The sun woke before we did on Sunday morning. No matter, we had enough time to get everything done that needed to be done. Only a little water to carry. It was a hazy morning, still kind of sticky, but Josh got the fire started anyway. When the stove was good and hot, Mom made eggs. They had brought bacon yesterday from Grandpop so we used that up. Mel made toast on the hot stove plate, used up the oldest bread. We still had plenty of butter and jelly. No milk, though. I missed that.
I said out loud, “I wonder when I’ll be able to have Cocoa Puffs again?”
Dad answered, “Oh, that might be sooner than you think.”
We had plenty of time to get ready for the church service. I put my swim suit on under a nice loose shirt and shorts. Everyone else dressed casual.
Soon Jim, Hallie, Norm, Janice, and their children arrived with their water jugs. Hallie also had a picnic basket.
“Just some things for lunch after church,” she said.
So we all joined the procession. I took my bicycle. Dad had put a Bible and a hymnal in my saddlebags. Everyone else was on foot. Right down the middle of the road we went. No traffic to be concerned with. When we got to Marie and Bill’s, there was an interesting nice smell. Bill had started a charcoal fire.
Jim said, “Ah, there’s an interesting way to cook. Didn’t think of that one. I think I have a half a bag in my garage, too.” The others were soon there. Tom, Louisa, AnnMarie, and Jeff, Jeff’s parents, and some others I didn’t even know from the neighborhood. John was there too, with his wife, Sarah.
When everyone was there, we all sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. It went well, without hymnals, but you repeat a lot and it’s a song that even the un-churched are familiar with. Dad led us in prayer, praised God, prayed for forgiveness, and thanked Him for all the things that He does for us. We prayed especially for those people that were struggling. There certainly were many who were worse off than we were. Jim and Hallie sang a duet, “How Great Thou Art”, and then Dad got his Bible and read a scripture, Psalm 121.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you, will not slumber.
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life.
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
Dad kept his comments short. He stressed that Jesus would take care of us and that we needed to trust in Him. To end the service, we all sang “Jesus Loves Me”.
Bill went in the house, came out with a whole box of hamburger patties. He said, “I know I shouldn’t have opened the freezer, but Marie and I really wanted to share these. We all deserve a treat today.”
Hallie said, as she grabbed her picnic basket, “I have been saving a big bag of potato chips. Don’t know when we’ll have those again.”
“And,” Marie said, “I also had good hamburger buns.”
“Well, get to work then,” said Norm. “Get those babies frying.”
Bill said, “I opened the freezer quickly. I knew where the hamburgers were, grabbed them, and closed it. And as you can see, they still have a little frost on them, not frozen solid, but still really cold, so I think the food in there will be fine for a day or two more, until we learn how to preserve it. Are you still planning on doing that tomorrow?” he asked my dad.
Dad said, “Bright and early tomorrow morning. We need to get an early start so we don’t run out of light in the evening. Like I said before, if you want to come, lend a hand, and learn, hopefully you can save some of your own food in your own home. Don’t bring any along. I’m sure we’ll find some things in the freezer that we’ll have to eat as there won’t be a good way to preserve it. So, in addition to the work tomorrow, we may also have a feast. And please, everyone bring a couple empty jars so you can each take some with you.”
While Bill threw the burgers on the grill, and the mothers were getting together the rest of the fare, some of the kids and myself got into the pool. It wasn’t even noon yet but the water was warm. It was another hot, sticky day. John left and came back several minutes later. He had a five-gallon bucket full of ice and a gallon of lemonade and a gallon of tea. He said, “As I have my freezer running, I can spare the ice and just make more. We all deserve cold drinks today.”
“Thank you very much,” Marie said. “I sure like how everybody pitched in to make this little meal for us.”
“Sure is hot,” Jim said.
“Yeah, but not as hot as last summer,” Hallie answered. “Remember last summer, some of the trouble in California, the tremendous heat? Even around here.”
