The Birth of an Angel
Retirement from the Air Force after twenty years was in my sights. I was planning, preparing, figuring out what state to move to, buy a house or rent, etc. I started a notebook with the laws I liked and the laws I detested and listed the states which applied to each. I took a small business class with the University of Syracuse so, once I finished school, I’d be ready to hit the road running. My retirement planning was going smoothly. We had decided to move back to Louisiana where my prior duty station, Barksdale Air Force Base was located. I was not going to miss my 1-hour commute from Wingina to Charlottesvile, Virginia! I was going to miss living on an apple orchard by the river and the delicious apples the trees yielded each year.
Two days before my retirement ceremony, as I was preparing to go to bed, it occurred to me that I had been unable to finish any meal for three weeks. I also had not missed one period but two. I had been so stressed with preparations for the future, I had not paid attention to the present. The next morning, I took a pregnancy test which came back positive. I woke up my husband and told him then stopped by the doctor’s office on the way in to work. They could not get me in right away but made an appointment for me two hours later. I got to work and told my supervisor I had an appointment then resumed training my subordinate and his brand-new supervisor, informing them of my pending appointment.
The time arrived and off I went. The doctor confirmed the accuracy of the home test and congratulated me. He was going to put in the referral for me when I told him I was moving to Louisiana in two days. He prescribed prenatal vitamins and sent me on my way since there was nothing left for him to do. On the way to pick up my vitamins, a rush of feelings engulfed me. After over 20 years, I was finally going to be a mommy!!! At the same time, our financial planning didn’t include an extra mouth to feed, and extra body to clothe. I was excited and scared. Could I give my child everything they need in our upcoming poverty even if it is temporary?
My retirement ceremony was everything I wanted it to be. I had combined my going away lunch with my ceremony. No honor guard, no flag in the pictures. I wasn’t even in uniform! Some people had to leave early due to meetings so they had to “eat and run”. No matter, the most important people were there. When it was my time to speak, I made the announcement on our family expansion. I was all smiles that day and the smile was bigger and brighter, with tears in my eyes at all the changes we were facing but ready for every single one!
We got our U-hauls and by noon the next day, we were Louisiana-bound! I barely ate on the trip. Everything I looked at made me want to throw up. I got a burger at a gas station and regretted it soon after. I ate gold fish. Lots and lots of goldfish: cheddar and pretzel. Oh goodie! Variety!!! Canada Dry Ginger Ale and water were the only approved beverages though I was permitted root beer later on. All pork products resulted in a trip to the restroom and a hasty emptying of the contents of my stomach.
When we arrived at our destination we discovered the error of renting site-unseen. We were simply too busy to be able to take time to go house hunting prior to moving. The place was way too small and the kitchen didn’t function well enough to make a mommy-to-be happy. We requested things be fixed and they were not. Even the entry was too dangerous for my expanding belly. We had to build a porch ourselves so I could safely enter our “home”. While this was supposed to be a temporary landing spot, a place to live while we looked for a permanent home for the following year, we resolved to look for that permanent home now. If they could not make our home safe, they didn’t deserve our money.
In the mean time, I began looking into prenatal care. I had no idea the nightmare I had just walked into. I still had Tricare as an active duty member and would until the last day of May 2016. I would be able to get it switched to retired on the 1st of June. What I soon discovered is that I could not switch my Tricare to my new region while I was still active duty. This meant I was unable to get prenatal care until I was officially retired. On the first of June, I switched my Tricare over and thought I would have no trouble finding a doctor. I had no idea how wrong that was. OBs did not take patients over 20 weeks. I was 21 weeks along by the time I retired. I called MANY doctors and all rejected me. The clock was ticking, the baby was coming if I had a doctor or not and I was getting desperate.
In the middle of June, I woke with my back in intense pain. The pain continued to get worse throughout the day until finally my brother-in-law called 911. I was in so much pain, I could barely talk. As the ambulance took me to the hospital, I thought the bright side would be an ultrasound so we can finally see the baby. An ultrasound was done but they did not show much of the baby. That they did show was kidney stones. Somehow they passed over night and the pain was gone without needing any additional doses of Demerol. I was released less than 24 hours later.
I started school, majoring in English, in July. We moved into our new house at the end of that month as well. I finally resolved to go to the Army base over two hours away since they had a full hospital and Barksdale could not provide my care in their small clinic.
I cried when I called, explaining all the problems I had trying to get care and they gladly accepted me, they just needed me to bring proof of pregnancy to my first appointment. Since I had Barksdale confirm it when I tried to have them help me get a doctor, that part was easy. I drove down and was there almost all day doing tests and such but I was not able to get in for an ultrasound. I scheduled my next appointment and left feeling better. Then I got a call from the referral section……
I answered the phone thinking it would be an easy question. It was not. Tricare had rejected my referral because it was too far away from where I lived. I was given a number to call and with trembling fingers, I did. I explained to the wonderful lady on the other end of the line the troubles I had getting the care I needed. She had a contact at Barksdale that she could call. Within 24 hours, I had an appointment with a local doctor. I no longer needed to drive over two hours to the army base. The joke in my house became “It took the Army to hook up an Air Force chick!” Being that my husband and my brother-in-law who was living with us at the time were both Army, I never heard the end of it!
I was, of course, considered high risk because of my age, I gave birth at 41 years old. I was able to get referred to high risk very easily, just my OBs recommendation. My high risk OB saw my health history and wanted an EKG done with a cardiologist. He said he wanted at least two done. I asked if the one that was done on the way out of the Air Force could count as the first one and he agreed that it could. I had to contact my primary care manager to get a referral to cardiology. He was able to do it in his office so I would not have to see the cardiologist which made me happy! On the plus side, high risk was able to do a very good quality ultrasound and we were able to determine that my daughter did not have a cleft palate as that was a big worry for me due to thyroid problems.
As I approached my delivery, I started having breathing problems which I attributed them to the placement of baby feet. My last visit to my OB before giving birth, I had a high blood pressure. I had been planning on having a natural child birth but thanks to the new development, I had an epidural. In fact, I woke the man up at 2 am and by 3 am, I was no longer in pain. When it came time to push my angel out, I was unable to feel anything so the doctor had to use a suction device to pull while I pushed. I had no problem with her using this device as it was better than having a C-section. The doctor laid her on me and I held her for about 5 minutes before they took her to clean her up. My angel was born six pounds, thirteen ounce and was twenty-one and a half inches long on 28 September. I had awesome teachers that worked with me and I didn’t even require an extension to complete the courses I was in at the time! I was a proud mom the moment I held her and have gotten more proud with each day she is in my life. While I’m pleased my teachers worked with me I’m even more pleased that I have been blessed with such a wonderful gift.
