Read Online The Slow Road by Jerry D. Young - Free Book Online
Authors: Jerry D. Young
Tags: Science-Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, post apocalyptic, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages)
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gasoline became available. Jasper kept them that way most of the time. So with the thought of future supplies of fuel in mind, Jasper went shopping for an inexpensive gasoline tank and stand. He couldn’t find one so went to TSC again. They had one. The manager of the store was one of the people that Jasper had helped and cut him a good deal on the tank, stand, and dispenser.
With the tank set up near the propane tank, Jasper had the truck delivering fuel to the county put his two hundred gallons in the new tank, plus three hundred more that Jasper paid for out of the money he knew he would be making during the clean up.
He misjudged the situation slightly and he and Millie ran tight on cash when Jasper couldn’t do as much of the cleanup for individuals, which paid better than the county overtime, which Jasper was putting in doing cleanup on behalf of the county.
But he had it and kept the tank topped off religiously the same way he’d always kept the vehicles topped off. It was easier now, since he could refuel at home every day and get a gasoline delivery every month to keep the tank between half full and full.
As bad as that winter was, the summer turned out to be much worse. Jasper had never really believed much in global warming, especially with the recent severe winter weather, but he was starting to change his mind after the temperatures began hitting the one-hundred’s in late June and didn’t drop significantly until late September of that year.
He spent quite a bit of overtime for the county delivering water and ice to many of the same people that he’d delivered food and water to during the blizzards. He also brought many of them in to cooling shelters if they had no air conditioning or couldn’t run it when the power was out. Which it was often, again.
Then that fall he did much the same thing due to heavy rains that began to cause flooding in the area, including his residential neighborhood. The property was on a gentle upslope from the street. At its worst, the water came to within two inches of getting into the house and over the deck, and just covered the garden with an inch or so. The alley was right at the upper level of the flood water. At least it wasn’t a raging flood. The water was moving, but slowly, as it rose.
Millie sweated the rising water out. Even if the water did get into the house, she could still take the children across the deck, onto the outdoor kitchen mound which was an extension of the shelter mound. There was still more than a foot of freeboard for the outdoor kitchen and the shelter.
Jasper honored his duty for the county and worked, taking only enough time to raise a sand bag revetment in front of the entrance of the shelter, giving another two feet of protection to the shelter itself, above the mound.
He didn’t think that would happen, for before it reached the floor level of the shelter the water should be running over the alley and down that side of the slope. There just wasn’t much way for the water to rise more than a couple of inches higher than the alley. He also moved the chicken tractor and henhouse up on the small open area of the shelter mound to keep them out of the water.
The rains continued for a week, with the flooding lasting for several days after the rain stopped. Jasper was only getting home for a meal and few hours of sleep before he went back on duty. The flooding had played havoc with the county roads and all the county crews were putting in overtime to try to get them repaired as the flood water slowly went down.
Millie killed over a dozen snakes that found refuge on the family islands. She didn’t even try to differentiate between helpful snakes and the dangerous cottonmouths that were common in the area. She also drove off several larger, less dangerous animals, though she did kill a couple of possums and raccoons that became aggressive when she tried to herd them back into the water.
They lost much of the garden, as the flood came
With the tank set up near the propane tank, Jasper had the truck delivering fuel to the county put his two hundred gallons in the new tank, plus three hundred more that Jasper paid for out of the money he knew he would be making during the clean up.
He misjudged the situation slightly and he and Millie ran tight on cash when Jasper couldn’t do as much of the cleanup for individuals, which paid better than the county overtime, which Jasper was putting in doing cleanup on behalf of the county.
But he had it and kept the tank topped off religiously the same way he’d always kept the vehicles topped off. It was easier now, since he could refuel at home every day and get a gasoline delivery every month to keep the tank between half full and full.
As bad as that winter was, the summer turned out to be much worse. Jasper had never really believed much in global warming, especially with the recent severe winter weather, but he was starting to change his mind after the temperatures began hitting the one-hundred’s in late June and didn’t drop significantly until late September of that year.
He spent quite a bit of overtime for the county delivering water and ice to many of the same people that he’d delivered food and water to during the blizzards. He also brought many of them in to cooling shelters if they had no air conditioning or couldn’t run it when the power was out. Which it was often, again.
Then that fall he did much the same thing due to heavy rains that began to cause flooding in the area, including his residential neighborhood. The property was on a gentle upslope from the street. At its worst, the water came to within two inches of getting into the house and over the deck, and just covered the garden with an inch or so. The alley was right at the upper level of the flood water. At least it wasn’t a raging flood. The water was moving, but slowly, as it rose.
Millie sweated the rising water out. Even if the water did get into the house, she could still take the children across the deck, onto the outdoor kitchen mound which was an extension of the shelter mound. There was still more than a foot of freeboard for the outdoor kitchen and the shelter.
Jasper honored his duty for the county and worked, taking only enough time to raise a sand bag revetment in front of the entrance of the shelter, giving another two feet of protection to the shelter itself, above the mound.
He didn’t think that would happen, for before it reached the floor level of the shelter the water should be running over the alley and down that side of the slope. There just wasn’t much way for the water to rise more than a couple of inches higher than the alley. He also moved the chicken tractor and henhouse up on the small open area of the shelter mound to keep them out of the water.
The rains continued for a week, with the flooding lasting for several days after the rain stopped. Jasper was only getting home for a meal and few hours of sleep before he went back on duty. The flooding had played havoc with the county roads and all the county crews were putting in overtime to try to get them repaired as the flood water slowly went down.
Millie killed over a dozen snakes that found refuge on the family islands. She didn’t even try to differentiate between helpful snakes and the dangerous cottonmouths that were common in the area. She also drove off several larger, less dangerous animals, though she did kill a couple of possums and raccoons that became aggressive when she tried to herd them back into the water.
They lost much of the garden, as the flood came
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