The Dome – Prolog

“Got a minute, Jacob?”

“You’re the boss, Cal.”

“Take a look at this set of plans and let me know what you think.”

“What are they for?”

“They’re plans for a dome with a basement.”

“I’ll look, but I don’t know much about domes. Say, we supplied the shotcrete for that
dome three years ago, is this related to that?”

“That’s where I got the idea, yes. A dome is the second strongest structure there is with
a sphere being the strongest. According to FEMA, a properly constructed dome will
withstand all natural disasters we’re likely to have here in Arizona, and is safe against a
nuclear event unless it’s a direct or near hit.

“Why the basement?”

“Storage, odds and ends… you name it.”

“Does this have anything to do with what happened last September?”

“In a way, I suppose. Who would have thought that two aircraft could have brought
down the towers?”

“Wait a minute, is this figure right? That’s thick concrete.”

“Double reinforced with steel and fiberglass fiber admixture. The concrete will be rated
at 10,000 PSI. It has a 40 foot exterior radius with concrete floors at 9 foot intervals. The
top floor will be storage space with a bare concrete floor. The second and third floors
will be multiple bedrooms with ensuite baths.”

“How are you going to support those floors?”

“The floors will incorporate pre-stressed 10 inch I-beams resting on the center column
which contains the stairwell. I’m waiting on an engineering report.”

“Next question; where do you plan on building this monstrosity?”

“You know those 3 sections I inherited between Phoenix and Tucson? The property is
about 3 miles from I-10.”

1
“Totally self-contained?”

“That’s the plan.”

“What are these divisions shown in the basement?”

“That’s the generator room and the one next to it is the electrical/battery room. The
smaller two next to it are armories. On the other side of the generator room is a storage
room for POLs and spare parts.”

“What are POLs?”

“It’s an acronym for petroleum, oils and lubricants. The spare parts include filters, en-
gine rebuild parts and replacement alternator heads plus alternator rebuild kits. I
planned on using twin 50kw diesel generators. In addition we’ll add a 50kw wind turbine
or the equivalent plus 50kw of photovoltaic panels.”

“What about diesel fuel?”

“Twin Containment Solutions 40k double-wall fiberglass diesel tanks, a 20k gasoline
tank and a 10k kerosene tank. I checked them out and believe me, they’re not cheap.”

“Oh, I don’t know, they’ll probably be cheaper than their contents.”

“Good point.”

“Can you really afford this?”

“I guess that depends on how well the building boom continues. I sunk all of my retire-
ment money in gold and silver since it’s near the lowest level it’s been in years. Cash
wise, if I cash out my other investments and add in the insurance money from the policy
I had on Carolyn, I have a good start.”

“That was a bummer Cal. Who would have thought she’d be shot and killed by some kid
robbing a Circle K?”

“The funny part was we’d only had those insurance policies for about 18 months. For a
while, I thought I’d have to sue to force them to pay off due to the double indemnity
clause.”

“How’s that work? I thought it was only for accidents.”

“Accidents and murder where the beneficiary didn’t commit the murder are covered but
suicides aren’t. Both our policies were large since we were planning on starting a family.
Between the investments, excluding the precious metals, and the insurance benefits, I
have just shy of 2 million for the project. Plus I have Dad’s gun collection since Mom

2
turned very anti-gun after Carolyn was shot. I would have had it eventually, but him dy-
ing of pancreatic cancer put me in charge of the firm and left her with his collection.
She’s been nagging me to remove her as a trustee.”

“You plan on doing it all at once or in stages?”

“That will really depend on what the total package costs. I intend on using our construc-
tion division to handle the excavation, forming and basement pour. I thought I might
contract the dome construction with us having a batch plant onsite to supply the shot-
crete/gunite with the contractor supplying the airbag form, the equipment and labor to
form the dome. I put it out for a bid to Monolithic Domes in Texas for the moment.”

“I’ve heard of Monolithic and a company in Idaho… can’t remember their name. Take
care in who you select, Cal, often the lowest bidder isn’t the best choice.”

3
 The Dome Chapter 1

Before his untimely death, my father had a class 3 FFL. He also had a trust set up that
he sold firearms to. He also sold to several Law Enforcement Agencies. Since it was his
second job, it was by appointment only. He carried a full line of Springfield Armory, Inc.
products, Heckler and Koch products, Surefire products, Browning products in addition
to several other brands. When he was in the Army, he was a Designated Marksman
leading to him being partial to the M14 rifle. He urged me to get my FFL and help him
with what little business he actually got. Additionally, I worked for the Ready Mix firm he
owned.

He persuaded SA to build 6 Super Match actions and ship them to McMillan here in
Phoenix to be glass bedded in their M3A standard clamp-bar elevator stocks. The basic
actions were the SA9102 with the Parkerized Douglas premium air gauged custom
heavy match barrels. These were the civilian version of his M21. In addition to those ac-
tions, he purchased 12 M1A Loaded models, SA9226. All 18 rifles eventually made their
way into the trust, after he had them ‘fine-tuned’.

The fine tuning included adding Harris bipods and Sadlak scope mounts to all 18 and
Nightforce NXS 3.5-15×50 F1 riflescopes with the MLR2.0 reticles to the M21s. McMil-
lan installed the bipods. Dad bought the SA slings in bulk to get the discount and or-
dered 30 of the Surefire legacy FA762K end mount suppressors with 18 FH762KM14
and 12 FH762-213S flashhider/suppressor adapters. He also ordered 12 Surefire lega-
cy FA556-212 end mount suppressors with the FH556-212A flashhider adapters.

The extra 12 7.62 suppressors and 12 5.56 suppressors were held as inventory until he
found select fire 5.56 and 7.62 rifles he liked. He passed on before he that happened.
The 12 M1A Loadeds didn’t get scopes, although it might have been cheaper. Instead,
he selected EOTech holographic sights.

Dad favored the .45acp and Mom favored the Browning Hi-Power in 9mm. I had both
along with spare threaded barrels with the Nielsen Device (muzzle booster) built into the
suppressors. The trust had 6 Kimber Custom TLE II for the long range shooters with the
M21s and 12 Taurus PT1911Bs for the M1A Loaded shooters. All had extended thread-
ed barrels with barrel thread protectors. A while after he died, I ordered gun lights from
Surefire.

Between the dome project and running the concrete business, the next three years saw
me running up and down I-10 several times a week. Jacob ran the construction division
for me. Monolithic Domes worked with me getting the dome laid out to my satisfaction
and Jacob had a crew install the Swiss blast doors we got through Utah Shelter Sys-
tems. Two AV-300 filter systems were selected to ensure adequate ventilation. Jacob
built an airlock using two of their largest double leaf doors at each opening. He included
a decontamination shower and floor drain in the airlock, just in case.

4
I’ll have to give it to Jacob, if I forgot to tell him something I wanted, I usually found he’d
anticipated my every wish. For example, I’d overlooked a propane tank but he found a
good used tank, had it tested and brought up to spec. Thirty thousand gallons of pro-
pane wasn’t cheap. He said it was filled to capacity only because they’d buried it and it
wouldn’t overheat.

I selected Kohler 50REOZJB generators as they put out ~200 amps at full power. I told
the Kohler representative I wanted a complete set of parts to rebuild each engine, 2
spare alternator heads and alternator repair parts. I think I shocked him when I told him
I needed enough filters to run both generators for 60 months. Of course he recom-
mended synthetic motor oil. I went with Castrol Tection 15w-40 based on a story I’d
read on one of the forums. The orders for both filters and oil were large enough that
both Kohler and the oil distributor had to order in the amount I wanted.

Once we had the project done, I turned to filling the basement with long term storage
foods. I hedged my bets and got basic foods like grains, beans, etc. plus something a
bit more palatable from Emergency Essentials (Mountain House) and Nitro Pak. Five
years for 7 people; the dome had 6 bedrooms, 1 king and 2 queens on the second floor
plus 3 twins on the third floor. There were 2 gun vaults in the basement, one for the
business firearms and a second for the trust firearms. The safe holding the tax stamps
was in the trust vault. There is also a firearm safe in my den.

I caught a deal on Black Hills ammo during the run up to the 2008 elections before the
price went through the roof and it was all sold out. Still, it did cost a bunch, even buying
it wholesale. I bought 30,000 rounds of 175gr match BTHP and 60,000 rounds of 168gr
Match BTHP in 7.62×51mm and 30,000 rounds of 68 grain heavy match BTHP
5.56×45mm. I added a pallet of Speer 200gr +P Gold Dot in .45acp and a pallet of
124gr +P Gold Dot in 9mm.

By mid-2008, I had the bug out location ready to go. When I tried to explain to Mom
about having a place to go, just in case, she shined me on. The first question out of her
mouth was whether or not I’d removed her as a trustee. I told her the attorney had the
papers ready and all she had to do was sign them. She then informed me she met
someone her age and if he’d get off the dime, she planned to marry him. Finally, she
reminded me that I’d best notify the ATF of my changes of address to that place halfway
to Tucson.

I’d already done that and had to go through an ATF inspection with them correcting their
records from ours. After they left, I sat down with a cup of coffee and reflected what
we’d accomplished over the past six plus years. First and foremost, we had a very se-
cure bugout location less than an hour south of Phoenix. That self-same bug out loca-
tion was fully stocked with pure air, a safe shelter, pure water, ample food stocks and a
more than adequate means of protection plus all the extras.

5
In 2008 when I could get the HK416s and HK417s, I ordered 12 of each. It was now or
never with housing starts dropping off. Each weapon was selected with the longest
available barrel, ~20 inches. The initial order included 30 magazines per rifle and spare-
parts kits for each rifle. Those suppressors Dad had bought and shelved worked without
adjustment, including the adapters. I hurried up and ordered another 30,000 rounds of
Black Hills 68gr heavy match BTHP 5.56×45mm and another 60,000 rounds of 168gr
Match BTHP in 7.62×51mm.

While Beta-C made 100 round dual drum magazines for the M1As and H&K rifles, they
were unreliable. A new company named XS Products was working on a highly reliable
50 round drum magazine but they were in the development stage. They were accepting
pre-orders at a reasonable price and I ordered 24 for the Loadeds, the HK416s and
HK417s. On top of that, 44Mag dot com had a good price on M1A magazines and I or-
dered 360 of the 25 round versions.

“Cal, got a minute?”

“What’s up, Jacob?”

“What did you buy for shotguns?”

“Crap. I meant to buy the Mossberg 590A1s and get the OKC bayonets for them.”

“Which model?”

“The 51663 Special Purpose.”

“I was looking at their 2008 catalog and they’ve changed the front sling attachment.
They moved it to the barrel strap just behind the bayonet lug. Maybe it’s just as well that
you waited. How many were you thinking about getting?”

“Six with slings, sidesaddles, butt cuffs and the bayonets. I’ve been evaluating shotgun
shells and I think I’ll get the 3” Brenneke Black Magic slugs and 3” Remington Magnum
Express buckshot in 00 and no. 4 buckshot.”

“That 3 inch stuff has quite the kick.”

“I heard. I don’t know why but I wouldn’t mind having some red flares and some of that
“Frag 12 ammo.”

“Don’t get caught. Do you have any long range sniping rifles?”

“Yep, the 6 M21s.”

6
“That’s not what I meant. I was more thinking about a .338 Lapua Magnum or 50BMG.
The Canadian military uses McMillan’s Tac-50. Some guy named Furlong made a hit at
2,430m.”

“Special ammo?”

“Sort of; they ran out of their regular ammo and he was using 750gr Hornady A-MAX
match. His rifle had a Leupold Mark 4-16×40mm LR/T M1 riflescope. You’ve done busi-
ness with McMillan before; maybe you should talk to them about a Tac-50.”

“What’s the ammo cost?”

“Maybe $6 a round if you buy it 10 rounds at a time.”

I stopped by McMillan and they got started on the rifle. We discussed the accessories
and I decided to get my own suppressor and transfer the whole kit and caboodle into
the trust. I did get the Elite Iron they recommended, at wholesale, not retail. The hard
part was acquiring the MUNS (AN/PVS-27 Magnum Universal Night Sight) to mount on
the McCann Night Vision Rail since it cost as much as the rifle and was LEO and mili-
tary only. The scope I selected was the Nightforce NXS 12-42×56mm with the mil dot
reticle. I ordered 4,000 rounds of Hornady ammo, 20 cases, which weighed ~1,100
pounds.

I sort of had the world by the tail, although business was off a little both in the Ready
Mix and the firearms business. I was still banking money even after Mom got her share
of the profits from the Ready Mix business. She wanted nothing to do with what I made
with the firearms business.

It had been quite some time since Carolyn was murdered and I was still young enough
to want someone in my life. I hadn’t met anyone in church with any great appeal so I
decided to hit the bar scene occasionally. Realizing that I had to be pretty careful, I was
fairly laid back.

I think it was the fifth or sixth week when I saw one of the most beautiful women I had
seen in years. She was 5’5-5’6, slender at 112-115 and had dark brown hair, almost
black, hanging to her waist. She was a little fuller in the chest than Carolyn, maybe a C
cup. Ginger had brown eyes and lashes a mile long. Topped off with a permanent smile,
she was a sight to behold.

“Hi. I’m Cal. Would you permit me to buy you a drink?”

“Hi Cal, I’m Ginger. I shouldn’t but just this once, ok. A Rusty Nail?”

“Never heard of it; what’s in it?”

7
“It’s scotch and Drambuie. It’s definitely a sipping drink. Join me?”

“That sounds more powerful than my Silver Bullet.”

“I generally limit myself to one, except for special occasions.”

“Is this a special occasion?”

“Maybe. Single?”

“Widower; my wife was killed about 6 years ago in a holdup of a Circle K.”

“I didn’t live here back then.”

“Oh? Where are you from?”

“The St. Louis area. Six years ago I was just finishing my Doctoral degree program.”

“So, you’re a Doctor?”

“PhD in Economics. I teach here at ASU.”

“I only made it through High School. I started working at Dad’s Ready Mix business and
later got involved in his firearms business. At the moment, business has dropped off
due to the reduction in housing starts.”

“And the firearms business?”

“It’s a class 3 dealership dealing mostly in National Firearms Act weapons, full auto ri-
fles, silencers and that sort of thing. May I ask if you’re pro or anti firearms?”

“Neither, I’m neutral. I didn’t bring mine but everyone in my family was taught firearms
safety and learned to shoot. I only have 2 firearms, a Mini-14 Ranch rifle and a Brown-
ing Hi-Power in 9mm.”

“Those are the standard calibers used by the US military.”

“Maybe, but neither is the best choice. My father has a Springfield M1A and Mil Spec
M1911 and they’re better firearms. I compensate by using 124gr +P Gold Dot in the
Browning and Black Hills 60gr soft point and V-Max.”

“Those should work. I don’t see a wedding ring, are you single?”

“Divorced. We got married when we graduated with our Bachelors’ degrees. Just after I
started my Doctoral program, I came home early and caught him in bed with an under-

8
graduate woman. I don’t expect much but fidelity is high on my list. So do you live here
in Phoenix?”

“At the moment, yes. I do have a second residence about halfway between Phoenix and
Tucson, but it’s an hour commute. I use that location for the firearms business since the
business is low volume.”

“I’d like to see that sometime.”

“That could be arranged, tomorrow is Saturday.”

“We just met.”

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Whoa, slow down hoss. I’ll admit I’m attracted but that’s it.”

“It’s mutual and I don’t really believe in love at first sight anyway. You do have two
things high on my list; you’re attractive and educated. I took a few college classes but
never went beyond those.”

“ASU?”

“Maricopa County Community College. Not that a college education would have hurt but
since Dad died, I run both the Ready Mix operation and the class 3 dealership.”

“You don’t seem old enough to have a dead parent; auto accident?”

“Pancreatic cancer and that’s not the best way to go.”

“I’ve heard about that, I’m sorry for your loss. Double loss, your wife and your father.”

“Thank you Ginger, but that’s spilt milk. Would you be interested in seeing my other
home?”

“I’ll chance it; let me write down my phone number and address.”

“You didn’t ask but I’m 31.”

“And I’m 27. My last name is Scott; I reverted to my maiden name after the divorce.”

“I’m Calvin Burgess. I’ll write my phone and address on the back of my business card.”

“Time?”

“Is 9 am too early?”

9
“Just about right. Jeans and boots?”

“Should be ok but bring a jacket and a rain coat.”

“How big is your acreage?”

“It’s more of an undeveloped ranch, 1,920 acres.”

“So, all you have is a ranch house?”

“Sort of; I let you decide for yourself tomorrow if it’s a ranch house or something else.”

I hadn’t stocked the bar at the dome and on the way home stopped at a liquor store and
picked up a starting stock for the bar. They sold kegs and I reserved a keg of Coors and
a second of Coors Light for the two spigot CO2 beer dispenser.

I bought an assortment of liquor and liqueurs, 2 each of Bombay Sapphire Gin, Jack
Daniel Single Barrel, Gentleman Jack, Jack Black, Maker’s Mark, Chivas Regal, Cuervo
1800, Courvoisier and Pisco plus single bottles of Grand Mariner, Benedictine, B&B,
Drambuie and sweet and dry vermouth.

Mixers were club soda, Collins mix, ginger ale, Squirt, regular and diet Coke, Seven-up
and whatever the guy said he sold a lot of. I paid for it all and told him I’d be by around
8:30 to pick up the kegs.

Next, I went to the grocery store and picked out some nice New York strips, filet min-
ions, prawns, baking potatoes, a gallon of milk, butter, bread, dinner rolls… Heinz
Shrimp Cocktail sauce, horseradish, Heinz Ketchup, mustard… French’s yellow and
Grey Poupon, mayonnaise, etc. It was a full cart and I grabbed a bag of ice for my cool-
er for the trip down.

Was I trying to impress? You can bet your bippy, Ginger was good looking and intelli-
gent. The food would be an initial test of her cooking abilities. All the beds in the dome
were made and, except for the Master bedroom, topped with plastic to keep them clean.
Jacob’s wife Jackie had done that for me when they’d been down to inspect the finished
product. I’d managed to buy Sealy Commercial box springs and mattresses, the firmest
available. You spend ⅓ of your life lying on your back, buy the very best. Check hotel
and motel suppliers.

I can’t remember being this excited since we started the dome project. It came in under
$2 million even considering the things I’d overlooked, like the propane. The kitchen
equipment was Viking for the most part with Fry Master getting a piece along with a
couple of other commercial firms like Bunn, etc. I just happened to like Folgers Classic
blend and had 300 48oz cans and a full assortment of Bigelow tea.

10
Despite having a dome and an impressive armory, I wasn’t a Survivalist. I was most cer-
tainly a prepper of the first order. Being a class 3 dealer had certain advantages, as did
the trust Dad had set up.

Dad had set me down after I started working for him at the Ready Mix and explained the
facts of life about rifles. He said if it was semi-automatic or full auto, it had to have a gas
piston as opposed to the direct gas impingement system. After Eugene Stoner left Ar-
malite, Miller, Sullivan, and Dorchester had developed a gas piston system for the AR-
18, an improved AR-15. While the AR-18 was never adopted as the standard service
rifle of any nation, its production license was sold to companies in Japan and England. I
later looked it up on Wiki and learned:

The AR-18's action was powered by a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The gas
piston was of 3-piece design to facilitate disassembly, with a hollow forward section with
4 radial gas vent holes fitting around a stainless steel gas block projecting rearwards
from the foresight housing. The gas was vented from the barrel and travelled via a vent
through the foresight housing into the hollow front section of the piston, which caused it
to move rearwards a short distance. The rear end of the piston emerged through the
barrel extension to contact the forward face of the bolt carrier, causing it in turn to move
rearwards. The bolt itself was of similar configuration to the AR-15 with 7 radial locking
lugs engaging corresponding recesses in the barrel extension, and the extractor in
place of the 8th lug. The bolt was moved into and out of the locked position via a cam
pin that engaged a helical slot in the bolt carrier, which rode on two metal guide rods
(each with its own return spring) instead of contacting the receiver walls, providing addi-
tional clearance for foreign matter entering the receiver.

Unlike the AR-15, the cocking handle fitted directly into a recess in the bolt carrier and
reciprocated with it during firing, allowing the firer to force the breech closed or open if
necessary. The cocking handle slot had a spring-loaded cover that could be closed by
the user to prevent debris entering the receiver, and it would open automatically as the
bolt carrier moved rearwards after the first shot. The recoil springs were housed within
the receiver, differing from the AR-15 which housed its more elaborate buffer mecha-
nism in the buttstock. The AR-18's compact design enabled the use of a side-folding
stock with a hinging mechanism (that later proved to be less than adequately rigid).

11
 The Dome Chapter 2

I picked up Ginger promptly at 9 am and we got on the freeway, picking up I-10 and
heading south. She had an overnight bag. The back of my Suburban with the back seat
folded down was crammed with my purchases of the previous evening and the 2 kegs I
picked up on the way to pick her up. We engaged in the type of getting to know each
other conversation that lasted all the way to the off ramp and the property. It finally
dawned on me who she reminded me of, an actress who was the bad female lead in G.
I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, I think her name was Sienna Miller.

“That’s not a ranch house and it’s definitely something else. A dome?”

“It’s an above ground bomb shelter.”

“Let me guess, you’re a survivalist.”

“I’m a prepper of the first order. The government can go to the devil for all I care. What
do you think about Obama winning the election?”

“He’s a first, that’s for sure. I didn’t vote for him. Maybe I wasn’t ready for our first black
President and maybe I just don’t trust him over this ‘change’ he advocates.”

“I’m with you on both counts; some say he isn’t even an American.”

“Even if he isn’t, I doubt anyone will ever prove it to everyone’s satisfaction.”

“I have to unload before I can give you a tour. Some of these things need refrigeration
and the kegs need to go in the dispenser to be connected to the CO2 and settle down.”

“I’ll help.”

“I didn’t intend to put you to work.”

“I don’t mind and I see some of it is groceries. I assume it’s so we’ll have something to
eat. Are you checking to see if I can cook?”

“I am not forward enough to say, ‘and she cooks too’.”

“Good, I’m not forward either, but did bring an overnight bag. I was wondering if we
might be able to go to Tombstone.”

“We’d have to wait until tomorrow; it’s a 2 hour drive. Oh, I see the reason for the over-
night bag. I hadn’t stocked the bar and did some shopping last night. I hope Chivas Re-
gal is ok for a Rusty Nail.”

“It’s actually a tiny bit of overkill but will work just fine. Candy is dandy…?”

12
“That wasn’t my thinking but I will be able to offer you a mixed drink, draft beer or a soft
drink. I got regular and diet Coke, Squirt, Seven-up and assorted mixes.”

“Wine?”

“Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Chablis plus a half case of Krug Cham-
pagne… a little of everything major.”

“No Dom Pérignon or Cristal?”

“First date and all; that stuff is expensive, I checked!”

“At least you thought about it. Krug is decent Champagne.”

“I did buy good steaks and some prawns.”

“Trying to impress me?”

“A little.”

“It’s working so far.”

After we had everything put away, refrigerated and the kegs installed it was time for
lunch. I had a choice of chicken salad, ham salad, tuna salad, ham, bologna and
cheese slices.

“Lunch?”

“Yes please, I’m afraid I overslept and skipped breakfast.”

“I didn’t oversleep but had other stops and missed breakfast too. Sandwiches and chips
ok? I like everything in the refrigerator so pick what you like and make double. If I don’t
die, I’ll assume you can cook.”

“Mighty big assumption over a sandwich and chips.”

“We’ll do the full tour after lunch and decide on some way to occupy the afternoon. I
thought about suggesting shooting. I have a 1,000 meter range which has stations at
100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 1,000 meters plus a pistol range and skeet range with ad-
justable launchers.”

“Adjustable?”

“I can vary the speed, interval and the height.”

13
“I never shot skeet.”

“Want to learn?”

“Maybe, we’ll see.”

It had been a while since I’d shot skeet. I decided to stick with rifles and handguns un-
less Ginger brought it up. I got her an M21, an HK416, a Hi-Power and a Taurus
PT1911B. All were suppressed but I brought along earmuffs anyway. She started in with
HK and was shooting very well with Black Hills ammo. Then, she went to the M21.

“Ugh, this is heavy.”

“It’s a lot heavier than that H&K but it shoots a heavier bullet. Use the bipod and sight it
in for 200 meters.”

It only took her 5 shots to sight in the Nightforce scope. I reached down and removed
the scope and told her to sight in the iron sights at the same range. That took 10 shots. I
swapped the two targets and told her to shoot a 5 shot group with iron sights, reinstall
the scope and shoot a 5 shot group with the scope on the second target. I was watching
through my 60 power spotting scope.

“How did I do?”

“Three quarters MOA on the iron sights and less than half a MOA with the scope.”

“No way.”

“I’ll go get the targets.”

“You’re right, the group with the iron sights in about 1⅜” and the group with the scope is
¾”. How come? I’m not that good of a shot.”

“That rifle is the civilian version of the M21 used by the Army. Plus the suppressor tight-
ens up the groups. On top of that you’re shooting Black Hills ammo, the most accurate
available.”

“What’s with the selector on the first rifle I fired?”

“The rifle is select fire, semi and full auto.”

“Can I try it full auto?”

“Sure, but don’t be disappointed with your results.”

14
Of course at full auto the group opened up. She didn’t say it, but she was disappointed.
We moved on to the Hi-Power and the Taurus. She did better with the Hi-Power be-
cause she was used to it. On the other hand, she didn’t do badly with the .45. She
called it a day and we put the guns on the back seat and returned to the dome.

“We forgot to shoot skeet.”

“I didn’t bring it up because I’m a little rusty. Maybe another weekend?”

“Count on it. I might need a wheelbarrow to haul that M21 but it’s accurate and I like it.”

“If you get to the point where you’re outshooting me with that rifle, you can keep it.”

“No way, it must have cost a fortune.”

“It did; I’m serious about that rifle. If and when you can outshoot me with that M21, it’s
yours.”

“Does the same apply to all 4 guns?”

“Sure and I’ll even throw in a shotgun with a bayonet.”

“Why would anyone want a bayonet on a shotgun?”

“Ask the Marine Corps. The 590A1 was a special purpose shotgun developed for the
Corps. The primary difference between the Model 500 and Model 590 is in the maga-
zine tube design. The Model 500 magazines are closed at the muzzle end, and the bar-
rel is held in place by bolting into a threaded hole at the end of the magazine tube.
Model 590 magazines are designed to be opened at the muzzle end, and the barrels fit
around the magazine tube and are held on by a nut at the end. The Model 500 maga-
zine facilitates easy barrel changes, as the barrel bolt serves no function other than
holding the barrel in place. The Model 590 magazine facilitates easy cleaning and parts
replacement, as removing the nut allows removal of the magazine spring and follower.

“The Model 590 has a plastic trigger guard and safety and a standard barrel. The Model
590A1 has an aluminum trigger guard and safety, and a heavier barrel, intended for
military use under extreme conditions and rough handling; the metal trigger guard was
added in response to the 3443G materials requirements, and the heavy barrel was add-
ed at the request of the Navy. The 590A1 is generally sold through military and law en-
forcement channels, though in most jurisdictions the 18.5-inch (47 cm) and 20-inch (51
cm) models may be legally purchased by private persons.”

“If the Marines use it, it makes some sense.”

“It’s not the only shotgun they use, but many prefer it.”

15
“If you’ll show me my room, I’d like to get cleaned up.”

Ginger selected one of the queens and I removed the plastic coving from the bed. While
she got cleaned up, I went to the kitchen and prepared the shrimp salads. I decided to
cook the filets and started the oven to bake 2 medium sized potatoes. I had sour cream
and butter and chopped some green onion tops for the potatoes, just in case.

Shortly after that, she came downstairs in a robe brushing her hair dry. I explained
about the potatoes in the oven, the shrimp cocktails and the condiments for the pota-
toes. I also showed her the filets and she commented that I was going all out for a first
date. When her hair was dry, she returned upstairs and I checked the potatoes. They
were about 20 minutes out so I started the countertop gas grill. Just as I was ready to
add the steaks, she returned and said “Medium”.

“Yeah, me too. This is the first time I’ve tried this grill so I’ll do it by the numbers.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seven minutes per side.”

“How long do they have to sit to reabsorb the juices?”

“About 4-5 minutes. I didn’t make a salad, but we do have surf and turf.”

“Is that an oops?”

“Only if you wanted a salad. Which wine do you want, Cabernet or Merlot?”

“Merlot.”

I set out the shrimp salads and the cocktail sauce. After turning the steaks, I checked
the potatoes and they were done. I let them set in the oven while I got the condiments
and the salt and pepper on the table. I slid 2 plates into the oven to warm while the filets
finished up. I then pulled the plates and set the filets on them to reabsorb the juices and
took out the potatoes and cut them open and pinched them. Then I served.

“Did you used to work in a restaurant?”

“No. Oh, the steps I took… economy of motion. Let me cut my steak first in case yours
needs to cook longer. Nope, perfect medium.”

“Six jumbo shrimp?”

“Prawns… they were on sale and cheaper than the shrimp for what you got.”

“You seem to have a grasp of economics.”