Two days before my retirement ceremony, as I was preparing to go to bed, it occurred to me that I had been unable to finish any meal for three weeks. I also had not missed one period but two. I had been so stressed with preparations for the future, I had not paid attention to the present. The next morning, I took a pregnancy test which came back positive. I woke up my husband and told him then stopped by the doctor’s office on the way in to work. They could not get me in right away but made an appointment for me two hours later. I got to work and told my supervisor I had an appointment then resumed training my subordinate and his brand-new supervisor, informing them of my pending appointment.
The time arrived and off I went. The doctor confirmed the accuracy of the home test and congratulated me. He was going to put in the referral for me when I told him I was moving to Louisiana in two days. He prescribed prenatal vitamins and sent me on my way since there was nothing left for him to do. On the way to pick up my vitamins, a rush of feelings engulfed me. After over 20 years, I was finally going to be a mommy!!! At the same time, our financial planning didn’t include an extra mouth to feed, and extra body to clothe. I was excited and scared. Could I give my child everything they need in our upcoming poverty even if it is temporary?
My retirement ceremony was everything I wanted it to be. I had combined my going away lunch with my ceremony. No honor guard, no flag in the pictures. I wasn’t even in uniform! Some people had to leave early due to meetings so they had to “eat and run”. No matter, the most important people were there. When it was my time to speak, I made the announcement on our family expansion. I was all smiles that day and the smile was bigger and brighter, with tears in my eyes at all the changes we were facing but ready for every single one!
We got our U-hauls and by noon the next day, we were Louisiana-bound! I barely ate on the trip. Everything I looked at made me want to throw up. I got a burger at a gas station and regretted it soon after. I ate gold fish. Lots and lots of goldfish: cheddar and pretzel. Oh goodie! Variety!!! Canada Dry Ginger Ale and water were the only approved beverages though I was permitted root beer later on. All pork products resulted in a trip to the restroom and a hasty emptying of the contents of my stomach.
When we arrived at our destination we discovered the error of renting site-unseen. We were simply too busy to be able to take time to go house hunting prior to moving. The place was way too small and the kitchen didn’t function well enough to make a mommy-to-be happy. We requested things be fixed and they were not. Even the entry was too dangerous for my expanding belly. We had to build a porch ourselves so I could safely enter our “home”. While this was supposed to be a temporary landing spot, a place to live while we looked for a permanent home for the following year, we resolved to look for that permanent home now. If they could not make our home safe, they didn’t deserve our money.
In the mean time, I began looking into prenatal care. I had no idea the nightmare I had just walked into. I still had Tricare as an active duty member and would until the last day of May 2016. I would be able to get it switched to retired on the 1st of June. What I soon discovered is that I could not switch my Tricare to my new region while I was still active duty. This meant I was unable to get prenatal care until I was officially retired. On the first of June, I switched my Tricare over and thought I would have no trouble finding a doctor. I had no idea how wrong that was. OBs did not take patients over 20 weeks. I was 21 weeks along by the time I retired. I called MANY doctors and all rejected me. The clock was ticking, the baby was coming if I had a doctor or not and I was getting desperate.
In the middle of June, I woke with my back in intense pain. The pain continued to get worse throughout the day until finally my brother-in-law called 911. I was in so much pain, I could barely talk. As the ambulance took me to the hospital, I thought the bright side would be an ultrasound so we can finally see the baby. An ultrasound was done but they did not show much of the baby. That they did show was kidney stones. Somehow they passed over night and the pain was gone without needing any additional doses of Demerol. I was released less than 24 hours later.
I started school, majoring in English, in July. We moved into our new house at the end of that month as well. I finally resolved to go to the Army base over two hours away since they had a full hospital and Barksdale could not provide my care in their small clinic.
I cried when I called, explaining all the problems I had trying to get care and they gladly accepted me, they just needed me to bring proof of pregnancy to my first appointment. Since I had Barksdale confirm it when I tried to have them help me get a doctor, that part was easy. I drove down and was there almost all day doing tests and such but I was not able to get in for an ultrasound. I scheduled my next appointment and left feeling better. Then I got a call from the referral section……
I answered the phone thinking it would be an easy question. It was not. Tricare had rejected my referral because it was too far away from where I lived. I was given a number to call and with trembling fingers, I did. I explained to the wonderful lady on the other end of the line the troubles I had getting the care I needed. She had a contact at Barksdale that she could call. Within 24 hours, I had an appointment with a local doctor. I no longer needed to drive over two hours to the army base. The joke in my house became “It took the Army to hook up an Air Force chick!” Being that my husband and my brother-in-law who was living with us at the time were both Army, I never heard the end of it!
I was, of course, considered high risk because of my age, I gave birth at 41 years old. I was able to get referred to high risk very easily, just my OBs recommendation. My high risk OB saw my health history and wanted an EKG done with a cardiologist. He said he wanted at least two done. I asked if the one that was done on the way out of the Air Force could count as the first one and he agreed that it could. I had to contact my primary care manager to get a referral to cardiology. He was able to do it in his office so I would not have to see the cardiologist which made me happy! On the plus side, high risk was able to do a very good quality ultrasound and we were able to determine that my daughter did not have a cleft palate as that was a big worry for me due to thyroid problems.
As I approached my delivery, I started having breathing problems which I attributed them to the placement of baby feet. My last visit to my OB before giving birth, I had a high blood pressure. I had been planning on having a natural child birth but thanks to the new development, I had an epidural. In fact, I woke the man up at 2 am and by 3 am, I was no longer in pain. When it came time to push my angel out, I was unable to feel anything so the doctor had to use a suction device to pull while I pushed. I had no problem with her using this device as it was better than having a C-section. The doctor laid her on me and I held her for about 5 minutes before they took her to clean her up. My angel was born six pounds, thirteen ounce and was twenty-one and a half inches long on 28 September. I had awesome teachers that worked with me and I didn’t even require an extension to complete the courses I was in at the time! I was a proud mom the moment I held her and have gotten more proud with each day she is in my life. While I’m pleased my teachers worked with me I’m even more pleased that I have been blessed with such a wonderful gift.
Global Warming
Nine years after Al Gore predicted the north pole would be completely melted, not only has it not happened, along with 85 other predictions he made is his movie An Inconvenient Truth but the northeast is experiencing record low temperatures and snow falls. This continues a trend that has been happening since the 1950s. New York City is poised to experience the coldest winter on record for their New Year’s Eve celebration. There has been multiple reporting from various scientific journals over the past few years discussing how the data used to “prove” Climate Change has been manipulated but not one person is talking about how rich Al Gore has gotten by investing in green energy then scaring people with this fake data into buying into that technology. Natural News reports “Australian scientists Dr. Albert Parker and Dr. Clifford Ollier uncover evidence that Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) overseers appear to have been engaging in the “highly questionable” and “suspicious” practice of adjusting historical tide gauge data to show recent accelerated sea level rise where no such acceleration (or rise) exists.”
