Chapter 4

During the night I had the weirdest dream, or was it? I heard my lovely wife Karen talking to me. She said that she was in heaven and that she was just fine. She had found her mom and dad as well as my parents and my grandparents. They all wanted me to know that they are so proud of me for everything I had accomplished so far in my life. But they also were proud that I had decided to accept this challenge and wished me luck with it. Karen said that she felt like she was eighteen again with no worries or cares. She loved me more now than she ever did. But she said that Don, her dad had some advice for me and so did my dad Fred. She said, ‘Here is my dad,’ and it was just like handing the phone off to someone else as I heard Don’s voice in my head.

‘Bob, I think you will need some chain saws for felling trees for your corral to train the horses. You also need to clear an area for the training as well. I recommend a 12-inch, a 25-inch and a 36-inch cutting blade saw, either a Stihl or Husqvarna brands. Get a minimum of 3 extra chains as well as a sharpening kit. You might throw in a tractor with a PTO (power take-off) big enough to run a 48-inch circular saw on a frame so you can cut fence posts, sharpen the ends, and make planks as well. Make sure to get 2 additional blades and sharpening tools for it too. You can make an additional table for support, but the frame needs to be at least 2-inch angle iron. You might see about a belt sander attachment, or a separate PTO powered sander. Also, you will need a post hammer — you know a 3-inch by 3-foot section of pipe with a rebar handle on opposite sides. The best types are ones where the top 4-inches of pipe are filled with concrete or steel. They make setting posts much easier. Here is your dad.’

‘Hello son, I want to say I’m sorry for the way I treated you when you were growing up, I don’t know why I acted the way I did; but maybe it was so you could turn out the way you did. I am ... we are, your mother and I, so proud of all that you have accomplished so far in your life and look forward to seeing you do so much better in this endeavor. I have some advice for you though. I would change the 30-30 rifles to Marlin’s model 1894 in .45 caliber, for the saddle guns, and change the Winchester model 94 to a Marlin 30-06 model with scope. They will be better. Also, I think the tri-blade arrow heads should be a four blade. The 4-blade heads give you better stopping power and kill advantage. Also go with fiberglass shafts as the aluminum shafts are hollow and tend to bend when stressed by hitting bone and you can’t straighten them out once they are bent. Also take probably ten plastic 10’ x12’ tarps and see if you can find a couple canvas tarps that are 20’x 20.’ Those you can always use as a tent or lean-to for shelter. I was talking to a couple mechanical engineers and they thought your idea for the poles on the truck rails was excellent. They thought that an 8-to-10-inch steel or titanium pipe with a 2-inch diameter with a 15 by 1 ½ inch titanium bolt to go through it to tie the tops of the hoist poles together would be better than just bolting them together at the top. They said to have 3 eye hooks welded to the pipe at even intervals would help to attach the snatch blocks. By the way, take at least 5 snatch blocks and a couple three pulley blocks to up your lifting advantage. Also take four or five 12’ to 15’ log chains with ¾ to 1-inch-thick links with hooks on each end. These can help you haul logs with the truck or ATV depending on the size. Add a half ton winch on the front of the ATV too. You will also want a set of chains for the tires on the truck as well. You never know when you will be stuck with no trees or boulders to latch onto with the winches. Everybody here is looking forward to watching to see how you do in this new life.’

Karen came back to me and said how proud she was of me and that she did not have a problem in waiting for me. She knew I would make her proud in whatever I did in this new world and to not think that I had abandoned her by accepting this adventure. I drifted off to sleep knowing my beloved wife was behind me and approved of my decision. I also appreciated the help from my dad and father-in-law.