16
“Only as it applies to some things I do. That’s one of the reasons we charge extra per
yard on short loads of concrete. The truck, driver and time are fixed costs. When we get
a short load, say 6 yards, we have to charge extra to cover the fixed costs. I didn’t fix
too much did I?”

“No, I get around it if you just give me time. Tell me about your wife.”

“I don’t really know what to say. We were around 21 when we got married. Carolyn was
about an inch taller than you, not quite as slender as you and had a more modest bust.
We were thinking about starting a family and had taken the first step by getting large in-
surance policies in case something happened to one of us after the children came. She
wasn’t really into firearms the way I am. She wasn’t anti-gun but she wouldn’t carry one.

“I don’t know for sure but that might have gotten her killed. They say sometimes the
mere presence of a firearm prevents a crime. Do you carry?”

“They don’t like firearms on campus. I’m not opposed to the idea but I didn’t bring my
rifle or pistol with me.”

“I could loan you a Hi-Power.”

“Let me think about it. You interrupted yourself when you ask if I carry. Please contin-
ue.”

“I don’t really know what else to say. She didn’t work outside of the home and kept a
nice house. She wasn’t really a neat freak but the house was always clean. She did
laundry on Mondays, major grocery shopping on Tuesdays, went to the library on
Wednesdays, her quilting group on Thursdays, fill in grocery shopping on Fridays and
had her weekends free.

“We usually did something on Saturday like a movie, picnic or something else. Sunday
morning was church and the afternoon we just lazed around the house. Turnabout is fair
play.”

“It’s different, he was jerk. Jack never hit me ‘cause Daddy would have shot, shoveled
and shut up. The strange thing was that he was extremely jealous and berated me if I
even looked at another guy. It seems the same didn’t apply to him. I later heard rumors
that he had a string of undergrads he’d bedded. It caught up to him though, got one
pregnant and her father didn’t take kindly to that. The father claimed Jack pulled a gun
on him and he shot him in self-defense. Jack was terrified of guns so that doesn’t wash.
Nobody asked me and I probably would have lied. So, Jack met a timely end.”

“We all have things in our past. I haven’t set foot in a church, excluding funerals, since I
lost Carolyn and Dad.”

17
“Do you blame God?”

“Not really… it just isn’t the same. We went every Sunday and I felt so alone. Actually I
did go to church a few times before I stopped.”

“Couldn’t find Miss Perfect?”

“Nope.”

“How do I compare?”

“I don't know, but uh, it's looking good so far.”

“I’d have to agree with that. How about a pot of coffee?”

“I’ll get a can from the basement.”

“This place has a basement?”

“Yes, it is storage.”

“This I’ve got to see.”

“The steps are over here.”

“Why didn’t you put a blast hatch in the floor and make the basement the shelter?”

“There isn’t any room in the basement. It has a radius of 38’ so the floor is ~4,536ft².
With the 10’ ceiling, it give a volume of ~45,360ft³. Very little of that space is wasted.
The coffee is over there, grab a can.”

“What are you doing?”

“Getting the cleaning kit so I can clean the firearms.”

“I’ll clean the ones I shot if you’ll show me how.”

“Ok. We have to be very careful with the M21 since its glass bedded. I could never un-
derstand Springfield Armory’s warning. ‘This is especially true with National Match and
Super Match rifles, whose actions are glass bedded in their stocks. Unnecessary re-
moval promotes wear, sloppy fit, inaccuracy and defeats the purpose of the bedding.
Please do not field strip your match rifle unless it is absolutely necessary.’ How do you
properly clean it without disassembly?”

“If I could offer an opinion, maybe they’re suggesting to only disassemble it to clean it
after it’s been fired.”

18
“Yeah, maybe that’s it. They do comment about how to separate the action from the
stock for National and Super Match rifles.”

“Wow, how many guns do you have?”

“Lots. They’re more in the other gun vault; this is the trust vault for the firearms we own.
The other vault is the business vault so I don’t mix inventory with personal property.”

“Why?”

“The ATF doesn’t like the inventories mixed, I guess. That’s what Dad said. The class 3
log is with the class 3 inventory and the tax stamps are in a safe with the trust invento-
ry.”

“Do you always go through the ATF on all transfers to the trust?”

“Absolutely. I’m not saying I’m required to, because Dad never said. It’s better to be
safe than sorry because sorry is 10 years per count.”

“And you paid $200 for every NFA item transferred?”

“Yep. Ready to make that coffee and clean the firearms?”

“How’s that work?”

“The trust is a corporation and at the moment, I’m the sole trustee. Trustees are permit-
ted to handle the NFA items.”

“So if you married…?”

“My wife would become a trustee.”

“Want to get married?”

“WHAT?”

“I was joking.”

“Maybe in the future if it works out and I do the asking. I’m a little old fashioned.”

“Good, I think Daddy will like you.”

“How come?”

19
“You have a large ranch in Arizona with a dome home, several tons of food, guns out
the yin-yang and two business operations. What’s not to like?”

“I don’t care about your father; I’m concerned about what you think.”

“You’re growing on me.”

“After one date?”

“We could count tomorrow as a second date.”

“The filters are in the cupboard next to the Bunn coffee maker. There’s a scoop I gener-
ally use and I like 3 rounded scoops.”

I started on the handguns since she knew how to do the Browning and had her observe
the takedown of the Taurus. It was slightly different from the M1911 and one needed a
tool to depress the lock holding the barrel bushing in place. After that, the takedown was
standard. I disassembled both my handguns and started with spray CLP and a gun
cloth. Next, I soaked a bore snake with CLP and ran it through the barrel until it came
out dry. Once I had both handguns reassembled, I started on the HK416, saving the
M21 for last.

Ginger eventually caught up to me because I waited on the M21 until she was ready. I
demonstrated how to remove the action from the stock and disassembled the action.
With the parts laid out on a towel, I started cleaning each part and lubing where neces-
sary, primarily the safety mechanism which was stiff on new firearms. I’d tried lithium
grease the first time but had better results with graphite. After we had the rifles reas-
sembled, we cleaned the gas piston, making certain it was dry but there was a fine coat
of lithium grease on the threads.

After we finished, had the guns stored in the upstairs gun safe, drank most of the coffee
and cleaned up, she said, “I’ll take that drink now.”

“Rusty Nail?”

“Can you do a Daiquiri?”

“Sorry, I didn’t get the ingredients.”

“Ok, make it a Rusty Nail.”

“Now that I can do. I’ll get some ice and you can mix it to suit yourself.”

“Actually, I generally drink Johnny Walker Green label when I’m drinking straight
scotch.”

20
“I take it you don’t drink it often.”

“So you priced it?”

“Their blue label runs $200 a bottle. The name is Calvin Burgess, not James Bond. I’ll
get some Myers Rum and Bacardi Superior and Select. I’m sure the liquor store can
help me with the selections. I can see I need a bartender’s guide and a better assort-
ment of glassware.”

“Ask a bartender where they get their glassware, that’s the easiest way to find out.”

21
 The Dome Chapter 3

Darn, she’s hot. I wonder how she would react if I knocked on her door after bedtime.
Nah, I’d better not, no sense in messing up what could prove to be a good thing.

This is the first man I’ve met since Jack that’s really impressed me. For 2¢ I’d join him in
his bedroom. But I think he’s looking for a lady in his life, not some tramp that would
sleep with him the first chance she got. I’d better cool my heels and let the relationship
develop naturally. I do believe he’s impressed with me almost as much as I’m im-
pressed with him. I mean he bought a fancy dinner and a ton of booze. I’ll bet the next
time I come down he’ll be able to make any drink I ask for.

I’d better take her suggestion about the barware and get a better selection of liquor and
liqueurs. There is Galliano, Frangelico, Bailey’s Irish Crème, Kahlúa and I’m getting a
headache trying to figure it out. I’ll just buy one of everything, it’s only money. Some
stores might not carry some things so I think I’d better hit several.

“Did you enjoy dinner?”

“Do you have to ask? I’m actually happy you didn’t get the makings for a lettuce salad; it
would have been too much to eat in one setting. I barely got around what you did pre-
pare.”

“I was afraid I overdid. You don’t get a figure like yours eating as much as you did.”

“Six shrimp or 4 prawns probably would have been more my speed but it was very, very
good. You surprised me with cooking those filets by the numbers; I’ve never heard of
doing it that way.”

“They say practice makes perfect and I’ll have to admit I wasn’t familiar with the grill and
took a chance.”

“I suppose I’d better go to bed so I’m fresh for our trip to Tombstone tomorrow.”

“I’ll be right behind you as soon as I get the dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the
grill.”

“I can do that.”

“You’re company and company doesn’t do the cleanup.”

“Ok, this time. Next time I help.”

22
Next time? That answers several questions. Yee haw!

“I hope you like waffles. I have bacon and sausage, you choose.”

“Sausage.”

“It will be about 20 minutes.”

“That’s just about right, I’ll get dressed.”

I set out a Teflon coated frying pan and started the Jimmy Dean sausage on a slow fire.
I was pretty much a creature of habit. I liked Jimmy Dean ground sausage and Hormel
thick sliced bacon. I much preferred the brown eggs over the white eggs because that
was what I had been raised on. Mom was a fanatic when it came to Belgian waffles and
naturally I had a Belgian waffle iron. I started the first waffle when the sausage was
about half done so the sausage would be freshly done when the second waffle was
done.

I had already started the oven preheating to keep the waffles warm. The Vermont maple
syrup cost more but it tasted better. Mom always used Aunt Jemima. Carolyn wouldn’t
eat anything except the Vermont maple syrup. I had the second waffle cooking and just
about done when the sausage was finished. I put it on a warmed plate and pulled a
warmed plate for her waffle.

“Oh, Belgian waffles, that’s even better.”

“Be careful, I warmed the plate. The syrup I warmed is Vermont maple syrup, I hope
you like it.”

“I’ve never had it. I always bought Aunt Jemima because the Vermont maple syrup was
so expensive. Um, this has to be Jimmy Dean sausage.”

“It is. And I always use those brown eggs.”

“First class all the way.”

“It’s just regular butter.”

“Butter is butter.”

“I started a third waffle. I usually eat about one and one half.”

“I don’t know why I’m hungry this morning after the dinner you fixed. Split it?”

23
“We can do that.”

“You’re going to make me fat.”

“You don’t eat like this?”

“Quantity wise, yes, quality wise, no.”

“But, your hat is a Stetson.”

“And it should last a lifetime.”

“There is that.”

“I’ll put the second waffle on a plate to keep it warm.”

“I’m ready for the second half.”

“So you are. Coffee okay?”

“It’s Folgers.”

“Not too strong?”

“Just about right.”

“You’re too easy to please.”

“More syrup?”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s better warm and I can’t believe how good the Vermont syrup is.”

“I aim to please.”

“You’re batting 600.”

“Only 600?”

“Nobody is perfect.”

After we’d finished eating, I got up and opened the dishwasher so I could load the dish-
es after I rinsed them off. I no sooner had the water running than Ginger began to hand
me the dishes one at a time. When she was handing me the flatware, our hands

24
bumped and it was like I’d been struck by lightning. We both jerked our hands back and
were staring at each other.

“Did you feel that?”

“It felt like lightning.”

“Last night I talked myself out of spending the night in your bedroom.”

“Funny, I had a similar thought.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“I may be a little out of practice.”

“Me too, but it’s not something one forgets.”

“What about Tombstone?”

“It will be there next weekend.”

“Yeah, huh?”

We spent a very pleasant Sunday getting to know each other much, much better. Gin-
ger might have been a bit shorter and had fuller bust but she had ten times the energy
Carolyn ever had and none of the inhibitions. We finally ran out of energy around 4pm.

“I never thought this would have come from a first date.”

“Second date, Saturday was our first date. Is it okay if I pick out the rings?”

“And you told me to slow down?”

“Sometimes something is just perfect and you know to grab on and hold on for all it’s
worth.”

“I’m a bit old fashioned about some things. Ginger, will you marry me?”

“Absolutely, positively. How long does it take to get a license?”

“I don‘t have any idea. We’ll just have to play it by ear.”

25
“I’m going to get a shower and get ready for round two.”

“I guess I’d better do the same.”

“I’ll wash your back if you’ll wash mine.”

“Darn, I’m glad I had the oversized showers put in.”

On Monday we applied for a marriage license and looked for rings. Ginger bought the
wedding bands and I bought the engagement ring. Due to schedule conflicts we ended
up postponing the marriage ceremony until Friday. It also gave us time to reconsider in
case of cold feet. I got Jacob to stand up with me and Ginger persuaded a fellow Pro-
fessor (female) to stand up with her. We had decided on a Justice of Peace to perform
the ceremony and both showed up 30 minutes early. The elapsed time was 35 minutes
including 30 minutes of waiting time.

“How about we let our apartments go and move to the dome?”

“That’s about an hour commute.”

“With what we save in rent, we’ll probably be money ahead. It’s not like you’re short on
diesel or gasoline. I think I’ll keep my SUV since you have a 6 stall garage. We can
move anything we can’t live without over the weekend or the following. I’ll call my folks
and let them know we got married. They will no doubt want to meet you but since they
winter in Phoenix, they’ll probably wait. Daddy can bring down my rifle and pistol when
they come down.”

“That miserable excuse of an apartment I have is on month to month and except for my
clothes and a few possessions the furnishings are junk. I think I’ll have Goodwill clean it
out. I can hire a cleaning service to clean it up after that and get my deposit back.”

“My apartment is a little better than that, but aside from my clothing, my stereo, big
screen TV and mementos, there’s nothing I want. Maybe you can get a deal on cleaning
up both.”

“I’m not rich but I’m certainly not poor. I can spring for both.”

“I knew I married you for a good reason.”

“I thought it was because of my staying power.”

“That too.”

26
I dropped her off to pack her suitcases and head to my apartment to do the same. We
met back up about 90 minutes later and headed toward Tucson. We managed to visit
the entire drive and learned even more about each other, mainly likes and dislikes. I’d
shopped the liquor stores during the week and I think I had one of every kind in liqueurs
and at least two of every kind of liquor. I’d made a trip down mid-week to finish stocking
the bar. It looked like a lifetime supply.

On Thursday night I’d done the grocery shopping and when we went down Friday even-
ing my 250 quart cooler was full. I’d called ahead on the meat and had a dozen New
York strips, a dozen filets and 20 pounds of 8% ground beef in one pound packages. I
also picked up a 20 pound bag of baking potatoes from Costco, and a 10 pound bag of
red potatoes. I got an assortment of salad dressings, croutons, cheese, bacon bits and
3 premixed bags of lettuce. I didn’t really like the premixed stuff because of the chemi-
cals but a healthy dose of water would remove most of it.

So, aside from my 3 suitcases and cooler and the odds and ends groceries the back of
the Suburban was relatively empty. Ginger had 3 suitcases and a makeup case. We’d
come back up on Saturday, maybe, and move the first load of possessions. I was think-
ing maybe a small U-Haul and she was thinking a large U-Haul.

After we arrived, the first issue that came up was something to eat. She saw the ground
beef and whipped up a meatloaf with baked potatoes and lettuce salad. I unloaded the
Suburban and got instructions on where to put her things. The suitcases went into the
Master bedroom but she told me she’d unpack them. After dinner, I cleaned up the
kitchen while she unpacked her clothing.

Apparently Ginger was big fan of Victoria’s Secrets. Her night wear left nothing to the
imagination and was all silk and I mean even her hose was silk… thigh tops with gar-
ters. She caught me looking and told me she didn’t own anything that wasn’t silk, except
for her western wear. It may cost more but was extremely durable. I noticed a couple of
ball gowns and made a note to pick up black tie and white tie tuxedos.

I was tired and more than ready for a drink and asked her what she wanted.

“Jack Black and Squirt.”

“Come here and see how well the bar is stocked.”

“I noticed. Nonetheless I’m in the mood for Jack Black and Squirt, tall.”

“Is that what you drink the most of?”

“Most of the time, yes.”

“Remind me to pick up 2 cases of Jack Black and 6 cases of Squirt.”

27
The Playboy Clubs poured 12 ounce drinks with 1½ ounces of liquor and I felt safe do-
ing the same.

“My period is due to start mid-week so after we have our drinks, we better shower and
consummate our marriage. I’m one of those who avoid sex when I’m on my period, it’s
just too messy. Thankfully they never run over 7 days and usually 6.”

“I don’t have any supplies.”

“I do and we’re going back to Phoenix tomorrow and I’ll pick up a larger than normal
stock of Tampax and Always Maxi-pads and party-liners. I might as well get more KY
lubricant while I’m at it. Do you want condoms?”

“You might pick up a couple of boxes. Pick whatever you want.”

“What size?”

“Whatever you think.”

“Okay, large. Choice of brands?”

“I suppose Trojans would be okay.”

“Two boxes or a gross?”

“I didn’t know they came by the gross.”

“Well, I always bought them by the dozen but they have a shelf life and I can’t begin to
tell you how many boxes of expired condoms I’ve discarded. Never found anyone I
wanted to share that with.”

“I didn’t either.”

“I could tell.”

We finished our drinks and washed each other’s backs. While she was drying her hair, I
changed the bedding in the Master bedroom and the guest room she used the previous
weekend. I just added the bedding to the basket of dirty laundry.

“How long did it take you to grow your hair that long?”

“It’s about 15” long and has taken years. I periodically have a beauty shop trim the split
ends. And it’s my natural color.”

“I noticed. How do you trim you know?”

28
“I use a moustache trimmer. It keeps the hair reasonably short and eliminates odors.
Give me a few of minutes and I’ll be ready.”

When she returned, she was carrying something.

“Okay, do you know what this is?”

“A personal massager?”

“That’s one name for it. You get me started off and I’ll take over from there.”

Over the course of the evening I learned about the personal massager, and why she
bought the KY lubricant. This was going to be very interesting. After using the KY lubri-
cant, she’d excuse herself, retuning in a few minutes. We called for a break at midnight
due to exhaustion. We then curled up and slept like we were dead.

The next morning I woke to the smell of freshly brewed Folgers.

“How about biscuits, sausage gravy and eggs to order.”

“I can do that, I need my strength.”

“Sure couldn’t tell that last night.”

“You aren’t sore?”

“Why should I be, I had the KY lubricant. That said we’d better slow down before we kill
ourselves from exhaustion.”

We were slow getting around and showered after breakfast. She said she called her
parents and they decided to wait to come down until their regular time, October 1 st. Both
had a million questions and she’d only given them the high points like my age, that I
was a widower, ran 2 businesses and so forth.

“Now, I have question. Have you ever given any thought to ranching? With the proper
irrigation, you could grow a lot of grass and raise beef. Your firearms business is based
here and you could sell the Ready Mix business to raise the necessary capital.”

“I only own half the Ready Mix business and Mom the other half. She’s not active in the
business but gets half the profits.”

“How well do the two of you get along?”

29
“At the moment, not that well. After Carolyn was murdered she wanted nothing to do
with the firearms business and eventually we had her removed as a trustee. In fact the
last time I talked to her she said she was contemplating getting remarried. I haven’t
talked to her in months… no, make that over a year. After the tax returns are filed, I
simply make a direct deposit in her checking account and mail her a copy of the income
statement, balance sheet and tax return. It’s a corporation and she doesn‘t even have to
sign the tax return.”

“If you decide it’s something you might be interested in, perhaps you should contact her
and discuss the matter.”

“I’ll do that before we drive up.”

“I told you I was from the St. Louis area. Did you assume I was a city girl?”

“I guess maybe I did, why do you ask?”

“I’m a farm girl, born and raised. Daddy farms a section raising grains and livestock. We
have beef, dairy, hogs and chickens. Mom taught me canning and sewing. What I didn’t
learn about cooking in High School Home Economics, she taught me. I can hold my
own with the best of them. And don’t you dare say ‘and she cooks too’.”

“Wow.”

“Wow what?”

“Just wow, you’re full of surprises.”

“Have you ever tasted home canned beef?”

“Never.”

“Mister, are you in for a surprise.”

“Let me give Mom a ring.”

“Good morning Mom… No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth… Well, I got married this
past Friday… Ginger and I think you’ll really like her… Mom it’s been six years… Oh,
you did, when… then why are you on my case for doing the same thing… You married
who? But he’s a competitor… Do you think he’d be interested in buying my share of the
Ready Mix… Oh he has… Why didn’t you let me know… I’m thinking about developing
the ranch and maybe raising cattle… No, I don’t know anything about the livestock
business but Ginger does… outside of St. Louis… No, she has a PhD and teaches
Economics at ASU… Yes we’re coming up today to move a few things… Oh, I built a
home on the ranch… Actually I did build that dome we discussed… Well, you still have

30
a place if the need arises… Okay, we’ll do lunch… Which Perkins… Got it, Apache
Junction near the SAS store… Okay, one o’clock. Bye.”

“Did you follow that?”

“Do I need to change?”

“You look just fine and Perkins doesn’t have a dress code. If we can come to terms, her
new husband is interested in buying me out. I always thought he was an idiot and this
pretty much proves it, the way business has been falling off.”

“I didn’t think to ask. This solitaire is something to behold and huge. How much did it set
you back?”

“That’s 1.01 carat flawless color D in a perfect round brilliant cut investment grade dia-
mond. I paid for it in US gold Eagles that I bought in 2002. It cost more than a pound.”

“I’m almost afraid to wear it.”

“Wear it today at least, I want to see the expression Mom’s face when you show it to
her.”

“You’re awful.”

“Sometimes, I can be. One of the reasons I lived in one bedroom dump was that it al-
lowed me to cut my expenses to the bone. Sure, the price of gold has gone up since
2002 but I just kept buying in reduced quantities as the price rose. Plus my retirement is
in silver and gold US Eagles.”

“You’re rich?”

“Comfortable before I met you. Now, I’m rich with you in my life.”

“We’ll have to keep our precious metals separate since what one owns before marriage
isn’t community property in most cases. Great minds think alike and I’ve been buying
gold and silver since I started teaching at ASU.”

“You make that much?”

“An Associate Professor earns good money.”

“You’re tenured?”

“For the last year and a half. I did 4 years as an Assistant Professor and was tenured in
the minimum permitted time.”

31
On the way up, I thought about the ranch. It was 2 miles wide by 1½ miles deep. The
math was simple, 7 miles. I knew that hog wire came in 330’ rolls and barbed wire in
1,320’ spools. Two strands of barbed wire for 7 miles meant 56 spools of barbed wire
and if I used hog wire on the whole distance, it would take 112 rolls. I also knew that
hog wire cost a lot more than barbed wire. Maybe the solution was to only fence a small
area for hogs and run 3 or 4 strands of barbed wire for the cattle. If Ginger wanted
horses, we could fence 40 acres or so with wooden fences or even horse fence it they
made such a thing. So, if we fenced 80 acres for horses and skipped the hog wire it
should about even out. I had a lot to learn.

“Mom, Ginger… Ginger, my mother Marilyn. Fred, Ginger… Ginger, Fred Logan.”

“Would you look at that rock! Are you sure you haven’t been dipping into corporate
funds, Calvin?”

“No Mom and you know we have the books audited. You’ve seen that dump I lived in. If
you don’t spend your money, you have it when you want to buy something nice.”

“Selling many firearms?”

“Haven’t sold many since I moved the business to the ranch and I sold those to the
trust. The only reason I’m keeping the class 3 license is to acquire more firearms for the
trust.”

“How’s business been Cal?”

“You should know Fred, housing starts are off. We’re still profitable at the moment.”

“Your mother said you might be interest in selling.”

“Only if I get what my half is worth. You’ll have to work your own deal with Mom.”

“I was thinking 500 for your half.”

“You’re kidding, right? A million.”

“You can’t be serious with the business the way it has been.”

“You not only get the assets and the goodwill, you pick up a good customer list.”

“Six.”

“Nine fifty.”

32
“Seven is about as far as I can go.”

“Nine.”

“Split the difference at 800?”

“You have a deal at 800. Have your attorney draw up the papers and give them to my
attorney to look over.”

“I’ll need a covenant.”

“Not a problem, I’m switching to ranching.”

I didn’t bother to tell him I would have accepted 750.

33
 The Dome Chapter 4

“How are you going to do that Calvin, that’s bare desert?”

“Fence it and irrigate. We should be able to grow ample hay once we have water. We’ll
fence 80 acres specifically for horses and hogs and the remainder of that section minus
the 20 acre homestead for cattle grazing. That will leave 2 sections to grow hay and
what we don’t use, we can sell.”

“Are you going to do dairy?”

“Marilyn, we’ll probably only keep one Black Angus cow for milking and dry up the rest
when the calves are weaned. We’ll probably raise maybe 120 Rhode Island Reds for
eggs and meat.”

“You teach; where will you find the time?”

“I’ll be resigning at the end of the school year. One person can’t handle a ranch that
size. My father raised cattle, dairy, hogs and chickens. My brother and I were regular
field hands during the summer except when I was helping my mother with canning.”

“I suppose you learned to shoot too.”

“Mom, she’s not Annie Oakley yet, but I have high hopes.”

“You know, I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. Ready to go Fred?”

“But…”

“Now, Fred.”

“My attorney will draw up the papers and get them to your attorney Cal. I’m sorry about
lunch, but you know your mother.”

“Yes Fred, I do know my mother.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Calvin?”

“Nothing Mom, just go.”

“Well, I never…”

“No, probably not.”

34
“I see what you mean about how you get along with your mother. I’m hungry; I think I’ll
have the Club sandwich and fries.”

“I’ll have the same. Let me flag the waitress.”

“Ready to order?”

“Two Club sandwiches with fries.”

“What would you like to drink?”

“Is iced tea okay Ginger?”

“Iced tea is fine.”

“Now Cal, the old expression used to be barefoot in the winter and pregnant in the
summer. I was thinking pregnant after canning season so I’d be free for the next can-
ning season. We’ll probably need a hired hand and maybe his wife could clean house
and provide child care. The most economical housing would probably be a manufac-
tured home. I noticed the power system is capable of about 200 amps at 240 volts. We
may need to add PV panels to a barn and a wind turbine. You only have the single bank
of the submarine batteries?”

“Yes, just the one; I should probably double or triple that. That is about all we have room
for.”

“They look heavy.”

“About half a ton each wet. More batteries would actually increase their efficiency by as
much as 20 to 30 percent. The inverters last quite some time and I have spares, just in
case. There’s room to fill the rack.”

“You plan ahead.”

“A person has to.”

“Would you object to putting up the fancy rings and wearing simple gold bands for
work?”

“I was thinking the same thing but didn’t want to bring it up.”

“We’ll do that before we get the U-Haul and I’ll buy considering how much the engage-
ment ring cost you, probably just 10 or 14 carat.”

35
“Ten carat is probably the most practical for daily wear and 18 carat is more for dress
up.”

“Yellow gold for daily wear and the white gold for dress up?”

“Do they make horse fencing?”

“Yes, they do and if I recall correctly, there’s a non-climb horse fence that’s 60” high that
comes in 200’ rolls.”

“T posts enough?”

“Actually we’d be better off if every third post was cedar with doubled posts with diago-
nals at the corners. I’ll pitch in and we can hire the fence put in while we’re getting wells
drilled. I’m not opposed to dowsing if the well driller prefers to dowse. Just make sure
the driller guarantees the water volume. We may need 1 well per section. How large is
the well you had put in?”

“It’s a 12” inch well with a high volume pump. I was thinking of grading out a pond and
lining it with bentonite as reserve water for firefighting although I have a 10,000 gallon
cistern.”

“You plan big, 80,000 gallons of diesel, 20,000 gallons of premium unleaded, 10,000
gallons of kerosene and 30,000 gallons of propane. Why did you get 10,000 gallons of
kerosene?”

“I’ll use it as an anti-gel for the diesel. However, I didn’t get kerosene; I got #1 diesel
since the large tanks contain #2 diesel. Up north the distributors blend in #1 diesel dur-
ing the cold months. Kerosene lacks the lubricity. By the way, the diesel is untaxed so
we’ll only pump it in an emergency. I was planning on putting in another tank for taxed
diesel.”

“Do you smoke?”

“No, the cigarettes are trade goods I bought at the reservation and no I didn’t pay the
extra tax. That’s why they’re sealed in plastic so they don’t dry out. I bought Marlboros,
Kools, and Pall Malls unfiltered for the various preferences. If we get into a situation
where cigarettes are traded, people will take what’s available. The reason people get in
trouble over untaxed cigarettes is because someone sees them with the untaxed
smokes.

“I bought a multi-fuel dispenser pump and it’s connected to the gas but not the #2. That
leaves the second setting for the taxed #2.”

“I sometimes have a cigarette when I get really stressed. The nicotine hits me like a
sledge hammer.”

36
“We’ll have to come up with something better.”

“We have. Okay, that finishes what I have and there’s probably room for what you
have.”

“What about the food?”

“I’ll get some boxes and box it up. I’m going to have to drive for a few days to tie up
loose ends. I already gave notice on the apartment. I thought I was still on the lease but
it seems I forgot to sign it so I was on month to month.”

“I gave notice too and I managed to haul my food down the night I took the liquor down.”

“I swear you got one of everything.”

