trip to sequoia ch.31 who?

Ch.31

Who?

    We sat in a Wal-Mart parking lot after Ann bought the best laptop that was available at Wal-Mart and it would serve to do her as she loaded a couple of memory sticks she had with her information  on to her new computer and it buzzed and whirred and finally Ann was able to access her accounts. She changed the password names and was soon checking balances of her various accounts. Nothing had been bothered yet.  A personal email to each of the bank presidents would assure no action to be taken until contacting Ann first until otherwise notified. She stopped all her credit cards and had Lee‘s as well as mine all replaced with the new cards sent to Ann’s house in New Philadelphia , Ohio. The old couple who shared her duplex would forward them out to Ann through a regular mail drop she had planned along the way.

    We were back on the road as soon as this sticky business was over. As we drove along Ann and Lee and I discussed the events that transpired and soon our conversation explored the possibility that maybe it wasn’t a random act of violence that occurred. Maybe someone was out to get Ann in particular, more for her money than anything else. Ann wondered about whether her ex-husband Tom was desperate enough to try and steal her information to get access to her money.

     Surely the drunk wouldn’t think of anything like that. She thought to herself. She never really cared for him much and figured him to be too big a coward to do anything but beat women , in order to get beer money, but suppose he had been pushed too far? What if he was in collusion with someone else to try and take her millions away? It wasn’t as though she needed all that money but still it was hers and hers to do with as she pleased. Some people were just plain envious. She thought of coworkers at the Gunnite corporation who knew of her windfall, carefully going over in her mind a complete suspect list . Lee and I knowing of her contacts would bring to mind people who might have knew of her wealth, or even vendors who may have been in dire straits that could have perpetuated the crime and still no one came to mind except her ex. Who was the only one halfway capable of such a thing who held such animosity to Ann for even thinking about leaving him somewhere behind.

     The wheat fields could easily be seen off the interstate as we were soon reaching Wichita, off I-70 .waves of golden grain is all that could be seen as hill after hill and open field was covered with wheat. It was early June and the harvest was starting as lines of combines could occasionally be seen from the interstate heading one after the other roving across the landscape swooping up tons of wheat in their hoppers as a truck would roll up and empty the hopper as the combine was rolling along. This would last for two months. Dust clouds would signal their caravan as they swept across the Kansas prairie.

       We decided to get off the interstate and found us an exit before Wichita and pulled the Road Warrior off on to the exit ramp. We passed several semi’s loaded with wheat heading to a grain elevator to dump their load as we approached the bottom of the exit ramp. I turned right and started up a state route with a few trees dotting the landscape but for the most part just contained wheat golden brown, un-combined and rolling with the wind. It reminded me of the children’s fable where the girl was supposed to spin wheat into gold. These farmers were spinning wheat into money as acre after acre of wheat was being harvested to make flour to feed the world’s hungry.

       We drove along till we came to a small town and an elevator, where apparently the combine crew had taken up temporary residence as they advanced their way across the state. Semi-truck after semi-truck were lined up at the elevator where its massive concrete silos, cut the sky and cast shadows long across the flat fields where train tracks would come from seemingly nowhere and carry the life giving staple away. We pulled into a little diner and decided to grab a bite and experience the local people for a while.

        We left the Road Warrior in a place where we could watch it as we still had to get the door fixed where the robbers had broken the door lock. I hooked one end of the tarp strap around the bent door knob and the other I hooked to the edge of the window frame. We had to shut off the security system as now with the door broken, the alarm went off every time the door moved a fraction of an inch. And it seemed that when driving down the road or sitting still, it was forever going off. So we decided to unarm it temporarily and just always let one of us keep an eye on it till we had it fixed .  We had a clear view of the Road Warrior from the diner and so we all went in and sat down to eat.

      “Howdy.” the waitress said. “Coffee?”

       “Sure regular all the way around I said to her.” She smiled at me in one of those oh look a poor old man look as if I was on my last leg. I thought to myself woman if you only knew the half of it. yet it was Lee she should have been pitying as Lee was having a time bending his leg to get it under the booth but finally managed to get it under just as this huge bearded guy strode in and grunted his way towards an open booth and sat down and pretty much filled a seat made for two.

     I said to Ann and Lee. “Don’t think that guy missed too many bowls of Wheaties.” They smiled as they averted their gaze from him and nodded their heads acknowledging what I said but afraid to comment for fear he would come over and stomp on us.

