Tom Kepple

by Josiah922


That was it. Game over. The nearby town will now disappear. They were shutting down the nearby army base and so the nearby town would follow suit soon. Tom was picking up his last check from the main office. Last two weeks pay plus two weeks severance pay. They had terminated his 2 year contract early at 60 weeks. While he had it the job paid well at about $2000 a week.

He looked at Joanie the slightly overweight payroll clerk as she fingered through the moderately large pile of envelopes. She found the envelope and said, “Kepple, Tom. Here you go.” She handed him the check and Tom stepped out of line.

Tom went straight out to his 1998 Toyota pickup truck in the parking lot and set in the cab fingering the envelope. The check would be about $8,000. He knew that this was the last money that he would see for quiet some time.

Tom was tired of this happening. This was the third job that he had lost in the last two years. This area was dying and Tom was a general worker. He had not gone to college or even gotten any certifications. He knew how to do a lot of skills, but he just simply did not have the paperwork to show the employers that he could do what he knew he could. So it was hard for him to get on. If he had not had a contractor friend get him this job, he would have been out of luck for a while. However, he had a plan to move to another area and start again.

Tom Kepple was 28 years old now and did not have a lot to his name. All of his possessions (which were basically clothes, some books, his tools and an old guitar) were in the back of his truck under camper top covering his truck’s bed. He did not own a house. He did not have any other assets besides the $69,459.00 that he had at the bank.

The Toyota truck finally pulled out of the parking lot. Tom did not even look in the mirror as he passed the front gates of the base. He moved into traffic on the highway going south for two exits. Within moments he headed into the bank carrying a backpack. Forty two minutes later Tom walked out the front door with a backpack full of all of the money in his accounts, the contents of his save deposit box (personal and important papers) and the cashed last paycheck from his job.

Tom said a little prayer and pointed the pickup south when it reached the highway. Five hours later the pickup pulled into a Murphy USA gas station. Tom had not so much as stopped for a bathroom break in the last five hours. He was now in South Carolina and still heading south. He filled the tanks on the pickup and stopped at a truck stop on the south side of the town.

He found a good place to park under one of the lights in the overnight area. Tom then got out and went in to the truck stop. He picked up supper at the truck stop restaurant and chatted with the waitress about the security of the overnight parking. She said that it was quite safe and was regularly patrolled by both the local sheriff and Tiny. The large African American was nothing like his name sake. Tiny was all of 6’1”, 280lbs, an ex-arena football player and the night manager. No trouble was tolerated on the night shift.

Tom finished his meal then went to the store part of the truck stop. Tom decided to start stocking up on supplies. He could not afford anymore $10 meals. He looked up and down the isles, but then noticed that the prices that were her were way higher than at a grocery store. Starting to stock up here would be starting off on the wrong foot. He would need to find a grocery outlet store or at least a grocery store to get the best deal on food that he could.

As he was walking out he remembered that he would need some sort of ice chest to keep food cold in the truck. He looked at the Styrofoam chests. They were the cheapest, but they wouldn’t last long. Then he looked at the couple of various normal style Coleman and Igloo ice chests that they had on display. It was then that he noticed a row of DC powered gadgets.

At first he picked up a DC to AC 150 watt inverter to power his laptop, but he continued to look at the other appliances. After looking down the isle for several minutes, Tom found himself face to face with Tiny himself. The deep baritone voice rolled toward Tom, “Sir? Can I help you? Are you looking for an electric cooler?”

“Well, yes. I saw this 12 Volt DC cooler/freezer, but did not see any on the shelf.”

“Yea, we stopped carrying that type. It is a little too big for the truckers that come through here. It is a 26 Quart cooler so it is a little bigger than the average trucker wants. I tell you what.” Tiny rubbed his head a second. “I will make you a good deal on the demo model.”

Tom ears perked up. “What kind of deal you talking?”

“Hmm it regularly goes for $349. Say $140? That is 40% the asking price. That is just a dollar or two over cost. Sir, it IS a fair price.”

Tom thought for a moment that the refusal of such an offer might not go over well with Tiny. In truth, it was a good deal. “OK I will take it.” A few minutes later Tiny was taking the small refrigerator/freezer and inverter out to Tom’s truck.

Tiny asked a few questions when he saw the clothes and other items. He told Tiny that he had lost his job, but was going south to start over and that he would be gone in the morning. Tiny assured him that he and his belonging would be safe at the truck stop and he wished him well. Tom got into the back of the truck and settled in using a couple of quilts to make a make shift bed. He would have to remember to get a good sleeping bag and maybe a sleeping pad to make sleeping in the truck better.