Other frightening lies that those who believe in this fake science believe to be true is “there were no forest fires, hurricanes, tornados, floods, etc” before modern technology starting putting “all this carbon” in the air. The problem with this thinking is the “hockey stick” chart Al Gore uses to “prove” that carbon Dioxide is causing the planet to warm up is actually the tail end of a very detailed and long-standing chart. This chart shows that over the period of the Earth’s history, there is far less carbon dioxide in the air now than there has been. In fact, removing carbon dioxide from the air is detrimental to the planets plant-life. This is the air they need to breathe. In trying to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide from the air, we are literally choking the air away from the plants that desperately need it. Without plants, there will be no oxygen so one must ask how long this hoax will continue as it threatens the very existence of life on our planet.
This issue must be kept separate from the issue of pollution, which we all know is a serious issue. Pollution is spreading toxic heavy metals to our food, water, and air supply at a rapid rate causing sickness and mutations. A few years ago, frogs were found to be both male and female in some areas due to toxic pollution by pharmaceuticals. Recently a shark was discovered having the same features, meaning these chemicals have now reached our oceans. The tidal wave hitting Fukushima in Japan several years ago has caused a problem that still exists today: radiation leaking into the Pacific Ocean causing tumors in Oceanic marine life. The question currently before us is which will kill off the planet first: the Climate Change Hoax or the rapid and toxic pollution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYusqtaL2YY&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=0mUgMWWh8PIYed0X-6
https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-12-27-remember-when-all-the-climate-change-experts-warned-that-winters-would-be-warmer-and-snowfall-would-decrease.html
Having issues so I'm dropping this here.... https://youtu.be/aO540PVqiQw
Other frightening lies that those who believe in this fake science believe to be true is “there were no forest fires, hurricanes, tornados, floods, etc” before modern technology starting putting “all this carbon” in the air. The problem with this thinking is the “hockey stick” chart Al Gore uses to “prove” that carbon Dioxide is causing the planet to warm up is actually the tail end of a very detailed and long-standing chart. This chart shows that over the period of the Earth’s history, there is far less carbon dioxide in the air now than there has been. In fact, removing carbon dioxide from the air is detrimental to the planets plant-life. This is the air they need to breathe. In trying to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide from the air, we are literally choking the air away from the plants that desperately need it. Without plants, there will be no oxygen so one must ask how long this hoax will continue as it threatens the very existence of life on our planet.
This issue must be kept separate from the issue of pollution, which we all know is a serious issue. Pollution is spreading toxic heavy metals to our food, water, and air supply at a rapid rate causing sickness and mutations. A few years ago, frogs were found to be both male and female in some areas due to toxic pollution by pharmaceuticals. Recently a shark was discovered having the same features, meaning these chemicals have now reached our oceans. The tidal wave hitting Fukushima in Japan several years ago has caused a problem that still exists today: radiation leaking into the Pacific Ocean causing tumors in Oceanic marine life. The question currently before us is which will kill off the planet first: the Climate Change Hoax or the rapid and toxic pollution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYusqtaL2YY&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=0mUgMWWh8PIYed0X-6
https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-12-27-remember-when-all-the-climate-change-experts-warned-that-winters-would-be-warmer-and-snowfall-would-decrease.html
Having issues so I'm dropping this here.... https://youtu.be/aO540PVqiQw
Ready for the Next Hurricane Andrew?
It’s time for hurricane season! Are you ready if one comes our way? Do you have a plan and supplies should power be lost? There are many things to consider when deciding if you should evacuate or remain in place. Regardless of which you choose, you may want to maintain cash on hand for required purchases. Board your windows as well and consider placing sandbags around your property, entrances to your home at the very least. Ensure you have enough of your prescriptions. Insurance companies allow early fills during emergencies.
- Are you in a home that is rated to withstand hurricane-force winds?
- Most manufactured housing is not rated for such storms. It is not advisable to shelter in place with an approaching storm.
- Was your home rated high enough a few years ago (most homes in Brevard County are rated for a Category 3) but you aren’t sure it still is? Consider having your home inspected and making necessary repairs to bring it up to code.
- If evacuation is the plan, do you know where to go? Will you have enough fuel to get there if the filling stations run out?
- Know the evacuation code for your location. These are used to issue mandatory evacuations.
- Know where hurricane shelters are located, plan to stay with a friend, or plan to go to a place out of the path of the storm.
- Store enough fuel to get you there. If using gas, use a fuel stabilization product to enable long-term storage as gas doesn’t last long.
- If sheltering in place, have enough supplies to last 2 weeks. Include pets in your planning. Supplies to think about include but are not limited to:
- Food that will not spoil such as survival food (Freeze-dried). Many companies offer free samples. Store only food your family will eat. Includes pet/baby food, if applicable.
- One gallon of water per person per day. Count pets as a person for this equation. Fill bath tubs with water for hygiene.
- A solar-powered or hand-crank radio is best but battery powered works if you have enough batteries. Many also charge cell phones.
- Multiple sources of light. These can be hurricane lanterns/oil lamps, solar-powered, battery-powered, shaken, or hand-cranked. Remember extra wicks if using oil lamps. Some of these also charge cell phones.
- A generator with enough fuel to keep it going.
- There are many ways of cooking the food you store:
- Propane camping stoves are popular, be sure to store enough propane
- The Crisis Cooker uses all forms of fuel (wood, charcoal, or propane).
- A grill, ensure there is enough fuel.
- An electric hot-plate that can be plugged into your generator.
- A solar oven will handle your baking needs. Too expensive? Wrap a paper box and lid in aluminum foil. Poke venting holes in the bottom. Use either tea lights or smoldering charcoal for heat. Place some form of metal rack above the heat using stones for elevation. Place the backing dish/sheet on the rack and cover. Use at least 10 charcoal briquettes or at least 20 tea lights. Have enough on hand.
- Have enough blankets if heat becomes required.
- If you have a deep freezer, you can plug it into the generator. If you don’t have a generator, place several gallons of water in the freezer to keep it cold. Frozen jugs won’t last more than a few days so eat frozen items before eating survival food.
- You may want to purchase a solar shower. This is a bag that can be filled with water, placed in the sun to heat up then hung in your shower to maintain hygiene.
- You can wash clothes/diapers in a tub, a 5-gallon bucket with a plunger, or a hand-cranked WonderWash.
