By the Author of Dear Diary: It’s Me, Jessica
Find the previous chapter here.
Dear Diary,
It’s me, Jessica.
I sat with Rae at the picnic table, Dad working the fire of the outdoor oven, telling her what had happened with Tasha and her group, their act to get food and more out of people, how I hid and then confronted them. Jack surrounded them with some of the Four Corners militia, and we sent them unharmed West to the city to their own fate.
“Chicken and biscuits, I missed all the drama,” she slapped the table. “I got a ride with Mr. Miller back home to sleep in my own bed.”
“Meh, you did not miss much, really. And better to sleep in your own bed and not on the ground, in a bedroll with Samson and the puppies as comfort.”
“Good point.”
“I have to admit, watching Tasha clam up when Jack said he would toss them over the bridge and me confirming, ‘He has done it before,’ gave me a degree of satisfaction to see the look on her face.”
“Chicken and biscuits, you are terrible!”
“I learned it from you.”
“Okay, there is that,” Rae grinned and winked at me.
Mom came up with a wire basket of eggs and set it down next to three other baskets of eggs.
“It is getting cooler, the days shorter. The chickens are laying less then they do in the summer. These are the eggs from the past week. According to Joanna, if we roll them in a layer of Ghee or lard, they will keep for up to six months as long as we keep them cool. She said the eggs will even take on the flavor of the Ghee or lard. Should make for some good eggs!”
“Oh, now you are talking about real Southern comfort food,” Rae exclaimed. “Two eggs over easy, with smoked bacon with biscuits, and that is what I call breakfast!”
“Good grief, Rae, you just talking about it, I think I gained five pounds,” Mom smirked.
“Alright,” Dad said from the outdoor oven, “The ghee needs to cool to the point it is semi-solid to coat the eggs,” he said as he pulled the cast iron pan from the outdoor oven stove top and put it on a trivet on the table. “What are we talking about?”
“Gaining weight,” Mom answered.
“That would be a neat trick. I think I am about the same weight as I was wrestling in high school,” Dad said looking down at his waist.
“I remember those days, you in your tight, wrestling singlet,” Mom gave Dad a sly smile.
“Uh, yeah, okay,” Dad turned red and coughed twice.
“Howdy, everyone,” HAM Guy said as he came around the corner of the house and took a seat at the picnic table. “What’s new?”
“We are preserving eggs in Ghee,” Mom answered.
“Oh. Well, that’s an interesting idea.”
“Anything new on the radio nets?” Rae asked.
“I passed the word to City HAM Guy about those people who came to Four Corners pretending to be special as a con to get free food. He said they would keep an eye out. Jamal and his crew found a gas station with a burned-out storefront, but in the back, there was a storeroom that was not damaged. He says at the next trade they have some goodies to trade for like candy bars, coffee, cigarettes, chips, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, coffee,” Rae exclaimed.
“Our supply ran out over a year ago,” Dad said.
“Well, bring something good for trade! I am sure coffee will be going for a premium! In other news,” HAM Guy said in his best serious and stern TV news anchor voice, “The King of New America has determined he will mint silver and gold coins as the new currency. His likeness on one side, and on the other a turkey, his finance minister.”
“He might be nuts, but I think I am beginning to like this guy,” Mom said.
HAM Guy changed back to his normal voice,
“He might be better than some of the politicians we had in DC before the power went out.”
Then he changed back to a serious and stern TV anchor guy voice, “In weather, reports from the Northeast of heavy snow and extreme cold. Without snowplows, the only means of transportation is either snowshoes or cross-country skis. And in sports, no one cares as there are no professional teams anyway.”
“Hear from your Ireland HAM friend?” Dad asked.
“I did,” HAM Guy said, staying in his serious and stern TV anchor guy voice. “She is getting reports of increased fighting in London, Paris, France, and Berlin, Germany, in what appears to be something of a civil war or fighting between native born and immigrants. Some are calling it the European Crusades as differing religious or ethnic groups battle it out. Several European countries have closed their borders.”
HAM Guy returned to his normal voice.
“The comparison to the actual Crusades is way off, but for those who don’t know history, meh.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“I always wanted to see Paris,” Rae sighed. “What a shame.”
Entry two
Well, that did not take long.
Billy’s new wife is pregnant. There is some question about the timing if she was not already pregnant when they got married.
Diary, I do not think it matters.
What I do think is that it is not me! It isn’t that I do not want kids. I just think I am way too young for the whole settling down and having kids kinda of thing. I might be the Hero of Four Corners, but if the power were still on, I would still be in high school thinking about finding the right dress and who would be my date to the Snow Ball. I could not even vote, buy a lotto ticket, or buy cigarettes, not that I would smoke.
Maybe I have not met the right guy. Not that I have had a lot of guys my age, outside of Billy, to pick from.
One guy was a member of a gang who attacked Four Corners. When he was harassing Savannah, I gave him a butt stroke to the head with my rifle and knocked him out.
Then just recently, Paul was a con artist who I knew was bad news from the word ‘go.’
Diary, the ‘new normal’ is definitely not what I was expecting. The ‘new normal,’ I do not know what to think about that.
About 1stMarineJarHead
1stMarineJarHead is not only a former Marine, but also a former EMT-B, Wilderness EMT (courtesy of NOLS), and volunteer firefighter.
He currently resides in the great white (i.e. snowy) Northeast with his wife and dogs. He raises chickens, rabbits, goats, occasionally hogs, cows and sometimes ducks. He grows various veggies and has a weird fondness for rutabagas. He enjoys reading, writing, cooking from scratch, making charcuterie, target shooting, and is currently expanding his woodworking skills.