One luxury Tom had splurged on was a laptop. Oh it wasn’t a fancy one but he got it for surfing the internet. Over the past year Tom’s computer skills had tripled. Tom used the laptop’s wireless capabilities to piggy back off of the wireless network of the upstairs apartment. The lady that was the owner of the wireless network did not password the network so anyone within range could us it. Tom got on the Internet almost every night and he actually could browse the internet with the best of them now.

He started hanging out online on several of the various forums dealing with self sufficient living. He started reading anything on living off of the land or preparing and planning to live without electricity, water and etc. Tom tested and tried his skills at the state park near his old home.

Tom now piggy backed off of the truck stop’s wireless network. It too was not protected, but this was voluntarily done by the owners of the truck stop so their customers could use it freely. Tom was surprised how many businesses offered free wireless network. Once he sat in the parking lot of a hotel and used their connection. He had even stopped in the parking lot of an Atlanta Bread Company store and used theirs. Tom started looking at various real estate web sites. He knew that if he ever was going to make this work, he needed land.

Tom made note of several piece of land in the southeast Georgia area. This part of Georgia had some rolling hills and still had some rural areas. He made a plan to visit the area over the next few days. He also thought about stopping by a REI store located just north of Atlanta. He could pick up his camping supplies there, but he thought better of spending the money right now. He needed to concentrate on getting the land.

In the morning Tom was heading south once again. Once he reached Georgia he started making his way east. Over the next few days Tom slept in his truck most nights, got a cheap hotel room when needed and only bought the essentials. He met with real estate agent after real estate agent and visited site after site all to no avail.

Tom found himself in a Mom and Pop deli near the small town of Fruitland, GA. He sat at the table waiting to be served and looking at the local newspaper for leads. He heard a jolly voice, “New here mister?” Tom looked up from the paper to see a rather portly gentleman smiling from ear to ear and holding one of the largest coffee mugs he had ever seen.

Tom returned the smile, “Yes sir. Just passing through. Looking for some land in this area.”

The jolly fellow held out his hand, “Pastor Durden is the name.”

Tom shook his hand and motioned to the seat next to him, “Nice to meet you pastor. My name is Tom.”

“Oh thank you dear man,” he set down next to Tom. “Tom is it? Well, Tom I am glad I got to meet you. As you can imagine we don’t get many visitors to this area.” The pastor turned to the older man at the bar of the deli and asked, “Mr. Barnett, are you still wanting to sell some of that land by the pond?”

The elderly man looked back, “Well, I haven’t thought about it in a while, but yes pastor I could use the money. If I could find someone wanting to buy it, I would get rid of a few acres.”

Pastor Durden quickly looked back at Tom, “Want to go see it?”

Tom grinned knowing it could not be that easy, but wanting to humor the charismatic clergy member said, “Sure.”

“Alice wrap him up some of that chicken, bread and sweet tea and put in on my bill. Mr. Barnett meet us out there when you get a chance.”

The elderly man nodded and chomped another spoonful of what was unmistakably green beans. Then he waved them away.

After a few minutes Tom was turning onto a dirt road heading west from the highway. It was flanked by trees on both sides and located about 5 miles from town, but this was some of the nicest land Tom had seen yet. “Mr. Barnett owns all of the land around here. And this is his pond.”

The label of “the pond” did not do it justice. “The pond” was basically a small lake over a mile across. The little area that they had stopped at was the small beach that was purchased from the Barnett family many years ago by the town. This gave public access to the pond for people to swim, fish and boat on. However, there was no access ramp so the only boat that could make it to the water would have to be a small Jon boat or something smaller.

“I think the land he is wanting to sell is on the other side. We will be there in a second.” Tom and the pastor continued to follow the dirt road for a while, then the pastor told Tom to stop the truck. “Here right along here. All of these woods are what I think he is wanting to sell. Let’s get out and look.”

Tom and the pastor spent several minutes walking through the semi wooded land. Several rabbits popped out and bounced away. Some parts were thick with woods and others only the bigger trees occupied the area. A ruffle of leaves caught Tom by surprise and he turned to face the noise. The older man called Mr. Barnett was standing there holding a piece of rollup drafting paper in his hands.

“Well, mister what do you think?”

“This is good land. How much an acre?” Tom asked.

The older man rolled out the paper over the trunk of a fallen tree. “Well, I wouldn’t take anything less than $5,000 an acre. Here is the layout.”