“Yeah, we remember,” Norm said. “And remember all that talk about global warming, that it was our misuse of fossil fuels that caused all of that.”
“Well,” Hallie said, “Did you see that Al Gore movie about the environment?” No one had, except Hallie, I guess. She continued, “It was something. It was kind of compelling. Maybe if more people or at least people in power that would have had the foresight or capability of developing alternative energy, this collapse might have been prevented.”
Jim said, “This collapse that we just experienced could not have been prevented simply by solving our oil dependency. There were other factors that contributed, right?”
The question was directed toward my dad. He said, “Probably, there were circumstances that were already set in motion and really hard to reverse. One thing was the strain of the war with Iraq. Even though it was ending, the budgetary strain was too hard to overcome. Then adding the high cost of energy on businesses and on the government itself really put tremendous pressure on the dollar.”
Norm added, “And the fact that that our dollar wasn’t backed by anything of value like gold or silver. That had to have a lot to do with it, also, didn’t it?”
Jim said, “I’m pretty sure you’re right Norm. But the Chinese abandoning the dollar in favor of the euro had to be the final nail in the coffin.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Dad said. “Either way, now that we aren’t driving and burning fossil fuels, if Gore is right, global warming will be reversed and our summers will be cooler and wetter.”
“Yeah right, if Gore is right! I’ll believe it when I see it,” Janice added. “And our winters will be colder and snowier so we’ll have to work harder to stay warm.”
“If just working keeps us warm, no problem; we won’t run out of work to do,” Marie said.
Bill added, “So maybe a couple smart moves on the administration’s part, and I know that’s an oxymoron, could have prevented the collapse. Maybe we’ll even have our electricity back and oil available by winter.”
“There are a lot of maybes in life,” Mom said, “But we play the hand with the cards that we’re dealt. I’m tickled to death by the way we’re all cooperating and making a go of it.”
Soon the burgers were ready. Janice had a pack of cheese. Someone had brought some of Dad’s tomatoes; another had some lettuce, so we had California cheeseburgers. Didn’t remember when I had those last. The adults ate first. We got out of the pool to eat then while some of the adults took their turn and jumped in. It must have been around one PM when the sky started getting black to the west.
Jim said to my dad, “It looks like that rain you talked about is coming. We’ve got the farthest to walk, we’d better get started honey,” he said to Hallie.
“Yes, looks like you better get going,” said Marie. “Thanks for the potato chips.”
“Jim answered, “You’re welcome, and you for the burgers, and for having us here, and for the refreshing dip in the pool.”
“And,” Norm added, “For those ice cold drinks, John.”
“No problem,” answered John. “And please, let me know if anyone needs anything. I might be able to help.” As the storm clouds thickened, everyone headed out.
“See you tomorrow,” Hallie said to us as they hurried down the road.
“Bright and early,” Dad answered.
We were home before it started. I’m not sure if Hallie and Jim made it. They lived a good half-mile down the road, but soon a nice steady rain started. It lightninged and thundered some, but not too close, and it wasn’t terribly windy. Within a half an hour, it was over, and the sun shone brightly in the western sky.
Josh looked at the thermometer and said, “It’s only 72 degrees now; must have dropped twenty degrees from the storm. Nice, cool, dry air moving in.”
Just then, a pickup came up the road. It was our landlord. Dad and he talked a bit. There was a lot of motioning over at the water hydrant and the old springhouse. Then they were looking in and around a few of the sheds on the farm. Took a walk into the cellar. He gave a wave to all of us and went on his way.
“What was that all about?” Josh asked.
“We were just discussing how we could run the water into the trough in the springhouse so it would work as a cooler. Getting the water in is easy. We have plenty of hose, plastic pipe that we could rig up, but someone will have to figure out how and where the water could drain from it. Maybe you could look at it tomorrow if we get our other work finished.”
To be continued… Mort
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