“I don’t know if you heard it from the military while you were on the road, but it was confirmed that both biological and chemical weapons were used. We haven’t heard too much about the chemicals from the weekly report from the Feds. We were informed that Wisconsin and Michigan were both hit with anthrax.
“It’s just speculation, but they think they wanted to infect the dairy herds as well as people. I don’t think they were expecting the terrible winter. They’ve lost most of the herds north of us. Quite a few survived, of course, in isolated events, but the big dairies couldn’t get most of their herds into enough protection to save them.”
Melissa spoke up again. “We’re really going to have to watch things carefully, with the additional inter community travel. If an epidemic gets started, in the close confines like we have here, and had at the school and city hall last winter, the entire population of any given group could be wiped out. Epidemics turn pandemic quickly in these types of conditions.”
Again Percy looked up and nodded. “Anyone in town need any special consideration?”
Jock answered again. “Those that are still weak will need plenty of good food, especially protein. Everyone else needs are similar, just not as critical.”
Percy stood up and handed little ‘Lissa back to Melissa. “They’ll get it.” He looked at Mattie and continued. “I want you taking it easy. Let the sisters do the work. Just supervise.” He looked at Melissa then. “Tell Barbie we’re going to need someone to help with the smaller children here at the estate when we have families here. She was planning to be a teacher. As soon as she is up to it, she’s in charge of the littlest ones. She’s now on the fulltime estate payroll. Make a note, Sara.”
He looked over at Jock. “Print up some flyers with things people need to watch for this winter, including the signs and symptoms of the pox and anthrax. Anything else you think important.
“I’ll talk to Susie about starting a real safety program. We’ve always tried to work safely, but I want people aware of dangers. What might have been a minor annoyance in the past, can be life threatening now. I’m going to go look over the construction. Anyone want to come? Sara?”
“I’ll be out in a bit,” Sara replied, smiling at Percy. “I’ve a couple of things I want to do here in the house first.”
Percy gave her a quick kiss on the lips, grabbed his hat, and headed for the door.
“Whew!” Mattie said. “He was on a roll, there.”
“It was this trip,” Sara told the others as the Bluhms took seats. Sara took the baby when Melissa offered her.
“He’s seen the effects of no organization. Many people we saw really did have it a lot worse than we did. Right, Tom?”
“Sara is right,” Tom replied. “Some had as much in the way of resources as we did in some of the cities and larger towns. But a lack of cooperation and coordination of resources, like Percy did here, caused as much damage as everything else.”
“Don’t limit your contribution,” Sara quickly said. “You were the main other half of what happened here. Without your leadership in town, much of what Percy did would have been wasted.”
“Maybe you’re right, but less than half of us would have survived, except for what Percy had been doing for years. He did it on purpose. It was like it was a mission for him. But think about that one barn we saw. It wouldn’t have taken much to have bermed it up and used it for shelter for animals and people. People died for a lack of forethought.”
“Percy has more than his share of forethought,” Sara said.
“Yeah,” Mattie replied. “I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve learned that he seldom does anything for a single reason. Most things that he buys have multiple uses, just like those ugly trucks. And those bikes of his. He uses one to cultivate the garden sometimes. Whoever heard of gardening using a motorcycle?”
The others smiled.
“He takes the responsibility he’s taken onto himself very seriously. He did before, but even more so now.”
“I know how he feels,” Tom said softly. The others looked over at him and smiled. Then they all noticed how much more gray hair he had than they could remember. The little group broke up then, Sara and Tom going out to join Percy on his inspection tour.
The work was coming along nicely. Sara could see that Percy was pleased. The structures would be completed by October first, with the rest of the estate’s equipment now back. That had been Percy’s goal. The weather would be turning bad by that time, but Percy was confident the finishing touches could be put on the structures and people moved in before the worst of the expected bad weather hit.
“Tom, are you, Marie, and the kids planning on moving? You know you have a place here anytime you want it.”
“I know,” Tom said. “But as long as we still have a town that is a town, I feel like I should be there. Some of us are going to finish fixing up the city hall and live there this winter. There and the school, with the improvements that are being done to it, should house anyone that doesn’t want to live off by themselves.
“I know quite a few people are going to take you up on the offer to stay here, at least during the winters. Now me… I was thinking… well… Never mind. It’ll be a couple of years probably before I could do anything, anyway.”
“What?” Percy asked. “You have a plan of some kind?”
“Actually, I’d like to get back to farming. It’s even more important than it used to be. I was a farmer for a long time before I went into the insurance business. You know that. I was leasing out the three hundred acres I had. I’ve been thinking about trying to farm it again. It’s just pretty difficult to get geared up again. In a couple of years, maybe.”
“You’re still concerned about the town. What about continuing to live there and start farming right there. With all the vacant lots now, you could start with them and then start working your acreage when you have things the way you want them.”
“Percy,” replied Tom, “You know I can’t afford to buy up those lots. I don’t want to trade my current land, even if someone would take it. I want my kids to have at least some legacy. And before you offer, I won’t use your property without paying for it, and I can’t.”
“We are going to need all the food and other organic products that can be produced. There are other arrangements that can be made, besides outright purchase. Such as lease purchase and farming on shares.
“If you want to use the arable land in town that I own, you can, for ten percent of what you produce. I’ll provide what you need, that you can’t acquire on your own, and you can pay it off over time with another one percent of production until everything is paid off. How about that?”
Tom looked thoughtful.
Sara urged him, “Talk it over with Marie, Tom. It’s a good deal, and the more substantive farms we have going in the area the better. Even with the weather, there’s rebuilding to be done. And it will be done. With the discussions going on in Congress, flat rate taxes payable by hard currency or goods, products, and services will provide the means for a full recovery eventually.
“Not everyone has the ability to inspire others to do their best, the way you and Percy do. If you have an ongoing estate, even if it starts small, our little area of Iowa will be a model for other communities.”
“You make it sound like a responsibility I can’t shirk,” Tom replied.
“It is, in a way. Everyone that can contribute should, each in his or her own way. You’ve already been doing it, with you duties as mayor. I’m not suggesting you haven’t been doing your share. You have. It’s just that if this is something you want to do, anyway, it’s just one more way of helping the community.”