The weekend seems to have provided
very little respite for our group. I wish I could report that things are
getting better but everyone seems to be in a pretty dark place. Obviously, with
the loss of Janet, the family unit of Kim, Kasondra, and Brad are in pretty
rough shape.
It has only been a few days but I am
already missing my almost daily conversations and store walk-throughs with
Tommy. He was always very top of the game when it came to keeping this place
running ship shape and consolidating our supplies.
Becca was very quirky and weird. I
mean that in a good way because I am also quirky and weird. I don’t ever
remember us having a bad conversation. And despite Ashlynn and I vehemently
arguing over who had the better radio morning show in Tulsa, I really miss her
laughter. What is more, if I have not mentioned this a few dozen times already,
those two girls were the absolute best snipers in our crew. I would have had
little fear going out to “get the mail” if I knew those two were on the roof.
The loss of those four has changed the
whole dynamic of our group. See, way back in the day, I always said Reason’s
was like a puzzle. Not all of the pieces interacted directly and some pieces
had closer contact with others but they were all interconnected. The Bakery
people did not interact as much with the Produce people because we were
cattycorner to each other in the store but the Meat Department people might
have more in common with the Produce people because our departments were right
next together. And you could take one person out of that configuration and the
whole puzzle rearranges.
Some pieces in the fringe corners may
not feel the same level of change as those that were making direct contact with
that removed piece but all of the pieces are affected. All of us are feeling
the loss of Janet, Tommy, Becca, and Ashlynn in some way.
But what is that expression? “Idle
hands are the devil’s playthings?” I think if I can get the group focused on a
brand new task, not like running the top decks, or something like that but
something new, I think it can provide a distraction that can let their minds
focus on something different. Of course, in order for this to work, we have to
convince Kim to actually get out of bed. And right now, she needs to be handled
with kid’s gloves.
I think that outfitting the buses with
our “bug out” plan is a good step. Obviously, those supplies would be less
secure and we risk them being lost to looters. But if things really go south, I
don’t want to have to take the time to load up the buses while an army of meat
bags are breathing down our necks.
I am toying with an idea… Those buses were pretty easy
to grab. I mean really easy with all factors considered. Adair, Ketchum,
Spavinaw, Pryor, Vinita… All these cities are within 15 minutes driving time.
And all those cities will have a fleet of school buses… Hmmmm…
