Toni's second day; pt 4 dinner and laundry

     I'm not surprised Toni's appetite shrunk again. She didn't have such a "glamorous" day today. In fact, her afternoon activity and dinner prep didn't go as planned. It all started with the laundry. 

     With the amount of food and energy packed away from lunch she retrieved more water and began to wash her clothes. "Be careful how much soap you use." I advised her. "My clothes stink like hell!", she roared.  While she did her laundry, I did mine, as well. 

     I took a set of my clothes and put it in my wash bag. I put in low suds soap and water. I closed the bag tightly and began to rub the clothes in the bag. When I was done, I did a rinse. I hung up my clothes to dry. I was done. 

     Toni was still washing her clothes in a bucket. She had too much soap giving her too many suds. In the end she needed more water to rinse her clothes out. She decided to take her clothes to the river to rinse out. She came back later in a frenzy. "Don't tell me I can't rinse the soap out at the river! I'll do what I want, when I want, and how I want!"  People had followed her back to camp. This was not good. They had tried to explain to her where people did their laundry---in a section AWAY from the river. Not AT the river. AND NO PEEING IN THE RIVER. NO FLOATERS EITHER!

    It was reported back that Toni not only tried to rinse her clothes in the river, but used it as her personal toilet, as well. Er Ma Gerd!! Take her away. Someone take her to a new tent. 

     When the brouhaha died down, and the people left, I was left to have a serious talk with Toni. I gave her her only warning. After that she had to move on to her own property. Which, really, she should do soon! 

     That didn't mark the end of Toni's day. She still had to have dinner. She had to make her own dinner and clean up. 

      Remembering the mess from earlier, Toni's dinner was much, much lighter than lunch. For dinner she had a packet of oatmeal with water. She cooked the oatmeal in the pot. That meant she had to wash her pot. She should have boiled the water in the pot, put the oatmeal in her bowl, and poured the hot water into her bowl.  Then, let the oats cook in hot water for three minutes. Well, I don't care. "It don't matter to me." As the saying goes. It ended up mattering to her. 

     She had to find dish washing detergent to wash her pot. She had washed her pot with industrial soap that left a chemical taste in her mouth. After washing her pot, she boiled water for coffee. She noticed a strange smell, but didn't say or do anything about it. After the water boiled she poured it in her mug. She added the coffee mix to her water and stirred. She put the mug to her lips, blew the coffee cool, and took a sip. Immediately, she spit it out! "What the hell? This tastes like soap!! This is shit!", and she threw out her coffee and boiled water. 

     She looked in her wheeled bin for dish washing detergent. She took out a lot of her equipment before she could get to her 12 fl oz dish washing detergent. Then it was time to put her equipment back. Back went the toiletries, the gardening and construction tools, and the books. Back went her nuts, bolts, and screws. Back went her knick knacks. Back went her groceries!  Everything went back into her wheeled bin. She never looked at her bin again! 

     After she washed her pot and mess kit she finally made herself her cup of coffee. Relaxing, she went to sleep early at night fall. 

www.eartheasy.com scrubba wash bag (th) (c)

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!!