    The waitress returned with coffee and coffee cups and a rag to wipe the fly stains off the table. Smears of previous diners attested to the fine dining capabilities of this place. I looked at the menu which appeared to have never changed except the prices as you could see one price was scratched out and another wrote above it. The pages were so old they had yellowed and the whole menu was sticky with some grease spots here and there. I tasted the coffee the smiling waitress left us in old clay coffee cups that looked as if they had been around forever. Beads of sweat were apparent over the waitresses eyes as she produced an order pad from her apron an asked what we were having, mentioning in an afterthought what the special was.

    I motioned for Ann to go first and she ordered a fish dinner. And Lee had the same.                      

      And I said, “I guess I am having coffee.”

      Ann asked. “Why?”

       I said,  “I have no money , since our little robbery thing.”

       Ann said.  “Oh I forgot.” And handed me a hundred from her purse, then said she would get more. I said this was plenty and I would pay her back. She said forget it she had intended to make it right with me for taking time to drive Lee and her, and that I didn’t owe her anything. Anyhow armed with the new information I ordered pancakes and eggs.

        The waitress said. “A-w-w-w- the breakfast of champions or should I say supper of champions. It is getting kind of late.”

       Then the waitress said. “You guys run into trouble out there on the road.”

      And we told her of getting robbed.

       “Things just aren’t like the way they were in the old days.” She said after hearing our story and before hurrying off to place our order. Ann gave Lee some spending money also. He too was in the same boat as me and without any way to pay. Guess we didn’t think this through too far when we stopped here I said. I forgot all about my money as I was focusing on Ann and what she was going through. 

       The waitress soon returned with our dinners despite how busy they were with the combine crowd and was soon grabbing wrapped silverware from an empty table and placing them at each of our side as she sat down Lee and Ann’s dinners and my pancakes. It smelled good, especially when I poured the hot syrup over the pancakes and eggs, the whole concoction melted in my mouth.

    I am usually a slow eater but in this case I was hungry for the sweets and was wiping the plate assuring all the syrup was gone and that they could just put that plate back in the shelf as I left it so clean, even before Ann and Lee finished half their fish dinners. . I paid for everyone’s meal, left a tip for the round faced waitress, and we left for the parking lot. Our talk was of how these biners as I call them would travel from town to town as the combines would move from south to north as the harvest ripened. For about four months out of the year they would push themselves to gather as much of the harvest as the crews and machines and Mother Nature would allow.

      After the harvest they would sign on to other farmers and plant the same fields for next year’s harvest and then would wait the winter out somewhere till it was time to start the harvest again. Kind of gypsy’s to some effect only using fifth wheel trailers and sleeper cabs on semis as their wagons of choice now a days. Some of their rigs made the Road Warrior pale in comparison to the amenities their rigs offered. As well the combines of today were a far cry from yesterday’s harvesters. Air conditioned cabs, stereo, and CB radio to keep in touch with other combines and trucks, technology has left farming little to be desired as they race to come up with the latest innovation. Yields are computer monitored to and tied to a location in the field allowing the farmer to see the effects of his fertilization programs and pinpoint what areas need more fertilizer or seed to produce as much as possible.

      We sat in the parking lot and watched as truck after truck would roll up to the elevator from seemingly out of nowhere from over the horizon and would drop their load as the bed of the truck lifted over metal grates and the grain would roll out of the truck in a ball of dust down into a pit and be lifted to the heavens in bucket elevators to eventually be stored in huge cylindrical towers stretching up into sky. It was amazing to watch.

      The generator hummed on the road warrior as Ann worked on the rest of the credit card information sending what she needed to he Oxford Missouri Sheriff’s department and letting them know how to get in touch with Ann  before we went any further. Night was falling and we decided to just stay where we were for the night. We had water and hardly used the sewage, so we should be good for a day or two away from a RV campground. We did need to fix the door on the Road Warrior but felt little worry about our safety out here in the farm belt. Leaving most of the big city troubles of crime behind.  We just felt comfortable here in the heart of it all as I returned to the diner and I asked the restaurant manager if it was all right if we spent the night here. And received well if it wasn’t there should be a lot of people pissed off around here as they are doing the same.  

      We could hear diesel engines coming and going all the time as some would be heading out to fields to pick up loads, or equipment haulers would stop by to fuel and along with Ann and Lee in their direction after we had finished the credit card thing. I just wanted to sample a little small town atmosphere that I sorely missed and enjoy some of their tales as I went and introduced myself to the group. They asked if I drank. I said no but do smoke some wacky weed on occasion, they said great you will fit in here. Been growing it for years one old hippy looking fellow said , and lord willing and the FBI don’t catch me will be doing it a few more. And everyone laughed as we sat down, and I introduced Ann and Lee to the group.