Toni's second day; pt3 her luncheon

     After breakfast, Toni waited for lunch!  Well, really, she was tired from walking to the river and getting two buckets of water so she could have her bath. When her bath was done and she had changed into her last set of clean clothes, I sat down with her and talked about the importance of clean, safe water for daily use. When that was done she lay down and took a nap. She woke up to me eating my lunch. Remember the second egg I had hidden? I cooked and ate it. I boiled 2 oz of rice to complete the Cuban poorman's meal. 

     Toni wanted to know what was for lunch. "What'd ya make us for lunch?", she rudely asked. "I'm eating a poorman's Cuban meal. What are You making Yourself?", I pointedly stated.  "What? You didn't make me anything? How rude!" On and on she droned. 

     When it dawned on her I had finished my lunch and washed up, Toni looked to her pack to see what she could make for lunch. She took out her mess kit and sloppily made too much food for one person in one setting at this time and place.  

1 whole 7-oz wet pack of corn. 

6 broken crackers from the table cracker sleeve. 

1-4 oz. can of chicken. 

1-2 oz pack of pasta shells. 

1 packet of coffee, again. 

She made herself a casserole that took too many dishes to store. She just about ate the whole thing within 5 minutes of serving her food. "Toni, you have to pace yourself. Everyone is still on rations. No one's garden has come in to eat as much as you did just now." I continued to tell her, "Everyone one is waiting and praying for their fresh vegetables to grow, their fruit trees to bear fruit, and their live stock to multiply." 

     After she digested her meal, she took her buckets and got more water at the river. This time she boiled and treated the water before she used it. She took out her five seed packets and asked me for my opinion on her garden. "Did you get any more when they picked you up? You need to economize. You can't snack throughout the day because 'there's nothing to do' or you're a nervous eater'.  You'll run out of food, seeds and live stock. Milk your goat. Learn to make goats cheese. Trade your skill for food.

     "Five packets of seeds are a start. How many seeds are in them? Are they heirloom seeds? Will they grow true? Read the back panels on your packets. Choose the packet closest to our weather and environment."  (Easier said than done. The packets we got were for cold weather. Here we are in a warm area.) Other than that, she'd do better to ask a pro. I told her about the workshops the community put together. I think it went in one ear and out the next. I don't know. Time will tell. 

Toni's second day: her stuff pt 6

Here is the breakdown for Toni's items 

Groceries 1-20 heavy on the protein! Light on carbs and starches. Where's the fruit and veggies? 

• 2 cans wieners 

• 2 cans wieners 

• 1 can chicken

• 1 can chicken 

• 1 can chicken 

• 1 can ham xl

• 1 can ham xl

• 1 can spam xl

• 1 can spam xl

• 1 can beef chunks 

--

• 1 lb. white rice 

• 1 lb. brown rice

• 1 lb. wild rice

• 1 lb. spaghetti 

•  2 lbs. elbow pasta 

•  2 lbs. lentils 

•  2 lbs. black beans 

•  2 lbs. kidney beans 

• 4 cans of mixed vegetables 

• 3 dz paks fruit (pears, cocktail, mango)

She did better than me!!!

Housewares 1-10 

• 3-pak bowls

• 3-pak tumblers

• 3-pak plates 

     All plastic!

• Towel 

• 4-paks sporks

• 4-paks knives 

     All metal w resin cover

• 20-pak votive candles 

• pitcher 

• 2-pak serving spoon/fork

• 4-pak containers

Hygiene 1-10

• pads aka feminine napkins 

• 2-pak soap

• 5-pak toothbrushes and 1 toothpaste 

• 2-pak toothpaste 

• brush, comb, mirror set--very cheap combo 

• medicinal mouthwash, 16 oz. 

• 3-pak towels 

• shampoo 

• conditioner 

• body wash 

Clothes 1-10 

• 2-pak undies

• 1-sports bra 

• 2-pair mismatched socks! 

• Tank top 

• Short sleeve Tee

• Long sleeve polo 

• A pair of red crocs 

• A pair of shorts

• A pair of pants 

• A pair of leggings 

Tools 1-10

••••••••••

Education/Culture 1-10

Really? A lot of gambling! 

••••••••••

Recreation/Entertainment 1-10

Still a lot of gambling 

••••••••••

Gardening 1-10 

• Hoe 

• Shovel 

• Solar light 

• Trellis pole 

• Seeds squash 

• Seeds carrots 

• Seeds tomatoes 

• Seeds radishes 

• Seeds cucumbers 

• trellis pole 

Domestic furniture 

• Children's TV tray 

• Bucket! 

• Bucket 

• Camping chair 

• Sleeping bag 

• A yoga mat used as bed roll under the sleeping bag

• Tiki torch with oil 

• Pot 

 

Better than me! 