Within moments the deal was struck. $60,000 for a little over 12 acres with access to “the pond.” Tom put $10,000 in cash to the seller as a down payment. The deal was set for the next day to have a surveyor come out and survey the land before closing. Mr. Barnett said that if everything checked out they would go file the survey and meet with the lawyer that next Monday. Tom asked if he could spend the night on the land to get accustomed to it. Mr. Barnett said, “As far as I am concerned, it is your land right now young man. Welcome to the area.” The two men shook hands and each went there way.

On the way back Pastor Durden asked was Tom wealthy? Tom responded in truth and said that the money he just spent was the majority of his money and he had no job planned. Pastor Durden replied, “Well, if you need some work, drop by the church in the morning. Do you know anything about sheet rock?” Tom just smiled.

The next morning Tom sat on the back of the truck listening to the noises. He wanted to know his land. He heard the coo of some doves in the distance and he could hear the faint lapping of small waves from the pond. He took a deep breath and stretched his muscles from being in the bed of the truck. He exercised for about five minutes and then cleaned himself. Tom stripped down, poured some water into a bowl, used some left over hotel soap and shampoo to have a make shift sponge bath. Finally Tom dressed and ate a small breakfast. He grabbed his backpack and then went to the church which was only about 5 miles away.

The pastor lived in the parsonage behind the church and was already there when Tom arrived. The pastor had been working on the new wing of the church for weeks trying to get it ready for new Sunday School rooms. There were eight new rooms in the wing being built on the church and the pastor had not made much headway in the finishing work. He had only finished one and they were to start work on the second today. Most of the members were busy with their own matters and could not help on a regular basis, but they did have a work day scheduled on the Saturday after next.

“So Tom we will barter for your time. You help me today a little and I will go buy $50 worth of supplies for you down at the local department store. Maybe we can at least get this first room finished today. Deal?”

“Deal pastor,” Tom said with a smile.

After the first hour of watching what the pastor was doing (or more to the point – what he was doing wrong) Tom stopped him and gave him a few pointers about how to put up sheet rock. Before lunch the room was complete and drying. Tom looked at the pastor, “I think that we should be able to go faster now. Maybe we can do two more rooms this afternoon.”

“Well, I should say so Tom! Thanks for the pointers. ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.’- Ecclesiastes 4:9 We are cooking with grease now my boy. Speaking of cooking, the wife should have us something to eat. Let’s go see if it’s ready.”

It was indeed ready. Fried chicken, butter beans, collards, corn bread and sweet tea was found in abundance. Tom ate all he would allow the pastor’s wife to place in front of him. Stuffed to his neck he sat on the front porch during the noon heat looking at the small barn the pastor had beside the house.

“Pastor Durden is that old wheel barrel yours?” Tom pointed to the older wheel barrel that had a broken handle.

“Why yes sir. She sure has seen better days.”

“How much would you swap me for it?”

“Son you get those other two rooms done like you were talking and you can have it.”

Tom stood up, “Well, let’s get back to it then.”

Sure enough by the end of the day the two other rooms were finished and true to his word the pastor loaded the old wheel barrel up in the back of Tom’s truck. After Pastor Durden forced Tom to supper they both went to town and stopped at the department store. He pulled out a writing tablet that he kept with him and started walking the isles.

Tom first went to the sporting goods department and found a nice 40 Degree sleeping bag for about $25. He then went to the automotive department and picked up two bottles of Heet gas line antifreeze in the yellow bottle for $1.69 a bottle and some metallic tape. Next he picked up a 2.5 gallon of bottled water for $2.50, a large case of Ramen noodles for $5, 8 cans of various vegetables for $4, one large can of fruit for $1, a small box of gallon Ziplock bags and a large box of toilet paper. All of this was placed in the pastor’s buggy. When it was rung up the total came to just over $50. Tom started to put a couple of the vegetable cans back, but the pastor stopped him and said that it was well worth the extra effort today.

The sleeping bag would make sleeping much more comfortable. On the ride home Tom kept his eyes open for aluminum cans on the side of the road. He picked up several (as well as a discarded 5 gallon plastic bucket) and created a small alcohol stove from the cans and the metallic tape with his tools. The Heet gas line antifreeze was used as fuel for the stove which he made from plans from the internet.

The large can of fruit was eaten and once again using his tools and plans from the internet he created a small wood gasifier stove. This stove would cook almost as good as the alcohol stove, but with wood being the fuel instead of the alcohol which was not readily available. On days where no dry wood could be found he could use the alcohol stove.