- Source of fire: matches, lighter, or flint and steel.
- Manual can opener.
- Fans can be plugged into a generator to beat the heat.
- Ensure important papers are protected against potential flooding.
- Remember heat safety. You don’t need to get heat stroke.
Poison Masquerading as Life
Anger. Sorrow. Disbelief. These are some of the emotions experienced by residents of Flint, Michigan when they discovered the quality of their water had deteriorated to the point it was making them ill. They wanted justice. They wanted those responsible to be jailed. What was the cause of such a horrible incident? Did the federal government know about it and would they help? Was this an isolated incident?
In April of 2014, the mayor of Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River. The complaints began almost as soon as the water hit the homes of residents. It took nine months to discover part of the problem was cleaning products in the water. It took longer to determine the much larger issue.
The nation’s water system was built with lead pipes decades ago. An additive has been added to the water supply all across the country ever since to prevent the pipes from deteriorating. Flint, Michigan had not been putting enough of this additive into their water to prevent pipe deterioration. Two other Michigan cities, Madison and Lansing, also quit adding the orthophosphate to their water citing “Adding the lead binding chemical to the city's water would cost money, burden wastewater treatment facilities with its removal, and still add phosphorus to the lakes” (Bodin2). Instead, they replaced all the piping their city was responsible for. Individual residents would be responsible for changing the pipes on their own property. Neither city needed to pass the costs of this upgrade off to the consumer, finding other ways to fund the multi-mullion dollar projects.
Bodin stated the second industrial revolution, about 150 years ago, spawned the construction of the nation’s drinking water using cast iron water mains with a life span of 130 years (2). Bodin continues that a second boom occurred about 70 years ago using steel, asbestos and concrete with a 70-100-year life span (2). Both systems are now failing across the country. While Flint, Michigan made a lot of headlines, many more cities, towns and municipalities will make the headlines in the future over the poor water quality their public works provides.
The EPA was established in 1970 and the first laws regarding clean water were established in 1972 (Clean Water Act) and 1974 (Safe Drinking Water Act). This established guidelines, at a federal level, requirements for states and local governments to follow to ensure Americans had access to clean and safe water.
Buckley et al described the history of the aging infrastructure even more. Included in this description is who is responsible for what when it comes to our drinking water being clean. The EPA understood the dangers of lead and copper piping to the nation’s water supply and put together a working group to figure out how to fix the looming crisis before it becomes a crisis. In August of 2015, the working group established “The LCR (Lead and Copper Rule) should enforce the replacement of lead service lines, following the principle that there is no safe level of lead” (Buckley et al) and “States should include the cost of replacing lead service lines in the criteria for allocating Drinking Water State Revolving Funds” (Buckley et al).
What this means is, though the residents of Flint, Michigan are calling for prosecution of those responsible for their poor water, the guidelines of who was responsible were not yet established in terms of the piping. When those who are in charge don’t understand the consequences of their actions nor are the guidelines clear as to the impact of certain actions, how can one be punished? It should be noted, however, now that these guidelines have been published, as the infrastructure continues to fail nation-wide, those who fail to take action may be prosecuted. While nothing will quell the anger of Flint’s residents, leaders across the nation should consider the level of anger when what happened to Flint’s water supply begins to cascade. Do our elected leaders really want that level of anger directed at them? It is time to stop poisoning our people.
Works Cited
Bodin, Madeline. “Deep Trouble”. Planning, Chicago. American Planning Association. Vol 82,
Issue 9. Oct 2016. Pg 12-19 Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1829463927?accountid=8289
Buckley, Patricia, Gunnion, Lester, and Sarni, Will. “The aging water infrastructure: Out of sight, out of mind?” Deloitte Insights. Issues by the Numbers, March 21, 2016.
https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/economy/issues-by-the-numbers/us-aging-water-infrastructure-investment-opportunities.html
In April of 2014, the mayor of Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River. The complaints began almost as soon as the water hit the homes of residents. It took nine months to discover part of the problem was cleaning products in the water. It took longer to determine the much larger issue.
The nation’s water system was built with lead pipes decades ago. An additive has been added to the water supply all across the country ever since to prevent the pipes from deteriorating. Flint, Michigan had not been putting enough of this additive into their water to prevent pipe deterioration. Two other Michigan cities, Madison and Lansing, also quit adding the orthophosphate to their water citing “Adding the lead binding chemical to the city's water would cost money, burden wastewater treatment facilities with its removal, and still add phosphorus to the lakes” (Bodin2). Instead, they replaced all the piping their city was responsible for. Individual residents would be responsible for changing the pipes on their own property. Neither city needed to pass the costs of this upgrade off to the consumer, finding other ways to fund the multi-mullion dollar projects.
Bodin stated the second industrial revolution, about 150 years ago, spawned the construction of the nation’s drinking water using cast iron water mains with a life span of 130 years (2). Bodin continues that a second boom occurred about 70 years ago using steel, asbestos and concrete with a 70-100-year life span (2). Both systems are now failing across the country. While Flint, Michigan made a lot of headlines, many more cities, towns and municipalities will make the headlines in the future over the poor water quality their public works provides.
The EPA was established in 1970 and the first laws regarding clean water were established in 1972 (Clean Water Act) and 1974 (Safe Drinking Water Act). This established guidelines, at a federal level, requirements for states and local governments to follow to ensure Americans had access to clean and safe water.
Buckley et al described the history of the aging infrastructure even more. Included in this description is who is responsible for what when it comes to our drinking water being clean. The EPA understood the dangers of lead and copper piping to the nation’s water supply and put together a working group to figure out how to fix the looming crisis before it becomes a crisis. In August of 2015, the working group established “The LCR (Lead and Copper Rule) should enforce the replacement of lead service lines, following the principle that there is no safe level of lead” (Buckley et al) and “States should include the cost of replacing lead service lines in the criteria for allocating Drinking Water State Revolving Funds” (Buckley et al).
What this means is, though the residents of Flint, Michigan are calling for prosecution of those responsible for their poor water, the guidelines of who was responsible were not yet established in terms of the piping. When those who are in charge don’t understand the consequences of their actions nor are the guidelines clear as to the impact of certain actions, how can one be punished? It should be noted, however, now that these guidelines have been published, as the infrastructure continues to fail nation-wide, those who fail to take action may be prosecuted. While nothing will quell the anger of Flint’s residents, leaders across the nation should consider the level of anger when what happened to Flint’s water supply begins to cascade. Do our elected leaders really want that level of anger directed at them? It is time to stop poisoning our people.
