about the need to preserve
water and to limit showers to as short as possible. Everyone is going to be
very happy for those hot tubs by the time we finish , thought Jim.
The pumps were installed
to run pond water to a tank above the greenhouses, where Helen had set up an automatic
watering system. They planted the greenhouses right away and started heating
them as needed.
Water pumps
were also in place to pump pond water up to a small artificial waterfall to
help aerate the pond. Fishing at the pond was proving to be one of the most
popular leisure activities among the men, even though it was catch and release
unless you were planning to eat the fish that day.
The hydroponics
shed was producing well. The pumps were run off of solar power and batteries
and the lights were run off a small generator during the night. Already there
was a fair crop of tomatoes; so many that they were going to have to start
canning them soon.
Rita was
enjoying cooking with all of the fresh vegetables. Jim had to admit that the
meals were some of the best he had eaten anywhere. Here we are at the end
of the world, and we're eating like we're in a five star restaurant, thought Jim. Something feels wrong about this.
A
communications room was set up in a bedroom of the mobile home. A monitor for
the security cameras was placed in there so it was easy to watch the monitor
while monitoring for information. Communication with the outside world was
limited to shortwave radio and Ham radio, and so far the reports were of chaos
all over the country as supplies were running out and the virus was wreaking
havoc. It was frightening.
No one felt
like celebrating New Year’s Eve, so everyone was left to make their own dinners
and use the time to unwind as they chose. It was just another night in the new
world.
JANUARY 5 th
This is the
coolest stuff I’ve ever seen, thought Luke. It was his second week of
classes with Uncle Jim and he was amazed by what he was learning.
“Human beings
fight with weapons. You are human beings. If you’re going to fight and it’s
real, you should be using a weapon. You need to have the understanding that your
opponent is armed, even if you haven’t seen the weapon yet. You need to
understand that he probably has a friend with him who is also armed, even if
you haven’t spotted the friend yet.”
Jim waved Frank
up and said “Punch.” Frank punched at full speed and somehow missed by
centimeters then froze, feeling the point of the training blade stabbing into
the skin above the carotid artery.
I never even
saw the knife come out! This was nothing like what Luke thought it would
be.
“Again.” This
time Luke watched closer, and still missed it.
“Okay let me
show you what I did. Very slowly this time, Frank. “This time Luke could see
Jim shift back and then to the side while his right hand drew the knife
downward from where it was tucked into his belt.
“It’s upside
down!”
“That’s it,
Luke, the knife isn’t where you thought it was supposed to be so you didn’t
even see the draw earlier. That’s an important lesson in itself. Okay,
everyone. Practice slow and accurate. Be good to your training partner. Help
each other to learn. This isn’t a competition. Play!”
After class,
Luke asked Uncle Jim, “Why don’t the movies show this kind of thing?”
“Did you think
about that question first?”
“Because the
real thing is too hard to see?”
“And why would
it be designed to be too hard to see?”
“Because it’s
real and you win by not letting the bad guy be able to figure out what you’re
doing!”
“I’d say that’s
a good answer, don’t you think?”
“Thanks Uncle
Jim!”
After class,
Luke left the training room and ran to catch up with Julie and her hot
friends. “Hey you guys!”
Helen looked
back, “Uh, oh. Anybody hear a mosquito?”
Angie answered,
“I thought it was a stink
water and to limit showers to as short as possible. Everyone is going to be
very happy for those hot tubs by the time we finish , thought Jim.
The pumps were installed
to run pond water to a tank above the greenhouses, where Helen had set up an automatic
watering system. They planted the greenhouses right away and started heating
them as needed.
Water pumps
were also in place to pump pond water up to a small artificial waterfall to
help aerate the pond. Fishing at the pond was proving to be one of the most
popular leisure activities among the men, even though it was catch and release
unless you were planning to eat the fish that day.
The hydroponics
shed was producing well. The pumps were run off of solar power and batteries
and the lights were run off a small generator during the night. Already there
was a fair crop of tomatoes; so many that they were going to have to start
canning them soon.
Rita was
enjoying cooking with all of the fresh vegetables. Jim had to admit that the
meals were some of the best he had eaten anywhere. Here we are at the end
of the world, and we're eating like we're in a five star restaurant, thought Jim. Something feels wrong about this.
A
communications room was set up in a bedroom of the mobile home. A monitor for
the security cameras was placed in there so it was easy to watch the monitor
while monitoring for information. Communication with the outside world was
limited to shortwave radio and Ham radio, and so far the reports were of chaos
all over the country as supplies were running out and the virus was wreaking
havoc. It was frightening.
No one felt
like celebrating New Year’s Eve, so everyone was left to make their own dinners
and use the time to unwind as they chose. It was just another night in the new
world.
JANUARY 5 th
This is the
coolest stuff I’ve ever seen, thought Luke. It was his second week of
classes with Uncle Jim and he was amazed by what he was learning.
“Human beings
fight with weapons. You are human beings. If you’re going to fight and it’s
real, you should be using a weapon. You need to have the understanding that your
opponent is armed, even if you haven’t seen the weapon yet. You need to
understand that he probably has a friend with him who is also armed, even if
you haven’t spotted the friend yet.”
Jim waved Frank
up and said “Punch.” Frank punched at full speed and somehow missed by
centimeters then froze, feeling the point of the training blade stabbing into
the skin above the carotid artery.
I never even
saw the knife come out! This was nothing like what Luke thought it would
be.
“Again.” This
time Luke watched closer, and still missed it.
“Okay let me
show you what I did. Very slowly this time, Frank. “This time Luke could see
Jim shift back and then to the side while his right hand drew the knife
downward from where it was tucked into his belt.
“It’s upside
down!”
“That’s it,
Luke, the knife isn’t where you thought it was supposed to be so you didn’t
even see the draw earlier. That’s an important lesson in itself. Okay,
everyone. Practice slow and accurate. Be good to your training partner. Help
each other to learn. This isn’t a competition. Play!”
After class,
Luke asked Uncle Jim, “Why don’t the movies show this kind of thing?”
“Did you think
about that question first?”
“Because the
real thing is too hard to see?”
“And why would
it be designed to be too hard to see?”
“Because it’s
real and you win by not letting the bad guy be able to figure out what you’re
doing!”
“I’d say that’s
a good answer, don’t you think?”
“Thanks Uncle
Jim!”
After class,
Luke left the training room and ran to catch up with Julie and her hot
friends. “Hey you guys!”
Helen looked
back, “Uh, oh. Anybody hear a mosquito?”
Angie answered,
“I thought it was a stink
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