“Only the liqueurs. I got a minimum of 2 of the liquors. I’ll keep an eye on the bottles and
whenever one is half empty, I’ll buy a replacement. Don’t let me forget to get another 2
cases of Jack Black and 6 cases of Squirt.”

“It doesn’t seem like you drink a lot.”

“Oh, I don’t. Dad drank too much and I think that’s what caused the pancreatic cancer.”

“I didn’t see any Canadian whisky.”

“I didn’t buy any, should I?”

“Daddy prefers Crown Royal rocks but generally drinks 7 and 7.”

“Remind me when we get to the liquor store. I’ll get Seagram’s Seven and Crown Royal
both. I should probably add a case of Seven-up.”

It took all of 30 minutes to get the things I hadn’t moved from my apartment. While I was
there, I called Goodwill and arranged a pick up. Then I stopped by the manager’s office
and told him about the Goodwill pick up and the cleaning service and ask if he would let
them in. It wasn’t a problem.

Our last stop was the liquor store and I bought 2 cases of Jack Black plus 2 bottles of
Seagram’s Seven and Crown Royal. He had the Seven-up in stock but only 2 cases of
Squirt. I took one case and ask him to order 5 more, paying in advance.

It was well we got the 6×12 enclosed trailer. It wasn’t over packed but was full enough
that nothing would slip. We made one last stop and Ginger picked up her feminine hy-
giene products, the KY lubricant and the condoms. Fortunately, she bought the feminine

37
hygiene products by the case and I managed to get them to the Suburban without get-
ting totally embarrassed. Hey, it had been a while, what can I say?

It took 6 weeks to close the sale of the business. In my case it merely meant handing
over the shares of stock, signing my name several times and accepting the cashier’s
check. I put 500 in the bank and the other 300 in fractional gold Eagles. Those went into
my ‘Retirement Account’. It wasn’t a 401k or any form of IRA. It was simply set aside in
the safe with the other “Retirement Account’ gold and silver. I suppose the closest it
came to being a conventional retirement account was a no limit Roth account as it was
mostly post-tax dollars. At least it wasn’t rolled up twenties in a coffee can.

Once I had the money, I contracted with a fence company for the fences, hired a well
driller, the same guy I used the first time, and a bought 2 Gators to get around the
ranch. When those projects were completed, I checked my bank balances and had a
barn and grain bins put in. Ginger paid the same contractor to put in a chicken house
and I got to put in the chicken wire. That was all T posts except at the corners and the
gate which got cedar posts (one at each corner, one extra at the gate, which was in a
corner).

We got one of the grain bins filled with a feed mixture sufficient for the horses (COB).
The second bin got 5 tons of cattle/hog/chicken feed. I planned to wait until there was a
need before filling the other grain bin with alfalfa pellets.

One stall in the 6 stall, 2 story block garage housed the used utility tractor I bought
along with a plow and straight disk. I also stored the Troy-bilt rototiller in there since it
was my gardening equipment. I put up racks to hold the rakes, shovels, hoes, etc.

The generators were exercised every other week, taking turns and once up to speed,
they switched over to pull the load and top off the battery banks as required. We had to
do the PV panels on the barn in sections due to the cost. I didn’t realize it at the time,
but it would take a year to complete that project. We did get the second wind turbine in
before starting the PV panel project. The extra inverters were added when we bought
the batteries, one bank at a time.

The barn was double layer construction with compacted soil fill and single Swiss double
leaf blast doors on each end. It had 6’ of soil on top, too. In addition to the blast doors,
we bought another pair of AV-300s and 4 sets of replacement filters. The ends had the
outer wall constructed of 10” concrete. While we were at it, I got Jacob to install a tunnel
between the barn and dome basement using preformed concrete pedestrian underpass.

We put in a small garden the first time, primarily to see how much it produced in the Ari-
zona heat. I hurriedly added netting when the sun began to cook it along with a misting
system. I actually did the work on the pond with that utility tractor and a blade. It was
only about 15’ deep in the middle and wasn’t exactly rounded. We hired the bentonite

38
installation. After empting the cistern into the pond slowly, I waited for the cistern to refill
and ran a 1½” hose to continually add water until the pond filled.

We waited until the water temperature stabilized and decided to add Blue Tilapia since
they were the most resistant to low temperatures. When I looked them up, the article
said they liked duckweed. So I contacted the Phoenix water department about the fish
and duckweed. They agreed sell me some fish and told me where to get duckweed
seed. Once I had the duckweed established, I could pick up the fish.

Time seemed to fly and we somehow we’re in the run ups to the 2012 elections. Specif-
ically it was late August, 2011.

“I’m pregnant.”

“What do you want, a boy or a girl?”

“Yes. I just want a baby and the timing is right because I just finished canning.”

“And you didn’t mind that you gave up teaching?”

“Do you mean the commute, the drudge and those snotty kids? You’re kidding right?
Tell me you’re kidding.”

“Just checking. I’ve been checking our finances and I think gold has temporarily peaked
at $1,900. I’m going to sell off some of the latest purchases fairly soon and flush up our
bank account. So far the only livestock we have is that one Black Angus cow we milk
and her calf that won’t be big enough to butcher for another year at the earliest. We
butchered all but a dozen of the chickens and won’t have more until pullet season next
spring. We may not buy beef until spring but as soon as the current round of pigs is
weaned, we should buy some hogs. I don’t suppose there is any particular time to buy
horses in a state like Arizona. Do you have any preference on breed?”

“The American Quarter Horse is well known both as a race horse and for its perfor-
mance in rodeos, horse shows and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the
American Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required
in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding
events, especially those involving live cattle. That’s what I would pick for a cattle opera-
tion.

“There are two main body types: the stock type and the hunter or racing type. The stock
horse type is shorter, more compact, stocky and well-muscled, yet agile. The racing and
hunter type Quarter Horses are somewhat taller and smoother muscled than the stock
type, more closely resembling the Thoroughbred. We have to be sure to get the stock
type. I would think 4 mares and 4 geldings to start with. That barn you had built will easi-
ly handle 2 dozen horses. You held off on filling the other grain bin and it should be filled
alfalfa pellets.

39
“Tack is a whole different subject. We probably want fairly plain double rigged western
saddles with sturdy breast collars and quarter horse trees. I’m not really sure how we
balance between the various types but we should consider roping saddles because they
have thicker horns. I would definitely want tapaderos. I think saddlebags, pommel bags
and rifle scabbards would be optional. I heard somewhere that Marlin lever actions are
falling off in quality and currently Winchester isn’t making lever action rifles.

“You see the occasional rattlesnake and perhaps having a firearm while riding wouldn’t
be a bad idea. That one author you bought the CD from seems to think the way to go is
.45 Colt and .45-70 since both were black powder cartridges. Knowing you, we’ll just
end up with pallets of factory ammo if we get those. If you’re buying used, get Ruger
Vaqueros, not the New Vaqueros. The original was built on the Blackhawk frame and
will handle full power cartridges, assuming you can find them. And, you definitely want
good lariats. I think we bought those from Saddle Barn. They sell saddles too, but you
have to be sure of the size you need. I recommend buying those local.”

“So, we’ll have to wait for the horse to finish growing before we buy?”

“No, we’ll look for horses that are broken to saddle and at least four years old. My
choice would be five year olds. We should also buy mares that are with foal. We’ll prob-
ably use an outside stud rather than tying up all that much in a single horse.”

“I bought a CD from Jerry D Young and one from Tired Old Man, which one do you
mean?”

“TOM is the gun freak and he seems to think the M1A is the best rifle there is. Since you
have 18, you must agree.”

“Dad bought those, but I agree. You never said anything about claiming your rifles,
shotgun and pistols when you out shot me.”

“I didn’t have to, you made me a trustee. Why didn’t you buy me a Tac-50?”

“Do you have any idea how much those cost?”

“Around ten thousand?”

“By the time you add the suppressor, night vision rail, Night Vision, extra magazines and
spare parts you’re way over twenty. Then you have to buy the ammo at $6 a round.
Thank God I get most things wholesale.”

“How much did you buy?”

40
“Over a half ton, 4,000 rounds. And it’s time to reorder so I’ll have to buy 6,000 rounds.
As soon as I have the proceeds from the gold sale, I’ll order your rifle and us the am-
mo.”

“Did you save the brass?”

“Of course.”

“Buy the bullets from Hornady and get someone to reload it.”

“It would be cheaper to sell the brass to a reloader and buy new ammo wholesale.”

“Then do that.”

I sold 1,000oz of gold at ~$1,900 to pad the checkbook ($1,900,000 minus fees). After
setting aside enough for the taxes using LIFO, I ordered her rifle but they’d gone up
$1,000. Everything was going up and we were barely out of the recession. Now we had
Obamacare and it was anyone’s guess what would follow that. He struck some deal
with Congress that I didn’t get the details of but it was forward looking and would begin
to kick-in in 2013. I bought the gold back during May of 2012 at ~$1,550, net profit
$350,000, minus fees. There’s luck and there’s dumb luck. I like luck of any flavor.

We had a son and we named him James Robert after our fathers. A shade over 8
pounds and a set of lungs you could hear halfway across Phoenix.

Speaking of father’s, I had been really worried about meeting Robert (call me Bob). That
was especially true considering how short our engagement was. I broke the ice with the
bottle of Crown Royal on ice. It sounds sort of poetic when one says it that way. He had
a few words to say about Jack and sort of gave me the evil eye. I told him my name was
Calvin (call me Cal) and if Jack wasn’t already dead, I’d use him for target practice. Her
mother’s name was Alice.

The topic turned to firearms and we got into a discussion. He was TOM fan, don’t you
know. He liked Jerry’s stories but didn’t care for the boxy looking PTR-91 or semi-auto
shotguns. When he’d finished his inspection, he had a question.

“Cal, where are your radios?”

“We have CBs in both vehicles and a base station.”

“No, I meant your amateur radios and business radios. That fancy mast you have will
take a rotor for beams and a vertical on top. They sell standoffs for your CB antenna,
business band antenna and an all band antenna like a D-130J Discone. There are three

41
major radio brands and they’re all Japanese, Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood. I’m partial to
the Kenwood T-2000 all band radio and you can mount them in a vehicle but they’re
mainly base stations.

“Cushcraft was the big name in beams for years, but I’m impressed with that Mosley
line. I’ve been looking at their PRO-57-B40, PRO-67-C-3 and their PRO-96. If I do
change over, I’ll probably go with the Pro-96.

“The Kenwood’s run around $1,500 and the business radios maybe $300-400. You can
add a scanning receiver to the D-130J since it’s an all frequency antenna. You can
transmit on it too since I think it’s rated at 100 watts. How tall is that tower, 75’?”

“No, the tower is 85’. What about licenses?”

“Ginger has an Extra Class and you can get a Technician will just a little study. They
dropped the code requirement about 10 years back so it’s mostly memorization and us-
ing a calculator for the Extra Class. You seem fairly bright and she can help you. Is
money a problem?”

“Not at the moment. That reminds me. Since Alice and you spend half the year in Phoe-
nix, if something really big goes down, head here. Just keep a few changes of clothes
packed so you can leave at the drop of a hat.”

“You one of those Survivalists or Preppers?”

“More the latter; maybe I should show you the basement.”

“Wow, how much food do you have?”

“Five years of long term storage food for 7 people. Plus another year of short term food
supplies… what we regularly eat. There are two wind turbines with a combined output of
100kw plus enough PV panels for another 50kw but we’ll add more to get those to
100kw. Beside that we have 2 50kw diesel generators. That barn is concrete filled block
with plenty of rebar. It’s actually 2 block walls, one inside the other and the 60” space
between the walls is filled with compacted soil. There are 3 12” wells with high capacity
pumps.”

“Is it radiation proof? Who lives in that trailer?”

“Our hired man and his wife and kids live in the manufactured housing. He helps with
livestock and she cleans the dome. She will also provide childcare for Ginger when
needed. Yes, I tried to make barn relatively radiation proof. I didn’t install air locks like
the dome has. I did install the same doors as the dome but only one set on each end.
They’re left open for the most part and regular barn doors are used instead. Those
things are heavy once they’re filled with concrete.”

42
“Can any beef yet?”

“No, but I’m looking forward to it.”

“Ginger has a way about canning beef; you’re in for a real treat.”

“I understand you have a M1A. Which model do you have?”

“The standard model with a scope. Why, do you have one?”

“One, no… we have 18. There are 12 Loadeds and 6 Super Match actions that have
been converted to M21s.”

“Is that the high priced Tactical rifle?”

“Yes. Dad had them built before he died of pancreatic cancer. Would you like to try
one?”

“Tomorrow, maybe; alcohol and gunpowder don’t mix well. How did the two of you
meet?”

“I hate to admit it but we met in a bar. Ginger is attractive and I offered to buy her a
drink. I told her I lived in Phoenix but had a home halfway between Phoenix and Tuc-
son. She asked if it was a ranch house and I suggested she could decide if it was a
ranch house or something else.”

“It is definitely something else. Why did you build a dome?”

“A dome is second strongest structure there is with a full sphere being the strongest.
They are becoming popular for commercial uses and some homes are being built as
domes or modified domes. The reason for the basement was to provide a better footing
for the dome and more storage space. The basement has a little over 45,000 cubic feet.
Ginger was surprised at how much coffee I store. I date it with a magic marker when it’s
added to the shelf and there are never less than 300 48oz cans. It’s a little more than
one can per week for five years, giving us some trade goods.

“I don’t smoke but tobacco will be another thing in short supply should something hap-
pen so I have 300 cartons of three brands, Marlboros, Kools and Pall Malls. Those
came from the Reservation and I know the guy so I got them without paying the $4 Ari-
zona tax per carton.”

“Combined?”

“Each.”

“I take it you’re wealthy.”

43
“I got lucky and bought gold and silver back in early 2002 using half the insurance pro-
ceeds from the policy on my first wife. She was murdered during a holdup of a Circle K.
They were large policies and had a double indemnity clause. Double indemnity applies
for accidents and murder. She was murdered September 13, 2001 and it took a while
for them to pay off. The double indemnity portion paid for the precious metals and the
other half for part of the cost of the dome.”

“Expensive?”

“It came in under 2 million including everything except for the extra we added since and
plan to add. That would be a third bank of submarine batteries, the remaining PV panels
and a few more inverters. We buy the inverters when we buy the battery banks.”

“You’re totally off the grid here aren’t you?”

“Yes we are. The reason we’re adding more capacity to the system is to have enough to
power both homes and the outbuildings. Each battery bank contains 168,000 amps at
full charge. With 3 banks we’ll have 504,000 amps available. The banks are 48 volt
banks yielding over 24 megawatts. At low usage rates the batteries are more efficient
putting out 120-130 percent of capacity which should more than cover the inverter inef-
ficiencies. Assuming we draw 100 amps at 240 volts we can go years on one battery
charge.”

“Isn’t that overkill?”

“It probably is. Have you ever heard expression would you rather have it and not need it
or need it and not have it?”

“Is that a prepper expression?”

“Yes it is. We have over 40 rifles including 24 select fire rifles. I have a McMillan Tac-50
which is a .50 caliber rifle and just shy of 4,000 rounds of ammo. All of our ammo except
for pistol ammo is match grade. There are almost 5 full pallets of ammo not counting the
shotgun shells. We’re ready for most anything that could come our way.”

“You two get washed up for supper.”

“You can use the powder room over there Bob and I’ll use the Master bath.”

Dinner consisted of Caesar salads, shrimp cocktails, filets and baked potatoes with din-
ner rolls. We had shrimp rather than prawns because the shrimp were on sale and the
prawns weren’t. In case you missed it, that Saturday I first cooked for Ginger, I forgot to
heat the dinner rolls.

44
The second day we went shooting and I pulled one of the new M21s for Bob to sight in
and shoot. I honestly think he fell in love with that rifle and I tagged it with a tag with his
name on it when I put it away. He definitely liked the Kimbers and got his own the same
way. I put a tag on the 4th M21 with Alice on it and did the same on a Hi-Power after
checking with Ginger. They left to return to Phoenix the following day.

Winchester came out with new lever action rifles in .45 Colt, the model 1892, and .45-
70, the model 1886. They were expensive at retail but being a dealer took out the sting
and I bought 8 of each. Thing about it was I could hold onto them and sell them later for
more than MSRP, so I considered them an investment. I bought early and got the mod-
els with the 24” barrels before they sold out.

To my way of thinking, a 24” barrel defined a rifle and a 20” barrel defined a carbine. A
rifle produces, for the most part, a higher bullet velocity and better range. Getting 8 of
each was quite the catch because of the new Limited series, Winchester made only 251
of each caliber with the 20-inch barrels in 2008, and just 251 of each caliber with 24-
inch barrels. That’s a direct quote from The American Rifleman.

45
 The Dome Chapter 5

From the outset, our hired man, Hank, and his wife, Julie, were equipped with Loaded
M1As, a PT1911B and Browning Hi-Power, respectively, and 590A1s including the bay-
onets. Hank had a very good knowledge of horseflesh and went with Ginger and me to
pick out 4 geldings, 4 mares and later the tack. Fortunately, he had the skills to shoe
horses and he commanded a slightly higher wage because of it.

With the horses out of the way, we finally made the trip to Tombstone a month after I
met her parents. We were able to buy 4 very nice Ruger Vaqueros in .45 Colt. The
dealer knew me and told me that they didn’t have many rounds through them because
the 2 guys that bought them said they were awkward. He also gave a professional dis-
count when I showed him I brought a copy of my FFL. We only bought 2 gun belts since
I didn’t get Hank or Julie’s measurements.

I gave him the revolvers and one box of full power cartridges and $200 to get gun leath-
er. Then, I ordered a pallet of full power .45 Colt ammo. I bought Buffalo Bore .45 Colt
+P Deer Grenade rated at 1526 fps from a Ruger Vaquero Large Frame pre-2006, 5½
inch barrel. Since I considered the revolver essentially an anti-snake gun the first 3
rounds were those .45 Colt shot shells (CCI Blazer shotshell ammo) with 3 more in the
cartridge loops. I only got a case of those. I had only seen a couple of snakes but re-
membered the well driller had told me he’d seen plenty moving away from his drilling rig
when he’d stopped to set it up.

I’m back to the present now, but I thought I should mention the first time I met Bob and
Alice. Alice held off on going back to Missouri this year (2012) because Ginger was so
close to her due date. She ooh’d and ahh’d and held James when Ginger needed to go
to the bathroom. I was still learning ride those horses we’d bought way back when. I’d
tried 3 of the geldings because the geldings were supposed to be easier to get along
with.

The fourth horse would be next and Hank assured me I’d be able to ride it. He told me
once I got over my fear, I could ride any of the geldings. He went on to say the mares
could be more temperamental and I should stick to the geldings for the moment. He had
the fourth gelding saddled and I was angry over entire situation. I marched to the horse,
jammed my left foot into the left stirrup and hauled my right leg over and into the right
stirrup and yelled “hah”. The horse took off at a moderate pace and we got along just
fine.

After about 20 minutes, I was back at the paddock and Hank had #1 saddled and wait-
ing. Convinced I could ride, I treated that horse the same way I’d treated #4. He balked
once and took off at a moderate pace when my heels hit his side. Number 2 and #3
must have noticed and I experienced very little trouble when I rode them in turn.

46
“I told you, you could ride.”

“You’re right; I got over being afraid and was angry. Please don’t tell the horses I was
angry at myself.”

“Yeah, boss, I won’t tell them,” Hank chuckled.

We usually let Hank take farrier jobs on the weekends if we weren’t doing something
else. He never said which organization certified him. He did tell me he was certified at
level 2. He seemed to know his way around the horses, forge and anvil. The horse-
shoes we used were manufactured shoes adjusted to the individual horses.

Most of lariats we bought were the 35’ variety of 7∕16” scant nylon rope but we bought a
pair of the 45’ ropes of the same diameter. They were almost too big a coil to carry and
there was no real reason to carry ropes that size 95% of the time. We let Hank decide
on the saddles once we gave him the general criteria that Ginger and I had discussed.

We probably want fairly plain double rigged western saddles with sturdy breast collars
and quarter horse trees. We should consider roping saddles because they have thicker
horns. I would definitely want tapaderos. I think saddlebags, pommel bags and rifle
scabbards would be optional. Actually, she discussed and I listened, but that’s pretty
much a quote. We selected dark brown for color and unembellished oiled leather.

I told Hank to get the 11×14 saddlebags and scabbards for 4 of each rifle. Most saddle
rifles were carbines with 20” barrels so we ended up ordering the scabbards from Lare-
do. Darn, the money goes fast when a person gets involved in firearms and ammo. But,
go figure, we had 10 spare Loaded M1As with 10 25 round magazines per with bipods,
scope mounts, EOTech sights, suppressors and slings. In a PAW, it would be a seller’s
market and each would bring an easy 3 ounces or more of gold and the surplus ammo I
happened upon at 45¢/round could easily bring $1/round, or more.

A lot of what existed here on the ranch existed before I met Ginger. Anything missing
came not long after we met. It was a darn short engagement, 6 days. I bought the en-
gagement ring after she said yes which happened before I asked. Ginger bought the
wedding rings and the rings for everyday wear. We really meshed. A funny thing about
gardening is that it must cause pregnancies.

“I finished canning.”

“Good.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“That sounds familiar, are the two connected?”

“Two is a coincidence and three is a tubal.”

47
“Good, there only 3 bedrooms on the third floor.”

“Plus two more on the second.”

“But we’d lose our privacy. The walls are insulated, but still…”

“I can’t help it when you get me going.”

“We’ll think of something.”

My remaining firearms inventory was “sold” to the trust the day after Ginger announced
her pregnancy. I had a plan in mind when I received the tax stamps.

Barack beat Mitt but that wasn’t the biggest news because on December 14 th, 20-year-
old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members in a mass mur-
der at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Con-
necticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza had shot and killed his mother Nancy at
their Newtown home. As first responders arrived, he committed suicide by shooting
himself in the head.

Every person who had an objection to firearms came out of the woodwork. The Vice
President began raising questions geared to either an assault weapons ban or total
weapons ban. Surprised at getting the tax stamps, I decided it was time to get out of the
firearm selling business and contacted the ATF about surrendering my license.

The stamps were safely tucked away in the safe in the trust armory. I did some switch-
ing around and made one vault the armory and the second the treasury for our gold and
silver. If you’ve followed what I’ve said, you should have an approximate idea how much
I have. I put a 2 drawer fireproof file cabinet in the gun vault to hold the tax stamps and
papers related to the firearms.

During February, 2002, I bought 1,500 ounces of gold at ~$300 and ~1,100 ounces of
silver at ~$4.50. Two big boxes and 100 loose coins. There was the shipping included in
the $500,000. Remember, I continued my precious metals acquisitions as the price
rose, buying lesser quantities. You can only do it if you’re single, don’t date and live in a
dump, but you CAN do it.

Of course inheriting ½ the Ready Mix business and the entire class 3 dealership didn’t
hurt any. And, when you own ½ of a Ready Mix business, building a Dome probably
costs you less than the other guy. Just remember, Bill Gates never graduated from col-
lege, either. It mainly has to do with what you do with what you have. Ginger and I were
doing what married people do, making babies.

48
Shortly after Jimmy was born, Hank and I went shopping for Black Angus cattle. We
wanted young cattle that had been weaned. The real money made in raising beef is get-
ting them from there to being market ready. I let Hank do the picking and I wrote the
checks.

“Okay, he has 60 calves, half steers that were castrated at birth using Elastration. They
were fence line weaned at 6 months. Their current age is approximately 188 days. He
wants $82 per hundredweight. I’d say go for it.”

“How much are we talking?”

“He says the steers are running about 550 pounds and the heifers 475 pounds. It de-
pends on the weight but my best guess would be about $25,000. That’s half steers and
half heifers. You get some breeding stock and some market beef in about a year.”

“Does he have any market ready beef?”

“He has a few, yes.”

“Buy two and we’ll get them butchered. You know where to get that done?”

“Yep.”

“Let me know the total. Does it include delivery?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“We don’t have a truck so make sure the final price includes delivery of the calves and
the steers. Call the place and have them add enough boneless Black Angus for 10%
ground meat.”

“Not 8%?”

“It needed a bit more fat, make it 10%.

Understand, the first grain bin wasn’t full since we only had one Black Angus milk cow,
some hogs and chickens. We had sent the market ready beef to be butchered over the
winter and divided it 2 ways; we were getting low of meat. The freezer in the basement
had more jugs of ice than meat in it. The second freezer only held about one hog’s
worth of meat, frozen chickens plus more ice jugs. If I had been thinking, I would have
realized that Hank knew where to take the beef, he’d been doing it since he hired on.
Maybe the excitement of having our own herd, be it small, gave me a mental block.

“They deliver the beef tomorrow. We bought 30 steers and 30 heifers plus 2 steers to
butcher.”

49
“We either need to buy pork or get some butchered.”

“What are we out of?”

“Bacon and sausage.”

“Get Julie to watch Jimmy tomorrow and we’ll drive up to Phoenix.”

“Say, do you need to order #2?”

“No, I topped off the tank with #1. I suppose we could get 1,000 #1 and 1,000 taxed #2.”

“You need to get more grain for the first bin and check the COB bin.”

“We’re okay on COB but we’d better get 5 tons for the first bin.”

If you don’t understand the conversation we’ve just had, you’ve been skimming. The
third bin was nearly full of pelletized alfalfa. It was fed to the horses as a supplement to
their COB and daily grazing. It would also be fed to the cattle as a supplement to their
grazing along with the “cattle feed” mix we were going to order an additional 5 tons of.
As the cattle gained weight and their appetites increased, we’d purchase larger
amounts, probably as much as 15 tons or 3 truckloads.

The nice thing about a pregnant wife is any time the two of you feel like it, you can get
together and practice making babies. It’s even better when she doesn’t have morning
sickness. Unfortunately it affects more than half of all pregnant women and the proxi-
mate cause is an increase in the circulating level of the hormone estrogen.

We grew 1,280 acres of alfalfa and got 10-12 cuttings depending on the year. We sold
95% the alfalfa as large round bales to companies that manufactured the pellets and the
other 5% of the first cutting was baled as square bales and stored in the barn loft. We
sold 100% of the other cuttings unless we needed more hay. Our operation pretty much
mirrored what other ranchers did. As we grew our herd, the ratio of sold verses retained
alfalfa would change with the amount being retained increasing. We were already giving
consideration to the location of bale roofs to keep the rain off the stacked hay. Rain?
What rain?

The weaned calves we bought seemed to be somewhat underweight. Typically a 206

day BA steer will weigh about 660. But these were 188 day steers, a difference of 18
days. According the Black Angus organization I found on the net, the weight gain should
be about 3.2 pounds per day. Doing the math I came up with 57.6 pounds that they
would gain by 206 days. Five fifty plus fifty-seven point six is 607.6 which is about 52.4
pounds short. Now, was he under estimating the weight to make the sale or was he un-
derfeeding his calves?

50
The guy underestimated the weight and the check I wrote was much larger than we
thought it would be. When you’re raising cattle, every penny counts; 30@608 + 30
@564 means he sold me 35,160 pounds of beef at 82¢ a pound. Add 2,500 pounds @
82¢ for a total of $30,881 plus the butchering and boneless. I’d have probably paid ei-
ther way, but it galled me that he gave Hank short weights. I checked and that was the
going rate for that particular day. We are definitely going to buy a new laptop strictly for
monitoring the herds, cattle grain, hay, COB and alfalfa pellets.

A story my late uncle told me comes to mind. Uncle Herbert farmed in Iowa. A farmer on
an adjoining farm decided to truck his cattle to Chicago in hope of getting a much better
price per pound. They loaded the cattle on 2 trucks and off they went to Chicago. Ap-
parently the cattle get a bit dehydrated during transport. Furthermore, apparently cattle
won’t drink water when it’s raining. When they unloaded those cattle at the stockyards, it
was raining and the auction was the next day. Uncle Herbert said the guy claimed his
decision cost him $8,000. Those are 1953 dollars folks. One little mistake…

Be careful what you wish for, God has a sense of humor and you just may get it… or not
as in this case.

What we ended up doing in Phoenix was buying 6 whole Cure 81 hams (Hormel) and
18 packages of Hormel thick sliced bacon and 36 1 pound packages of Jimmy Dean
whole hog sausage. Plus a few other things… including Oscar Mayer wieners and bolo-
gna… the cart was full. Then with the meat and 2 bags of ice in the cooler, we stopped
and ordered the #1 and #2 for Monday delivery. Finally we ordered 5 tons of the cattle
grain mix. The chickens eat it just fine. Of course most of our chickens are sleeping in
the freezer.

I didn’t mention the bread products in the freezer. Where you live in the middle nowhere
it’s hard to run to the store for hot dog or hamburger buns. We don’t really live that far
from a small grocery store or convenience store but if you buy in bulk and freeze, all you
have to remember to do is take buns out when you take the meat out. Considering the
price of fuel, and the time involved, you simply don’t run out for anything.

Ginger bakes a good loaf of bread. We have a slicing form but it’s not the same as store
bought sliced bread for toast. You’ll most assuredly find sliced bread near the buns. It’s
not like we don’t go up to Phoenix or down to Tucson on a regular basis, so we don’t
stock a lot of bread and it’s always dated.

