by A. American
When I made the turn towards the farm, the old man looked over and asked, “Going to drop in on Cecil?” I nodded as the farm came into sight.
Pulling in, I looked the field over. There were some people out working the crops, but not as many as I expected. I stopped the truck in front of the tents the security detail occupied. A Guardsman was sitting in a camp chair in the shade of the big oak trees. Sarge got out and asked him where Cecil was and he pointed out toward the field. “Out there.”
Sarge looked out over the field, then back at the soldier. “Well, no shit. You got a better idea than that?”
Rocking back in his chair, he replied, “Nope.”
The girls got out of the truck and he noticed them. This got the guy’s attention and he stood up, smiling. Sarge shook his head and started out towards the planted rows to find Cecil. As I passed the soldier, I paused for a moment and looked at the soldier. He was still looking at the girls. Glancing back at them, I said, “Keep an eye on my daughters.” The soldier looked at me and I added, “know what I’m saying?” The man swallowed and nodded.
I caught up to Sarge as he walked through a row of head-high corn. I ran my hands along the stalks as I went. Inside the rows, it was even hotter, if that was possible. The ground beneath my feet was moist, if not wet. So far, we were being blessed with daily rains that were allowing the crops to grow big and fast. It was our saving grace as we didn’t have irrigation here, unlike along the lake in town.
The small plots we’d planted there were the only thing keeping the folks in town going. Sheffield had to provide round-the-clock security for them as people were constantly trying to raid the small patches of food. Even those that worked the ground had to be searched every day for any vegetables they would try and sneak out. The same was having to be done here as well. People were getting desperate; and desperate people will do desperate things.
We finally found Cecil in a bean patch. He was with a couple of old women and the three of them were weeding around the stakes the beans were climbing. “Morning, Cecil,” Sarge said as a greeting.
Cecil looked up. Standing, with some effort, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, removed his broad-brimmed hat and wiped the sweat from his face. “How you doing today, Linus?”
“Fair ta middlin,” Sarge replied and looked around. “Starting to look like the garden of Eden out here.”
Cecil looked around at the crops, some getting very close to being ready to harvest. “It is. We’ve been lucky so far. But we’ve got some problems.”
“Like what?”
Cecil motioned for us to follow and started down one of the rows. The two women went back to their work. Cecil left the bean field and walked into an area dotted with small heads of cabbage. A group of men were working with spades between the rows, chains dragging in the dirt as they shuffled. There were seven of them chained together.
Cecil stopped and folded his arms and rubbed his chin. “Here’s our problem.”
“They stealing?” I asked. Cecil nodded.
Sarge shook his head. “Can’t blame ‘em really. They’re hungry.”
“True,” Cecil agreed. “But if we don’t get a handle on it,” he waved an arm out over the field, “all this food will just dry up like it was never here to begin with.”
“Agreed,” I said. “We can’t have this. I can relate to them. I get it. But we’re trying to help these people out. The more we harvest at one time, the more there will be for them. Sure, they might get a little something today by sneaking it out, but there won’t be anything tomorrow at the rate they are stealing it.”
“Not to mention, if we don’t do it right, we won’t have seeds for next year.” Cecil turned around to face us, “that’s my concern. We have to manage this properly.”
Sarge nodded. “And that’s the real hook. Did you put them on the chain?”
Cecil shook his head. “No. The security folks did. We weren’t sure what to do with them.”
Sarge called to the men. They stopped work and turned to face him. “You fellas realize we can’t have this stealing, don’t you? You realize this food is for everyone and has to be handled properly or it won’t make a difference?”
The men looked at the ground and one another. One of them spoke up. “Sure. But that ain’t feeding my kids today. They’re hungry. They’re starving. What do you expect us to do?”
I walked past the old man. The men all stepped back a bit. “Look, guys. I get it. I really do. But we have to work together to make a change here. Look at all this,” I said as I swept my hand over the field. “This will make a huge difference to everyone. And I know it’s hard to see it here when you’re hungry. But just a little longer and we’ll be harvesting and there will be food every day.”
One of the men in a grubby New York Yankees hat said, “We’re not bad guys. We’re just hungry. We can’t just stand by and watch our wives and children starve to death.”
“How can you take this from your friends and neighbors? Every vegetable taken is at least one less we’ll have later. Surely, you realize that it’s just as important to harvest seeds for future planting as it is to eat the produce. We’ve all got to look at the long-term picture, or we’ll all starve.”
It was a tough spot and I felt for them. But what they did was still wrong, if not understandable. We had to make the point that they couldn’t do this, and yet, the punishment shouldn’t be too severe. “Just don’t try and steal from the farm again, guys. We can’t allow that. If we did, there eventually wouldn’t be anything for anyone.”
“How long you going to keep us on this chain?” One of the men asked.
“How long you been on it?”
“Since yesterday,” another answered.
I looked at Cecil and said, “Take them off it tonight.” Then, looking back at the group, I said, “But if you get caught again, there will be consequences.” The men all seemed relieved and nodded. I hoped they got it. While times are hard at the moment, stealing from the rest of the people in town isn’t the way to do it.
