It happened in Church - October 19, 1962
Chapter Thirty Eight - Marie’s eyes, ayes, I!
Tuesday, October 30, 1962 (continues)
John was receiving the Lord’s Grace; everyone else just thought he was sleeping.
Brother Kevin knew that vets sleep when all’s done that can be done, and one is waiting for the battle to begin. He recognized the ‘parade rest’ position from a thousand bivouacs, route marches, and lulls. Marie was a little upset saying to Brother Kevin “He should be doing something, leading something, or building something.” Brother Kevin asked “Like what?” She was stumped. Brother Kevin told her: “In Japanese, there are two idioms, what we’d call homonyms, concepts: ‘Hearing with One’s Eyes, Seeing with One’s Ears’. It means you can’t get in someone else’s head. You don’t have the context, the vocabulary, or the taxonomy. You must just let them be. It’s all very eastern, Buddhist, Zen! You are scared and want action. Miss Marie, in due time, we will have more action than I ever want. Don’t rush the visit to the elephant. As you said, you’re a cherry.” Marie blushed deeply. She knew the double meaning. An untested soldier and a girl who was a virgin. Uncle vin was wounded as a result of ‘a cherry squared’, who didn’t have his act together. She heard Tim and vin curse the fellow who had never gotten laid and never would get the chance. He was mentally absent instead of watching front. The Japanese over ran them and many men died. vin called ‘the wrong kind of broken cherry blood’. She didn’t understand it all. But, she could hear her uncle vin saying ‘you look below her neck, I taka ur eye out’. She wished he was here now to protect her and explain it all. John did look ‘ready’.
John was in English class. And Brother Somebody was droning on “Homonyms, and mistakes with homonyms occur, in a sentence context, where the homonyms’ two most frequent meanings are nouns (e.g., sentence) or a noun and a verb (e.g., trip).” He then ‘heard’ Miss Marie say ‘Brother Vin, I need you to protect me!’ John was suddenly very cold. Shocked awake with a shiver like some one had walked across his grave. All senses alert. He looked for a bad guy to shoot. Who was threatening his Marie? As the sleep cleared, he could see her face. She was speaking to Brother Kevin and holding her fourth finger. He sprung up and slung the rifle walking behind her. He caught the tail end of ” … I need to know he’s alright.” Brother Kevin smiled and said “So ask him!” and in a stage whisper “He right behind you.” She whirled around and was shocked to see the big fat love-sick lunk right behind her. How did he get so close without her sensing him? “Ask me what”, John asked. “What were you doing?” She interrogated. “If I say ‘admiring the view’ do I get a kiss?” “No, smacked for being so forward.” Brother Kevin silent slunk away thinking ‘Yes, Saint Taq, they will have a long and happy marriage. With lots of make up sex and children. Shame they don’t know it yet.’ (So summoned, Saint Taq agreed. They were in the Plan together on most lines. At least most successful time lines.)
“Why were you sleeping on the job”, she asked directly. He was a little surprised at her tone. “Because I was getting rested up for our fight, and then we can have makeup sex!” he joshed her with a big grin. “What fight?”, she wasn’t buying any of it. “The fight about the two ideas you’re holding back on me.” He volleyed. She was shocked. Visibly. Was he in her head, as well as her heart, and soon to be in her pants? She was literally speechless. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” She was starting wheel and stomp away. He grabbed her left hand; the one with the makeshift krat ring on it. She thought ‘is he going to take it back?’ She was near tears. He held the ring finger and said “This is where you think about that you love me.” Held her thumb and said “This is where you think about the future.” Held her index finger and said “This is the first bad idea that you know I won’t like.” Held her middle finger and said “This is the second bad idea that you just think I won’t like.” Finally he held her pinky and said “And this is the near occasion of sin finger, where you think about what happens sifter the priest, and you know I’ll like that.” He looked in her eyes and knew he had nailed it. She was near tears - fright, love, angry, frustrated, and secretly violated by his depth of understanding of her. He smiled gently to her, gave her a polite kiss, and said “It’s OK. I love you know matter what surprised you bring.” Then to lighten it up a little he said “You aren’t pregnant are you. I don’t know how all this fertile stuff works. Does kissing cause babies?” She mock pushed him away and said “Men! Argh!” stomping away.
He knew at least one of the ideas had to do with her personal safety. Don’t ask how he knew. Osmosis maybe. And the other was probably like the recoveries. Big, bad, and affecting Vermont. He wasn’t afraid. He was more curious. Maybe this was his ’silver bullets’ being delivered?