That bimbo from California introduced a new Assault Weapons ban in the Senate. I
don’t think it has much of a chance of passing, this year. But, remember that deal
Obama made with Congress way back when? It’s 2013 and the chickens have come
home to roost. They call it sequestration. One Congressman sent out a letter to his con-
stituents:

51
If we do not resolve sequestration immediately, the results will be catastrophic. We have
already cut $487 billion in defense spending, which means $50 billion in cuts every year
over the next 10 years. Now, under sequestration, more than $500 billion in new cuts
will be imposed on top of the $487 billion in cuts previously made. Sequestration man-
dates $1.2 trillion in automatic, across the board spending cuts. 50% of these cuts will
be forced on the backs of our service men and women, even though defense spending
only accounts for less than 18% percent of our overall budget.

With just weeks to spare, the President has belatedly come forward with a proposal
based on higher tax revenues and cuts in defense and discretionary domestic spending.
Let's be clear: Defense spending is not what's driving our indefensible national debt. We
spend less than 18% of our budget on the military, while mandatory domestic spending
accounts for 60%. Despite this fact, the president has refused to consider reforms to
mandatory spending – the real driver of our debt crisis – while using our troops as a
piggy bank to keep unsustainable spending programs on life support.

We cannot afford this dangerous hit on our troops, national security and American jobs.

Apparently the problems with the F-22 had been solved since it wasn’t in the news. The
media had switched to the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35A/B/C. It was business as usual
with the price climbing every time a person reads the news. Congress and Obama
hadn’t reached a resolution by 1 March and sequestration kicked in. The public was in a
state of near panic because retired people didn’t know what it meant for their Social Se-
curity checks and government employees didn’t know if they would be furloughed or
fired.

“Honey, did you realize there are five carriers in Norfolk?”

“What carriers?”

“The Enterprise is there for decommissioning and the Lincoln for its midlife refueling and
complex overhaul, but Obama ordered the Eisenhower, Bush and Truman into port. The
Lincoln is still awaiting the refueling and complex overhaul and the other three appear to
held captive under Obama orders.”

“Can’t Joint Chiefs do anything about that?”

“The Joint Chiefs aren’t in the chain of command. Orders go from the President to the
Secretary of Defense to the heads of the various Unified Combatant Commands. All of
the branches work together during operations and joint missions, under the Unified
Combatant Commands, under the authority of the Secretary of Defense with the excep-
tion of the Coast Guard. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Yes, I looked it up.”

“What, he never heard of Pearl Harbor?”

52
“That’s strange too because Obama was born in Hawaii. Surely someone told him at
some time about the Japanese attack.”

“I thought his mother moved back to the state of Washington when he was an infant.”

“What, he never took a history class? Besides, if I remember right, he went back to Ha-
waii to live with his grandparents and graduated from High School in Hawaii. He gradu-
ated from Columbia University and graduated from Harvard Law School with a Juris
Doctor Magna Cum Laude. Somewhere, sometime, someone had tell him about Pearl
Harbor. It has to be intentional, nobody is that stupid.”

“If that’s case why hasn’t someone exploded a nuke at Norfolk?”

“Bite your tongue, we finally received the gas masks, suits, boots, tape and spare filters
today. We haven’t even put them away.”

“It’s okay, we’re inside the dome and everything is connected and buttoned up. This
place is more secure than a FEMA camp.”

“You know about those?”

“Rumors!”

“Fact!”

“What, some conspiracy theory you read on a preparedness website?”

“Someone sent me a map that showed something like 600 locations. I can’t show it to
you because it was on my old computer that crashed and the new computer has Win-
dows 7 SP1. I added Office 2010 and Outlook Express is no longer the email program
for Internet Explorer 10 and I have to use Outlook and I don’t understand it one bit.”

“That’s pretty lame.”

“I know, but it’s absolutely true.”

“Are you sure you don’t have it on the laptop?”

“The laptop has never been connected to the Internet or the home network.”

I caught a video on Fox News where a sheriff suggested that the gun control issue
could be the cause of a second American Revolution.

Ginger was due in May and Bob and Alice hadn’t made their spring drive back to Mis-
souri. Alice called and I was closest to the phone and answered.

53
“Cal, Alice. I’m glad I caught you rather than Ginger.”

“Is something wrong Alice?”

“Bob had a heart attack. They transferred him to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and
they’re about ready to take him into surgery. I’ve still got to call Andy and see if he can
fly out. Can you explain to Ginger and the two of you come up?”

“We’ll be there in ninety minutes or less.”

“Take your time; they said the surgery would take quite a while.”

“How are you holding up?”

“About like anyone in this situation would. Scared to death and crying other times. Bob’s
too young for this, he’s only 64.”

“If he’s in Mayo, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“I hope so. I better call Andy. I’ll see you when you get here. I’m in the surgical waiting
room.”

“Who was that?”

“You mother. Pack a bag for 3-4 nights; we’re going up to Phoenix. Honey, your father
had a heart attack and they transferred him to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. He’s going
into surgery. Your mother is calling your brother to see if he can come out. I’ll go make
arrangements with Julie to care for Jimmy.”

Ginger was obviously putting up a good front even though the news was shocking. She
got one of the large suitcases and packed for both of us. I explained to Julie that we had
to go to Phoenix and might be gone for several days. She told me she’d probably move
the crib and playpen to their home along with an assortment of the Gerber baby foods. I
went back to the dome and got the portable playpen and the diaper bag. Ginger fol-
lowed me with Jimmy. I went home and got the suitcase and put it in the Suburban and
filled both tanks with taxed diesel.

“Can’t you go faster?”

“If I go faster, the Arizona Highway Patrol will stop me, give me a ticket and spend more
time lecturing me than we lose by going the speed limit.”

“Do you know where Mayo is located?”

54
“I’ve driven by it but never been inside. We’ll be there is about an hour. I know you’re
worried but at the moment there is nothing anyone except the surgeons can do. Alice
said she was ‘scared to death and crying other times’. If he was predisposed to having a
heart attack, be thankful it happened before they returned to the farm. The Mayo Clinic
in the Midwest is in Rochester, Minnesota.

“The Cleveland Clinic was ranked #4, the Mayo Clinic #3, Johns Hopkins #2 and Mas-
sachusetts General Hospital as #1 in the 2012-13 by US News and World Report which
came out in July of 2012.”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw a copy and bought it since it interested me. They listed a total of 17 ‘best’ hospi-
tals, but I can only remember the top four. Wait, I think Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center was ranked #5.”

“How’s Daddy?”

“He’s still in surgery. Just before he went into the operating room, the primary surgeon
said that a second review suggested they might be able to get by with stents. I don’t
remember what he said, but the stents are coated with a drug that prevents blood clots.
DES, I think he called them.”

“I read about those. A drug-eluting stent, DES, is a peripheral or coronary stent placed
into narrowed, diseased peripheral or coronary arteries that slowly releases a drug to
block cell proliferation. This prevents fibrosis that, together with clots, could otherwise
block the stented artery, a process called restenosis. The stent is usually placed within
the peripheral or coronary artery by an Interventional cardiologist or Interventional Radi-
ologist during an angioplasty procedure. If that’s what they do, it won’t take nearly as
long and should produce better results.”

“Mrs. Scott? Your husband is in recovery and you should be able to see him in about an
hour in the coronary care unit. We were lucky and were able to use angioplasty to insert
four drug-eluting stents. That procedure is much better than a coronary bypass. It
seems to avoid many of the downsides to a bypass operation and is much quicker. Un-
fortunately bypass operations often lead to stokes. What does your husband do for a
living?”

“We farm during the summer and come to Phoenix during the winter.”

“I doubt he’ll be doing much farming now. You may have to sell the farm and move into
a city. Where are you from?”

“The St. Louis area.”

55
“That’s quite a ways from our clinic in Rochester. He will need follow-up care. I’ll see
about cardiologists in the St. Louis area that we can make a referral to.”

Andy arrived the next day and Ginger and I picked him up at Sky Harbor. Ginger quickly
filled him in on Bob’s condition. He explained to me that they had a hired man and dur-
ing the winter when Bob and Alice were away, he and the hired man took care of the
farm. I told him that we had a hired man too and he and his wife were tending to our
ranch and watching Jimmy.

We drove him to the motel near the Mayo Clinic where he got a room. After he had his
baggage in his room, we drove to the Mayo Clinic and took him to see their father.

“You old goat, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Yeah, it scared me too. I’ve got good news-bad news and I’ll just tell you how it is. The
bad news is I’m done farming. The good news is that I’m dividing the section between
you and your sister. I’d been thinking about that anyway and had done some research.
My attorney says that the gift tax on the market value of the farm is less than the unified
credit of $1,730,800. Therefore, we can transfer the farm to either or both of you. Just to
be fair, your mother and I decided we’d go 50-50.

“You will each own 320 acres. How the two of you go about consolidating the section is
up to you. Your mother and I also discussed the snowbird thing and decided to reside in
Arizona permanently. I could always have another heart attack driving cross country
and put your mother’s life in jeopardy and I choose not to do that. Why don’t you go
home with Ginger and Cal and check out his ranch? That will give the two of you the
chance to consider the possibilities and give me a chance get more rest. I’m sure I’ll feel
much better in a couple of days. I may even be out the hospital by then.”

“I already checked into a motel.”

“Well, wait to drive down until tomorrow and come back tonight and see me during visit-
ing hours.”

“I could use some food and a shower so I’ll go take care of that and be back.”

“You have a ranch?”

“Yes, it’s about halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. It’s smallish as ranches go, only
3 sections. We grow anywhere from 10-12 cuttings of alfalfa and sell most of it to
pelletizing companies. Of course, we bale a small amount in square bales for our hors-
es and now cattle.”

“And I thought I had a big farm.”

56
“You’ve heard of the King Ranch no doubt?”

“Heard it, yes. How big is it?”

“I believe over 800,000 acres. The largest ranch in the world is in Australia and it is 6
million acres. There’s another large Texas ranch, the Waggoner Ranch, which holds the
distinction of being the largest spread in Texas under one fence. So by those standards
3 sections is a small ranch.”

“How many acres of alfalfa do you grow?”

“Twelve hundred and eighty; we generally take up to 5 percent of the first cutting as
square bales for our use and sell the other 95% of the first cutting and all of the subse-
quent cuttings as large round bales. It sort of depends on how much room there is in the
barn loft. We’ve thinking about erecting some rain roofs and storing more hay outside.”

“We’re planting mostly corn these days. Last year was a bust with the drought and all
but with storms we’ve had and those that are forecasted, me might have enough subsoil
moisture to get a crop in 2013.”

“You don’t irrigate?”

“No, we don’t irrigate and I’m not sure if there’s enough water in the aquifer if we sank a
well.”

“We managed to sink a 12” well on each section. I used my utility tractor and a blade
and slowly gouged out a pond for backup water in case we had a fire. The cistern only
holds 10,000 gallons.”

“Dad mentioned you had large stores of fuels.”

“Our capacity is 80,000 gallons of untaxed #2, 10,000 gallons of untaxed #1, 20,000
gallons of premium gasoline, 30,000 gallons of propane and 20,000 gallons of taxed
#2.”

“How do you keep it all fresh?”

“A company in Houston called Products Research, Inc. makes good fuel stabilizers and
we buy it in the 55 gallon drum for the diesel and 2 5 gallon pails for the gasoline. The
rate of use is 1:2000 so we usually end up buying 1 drum of PRI-D every year and sta-
bilizing it every year. One hundred ten thousand gallons of diesel take one drum. The
stuff has a shelf life of about 3 years, or so I’ve been told. I like to keep 2 years ahead
and if something comes up would order extra drums and pails.”

“How often do you top off the tanks?”

57
“Every 1,000 gallons of usage and we add ½ gallon of the appropriate stabilizer. We’ve
been holding off on the propane and I’m thinking were probably about ready for a 3,000
gallon load.”

“What do you run on propane?”

“Our kitchen stove and the in countertop gas grill plus our hired man’s stove, hot water
heater and furnace. We’re totally off grid and use those on demand electric water heat-
ers in our home. We use little heat and that’s electric too. Our home has been called
something else and it’s very modern. As you will see, I took your father’s advice about
amateur radios and business radios. We had to add another generator and second bat-
tery to the vehicles because of the power requirements of the TS-2000. Both vehicles
are equipped the same.”

“Antennas?”

“Just what your father recommended, the Mosley Pro-96, an AM-2N6 for 2 meters and 6
meters plus the MY-430-14 for 440 and we replaced the CB antenna with the Mosley
Devant Special, ⅝ wave vertical ground plane antenna. We’ve got a Diamond D-130J
on another standoff. The antennas for the business band radios are Motorola verticals.
Got all the beams on a single very heavy duty rotor and we can always add more
standoffs since I bought extra. We use Wilson 5000 magnetic mount vehicle CB anten-
nas. The mobile amateur antenna is a MFJ 1456.

“The Motorola radios we went with were the CP-200 and CM-300 although we only li-
censed one high VHF channel. The antennas are all Motorola HAD4014s. We bought 6
of each radio and 6 antennas giving us spares. The beams are topped with a MFJ 1798
10 band vertical.

“We bought the 32 channel CM-300s and programmed all 32 channels. We bought
twice as many CP-200s and programmed half on the 16 lower frequencies and half on
the higher frequencies.”

“So I’ve been told. Our situations are different in a way. Until recently, I had a class 3
Federal Firearms License. Most recently we were my largest customer. My father estab-
lished a trust to own NFA weapons several years ago. Ginger and I are the trustees and
as such can handle NFA weapons. The only problem is the Hughes amendment to the
FOPA that would ban a civilian from ownership or transfer rights of any fully automatic
weapon which was not registered as of May 19, 1986. Of course the amendment only
applies to select fire weapons according to the ATF. Silencers and short barrel shotguns
are unaffected. You will notice that manufacturers say that shotguns with 14” barrels are
for sale to LEOs and military only. All of our shotguns have 20” barrels.”

“You don’t hunt?”

58
“I never had the time until Ginger and I got married. She keeps me hopping so I never
took it up. We do have rifles that can take game out to 1,000 meters and two that can
take game out to 2,000 meters. In the latter case, there might not be much left to eat.”

“Fifty caliber?”

“McMillan Tac-50s.”

“Rifle scopes?”

“Nightforce NXS 12-42×56mm riflescopes with mil-dot reticules.”

“Probably suppressed and you have night vision.”

“Yes to both. All of our center fire rifles except for the Winchesters have suppressors.
That why I brought up the Hughes amendment, we have 24 rifles we can’t legally own.”

59
 The Dome Chapter 6

“How did you manage that?”

“I told H&K I had an order from a Police Department for 12 HK416s and 12 HK417s, all
with the 20” barrels and 30 magazines per rifle. I was a class 3 dealer and sold H&K
firearms. They didn’t question it.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Let me give you some proof of that Andy. One, I met and married Ginger. Two, when
gold was at $1,900 I had a hunch and sold 1,000 ounces. Seven months later, I bought
those 1,000 ounces back at $1,550 an ounce. We have a very good hired man who
happens to be a certified farrier. We now grow beef, hogs, horses and chickens and ap-
parently babies.”

“Watch it.”

“Sorry Ginger, I forgot you were here.”

“I wouldn’t tease her like that Cal, she’s been known to get even.”

“Sorry Ginger.”

“You bet your bippy you’re sorry. I suddenly have a headache and it’s going to last for
months.”

“But you don’t get headaches.”

“You just gave me one.”

“Told you.”

“Eat first or shower first?”

“Eat.”

“What flavor?”

“Mexican.”

I drove to a Mexican restaurant I hadn’t been to in some time. Same name, same own-
ers. The food was fabulous.

“How come you never brought me here?”

60
“I just never thought of it. However to ensure you don’t get a second headache I’ll men-
tion it every time we come to Phoenix.”

“My first headache is getting better. I should be over it soon.”

“Tonight?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

It apparently occurred to Ginger that Andy was coming home with us tomorrow and we
were in a motel room tonight. Her headache suddenly vanished like she’d never had
one. I knew that the entire time but also knew better than to push.

We went back to the hospital and visited with Bob for a while. He was looking better. As
we were leaving, Ginger told me she had an idea she wanted to visit with me about be-
fore we got to more serious matters. I mentally replaced the ‘rious’ with an ‘x’ and paid
close attention.

“Let face it, we don’t need the money Cal. What I’d like to do is apply my half of the prof-
its against the sale of the 320 to Andy based on the land value established when Daddy
gifts it to us.”

“It’s fine with me. Missouri has one thing I detest, humidity. If you sell it for what your gift
was valued at, you won’t have any gains to pay tax on. That would especially be true if
you made a contract with Andy to do that very thing as soon as you take title. You can
include some kind of clause that if you die, the debt is forgiven and he can get a de-
creasing term life policy to pay you off if he dies.”

“Looking to get lucky sailor?”

“I was never in the military.”

“Move!”

“Yes dear.”

I can tell you one thing for a fact, between the hard work on the ranch and the bedroom
antics I was in the best physical condition of my life. I won’t claim she was insatiable but
it was a near thing. However, the further she got into her pregnancy, the more satiable
she became. Growing babies must take a lot of energy.

The next morning we stopped by the Mayo Clinic to visit Bob for a few minutes and then
headed south on I-10. While I gave Andy a tour of the property, Ginger pulled the plastic
off a bed for Andy. She also pulled out 3 New York strips and picked up Jimmy from Ju-
lie. Andy and I got sent over to pick up the crib and portable playpen. Over the course of

61
the tour, Andy kept looking over his shoulder at the dome and shaking his head. Obvi-
ously Bob and Alice left off several details about our ranch including the fact that we
lived in a dome.

During Ginger’s first pregnancy, we had a stairway elevator installed so she could ride
up to the second level. During her second pregnancy, we had it extended to the third
level. Jimmy would move to the third level when the second baby was born and would
reside in the adjoining room where Jimmy had been living. It was sort of like musical
bedrooms but with enough rooms. The other second floor bedroom was the ‘guest bed-
room’ for all practical purposes.

After lunch, I gave Andy a full tour of the dome except for the treasury. He asked, “Is
that where your precious metals are stored?”

“Why would you think that?”

“It has a vault door.”

“That’s a holdover from when it was my class 3 inventory storage room.”

“And now it’s your treasury?”

“Alright, yes, it’s our treasury.”

“You indicated a portion of what you have for gold. If I may be so bold, may I ask how
much you have?”

“That’s very personal. Okay I own about ~1,800 ounces of gold and ~1,100 ounces sil-
ver. You sister owns about ~400 ounces of gold and ~500 ounces of silver. Our com-
bined holdings are ~2,200 ounces of gold Eagles and ~1,600 ounces of silver Eagles. I
also have $3,000 face value of junk silver, one bag each of dimes, quarters and halves.”

“A 1,920 acre ranch, a dome home that probably ran $2-2½ million, a fortune in pre-
cious metals, a good start on your herds, I assume ample feed stocks, several tanker
loads of fuel, a lot of stored water and a good source of income from the sale of alfalfa.
Ginger can sure pick ‘em.”

“I understand she didn’t do so well the first time.”

“Yeah, but he’s pushing up daisies. Is this your first marriage?”

“Second, I was a widower. My first wife was shot in a holdup of a Circle K. And, my fa-
ther died relatively young from pancreatic cancer. I inherited half of his Ready Mix busi-
ness and all of his firearms business.”

62
“I knew there had to be an explanation about how you accumulated the wealth you ob-
vious have at your age. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I’ll have to admit I
was curious. What’s your ultimate goal? You mentioned the alfalfa and the livestock you
two are acquiring.”

“We’d like to have a good string of Quarter Horses and profitable cattle and hog opera-
tions. We may eventually reduce the alfalfa production if we need more space for the
livestock although I’d like to continue growing at least a section of hay. We test the soil
annually and add potassium and phosphorus as necessary. Once we’re producing
enough manure we’ll add that as additional fertilizer. We may hire a second hand if we
need to.

“Ginger and I discussed an idea that would let you own the full section. I’m sure she’ll
discuss it with you. It’s her and my initial thinking and we can afford to be flexible. Talk it
over with her and we’ll work out any differences.”

“Nice place. I wouldn’t mind living here.”

“You haven’t been here during the summer. Think about 120° in the shade. It’s dry
though. One last thing, if trouble ever comes up and you need a bug out location, you’re
welcome here. You can probably drive straight through in roughly 18 hours.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Like the stuff hitting the fan kind of trouble. You’ll know and if you aren’t sure, call and
we’ll confirm or not confirm. The barn and the dome basement are connected via a tun-
nel constructed of concrete pedestrian archway. Everything vital is in the dome or
basement. Do you know what kind of trouble I’m talking about?”

“Yes, I’m beginning to understand what you mean.”

“Keep an eye on Washington, I don’t trust Obama and neither does Ginger.”

“You’re survivalists.”

“Peppers; we’re not out to overthrow the government. I think the government will over-
throw the government and there will come a point where the people say No Mas.”

“You speak Spanish?”

“Minimal. I’m not conversant. We had staff that was conversant when I owned the
Ready Mix. If we get a second hand, I may hire a Latino who is bilingual and let him
teach me enough to get by. They’re good with cattle… you’ve heard of Vaqueros?”

“Mexican cowboys?”

63
“Yes, Arizona was part of Mexico and has a significant Mexican population. For some
reason they’ve retained the Spanish language and are bilingual, speaking both lan-
guages fluently, with a Spanish accent.”

They came close to an agreement. Andy said he liked the deal but couldn’t afford the
insurance. Ginger and I discussed the insurance and decided we had an insurable in-
terest in Andy if they made the deal and we would pay for the insurance. He agreed to
the deal in a heartbeat under those terms. And, since we’re buying insurance, I got a
half million dollar policy on her, life paid up at 65. I had switched my beneficiary from my
mother to Ginger right after we were married.

After Andy returned to Missouri, we reviewed our food supplies and upped them to 5
years for 12 people. One cutting of alfalfa produced 4-5 tons per acre at $100 or more
per ton from 1,280 acres. You do the math. ($512,000-$640,000 times 10-12 less what
we kept.) Overall the hay alone produced anywhere from $5 million to $7.5 million per
year.

We kept buying precious metals and paying taxes. We did buy another 6 Super Match
actions and had McMillan do their stuff. We went through a class 3 dealer in Phoenix for
the Surefire and other suppressors. Unfortunately most of it cost near retail including the
6 additional Kimbers and 6 additional Hi-Powers and 18 590A1s. It generated another
ATF inspection but they did those annually anyway. I think I was on their list, in more
ways than one.

While we never bought any Mk211MP, we did buy some AP. There was at least a 6-8
month backlog on ammo in early 2013. We could wait since we had a lot of ammo. In
fact, I called Jacob and had them construct an ammo bunker to free up space in the
basement for the food and additional sleeping quarters. The radio room was in my
den/study on the first floor with the RG213 cables entering the basement level and rout-
ed through the floor into my den/study. The ground was routed in the same manner. I
bought an extra CM-300 and antenna for the utility tractor along with another pair of CP-
200s.

Bob let Andy keep his radio equipment and bought a complete set for their Lincoln and
their home in Apache Junction. Their home had been built ‘out in the sticks’ due to the
CC&Rs most developments had. However, the home was constructed using the Farns-
worth method of construction with 6” interior walls with 2” of cementitious foam plus 3½”
R-15 fiberglass insulation and ¾” drywall throughout plus a very good air conditioner.
The cementitious foam had an R value of R-3.9 per inch but it was fireproof.

Yeah, their home cost more to construct but Bob was deathly afraid of fire and built ac-
cording. Arizona required ¾” drywall in garages where there was a ‘fire hazard’ so he
improvised and adapted. We had 4” of cementitious foam as the first layer of the dome
and 5½” of cementitious foam in the form walls. We also used ¾” drywall throughout or
did I mention that before? The dome walls were plastered.

64
“It’s time. My bag is packed, put it in the Suburban and take Jimmy over to Julie. I called
and she’s expecting him.”

“You’re early.”

“We’re having twins.”

“And you just forgot to tell me?”

“Oops.”

“Did you forget to tell me the sexes?”

“Girls.”

“You said 3 meant a tubal.”

“Absolutely. Call the Highway Patrol and get an escort, I’m really hurting.”

They drive pretty fast when they have a reason. A screaming female in labor is high on
their list. We went to the closest hospital in Phoenix which happened to be the hospital
we used the first time. The doctor was waiting when we arrived.

“We’re going to need to do a C-section.”

“Do whatever you need, Ginger is really hurting.”

Sometime after at least 90 minutes, the doctor returned.

“You have two beautiful healthy daughters. There was a complication, however. Your
wife is recovering but her uterus was close to rupturing when we went in and we were
force to remove it. I’m sorry, but the two of you won’t be able to have more children.”

“She’d planned to get a tubal anyway after 3.”

“She’d mentioned that and it completely slipped my mind. We were very busy for a
while.”

“Everyone is okay or will be okay so don’t worry about it Doc. When can I see her?”

“She’s still in recovery but you can go see your daughters in the Nursery.”

“Darn, I forgot to call her mother and father. I’ll do that and then head to the Nursery.”

65
I caught Alice and quickly brought her up to speed. I told her I’d either be at the Nursery
or in Ginger’s room. I made a quick call to the Arizona Highway Patrol, explained who I
was and asked them to thank the Trooper who got us to Phoenix so fast because it
probably saved 3 lives. They wanted to know a little more and I explained the circum-
stances. Whoever took the call thanked me for calling.

Ginger was still in the recovery room so I headed to the Nursery to see our new daugh-
ters. The nurse told me they were identical, not fraternal, twins. Ginger and I had only
picked one name for a boy and one for a girl. Let me amend that, we had picked one
name each; she had picked two girls names, Kathleen Lynne and Jennifer Anne. The
girl’s name we had agreed on was Jennifer Lynne. I later learned she got the names
from a story titled Expedition.

She told the doctor on the way into surgery to name the first born Kathleen Lynne and
the second born Jennifer Anne. That explained why they had bands with their names
and their names on the incubators. Do you ever feel left out? Relief is only a minute
away; get a Silver Bullet, America’s finest light beer.

Between the day we got married and the present, we hadn’t replaced many of the full
cases of liquor and replaced only a few bottles of the other liquors and liqueurs. I’d re-
placed the full kegs with Pony kegs. A Pony keg holds 62 16 fluid ounce glasses of
beer. They were replaced at 120 days whether empty or partially empty. One point five
ounces equals 44⅓ milliliters. A fifth held 750 milliliters or ~17 drinks and Ginger didn’t
drink while she was pregnant. With her not drinking, I limited myself to Coors, generally
one glass on the nights I had a glass. Arizona doesn’t have a keg law, yet.

I stored the empty liquor bottles rather than disposing of them. They could be used to
produce M1 "frangible" grenades (Molotov cocktails). Waste not, want not. I had 16
ounce Coors and Coors Light glasses, the plain versions, I’d ordered from Beer Collec-
tions, 24 of each. I’d found them on the Internet by searching for 16 ounce beer glasses.

“How did you know to get a police escort?”

“Something didn’t feel quite right. Lucky huh?”

“Welcome to the club. They’re beautiful identical twins. I see you even picked out
names. Why didn’t you tell me we were expecting twins?”

“I thought it might upset you because it was twin girls.”

“We have James. I not upset in the least that we have twin daughters. I’m mildly upset
that you didn’t tell me, but that will pass. Your mother is on the way.”

“Your mother is here! They’re beautiful. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t tell anyone Mom.”

66
“Where did you come up with those names?”

“From a story I read. One character was named Jennifer Lynne, A second Kathleen and
a third Anne. I just cobbled the names together based on those 3 characters. Just be
glad I didn’t use their nicknames.”

“And they were?”

“Darlin’, Red and Shark Bait.”

“I see what you mean.”

“They had to do a Hysterectomy Mom. My uterus was beginning to rupture when we ar-
rived. The doctor said the damage was too extensive. We wouldn’t have had any more
children because I was planning on a tubal before I went home. Since we have 3 twin
bedrooms on the third floor, it works out just about perfectly.”

The way it turned out was that our daughters were so nearly identical I had a great deal
of difficulty telling them apart. Ginger solved the problem for me by adding their names
to their tops. At 6 months of age, I still had to check their names. It was eerie. The
Trooper who had led the way to Phoenix stopped by one day to see the babies. He
commented that putting their names on the tops was probably a good idea. He said it
was rare that anyone ever called to thank them for doing their job. It might not stop him
from giving me a speeding ticket under different circumstances but he appreciated the
call.

Ginger had a transverse scar that went almost totally across her lower abdomen. It was
closed by staples. It would fade with time but would be a constant reminder. On the
weather front, the upper Midwest had a fair amount of subsoil moisture and the crops
went in without a problem. The problems didn’t begin to surface until later due to the
lack of rain. Oh, they got rain; it just wasn’t enough to sustain the crops. Andy took a
chance and harvested his corn as ensilage since it would provide livestock feed, if not
profits.

