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Old 10-11-2015, 10:09 AM
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RandyT0001 RandyT0001 is offline
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Day 005
The morning brings a cold day with little wind. Angela informed me that she saw a large group approaching the bolthole just after sunrise. I met Joe at the bolthole and he has brought tools, draft animals and most of the people of the village with him. His conscience tormented him last night since four silver dollars should have bought more helpers than the eight he had assigned. To make amends he will help us for the next week to dig out our vehicles. He did request that Laura exam two of the children and see if she can treat their teeth. Laura agreed without consultation with me.

First, Eric, Joe and Charles determined which trees needed to be removed in the gully just northwest of the wall to clear a path wide enough for the vehicles. Eric marked them with some axe blows. Joe then ordered the workers to start the removal of the trees. After that Eric, Joe, Charles and another man, Wilbur, proceeded to survey a route using the laser range finder and two mirrors. They used orange spray paint to mark the trees for removal. They were able to complete the survey by the end of the day.

Laura filled each child’s cavity. She also examined the four women and eight men. One of the women had cowpox. Another woman was about two months pregnant. Everyone was in reasonably good health. None of the villagers had every received any preventive inoculations. One of the men is significantly near sighted and needs corrective glasses. When asked about it he said the “M.D.” in Faulkner did not test for it. Each one told Laura that the “M.D.” only comes around the county every couple of years. Afterwards, she said that we should go to Faulkner without the vehicles and start to take care of the community now. I told her that we are not going now; she is not to leave the team or the area until we recover the vehicles. As I walked away, I heard her make some remarks about my character.

George and Angela took turns on security watch. A little past noon, the workers stopped for lunch which consisted of sliced ham sandwiches, fried potato chips and water. About mid-afternoon, two of the women and the children left the bolthole to return to the village. About an hour before sun down the workers stopped and Joe asked us to return to the village for dinner. He had sent the women back to the village to begin the preparation of the meal for us and the village. We graciously accepted, secured the bolthole and followed them.

Next to the store, the women had erected a line of tables and two rows of chairs. Dinner was barbecue picnic pork roast, sauce, fried potato chips, brown beans, dried apple quarters, roasted ears of corn, and cornbread. For drinks, the choices were apple cider, tea, and water. Angela brought one of the bottles of liquor to share with the village adults. Everybody exchanged stories around the table. The villagers had difficulty believing that a powerful nation once spanned across the land from ocean to ocean. They wanted to hear it, so the team proudly sang “The Star Spangled Banner” to them. Angela and Laura began to cry after the last line while Eric and Charles rubbed the tears back into their eyes. George whispered a prayer. I thanked the villagers for the help and dinner then ordered the team back to the bolthole.

Upon our return to the bolthole I assigned guard duty watches as the team reminisced the loss.
John Aaron Bell
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