Works Cited
Bodin, Madeline. “Deep Trouble”. Planning, Chicago. American Planning Association. Vol 82,
Issue 9. Oct 2016. Pg 12-19 Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1829463927?accountid=8289
Buckley, Patricia, Gunnion, Lester, and Sarni, Will. “The aging water infrastructure: Out of sight, out of mind?” Deloitte Insights. Issues by the Numbers, March 21, 2016.
https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/economy/issues-by-the-numbers/us-aging-water-infrastructure-investment-opportunities.html
Memory Lane: An Unwanted Stroll
While this story is one-hundred percent true, I understand how some can have … misgivings into its validity. Many people don’t believe in such things. There are times I envy these people. This was one such time.
We moved in based on information and pictures on the internet. The house was huge and we thought we’d be happy for the next four years, until I reached retirement. The landlord gave us the code to the key box and we unpacked our things. Our dog and three cats loved roaming and exploring their new home. Deuce, our pit bull, had the biggest yard he had ever seen to run and play in but he was still missing a fence. A simple lead-line attached to the home and he could play at his leisure. The main floor of our new home had two bedrooms and all the rooms required for comfortable living: living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room and bathroom. I had my hardwood floors. I would not have to vacuum! We were quite hungry and it was late. Having nothing to cook, we decided to venture into town. We looked up local eateries that would be open after the side-walks were rolled up and settled on Popeyes. We walked in and were greeted with smiles and a level of Southern hospitality we didn’t expect this far north. We decided we’d be happy here. The rest of our time in Virginia, we complained about “these Northerners!”
The next morning, we explored the basement. I knew something was off right away. I just couldn’t put a finger on it so I brushed it away for now. The basement layout was illogical. There was a kitchenette area with sink and cabinetry in a wide-open room, a bathroom, what could be considered two bedrooms (I used one for my bookshelves, creating a library for myself) but through the library was a room which contained only the hot water tank. Very big room for such a thing so I used it for cold storage, self-canned goods. The entire basement was always cold no matter the time of year and despite terrible HVAC. It should have been warmer in the summer months.
After exploring the home and deciding where everything was going to go, I called the moving company and arranged delivery for the next day. Then came the fun part. I tried calling my sponsor to arrange checking in to my new duty location. There was no answer. I discussed it with my husband and his response was “let’s head that way and call him when we get there so we can see what kind of trip you will have each day”.
That seemed like a reasonable response so we hopped in the truck and headed to Washington DC for the first time. It took two hours to get there. We knew the commute would be insane and I had the conversation about the commute many times after. “Why don’t you move closer” they said. “That’s a long way to travel” they said. “Have you thought about car-pooling?” I heard so many opinions and I did look into carpooling. After speaking to others I realized that was not for me. I don’t like being on another person’s schedule. I wanted the freedom to go to appointments as needed and the ability to actually go home if I got released early.
We moved to Culpeper, Virginia despite having orders to work in DC because we had the gall to have a pit bull as a family member. While Virginia had outlawed breed restriction legislation state-wide, counties and towns got around it be forcing those with rental properties to pay outrageous amounts in “Violent Dog Insurance” and listed a whole bunch of dogs which are not really violent but are protective of their homes and of their human families. The violent dogs are the ones that actually bite and they are perfectly accepted in most areas. Because of these laws, most landlords simply refused to allow the protective animals on their property. My husband and I talked it over and refused to break up our family over idiocy and bigotry.
On our first trip to DC, after having driven all that way there, I was still unable to get my sponsor on the phone and the building I was to work in was locked down like Fort Knox. I was shocked to see windows, though. How could I work in a classified environment with windows? That was a very odd thing to me. After failing to reach my contact to gain access to the building, we decided to check out the base and see what it had to offer. The answer was “not much” but hey, it was on the Potomac River which smelled like a thousand cows had dropped a ton of manure in it. We did a little shopping at the base exchange and the commissary but the sticker shock was crazy! I attempted to contact Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Brewer one more time then we went home.
The next morning as they were delivering my household goods, I was able to reach him and arranged to go in bright and early the next morning. How exciting to be starting a new job! This was a national agency. I would be working with people in other countries and the idea of working at such a high level with such important people was incredible! I didn’t know much about what I’d be doing but I knew how vital it my responsibilities would be to foreign policy.
Due to the lengthy commute, I got up at oh-dark-hundred, translated as 0400 or 4 am for civilians. I wanted to be on the road by five to get there by seven. The house being in a “every box open but nothing put away” stage, I just ate a peanut butter sandwich using a plastic knife and made the same for lunch to take with me. As I walked out the front door, I admired how beautiful the stars looked from our front porch. I crossed the beautiful bridge over the frog pond on the way to my truck, excited to start my day. As I approached my truck, I felt like I was being watched. I looked around but it was too dark to see anything. The air felt heavy and negative. I opened the door, tossed my lunch and paperwork into the passenger seat and headed off to work making a mental note to investigate further.
Work was a short day. I had to go through a long process to gain full access to the building. I was told that I was supposed to have done a polygraph prior to arrival to make access faster. Oops. TSgt Brewer made a few phone calls, toured me around the building and released me after I met my co-workers and supervisor. Mr. Lenky was his name; a retired Air Force Master Seargent who was getting ready to retire from his civilian career. He was a happy man with a wonderful sense of humor. He made me feel at home. I had never worked in a place that was dominated by civilians before. This was like a whole new world for me and it would be a difficult adjustment for me. We discussed work schedule, traffic, etc and decided though employees didn’t have to be in their seats until 9 am, I would be better off coming in at 7 am because the later a person came in, the later they stayed. DC traffic was a nightmare in the evening. I thought it was a nightmare in the morning until I experienced all those people going home from work at once… I did ask him about those windows before I went home for the day.
“How exactly can we work in a classified environment with windows???”
His response was “Isn’t the view amazing! Each year the birds lay eggs on that building over there and we get to watch them hatch then learn to fly!”
I chuckled “But aren’t we worried about spying equipment?”
“Naw, there is special technology at play to prevent that.”
I was in awe! Why can’t the Air Force have that!!! Imagine if we had this technology when I was in Hawaii! We’d have been able to see the beach, the mountains, the planes coming in on the adjoined runway! Then I realized if we had windows in Hawaii, we’d never have gotten any work done. Watching birds learn to fly sounded fun though and I was looking forward to the experience.
I said my goodbyes and headed home. I went home the same route I went in and had no issues. It was only 10 am. Looking back on it now, I have to laugh at my naivete over the traffic in those first days. I had my appointment for my polygraph before I left and would be able to work soon.
