He was very lucky to get here from
Adair by way of his grandfather’s pick-up during Zero Hour of the outbreak but
I am very happy he is with me. He safely
navigated his way here from home. Quite a feat considering Alex will turn
sixteen in October and his only real time behind the wheel is either on the
Xbox or out in the cattle pasture with his grandfather. (Note: During the only
time he drove Granddad’s pickup, he did sideswipe the pickup with the
trampoline.) Strange but I am happy he was too sick to go to school that day
and I got him here with me. Don’t freak out. It was the flu. He was really on
the mend and probably could have gone to school but I wanted him fully rested.
He was getting A’s and B’s anyway so I figured he could use an extra day of
video games, Netflix, and lounging around the house since his illness did cost
him a weekend.
So Alex is my son. He is a good kid. I
know all parents say that but he really is. With his last growth spurt, he is
now as tall as me. I volunteer coached for his football team in his eight grade
year. At the end of the season, Alex had all his coordination going and got
everything working in consort. He left bruises on me and the fellow coaches. He
was also the biggest kid in his class. But at a charity basketball game that
same year, one of his female classmates told me they call him “The Gentle
Giant.” Part of this is because of his size but I think it is because he takes
after his old man and roots for the New York Giants.
Still, he is tremendously protective.
He sticks up for the little guys and was always encouraging of the
underclassmen. It also made him a great offensive lineman. And he has a heart
of solid gold. I could not be more proud. Still, I know the thoughts about his
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… It is all weighing heavily on him.
Now, I am not the only parent within
our group and I have to constantly remind myself of that fact. I want to still
have a healthy relationship with my son but at the same time, I don’t want to
rub it in the noses of people that have no idea where their children are or if
they are even alive. So I try to be a good father that dotes on his son without
being too tremendously obvious about things.
Still, I have to wonder what the
future holds for Alex. I have already talked to Fred and Kasondra and they have
taken up Alex’s training with firearms. The more the better. He plays the Nazi
Zombie levels of Call of Duty. It is
time for him to go beyond a game now. But I have to wonder how fair is it for
him to have to suffer in this world turned upside down? It is better than the
alternative though.
Luke
Asbiller: Fred often
talks about how in life you have to have a battle buddy. If you remember in Forrest Gump, Forrest and Bubba slept
back to back so they didn’t have to “sleep with their heads in the mud.” That
is a battle buddy. He is the guy that gets you through all the hard times. You
look out for him and he looks out for you.
Well, for the last five years, Luke
Asbiller has been my battle buddy. We try (tried?) our best to take our breaks
or lunches together and we seem to have the same sense of humor. I work in
Produce and Luke works in the Meat Department. Or… we did. I just know that
both our managers hated our relationship because one killed the productivity of
the other.
Luke is a really good guy. He
graduated from Jay, Oklahoma where he will tell you that he was an average student
that made better grades than he should have because he played football. Despite
being out of school for several years, he still has that lineman build. He has a
really infectious laugh. And he is also is a complete pervert. But in a good
way. Or I guess we are both the same level of perverseness. That doesn’t sound
right. Like, if we are having a conversation and it starts at a Level 2, one of
us will escalate it to Level 3. And that prompts the other to take it to Level
4. Not to be outdone, the next person takes it to Level 5. And people are
looking at as strange and not wanting to be in the break room anymore. And yet,
if it is just me and him talking, the conversation stays at Level 2.
Luke has had a variety of jobs over
the years, which kind of makes him a jack of all trades around the store.
Helpful, funny, and seemingly always upbeat, Luke is a real benefit to our
group.
Now, here is the bad part. If it
wasn’t for bad luck, Luke would have no luck at all. I have seen him wade
through a river of crap in his life. The only way it seems like his life could
have got any worse is if a meteor came streaking out of the sky and landed on
him. Luke went through a pretty bad time last year and I helped prop him up
during a very difficult time in his life. Because of some pretty bad fight,
Luke’s wife Bethany moved down to Tulsa a month ago and took the kids with her.
Now, Luke is dirt poor (because we work at Reason’s) and he didn’t have the
money to fight and hire a lawyer.
So now, here is Luke, living in
Langley and for all we know, his wife and kids moved right into an area that is
a hotspot for zombie activity. When all this broke out, I had to almost
physically restrain Luke from leaving the store. Trying to fight your way INTO
Tulsa… it would have been suicide. So now, like so many of our family trapped
in the store, Luke is dealing with what they call “Survivor Guilt.” This could
be an epidemic so we will have to deal with that at some point.
Nevertheless, I am glad my friend is
with me. He was my battle buddy before Zero Hour hit and he is my battle buddy
now…