Cecil looked at the group and said, “Go on back to work. This afternoon we’ll cut you boys lose.” The men nodded and went to back to work, their scuffle hoes casting small clouds of dust in the heat of the afternoon. Cecil turned to us and said, “Come on. I want to show you something.”
“What?” Sarge asked.
With a nod, Cecil replied, “You’ll see.”
We followed him across the farm to the northeast corner. A row of low plants that turned out to be yellow squash were wilting in the midday sun. Cecil stopped and looked at the plants. “What do you think?” He asked.
Sarge and I looked at the plants. Sarge shrugged and said, “Looks like they need water.”
Cecil nodded. “It looks that way. But look at those over there. They don’t look like they need water.” He pointed farther down the row at more plants that were standing tall and erect.
“How the hell does half a row of plants look like that?” I asked.
Cecil nodded and pointed at me. “Now that’s the real question. Looking at these, it seems to me like they’ve been sprayed with something.”
“What do you mean, sprayed with something?” I asked.
“Like weed killer?” Sarge asked.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Cecil replied.
“Who the hell would do something like that? And why?” I asked.
Cecil shook his head. “I don’t know. But it sure looks to me like someone sprayed it. It’s the only thing that makes sense, and yet it doesn’t make any sense why someone would do it!”
Thad’s deep voice boomed behind us. “I’m with Cecil.” We all turned to see him and Mary standing behind us. Greetings were exchanged and Thad stepped over to the plants and knelt down. He rubbed one of the wilting leaves between his fingers, then smelled them. Nodding his head, he said, “It’s glyphosate.”
“Round Up?” Cecil asked. “That shouldn’t kill squash.”
Thad s
tood up and brushed soil from his knees. “Not diluted. But sprayed on in its concentrated form, it will.”
“Why would someone do that?” Mary asked. “This is food. Why would anyone kill our food?”
Sarge stretched his back and replied, “Well, Mary, that is the question.”
I looked back across the farm. It was hot and a haze was settling over the broad open expanse. The Guardsmen that provided security for the farm were stationed at the opposite end. While they were here, I doubted seriously they made any real attempt at patrolling the land.
Looking at Sarge, I said, “I think you need to have those guys start patrolling. It may not be a bad idea to set up an LP over here too and keep it manned at night.”
Sarge nodded. “I bet those lazy asses don’t even leave their tents at night. I’ll fix that shit today.”
Looking at Thad, I asked, “What are you guys up to today?”
“I just wanted to come check on Cecil and see how the farm was doing.” “Thought Mary would like to get out for a ride.” She smiled, but said nothing. With a nod, I replied, “That’s nice.”
After Thad and Mary walked away, I took off my hat and wiped sweat from my forehead. “It’s hotter’n two rats fucking in a wool sock. I think I’m going home and load everyone up and go to the lake.”
“We’re going swimming?” Taylor asked. I nodded and she clapped her hands, “I can’t wait!”
“Let’s go already!” Jess moaned. “It’s hot!”
“That’s a hell of an idea!” Sarge boomed. He looked at Cecil, “I’ll get with those boys and address this shit here. Let me know if you see any more of this crap.”
Cecil nodded. “Will do.”
We walked back towards the truck. Sarge peeled over and headed towards the group of Guardsmen tasked with protecting the farm. His stride changed and I could tell he was in full NCO mode. I smiled and leaned against the hood of the truck. “This should be interesting,” I said.
Thad was already at the truck, and he chuckled as he leaned over the hood beside me. “Looks like he’s about to chew some ass.”
Mary had joined the girls, and they were busy talking about the trip to the lake, oblivious to what was happening. It was funny in a way. The things people do and do not notice. “Here it comes,” Thad said as the old man made it to the tents where the soldiers were lounging in camp chairs.
He stopped and stood there for a minute, looking at the four men who were sitting around the remnants of last night’s fire. A few small wisps of smoke rose from the ash as they stared into it. They made only a cursory acknowledgement of the old man, giving him a nod. Thad and I watched as the old man flexed his hands, clenching and unclenching them.
The pressure was building and Thad and I started to laugh. Then it happened. Sarge wasn’t a very big man. Kind of wiry and gnarly. But what he lacked in physical presence, he made up for with presence. Tearing his hat from his head, he began to shout and beat the nearest of the men to him with it.
“Get on your damn feet! You sum bitches got one job! One fucking job! And you can’t even do that! You ain’t doing shit sitting over here staring into the ashes of your circle-jerk bonfire from last night! On your damn feet!,” I said. The men were all suddenly in motion, almost as one. The one Sarge was swatting with his hat tried to cover his head from the assault. He leaned forward to try and get out of the seat and away from the old man. The rear legs of his chair came off the ground and Sarge delivered a solid kick to it, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
They were surprised by the suddenness of the assault and were obviously confused about just what the hell was going on. They looked at one another and at the old man. “Where’s the rest of your people?” Sarge barked.