I got home and was in a good mood. My boss was great, the building was the most beautiful building I had ever worked in. It was right across the street from the shopping area so I could do my shopping before coming home, taking advantage of the decreased prices on installation. Again, the naivete I had then…
My husband wasn’t home when I got there but I expected it. He had an appointment for orientation at his new job with Fredericksburg Motorsports in Fredericksburg. He had a one-hour commute but his duration didn’t change with traffic each day as I would soon discover mine would. Smiling and greeting my four furry children, I busied myself with unpacking. When my husband returned home, I asked him to investigate something for me. I explained the feeling I got that morning as I was getting ready to get in my truck.
He responded “Honey, we are in the country, it was probably some animal.”
“It did feel predatory…”
“See, it’s not an issue.”
I brushed it off once again, reassured by my husband’s words. I continued unpacking. I had started with the kitchen first because I was tired of eating out. I wanted a home-cooked meal. We had all these expensive food items from the commissary and I wanted to see if they were worth the price we paid. I had the majority of the kitchen unpacked before it was time to cook dinner, only the baking pans were in an unknown location. Our first meal prepared in that home from items purchased from the commissary was so thrilling and impressive that neither my husband nor I can recall what I cooked. We decided we needed to explore other options.
When the weekend rolled around, we decided to explore Culpeper. Wow. While we were used to the conveniences of our favorite stores in Shreveport, Louisiana, Culpeper was a quaint, sprawling town. It had some of the stores we liked to frequent but we decided the most important one to explore was the grocery store. Again, we went shopping for food. We were shocked at the difference of prices between the commissary and the local town and were quite pleased we never went to a grocery store in DC. We probably would have died of heart attacks. We selected our purchases and checked out. On the way to the truck, we looked at each other and with the same thought, agreed that we would only shop at the commissary for items we could not get locally and only on special occasions!
Our days following this one grew long. We both had long commutes. We both worked five days a week, me with Saturday and Sunday off, him with Sunday and Monday off. Each morning I would feel like I was being watched as I prepared to go to work and the feeling was getting worse each day but I kept brushing it off. I began ti realize this was no animal watching me each day. An animal would have moved one after some time. This did not. The night time in our home also started feeling….off. We were both very tired, neither wanting to do anything and the house ended up being a perpetual mess. I was gone fourteen hours a day and didn’t even want to cook when I got home but the food needed to be prepared so I did it. When bed time came, I didn’t want to be in the room by myself. The room had become stuffy, even with the fan on. The air felt thick, like it could be cut with a knife.
About six months after we moved in, I wanted to talk to my husband about something. We had set his computer up in the basement so I opened the door to head down. My two youngest cats Odie, which is short for Odysseus, and Cleo, which is short for Cleopatra, raced each other down as they liked to do. By the time I got to the L-shaped landing, they were back at the top of the stairs. This was extremely odd. They loved being in the room I was in. I went back to the top of the stairs and opened the door as they clawed desperately to get to the other side of it. I closed the door behind them and went all the way down this time. The doors into and out of the bathroom were both open so I could see into the main room. Did I mention the layout down here was odd?
I didn’t see anything but that didn’t surprise me. It was colder than normal. The closer I got to the main room, the colder it was. I stopped just inside the room and asked my husband if he felt anything strange. He answered in the negative. He was playing a game trying to relax after a hard day. I slowly walked into the room knowing we weren’t alone but I had no idea what was there so I felt caution would be prudent. As I got past him, I was able to locate the spot where the cold was coming from but I discovered it was more than just cold. While I couldn’t see anything, I could very much feel it. It was angry. It was hateful. It was NOT happy we were in this house. This also felt distinctly different from what I felt outside when I was preparing to go to work. I stood next to it for a moment trying to figure out what to do. Then had an idea.
I went back upstairs and got Neko, my eldest cat at the time. Neko was a sensitive, just as cats are prone to be, but he had more experience in this realm than the others had. When we got back to the room, I put him on the floor. He was nervous but within a few minutes he shook it off and jumped on the back of my husband’s chair. I knew that something could be done at that point. I had forgotten what I wanted to talk to my husband about at this point so I went back upstairs, asking my husband to bring Neko up when he came up as I left the room. I went to bed with a heavy mind that night.
The next morning, the events of the previous night were still weighing on my mind. I went through my normal routine and headed out to my truck to leave for work without enjoying the frog pond. I was tired, exhausted really. I opened the door to the truck and I heard the distinct sound of “battle rattle,” the sound a canteen and mess kit make when hanging from a combat belt as a soldier runs. I threw my lunch into the passenger seat with haste and whipped around. I stood staring at Nothing and Nothing stared back at me. I stared into the darkness and suddenly realized that what was there was there no longer. My heart was pounding so bad I thought it would leap from my chest. I had never experienced anything like that in all my past years. I got in my truck, threw it in reverse and got out of there. My mind was racing, my heart was pounding. I needed answers about what was happening in our home but one thing was certain. We were not staying in this house past our one-year lease!
All day I was thinking about the two events. There was a link but I couldn’t place it. Odie and Cleo were so terrified they couldn’t be in the room. Neko was concerned but shrugged it off. A different entity tried to attack me and stopped when I turned around and faced it. Then it hit me. Neko and I both wore a pentacle, an upright star inside a circle. The entity that had been watching me leave for work every day was obviously a civil war soldier. There had been over 100 battles in our county alone during that war, the biggest one not far from our house. You could see the hill from our street. I had no idea what was in the basement but it didn’t want us there. Both responded the same way to a medallion worn by myself and my cat. On the way home, I resolved that everyone in the house was getting one, even the dog. I discussed it with my husband and I got the response I expected.
“Whatever you think is best dear.” I hear that a lot.
Everyone had one by the end of the following week. I never felt the civil war soldier again. I think, though he meant me harm, when he saw what I wore around my neck, he became afraid and his soul went to a different location to haunt. Or maybe he decided to finally cross over at that moment deciding that haunting the property may not be in his best interests. I don’t know. It’s all speculation at this point. I hope he is resting in peace no matter where he went.
That left the basement and what to do. While everyone was wearing “entity in the house” repellant, there remained the issue that it was there. I had no idea if it meant us harm. I went through my books and did some things for protection but at no time did I ask it to leave. I felt the house belonged to this person and we were the guests. After I did the things I could, which can’t be discussed because that is considered negative, the entity seemed to calm down. We started sleeping in the room downstairs that we turned it into a spare bedroom. Odie started spending a lot of time down there, even asking to go down even if I wasn’t going to be down there, crying at the door when he wanted to come back in. While the ghost wasn’t happy, we had an understanding.
