Chapter 12

We went into the den and turned on the TV. Sharon flipped to one of Atlanta’s local stations. The weather guy was on telling us that weather warning sirens were going off across northern and western Georgia. A serious winter storm was bearing down on the Atlanta area from the west. Snow, hail, and tornadoes were all possible. Atlanta had never had this type of weather at this time of year.

NOAA was blaming this weather on the volcanos from Yellowstone and points south which were spewing ash over a widening area.

There were rumors of a new ice age on the Internet. I wasn’t sure about that but it was unseasonably cold and getting colder. Looking worldwide, I found little change in Europe which was comforting. North America was a big continent but it wasn’t the entire world. I added to my watch list the temperature trends in Europe and Asia. California was devastated by the volcanos and earthquakes and the ash deposits from the volcanos. I was sympathetic to the plight of those in California but was concerned for the agricultural areas there and on the Great Plains. The Great Plains were suffering from snow and cold. Winter had come in July and settled in during August. We could now start to see food shortages. Even south Florida was feeling the pinch of cold weather.

Most people who had been trapped at Yellowstone were dead as well as many in surrounding towns. California was descending into lawlessness between the loss of their good weather and the seismic activity taking place. The devastation from the earthquakes was terrible based upon what little information that was getting out. The Great Plains including Texas were suffering from the cold. We were feeling it here. Government resources were being stretched thinly trying to fix something that was beyond any ability to fix.

I listened to one live newscast which tickled my sense of humor. It was a press conference and the reporters were questioning hard the person before their cameras. One reporter insisted that the government should do something. The person up front was becoming exasperated. She finally said, “Sir, exactly what, in your expert opinion, should be done?” Of course, the newsie had no answer replying that they weren’t there to handle these issues but to report on them. The person being put on the spot by the newsie said, “Then, specify the exact issue that most needs addressing?”

Very reluctantly, the newsie said that volcanos were the source of the problem.

The person said, “The best volcanists, people who study volcanos as their life’s work, say that this set of occurrences is unprecedented. Unless you are suggesting that I can control whether or not a volcano will erupt, which I can’t, you are wanting me to do something that you then must admit couldn’t have been planned for in advance and which couldn’t have been foreseen. You’re a fool.”

Then, the person went on to describe what was being done and how people can make use of governmental resources to improve their situations. The news conference was curiously quiet but some real information was disseminated.

I thought to myself that that newsie probably doesn’t have a warm winter coat. At some point, I also thought that freedom of the press doesn’t equal irresponsibility of the press though many newscasters seemed to act that way. I kept in mind an old statement made by a local radio talk show host and lawyer many years ago, “If you don’t know it to be true from personal experience or independent research, it’s probably not true.” I also remembered the old rule when looking for why someone is doing or promoting something, “Follow the money trail.” I had found over the years that human greed rarely let me down.

It got colder outside.

Emma was talking about going home to her parents. Misty and I talked about it one night and decided to be neutral. Sharon was not. She didn’t want her friend to leave and make the drive through some parts of Atlanta and then northeast into South Carolina. Emma’s parents weren’t even in favor of the trip though they missed their daughter. She left in her car hoping to make it through back roads though slowly.

We had exchanged messages with Dave a few times but he rarely was available to talk. Calgary was colder than we were here, of course. However, they thought they were more prepared. Like the rest of the North American hemisphere, new cold weather records were being recorded daily. People in the northern states were dying of the cold. Blizzards and the like were making travel dangerous to anyone.

We were suffering here but mostly because of the continuation of the cold. The Atlanta area had always received frequent cold spells but they didn’t last. Now, they lasted. It was now early August and schools were closed along with many businesses. They were running out of inventory if they even received anything at all. Commerce was grinding to a halt.

Our church and most other churches about which I had any information continued to meet. Katie and Bob met Misty. They were thrilled for me and fell in love with Misty. Since I was in love with her, I didn’t blame them. Our pastor’s messages were about standing fast for Jesus in times of trouble.

The three of us were comfortable in the house. The primary issue we had was power outages. Finally, I disconnected the power during one and went totally to my water wheel. I shunted wiring to feed an unused room that had a light on to let me know about whether power was on or not. It was intermittent until it finally went out completely.

The weather became colder and we had snow on the ground at Labor Day! Not only did it snow, but it stayed. By the middle of September, it was almost a foot deep. We heard from Emma so knew that her quest to go home was successful. However, it had been a harrowing trip.

On a personal level, my marriage to Misty was very successful and enjoyable. We enjoyed each other even though that occasionally embarrassed my daughter. She learned not to approach us without knocking or making noise after catching us making love in the barn!

We were using the clothes purchased up north now and were all glad to have those clothes designed for the weather we were now having. We walked around the farm and stayed off the road. I had put up a fence years ago to deter anyone from entering the property though it wouldn’t stop anyone who was determined. We closed the gate at the drive.