The next day the same deal was stuck and once again the same outcome came. Both men were found at the department store. This time the list was much smaller. For $39 Tom got an Energizer 15 minute battery charger that worked off of the trucks electrical system like the other devices he had. The charger came with four rechargeable AA batteries. Tom also got an Energizer headland with 3 LED’s for $10 and a disposable poncho for a dollar. He made sure not to go over the $50 limit. The taxes pushed the amount over $50, but the pastor had already said that was ok.

The next day was Saturday and the pastor did not want to work then or Sunday. He did ask Tom to come back Monday and they would finish up the last room and the pastor would help him look around town for some other jobs if he wanted. Tom agreed to help with the room, but passed on the job hunting. There were several things that he wanted to do to get settled in and he needed to get going on them.

On the ride home Tom let the batteries charge up and he put them in his headlamp as the sun set for the night. This night however was not as dark as the others thanks to the added light. He walked around his land a little deeper then decided he would scout out the entire land the next day. He needed to find out where the best place to settle in would be and to get started doing just that.

The next morning Tom stretched and exercised a little just to wake his muscles up. He cranked the truck up for a few minutes and let the refrigerator cool off and the energizer batteries recharge. Then Tom got his back pack with his remaining money and loaded up a few supplies then began walking around his land. He wanted to find the perfect spot.

He made his way all the way to the little stretch of land that connected to the pond. Tom could see a surveyor’s flag out to his right on the other side of a small stream that came from somewhere situated on his land. The surveyors had been out already to survey the land. As he walked up to the edge of the pond he heard the splash of a turtle hitting the water as it dove into the pond. Tom took out his note book and made a few notes. He then turned back to the woods and there stood old man Barnett.

“Hey there Tom. Sorry to startle ya. I didn’t know how to get a hold of ya out here,” the old man said.

Tom smiled. There was more to Mr. Barnett than was obvious from the outside. “How do you do that?” asked Tom.

“Do what? …. Well, you left a path a blind Indian could follow. The surveyors came and marked the boundaries. If you need help finding them just come get me. Just keep following the road around passed your land on through the woods. It will dead end at my place. Meet me there at 8AM Monday and we will go get the papers signed.”

“Sure Mr. Barnett I will sure be there.” Tom paused.

Mr. Barnett looked around a bit then said, “You looking for a good place to situate your camp?”

“Well, yes sir.”

“Come on and follow me. I know this place like the back of my hand.” The old man turned and walked into the woods. A few minutes later they were standing in one of the more open spots of the land right near where the small stream trickled down to the pond. “I would set it up right here. There is a little bit a rock underneath here that will give you a good foundation and right over there is one of several natural springs around the pond. I have never seen any of them stop flowing even in the hot times. Yep, this is the spot.” He went on to talk about how to situate a garden and where to put an outhouse or a septic system that would isolate the drainage from the pond and spring. Mr. Barnett also showed him the best route for a small driveway. “If ya put your driveway there; then it would force the least amount of trees to be cut and would give you a driveway that would be a pretty hard to see from the road.”

“I’ll say and thank you for that. Mr. Barnett, could I use your address to get some stuff shipped in?”

“Just go down to the General Store and ask Mrs. Wagner for a mailbox. She rents out mailboxes and will sign for anything and hold it for ya. … Sorry I snuck up on you earlier. I tend to do that a lot. Don’t mean to. Just sort of habit being out here alone a lot, I tend to forget my manners. Well, I’ll get out of your hair. Since this is your land now, I promise to stay off o’ it. You just come get me if you need me.”

“Mr. Barnett you are welcome to come get me if I can ever help YOU in anyway.” Both men nodded in understanding and Mr. Barnett left through the woods. Tom looked around. It was the perfect place.

After he ate breakfast Tom gathered his supplies into the truck, counted his remaining money and then took out his list of needed things. He knew that the bigger city of Valdosta was only about an hour’s ride away and he was going shopping today.

His first stop was the General Store to rent a mailbox. Sometimes Tom thinks that he would still be there talking with Mrs. Wagner had he not excused himself and hurriedly left. However, he had rented one of her mail boxes easily enough and he found out that even out there the internet was reaching the world. It seems that Mrs. Wagner’s son was quiet the web surfer and had insisted on getting a satellite setup. He worked on an oil rig down in the gulf most days and let his mom rent out access to it. Tom noted this for future reference and left.

Next was Valdosta’s public library. After reading the free newspaper displayed at the public library, he noted several people who were selling various travel trailers privately. He also used the free internet access computers at the library to visit several sites and make orders from a few different sites.