One of the men pointed to a tent. Sarge cut his eyes to it and quickly disappeared through the flap. The tent started to bounce and shutter, as though there were a storm raging inside it. And I guess there was from the sounds coming from it. In a moment, a man came rolling out the front of the tent, sprawling into the dirt. Getting his feet under him, the man looked at his comrades.
The old man stomped out of the tent and stood in front of the group. “Do I have your attention now?” He asked. They all nodded quickly and he continued, “Well thank you very fucking much! You shiftless sacks of horse shit have been slacking, and that ends today!”
Thad and I were both laughing hard. It was always funny to see someone on the receiving end of the old man’s admonitions. So long as it wasn’t you. While Sarge laid out the new plan for securing the farm, Thad and I spoke about the afternoon’s activity.
“I asked Miss Kay to get a pork shoulder ready to take to the lake this afternoon. I’m going to take it with us and cook it out there. Make it a bit of a picnic,” Thad said.
That made me very happy. Of the many skills that make up this incredible friend, cooking pig parts over a fire is one of his finest. “Now that’s the best damn thing I’ve heard in a long while, ole buddy.”
He grinned when he replied, “I thought you’d like that.”
I looked over at Mary. She was with the rest of the girls at the edge of the field. They were all on a row of celery, down on their knees, pulling weeds. For them, it was nothing more than busy work. Something to do while they waited. There was something that always needed to be done, and it made me feel good to see my family and friends take responsibility. It was good for others out there to see that they didn’t feel as though they were above it. I elbowed Thad and nodded at the girls.
When he looked over his shoulder, I said, “You and Mary seem to be getting along pretty good.”
He blushed, “It ain’t like that.”
I turned and leaned back against the Hummer. “Why not?” I asked. “She’s an attractive girl.” Seeing her smile and wave, I added, “She obviously likes you.”
The smile faded from his face. “It’s not that, Morgan. It’s not that at all. She’s very sweet and I care for her a lot. It’s just….” He faded off without finishing the thought.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Thad, old friend. Let me ask you something, and I know this is hard. If the shoe were on the other foot and something happened to you. Would you want Anita to spend the rest of her life pining over you? Or would you want her to find happiness, whatever that looks like?”
Without hesitation, he said, “I’d want her to find happiness. That would be the most important thing to me in life or death.”
“Don’t you think she’d want the same for you? In life, or death?” I asked. He looked at me without replying. I continued, “You’ve mourned for your loss. And I’m not saying it’s diminished in any way or ever will be. But you have the right, shit, the need to be happy. You, of everyone I know, deserve it too.”
Thad looked down at his feet as he pushed dirt around with the toe of his boot. After a moment, he looked up. His reply was short and simple. “Ok.”
I leaned over and wrapped an arm around him, squeezing him tight. “That’s my man.”
Thad laughed and pushed me away. “You a mess, Morgan.”
Sarge had finished his dressing down and was headed back in our direction. I called out to the girls and they came running towards the truck. They opted to ride in the back of Thad’s truck, leaving me and the old man to get the Hummer back. And they chose wisely. Because all the way back, all he did was bitch and moan. But I got through it by thinking about Thad standing over some smoking oak wood as pig fat dripped into the coals.
“You think they’ll catch whoever did the spraying on the crop?” I asked between tirades.
“They damn well better!” He bellowed.
Shaking my head, I said, “I still don’t get why someone would do it. Just doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s all about perspective, Morgan,” Sarge replied. “From where you’re sitting, it doesn’t. But to whoever is doing it, it makes damn good sense. Someone it trying to keep the food stocks down. This is typical unconventional warfare shit.”
“Alright,” I replied. “Then who is they?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” Turning to look at me, he added, “Yet.”
As we were approaching the ranch, I quickly wheeled off the paved road onto the dirt track that ran to Gina and Dylan’s place. We hadn’t seen them in some time and I wanted to check on them. As the house came into view, we could see Gina out front hanging the washing out on the fence to dry. She waved as I rolled to a stop.
“Hi, Morgan! Hi, Linus!” Gina shouted.
Stepping out, we waved back, “How’s it going, Gina?” I asked.
She draped a wet towel over the fence and replied, “It’s going pretty good. If it wasn’t so damn hot, it would be better.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Sarge retorted.
Looking around, I asked, “Where’s Dylan?”
“He’s back in the greenhouse. We’re covered up with string beans right now. We’ve had the canner running nearly nonstop.”
I laughed. “Having more food than you know what to do with isn’t a bad thing. You know, most folks around here would kill for that.”
Gina smiled, “I guess we used to call that first-world problems.”
“If you got more than you want to deal with, I know plenty of people that could use it,” Sarge said.
“Well,” Gina replied, “we have way more than we need, and I’m running out of jars. You thinking of taking it to town?”
Sarge nodded. “We could. The armory there could always use more food. Plus, they can give some out to the folks in town. The farm is getting close, but it ain’t quite ready yet.”
“I’ll go get Batman and have him fill some baskets up for you. It’ll make things a lot easier on us. I just can’t stomach the thought of letting any of it go to waste,” Gina replied.
“It’ll be appreciated for sure,” I said.