The silage was fed to the dairy cattle and a portion of the crop was stored as baled si-
lage to be used for beef cattle and horses. The profit, if any, would come from the sale
of the milk and later the beef. Hogs, being omnivores, will eat anything. Andy said the
drawbacks to feeding forage to the hogs was that fresh forages are low in dry matter,
which means the pig must consume more material to get the same amount of nutrients
found in grain or in complete feed. For this reason, pastures and/or high levels of forage
in the diet are less practical for pigs weighing less than 40lb. and for sows in lactation.
Another drawback to using forages, especially pastures, is that they might not be avail-
able during the entire year. This means that the feeding program may have to be modi-
fied from one season to the next.

67
The bottom line was he would be able to market beef, pork and milk. They should turn a
profit but it might be small. Ginger told him not to worry about, a deal was a deal and
whatever he sent would be applied to what he owed. She also asked him how the re-
mainder of the Midwest was doing and he said it was turning into a worse disaster than
2012. In view of what I’d been hearing on the media, that bit of news frightened me.
More and more Obama was taking on a rather imperial attitude.

The problems with the economy and with Iran and North Korea were being laid at the
feet of the Republican majority in the House. He was all but characterizing Boehner as a
threat to national security. The uproar that caused in the House had some members
publicly calling for his impeachment. When the former President, Clinton, went to calm
him down it was reported Obama refused to find time in his busy schedule.

Sequestration was in full effect and Obama was blaming the Republicans in the House
for that, too. The Budget Control Act of 2011, enacted August 2, 2011 was signed into
law by President Barack Obama on August 2, 2011. The Act brought conclusion to the
2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis, which had threatened to lead the United States
into sovereign default on or about August 3, 2011.

The law involved the introduction of several complex mechanisms, such as creation of
the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, options for a balanced
budget amendment and automatic budget sequestration.

The bill was the final chance in a series of proposals to resolve the 2011 United States
debt-ceiling crisis, which featured bitter divisions between the parties and also pro-
nounced splits within them. Earlier ideas included the Obama-Boehner $4 trillion “Grand
Bargain”, the House Republican “Cut, Cap and Balance Act”, and the McConnell-Reid
“Plan B" fallback. All eventually failed to gain enough general political or specific Con-
gressional support to move into law, as the midnight August 2, 2011, deadline for an
unprecedented US sovereign default drew nearer and nearer.

Ultimately, the solution came from White House National Economic Council Director
Gene Sperling, who, on July 12, 2011, proposed a compulsory trigger that would go into
effect if another agreement was not made on tax increases and/or budget cuts equal to
or greater than the debt ceiling increase by a future date. The intent was to secure the
commitment of both sides to future negotiation by means of an enforcement mechanism
that would be unpalatable to Republicans and Democrats alike. President Obama
agreed to the plan. House Speaker John Boehner expressed reservations, but also
agreed.

The long and short of it was that the Administration wanted tax increases and the Re-
publican majority in the House wanted spending cuts. The Senate got sidetracked and
couldn’t find time to deal with Dianne Feinstein’s proposed Assault Weapons Ban and
the House wouldn’t even consider legislation of that nature. Maybe we’d get a pass this
year.

68
What may have been the second shot heard around the world occurred when Obama
issued a Presidential Determination to implement an Assault Weapons Ban cooked up
by Vice President Biden. Not to make light of it, but by the strictest interpretation, any-
thing that discharged a projectile could be considered an assault weapon. It was even
worse than the law Feinstein proposed. That also meant that it got both her and Barbara
Boxer’s immediate support.

The NRA and the GOA immediately challenged the Determination. The Supreme Court
had ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 US 579 (1952) that Execu-
tive Order 10340 from President Harry S. Truman placing all steel mills in the country
under federal control was invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or
act to further a law put forth by the Congress or the Constitution. To date, US courts
have overturned only two executive orders: the Truman order and a 1995 order issued
by President Clinton that attempted to prevent the federal government from contracting
with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll.

A Presidential Determination is a document issued by the White House stating a deter-

mination resulting in an official policy or position of the Executive Branch of the United
States government. Presidential determinations may involve any number of actions, in-
cluding setting or changing foreign policy, setting drug enforcement policy, or any num-
ber of other exercises of executive power.

One of the most famous presidential determinations was President Clinton's Presiden-
tial Determination 95-45, which exempted the US Air Force's facility in the vicinity of
Groom Lake, Nevada (Area 51) from environmental disclosure laws, in response to
subpoenas from a lawsuit brought by Area 51 workers alleging illegal hazardous waste
disposal which resulted in injury and death. Subsequent to this determination, the law-
suit was dismissed due to lack of evidence.

A Presidential Determination is distinguished from an Executive Order which is a di-

rective (as distinguished from a determination) issued by the President of the United
States.

The stated basis for the determination was the number of mass shootings which were
occurring at about the same rate as before, with the body count climbing.

After the determination was issued the public was urged to turn in their weapons to
avoid confiscation and possible criminal prosecution. And the wait began because there
was no deadline set. Further, the firearms he really wanted were the semi-auto and se-
lect fire weapons together with those which accepted large magazines (more than 7
rounds was the definition of large, larger than the standard Colt M1911 magazine).

Overnight, small capacity magazines, 7 rounds and less, sold out. The manufacturers
had finally caught up with the demand for 20 and 30 round magazines. Now they were
between a rock and a hard spot. But, with no movement by the Executive Branch, they

69
began to unload those and switch production to the ‘legal’ magazines. The magazines
that shipped would only accept 7 rounds until you removed the floor plate and removed
the piece of wood between the spring coils.

The ATF apparently turned a blind eye. They were secretly intercepting the shipments,
getting the addressees’ names and addresses and allowing the shipments to continue.
The shipper generally used UPS or FedEx to ship their products. They had the cyber-
terrorist people monitoring certain websites known to be visited by the pro-gun crowd.
All they needed was an internet address to track the viewer to a specific computer in the
home. Example: 76.246.64.244 is, in fact, a static IP address. There is a website that
displays your IP address. Presumably, if you visit the site several different times and get
the same address, that address is static. http://www.whatismyip.com/ (The address is
TOM’s address and he still lives in Palmdale at 4560 Moonraker Road and his phone
number is still 661-285-8501. He usually doesn’t answer his phone.)

Would John Ross give out his home phone number? Heck no, he’s sold thousands of
books. TOM has sold about 24 CDs and has yet to realize one red cent.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170861827290#ht_3464wt_
1185

So all the time Public Enemy #1, BATFE, is doing all kinds of things they shouldn’t be
doing. As far as the NRA and GOA, the DOJ wrote the Determination and knows almost
every hole in what they wrote. They have an answer (brief) prepared for the NRA and
GOA briefs, subject to minor revisions. Nobody is perfect except the President. Howev-
er, some of us are really suspicious about that. Where did Rohm go? Oh yeah, he’s the
Mayor of Chicago… Who was Mayor when Al and Bugs were sending Valentines?

Ginger and I didn’t really need more firearms; we could equip 2 Platoons or more. More
ammo would be nice, but the demand will end and it will be available again without be-
ing allocated. You didn’t know that? Ammo during February-May 2013 was on allocation
until supply caught up with demand, according to Ammoman. 44Mag dot com had 5
round and 10 round CMI M1A magazines in stock and the 20s would be next. They may
even have more 25 round magazines before X-Products has the 50 round drums avail-
able. They’re out of stock too. A loaded magazine weighs 5 pounds and should make
the M21 give up a bunch of recoil. They’re in the process of changing their website ad-
dress.

70
 The Dome Chapter 7

You may ask yourself, how does Cal know this stuff? I spent my evenings on the Inter-
net, lately. That incision has to heal and it gets me out of changing poopy diapers. So, I
draw a pint and sit at my computer and learn all kinds of things. I did find some
7.62×51mm ammo. 20rds – 7.62×51mm Silver State Armory 168gr Sierra BTHP Military
/ LE Ammo for $1.75 per round, on sale, reg. $2 per round. Maybe I should offer to
trade him 20 rounds of 168gr Black Hills BTHP match for 40 rounds of that stuff. It
should be okay in the Loadeds.

We’re definitely done buying guns, the armory is full and so is the gun safe on the main
floor. And, that’s after Jacob built the ammo bunker and I moved all the ammo out there.
Not to worry, it’s accessible from the tunnel to the barn but the Swiss blast door opens
in, not out, so if it blows we should be okay. You can call that a honey done.

And since I told Andy how much gold we had and also explained how much we earned
from alfalfa alone, what are we doing with our excess money? Gold and silver are off
their highs so we’re buying in a usable form, US gold and silver Eagles. That’s after giv-
ing the IRS an unreasonable sum quarterly. We have good idea how much taxable in-
come the crops produce, thanks to that laptop. I’ve come to realize that we’re more
farmers than ranchers due to our principal source of income.

Ginger suggested today that the incision was sufficiently healed that we might resume
our late night activities at a reduced pace. Yee-haw. We’re fast approaching the capaci-
ty of the barn for the horses and farrowing sows. Hank suggested we extend it length
wise and move the Swiss blast door. I told him to look into what it would cost.

We’re definitely going to need more hands and more farm tractors. We bought a large
and a small John Deere for baling and hauling the small bales. We also bought bale
forks and 3 hay wagons; plus a new hay elevator because it was easier than hay forks
to get the hay to the loft. That’s kind of tricky since the only openings to hay loft are in-
side the barn. That small utility tractor powers the elevator.

We built 3 of the rain roofs for the outside hay, primarily for economies of scale. Ginger
and I discussed leasing the 2 half sections behind our 2 half sections and decided not
to. We want as little to do with federal government as possible, including the BLM. It’s
bad enough dealing with taxes and the ATF. Say, they haven’t been around yet, what’s
up?

At Hank’s suggestion, I hired two additional hands. Got them nice doublewides topped
with PV panels. One hauls the small bales and he and I put them on the elevator while
the second guy in the loft stacks them. Got a lead on two Vaqueros looking for work.
Don’t really need two now but they’re brothers-in-law and have their own horses and
tack. We had a family meeting and decided to up the double wide order to 6 and do it up
royally. Also ordered a 4th battery bank and addition inverters but the batteries will have
to go into the garage.

71
After even more discussion, we elected to erect a double wall construction power house
and move all the power components to the new building freeing up a bunch of space in
the basement. We simply can’t put everyone up in the dome should the need arise. I
ordered the Swiss blast door and an American Safe Rooms door for the inner door and
they began construction. We used some of this month’s hay money to pay for every-
thing. Take note that this is the money for what we sold them last month. They sure
aren’t in a hurry to pay.

I’m happy now that Jacob got a propane tank that big since we’ll be running 6 mobile
homes and our appliances off it. Because we used a different company to build the
power house, we were able to get the same company that erected the barn to extend
the barn. I decided to not move the blast door and get another set with 3 AV-300s, 2 for
the barn and one for the power house.

Andy called Ginger and they had a long discussion. About the only part of the conversa-
tion I heard was when she raised her voice and said, “I said don’t worry about it!”

“What was that about?”

“It was Andy filling me in on what the farm earned this year. The bottom line was that if
he divided the profit they wouldn’t have enough to live on. I told him not to worry about it
and he started to go on and on. I had to raise my voice to get his attention.”

“The 2013 gift exemption is $13,000 per person. Reduce the debt by Andy’s share and
his wife’s share. What’s his wife’s name? Cheryl?”

“Sheree; she was named after some actress.”

“I’m guessing that would be Sheree North.”

“I think so but I’m not sure. So, reduce the debt balance by $26,000?”

“Yes; that will give them five plus acres free and clear. Don’t tell them and I’ll our have
our tax guy file any necessary forms.”

“Andy’s not going to like that.”

“He’ll get over it if the bad weather continues.”

My fellow Americans,

These past two years of crop failures have placed the nation in an untenable position
and I must, regretfully, declare a national emergency. While we seem to be keeping up
with the demand for petroleum products, we are woefully short on food products.

72
When coupled with sequestration, our ability to buy grains from counties with surpluses
may be impaired. I am therefore implementing the following steps immediately.

1. We will withdraw any remaining troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The reduction in
defense spending will allow the country to buy much needed grain.

2. We will temporarily reduce military recruiting and will allow the size of our military to
shrink naturally due to attrition to a supportable level. Again, the saved costs will allow
us to buy more grain and foodstuffs.

3. In view of the increasing crime and the failure of your fellow citizens to turn in their
Assault Weapons in response to my Determination, I am now issuing an Executive Or-
der to implement that Determination.

4. Abraham Lincoln once found it necessary to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus and
while I will not do so at this time, it will remain under consideration.

5. In conjunction with the possible suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, if condi-
tions warrant, I will circumvent Posse Comitatus by declaring an Insurrection in pro-
gress. I am stating this now as fair warning to those who would challenge your govern-
ment in response to it exercising its lawful duties.

Thank you and goodnight.

“Can he do that?”

“He can do that; the real question is can he get away with it?”

“Won’t there be more calls for his impeachment?”

“Possibly; one thing he has going for him is the reduction of Defense spending regard-
ing what ultimately became two unpopular wars. The impact on Iraq will be minimal or
non-existent but the impact of withdrawing from Afghanistan early will have a profound
impact. Using that reduction to cover any food shortages should gain him a few friends.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“Buy more cattle and horses and increase the quantity of square bales. Order 55 gal-
lons of PRI-D and 10 gallons of PRI-G. Get the power house finished and the equip-
ment moved. I’ll have Jacob run another tunnel. We’ll contract out running the utilities
for the 6 doublewides.”

“Why 6?”

73
“I’m hoping get a bulk discount. I’m sure we will need them eventually as we hire more
Vaqueros to help with the cattle and horses. I’m thinking about making Hank foreman
and possibly hiring a separate farrier. Think we should go for 8?”

“Do we have the money?”

“Sure do.”

“Do it and put PV panels on all the homes. How much room is there in that power-
house?”

“We could move the generators and reroute the plumbing for the fuel. There would still
be room for up to 10 battery banks and the necessary inverters. We have to wait a
month on those and 4 more wind turbines. There is actually room for more generators
but I rather go green with wind and solar. The advantage we gain by moving the gen-
erators and supplies is much more space in the basement for accommodating the ranch
hands, just in case.”

“Do that too.”

“There is an upside, you know.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, since it’s employee housing that we furnish gratis, it’s an asset we can depreci-
ate. That’s what we did with Hank’s home and set up to do on the additional homes.
That reduces the taxable income.”

“You definitely understand economies of scale.”

“Yes, I do. I’m going to order another dozen Loadeds, 590A1s and PT1911Bs. They’re
going to have to provide their own saddle guns. I want to keep those four we haven’t
done anything with to appreciate. If Winchester continues to sell them, I’ll probably buy
more. We should drive down to Tombstone and see if we can get any more of the
Ruger pre-2006 Vaqueros.”

“Just call him. He can call around for you.”

“I have a lot of calls to make tomorrow.”

“Good, I have other plans for the moment.”

I called the dealer I knew in Tombstone and he had 3. He’d check around and get all he
could find and call me back. He mentioned he had 2 of the 24” Winchester 1892s and 2
of the 24” 1886s. I put those on hold along with the 3 Vaqueros. I also told him I’d take

74
all the Vaqueros he could find up to 12 with the 5½” barrels. When he called back, he’d
managed to locate 11 more and I told him I’d take them if he’d get them and hold them.
He also located 1 more 24” 1892 and 1 more 24” 1886 and I told him to add them to the
pile.

When I talked to Jacob about the tunnel, he said it would take 2 weeks to get the arches
and he’d send a crew down shortly before to do the excavation.

Ginger and I drove up to Phoenix to check on the doublewide mobile homes. We found
a 3 bedroom model we liked and ordered 8 with the desert package explaining that they
were for employee housing. We got a bit of a discount due to the size of the purchase
and a bit more pertaining to some of the extras we added. That check was a bit more
than I expected. We checked each of the gun shops in Phoenix and found 3 more
Vaqueros with 5½” barrels.

Next we went to the solar company and ordered 2 battery banks, the associated invert-
ers and enough PV panels for the mobile homes. They said it would be a month or more
and COD. The PV panels for the barn extension would have to wait a month or two.
While we could have easily cashed out gold, we chose to wait and accumulate the alfal-
fa money. Finally we hit the Mexican restaurant and headed home. By the time we got
home, we were too tired to play patty cake. We showered, individually, and each fell into
bed.

The Tombstone dealer called and asked when I was coming down to pick up the fire-
arms. I explained that we had some unanticipated expenses and it would have to wait
for the next alfalfa check or we could pay in gold and silver Eagles. He jumped at the
change to get the Eagles so I dickered a bit and we came to an agreement concerning
how many of each. I got them out of the safe and, on a hunch, added a few more of
both.

My thoughts were that there might just be more than he was able to acquire. Although
the New Vaquero was more popular among SASS shooters, others didn’t care that the
pre-2006 revolvers were larger because they could handle full powered loads including
those from Buffalo Bore. There were several gun dealers in Tombstone.

“Ginger, I’m headed to Tombstone, want to ride along?”

“I’d like to but I have too many irons in the fire today. I could if you could postpone until
later in the week.”

“He’s really chomping at the bit.”

“You go ahead then. Stay in touch on 40 meters; you know the frequency on the base
station.”

75
“I’ll do that before I forget. By the way, we’re short on cash so I’m paying for the guns
with gold and silver.”

“It’s about time we got some into circulation. I’ll see you when you get home and will call
if anything comes up.”

“Bye.”

The gold was divided amongst my pockets. Tenth and quarter ounces were in my shirt
pockets and half ounces were in my vest pockets. I had ounce coins in my front jeans
pockets and the silver coins in bags I could slip into my back pockets. About ninety
minutes later, I was standing front of the dealer in Tombstone. He handed me the 4473s
and 3310.4s and I started filling them out. When I finished he ran me through NCIS,
smiled and started to pick up the gold and silver that I doled out while he ran the check.
The handguns went into a box separated by layers of sheet foam. The rifles were still in
the manufacturer’s boxes.

After I left there, I checked each of the other dealers and came away with one Vaquero
from each. These guns were in better condition than some that I got from the first deal-
er. Unfortunately none had any of the Winchesters. On the way home, I checked deal-
ers in Tucson and came away empty handed except for some Buffalo Bore ammo in .45
Colt and .45-70. I was about half way between Tucson and home when Ginger came
over 40 meters.

“Cal, I just got a call from that state Highway Patrol Officer telling me that Public Enemy
#1 is planning a raid in less than an hour.”

“Get all the hands up to the dome Ginger and have them lock you down. Tell them to
lose their firearms anywhere, probably in the haystack. They’re to tell the ATF that we’re
away from home. I’ll deal with them when I get there. Tell Hank that when I get close, I’ll
call him on channel 28 upper sideband on the CB.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“Count on it.”

“Hank, it’s me. What’s up?”

“They’re here. So far they can’t get into the dome and took it upon themselves to search
my home and the doublewides. Of course they came up empty. I put them where you
suggested.”

“My problem is that I have a bunch of Vaqueros and 6 Winchesters and I don’t want
those seized.”

76
“No problem, I’m going to send José to Tucson to pick up more lassos.”

“I’ll be waiting 5 miles south. I’m pulling over now and parking in the median crossover.”

“You’ll get a ticket.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

I took off my Kimber and added it to the box. I also added the 2 double magazine
pouches. A white Arizona Highway Patrol vehicle pulled up just behind me a bit and
stopped. I walked down and it was the Officer who we had called.

“Engine problem?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’m waiting for one of my guys to bring me a replacement fuse. Sorry I
parked in the crossover. There he is; it should just be a couple of minutes. I have to
transfer some things to his Jeep.”

“Mind if I look?”

“Help yourself.”

“Vaqueros and a Kimber? I always half wanted a Kimber but they’re too pricey. What
kind of Winchesters?”

“Three 1886 in .45-70 and 3 1892 in .45 Colt. Twenty-four inch barrels.”

“Oh nice. I’d better get back on patrol, you take care, Cal.”

“You too Ramón.”

“What’s up boss?”

“I have a bunch of Vaqueros and Winchesters plus my pistol. Here’s $40, drive down to
Tucson and pick up 5 of the usual 7∕16” scant nylon 35’ lariats. The cash is for lunch and
maybe a beer. Use the company card for the lariats. And, keep the change.”

“No problem.”

“BATFE KEEP YOUR HANDS IN PLAIN SIGHT.”

“You don’t need to shout. I’m unarmed.”

“Are you Calvin Burgess?”

“I am for a fact.”

77
“We’re here to seize some weapons. Who has the list?”

“Here, read this list. Do you have those weapons?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no.”

“No. As in I no longer have them. I turned them in.”

“All of them?”

“Yes all of them.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Well, I didn’t get a receipt. In fact they were kind of nasty.”

“Who was kind of nasty?”

“The Phoenix Police Department. They claimed the select fire HK416s and 417s were
transferred in violation of the Hughes Amendment.”

“We saw those. Somebody slipped up, that trust should have never been issued tax
stamps. You basically sold them to yourself, didn’t you?”

“I can’t deny it. My wife and I own the trust and are trustees.”

“We need to search.”

“Got a warrant?”

“No we don’t got a warrant.”

“That should be, no we don’t have a warrant.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Obviously.”

“Ok smart guy, we’re sending one man for a warrant and will wait right here until he gets
back.”

“That’s fine; I’m going to check some things in the barn. You can include that on the
warrant.”

78
“You’re just doing that to irritate them.”

“I am for a fact. Did you get the weapons moved to the haystack?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“Every last one. Darn boss man you have a lot of guns… over 100.”

“I bought a bunch of Vaqueros and 6 more Winchesters today. I sent José to Tucson for
5 35’ lariats and gave him money to have lunch and a beer.”

“Boss, he’s in AA.”

“I know and this is a good time to see if he working his program. I told him to keep the
change and if I’m right, he’ll have all $40 when he gets back after dark. I don’t mind hav-
ing him on the ranch if he can keep sober. Otherwise…”

“What did you tell those guys?”

“That I turned everything over to the Phoenix Police Department. I also told them that
the guy who I turned them into was angry about my having the H&Ks because that vio-
lated the Hughes Amendment. He admitted that someone slipped up. I would have had
them either way because I’d have just kept my class 3 license.”

“You can do that?”

“Sure. The only people who are allowed to have post Hughes Amendment machine
guns are the manufacturers, dealers, law enforcement and military. I assumed the ATF
would turn down the applications for the tax stamps, forcing me to keep my class 3 li-
cense. When they screwed up, I ran with it and turned in my license and log.”

“They can search until they’re blue in the face for the good it does them.”

“I’m sure that will be an improvement to the red faces and sweat I see at the moment.”

“They look like they’re ready to melt.”

“If they were smart, they’d get on the north sides of the buildings and get what little
shade is available.”

“How are you going to explain the ammo?”

“If they find the bunker I’ll tell them I was waiting for the price to go up before selling it.”

79
“How long do you figure?”

“Ninety minutes to Phoenix, thirty minutes to fill out the warrant application, maybe an
hour to get it approved and ninety minutes back. Four to five hours.”

“They should be well done by then.”

“You still have that small digital video recorder that will record in most lighting condi-
tions?”

“Yeah.”

“Get it and several cards and extra battery packs. I want this whole thing on tape.”

“José has a camera too, identical to mine.”

“Get it too, Ginger or Julie can use it.”

“Julie knows how.”

“Okay it will be Julie. If they give you any guff, refer them to me and I’ll call my Trooper
friend.”

“He’s the one that warned Ginger, isn’t he?”

“Yeah; Ramón visited with me while I waited for José. He drooled over my Kimber. I
may just have to pick up one for him with a case of Ranger T-series .45acp +P and
make sure he has at least 5 magazines. I owe him twice for doing something for us; it’s
time for me to pay the debt. He was the one who led the way to Phoenix when Ginger
had the twins.”

“A friend then?”

“An acquaintance; I’m sure he’d give me a ticket if he caught me speeding. Can you
close the cistern outflow valve without getting caught?”

“In a New York minute.”

“Ginger Cal. We’re shutting down the water supply. Make sure we have enough stored.”

“There’s plenty, we have those jugs in the freezer.”

“Pull out four. Keep one and I’ll pick up the other three.”

“Oh. I like it. It’s 113° in the shade.”

80
“Right, they’re somewhere between medium rare and medium. Still think I can be nas-
ty?”

“I said awful. Nasty is up a step or two. How long are you going to leave them sitting out
there?”

“Until they return with a search warrant; I figure it will take about 4½ hours before the
guy gets the warrant. Let me get the water passed out.”

4 hours later…

“Did you get the warrant?”

“No sir.”

“Why not?”

“One of our guys checked with the Phoenix Police Department and spoke to a Ser-
geant. He remembers the guy turning the firearms in and said he raked him over the
coals over the banned weapons.”

“What was the disposition of the weapons?”

“Destroyed.”

“Did they get the serial numbers?”

“Our guy didn’t ask. He did get a list of makes and models and that checks out.”

“I don‘t like it. Ok wrap it; we’re out of here.”

“What happened?”

“I was listening to what you told those a-holes. I called Ramón with a list of makes and
models and related what you told those people. He said he’d take care of it.”

“Call him back and ask him to drop buy. I have some presents for him.”

“What?”

“A Kimber and a case of Gold Dot.”

“Cal, José is back with the lariats.”

81
“And?”

“Sober as a judge. We’ll bring the firearms back in.”

“Okay.”

“I finally contacted Ramón. He said he’d stop by when he got off duty.”

“I’ve changed my mind on that.”

“Oh?”

“He can have one of each of anything that he wants excluding the Tac-50s, with ammo.”

“That’s pretty generous of you.”

“We owe him more than we could every pay him. He saved your life and the life of our
twins. He kept me out of the slammer. Nothing will ever pay him what we owe him.”

82
 The Dome Chapter 8

“Did they back off?”

“Sure did. Come in, I think you left some things behind the last time you stopped by.”

“What?”

“You’ll see, come in.”

“Mrs. Burgess, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Coffee Ramón?”

“Can you do tea?”

“What flavor?”

“Earl Grey.”

“I’ll put the water on. Cal, you forgot to tell Hank to turn the water on!”

“Hank, open the water valve.”

“I’m on it.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s a new in the box Kimber Custom TLE II with 5 magazines. The long hard case is
what matches it, an M21. Can’t break them up, they’re a set. There a case of 200gr +P
Gold Dot and 2 500 round cases of 175gr Black Hills match BTHP in 7.62×51mm.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“We owe you several times over and it’s more than we can ever repay. You saved Gin-
ger’s and the twins lives. You saved my bacon today.”

“I can’t take these things.”

“Why not?”

“In the first instance, I was only doing my job. Today, I was only doing what was right.
All I did was call-in a favor from a friend who owes me big time.”

83
“Nevertheless. You said you wanted a Kimber, so there’s your Kimber. The rifle and pis-
tol are matched sets assembled with tender loving care. Where one goes, the other
goes.”

“Here’s your tea Ramón. Sugar?”

“No thank you.”

“I still don’t think its right. But, ok, I’ll accept the Kimber.”

“And the M21. We have 12 sets and several of them are new in the box, or should I say
new in their Plano cases. The best part is that if they try to track them, some Sergeant
at the Phoenix PD told the ATF that they’d been turned in and destroyed. Now, if he
needs something for his trouble, I have new, spare Loaded M1A with a Taurus
PT1911B.”

“That might be a good idea.”

“Give me 5 minutes.”

“Mind if I see your collection?”

“Uh… okay, follow me.”

“So you did have the select fire rifles.”

“I’m afraid so. They’re arguably some of the best on the market with a guaranteed barrel
life of 20,000 rounds.”

“I see they’re suppressed too.”

“Yeah, those suppressors are Surefire.”

“Did you ever add up your investment?”

“Not really. Most of the things were acquired wholesale. Since we’re increasing the size
of our cattle operation, I’ve been acquiring the pre-2006 Ruger Vaqueros that will han-
dle the full powered .45 Colt loads. I bought the ammo from Buffalo Bore. The first 3
rounds in each revolver are those CCI shotshells to handle snakes. Fortunately, Win-
chester has brought back the 1873, 1885, 1886 and 1892. I don’t care for the 1873 or
the 1885. I have managed to accumulate several 1886s and 1892s.”

“Going to hunt buffalo?”

“I haven’t seen any to shoot at. I’m pretty sure an 1886 with that Buffalo Bore ammo
would take one. Okay, let’s get these in your car and come back for the ammo.”

84
“Sure.”

“The ammo is down this tunnel. The tunnel is to the barn but branches off towards the
power house and the bunker was built off the tunnel behind a Swiss blast door.”

“Man you have a fortune tied up in this place.”

“My first wife was murdered in a hold up at a Circle K. We had large insurance policies
and murder is double indemnity. After she died, I got a one bedroom dump and was fru-
gal beyond belief. And you’re not taking into account that I owned half a Ready Mix
company when the dome was constructed. I got what I wanted plus when I sold my half.

“There’s a lot of money to be made growing alfalfa and selling it to pelletizing compa-
nies. Plus I inherited the class 3 business and half the trust that owned Dad’s gun col-
lection. I suppose we’re better off than many and anything I give you or your friend can
be replaced. You see, I only buy the action from Springfield Armory and have McMillan
bed the action in one of their stocks and install the bipods. I install the scope mount,
suppressor adapter and other accessories.