Tom then visited a few people that were selling their travel trailers and was about to loose heart. He had a strict budget that he was needing to stick to, but so far the trailers were either already sold or asking too much and did not want to negotiate. It was till the afternoon that Tom spoke with someone who had sold his trailer the day before. However, the man reconditioned travel trailers and he one that he had just gutted and redid the axels, but had not done any of the work on the insides except for the flooring. Tom got it for a steal at only $1200 for the 16 year old 29 feet Silver Streak travel trailer.

Tom then made stops at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Walgreens, the local coop farmer’s store, an auto parts store, a boating store, the post office, a local coin laundry to clean his clothes, a gas station and the local grocery outlet store. His truck was completely filled to the brim and even had several things loaded in the bare travel trailer. He also had two deliveries scheduled for Tuesday. Tom got back to the land after sunset. He had a quick bite to eat and then went to bed.

The next morning was Sunday, the day of rest. He awoke, did his exercises, ate and then got washed up. At this point Tom paused and walked to the edge of the pond. The early morning sun glistened off of the water. He sat down on a cypress stump and looked at the ecosystem that had developed around the water. Fish, algae, birds, trees, water and grasses all existed in balance and life thrived.
Tom looked at his bible but didn’t open it as he started quoting from memory, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Tom thought of his own separation that he was now creating from the day to day grind of the old way of life. He was a slave to his boss, he was a slave to the people he had debts with and he was a slave to society in it that he was to follow there rules. He was reminded that in his old town you were looked down upon if you did not have a membership to the local golf course.

He giggled a little bit at the thought of that. Then he remembered another verse from Genisis, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Here, he was in control. He had no boss and everything was owned free and clear. He did not need the approval of others. He determined his goals.

Tom looked down and said, “Lord thank you for your mercy of sparing me from the things that I deserve and your grace that gives me things that I do not deserve. Thank you for this place and the peace given me thus far…” Tom’s voice trailed off lower till a small whisper was the only thing that could be heard. After several minutes Tom stopped praying and sat in silence for a moment reminded that even this wonderful place was not his true home. Softly a low baritone voice began to sing,

“Home is where the heart is
My heart's on home
Though I never really had one to call my own
But I've been given a key
By the Carpenter of Galilee
With interest paid the title's made to me

Home where there is no night
Home where the Son is the light
The place I've been dreaming of so long
Loved ones stand to welcome me
But His sweet face will be the first I see
When my journey's over I am going home”

Tom paused another few moments then shifted gears. He stood and walked back to the trailer. In his mind Tom planned the trailer’s interior. He grabbed his hand tools, wiring, wood and siding. Tom started getting the trailer in order. He put two sets of wiring in the walls. One would go to a DC circuit and the other would run off of AC. He got the main set of wiring in the wall and the back part of the paneling for the walls done before lunch. Working with his hand tools was slowing him down, but he liked the personal attention he was giving to every cut and every nail.

Tom reached into truck and pulled out a large #10 can of fruit, some bread and ham that he had bought from the grocery store. He ate and then emptied the contents of the fruit can into several large gallon sized ziplock bags. The bags of fruit would be kept cold in the freezer refrigerator. He then washed the can out in the stream and set the can on the hood of the truck to dry. NOTHING would be wasted here. EVERYTHING will serve two purposes.
He went back to work and just before nightfall he had the bed done complete with a fluffy mattress, his sleeping bag and a pillow. Tonight he would be sleeping on a bed again. He turned on his LED headlamp and retrieved the old fruit can he had used earlier.

After gathering a little wood he lit the Gasifier stove and boiled up some dumplings with chicken bullion cubes. He ate more of the fruit and even had half of a snickers bar for desert. Tom mixed up some trail mix from some mixed nuts, M&M’s, pretzels, raisins and jerky. He retrieved a ziplock container from his daypack and emptied some of the trailmix into it. He then warmed some of the clean spring water in the Vita stove. Tom gave himself a sponge bath again and retired for the evening.

Tom slept well. Too well. The sun was already up and his wrist watch read 7:45. He through on some clothes and grabbed up his supplies as quickly as he could. He took his day pack and through it over his shoulder. Then he grabbed his backpack then left in the truck heading down the road toward Mr. Barnett’s place.

The woods surrounded him as he drove down the road. The hot summer day was rough, but the trees were accustomed to the heat and grew steady and strong. The country dirt road ended at a large pair of cattle gates. There was a bell near the gate with a sign below it reading, “For entry, ring bell. No Trespassing or Soliciting.”

