Every night, groups would gather around bonfires to tell stories and sing songs. Zeke traded a jug of brandy for a battered guitar when he found out that Maria could play. On another night, he fired up the small generator, and used his digital projector and music system to show a John Wayne DVD on a bed sheet tied to the side of the deckhouse. For a few minutes, the crowd was able to forget just how much their lives had changed.
On the last day of the fair, two thugs approached a man and his wife just as they were finishing loading their sailboat. A confrontation resulted in the man being stabbed, and the thugs taking the boat and sailing away. Zeke heard the woman's screams, and saw the boat leaving the area. Running to the aft deckhouse, he shouted for Roberto to help get the jetboat launched.
Ten minutes later, Zeke and Ben Jacobs from the Wild Goose pulled away from the dock. At over 40 knots, the jetboat quickly overtook the sailboat. As they approached, one of the thugs pulled out a pistol and started firing. Zeke pulled the helm hard to port and continued to approach, zigzagging to through off the thug’s aim. Closer and closer, until just before impact, he swerved and swamped the smaller craft. The thug with the gun had stood to aim at the jetboat cabin, and was thrown into the water. His accomplice, clung to the tiller, and screamed that he couldn't swim.
An hour later with the thugs tied up and the sailboat in tow, the jetboat returned to the dock. In these new times, crime was not tolerated. No longer could a criminal expect to retire courtesy of the state or get off by claiming diminished capacity. Before sundown they were tried by their peers, found guilty of attempted murder, assault, and theft. They were hung before dark. There were not many bleeding hearts in the post Coastal Event society.
The jetboat had a few holes, but no serious damage and a bond had developed between the crews of the Wild Goose, and the Busted Flush.
It was a great time for the young people to meet and get to know each other. There was a young, red-haired, lady named Rebecca who captivated the heart of Roberto Mendoza, but she had eyes only for another young man named David Russell.
Zeke had delayed their departure, for an older man, who wanted to bring his family to live and work at Casa Jacoby. Raphael Maldonado was a farmer with four children, and his oldest daughter, quickly made Roberto forget about the redhead. They also returned with a small diesel tractor and plow, a pair of small pigs, more bottles and containers, farm implements, building materials, a couple of tents, several bolts of cloth, thread, and a portable sewing machine. They had traded the entire harvest surplus, the brandy, and some junk silver, which had become the unofficial currency of the Inland Sea.
In the next two years, the people at Casa Jacoby prospered. Roberto married Miss Maldonado, and both he and Zeke became fathers to boys, named Fernando and Ruben. The weather seemed to have permanently changed. The sun was always hidden behind clouds that produced daily afternoon showers. The plants grew slowly, and drainage was important, while irrigation was not.
Chapter 14
The newspaper was too successful. By the end of year 2, the stock of paper and printer cartridges was shrinking. David recognized how important this communications link to the Inland Sea communities was, but also knew that it was going to have to change. He mentioned the problem with Zeke and Doc in their weekly three way 10-meter discussions. Doc replied that they had discovered the CHP AM band Traffic Transmitter and tower on the peak of Sutters Butte. He said it looked like it was old military surplus, and there was even an old surplus diesel generator attached to it.
David said that he might be able to get it running, but with diesel in such a short supply there was no way to have regular broadcasts. Zeke replied that he could furnish bio-diesel if Doc could transport it. Doc made a monthly trip around the sea, trading and supplying medical service. He immediately agreed to transport a fuel drum on every trip.
David agreed to ride the Goose to Sutters Butte and attempt to get the station on line. He ended up spending a month at Sutters Butte, living on the Goose, and working on the station. The equipment was late 1950 vintage with tubes instead of semiconductors. There was a good complement of spares, in their original military packaging. The main problem was the audio equipment was newer, and semiconductor based. The EMP storm had destroyed it, beyond repair. It took a lot of jury rigging, but he was able to patch in a new audio subsystem made up of components from the Best Buy inventory.
The time he spent on the Goose also made him aware that Rebecca was quickly developing into a striking young woman, who was very interested in him.
Finally the testing was done, and the last issue of the Inland Sea Beacon was printed. In it, David explained that the resources required for printing were not available, and that radio 640 would replacing it with a broadcast from 6:00 to 9:00 PM every Saturday evening. He suggested that older tube type car radios could be connected to a 12-volt battery. The first broadcast was scheduled for the following Saturday.
David was apprehensive about doing a live broadcast. Rebecca looking over his shoulder and hanging on every word made it worse. He opened by playing a recording of Ray Charles singing America the Beautiful. He then spent a half-hour summarizing the news. That was followed by a Beatles recording and then an hour of want-need adds. The program closed with more music and ended with a recording of the Star Spangled Banner.
The feedback at the fair was very positive, with a doubling of paid adds and many music requests.
When the AM broadcasts started, Zeke insured that all families had access to a salvaged radio, a storage battery, and a charging system. The 9:00 PM broadcasts on Saturday nights were a weekly high point. Maria had started a school for all the children, using materials from Zeke's library and computer system. Brandy production had been more than doubled and biodiesel production met all their needs as well as what was required for the 640 transmitter. A salvaged single cylinder diesel generator now provided lighting power to all homes from dark to 10:00 PM.
David’s attraction to Rebecca could not be denied, and a stolen kiss instantly turned serious on Saturday after the broadcast. When they came up for air, Rebecca said, “well, I guess you will have to make an honest woman out of me so Daddy doesn’t have to shoot you. I’m kind of attracted to you.”
They were married two days later, and took the Goose out into the Pacific for a short, but private honeymoon.
Ten months later, Jessica Russell was born, and a year later, Erick Russell joined the family.
The Russell family all lived on the Goose, and they traveled around the Inland Sea, trading, doing business, and visiting settlements all over.
Delbert Thompson married April Hall shortly after his daughter was married. They moved into the home with Doc and June, who were getting frail.
Chapter 15
The months passed slowly, and the Marines met many of their counterparts, in the mess hall and recreation facilities. The relationships were polite, but never close.
One day, Walter spent three hours waiting in Kemp’s office when he was summoned for a meeting. While he waited, he struck up a conversation with the young woman at the reception desk. Cindy had resolved to avoid all men, until she and Lilly were free of this place. But, there was something about this guy. He had almost broke down when talking about the family he had to leave in LA.
She related her experience in Reno, and he seemed shocked to hear it, as well as the situation for the women that were taken.
By the time Kemp called for Walter to come in to his office, a bond had developed between the two young people. When he left after the meeting, they agreed to meet for coffee the next morning.