Chapter 25

We had driven into Brantley to listen to the news conference in which the governor made the announcement. He told the news people that he expected me to shake things up and make the AEMA more responsive and grassroots oriented. He also said that I had refused to accept a salary. He said that he expected me to assume my duties as soon as I could get on the job but that I was deeply involved in the relief effort in Crenshaw County. To put it bluntly, I was screwed. I never figured he was dumb. We weren't personal friends but had known each other and become good acquaintances before he ran for governor.

Greg was gleeful. He said, "Bill, you have to learn to duck better." I grinned dolefully. "Did Eve talk you into accepting?" He laughed as did many others in the room when I nodded. Eve blushed.

We had little to do now other than watching over the power being repaired. I gained a new appreciation for the work of the power crews. We returned that evening for supper. I had just prayed and we were just sitting down to eat when there was a knock on my door.

I went to it and found Jim Grant standing there. I thought to myself, "Oh, crap!" I said out loud, "Mister Grant, come in."

"Thank you, Mister Anderson. The governor sent me. He would like to speak with you. I have a satellite phone. He thought your power and other utilities would still be out. May I call him and introduce you to your new phone?"

I didn't like the words, "introduce," "your," and "phone." I said, "Go ahead."

"Thank you, Sir. There are some previously programmed numbers including the governor's in it already. You can add whatever ones you desire. One of the ones already in the phone is the governor's private line. I will call him now." He showed me the symbol and pressed the key. The phone was answered and Grant said, "Governor, I have Mister Anderson here for you." He handed the phone to me.

"Governor, this is Bill Anderson."

"Bill, I'm glad Jim got to you."

"Ben, the roads are pretty clear but power is still out in much of the county."

"Bill, when can you get up here to take over your office?"

"Probably Monday. I will need to get someone to cover here at the farm. You have all these marvelous professionals that Marjorie hired to handle everything."

"Bill, they don't know what to do or who should do it. I have no confidence in them. You will have to teach them or clean house."

I thought, "Crap!" I really didn't need this. "I understand your opinion. I have a speed dial option on this fancy phone. I will call the state center as soon as I finish eating. Miss Baylor and her associate cooked the meal and they are excellent cooks."

He chuckled, "All right, Bill. I look forward to seeing you in action. Thanks for coming on board. Bye."

I said, "Bye." I thumbed the off button.

Eve had gotten an extra plate and Grant ate with us. He said, "Miss Baylor, this is really great I don't eat this well very often."

I said, "I may not be either. It looks like Eve will be going to Nashville and I will be heading to Montgomery. This isn't what I had planned."

Eve said, "Bill, take it easy. I want you on the show in Birmingham if not sooner." I grimaced. She, Joan, and Todd all grinned.

After we finished, Eve said, "Coffee will be in the living room while Bill works."

Grant thanked Eve and Joan for the meal and left. I sat down in my chair and took up the phone. I pressed the button for the state center and made the call.

The person answering said, "Alabama Emergency Operations Center, how may I direct your call?"

I said, "Who is in charge?"

"Matt Long. Who may I ask is wanting to speak to him?"

"This is Bill Anderson."

"Oh, Mister Anderson. Just a moment while I switch you to Matt."

I was quickly switched. "Hello, Matt. This is Bill Anderson."

"Mister Anderson. I'm sorry about..."

I interrupted him. "It wasn't your doing. Let it go. I have." I could hear a sigh of relief. "What's your status this evening?"

"It's pretty quiet. The county centers are handling things with two exceptions and they don't really have any emergency. They just report hourly that they have nothing to report and want to know what they should do."

I chuckled. "Tell them to help the people in their county who need it and not screw things up worse than they are."

"May I really say that, Sir?"

"I would prefer you sugar coat it. However, they need to understand that they have jobs to do and their jobs don't consist of calling the EOC with continual status reports telling us nothing is happening."

"Yes, Sir." He sounded happier. "What should we do here?"

I replied, "I expect a minimal staff there over the weekend. Everybody should be there Monday unless they have something real to do elsewhere. I think the governor wants a press conference and then I will come in to the center. We will have a group meeting and get to work. There will be some changes."

"Yes, Sir. Monday should be interesting. I will be here then. Good bye."

"Bye." I thumbed the off button.

Eve was in my lap. "I would love to be at that meeting, Bill."

"I don't think that's possible, Dear. This business will delay me coming to Nashville. I didn't plan on taking a full-time job. But I did and now will have to handle it. The AEMA hasn't been responsive for a while and that will change quickly."

Joan said, "What about anyone missing Monday?"

I said, "It depends upon why they are missing. I can think of some good reasons for some people to be out of the office. There are engineers who don't want to work in an office. They would rather be out performing engineering work. There are others I have met over the years who don't care about anything other than helping people and assisting others who do. Finally, there will be those who are not happy about Emerson's departure and will try to avoid me for some period of time hoping the governor comes to his senses."

I sighed. "That's enough about that. We have what's left of a weekend. Let's make use of it." That did galvanize some thinking. Eve arranged through the use of my new satellite phone for a charter to get Joan and her to Nashville by Sunday night. They would drive to Luverne in Joan's car and leave it there. I would follow them in mine and then proceed to Montgomery to be ready Monday morning.

We enjoyed church and then had lunch and three of us packed. Todd would drive by every day or two to watch over my house. I shut everything down not planning to be back for a few weeks. We all left. At the airport, I waited for Eve and Joan to leave in their plane before pulling away and heading to Montgomery. Both hugged me tightly. Eve said, "I will miss you, Bill. What's worse, it's my fault. I love you, Dear."

I had stayed in Montgomery before and knew some acceptable places to stay though had never been for an extended stay until now. I tried one of the motels I had used before and found they would give me a discount for an extended stay. I paid for a week telling them that I would probably renew two or three times. I unpacked sufficiently and crawled into bed.