Tom rung the bell and nothing happened. He waited a moment and the rung the bell again. Then in the distance he heard a vehicle coming up the path. An older Chevy truck came into view and stopped at the front gate. Mr. Barnett greeted Tom, unlocked the gate, drove through and then locked the gate again. “Well, get in and let’s get going. Leave your truck right there. You can ride with me.”

Tom got into the truck and was in total surprise at the functionality of the older vehicle. From the outside the truck looked it’s age as it sported faded paint, a few dents and more than a few scratches. However, the inside of the vehicle sported a clean interior, an AM/FM/CD radio, a CB Radio, a HAM radio and a few amenities like air conditioning. Also as he was getting in he noticed the end of a pistol handle coming from under the dash.

“Nice truck Mr. Barnett.”

“Thank you sir. It is an oldie but a goodie.”

The trip to the large city was pretty uneventful and pretty quite as Mr. Barnett wasn’t much for words. They met with the lawyer and the papers were signed and payment was made in full. The two men shook hands and were out the door. Both men returned to the truck and then after a pretty quite ride back to home they said their goodbyes. “Hey Tom. I don’t know if you want the work but I wouldn’t mind a hand with my harvesting. I heard you have been bartering for services rendered. I don’t know exactly what you need but come see me two weeks from today and we can work something out.”

“Sure thing Mr. Barnett, we will talk then.”

Tom returned to his land. Yes, HIS land. It was sinking in now that this land was HIS. He looked around his land and breathed it in. It did not have a bank mortgage on it or any lean. It was HIS free and clear. There was a certain pride in that to Tom.

Tom still had half of the day and had plenty to do. Everything would really start tomorrow when the shipments would start arriving. The tools that he had ordered would help him greatly, but there were things that he could do. For now he continued his work on the trailer.

Tom had a knack of shaping the wood. It was easy enough to frame up the kitchen counter, but the power tools coming tomorrow would make things go so much quicker. For now it will be a basic counter that had a piece of plywood sitting on the top. That night he continued to work on the trailer.
The next day the power tools he had purchased started arriving. First, was a 20” Homelite chain saw and a few wood working tools that Tom did not have. Tom would use it to cut down the few trees need to create his “driveway” path. The trees would be chopped up and the wood stacked to start drying. In addition, some of the wood would be chipped up using a chipper/shedder purchased for just at $400. He could use this for his own compost/mulch or trade it to others. Once again nothing would be wasted.

Next were four other really needed items. A self propelled lawn mower, trimmer and tiller were delivered next. These items would be used to get the small farm that Tom had planned rolling, but would also be used to offer services to other people. Tom could offer lawn services. Also delivered today was a medium sized garden tiller and several fiberglass handled garden implements.

Next was a combo pack of Dewalt 18V power tools to add to his already large assortment of other power and hand tools. This speed up the preparation of the trailer and would expand his handyman services tremendously.

The last thing delivered was a Pramac S5500 Deluxe Electric Start Diesel Generator 5480W / 5500W along with a 55 gallon fuel tank and parts to hook it up. This would be Tom’s main source of power for a while. With the delivered generator was extremely high efficiency air conditioner with a EER rating of 11.2. That night he spent mounting it to the trailer, wiring it in and encasing the generator and fuel tank so no one would know it was there.

Tom made a trip to town with a total of five five gallon gas cans. Three were filled with diesel and poured into the fuel tank for the generator. The other two were filled with regular gas and would be used in the various power tools.
The day was spent and a new driveway was created. The generator and fuel tank was ready to use. Finally some additional work was done to the trailer.
The next two weeks went by quickly. Tom had created the driveway, moved the trailer to the permanent location and completed the farming plots of at least 20 raised bed plots. He had spent the night time hours before sleep working in the trailer. The only thing that was done by someone else was the PERT test and installation of the septic system that was set up where the trailer could be hooked up and unhooked easily. Things were getting better and better.

Tom had a little bit of money set aside for emergencies and a good bit of food still stored in his freezer. However, he had many more plans for his land and needed to continue to barter for goods that he needed. Then next day he was at the gate of Mr. Barnett with his day pack on his shoulder ringing the bell.

Soon Mr. Barnett was there and after sitting down on a nearby log and chatting for a while then men struck a deal. The small harvest of butter beans and field peas would take place over the next two weeks and in a few weeks more a small orchard of peaches would need to be harvested. Everyone in the area would need to harvest their peaches and labor is hard to come by so Mr. Barnett needed Tom’s help even on a small farm like his.