“I can still buy the suppressors with adapters through another dealer I know, albeit un-
der the table if necessary.”

“How tight of a pattern do the M21s shoot?”

“All other things being equal as tight as ½ MOA or better. Ginger is exceptional and af-
ter sighting in an M21 for the first time, shot less than ½ MOA at 200 meters. That was a
new, fresh out of the box, rifle.”

“You’re really into preparedness. It looks like you’ve changed some things around in
that basement and will change more when that power house is finished.”

“We do plan changes since we’ve increased the number of employees. More battery
banks, more PV panels, more wind turbines and additional inverters to supply sufficient
power for 10 living units plus the out buildings. I’m moving Hank up to foreman after we
find another fulltime farrier. I may just have to buy extra blast doors and air systems to
have them on hand when needed.”

“You can’t house everyone in the dome?”

“We could get to that point. We may have to consider an additional shelter. Ginger’s
parents live in Phoenix year round now and we’ve invited her brother to come down if
there’s trouble and he has sufficient warning. Plus 8 additional families with who knows
how many children. We’ll capitalize what we can and depreciate it. It’s still going to eat
into the earnings.”

85
“I’d better be going. Thanks again for the 2 rifles and 2 pistols. I’ll see to it my friend gets
his rifle and pistol.”

“You’re most definitely welcome.”

By the start of 2014, the power house was completed, all of the doublewides were in-
stalled, we were up to 8 wind turbines and we were still adding battery banks and in-
verters. I had an order in for 60 of the FM50 Gas Masks in assorted sizes and accesso-
ries plus extra filters. We had a deal made to acquire additional Black Angus heifers as
soon as they were weaned in a few months.

The barn extension had been completed and I’d ordered a single Swiss blast door and
another of the largest double leaf doors plus 3 AV-300s with 3 sets of extra filters. Jacob
would be breaking ground in March to add a large, rectangular shelter with cooking fa-
cilities, 9 bedrooms, 2 dorms, 4 ¾ bathrooms and a large dayroom/dining room. We had
equipped all of the farm tractors and Gators with business band radios and all of the
employees’ vehicles with the Cobra 148 GTL SSB radios we favored with the Wilson
5000 magnetic mount antennas.

Each home also boasted a CM-300 business band radio and 4 CP-200 handheld radios
along with a CB base station. I’m sure an aerial view of the ranch would have shocked
many. We were getting moisture like the previous winter, especially in the Midwest. The
question on every farmer’s mind was would this be a repeat of 2013?

We bought 60 freshly weaned heifers but they were 94¢/pound. They had only been
weaned one day and weighed less, but in total, cost more. We’d have to feed them to
breeding size and get them inseminated, our preferred choice. The shelter had been
completed, equipped and stocked with food. It connected to the tunnel running to the
barn and was physically closer to the barn than the dome. With the employees homes
about halfway between the dome and barn, it was ideal.

I’d managed to replace the M21 going my usual route but this one cost more since I was
no longer a dealer, c’est la vie. I also bought a Loaded to replace the one I gave away
and all of accessories so it was equipped the same as the others. My Spanish was im-
proving but I had a long way to go. Ginger was learning it from some of the wives and
much more proficient than I. We went for a group buy on upright freezers, buying 9.
Each employee could now store meat which we produced. We tagged it as an employ-
ee benefit, like the housing, and expensed only the costs.

We had also instituted a shooting program for our employees, their wives and teenag-
ers. Each had 2 50 round X-Product drums and 20 of the 25 round magazines. The
price of ammo had finally leveled off and fallen and I loaded up on more Black Hills and
some Lake City surplus M80 and M855A1. Our staff was about 60-40 Latino and the
40% were doing their best to learn a working knowledge of Spanish. I can say 60-40,
even though we had 9 employees, because one of the men was of mixed heritage. Juan
was probably best shooter and Ginger and I assigned him an M21 and Kimber.

86
“Honey, did you realize they still have four of those five carriers in Norfolk?”

“They finally put one out to sea?”

“No, they decommissioned the Enterprise.”

“Well, there’re dumb and dumber. I guess he picked the ‘er’. How are we on food?”

“When we bought the last time after the employee shelter was finished, I bought 5 years
for 53 people. I added three of those to our stocks and 50 to the employee shelter
stocks.”

“So you planned on a maximum of 65 people for 5 years?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you only buy 60 gas masks?”

“I bought some of those infant rigs and small children rigs, five each of the Baby Safe
Pro and the Child Safe Pro with plenty of extra filters. I’m not sure why I did since we
wouldn’t let the children out until it was safe; call it a just in case safe measure.”

“Ammo?”

“Two thousand rounds per pistol, the same for the shotguns and at least 6,000 rounds
of Black Hills per rifle plus those two pallet loads of surplus. No hand grenades, rockets
or Mk211, but we have Molotov Cocktails and plenty of gas. I figure we can grind up
some polystyrene and dissolve it in benzene and gas to thicken the gas. Napalm B has
a commonly quoted composition of 21% benzene, 33% gasoline (itself containing be-
tween 1% and 4% benzene to raise its octane number), and 46% polystyrene.”

“What are you going to use to hold the napalm?”

“Those liquor bottles we’ve been saving since we met. We may need use fusees as an
ignition source as Napalm B is difficult to ignite.”

“We have fusees?”

“I’ll pick some up.”

“Are you sure we’re not forgetting anything else?”

87
“Let’s both start keeping a list. We can always send José to pick the stuff up. Say, those
feminine hygiene supplies are just gathering dust in the basement, should I move them
to the employee shelter?”

“I don’t think so. I mean we don’t know who will end up in the dome besides Mom and
Dad, possibly Andy’s family and possibly Hank, Julie and their kids plus Ramón, Maria
and their kids. Best we buy a separate stock for the employee shelter. You should prob-
ably give Julie the company credit card and have her pick up the supplies.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about discussing that with Julie.”

“I’ll do it. It will be up to her to decide if we do separate supplies based on personal

preferences or just one set of brands. Jerry wrote about a similar problem in Expedition
and they settled on institutional supplies. If it were up to me, we’d buy Tampax and Al-
ways Maxi-pads and party-liners.”

“If push comes to shove, designate your selections as the institutional supplies. It would
make everything simpler.”

“I’ll discuss it with Julie and we’ll decide. Probably contact a wholesaler and get a truck-
load. Heck, we might even get them to deliver. No one uses reusable pads anymore.”

“It might not be a bad idea to get a pattern for the reusable pads, just in case. We prob-
ably should stock a couple of bolts of whatever kind of cloth we’d need.”

“Do you want to stock up on jeans and blue work shirts? Of course than would mean
socks, underwear and boots.”

“I don’t think so. It might be a good idea to put the word out that everyone should have
several spare sets of clothing like that in the employee shelter. You can talk to your
mother and Sheree and find out what everyone in the family wears. We can stock
those.”

“What about your mother and Robert?”

“No. She married the competition; let him provide for them. If we had World War Three,
Phoenix would probably be a target and as far as I know, they probably don’t have a
weather radio.”

“You’re bitter.”

“No, I’m PO’d and don’t plan to change anytime soon.”

“Forgive and forget before it eats you alive.”

“You do it double to cover for me.”

88
“Cal, you need to take a chill pill and calm down. You started this preparedness thing
before we even met and it seems to me that you’re letting it get to you. Those FM50 gas
masks are a perfect example. You could have chosen The MSA gas masks that the Air
Force and Navy used. Maybe the filters wouldn’t last as long as the filters for the FM50
but you could have purchase a whole lot of extra filters for what those masks and spare
filters cost. It seems that 99 and 44 hundredths of the time you just have to go first
class.”

“Yes, I guess I do, we got married didn’t we.”

“That’s what I mean; you bought me an engagement ring I’m guessing cost you about
$20,000 when a half carat VSI would have just as acceptable. I guess the upside is we
can hock the ring if we ever get desperate. And 12 M21s? Really, sometimes you’re
worse than Tired Old Man. Does it really mean much that under the right conditions you
can hit a butterfly at 300 meters? You could probably do the same with a Loaded and
the 168gr ammo at 300 meters.”

“The dots are one minute of angle and I couldn’t see the butterfly at 300 meters.”

“I give up. I’d better go visit with Julie before I forget to do that.”

“And I probably should see my friend at the Res and have him order another 300 car-
tons of each brand of cigarettes. Maybe I can get him deliver them and pay for them
with gold at the spot market price. Do you think I should buy some scopes for the Load-
eds? You may be right if they had a halfway decent scope on them.”

“Sometimes you make me want to scream. Just do whatever you want, you will any-
way.”

I did occasionally get head strong, what was a moderately price scope I could get for
the Loadeds, Weavers? I checked out Brownells and decided on the Redfield Revolu-
tion 4-12×40mm scopes with Accu-range for $260. At least we already had the Sadlak
mounts and only needed 30mm rings.

Last year North Korea said they had a missile that could reach the US. The follow-up to
the missile test had been the detonation of 5-7kt nuke that was supposed to be minia-
turized. Matters were made worse when the Japanese cut off education funding for
North Koreans. Furthermore the 5+1 failed to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuke pro-
gram. Even Hillary was a better Secretary of State than John Kerry.

Those extra carriers at Norfolk made emergency sorties to clear the port. That’s when
we passed out the weather radios to all 18 adults on the ranch and drove to Apache
Junction to give a pair to Bob and Alice. Ginger checked with Sheree and ordered 4 to
be shipped to Andy and Sheree from Oregon Scientific. The extra spending permitted
through 30Sep13 had gotten the Lincoln fueled and the complex overhaul started.

89
In order to allow the Lincoln to sail on short notice, the complex overhaul was done in
sections. An additional spending extension allowed the completion of the complex over-
haul; maybe Obama had never heard of Pearl Harbor, but Congress had. Repairs or
upgrades were completed ahead of schedule. Now, what was he up to?

We ordered one final assortment of ammo from Black Hills, Speer, Brenneke, Reming-
ton and a dealer who sold surplus, Lucky Gunner. I had a sneaking suspicion I’d over
looked something.

“Cal, where is the ALICE gear stored?”

“What’s ALICE gear?”

“All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment. The load bearing equipment

they used during Vietnam.”

“Oops. Is there any chance we can get some in short order?”

“Probably off the Internet but you’d want it shipped 2 nd or 3rd day air.”

“Can you handle that Hank?”

“Of course.”

“Get 60… no, make it 72 full sets. The extra might make good trade goods. I’ve got to
run up to Phoenix.”

“What else did you forget?”

“Fighting knives; Cold Steel has a Phoenix outlet. I’d better ask Ginger to order another
drum of PRI-D and 10 gallons of PRI-G.”

“Those Bowie knives they sell?”

“If I can get enough; otherwise the closest I can come.”

I managed to get 8 Laredo Bowies, 4 Natchez Bowies and anything I could get with a
blade 7’ and longer. It was a mixture of San Mai III and SK5. More importantly, I got
enough.

“I got what I went to Phoenix for; did you and Julie work out something?”

“Yes we did and we’ll go with Tampax, and Always Maxi-pads and party-liners.”

90
“Did you call about the PRI products?”

“Yes, worry wart, I called about the PRI products. I ordered 2 drums of PRI-D and 20
gallons of PRI-G. We’re doing an extra-large garden this year and I ordered Jars and
the pickling and tomato mixes from Canning Pantry and bulk packed lids from Tattler
with extra rings.”

“Did you happen to hear the story about Muslim unrest in the US?”

“No, what did you hear?”

“According to the US census for 2000, 576,000 Arabs (or 48 percent of the Arab popula-
tion) lived in just five states: California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York.
The population increased significantly between 2000 and 2010. Apparently some of our
population of Arab ancestry has begun to organize into more militant groups. Muslims
constituent 1.2 million people or about ⅓% of our population.”

“Are you saying Arab Spring has moved to our country?”

“I’m not, but that was what the radio announcer suggested.”

“And in early 2013 law enforcement officials were suggesting a second Revolution might
arise over the gun control issue?”

“You’re 2 for 2.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong. Obama warned the population that he might declare an Insur-
rection in progress in that address.”

“You’re right, that’s 3 for 3. What concerns me is the poor and or minorities joining the
Arab extremist groups and all hell breaking loose. I suspect that’s all it would take for
Obama to request UN assistance.”

“He wouldn’t do that!”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh… maybe he would. So what are we going to do about it?”

“At the moment nothing; we’ll wait and watch and choose a side when it happens.”

“Don’t you mean if it happens?”

“No, it’s not a matter of if, only when.”

91
As strange as it sounded, I truly believed that. Over the past 6 years, Barack Hussein
Obama II’s actions led many of us to believe anything was possible from the man. It
was like he had his mind made up and he didn’t want anyone confusing him with facts.
When sequestration was the hot issue, he spent money on road trips rather than sitting
down and working with Congress to reach an acceptable solution. And, we’re due for
another round of budget cuts this year.

That was apparent when on 27Feb13, Boehner said, "We have moved a bill in the
House twice. We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their
ass and begins to do something." The reference was to Harry Reid, the Senate Majority
Leader. If I were to hazard a guess, Boehner and Reid aren’t friends. That was slightly
over a year back.

What Demoncrats didn’t count on was the backlash. The entitlements had broken the
nations back, financially. Wasn’t that the problem back in 2011? The law that created
sequestration had been a suggestion from White House to avoid defaulting on our debt.
At the time, Boehner had doubts. Those cuts were across-the-board cuts; they hurt eve-
ryone. Obama counted on them being so painful, Congress would find a solution. Ap-
parently, he didn’t realize that the Demoncrats and Republicans in Congress are, first
and foremost, politicians. And never the twain shall meet.

Have you heard of Watts 1965? In the 1940s, in the Second Great Migration, black
Americans migrated to the West Coast in large numbers, in response to defense indus-
try recruitment at the start of World War II. The black population in Los Angeles leaped
from approximately 63,700 in 1940 to about 350,000 in 1965, making the once small
black community visible to the general public.

On the evening of Wednesday, August 11, 1965, 21-year-old Marquette Frye, an Afri-
can American man, was pulled over by white California Highway Patrol motorcycle of-
ficer, Lee Minikus, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Minikus was convinced that
Frye was under the influence and radioed for his vehicle to be impounded. Marquette's
brother Ronald, a passenger in the vehicle, walked to their house nearby, bringing their
mother back with him.

Backup police officers arrived and attempted to arrest Frye by using physical force to
subdue him. As the situation intensified, growing crowds of local residents watching the
exchange began yelling and throwing objects at the police officers. Frye's mother and
brother fought with the officers and they were eventually arrested along with Marquette.
After the Fryes' arrests, the crowd continued to grow. Police came to the scene to break
up the crowd a few times that night, but were attacked by rocks and concrete. Twenty-
nine people were arrested.

The ensuing riot lasted 5 days, from August 11 to 17, 1965. The five-day riot resulted in
34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, 3,438 arrests, and over $40 million in property damage. It was
the most severe riot in the city's history.

92
Then someone shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King. The King assassination riots, also
known as the Holy Week Uprising, was a wave of civil disturbance which swept the
United States following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.

Some of the biggest riots took place in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas
City, and Chicago. In New York City, Mayor John Lindsay traveled directly into Harlem,
telling black residents that he regretted King's death and was working against poverty.
He is credited for averting riots in New York with this direct response.

In Boston, rioting may have been averted by a James Brown concert taking place on the
night of April 5. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department and community ac-
tivists may have averted rioting in the city. Several memorials were held in tribute to
King throughout the Los Angeles area on the days leading into his funeral service.

In 1992 a group LAPD officers attempted to restrain Rodney King, after a high speed
chase, using their batons. They were tried… and acquitted in a change of venue trial
held in Simi Valley. It was 1965 all over again (thanks Yogi). The mostly white officers
were videotaped beating an African-American motorist Rodney King following a high-
speed police pursuit. Thousands of people throughout the metropolitan area in Los An-
geles rioted over six days following the announcement of the verdict.

Widespread looting, assault, arson and murder occurred during the riots, and estimates
of property damages topped one billion dollars. The rioting ended after soldiers from the
California Army National Guard, along with US Marines from Camp Pendleton were
called in to stop the rioting after the local police could not handle the situation. In total,
53 people were killed during the riots and over two thousand people were injured. Some
Hispanics participated in the looting in order to feel a sense of belonging and connection
within the community.

The Emergency Broadcast System was also utilized during the rioting.

93
 The Dome Chapter 9

The stage was set and there was growing unrest in the country. It would only take a
single spark to cause a massive explosion. The pro-gun conservatives were looking for
an excuse to exercise their 2nd Amendment Right, if necessary. The liberals had their
hands out asking for more when there was none to be had. And the radical Muslims and
a few of their minority colleagues thought it had been cold out and a few burning build-
ings might allow them to warm their hands, or whatever.

Maybe MS-13 was involved; the most popular firearms were 9mm pistols. Any brand
would do; they didn’t need to be Hi-Point. After a few National Guard Armories were
overrun, the only thing they needed was ammunition. M193, M855 or M855A1, any
5.56×45mm cartridge would do, although tracers tended to disclose their positions.

Riots exploded over the entire country wherever there were significant minority popula-
tions with axes to grind. This was a change from whatever had preceded it. Oh, that’s
right, HE promised CHANGE. Nah, this couldn’t be what HE had in mind. Be careful
what you wish for, God has a sense of humor and you just might get it. He said he
would declare an Insurrection in progress and kept that promise.

Meanwhile down on the ranch, several things happened over a brief period of time.
When the riots broke out, the ranch hands went from the Vaqueros to the .45acps and
replaced their lever action rifles with M1As; seeing a Vaquero wearing ALICE gear while
riding a stock horse was amusing. Andy and family were enroute and Bob and Alice
were already here. Ramón with his family appeared and asked if there was any room in
the Inn.

We had the space but it would have to be in the beds set up in the basement. He didn’t
say how, but he was up to 5 cases of 175gr Black Hills match BTHP and 1,500 rounds
of 200gr +P Speer Gold Dot. That bullet is the basis for the Corbon ‘flying ashcan’
round. He had his patrol rifle, an AR-15A2. While we could take a can off an HK416, I
didn’t have the right Fast Attach Adapter.

It was easier to loan him a HK416 or HK417, we had a dozen of each. Ramón chose
the HK416, presumably because the ammo weighed less. I gave him a set of ALICE
gear.

“You seem to be set.”

“The only thing I didn’t get was the M67 hand grenades.”

“You know I’m in Logistics for the Arizona National Guard?”

“I wasn’t aware of that. How does that help?”

“How many cases of M67s?”

94
“Ten or 12.”

“Rockets?”

“You can get those?”

“Can you settle for M136 AT-4?”

“Does never look a gift horse in the mouth answer your question?”

“Smoke?”

“No, but I have 3 different brands in the trade goods.”

“I was referring to smoke grenades. We have purple, yellow, white, red and green. What
we don’t have is concussion or incendiary. “

“Why not?”

“Backordered due to the budget cuts.”

“Okay, whatever we can get.

“Drive me up to Camo Navajo. We’ll borrow an M35 2½ ton or a 5 ton.”

“Camp Navajo is where?”

“A few miles west of Flagstaff on I-40.”

“Let’s take another driver and get both. They’re multi-fuel?”

“Jet fuel, diesel fuel and gasoline.”

“Hank, Cal; arm yourself for a trip to Flagstaff. Bring 2 canteens and 2 MREs.”

“I hate those.”

“Then draw some Mountain House entrees and sides. Come to the dome when you’re
ready.”

“Ten minutes.”

Hank brought an HK417, with both X-Products 50 round drums, 20 20 round H&K mag-
azines (a full case of Black Hills preloaded) and his Natchez Bowie.

95
“I’m going to do my best to skirt most of Phoenix.”

“Are they rioting there too?”

“I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.”

“How long will we be gone?”

“That’s hard to say. About 4 hours up, 1-2 hours to collect the supplies and about 5
hours back.”

“I’ll tell Julie and grab a four quart canteen and more rations.”

“We shouldn’t be gone that long.”

“From what you just said, at least 11 hours if we don’t run into trouble.”

“Is everyone here this paranoid?”

“Ramón, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”

“In that case you’d better bring your Tac-50.”

“Good idea, I’ll be right back.”

“What did you bring for ammo for your cannon?”

“I brought ten rounds of AP and 90 rounds of Hornady A-MAX.”

“Are we ready yet?”

“Yep.”

“In that case, let’s get this show on the road.”

“You know that it wouldn’t be difficult to add a mike 2 alpha 1 and mike 240 bravo with
tripods. I know how to headspace the extra barrels for both and know where to get the
tools needed.”

“One of each?”

“One mike 2 and 2 mike 240 bravos. I’d better check on the concussion and thermate
while we’re at it. It’s possible the orders were filled.”

The outcome of the jaunt was the 3 machine guns, 12 cases of M67 (360 total), 120
thermate, 120 concussion, 32 M136 AT-4 and, of all things, 20 cans of Mk 211 MP. We

96
only took the 2½ ton truck because it all fit. Ramón became excited when he noticed
M183 demolition charge kits containing 16 M112 charges and 4 four priming assemblies
and carrying case. We took all we could locate.

Although there were demonstrations in Phoenix and Tucson, they were contained by
the local authorities. What wasn’t contained was the Arab Spring. That was of no major
effect in either city according to the news. Then again, the news is not always right.
While doing a head-count on the cattle we came up two short. Hank found where the
fence had been cut and crudely repaired.

Those 2 steers represented a loss of approximately $2,500. We started sending out

night riders, in pairs, equipped with night vision. It happened again 3 weeks later after
we stopped using night riders, bringing the loss to $5,000. The first time is shame on
you; the second is shame on me; and, the third is shoot, shovel and shut up. Did we
have an inside man on the payroll or clever rustlers?

We never found out because the rustling stopped. Which brings me to a point of reflec-
tion; in terms of the ranch buildings and the dome, everything was done in anticipation
of a Global Thermonuclear War. Hasn’t happened! Have you ever noticed that on the
National Geographic show Doomsday Preppers each family/individual seems to prepar-
ing for a different disaster?

Jerry D Young has a list possibilities and it’s probably up to 180, or close. TOM, by con-
trast, is totally focused on one possibility GTW. Grand focuses on various collapses of
society. Normal was a collapse of world society while By Law and Second Chance were
failures of our society. When and if he finishes Lucky, we know the focus of that story.
Freedom of the Hills is focused on avoiding dealing with the bad elements of our society
by living in the mountains.

Ginger put me on the straight track to success. Growing alfalfa was big business. Grow-
ing Black Angus beef would be a big business when we expanded our herd to the carry-
ing capacity of our ranch. Meeting Ginger was the best thing that ever happened to me
and it pulled me out of my mourning over Carolyn. We had to stop at 3 children due to
circumstances. It didn’t matter; we only had 3 twin bedrooms on the third floor of the
dome. Because the dome became progressively smaller the higher one went, those had
¾ baths and the rooms were smaller. There was room for a twin bed, dresser, desk and
a flat screen TV mounted on a wall.

The former generator room in the basement had been converted to a queen bedroom
with a bed, dresser and vanity. The electrical/battery room and the storage room for
POLs and spare parts had been converted to dormitories. Unfortunately, there was a
single ¾ bath in the basement. Ginger and I decided that there enough bathrooms to go
around and didn’t try to reengineer a second basement bath.

97
As far as the rustling went, we filed a report with the Pinal County Sheriff and filed an
insurance claim for stolen property. What they didn’t pay would be a write-off on our in-
come statement and, eventually, our taxes.

The rioting was contained, one city at a time, using the military to put down the Insurrec-
tion. That took care of everyone except the Muslim extremists who went underground
along with their associates. Obama declared the Insurrection was over and the military
went back to their posts, bases, stations and forts, as applicable.

The Arizona National Guard began an investigation over the missing supplies from
Camp Navajo. The wiped down, empty M35 was located parked on a dirt road near Cot-
tonwood. It was a dead end. Ramón went back to work and Maria and the kids returned
to Eloy. Eloy is close to the ranch and it wouldn’t take long for them to return.

We went back to baling alfalfa and raising livestock. The best solution to building a herd
is to retain the heifers and or gilts. We kept both until we had 30 sows and every female
Black Angus heifer born on the ranch. The next time we butchered, our dairy cow went
to the butcher as a source of boneless for the ground meat. We had settled on 10% aka
ground sirloin.

A fresh Black Angus cow became our new milk cow. We had added a machine that pas-
teurized and homogenized the milk. The first stage was basically a blender and the
second stage heated the milk to 161°F for 15 seconds. The milk was then stored in one
gallon plastic jugs. The jugs were recycled using very hot water to clean them and kill
any microorganisms. They didn’t have an infinite life and we stored new jugs against
need.

The milking, treatment and bottling were handled by one of the wives. The women, with
Ginger in charge, planted the garden, harvested the crops and canned or froze the pro-
duce. We had added a sharp freezer that took the corn and peas to -60°F quickly and
the frozen vegetables were stored in Ziploc style vacuum bags.

Robert was right about the canned beef, it was excellent. So were the canned beef
stews and other canned meat products. We bought canned beef tamales directly from
Hormel in Austin along with their Cure 81 hams and thick sliced bacon. It wasn’t whole-
sale… but we got a volume discount. Bob and Alice decided to sell the Apache Junction
home and move to the ranch. I had a footing poured for his antenna tower and his ‘ham
shack’ was set up in their 2nd floor queen bedroom.

The 2nd floor bedrooms were all the same size and the slightly smaller queen bed left
space for a table to hold his radio equipment. His US Towers Mast was the same height
as ours, 85’ and could be lowered and tipped over as necessary. When the concrete
pad was ready, we sent 4 hands up to help Bob move the tower and antennas. They
were assigned a stall in the garage and they set their own remote codes for the door
opener.

98
Hank and Julie used 2 stalls for their car and his pickup and the used utility tractor I
bought along with a plow and straight disk, the Troy-bilt rototiller in the one stall with the
gardening equipment and racks to hold the rakes, shovels, hoes, etc. were moved to
the pole building style machine shed that housed the John Deere tractors and the wag-
ons when not in use. The vacant stall was currently reserved for Alan’s vehicle. Ramón
was left to make do with outside parking.

While the 6 stall garage was conventional block construction, there was a 2 nd floor
where we stored the empty jars, plastic jugs and etc. We concluded that it wasn’t cost
effective to make EMP proof. The less expensive option was spare ignition components.
It took a chunk of change before we had 2 sets of replacements for each vehicle.

We made a massive buy of tires and spare wheels. There was a mounted set of spares
for each vehicle and an unmounted set. Shelves were installed in the machine shed for
all of the non-electronic parts and the electronic parts went into the dome or employee
shelter, in Faraday cages.

Ginger and I both had a sinking feeling, down deep, that what had happened to this
point in time was the visible portion of a massive iceberg. Bob and Alice tended to
agree. Despite our tagging the M21s and handguns for Bob and Alice, Bob bought Alice
her own Hi-Power and a Kimber for himself. They also bought a pair of Ruger SR-556
carbines for CQC and equipped them with EOTech sights. He did lay claim the M21
with his name on it and a Mossberg.

Bob didn’t care for the 3” shotgun shells and bought 3 cases of 2¾” shells, all Reming-
ton. He had 1 case of slugger slugs and 2 cases of 8-pellet 00 buckshot. Considering
his age the choices were appropriate. They even had their own knives, the Cold Steel
Recon Tanto San Mai III.

With 2 ham shacks; the one in the den saw the most use. Presumably because most of
the equipment was identical except for the business band radios. He must have gotten
a wild hair and licensed 3 unused channels on the Motorola radios. He went two steps
further, buying as many CP-200s as we already had. By the time he was done, the CM-
300s were programmed for the 4 licensed channels and 28 unlicensed channels. Our
original CP-200s were programmed for the 4 licensed channels and 12 unlicensed
channels and the new CP-200s were programmed for 16 unlicensed channels. His ex-
planation was “backups.”

What the heck, Public Enemy #1 was leaving us alone; we might as well have the FCC
picking on us. Around the ranch, we only used the 4 licensed channels and 5w on the
portables and 25w on the mobiles. Ramón stopped by periodically, just to visit and to
keep in our good graces so they had a place, just in case. He had managed to acquire
an upper for his AR-15 with a gas piston and an A1 lower so he told me he no longer
needed the HK416. On duty, he used the issued the AR-15A2 Government Carbine with
the 1:7 barrel.

99
His new upper had 1:7 so he could use the heavier bullets and the gas piston kept his
receiver cleaner. I swapped the tag on the HK416 from Ramón to Maria. He’d eventual-
ly change his mind. I also tagged a HK417 with Ramón on the tag. His new upper didn’t
have a piston adjustment for a suppressor. Suppressors don’t totally silence the shots;
they do make you invisible.

Due to Ramón and Maria and their 2 children, we decided to order more FM50s in large
and medium with suits, boots, tape and gloves in adult sizes. It was only money and we
weren’t short on money. It would be better spent on lifesaving supplies and precious
metals than accumulating Federal Reserve Notes. Gold and silver had taken a down-
turn on the markets so we jumped in with both feet. We also added additional LTS and
STS foods.

The few MREs we had reached their life expectancy and were discarded. The Mountain
House products were better and had a longer shelf life. We had an assortment of no. 10
cans and the pouches which replaced the MREs.