As we were packing up to leave six months later, I met the neighbor across the street. I learned a woman who owned the house initially. It was built by her in the 80s as a project of the kids in the local high school. She loved the home with all her heart. She died there several years prior. She had much sadness in her life toward the end. It seems she wanted to stay in the one place that brought her happiness. I was pleased with my decision to allow her to stay in her home, we, the guests, were on to a new, less haunted home or so we thought. We could not have been more wrong. But that is a story for another time or perhaps a poem.
We moved in based on information and pictures on the internet. The house was huge and we thought we’d be happy for the next four years, until I reached retirement. The landlord gave us the code to the key box and we unpacked our things. Our dog and three cats loved roaming and exploring their new home. Deuce, our pit bull, had the biggest yard he had ever seen to run and play in but he was still missing a fence. A simple lead-line attached to the home and he could play at his leisure. The main floor of our new home had two bedrooms and all the rooms required for comfortable living: living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room and bathroom. I had my hardwood floors. I would not have to vacuum! We were quite hungry and it was late. Having nothing to cook, we decided to venture into town. We looked up local eateries that would be open after the side-walks were rolled up and settled on Popeyes. We walked in and were greeted with smiles and a level of Southern hospitality we didn’t expect this far north. We decided we’d be happy here. The rest of our time in Virginia, we complained about “these Northerners!”
The next morning, we explored the basement. I knew something was off right away. I just couldn’t put a finger on it so I brushed it away for now. The basement layout was illogical. There was a kitchenette area with sink and cabinetry in a wide-open room, a bathroom, what could be considered two bedrooms (I used one for my bookshelves, creating a library for myself) but through the library was a room which contained only the hot water tank. Very big room for such a thing so I used it for cold storage, self-canned goods. The entire basement was always cold no matter the time of year and despite terrible HVAC. It should have been warmer in the summer months.
After exploring the home and deciding where everything was going to go, I called the moving company and arranged delivery for the next day. Then came the fun part. I tried calling my sponsor to arrange checking in to my new duty location. There was no answer. I discussed it with my husband and his response was “let’s head that way and call him when we get there so we can see what kind of trip you will have each day”.
That seemed like a reasonable response so we hopped in the truck and headed to Washington DC for the first time. It took two hours to get there. We knew the commute would be insane and I had the conversation about the commute many times after. “Why don’t you move closer” they said. “That’s a long way to travel” they said. “Have you thought about car-pooling?” I heard so many opinions and I did look into carpooling. After speaking to others I realized that was not for me. I don’t like being on another person’s schedule. I wanted the freedom to go to appointments as needed and the ability to actually go home if I got released early.
We moved to Culpeper, Virginia despite having orders to work in DC because we had the gall to have a pit bull as a family member. While Virginia had outlawed breed restriction legislation state-wide, counties and towns got around it be forcing those with rental properties to pay outrageous amounts in “Violent Dog Insurance” and listed a whole bunch of dogs which are not really violent but are protective of their homes and of their human families. The violent dogs are the ones that actually bite and they are perfectly accepted in most areas. Because of these laws, most landlords simply refused to allow the protective animals on their property. My husband and I talked it over and refused to break up our family over idiocy and bigotry.
On our first trip to DC, after having driven all that way there, I was still unable to get my sponsor on the phone and the building I was to work in was locked down like Fort Knox. I was shocked to see windows, though. How could I work in a classified environment with windows? That was a very odd thing to me. After failing to reach my contact to gain access to the building, we decided to check out the base and see what it had to offer. The answer was “not much” but hey, it was on the Potomac River which smelled like a thousand cows had dropped a ton of manure in it. We did a little shopping at the base exchange and the commissary but the sticker shock was crazy! I attempted to contact Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Brewer one more time then we went home.
The next morning as they were delivering my household goods, I was able to reach him and arranged to go in bright and early the next morning. How exciting to be starting a new job! This was a national agency. I would be working with people in other countries and the idea of working at such a high level with such important people was incredible! I didn’t know much about what I’d be doing but I knew how vital it my responsibilities would be to foreign policy.
Due to the lengthy commute, I got up at oh-dark-hundred, translated as 0400 or 4 am for civilians. I wanted to be on the road by five to get there by seven. The house being in a “every box open but nothing put away” stage, I just ate a peanut butter sandwich using a plastic knife and made the same for lunch to take with me. As I walked out the front door, I admired how beautiful the stars looked from our front porch. I crossed the beautiful bridge over the frog pond on the way to my truck, excited to start my day. As I approached my truck, I felt like I was being watched. I looked around but it was too dark to see anything. The air felt heavy and negative. I opened the door, tossed my lunch and paperwork into the passenger seat and headed off to work making a mental note to investigate further.
Work was a short day. I had to go through a long process to gain full access to the building. I was told that I was supposed to have done a polygraph prior to arrival to make access faster. Oops. TSgt Brewer made a few phone calls, toured me around the building and released me after I met my co-workers and supervisor. Mr. Lenky was his name; a retired Air Force Master Seargent who was getting ready to retire from his civilian career. He was a happy man with a wonderful sense of humor. He made me feel at home. I had never worked in a place that was dominated by civilians before. This was like a whole new world for me and it would be a difficult adjustment for me. We discussed work schedule, traffic, etc and decided though employees didn’t have to be in their seats until 9 am, I would be better off coming in at 7 am because the later a person came in, the later they stayed. DC traffic was a nightmare in the evening. I thought it was a nightmare in the morning until I experienced all those people going home from work at once… I did ask him about those windows before I went home for the day.
“How exactly can we work in a classified environment with windows???”
His response was “Isn’t the view amazing! Each year the birds lay eggs on that building over there and we get to watch them hatch then learn to fly!”
I chuckled “But aren’t we worried about spying equipment?”
“Naw, there is special technology at play to prevent that.”
I was in awe! Why can’t the Air Force have that!!! Imagine if we had this technology when I was in Hawaii! We’d have been able to see the beach, the mountains, the planes coming in on the adjoined runway! Then I realized if we had windows in Hawaii, we’d never have gotten any work done. Watching birds learn to fly sounded fun though and I was looking forward to the experience.
I said my goodbyes and headed home. I went home the same route I went in and had no issues. It was only 10 am. Looking back on it now, I have to laugh at my naivete over the traffic in those first days. I had my appointment for my polygraph before I left and would be able to work soon.
I got home and was in a good mood. My boss was great, the building was the most beautiful building I had ever worked in. It was right across the street from the shopping area so I could do my shopping before coming home, taking advantage of the decreased prices on installation. Again, the naivete I had then…
My husband wasn’t home when I got there but I expected it. He had an appointment for orientation at his new job with Fredericksburg Motorsports in Fredericksburg. He had a one-hour commute but his duration didn’t change with traffic each day as I would soon discover mine would. Smiling and greeting my four furry children, I busied myself with unpacking. When my husband returned home, I asked him to investigate something for me. I explained the feeling I got that morning as I was getting ready to get in my truck.