The Music Man

     A music man passed through here. He gave a short concert to paying customers. He'd invite people to pay him for a song to play. He'd move the paying party a little way from the crowd and play for them, solely. Eventually, people wanted to hear more music themselves. People offered to pay him in single cans of food. A group got together and each person paid one can of food, or such. They got him to play for them all at the same time. He agreed since they paid him all together. No one else was allowed to hear his concert. When he finished his concert he left for his new home. 

     Single cans were worth two songs. Double size can was worth two songs for three or four people, or four or five songs for two person. One mother fed him a meal. Her whole family got a personal concert for 30 minutes. And so Mr. Music Man came and left our camp site. Occasionally he would show up again. He would bring a friend to watch his back. Too many times someone would try to steal what he earned. 

A/N

(All right reserved to original motion picture of The Music Man)

My "Blind" Neighbor Paul

     Our neighbor, Paul, arrived a day after Toni. He stopped to rest with us for a bit, but kept moving on to his family. His family is on the other side of the river. Good luck. He has to cross at the narrow end. That's about two miles from us. 

     Paul was clueless to everything going on around him. People tried to open his eyes. He just kept them shut. He didn't want to see people were freezing to death in a city that, normally, never dipped below 30•F, on it's coldest night! He wanted to believe people just left without saying "good-bye".  He just thought people were rude for doing that and never wanted to talk about them again. Blind sheeple. 

     The day his mom disappeared was a big awakening, and a struggle for him. He kept asking why his mom left him? His dad told him she had been taken. He turned on his dad and blamed him! He states his mom left his dad and not him.  He walked away from his dad and never returned. His dad had thought he had been taken, too. The day he walked out on his dad he had the clothes on his back, his toothbrush, hairbrush, and snacks in his messenger bag. When he got picked up by the government he was in bad shape.  He didn't have much on him for survival. 

     The following was what Paul had on him at the time of his pick up. 

Clothes

His undershirt and underpants (ripped up). 

His t-shirt, sweater and jacket. 

His pants and his long john bottoms (No long john top). 

His two layers of socks. 

His boots. 

His handkerchief. 

That's all. He was given two changes of clothes. 

Two tops

Two bottoms 

2-pack briefs 

2-pack under shirt

2-pack socks 

An Ugly pair of red plastic clogs

1 hat/du-rag 

Paul didn't carry much in his messenger bag. 

Hygiene

Toothbrush (in case he got lucky)

Hairbrush (the morning after)

(That's it!)

He was given the following:

2-pack soap 

Toothbrush (which he refused!)

2-pack of toothpaste. ("I only need one." He told them)

5-pack of combs (once again, "I don't need all those combs. I have a brush.")

Medicinal mouthwash ("yuck!")

(Still in denial)

Food! 

What did he have for snacks? 

12 energy bars (he likes them!)

3 jerky sticks (his dad put them in his bag one day he wasn't looking) 

1 bottle of water. 

2 packs of breath mints! 

Culture/Education

He didn't have much here. He had one book and an adult pleasure magazine. 

1-anthology book on short stories 

1-well-slobbered over, Porn magazine 

Medicine 

2 band aids (no kit)

1 travel kit of aspirin 

Camping gear

Zip. Zero. Nada. 

He was given a pop up shelter for one person.  He was given a mess kit set: a bowl, a mug, a spork with knife combo. 

Homesteading/Animal Husbandry

He made such an impression on them they gave him one chicken. That's it. No rooster. He refused it!  He had no time for a chicken since he's going to school. He gave me his chicken! I told him to see me again after he found his parents.  Maybe they'll get his chicken back. 

P. S. 

It took a week but Paul came back with his dad. They picked up his chicken, and a few other things he left around. Toni wanted payment for housing the chicken. After all, he did give it to me. I said the egg it laid was payment enough. In the end, Paul's dad gave us one can of meat. I took it and hid it immediately when no one was looking. Paul's dad realizes his son is not well. Hopefully, now that he's with his parents again, he'll slowly get better.  

Toni's animal husbandry

     My roommate, Toni was given a goat and her foal(?)--kid.  Already we have felt their presence. They are constantly chewing, and chewing, and chewing. When I realized they had gotten into the tent I yelled at Toni to get her beasts out of my stuff! They can't help but chew! So!, chew the grass OUTSIDE! Coral them!, drive a stake in the ground and tie them to it! Something! Keep them away from our things! 

     Because the mama goat had a kid she is lactating. Interesting goats milk, Toni!  The goats had been named and tagged by the government. Mama goat is registered as  Carmen; her son,  Sandiego. 