She was a mess of chemistry, emotion, and urgency. She prayed: ‘dear saint taq, come around, help me present these ideas with precision, they are essential to save us all, your faithful student, Marie. She then went for her version of a nap. A speed walk to sick bay and back. She noted that Decon1 was overflowing with atlatl and darts. If they had to fight a war, they had a lot of that kind of ammo. (So summoned, Saint Taq reviewed her thinking and agreed that John was going to be upset. But he asked for magic silver bullets. He had no doubt about her persuasiveness. He was concerned about physical frustration. She was very action oriented. They’d have plenty all too soon. But, Saint Taq was a man of the world, so he petitioned the Lord to move the priest’s appearance up as soon as the Plan allowed. These youngsters were being very tempted.)
John, as usual, never tried to borrow trouble from the future. He was content that when it was the Lord’s plan, the trouble would come soon enough. Since he was now rested and dinner time was nearing. He went to do battle with his arch enemy the krat can! He wasn’t mad so keeping count would be easy.
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Dinner was marked by huge discussions among the Thirds. TomT had them all at one table and there was more animated discussion than any where else. Alexander, Austin, Brianna, Cody, Elizabeth, Jasmine, Lauren, and Madison were organizing. By the end of dinner, TomT reported he could field two teams of four. They would start training on “recovery agents” procedure tomorrow. TomT assured him they’d be ready when needed. John was sure they would be.
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Brian reprised his role as comedian.
Q: What do you get if Batman and Robin get smashed by a steam roller? A: Flatman and ribbon.
Q: When is a car not a car? A: When it turns into a garage.
Q: How much do pirates pay for their earrings? A: a Buccaneer!
Q: Why did the scientist install a knocker on his door? A: He wanted to win the No-bell prize.
Q: Why did the atoms cross the road? A: It was time to split!
The audience gave him a good natured booing.
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Hailey sang a song
Little By Little
Inch by Inch…Day by Day
Step by Step…All the Way
Piece by Piece…Bit by Bit
And Little by Little you’re there.
If you can’t climb a mountain then climb a hill
That’s much better than standing still
There’s a way if you’ve got the will
And little by little you’re there.
If you can’t swim an ocean then ford a stream
Just remodel your basic scheme
Don’t give up ’till you’ve reached your dream
And little by little you’re there.
Good things that are here to stay
Don’t get done in just one day
Once you’ve started you’re on your way
And little by little you’re there.
If you can’t save a million don’t draw a blank
Just keep filling your piggy bank
You’ll have only yourself to thank
When little by little you’re there.
Every Rose was once a bud
One small raindrop starts a flood
An acorn planted in the mud
will grow … you … know …
If you can’t walk a mile take one long stride
Move along with a sense of pride
Step by step ’til you’re satisfied
And little by littlie you’re there.
And littlie by little by little
by littlie by little by little by little by little
You’ll be there … (inch by inch day by day)
Little by little you’re there!
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Jody recites a poem she likes
Big Girls You ARE Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Aliira Jade
Why so dismissive,
of the girl that looks brawny,
submissive in her presence,
what if she were scrawny?
If you had your way,
measurements, 48″, 20″, 48″,
you’re already an idiot,
i wouldn’t bother to procreate.
She’s a real women,
with a flabby stomach,
and big bum,
She loves life,
to party,
and have fun,
so applaud the women,
because,
she’s a whole one.
The group didn’t know what to make of it. So they applauded.
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John said “I call this Staff Meeting to order. SO let’s order, I’ll have Ballentine Three Ring!” Every one rolled their eyes at his attempt at humor. He was a Rheingold kinda guy!
Brian said, “At risk of stepping out of order, I think Miss Marie has some things to share.” John said, “Oh really, who would have guessed?” Everyone saw the body language in the Queen’s Corner earlier. There was little privacy in the whole Shelter and none in the big shelter room.
Marie raised her hand to speak. John, feeling deja vu all over again, knew not to make a joke. She looked very serious. So, “My love Miss Marie, no need to be formal.” “I think formality is warranted when I’m going to upset the apple cart again. I hope you see the Lord’s wisdom reflected in these thoughts.”
She prayed silently: ‘dear saint taq come around, i have ideas we need.’ (As summoned, Saint TAQ found her fears again groundless, and prayed the Lord grant her peace within herself. She was the Lord’s creation in all her beauty. By being honest and open, the children were creating a small slice of Eden in tough situation. Little did she know that everyone was anxious to hear her ideas and adopt them. She was much harder on herself than she should be. Lord, grant her peace with herself.)