He responded “Honey, we are in the country, it was probably some animal.”
“It did feel predatory…”
“See, it’s not an issue.”
I brushed it off once again, reassured by my husband’s words. I continued unpacking. I had started with the kitchen first because I was tired of eating out. I wanted a home-cooked meal. We had all these expensive food items from the commissary and I wanted to see if they were worth the price we paid. I had the majority of the kitchen unpacked before it was time to cook dinner, only the baking pans were in an unknown location. Our first meal prepared in that home from items purchased from the commissary was so thrilling and impressive that neither my husband nor I can recall what I cooked. We decided we needed to explore other options.
When the weekend rolled around, we decided to explore Culpeper. Wow. While we were used to the conveniences of our favorite stores in Shreveport, Louisiana, Culpeper was a quaint, sprawling town. It had some of the stores we liked to frequent but we decided the most important one to explore was the grocery store. Again, we went shopping for food. We were shocked at the difference of prices between the commissary and the local town and were quite pleased we never went to a grocery store in DC. We probably would have died of heart attacks. We selected our purchases and checked out. On the way to the truck, we looked at each other and with the same thought, agreed that we would only shop at the commissary for items we could not get locally and only on special occasions!
Our days following this one grew long. We both had long commutes. We both worked five days a week, me with Saturday and Sunday off, him with Sunday and Monday off. Each morning I would feel like I was being watched as I prepared to go to work and the feeling was getting worse each day but I kept brushing it off. I began ti realize this was no animal watching me each day. An animal would have moved one after some time. This did not. The night time in our home also started feeling….off. We were both very tired, neither wanting to do anything and the house ended up being a perpetual mess. I was gone fourteen hours a day and didn’t even want to cook when I got home but the food needed to be prepared so I did it. When bed time came, I didn’t want to be in the room by myself. The room had become stuffy, even with the fan on. The air felt thick, like it could be cut with a knife.
About six months after we moved in, I wanted to talk to my husband about something. We had set his computer up in the basement so I opened the door to head down. My two youngest cats Odie, which is short for Odysseus, and Cleo, which is short for Cleopatra, raced each other down as they liked to do. By the time I got to the L-shaped landing, they were back at the top of the stairs. This was extremely odd. They loved being in the room I was in. I went back to the top of the stairs and opened the door as they clawed desperately to get to the other side of it. I closed the door behind them and went all the way down this time. The doors into and out of the bathroom were both open so I could see into the main room. Did I mention the layout down here was odd?
I didn’t see anything but that didn’t surprise me. It was colder than normal. The closer I got to the main room, the colder it was. I stopped just inside the room and asked my husband if he felt anything strange. He answered in the negative. He was playing a game trying to relax after a hard day. I slowly walked into the room knowing we weren’t alone but I had no idea what was there so I felt caution would be prudent. As I got past him, I was able to locate the spot where the cold was coming from but I discovered it was more than just cold. While I couldn’t see anything, I could very much feel it. It was angry. It was hateful. It was NOT happy we were in this house. This also felt distinctly different from what I felt outside when I was preparing to go to work. I stood next to it for a moment trying to figure out what to do. Then had an idea.
I went back upstairs and got Neko, my eldest cat at the time. Neko was a sensitive, just as cats are prone to be, but he had more experience in this realm than the others had. When we got back to the room, I put him on the floor. He was nervous but within a few minutes he shook it off and jumped on the back of my husband’s chair. I knew that something could be done at that point. I had forgotten what I wanted to talk to my husband about at this point so I went back upstairs, asking my husband to bring Neko up when he came up as I left the room. I went to bed with a heavy mind that night.
The next morning, the events of the previous night were still weighing on my mind. I went through my normal routine and headed out to my truck to leave for work without enjoying the frog pond. I was tired, exhausted really. I opened the door to the truck and I heard the distinct sound of “battle rattle,” the sound a canteen and mess kit make when hanging from a combat belt as a soldier runs. I threw my lunch into the passenger seat with haste and whipped around. I stood staring at Nothing and Nothing stared back at me. I stared into the darkness and suddenly realized that what was there was there no longer. My heart was pounding so bad I thought it would leap from my chest. I had never experienced anything like that in all my past years. I got in my truck, threw it in reverse and got out of there. My mind was racing, my heart was pounding. I needed answers about what was happening in our home but one thing was certain. We were not staying in this house past our one-year lease!
All day I was thinking about the two events. There was a link but I couldn’t place it. Odie and Cleo were so terrified they couldn’t be in the room. Neko was concerned but shrugged it off. A different entity tried to attack me and stopped when I turned around and faced it. Then it hit me. Neko and I both wore a pentacle, an upright star inside a circle. The entity that had been watching me leave for work every day was obviously a civil war soldier. There had been over 100 battles in our county alone during that war, the biggest one not far from our house. You could see the hill from our street. I had no idea what was in the basement but it didn’t want us there. Both responded the same way to a medallion worn by myself and my cat. On the way home, I resolved that everyone in the house was getting one, even the dog. I discussed it with my husband and I got the response I expected.
“Whatever you think is best dear.” I hear that a lot.
Everyone had one by the end of the following week. I never felt the civil war soldier again. I think, though he meant me harm, when he saw what I wore around my neck, he became afraid and his soul went to a different location to haunt. Or maybe he decided to finally cross over at that moment deciding that haunting the property may not be in his best interests. I don’t know. It’s all speculation at this point. I hope he is resting in peace no matter where he went.
That left the basement and what to do. While everyone was wearing “entity in the house” repellant, there remained the issue that it was there. I had no idea if it meant us harm. I went through my books and did some things for protection but at no time did I ask it to leave. I felt the house belonged to this person and we were the guests. After I did the things I could, which can’t be discussed because that is considered negative, the entity seemed to calm down. We started sleeping in the room downstairs that we turned it into a spare bedroom. Odie started spending a lot of time down there, even asking to go down even if I wasn’t going to be down there, crying at the door when he wanted to come back in. While the ghost wasn’t happy, we had an understanding.
As we were packing up to leave six months later, I met the neighbor across the street. I learned a woman who owned the house initially. It was built by her in the 80s as a project of the kids in the local high school. She loved the home with all her heart. She died there several years prior. She had much sadness in her life toward the end. It seems she wanted to stay in the one place that brought her happiness. I was pleased with my decision to allow her to stay in her home, we, the guests, were on to a new, less haunted home or so we thought. We could not have been more wrong. But that is a story for another time or perhaps a poem.