EVERY NATION HAS a tipping point. During the French Revolution the queen uttered her famous words: “let them eat cake”. She lost her head; powerful words indeed. For our nation the powerful words say: “It’s the economy, stupid.” The kettle had reached its boiling point.
Ben has risen to the occasion. They are surviving with a mixture of the present, and values one would find in the 1800s. Our government already has a big tent—social security, food stamps, Medicare, etc. They are starting to outnumber the workers. It’s like a team of horses pulling a cart. The cart has much weight on it (our national debt). One horse is tired, so you put him (or her) on the cart, which means less horses pull the cart and there’s more weight to pull. Add the heft of an EMP attack, and we can’t survive without the help of more horses.
With his master’s degree, Ben is anxious to work again. With her motherly instincts, Alice misses the part-time job. What kind of future is there for Jessica?
And Randy? They both have the desire and talent to go on. Let’s not forget about the attorney. There is no way he will keep pushing that lawn mower. I am sure when he finishes his mowing, he rubs his hands and then yells out, “I’ll sue those ba––s.”
More information is coming out about the unaffected areas in northern Maine and our West Coast. Perhaps they can help us.
The anxiety level will reach a boiling point with the Randal’s and others. For now Ben is finding some kindling wood, and Randy is polishing his Buick. Alice is keeping the family together, and insecure Jessica is on a mission to save the drunk.
In our family and in our little community, we have chosen the life-affirming position of old-fashioned values. The wrath of an EMP attack pushed us to this way of life in order to survive. Hopefully, with help of more of the horses, we can pull over the larger hills like the lust for power and around the ruts of bigotry hatred and selfishness. We will see. It’s not 1776, but it should be interesting.