     Toni was given a pamphlet on the care and feeding of goats. She had better read up in it! I've already milked the goat once or twice. Where do we store the milk? Or sell the milk! I can see that. But Toni is responsible for her goat. She needs to milk it! 

     I tethered the mama goat to a stake in the grass far from the tent. The kid stays close to his mom. When he starts to stray he'll get tethered too.  

     Now where is that pamphlet on goats? 

Toni's second day; pt 2 the bath

     After Toni finished breakfast, she desperately wanted a bath. She had been walking a few days. Her breakfast calmed her down and the sobs stopped. Now she was able to focus on personal hygiene. 

     I talked to her about the use of her buckets. A bucket for bathing, a bucket for washing her clothes, a bucket for washing her hands and dishes. But especially, a bucket for carrying water from the river. She didn't see it the same way. She only had two buckets. Bucket one, for carrying her water. Bucket two, for everything else! Good luck staying healthy! Don't get sick on my side. 

     I showed Toni where to get water from the  river. She took both her buckets, in hand. Should be fun for her to walk back with heavy buckets (sarcasm). 

     Toni just returned from the river. She lost water on the way back from the river. The buckets kept wobbling on her.  They'd tip over and splash out water. She left the river with two full buckets. Then she realized she had to dump a bunch back to the river. Water is heavy at seven pounds a gallon. Her city slicker arms couldn't carry that much water. She ended up with a full bucket of water in two buckets. 

     And then, she used it all up in a bath. "But, I needed that bath!" When she finished, she dumped the water! Didn't even stop to think maybe the water could have been used for something else!:  like washing clothes!, she still needs to wash her clothes!!

     

     

Toni's second day pt 1 breakfast

     OMG! Er Ma Gerd! She slept in late. That's to be expected after that long trek. When she woke up, she was exhausted. After that she fell apart. 

"Any coffee?", she asked as she stumbled out of her sleeping area. 

"What's for breakfast?" 

"Where's the bathroom?" 

"Where's my stuff?"

     "Good morning, Toni. The outhouse is outside to the right. There's hot water in the pot; just add coffee. Your stuff is next to your sleeping area. Breakfast isn't ready yet."

"What's for breakfast?", she asked me. 

"Whatever you make for yourself." I answered. 

     "That outhouse stinks like shit!", declared my roommate as she stomped back to the tent. "Coffee. Coffee!! I need my damn coffee! I can't believe they sent us to this shithole!" And on she went... 

     "I'm sweaty! I'm sticky!  This place is shit!!! I feel like shit! I want a bath (sobs)! What do I have to do to get a bath?" Then she broke down crying. 

     I showed Toni where her stuff was. I told her to break out a coffee packet and whatever ingredients she'd like for breakfast. She found her backpack. After rummaging for one, two minutes she took out one coffee packet that already included cream, as well as one flavored oatmeal packet. Hey, at least she kept it to food that only needed boiled water to cook it. 

     She took out her mess kit to have her breakfast. I poured hot water into her cup and bowl. She added the coffee to her cup and stirred. Holding the hot beverage in both hands, she inhaled the aroma of her creamy, instant coffee. The measured-in-and-out movement of her lungs helped her to calm down. The aroma and caffeine helping to ease the tension in her head, neck and shoulders. 

     Half way through her coffee Toni moved her attention to her oatmeal. She wanted to toss her cooled water out, but I warned her there was no running water here. "And that's another fucking thing here!" And off she went, again. She drank her coffee. I took her cup and bowl. I transferred a bit of the water to her cup to rinse it out. I convinced her to drink the rest. Nothing gets wasted here. 

     "Do you still want oatmeal?  I have an egg I can Share with you."  When I said that she pounced on me. "Where are the eggs? I want mine sunny-side up!", she exclaimed, turning over the pantry in the tent. She still hadn't adjusted to life without fast food or a refrigerator. 

     I went to a stand where I house my two eggs a day. I took one out and gave it to her. Realizing I wouldn't cook it for her, she took her mess kit and prepped her "sunnyside-up" egg.

     She took her pan and sprayed cooking oil on it. She cracked the egg into the pan and started cooking it over the fire. She added spices! Of all things. I don't know where she carried it, but she has one all-purpose seasoning spice. As the egg fried in her pan she thought about what else she could eat. She reconsidered her oatmeal. She drank the last water in her bowl. She ripped open the packet of her still-waiting, flavored oatmeal, pouring it into her bowl. She added just enough hot water to be able to cook the oatmeal in the bowl. She balanced her time between letting the oatmeal boil, and not burning the egg. 

     When her egg was done she took the pan off the fire and transferred her cooked egg to the bowl. Interesting combination. Flavored oatmeal and sunnyside-up egg. Sporking the food in her mouth, Toni occasionally made a face as she swallowed her breakfast. She washed it down with boiled, aerated water.