“Well, I have three items. Not one thing, Master Brainiac. Not two, Your Lordship. Think you know me so well, you all do. How would you like them easy to hard or visa versa.”
John said, “Let’s go easy to hard. I’ll need to adapt to the shock.”
Marie started, “OK, Decon1 is full of darts. I think we have enough. I’d suggest that we allow the First and Seconds to practice. We made need them.” John replied, “Done! Can we go now?”
Marie was annoyed but controlled herself. Nothing could push off task. “OK, now that you’ve formed Lurp. We have to think about casualties. Brother Kevin, in your Military Service, what percentage of patrols, actions, or whatever were casualty free?” Brother Kevin wanted to stay out of this, “Hard to say. Didn’t measure that stuff.” Turning to John, “Your honor, the witness’ answer is non-responsive. OK, Brother Kevin. How many in your unit in basic training?” “160 men.” “How many survived the war?” “Don’t know.” Marie was getting her Irish up. “When you were shot the first time, how many men were still fighting.” “About 6.” “So, about 3%!” “That was different.” “Your honor can excuse the witness.”
Marie was on point now. “We have to plan for casualties. If we can’t afford to field two or more Lurps, we must most certainly train for casualties. I’ll volunteer to understudy the L’s and Isabella. We need to have at least 9 people ready to fill in.” John said a bad word! Marie continued, “I don’t believe that is a question that I can respond to. And, you’re biased. So, Sam should decide that issue.”
Silence.
John broke it by saying, “Begrudgingly she’s right. Sam, make the call.” Sam said, “Agreed, It’s obvious. I’ll work out some backups. But Marie, quite frankly, you’re not going to be first on the list.” “Why?” “You’re too valuable to the little ones. Frankly, it would be a coin flip if you and June were the last two which I’d post.” Marie said “well John will be happy for a moment. Wait till he hears the next one!”
“Third, Brian, you are very smart. John, you too are smart. But you both are what I call ‘deconstructionists’. You break stuff into parts and move them around. I can do that too. But, humbly, I’ve been taught that when deconstruction doesn’t give you an acceptable solution, you have to go back and examine the whole problem. Holistically. So we need to do 77 individual recoveries. The best deconstruction that Brian and I could come up with was about 33. That means a month before we can get on the road. We could get snowed in. So we need a different solution. Let me explain how I got to my suggestion.”
“I went back to the requirements. We can stay in the shelter for more than 40 days or we run out of food and water. 77 recoveries. And, we really want to be on the road in week or so. Mid November in Vermont. Every day we save is a percentage improvement in avoiding snow. Did I miss anything?”
John sourly added “you forgot the priest”. She held up her pinky. “No he’s right here.” No one else got the joke.
“Respectfully, Brian and John are thinking terms of days. One recovery per day. Struggling to get to two. 77 recoveries reduced to 33! Insolvable.”
“My analysis has 6 individual recovery sites and 4 base locations with all other recovery sites within one block. My idea is that, in effect, we move the Shelter to successive Base Locations. If you adopt my plan, and everything goes according to my plan, Exit Day and one added day to recover the connected. ED+2 for the ‘garage - pawn - radio -depot’ adventure. We then do 6 individual recoveries. That’s ED+3 through ED+8. ED+9 to load. We then leave and abandon the shelter / school complex. ED+10 move to base #1, recover continuously for a day, ED+11 move to base #2, ED+12 then base #3. ED+13, then 4. As soon as we finish the last base, we leave for Vermont. ED+14 we are in Vermont. We basically move the Shelter and everyone to the base. Holistic thinking. And, we exploit the whole 24 hour clock. Comments?”
Silence.
Brian knew it would be good. He jumped on it as soon as the 193rd brain cell came on line. “Miss Marie, that’s a fantastic idea. You’ve basically eliminated two thirds of the time we have to split our force. It brings more OPs, support troops, and our atlatl infantry into bear on the problem. If we do recoveries from the closest to the possible bad guys to recoveries furthest from the possible bad guys and similarly for the bases, then we minimize the risk. With your plan, while the overall risk I think is higher, it mitigates it by putting more resources on the problem.
