starting to smell good."
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Kitty said, "I only hope it tastes as good as it smells, but it will take just a bit more simmering."
It then started to rain, and it was coming down good at hard. There were flashes of lighting and the crash of thunder. Owsee and I stood on the porch for bit and watched it.
I said to Owsee, "I don't see any lightning rods on the barn or house."
He said, "what is a lightning rod?"
I told him how they work and that we should make some before we start the generators up. He thought that was a good idea.
Then the power went off but Owsee knew just where to find the old oil lamps and candles.
Supper was a nice beef stew with dumplings. We were almost done before the power came back on. Owsee said that once the substation got hit by lightning and it took a week to get it fixed. I said that would be another place that could use a lightning rod, and that because the wind generators stand so high in the air they must get hit from time to time as well.
Owsee, "that's probably what caused the blackout, it throws the breakers at the substation.
But after tomorrow we won’t have to worry about that anymore."
It stopped raining and the air had the fresh smell to it.
I told Kitty I felt like a walk and was going to see how Goo da wa was doing. Owsee said he was too tired, but Kitty said she was up to a walk so we both went.
It had rained so hard that a couple of the torches had gone out, so I relit them as we went. As we walked in the cave bar, we saw that we were not the only ones. There were 10 men at the bar and another six at tables. They all had sheets of paper in front of them and seemed to be working on how to read the new poem.
Goo da wa came over to our end of the bar and said, "what can I get you?"
I said I would take a short ale and Kitty asked for for juice. We sat at the table, at this end of the bar, and Goo da wa brought us our drinks.
I said, "it looks like your customers are into the reading program."
Goo da wa, "oh they love it, not only is it something to do but they get a new poem just for translating it. And I told them that next week I will be having a contest to see who can read a new poem the fastest; the winner gets a large picture of brew."
I said, "it sounds like being able to read is catching on."
Goo da wa, "it's the poem's. They would do anything to get a new story, even if it is only a page long."
I said, "I need to sit down and write a nice short story for you to give them. You then can cut it up into parts, and dish it out a few pages at a time."
Kitty, "I want a sheet of paper like your other customers and a download of how to pronounce the letters too."
I said, "yes, Kitty wants to start reading as well."
Goo da wa, "I have an extra of each."
Kitty, "oh damn, I forgot to bring the stew I put aside for you."
Goo da wa, "don't worry about it, I ate not long ago. One of my customers brought me something his wife calls smorgesh pie. It was very good, and filling, he said his wife gave you the recipe. And let's not forget the leftovers from the party. I made a walk-in freezer out of part of one of the caves in the back, just so I could store it all. And now that I have power I turned another cave into a waste disposal room with an incinerator, I just take out the ashes each day."
I said, "it sounds like the place is coming together."
He said, "it is, there are still a few things I want to do to the place, but for now I have everything I need. Talking about needs, I'll be right back." And he went to fill a few mugs.
Kitty and I stayed and talked a bit more with Goo da wa, until we were done with our drinks, then we went home. Owsee had already gone to bed, Kitty and I did the same.
“Night talk”
But I could not get right to sleep. Things kept running through my mind, like starting a school program, writing a story for Goo da wa, making a lightning rod, mining crystals and going to a station to sell them to a pirate by myself. That's the kind of thing I could use Owsee with, but he would draw too much attention at the Star gate. I was lying there thinking about all these things when I felt Kitty quietly get up. She hardly moved the covers at all, as she slipped out of bed. I pretended to be asleep, or at least trying to. Then I told myself that maybe a smoke would help me calm my mind. So I got up and headed for the porch. On the way through the living room, I saw Kitty on the sofa, stretching.
She said, "did I wake you? I was trying not to."
I said, "no, I can't get to sleep, too much thinking about things. Why are you up?"
Kitty, "oh, I just felt like stretching and turning but didn't want to wake you."
I said, "I thought maybe a smoke would relax me."
Kitty, "try some of that bud liqueur, it put you out the other night."
I said, "that it did," and poured myself a small glass of it, then went out to the porch to sit down and have myself a smoke.
I sat down on the rocking chair and soon Kitty came out to curl up on the wooden love seat next to me, with a pillow she brought from the sofa.
We looked at the stars in the now clear sky and I said, "I can't believe I have traveled so far that I cannot even see the one my home planet is lit by."
Kitty, "I don't even know where to look for mine, but I'm glad I am not there."
I said, "why? Is it that bad there?"
Kitty, "there are too many of us and not enough food. The lucky ones get off as soon as they can."
I said, "it's the same on earth. In some places thousands of people die each day from lack of food or Med.’s. But this place is like my world when it was young and people lived in harmony with the land. I don't think I have ever been more contented."
Kitty, "I love it too. Do you think we will always live here?"
I said, "why not? It looks like a nice place to live and raise children."
I relit my pipe, and took another sip of my drink.
Kitty, "everyone in town is still talking about what you did with that rock at the cave. They want you to know they are grateful for what you did."
I said, "are they asking how I did it?"
Kitty, "no, they simply believe you have the power, and that it would be best not to talk about it to outsiders."
I said, "good, the less people that know the better."
After I was done with my drink and smoke I said, "I think I can get to sleep now."
Kitty, "I'm just going to nap here for a while, the air smells so nice I don't want to get up."
I said, "okay then, I'll see you in the morning." And I went to bed.
Day 8
Morning seemed to come too quickly with sounds of the drill outside.
I sat up in bed to see that the light outside was still dim. Kitty, still next to me said, "is it morning already?"
I said, "barely ," and put my boots on.
As I got to the porch Owsee came out of his room and said, "when they say first light they were not kidding, what time is it?"
I said, "Time for breakfast. Who's up for pancakes?"
Owsee, "what is a pan cake, a cake you make in a pan?"
I said, "it's what I’m making for breakfast. If it looks like something you may want to eat you can have some."
Owsee, "I will look at your pan cake after I make myself a cup of bean juice. Would you like one?"
I said, "no thank you, I just can't get past the bitter taste."
I was stirring the batter as Kitty came into the kitchen and said, "what's this, you're making breakfast?"
I said, "I'm making breakfast for me, Owsee has not decided if I'm making it for him yet."
And I poured some batter in a hot, greased pan then said, "after I get this one done you can try it and tell me if you want me to make more for you."
She asked what they were called. I told her there were pancakes and I liked them with butter and jam. So she got out the butter and jam, and put them on the table along with plates for each of us, and a pitcher of milk. By the time she came back to the kitchen the first pancake was done, and I put it on a plate for her. She took it to the dining table as I started to make more. I watched through the opening, between the kitchen and dining room, as each cut a small piece and tried it.
Then they put butter and jam on it and tried a little more. In short order the pancake was gone and they were asking for more. So I greased up another pan, and made stacks of pancakes until we were all very full.
After breakfast Kitty said she wanted to get a start on going to the city to get new stock for the store. We offer to fly her there, but as she said she wanted to see the area we were living in from the ground. So Owsee let her use to transport. I didn't know she could drive one, but then there was a lot I didn't know about Kitty.
Owsee and I then went out to see how the drilling was coming.
There were two trucks there with pipe on them.
Owsee said, "you won't need all that pipe. You will hit a hot vent in 100 feet."
The owner of the drilling rig said, "I have drilled holes all over this planet for more than 30 years, and never hit a hot vent in 100 feet.
"
Owsee, "well you will today, I scanned that ground myself."
The man said, "if I hit a hot vent in less than 100 feet I will not charge you for the pipe."
TheTraveler - book 1 Page 18