There were a few other people that came and worked with them for the two weeks. The “small” harvest turned into several acres of peas and beans. They were fed 3 meals a day and given all of the water and Gatorade they needed. Bushels and bushels of peas and beans were brought in and delivered to the farmers market. Mr. Barnett would be paid as the peas and beans were sold. Tom spent the two weeks working every day (except Sundays) for Mr. Barnett and every evening working on his own land.

At the end of the harvest Mr. Barnett lived up to his deal. Normally he paid $5 an hour per picker which would total just shy of $500, but since Tom bartered for goods Mr. Barnett lived up to the terms. First, was several bushels worth of green beans and peas. Next was enough materials to build two pins. The first was a coop for chickens and the other was a small pin for a cow using an electric fence.

In addition, Mr. Barnett allowed Tom the pick of 4 hens and 1 rooster from his own chickens. Mr. Barnett had a large sized coop of his own and had about 30 chickens in 3 separate pins. The chickens (Rhode Island Reds) were good layers and pretty good to eat as well. If Tom worked the two week peach harvest there would be a small calf given for his efforts.

It was Mr. Barnett’s turn to do some work, but his would be done in two days. Guidance was given to Tom on how to build the chicken coup so the eggs could be harvested easily and the droppings collected for use in the compost. Also a venting system was made in the roof and a secondary roof was made to allow the hot air to rise and cool off the coop adequately. Finally the pin could be opened into the garden to allow the chickens to run around and gobble up insects that may be attacking the garden.

Three days after the pins were complete Tom was fishing along the pond when the wind shifted and a presence was felt. For a second fear scraped up his spine and then he knew there was nothing to fear. He was getting used to being without TV and instead listening to the land. He knew how to read the signs of nature. There were rules that God put in place and one just had to know how to recognize those laws. This was his land and he knew it was simply telling him someone was there.

He spoke without turning around, “Hello Mr. Barnett.”

The old man smiled knowing that Tom’s nature skills were improving. Then his mood changed, “Tom we have to talk. Something major is going on.”

The two sat for the next two hours talking. It seems that both men had a habit of not watching the news. Now they monitored the TV while they had a talk. There was, simply put, a “turn” in the economy over the past 3 weeks and things had taken a turn for the worst. The value of the dollar was falling daily, the price of goods were going through the roof and riots had already broken out in Atlanta. Things were not looking good at all.

Mr. Barnett talked about his concerns that he had with the economy for quite sometime. Tom’s mind remembered when he, only a few short months ago, got laid off. Luckily he had a plan, but what of the others that did not? He had truly forgotten about the poor economy that had actually changed his life. Much had been happening while he sat in his little paradise.

Tom wanted to go make contact with the town, but Mr. Barnett did not want to go and preferred to stay and batten down the farm. After a discussion where Tom convinced Mr. Barnett that he had to place an order quickly for something, the older man changed his mind and volunteered to go with him. Both men rode in the truck. Their first stop would be the church.

The church was near the center of the area just off of the main road. There were not a lot of people on the streets, but there were a few. As they pulled up they saw the pastor meeting with an older couple on the front steps. They said their goodbyes and the pastor turned his attention to Tom and Mr. Barnett.

“Well, I’ll be. How are yall two doing?”

Tom shifted his eyes, “We doing fine pastor. I just wanted to find out some information about what is going on.”

“Well, the big city is getting worse. Job layoffs all over the county, the price of everything is skyrocketing and they are saying that the government’s solution to the runs on the banks are to crank up the federal reserves printing presses. That is not going too well for the inflation. I don’t know what is gonna happen but I see a deep depression coming on. There are gonna be a lot of needy people in another month or two. I just don’t know what to do.” You could tell that it bothered the pastor not to know how to help. The world was turning upside down.

Tom walked to the side of the church to the beautiful acreage out back. He needed to be near the trees and ground so he could think. He too wanted to help, but his thoughts raced. He loved nature and he knew that given time he could turn his little farm into a farm that would not only supply him with everything that he needed, but would also (now that things were changing) provided him with a living. However, he just could not see how he could help everyone. Should he just batten down the hatches and stay on his land or should he do something. Truthfully he could not think at all.

Tom kneeled on the ground and the pastor knelt beside him. Tom then did the oddest thing. In his round baritone voice, he began to sing,

“I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say


Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak”

Tom ended the song and the silence lasted for several minutes. No one spoke. Mr. Barnett looked around quietly, the pastor looked at Tom and Tom kept his eyes closed with his face turned to the sun. Tom final breathed and said 5 simple words, “We help where we can.”