John was actually pleased. “Miss Marie, I don’t know why you thought I’d be upset. You’ve given us a well-thought-out plan. True, it does put everyone at risk. But, I’m not so sure it’s that much. Leaving the shelter with three guns is pretty risky. It’s akin to picking up the security plan for the shelter and putting it over the recovery sites. We can then use lots of unskilled labor to recover. If I may suggest one tweak, it might be better to do the recover the connected after we get the empty truck from the depot. That has the benefit of getting us more guns, if we are going to be able to get more guns, sooner rather than later. We could stage the 3 trucks to go and leave them there. When we are in Base#4, dispatch Lurp to recon the depot and ensure it’s not trapped. Pick it up and go. And, I like any plan that gets us to Vermont before the snow.”
June added “We can probably take more stuff because we are not handling it so many times.”
Jody added “It keeps our food close, but not the water. Water may be a problem. Sewer may be a problem.”
Sam says “We will have to get everyone carrying their atlatl at all times. They might really need them quick.”
Brother Kevin threw in “We do put a huge bull’s eye on our people too?”
Silence.
John broke the quiet, “Well do we boldly grasp the nettle? I don’t really think we have an alternative. If we say that we have to do recoveries, then this is the only way to do them and get to Vermont before the food and water run out and / or we get caught in the snow. I’d suggest we take the amended plan as actual unless some one objects. Does anyone object?”
Silence.
Well then Classmates, may I have your plans early tomorrow. Were probably only a few days from Exit Day and we have a lot of work to do. Adjourned.
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John was really looking forward to his time with Marie. He waited patiently while everyone complemented her on the plan. Brian was gallant in ‘defeat’. She again found and solved an issue that he never even perceived.
When the kudos died down, he approached her and said “Miss Marie, may I have he pleasure of your company in Decon2?” “No, I’m not sure that we should.” John was stunned. “Have I done something that I should be apologizing for?” “No” was her curt response. “Now I am really confused?” “I don’t think we should be that alone.” She explained. “Would you like to sit in the Queen’s Corner? I find a lot of solace in that place. I feel really connected to you.” She brightened, “That’s good. And, that’s what’s wrong.”
That troubled John, but they strolled to the corner, holding hands, not coding. He pulled their blankets from the assigned spot. Made her a doubled seat; a single for himself. He extended his hand and she took it. That was a good sign. She settled herself and arranged her skirt demurely. He sat down. Clumsily he asked “May I put my arm around you?” “Please” Now he was really confused. He said a silent prayer, ‘dear saint taq, come around, i’ve lost my love, and she can’t be found. help me say the right thing.’ (So summoned, Saint Taq observed that the best words were often silent but engaged listening.) When nothing came, he thought he just wait and be supportive. They just sat silently.
Finally Marie said, “John, today when we were talking and you talked about my fingers, it shocked me. I never knew anyone who ever noticed. Suddenly, I felt that I was transparent to you. I thought you were in my head, in my heart, in my soul, and even in my … pants. I felt that I was naked in front of you, to you, and that you might reject me. I didn’t want to go to Decon2 with you because if you kissed me, held me too close, or pressed me to have sex, then I’d have been powerless to resist. I’d have been joyful. Enjoyed it immensely. But I’d have been sad that I wasn’t strong enough to wait for the priest. I have a self-image as a good girl. Chaste for my husband in marriage. It’s just who I am.”
John was stunned. He’d never heard such a thing. Sure the boys would brag about their conquests, but never such a total acceptance of girl for anything. John felt moved to tell her the truth. “Miss Marie, I am your betrothed and I am in love with you. I would never reject you. And, as you asked, I will always tell you the whole truth. No matter the consequences. I’m not as perceptive as you think. I knew you had one idea from your body language. It was Brian who told me about your fingers. I did figure out what you kept on them. I’m sorry if I mislead you or made myself seem better than I am. Finally, I would never allow you to fall victim to my seductive ways. I know how irresistibly charming I am. The girls throw themselves at me all the time.” He was laughing.
She was amused. He was such a goof. “John, I appreciate the honesty. If Brian had said it to me, I’d have been less impressed and less vulnerable. You’re in my soul. My favorite quote is by Emily Dickinson ‘I felt it shelter to speak to you.’ And I do find you strangely irresistible.”
“Well that’s good. Now can we talk about that naked part and your pinky finger?” She was blushing and just snuggled in. He said a quick pray of thanks as he was drifting off to sleep, ‘dear saint taq, come around, my love’s here, and i need more strength to be chaste with her until we find the priest. A sinner john.’ (So summoned, Saint Taq observed that they were both pure of heart. He knew there would be no ‘mistakes’. They were both good young adults. And, they’d be too busy for sex in the coming two weeks. Then the priest would appear. Just in time. He petitioned the Lord to give them the strength for the challenges in the coming day. And, they were NOT about sex.)
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