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Authors: Preston Fleming
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students’ homes. It’s against the law to operate a private school, so we keep the classes down to six or fewer to keep it legal. And I love it. No faculty meetings, no administration, just pure teaching. It’s exactly what Emerson did when he was fresh out of Harvard.”
“Do they still let you teach about Emerson?” Werner probed. “I heard somewhere that his books were banned.”
“They’re not banned in Concord. He’s our native son and this is the home of self-reliance and civil disobedience. They can burn his house down but Emerson’s memory is alive and well. Well, maybe not in the public schools yet, but one day they’ll catch up.”
“Are many former CA faculty doing what you’re doing?” Werner inquired. “Without faculty housing, I would think many would find it hard to make ends meet.”
“Heavens, no,” Motley replied. “Very few CA teachers could afford to stay. Concord is still a very expensive town. It’s still highly gentrified, though less than before the Events. Our family was able to stay afloat only because I did some screenwriting early in my career and didn’t have to rely exclusively on my teaching income. We bought a small farm about a mile out on Monument Street and went into organic gardening as a hobby because we thought it would be good to teach the kids. Little did we know then that we’d need those vegetables and apples and eggs one day to avoid going hungry.”
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Werner asked, returning to his initial question about gardening, “why are you tending the garden here if you garden professionally at home?”
“It’s a long story, but it’s mainly because I’m on a committee to protect the Old Manse. After Emerson’s house and the First Parish Church and Orchard House burned in suspicious fires, a few of us decided to keep watch over the Old Manse so that there would be honest witnesses if it happened again. The Unionists may remove all the signs and fence it off and even torch it, but we’ll bear witness to whatever happens. They can’t be allowed to erase the memory of who lived here or the ideas that Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and the Alcotts gave the world from this special place.”
Werner looked at his watch. It was much later than he had planned to stay.
“Say, it’s been great seeing you again, Parker,” he remarked, reaching out to shake Motley’s hand. “How would I find you if I wanted to get in touch.”
“We’re about a mile further down the road, right past the apple orchard.”
“Say, have you ever thought of doing some distilling with your surplus apples?” Werner asked as an afterthought. “There might be a good market for local applejack if some skill went into it.”
Motley chuckled.
“It’s occurred to me more than once, Frank, but I think the project may have to wait. At the moment, we’re still testing the authorities’ reaction to our hard cider.”
“Well, if you ever decide to go forward with it, let me know. Here, I’ll give you my business card. I might be able to help you find a market. Anyway, it was a pleasure to see you, Parker, and I hope we cross paths again.”
Chapter 5
Friday, April 13, 2029
Concord, Massachusetts
For the second consecutive day, Werner sipped coffee as he watched cars enter the parking garage behind the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 99 High Street. On the previous day, he had surveyed the building on foot and taken up a position just after eight o’clock outside the front entrance on High Street. From there he watched people enter the building for fifteen minutes before concluding that Regional Administrator Fred Rocco was far more likely to enter the building by car than he was to walk in the front door. He moved to the sandwich shop next to the rear entrance of the underground garage for another cup of coffee. But after a few minutes on a stool at the window, he realized that it was far too exposed a place for him
“Do they still let you teach about Emerson?” Werner probed. “I heard somewhere that his books were banned.”
“They’re not banned in Concord. He’s our native son and this is the home of self-reliance and civil disobedience. They can burn his house down but Emerson’s memory is alive and well. Well, maybe not in the public schools yet, but one day they’ll catch up.”
“Are many former CA faculty doing what you’re doing?” Werner inquired. “Without faculty housing, I would think many would find it hard to make ends meet.”
“Heavens, no,” Motley replied. “Very few CA teachers could afford to stay. Concord is still a very expensive town. It’s still highly gentrified, though less than before the Events. Our family was able to stay afloat only because I did some screenwriting early in my career and didn’t have to rely exclusively on my teaching income. We bought a small farm about a mile out on Monument Street and went into organic gardening as a hobby because we thought it would be good to teach the kids. Little did we know then that we’d need those vegetables and apples and eggs one day to avoid going hungry.”
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Werner asked, returning to his initial question about gardening, “why are you tending the garden here if you garden professionally at home?”
“It’s a long story, but it’s mainly because I’m on a committee to protect the Old Manse. After Emerson’s house and the First Parish Church and Orchard House burned in suspicious fires, a few of us decided to keep watch over the Old Manse so that there would be honest witnesses if it happened again. The Unionists may remove all the signs and fence it off and even torch it, but we’ll bear witness to whatever happens. They can’t be allowed to erase the memory of who lived here or the ideas that Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and the Alcotts gave the world from this special place.”
Werner looked at his watch. It was much later than he had planned to stay.
“Say, it’s been great seeing you again, Parker,” he remarked, reaching out to shake Motley’s hand. “How would I find you if I wanted to get in touch.”
“We’re about a mile further down the road, right past the apple orchard.”
“Say, have you ever thought of doing some distilling with your surplus apples?” Werner asked as an afterthought. “There might be a good market for local applejack if some skill went into it.”
Motley chuckled.
“It’s occurred to me more than once, Frank, but I think the project may have to wait. At the moment, we’re still testing the authorities’ reaction to our hard cider.”
“Well, if you ever decide to go forward with it, let me know. Here, I’ll give you my business card. I might be able to help you find a market. Anyway, it was a pleasure to see you, Parker, and I hope we cross paths again.”
Chapter 5
Friday, April 13, 2029
Concord, Massachusetts
For the second consecutive day, Werner sipped coffee as he watched cars enter the parking garage behind the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 99 High Street. On the previous day, he had surveyed the building on foot and taken up a position just after eight o’clock outside the front entrance on High Street. From there he watched people enter the building for fifteen minutes before concluding that Regional Administrator Fred Rocco was far more likely to enter the building by car than he was to walk in the front door. He moved to the sandwich shop next to the rear entrance of the underground garage for another cup of coffee. But after a few minutes on a stool at the window, he realized that it was far too exposed a place for him
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