We never had problems with our employees and Ginger and I attributed that to all those
perks and benes they had working for us: free housing, free food, free transportation to
perform their jobs (horses, etc.), communications equipment and equipment to provide
for the common defense. Basically, they had to buy their clothing and not much else.
We had a group health insurance policy equal to the best the industry offered and we
paid the full premium.

Yes, they were only paid about $12-$15/hr, but when one counted in the perks and
benes, they were very well paid. We had a good tax man and their W-2s only showed
their wages. We were probably making an enemy of the IRS too, but what’s new. The
meat was charged off at cost, not retail. So, we lost a little income. We had happy em-
ployees and that was much more important. Our Vaqueros and ranch hands never con-
sidered quitting either. Why should they, they were raking much more than any other job
they could get and we supplied the ammo.

There had been some discussion of late about Yellowstone. It was experiencing
swarms as it does occasionally. We didn’t give it much thought considering the distance
from there to here and the ash bed patterns. Yes, Arizona had gotten ash from all three
Yellowstone eruptions as well as from the Long Valley eruption. We assumed with the
wind typically Westerlies, we had little to fear.

The Westerlies or the Prevailing Westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle lati-
tudes between 35 and 65 degrees latitude. These prevailing winds blow from the west
to the east to the north of the subtropical ridge, and steer extra tropical cyclones in this
general manner. The winds are predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hem-
isphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. They are strongest in the
winter when the pressure is lower over the poles and weakest during the summer and
when pressures are higher over the poles.

100
Eloy is located at 32° 45′ 49″ N, 111° 36′ 0″ W, Phoenix is located at 33° 27′ 0″ N, 112°
4′ 0″ W and Tucson is located at 32° 13′ 18″ N, 110° 55′ 35″ W. With that in mind we
weren’t worried. If there were an eruption, we might get a light dusting but the volcanic
ash could be tilled in and enrich the soil.

The largest eruption of Yellowstone had been the first, Huckleberry Ridge. Mesa Falls
was slightly over 11.5% of that and Lava Creek was about 41% of the first. Speculation
in the media was that they were growing in size and the next might equal or exceed
Huckleberry Ridge. You know how the media has become in the age of instant news…
if they don’t have the facts; they speculate and always assume the worst.

“Anything to be worried about honey?”

“Ginger, I doubt it. It would be a strange set of circumstances for us to get much ash
here if Yellowstone did blow. If we have a Low, the winds would be blowing counter-
clockwise due to the Coriolis Effect. A moving Low with the upper part positioned at Yel-
lowstone could blow more ash our way than usual. I can’t see that happening.”

“But, it’s not impossible?”

“No, it’s not impossible. Frankly, I’m more worried about the ongoing Arab Spring. They
lay low for a while but based on news reports, they are beginning to surface. We’re so
far off the beaten path, I doubt we’ll see them but the hands are carrying their M1As and
M1911s.”

“So there are various concerns to deal with?”

“There are always concerns. How much food did you ladies put up this year?”

“Plenty. We bought a ton of wheat, mostly hard white with some soft white and durum.
We also bought corn and oats to convert into food products. That’s in addition to what
we have stored in the LTS foods. Let’s see, what else? Chilies from New Mexico of
several varieties, beans from the Dakotas, small and large white and pinto beans pri-
marily, Cheddar cheese and pepper cheese from Wisconsin and American cheese slic-
es from Kraft. I have a list if you want to see it.”

“Did you buy what we need for the next year?”

“At least one year, possibly a bit more.”

“Then, I don’t need to see the list. We have the steers and dairy cow at the butcher.
We’ll take in the hogs after. Did you remember to place an order with Hormel?”

“Yes; 120 full Cure 81 hams, multiple cases of the thick sliced bacon and 10 cases of
beef tamales. I don’t see why you won’t just eat the tamales our ladies produce.”

101
“They’re too big to suit my taste. I do love those Hormel beef tamales.”

“I guess so, you eat a full can in one seating.”

“It is probably equal to eating 3 of the tamales the ladies produce. You have a good
handle on the refried beans and the Spanish rice and that’s one of my favorite meals
along with one or two Chile Rellenos.”

“No New York Strips or filets with prawns?”

“Definitely for a special occasion. What are prawns running these days?”

“Don’t ask. Every time I go to the store, they’re more. That reminds me, you need to
make a run to the liquor store and you might as well buy kegs instead of Pony kegs. In
fact buy 2 of each.”

“Okay, why?”

“Since you insist of having an end of week meeting to cover what’s happened over the
past week and the bar is open, you have 10 people drinking beer rather than just you.”

“What do the ladies drink?”

“Margaritas made with Cuervo gold, triple sec and fresh lime juice.”

During the night the NWS radio came alive.

The USGS has raised the warning level for Yellowstone Caldera. The volcano advisory
has been raised to a volcano watch. Aviation color code has been raised to orange. In-
creased earthquake activity indicates the magma is rising towards the surface. Please
keep your weather radios on for additional announcements.

“How high do they go?”

“Warning and Red. Did you check the weather?”

“The Weather Channel says there’s a slow moving low just coming in. The ground
speed should put the northern edge close to Yellowstone within the next 24-36 hours.”

“Grab your coat, it’s getting cold out. Get Julie to watch the kids. Tell her we’ll be back in
3 hours.”

“Where are we going?”

102
“Tucson; its closer. I know a store that carries Coors kegs and an excellent array of
booze.”

“You’re thinking about liquor at time like this? Are you crazy?”

“Practical.”

It didn’t take as long to get there or back and the hour I allowed for stocking up, took
half that. We were home in less than 90 minutes. The kegs went into a small walk-in I
had installed in the employee shelter. The liquor, the mixes and extra soft drinks were
stored in the basement storeroom.

“Hank, how long to round up the stock and get them in the barn?”

“Two hours tops. It will be crowded. Yellowstone?”

“Just in case it blows. There’s a Low moving through and, if the Weather Channel is
right, we could be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Counterclockwise rotation?”

“Exactly.”

“They just finished the round bales and I’ll get the equipment in the pole shed. The
Vaqueros will get the horses in followed by the hogs. That will only leave the cattle. We
can lock the layers in the hen house.”

“How are we on fuels?”

“Topped off yesterday. We got the propane while you were gone. Where did you take
off to?”

“Tucson. Personal business.”

“Right 4 kegs, a case of Jack Daniels, a couple of mixed cases of liquors and liqueurs
and a ton of soft drinks and mixes. Personal business my aching hind end.”

“Would you buy employee morale?”

“I would if there was anything to justify the end of week meetings.”

“I’ll try to think of something.”

We had a fair amount of practice getting ready for Post-Apocalyptic world. Each time
over the past years we’d missed it happening. We could cross our fingers and hope to
God we’d miss this one too. God must have been listening, Yellowstone settled down.

103
The USGS reduced the level from a watch back to an advisory. We assumed it would
be reduced to normal.

The USGS has lowered the warning level for Yellowstone Caldera. The volcano warning
has been lowered to a volcano advisory. Aviation color code has been lowered to yel-
low. Decreased earthquake activity indicates the magma has slowed rising towards the
surface. Please keep your weather radios on for additional announcements.

“I thought we were past that.”

“I’m going to hold off on having Hank getting the livestock rounded up. We should have
plenty of time to do that if it happens.”

The USGS has raised the warning level for Yellowstone Caldera. The volcano advisory
has been raised to a volcano watch. Aviation color code has been raised to orange. In-
creased earthquake activity indicates the magma is rising towards the surface. Please
keep your weather radios on for additional announcements.

The next morning…

The USGS has continued the warning level for Yellowstone Caldera. The volcano advi-
sory is a volcano watch. Aviation color code is to orange. Continuing earthquake activity
indicates the magma is rising towards the surface. Please keep your weather radios on
for additional announcements.

Later that day…

The USGS has raised the warning level for Yellowstone Caldera. The volcano watch
has been raised to a volcano warning. Aviation color code has been raised to red. In-
creased earthquake activity indicates a possible eruption. Please keep your weather ra-
dios on for additional announcements.

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 The Dome Chapter 10

Hank had started gathering the stock when the USGS went back to watch. Twenty
minutes after the warning notice came, we were buttoned up. With the phone lines be-
ing jammed, Bob had to reach Andy on 40 meters. Andy told him with the Low taking
the ash to the west they had plenty of time to take care of business.

They’d had fair to good crops for 2014. He sent a check which Ginger applied to the
balance and we again reduced the balance by $26,000. A few years and Andy would
own the section free and clear since we were writing off 1.625% of the loan each year. It
was good land and in a really good year profits were high.

We’d managed to buy gold and silver every year with only the amount varying. We had
a LOT. On the other hand, you couldn’t eat it. That profit realized in 2012 had simply
bought more fractional gold Eagles. The price of gold was being driven by foreign de-
mand.

China has a ferocious appetite for Gold now. In 2012, Hong Kong shipped 94% more
gold to the mainland than they did in 2011. They are buying all the gold they can get
and China’s gold councils have projected by 2015, China’s demand will outstrip their
supply by 550 metric tons. There are approximately 2471 tons of gold mined annually
around the world. China mines approximately 403 tons of that. That means within 2
years’ time China will be buying almost half the gold mined. Keep in mind the law of
supply and demand.

It took time for the ash to reach southern Arizona; but reach us it did. Communications
were basically out due to the ash and static in the air. The tunnel system allowed us to
move around tending to the livestock. Hank had put the layers in chicken coops and the
coops in the barn. He released the chickens after that. Finding the eggs became a chal-
lenge.

As time passed the ash began filtering out of the air. The eruption was estimated to be
about 2,500km³. That would be about the size of Huckleberry Ridge. The Low was
pushed east by a High with clockwise winds and we got a double dose.

“We’re going to have to plow those 1,280 acres, get the soil tested and reincorporate
the needed nutrients.”

“We don’t have a plow that big.”

“I suggest you contract the plowing and disking. We’ll take it from there with mounted
rototillers.”

“How much production are we going to lose?”

105
“Quite a bit. There’s an upside, we can incorporate the manure before we rototill and
replace the exhausted humus. Your best bet would to plant grass seed and let the live-
stock graze a year. Then we can rototill it next year and seed it with alfalfa again. We’ve
pushed the envelope about as far as we can.”

“What about the current grazing land?”

“We can try to wash most of the ash off. My first choice would be to do those 540 acres
of grazing at the same time and the same way. It will be ready to use faster since we
only need to wait for a good crop of grass.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

When the contractor was finished plowing and disking the 1,820 acres, we spread ma-
nure on the 540 and used our two John Deere’s with rototillers mounted to till those 540.
Soil samples were taken and when we got the results, we had the necessary chemicals
incorporated before we sowed the grass seed.

It seemed like they’d never finish the 1,280 because they had to spread the remaining
manure and rototill it in. It took a while for the multiple soil samples to be analyzed and
get the necessary chemicals incorporated. It was about what we thought, potassium
and phosphorus. We would get a crop, possibly 4 cuttings. They should be good due to
refreshing the soil.

“You weren’t out much Cal, despite alfalfa being a perennial, it was getting time to plow
and replant anyway. Besides, that volcanic ash will enrich the soil.”

“So, it was a blessing in disguise?”

“Yes and no. The soil is better for it and it probably cost less to plow and disk this year
than it would have in 2 years. You should still make a profit but your tax load will be
much smaller.”

“Every cloud has a silver lining?”

“If might not have been the case Cal, we could have gotten more ash. We might not
have had the dome and employee shelter for this once in a lifetime experience. Off the
top of my head, I can’t think of much we couldn’t handle. Well, of course, a direct hit by
a nuke or that asteroid that created the Meteor Crater. The way this place is laid out we
could hold off a substantial force if it ever came to that.”

“Let’s hope we never have to find out.”

“Amen, brother.”

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It could have been that way, but for those radical Muslims. In Iraq and Afghanistan, it
was the Fedayeen in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan who fought the 4th Generation
War. The US and its allies played at that game too with their Special Ops forces. Fleet
Marine Field Manual 1-A describes 4th Generation War. It is a concept developed by
William S. Lind in the 1980s. Fourth Generation Warfare teaches the soldier/marine the
best methods of dealing with insurgencies.

In another context, it could teach one how to become an insurgent and how to avoid the
traps laid by the opposition who are trained in fighting a 4 th Generation War. However, if
the opposition is skilled, the best bet is to hang up your AK and wait for the next time.

“Cal, can you come to the dome?”

“On my way; what’s up?”

“It’s better if you see for yourself.”

“Okay, what couldn’t you put over the radio?”

“Look. That’s a bridge across the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa. I-80 is a major
thoroughfare isn’t it?”

“Yes, about the same as I-90, I-70, I-40 and I-10; I think each crosses the Mississippi.”

“The announcer said it was bombed. Another announcer suggested we hadn’t seen the
last of the radical Muslims.”

“If someone succeeded in taking out the other 4 bridges, we’d be in a world of hurts. I
don’t know how much traffic they carry; but, it’s probably the majority of the east-west
commercial traffic.”

“How long did it take them to replace that bridge in Minneapolis that fell?”

“Not long. The replacement of the collapsed I-35W Mississippi River Bridge crosses the
Mississippi River at the same location as the original bridge, and carries north-south
traffic on Interstate Highway 35W. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule, be-
cause of the highway's function as a vital link for carrying commuters and truck freight.

“MN DOT announced on September 19, 2007, that Flatiron Constructors and Manson
Construction Company would build the replacement bridge for $234 million. Construc-
tion began on November 1, 2007. I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge was opened to the
public on September 18, 2008. The I-80 Bridge is about 3,500’ compared to the I-35W
Bridge which was 1,900’. It will probably take twice as long and cost at least double.”

“How long are the other bridges?”

107
“I’ll look it up.”

“Okay, I-90 crosses at Lacrosse, Wisconsin and is ~2,500’ long; I-70 is under construc-
tion and will be 2,800’ long; I-270 crosses the river at Granite City, Illinois and is ~5,400’
long; I-40 crosses at Memphis and is ~19,500’ long; and, I-10 crosses at Baton Rouge
and is ~14,150’ long. I only looked those Interstates we discussed but there are many
more bridges crossing the Mississippi.”

“But if someone takes out those 4 remaining bridges, it’s Katy bar the door, huh?”

“Right, the US is broke and they need a billion to replace bridges? Do you suppose
Obama will veto the spending bill?”

“He just might being the horse’s hind end that he is. How many does this make?”

“How many what does this make?”

“Disasters; you know Tired Old Man and his theory that bad things happen in 3s.”

I added them up, Bob’s heart attack that forced him to stop farming, the 2013 drought,
the Presidential Determination, the Executive Order, ATF visit, the rioting/insurrection,
Yellowstone and the bridge destruction. When we added up the total, we realized that 8
disasters of one sort or another had happened; some personal, some further reaching.
Ginger said that left one.

“And if we get 10?”

“We’ll get another 17.”

“Not in this lifetime. No ma’am, no way.”

“I’m just telling you what he claims. His friend Clarence seemed worried about an aster-
oid event.”

“Is Clarence a fictional character?”

“No, they were people he knew in AA, Clarence Floyd and Ron Brown his sponsor. Da-
vid Murphy tagged them with the handle The Three Amigos and it stuck.”

“So that story A Friend of Bill’s was based on his alcoholism?”

“Based, no; probably inspired by. He started counting his sobriety January 2, 1999. If
he’s not drinking, he has 15 years and is working on 16.”

Several significant events had occurred over the past few years. Not all of them had a
direct effect on us. The Presidential Determination and Executive Order, the riot-

108
ing/insurrection and the I-80 bridge destruction had no immediate personal effect on us.
If Ginger was right, I’d better keep them on the list because 8 minus 4 is 4 meaning we
had 5 more to go, not 1. I was only counting those that affected us both.

We reduced our alert status back to normal; you know… cowboy guns instead of
M1911s and M1As. We rechecked our food supplies and ordered more, especially the
grains, beans and rice. We checked everyone’s freezers and butchered 1 beef and 2
hogs to fill the corners. We also ordered from Hormel in Austin, double our normal or-
der… 120 cure 81s, 20 cases of beef tamales and 12 cases of thick sliced bacon. Gin-
ger thought it was a good time to load up on Jimmy Dean sausage and got as many
pounds of sausage as bacon, e.g. twice as many packages.

Ginger talked me into relenting and the Winchesters were all passed out, leaving us
with the 1886s. Most of the .45-70 was .45-70 Magnum - 405 gr JFN, 2,000fps, 3,597 ft
lbs. They said the bullet utilized expands to an inch or more in diameter at our velocities
and hence penetration is limited to about two feet in flesh and bone. This is the single
most effective hog and black bear load ever devised in .45-70. I don't use it on animals
weighing more than 800 lbs as it won't give adequate penetration at bad angles for ani-
mals larger than 800 lbs. If you'll limit yourself to broadside (double lung) and CNS hits,
this load will work on 2,000 lb animals.

The recoil simply has to be endured as it was significant. Each hand had an 1892, as
did Ginger and I, accounting for the 11 purchased. Ginger, Hank and I also carried an
1886 in case of large rattlesnakes… but truthfully, just because. If you’ve counted the
Ruger Vaqueros, we bought 4 on the first trip to Tombstone, 3 in Phoenix and a bunch
(17) more in Tombstone. We bought 8 each of Winchesters right off the bat and 3 more
in Tombstone.

We had 12 M21s but I gave one to Ramón and later replaced the M21 and the Kimber
along with the Loaded and the PT1911B. So, we had 24 Loadeds and 24 PT1911Bs at
the moment along with 12 M21s and 12 Kimber’s and 30 Mossberg’s. And, we had ad-
ditional pallets of ammo from Hornady, Speer, Brenneke, Remington and Buffalo Bore;
enough for 2-3 long drawn out wars.

Why? Ever heard the term gun nut before? Can I help if Tired Old Man and I have simi-
lar tastes? I’ll give it to him on his choice of Main Battle Rifles; the M14 was one of the
best. Developed as an upgrade to the M1 Garand during the 1950s, and replaced by
the plastic Mattel toy gun in the 1960s it’s still first choice for people like the Big D,
SEALs, Force Recon, Army Special Forces, etc. A 2009 study conducted by the US
Army claimed that half of the engagements in Afghanistan occurred from beyond 300
meters. America’s 5.56x45 mm NATO service rifles are ineffective at these ranges; this
has prompted the reissue of thousands of stock M14s although common modifications
include scopes, fiberglass stocks, and other accessories.

All of our M1A rifles, regardless of model, have McMillan fiberglass stocks. The high
end match rifles have scopes to match and our 2 Tac-50s also include night vision. The

109
only reason the M21s don’t have night vision is the idea of putting a $10,000+ optic on a
$4,000 rifle, excluding accessories. The previous version, the Universal Night Sight,
cost over $10,000 too, so to get a Night Vision sight with the Generation III ITT Pinnacle
tube was cost prohibitive at the moment. Plus the MUNS was still LEO and military only
and we were lucky we had 2.

One out of diapers and soon, all three. Alright! A few accidents and no more messes to
clean up. Family life is great and the money is finally rolling back in. We still have to wait
up to 30 days for the alfalfa checks, but they’re fairly regular. They finally raised taxes
and our tax guy adjusted the estimates accordingly. I’m really starting to hate the IRS.
They’re right there on my list with the ATF and FCC. Obama hasn’t done himself any
favors with his second term cabinet, either.

Ginger and I met in 2008 and married within a week. We had a very active late night life
which mellowed with the years. I wasn’t 31 anymore and was closer to 40 (38). We
were well to do, primarily because of Ginger talking me into ranching, which mostly
turned out to be growing alfalfa. We kept our herd of sows at 30. Our beef herd was
over 100 cows and growing. Three more years, four tops, we’d have 300 cows and
reach our goal.

My latest concern is not something I’ve shared with anyone. I mostly got the idea from a
story. In that story a thinly disguised Nancy Pelosi worked herself into the position of
President and did all sorts of unacceptable things. That included trying to drum up a Na-
tional Emergency so she could suspend national elections. Tony put one between her
eyes and that ended that. I wonder if Obama or Biden read Patriot Fiction. Even if they
didn’t, they could easily dream up something like that on their own. Can you see anyone
voting for Biden as President in the 2016 elections? The 2014 elections cut the Senate
majority to 1, the independent.

Where the independent agreed with the Republicans, rarely, Joe Biden broke the tie
and the Democrats took the vote. While there was resentment against the House mem-
bers who caused sequestration, the Republicans had increased their majority slightly in
the House. Apparently the people weren’t buying what Obama was selling. The further
into his 2nd term he got, the lower his popularity. When sequestration kicked in, he fell
below a 50% approval rating. Was Obama trying to get more unpopular than Bush (88%
disapproval)? Keep in mind, Boehner had reservations about the 2011 law.

I wasn’t giving any consideration to possible problems on the ranch, live was good and
getting better, as the expression goes. Bob spent most of his days in my den at the ra-
dios and was still a part of a 40 meter net based in the Phoenix area. The word went out
on the net about a ‘radical Muslim group’ that got into a firefight with Phoenix PD. Sheriff
Joe wasn’t involved because he had to retire after he’d broken his shoulder.

The group had an SUV and a van and no one knew how many were involved. The only
thing they were sure of was the 2 vehicles were southbound on I-10. When Bob showed
up carrying his M21 and wearing the Kimber, I knew something was up.

110
“Armed for bear?”

“Muslims.”

“What do Muslims have to do with us?”

“There’s a SUV and van southbound on I-10. Don’t know how many people but they
have AK-47s.”

“RPGs?”

“My friends didn’t say. If there was ever a time to lock and load, this is it.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Ginger, put the word out. Rendezvous at the dome with the MBRs. I’m coming in for my
HK417 and Tac-50.”

“What’s going on?”

“Possible Muslim invasion? Best you just do it and wear your body armor. Lay out mine
while you’re at it.”

“Really, what’s going on?”

“Your Dad picked up a conversation on the 40 meter net about a shootout between the
Phoenix PD and some radical Muslims. Last he heard before arming up and coming to
see me was that they were southbound on I-10. Maybe you should get in the sand-
bagged fighting position on the top of the dome. Keep your eyes peeled for a SUV and
a van.”

“Cal, you’re scaring me.”

“Good. That means you’ll be careful. Take your choice of one of the H&K rifles.”

“The 417 has better range. I’ll do that with the X-Products magazines. Do you think 10
25 rounders’ will be enough or should I take 20?”

“Take your Tac-50 with 20 mags of Raufoss and come back down and get the HK417
and all the magazines you can carry.”

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I told you, life was good and looking better. We had 20 Tac-50 magazines loaded with
Raufoss and another 20 loaded with the Hornady A-MAX. We spent enough with X-
Products to get a discount. The same applied to McMillan.

“Cal, I see a SUV and van exiting I-10 at the Eloy exit. They’re southbound on South
Barrett Road.”

“Hank, tell everyone to grab an H&K and lock and load. Hurry, you have maybe 3
minutes, max.”

“Cal, I already passed all 20 out. Everyone has 30 loaded magazines, 6 frags and 4
smoke.”

“Anyone have an M136 AT-4?”

“I have 4.”

“Do not initiate contact. I repeat, do not initiate contact. Let the Arizona Highway Patrol
deal with them.”

“Too late Cal, they slowing down and looking for a place to hide.”

“And naturally behind the dome is the perfect place.”

“So it would seem.”

“Engage them only when they pull in. El Degüello!”

“Are you sure?”

“Did we invite them to this party?”

“Good point.”

Every hand had their H&K set at full-auto and rather than the 2 X-Products magazines,
now carried 6 plus 10 20 or 30 round magazines. Just as the van pulled in behind the
SUV, Hank hit it with an M136 AT-4 followed quickly by a hit on the SUV. The survivors
straggled out totally disoriented. Some were wounded and some not. Some were armed
and some not. They ran into a wall of copper coated lead. Each and everyone one of
them was shot multiple times. Rather than waste the expensive Black Hills ammo, we
used Cold Steel to end the suffering of any still alive.

We started checking our people for wounds. Only one was wounded, Ginger; who took
a FMJ through her triceps and it wasn’t squirting. In fact it barely brushed a minor vein.
Within 3 minutes law enforcement was on the scene taking charge. All of our people
were holding M1A Loadeds or M21s.

112
“Those look like full auto wounds.”

“We were jacked and probably pulled the triggers as fast as possible.”

“Lieutenant, these people are friends of mine,” Ramón intervened. “They do have
Springfield Armory M1As, both the Loaded M1As and the M21s. They’re simple ranch-
ers and I think we owe them a debt of gratitude.”

“What did they use on those vehicles?”

“Probably dynamite, let me ask.”

“Cal, what did you use on the vehicles?”

“C-4; they don’t make dynamite anymore.”

“Where did you get that?”

“From an explosives dealer. I can’t remember which one but I could check our records.”

“Good enough Lieutenant?”

“Not really, but I intend to give them a pass. Hell, they’re heroes and we don’t need any
more bad press.”

Ginger healed and only sported two minor scars. We cleaned and stored the military
style weapons against future use. Ammo stocks were checked and refilled. While the
shootout didn’t take much ammo, we still practiced regularly.

Ramón was considering leaving the Highway Patrol and asked my opinion.

“Ramón we could use a Chief of Security around here. Are you bilingual?”

“I speak English, Spanish and college French. My French is only so-so.”

“We can put in a doublewide similar to Hank’s. He’s due for a raise and I can offer you
the same. We pay 100% of the insurance premiums, free housing including free utilities
and food, $42,000 cash wages. The house comes equipped with an upright freezer and
gun safe. About all you have to buy is fuel for your vehicles and clothing.”

“Only $42,000?”

“Figure rents at $800+ a month for an apartment, another $9,600. You probably spend
$5,000 a years on food. We also supply all the ammo. Overall that’s a wage of over
$60,000.

113
“I’ll talk to Maria.”

“The school bus runs right by the place.”

“And there’s no doubt the ranch is secure?”

“Ginger’s Dad is a Ham and monitors the amateur bands all day long. That’s how we
knew we had trouble headed our way.”

“I’ll let you know tomorrow or the day after.”

“I’m going to go ahead and order the doublewide because if you don’t take the job
someone else will.”

When he came back, he had Maria with him.

“Cal, it’s an attractive offer and we appreciate it. However, we just can’t do it at
$42,000.”

“Okay, what would it take?”

“We agreed we’re for it at $48,000 with annual cost of living adjustments of 6%. You do
pay cost of living raises don’t you?”

“We haven’t since most of increases in the cost of living are borne by us.”

“Then, I’m sorry. We can’t accept less.”

“Alright, done deal; I’ll have to make adjustments to our pay schedules so everyone is
treated equally. They had the home in stock and it should ready to go in a week to 10
days. It’s a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home at 2,880ft². It has a large activity room, which elimi-
nates one bedroom, plus a den. The master bath has an oval tub and separate shower.
A nice bonus feature is a large pantry. We’ll locate it on the other side of the dome.”

“Office space?”

“I think a block building built like the others. I’ll give you a budget for furnishings but I
suggest something durable on the order of Steelcase or Hon. You’ll be equipped with a
full set of firearms, ammo and communications gear. It will probably be easier to put in
another tower. Hank will share the office with you. The 2 of you will be equal in the
pecking order with you having the first say in Security and him having the first say in
Ranching Operations. Security will be number 1. I’ll cover that with him.”

“You just hired yourself a cop.”

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 The Dome Chapter 11

“Hank, we’re hiring Ramón as head of Security. That will put you in charge of Ranching
Operations. With the new title comes a pay raise to $48,000 plus an annual 6% cost of
living adjustment. All the other hands with be given an immediate 6% COLA and the fu-
ture COLAs will be effective January 1st, of the each year.

“I am having an office built using the double wall construction we favor and adding a
third radio tower so you’ll have full communications capability. If you don’t have a Tech-
nicians license, let me know and I’ll give you the study guide. We’ll put in two gun racks
and each of you will be fully equipped. Security will be and will remain our number one
priority until this country gets itself straightened out.”

“You’re kidding yourself if you think that will happen anytime so.”

“That’s why we hired Ramón when he came to talk to me about a job. From now on,
channel 21 will be assigned to the Vaqueros and channel 24 to the other farm hands.
We’ll use channel 28 for Tactical-1 and channel 32 for Tactical-2. For extreme situa-
tions, deduct 10 from the assigned channel numbers. There will be scanners in the of-
fice, our home, your house and Ramón’s.”

“Can you afford to do this?”

“Can I afford not to? Everyone will be armed with a sidearm and long arm at all times.”

Business must have been slow, Jacob got right on the block building and I ordered an
AV-150 with spare filters and Swiss blast door. We used the spare Swiss blast door and
would replace it in inventory when the new one came in. Ginger ordered the 85’ tower
and assorted antennas. She also ordered a complete set of communications gear for
the office and duplicated what Hank had at home for Ramón and Maria’s new home.

The additional PV panels on the home and office begged for yet another battery bank
because we were producing far more power than we consumed. We added the tenth
battery bank giving us 10 banks with 168,000 amps each… 1,680,000 amps at 48vdc
(80.64mw). The inverters had better efficiency than we thought. With the dome, 10
manufactured housing units, the garage, the double barn, the power house and the new
office, all wired for 200/100 amps at 120/240 and the battery banks were fully charged
more often than not.