He then turned to the pastor. “What is it that this community does well?” The pastor thought, but looked questioningly.

Mr. Barnett spoke, “Agriculture.”

Tom spoke up, “Then we grow. The cities and towns nearby are gonna need food and we can provide it.”

The pastor spoke next, “We need to talk to the county commissioners and arrange some kind of security for the area. Then all of the farmers and ranchers need to start working together to maximize the growing before winter. We could setup a market somewhere to help circulate goods.”

Tom stood, “AND we start teaching people how to make everything count. Recycle, reuse and reuse again. Every resource should be taken advantage of and put to the best use.”

Mr. Barnett looked to Tom, “I think you and I could work together to get our area up to speed in no time. If you are interested, we can setup a mutual aid agreement. I will also offer to get my farm hands on full time. We will need some extra people for security and general work. I could pay them in food and barter.”

The next stop was the general store where Tom used the internet connection, made a few phone calls and purchased a couple of purchase orders with all of his remaining money. He wrote a couple of letters and included the money orders.

The next week was a blur, but in a nut shell Tom spent every waking moment either working on his land or Mr. Barnett’s. Tom and Mr. Barnett met with the county commissioners who had too much on their own plate, but gave them no objections to their plans when they heard the term “this should make it were we can take care of ourselves.”

People started loosing their jobs left and right. Tom met with the community leaders at the church and shared his ideas. Most everyone agreed to work together. One of the more high tech farm owners in the area (The Tiny “t” farm) made a couple of purchases that Tom recommended even with a few eye rolls. The local automobile repair shop made another purchase at Tom’s urging. Mrs. Wagner even made a significant purchase recommended by Tom. Then Tom left a list of things that people should purchase if given the chance.

The sheriff did agree to make a few trips extra trips through the area and even fully deputize one of the community leaders Mr. Greg Stanford who was ex-military but had been working as a high school baseball coach until the school laid off several non key teaching positions. Technically he was a reserve officer that did not draw a salary, but he had fully authority to arrest someone if needed and had a radio that gave direct communication with the sheriff’s office and the local EMA director. The community pitched together to support the locally stationed deputy seeing that the closest law enforcement person was a good 20 minutes away. Food, gas and some money was given to support the reserve deputy.

Because of all of the unemployment, the peach harvest had plenty of help. All of the farmers agreed to give 5% of everything that you picked as payment for help. The main harvest of peaches were delivered to the local store. People either ate, stored or also traded their peaches for other goods. After word was spread to the nearby towns, people were showing up left and right to buy food choosing to barter with other goods the town did not have most of which appeared on Tom’s list.

Tom had a true knack of showing people how they could use their talents to survive. The pastor had brought an elderly woman to Tom that was in her eighties but had no other family in the area. She wanted to help but in truth if she had not been taken in by the church she would have run out of food very quickly. She had no way of supporting herself until she spoke with Tom. They spoke of her childhood, the things that she had done and the places that she had been. Then it dawned on Tom what a treasure this woman surely was.

Within the week she was teaching canning classes at the church to all of the younger modern day women who had forgotten or never bother to learn the skill. She taught them how to make Fresh Peach Freezer Jam and Brandied Peaches behind the preachers back. Sewing classes and candle making were also added as classes quickly. From the city little by little women and men started coming to learn the old forgotten ways.

Mrs. Wagner’s store became a central point too, not only setting up food from the local farmers, but also she helped organized a small flea market/swap meet out in her rear parking lot since very little driving was taking place. The area was fenced in so there was relative safety. People would lay their goods out on blankets and you could bargain for goods or services.

A large board was erected at the local church where news and announcements could be posted. There were all kinds of announcements like: “Will work for food – Jimmy Bliar and wife” or “Will trade late model Ford Mustang for Milk cow and bull.” A lot of the people were just posting their needs or that they were available to work.

Tom’s list of items was a list of items to provide occupations to those that were open to changing the reliance on some things. His list consisted of things like barber scissors which some one could use to set up a barber business easily enough cutting hair. Hand farming tools were hot items for obvious reasons. Several leather working tools were bartered from and elderly man to a younger father of small family for the promise of several months of food. Some silver bullion and junk silver coins were starting to be traded as well. The local doctor started accepting barter for his services. He even had a small store in his lobby where he was selling his unwanted items.

Everything was generally ok until the power went out 2 weeks later.