The PV panels produced more power than we normally used during daytime hours and
the wind turbines were set to automatically kick in when the PV panel output fell below a
specific level. Our property, in its entirety, cost far less than Bill Gates home on Lake
Washington. He’s rich, we’re well off.

Keep rollin', rollin', rollin',

Though the streams are swollen,

115
Keep them bales a rollin', rawhide.
Through rain and wind and weather,
Hell bent for leather,
Wishin' my gal was by my side.
All the things I'm missin',
Good vittles, love, and kissin',
Are waiting at the end of my ride.

“Now, I can understand hiring Ramón for Security and Maria will be a welcome addition;
however, how much is this going to end up costing?”

“One final battery bank, PV panels for their home and the new office, the communica-
tions things you ordered, enough inverters for 100 amps of 240vac and one wind tur-
bine. There will be the tunnel to connect the office to the other tunnels and of course the
COLAs starting immediately for the hands and every January 1 st for everyone. We won’t
need any firearms but we’ll probably need more ammo. Let’s see, more tack for him and
his family, including scabbards and all that.”

“Is that it?”

“Did I forget something?”

“Five years of food for a family of 5.”

“They only have 2 children.”

“She’s pregnant and maybe that’s why he wanted to change jobs.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean less risk for more money.”

“He can call the entire Arizona Highway Patrol if he has a problem.”

“Maybe; if he has a problem here, how far away is help?”

“Oh, probably much closer than another Highway Patrol Officer.”

“Did you promise him transportation?”

“Of course.”

“How much does a Chevy Tahoe SUV cost these days?”

“Uh, I don’t know; why?”

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“That’s what he drives, with the police package.”

“But, it’s not like Missouri where the vehicles rust out.”

“Now you’re reaching.”

“Do you object to hiring Ramón?”

“No, I am just giving you a hard time. You could have just asked what I thought instead
of talking to Ramón and then Ramón and Maria and agreeing to what they wanted with-
out consulting with, no make that telling, me what you were doing.”

“I’m sorry, really. I should have brought to you when I made him the offer. And then, I
got caught up in the idea of having a Security Chief that I bought the doublewide figur-
ing if not him, someone else. I do wish you would have said something when I suddenly
wanted more communications equipment, a third tower and so forth and so on.”

“I will if something like this comes up again.”

That ended the conversation. I knew to discuss my proposed actions with Ginger and
she knew to question me if I seemed to have a head of steam built up and following the
line of, ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ (David Farragut at the Battle of Mobile
Bay, paraphrased).

Occasionally I tended to have a one track mind. Examples might be the large accumula-
tion of M1A rifles, H&K rifles, or, Ruger Vaqueros and Winchester rifles. Or, my unspo-
ken attitude of more was better. We hadn’t had time to set up the M2A1 or either
M240B. We did use 2 of the M136 AT-4s to good effect. If we could afford the best, why
not use the best as defined as Black Hills ammo and the Hornady 750gr A-MAX. And,
Speer wasn’t bad ammo either.

Offering to buy Ginger a drink was the smartest move I’d ever made. Keeping her happy
was a pleasure. If it was to remain like that, I’d better mind my Ps and Qs (“mind your
manners”, “mind your language”, “be on your best behavior” or similar). Unless Clar-
ence’s rock hits us on the head or someone nukes us we should relatively safe here on
the ranch.

I believed that right up to radical Muslim invasion. We prevailed. How could we not?
However it left me ill at ease, especially since Ginger was the only one on our side in-
jured. Did Cal overreact? Overreacting is far better than ignoring what happened. I
could rationalize the decisions I made or just forget about it and concern myself with the
price of hay and how much beef and pork were bringing on the market.

After a time, the beer purchases were adjusted to a 3:1 ratio between Coors and Coors
Light, plus 2 cases of Millers Genuine Draft. Ginger continued to buy 1 or 2 liqueurs at a
time until we essentially had some of everything and 2 bottles of what she liked. I had

117
storage racks constructed in the closet for the bar, just to hold the liqueurs, arranged
alphabetically, by name. The bottles were held in place by bungee cords in case of an
earthquake.

Depending on how one counted, the Muslim invasion was either number 9 or number 5.
Best case, we were done; in between and we had 4 to go; and, worst case we had 18 to
go. I just went ahead and bought a Chevy Tahoe SUV in white and had the doors let-
tered, “Security” and “C ∞ G Ranch”. That’s the infinity sign aka Mobius. C bar G was
just too… common.

We ended up adding radios to Hank’s new Silverado and a scanner to the Tahoe. The
Silverado’s doors were lettered “Ranch Operations” and “C ∞ G Ranch” Both vehicles
had police style upright shotgun racks and across the front seat M21 rifle racks. And,
everyone on the ranch of legal age had a concealed carry permit. We required it and we
paid the fees. Ramón was licensed to teach the training class.

Arizona is classified as a "shall issue" state. Even though Arizona law allows concealed
carry by adults without a permit, concealed carry permits are still available and issued
by the Concealed Weapons Permit Unit of the Arizona Department of Public Safety for
purposes of reciprocity with other states or for carrying firearms in certain regulated
places.

Requirements for issuance include taking a training class or hunter education class,
submitting a finger print card, and paying a $60 fee. Applicants must be at least 21
years of age. New permits are valid for five years. Permits issued before August 12,
2005 are valid for four years. Renewing a permit requires only an application and finger
print card. However, effective December 31, 2007 the finger print card requirement for
renewal ended. We submitted them anyway. Arizona recognizes almost all valid out-of-
state carry permits, with few exceptions.

Although that seemed to end the radical Muslim activities in Arizona, it didn’t end them
around the US. That’s an assumption, no one was claiming credit anymore; they were
more discreet. Another Mississippi bridge fell, the I-40 Bridge at Memphis… the long
one. A few months later, the I-10 Bridge at Baton Rouge went down. Transportation
routes were being taken out will no one claiming credit. Was it the radical Muslims or
homegrown terrorists?

Would you be surprised to learn that the answer was “Yes”? They were second and
third generation Muslims who had seen the light and adopted the ‘true’ ways of Allah
and Muhammad his prophet. Their number wasn’t great, numbering in the low thou-
sands… perhaps 0.1 percent of the total Muslim population in the United States. They
weren’t insane as defined by, “doing the same thing over and expecting different re-
sults”. While they did do the same thing over, they seemed to get the same results; the
bridges went down.

118
Was it possible that some had served in the US military as Engineers and learned to
use explosives? Anything is possible and it was just another lead being tracked down by
an overworked Federal Bureau of Investigation. As another federal agency, they were
hit with sequestration, too.

It was getting harder to keep our ducks in a row due to the growing livestock herds, hay
sales, hay pellet and grain purchases. The laptop definitely needed to be replaced with
a powerful desktop, the data transferred and the laptop used solely a mobile device. It
worked… it was just slow and we’re looking at a quad core processor with 16Gbs of ram
and Windows 7 SP3 with twin internal 3Tb drives. Drive C: (OS) for regular use and
drive D: (BACKUP) for Windows backup. None of the business computers were connec-
tion to the home network or Internet. No Windows 8 allowed!

“Ramón, I need you to inventory our munitions stocks and propose any additions we
need to make. Just count the full cases first and then the partial cases. Each rifle should
have 6,000 rounds of the appropriate ammo, which means 175gr for the M21s and
168gr for the Loadeds. Since the HK417 has 1:11, we’ll use 168gr in those and 62gr in
the HK416. That Speer +P seems to be a good choice so stick with the +P loads we’re
using. Check with Bob on his 12 gauge ammo since he prefers the reduced recoil loads.
Otherwise, Get Brenneke 3” Black Magic 1⅜oz slugs and Remington 3” 15 pellet 00
and 41 pellet no. 4 buckshot. Oh, and round down. I’ll take care of ordering the Buffalo
Bore for the Ruger Vaqueros and Winchester rifles.

“Are the weapon racks installed in the office?”

“I’ll do that after I finish the inventory.”

“It’s not as glamorous as being an Arizona Highway Patrol Officer is it?”

“Right, no more high sped chases, no more conducting truck inspections, no more re-
sponding to officer needs assistance calls and no more innocent or belligerent drivers.”

“Cal, there’s a letter from Black Hills Ammunition. I opened it and they’re offering dis-
counts on their new ammo in 5.56, 7.62 and a few other loads to large volume custom-
ers due to being overstocked.”

“Ramón is inventorying the ammo at the moment. I was going to call Buffalo Bore and
place an order for .45 Colt and their .45-70-405.”

“We’re using awfully expensive ammo to routine practice.”

“True. It’s like the food, use what you buy and buy what you use.”

“Speaking of food, Mom and I are running up to Phoenix early tomorrow to fill in the
STS foods and get something nice for dinner. Anything you need?”

119
“You could get a case of Jack Black, 6 cases of Squirt and 6 cases of Coke Classic. Did
you check the other booze?”

“Yes, and we could use a case of Crown Royal, a case of Seagram’s 7, Seven-up and
various mixes. Want me to replace the empty kegs of Coors and Coors Light?”

“If you would and it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble. We’re taking the Suburban and that used enclosed trailer you bought.
We’re buying for 12 families counting Mom and Dad. I already put in Hormel and Jimmy
Dean orders.”

The next day Ramón gave me the ammo inventory. We decided on a mixed pallet of
Black Hills and the same of Speer. We’d go to Speer FMJ for practice. I’d already or-
dered from Buffalo Bore.

“Don’t tell me, you’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it?”

“Yep.”

“Could you give me a hand installing the weapons racks? Hank said everyone was tied
up at the moment and he was helping with the horses replacing horseshoes.”

“I’ll get the toggle bolts and be right out. You get a ½” drill with a 7∕16” masonry bit.”

After we had the weapons racks mounted and the firearms secured, Ramón asked if I’d
had heard about the latest bombing.”

“Another Mississippi bridge?”

“Not this time. I don’t know how familiar you are with Los Angeles. Do you remember
the Freeway Bridges the Northridge Earthquake brought down is 1994?”

“Which ones?”

“The Route 14 and I-5 Bridges.”

“Yes. It took a while to get them replaced. I thought those were engineered to withstand
an 8.0 quake.”

“I don’t know about that but they got them with shaped charges and the damage is more
extensive than the earthquake caused. Sort of makes a person wonder about all those
bridges up in Phoenix.”

“Radical Muslims?”

120
“That’s what mainstream media is speculating. Heard another piece of news; Congress
finally implemented the actions called for in the Budget Control Act of 2011. That will
end the sequestration; and it should eliminate any chance of Obama declaring a Na-
tional Emergency and suspending elections.”

“I hope so but knowing him, he’ll think of something.”

“Not likely Cal, he’s a lame duck.”

“Maybe, but I‘d be happier if he was out of office or a dead duck. And, no I am not sug-
gesting someone should shoot him. If he was dead, we’d have Joe Biden in charge and
I can’t think of anything worse.”

“Right, let’s just get through the 2016 elections and see if the people have had enough
of the Democrats.”

Not only did we fill the holes in our ammo supplies, we took advantage of the prices and
bought a year’s worth of practice ammo. Things seemed to calm down until New Year’s,
2016.

“This is NORAD, Pinnacle – Nucflash, Pinnacle – Nucflash, Pinnacle – Nucflash at 32°

41′ 57″ N, 117° 12′ 55″ W, time hack 080515 Zulu.”

“STRATCOM concurs, Pinnacle – Nucflash at 32° 41′ 57″ N, 117° 12′ 55″ W, time hack
080515 Zulu.”

Keep in mind that Eloy is located at 32° 45′ 49″ N, 111° 36′ 0″ W, almost due east of
NAS North Island where the detonation occurred, or as close as they could get on East
Harbor Drive. They had detonated a warhead from an SS-19 aka UR-100N (mod 2).
The original version of the SS-19 is MIRV’d. Mod 2 had a single 5mt warhead so the
distance between East Harbor Drive and NAS North Island was insignificant.

The distance, as the crow flies, from San Diego, CA to Eloy, AZ is ~325 miles on a
course of 89.4°. With an average wind speed of 10 mph, the radiation would take ~32½
hours to arrive. With an average wind speed of 15 mph, the radiation would take ~21⅔
hours to arrive. With an average wind speed of 20 mph, the radiation would take ~16¼
hours to arrive. To allow for variable winds with gusts, call it any time after 15 hours.

“You heard?”

“Everyone heard Cal. I have the Vaqueros moving the horses and cattle close to the
barn. We already have the sows in the barn. Good thing we sold off the pigs 3 weeks
ago and sent hogs and steers to the processor. It’s nice to have a full freezer. Are there
any last minute items we need?”

121
“I think we’re set Hank, thank you. You’ll be in the dome with us?”

“Actually, I thought maybe I should be in the employee shelter and Ramón should oper-
ate out of the dome. The thing about it is that the only radios are in the dome and office
building and Bob is an old time Ham. He may know some tricks the rest of us don’t.”

“I have some data on radiation that I’ll have to find Hank. I’ll let you know when I do.”

I eventually found it in a story:

When the bombs went off, the wind was out of the west at about 15mph. Here’s the
damage caused by each bomb:

Wind speed: 15 mph

Wind direction: due east
Time frame: 7 days

3,000 Rem
Distance: 30 miles
Much more than a lethal dose of radiation. Death can occur within hours of exposure.
About 10 years will need to pass before levels of radioactivity in this area drop low
enough to be considered safe, by US peacetime standards.

900 Rem
Distance: 90 miles
A lethal dose of radiation. Death occurs from two to fourteen days.

300 Rem
Distance: 160 miles
Causes extensive internal damage, including harm to nerve cells and the cells that line
the digestive tract, and results in a loss of white blood cells. Temporary hair loss is an-
other result.

90 Rem
Distance: 250 miles
Causes a temporary decrease in white blood cells, although there are no immediate
harmful effects. Two to three years will need to pass before radioactivity levels in this
area drop low enough to be considered safe, by US peacetime standards.

Radius of destructive circle: 1.7 miles

12 pounds per square inch
At the center lies a crater 200 feet deep and 1000 feet in diameter. The rim of this crater
is 1,000 feet wide and is composed of highly radioactive soil and debris. Nothing recog-
nizable remains within about 3,200 feet (0.6 miles) from the center, except, perhaps, the
remains of some buildings' foundations. At 1.7 miles, only some of the strongest build-

122
ings – those made of reinforced, poured concrete – are still standing. Ninety-eight per-
cent of the population in this area is dead.

Radius: 2.7 miles

5 psi
Virtually everything is destroyed between the 12 and 5 psi rings. The walls of typical
multi-story buildings, including apartment buildings, have been completely blown out.
The bare, structural skeletons of more and more buildings rise above the debris as you
approach the 5 psi ring. Single-family residences within this area have been completely
blown away – only their foundations remain. Fifty percent of the population between the
12 and 5 psi rings are dead. Forty percent are injured.

Radius: 4.7 miles

2 psi
Any single-family residences that have not been completely destroyed are heavily dam-
aged. The windows of office buildings have been blown away, as have some of their
walls. The contents of these buildings' upper floors, including the people who were
working there, are scattered on the street. A substantial amount of debris clutters the
entire area. Five percent of the population between the 5 and 2 psi rings are dead. For-
ty-five percent are injured.

Radius: 7.4 miles

1 psi
Residences are moderately damaged. Commercial buildings have sustained minimal
damage. Twenty-five percent of the population between the 2 and 1 psi rings has been
injured, mainly by flying glass and debris. Many others have been injured from thermal
radiation – the heat generated by the blast. The remaining seventy-five percent are un-
hurt.

That’s for a 1mt bomb. A 5mt bomb might be double that although certain things
wouldn’t change much if any. The blast radii would be larger, but the amount of radia-
tion would probably remain the same. Since the weapon was a ground burst, the
amount of fallout would be significantly more than an air burst. The source of that data
was one of Tired Old Man’s stories.

I had a second source, no doubt written by a nuclear physicist, that I had found at
FAS.org. http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearcalculators/cloudmodel.pdf
Why bother, the wind was right out of the west, variable speed averaging 15mph and
gusting to 20mph… 15 hours maximum.

Unless a Low came in from the ocean, Tired Old Man would be secure in Palmdale; as-
suming he’s still alive. The front of a Low blows north and the backside south. That was
discussed when Yellowstone had an explosive eruption. By the way, it did make the soil
better in the end. That could have been the alfalfa plowed under, the ash, the chemicals
or the manure or a combination.

123
Andy called and Ginger assured him we were okay. We were close to being buttoned
down and wouldn’t have to expose ourselves to radiation because the ranch could run
for years on the stored power. Then in what I can only classify as a whimsy, she told
him the half section was his free and clear. Of course that was what was set out in her
will; was she expecting to not make it through the fallout?

“You sounded like you don’t expect us to make. We’re safe as a baby in its mother’s
arms.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, a dome is the second strongest structure there is.”

“Which means it will stand hurricane force winds, right?”

“Sure it will.”

“What’s the radiation protection factor?”

“It’s 8” of concrete for crying out loud.”

“How much concrete does it take for a halving factor?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, I do and the answer is 2.4 inches. Eight divided by 2.4 is 3⅓. Two raised to the
3⅓ power is 10. That means that if the outside radiation is 90 R/hr, we’ll be getting 9
R/hr inside.”

“That can’t be right.”

“You forgot a step Cal, the earth sheltering over the dome. If you’d have buried the
dome in 6 feet of earth, you’d have increased the exponent to 23⅓ and given us a pro-
tection factor of over 10 MILLION!”

“Hank do we have time to bury the dome in six feet of soil?”

“Why?”

“I screwed up. The actual dome only has a protection factor of 10.”

“I don’t know how much we can get done in 13 hours, but we’ll do it in layers.”

“Every foot of soil increases the protection factor by 2 to the power of 3.333333 and it’s
exponential. Do as much as you can.”

124
Check it out, 1 feet of soil raises the protection from the soil to 2 to the 3.333333 power
or 10. Combine the concrete and 2 is raised to the 6.666666 power or 100.6. Since I’ve
always believed more is better, if we can get 48 inches of soil, the protection factor goes
to 2 to the 16.666666 including the concrete for a protection factor of ~104 thousand.
Those last 2 feet of soil raise the protection factor to 2 to the 23.333333 power or 10.5
million. That explains why Jacob built that long airlock; uh, duh.

“Finished with 2 hours to spare.”

“Is the soil compacted and did you put out the probes for the remote radiation meters?”

“Yes on the soil and what probes?”

“Didn’t think so; so I put out the probes for the AMP 200 (0.5R/hr to 10,000 R/hr), AMP
100 (0.005 R/hr to 1 000 R/hr) and the AMP 50 (10 μR/hr to 4 R/hr). Don’t worry about
it, I ran the costs as business expenses. These are newly produced meters, not some-
thing that was new before Nixon was President. I have TOM’s spreadsheet I copied off
Jerry’s CD too. The original version is on TOM’s CD. I like it because the cells aren’t
protected and you can change the N factor.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll show you if we have to do it.”

125
 The Dome Chapter 12

“So, now are we as safe in a baby in its mother arms?”

“Barring outside factors, yes.”

“Outside factors?”

“One. What if Obama uses this as an excuse to declare a National Emergency and all
that follows the Declaration? Two. What if Obama decides it was state sponsored in-
stead of the work of radical Muslims and attacks another country? Three. What if
Obama decides this is the perfect opportunity to disarm the American public which
didn’t really happen despite Joe Biden’s posturing? Yes, they changed the rules con-
cerning background checks but didn’t outlaw the weapons they wanted to or the high
capacity magazines.”

“Those are very good questions.”

“And, the answers are?”

“Beats me, but they are very good questions.”

Our radiation peaked at 119 R/hr. Keeping in mind that the original radiation level in San
Diego was 3,000 R/hr, we plugged 3,000 into the spreadsheet and saw that we were
right on the money for 15 hours and 15 minutes. Following the spreadsheet down, we’d
reach 300 mR/hr at 100 days and reach the magic number of ~104 mR/hr at 241 days.
The wind speed was an average of 21⅓ mph, unusually high.

With the tunnel system there was no reason to leave the protected areas until the radia-
tion was well below 104 mR/hr. The livestock didn’t like being cooped up. Nature smiled
on us because the cows hadn’t been bred and neither had the sows. The grain mixes
were augered into the barn and no one had to go outside for grain. There was sufficient
alfalfa hay in the loft to get us to 100 days. Livestock have a greater resistance to radia-
tion than humans and we planned to let them into the dry lot at 100 days.

However, to do that, several of us had to suit up and fire up the high capacity pump and
use a pair of 1½” fire hoses and nozzles to wash down the dry lot. When the AMP dis-
played very slight readings, we let the livestock out for the first time in 100 days. The
fallout had the appearance of very fine grit not unlike the volcanic ash. It had a bonus,
gamma rays.

“What I should have done with the soil I bladed out to form the pond was to use it to
cover the dome. I obviously misunderstood what Jacob was telling me. He kept saying,
‘after you get the soil compacted be sure to seed it to keep it in place’.”

“You’re just going to have to turn in your blue tights and red cape.”

126
“I ain’t Superman, huh?”

“In some way, yes; in others you’re just an ordinary human being. I’m getting tired of
disasters; can we give it a rest?”

“What’s that bright spot in the sky?”

“Venus.”

© 2013, Gary D. Ott

127
 The Dome II – Chapter 13

I checked the light in the sky every night. It seemed to be getting bigger.

“Ginger, would you take another look at Venus?”

“Why?”

“I’ve been watching it and it’s getting bigger.”

“Hogwash, Venus is in a stable orbit.”

“Humor me and I won’t bring it up again.”

“See, Venus is over there and the same size as when you asked.”

“Not that Venus, the other one. It’s to the left about 15°.”

“That is bigger. Why didn’t you bring it up sooner?”

“It wasn’t growing that fast and after what you said, I wanted to be sure.”

“Hum, what was that movie?”

“What movie?”

“A Fire in the sky starring Richard Crenna. The gist of the story was that Phoenix was
hit by a Comet.”

“I didn’t see that.”

“It was a TV movie, not theatrical release.”

“When was that?”

“Give take a year, 1978.”

“How much danger does it pose to us if it’s a Comet and does hit Phoenix?”

“I don’t know. Barrington Meteor Crater between Winslow and Flagstaff isn’t all that big
and it’s very shallow. CNN claimed the depth was due to a slower than anticipated
speed. I don’t believe we’ll know until whatever this hits… assuming it does.”

My fellow Americans

128
Several Observatories have been tracking a Comet that recently appeared from behind
the Sun. Speculation is that the Comet originated in the Kuiper Belt. The Observatories
include Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Obser-
vatory in Chile, the telescopes on Mauna Kea and the radio telescope at Arecibo Ob-
servatory in Puerto Rico.

Comets are icy small Solar System bodies that, when passing close to the Sun, heat up
and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a
tail. Current estimates are that this Comet is on the order of 4 kilometers in diameter
and that it will strike the planet Earth in 4 days in North America. Further observations
will pin down a more accurate strike point.

My office has been in consultations with Moscow and Beijing discussing the possibility
of striking the comet with ICBMs moments before it enters our atmosphere. The final
conclusions were that such a strike would cause more problems than the comet strike
itself, not the least of which would be massive electromagnetic pulses.

The best scientific minds in the world estimate that by the time the Comet grounds, it
could be as small as 400 meters.

This office will keep you informed as more data is analyzed and more useful information
becomes available. No evacuations are planned at this time in light of Hurricane Rita in
2005. We fear that we could be evacuating people from zones of safety directly into the
path of the comet.

Thank you and good night. God Bless America.

“What’s the word Boss?”

“Trouble with a capital T. Hank, get the livestock moved close to the barn but hold off
locking them down beyond a holding area until we know more. Ramón, has the ammu-
nition been delivered?”

“Delivered, counted and stored Boss.”

“Good. Move us to Yellow Alert and issue the military weapons. Both of you make sure
that everyone knows where to shelter if it becomes necessary. On the off chance that
Comet hits this ranch; none of our preparations are going to mean much. That said
we’re only 3 square miles out the 3,784,100 square miles that make up the US. The
odds should be in our favor.”

“What are our odds?”

“The odds of the ranch getting hit are 1 in 1,261,337. I didn’t do it in my head, I used a
calculator. Get busy; we only have about 96 hours.”

129
“Cal, do you think there’s any reason to make a trip to Phoenix to fill in the loose ends
we have in food and supplies?”

“The population of metro Phoenix is about 4.5 million; are you sure you want to get into
that mess?”

“That’s why I asked. Tucson might be a better alternative.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Very little food… a few odds and ends we usually buy at Costco in the commercial size
packages. Feminine Hygiene, bath tissue and a bit of extra booze to cover the partly
empty bottles and a couple of kegs.”

“Ok, but I’m going with you and we’ll pull our trailer in case something comes to mind. I’ll
get Ramón to assign two people to accompany us for security.”

“Weapons?”

“Handguns with the shotguns and H&Ks in the truck. Full combat load out, our load out,
not the military’s.

Ginger went with a Monarch Shoulder rig for a Hi-Power and 3 backup 13 round (sur-
plus) magazines plus a Gerber Mark I she bought used off the Internet. She also had
her Galco purse with another Hi-Power and 4 13 round magazines. Her H&K was a
HK416 with 2 drums plus 13 magazines. I went with the Kimber in a Monarch Shoulder
rig with 3 backup magazines and a Cold Steel FGX Boot Blade I. I had a Hi-Power for
backup in an IWB holster with 5 13 round magazines total… one in the handgun and
additional in a pair of double magazine pouches. We both had PPKs in .380acp on our
left ankles and a double magazine carrier on our right ankles.

We stopped at the closest Costco in Phoenix and did one stop shopping. The store
wasn’t that busy and I wondered aloud if anyone in Phoenix had heard the announce-
ment. After a stop at our favorite liquor store, we stopped at a second Costco. This one
was fairly busy, but we didn’t really need much and loaded 2 flats with Charmin and
checked out.

“Do you think we should try a third store Cal?”

“I think it’s too risky. More people seem to be getting the word and we could run into ri-
ot.”

“Hey you two, some of that crowd are headed this way.”

“Let’s boogie!”

130
“Good idea, Cal. Shotgun?”

“Keep it handy until we’re on I-10.”

When shots rang out, nearly deafening me, I realized our two security personnel were
firing over the heads of the approaching people in an attempt to keep them at bay. That
always a good way to make friends and influence people… Once we cleared the park-
ing lot of the second store; it took only minutes to get on I-10 and headed home. It was
full dark when we pulled in and we checked the sky when we dismount the crew cab.

“It’s bigger, isn’t it?”

“So it appears. I wonder when they’ll release more data about the probable impact ar-
ea.”

“Have good trip?”

“We got most of what we went for but it got exciting towards the end when people be-
gan to get off work and hitting the Costco stores. We hit one Costco, the liquor store
and a second Costco for more Charmin and coffee. It was getting crowed so we skipped
the coffee. It’s good we took security because it started getting dicey after we loaded
our purchases from the second store. Your guys ended up firing over the heads of a
growing crowd.”

“I have two more people waiting to help you unload and store everything.”

“Ok Ramón, the booze goes in the dome and everything else in the other shelter.”

We had the TV on as we ate a quick supper of macaroni and cheese with peas as a
side dish.

My fellow Americans

The expected impact area for the comet has been refined and the indications are it will
strike the southwestern US or northern Mexico. As these calculations become more ac-
curate, the results will be released to main stream media.

To ensure continuity of government, select officials will be sheltered at Mount Weather.

My office feels that dissemination of the new information will be speeded by eliminating
my office reviewing the new results.

Thank you and good night. God Bless America.

“Coward!”

“Cal, that wasn’t very nice.”

131
“He just waited to see where in North America the comet would strike so he could figure
out which hole to crawl into. If it had been the east coast, Air Force One would be at Pe-
tersen Air Force Base instead of Marine One being at Mount Weather.”

Later that day, Fox News announced that the strike would be within a 300 mile radius of
Phoenix, Arizona. The comet was closer to 3 kilometers in diameter than 4 kilometers
and the probable impact object was closer to 300 meters in diameter; assuming it didn’t
all vaporize in the atmosphere! The DOE immediately ordered Palo Verde nuclear gen-
erating station to shut down its 3 reactors. This nuclear power plant is a major source of
electric power for the densely populated parts of Southern Arizona and Southern Cali-
fornia, e.g. the Phoenix-Scottsdale, Tucson, Los Angeles, and San Diego metropolitan
areas.

The ranch is located about 67 miles south of central Phoenix and 52 miles north of Cen-
tral Tucson. Shutting down Palo Verde didn’t affect us other than our disconnecting from
the grid. With all the wind turbines, PV panels and submarine battery banks, we had
more power than we could use.

With the announcement of the target area for the comet, our odds changed. A circle
with a 300 mile radius covers 282,735 mi². Our odds were now 1 in 188,490. Which
brings me to the point that all the PAW fiction writers emphasize, it doesn’t matter what
you have for a shelter if you take a direct hit. The odds of our getting hit were higher
than getting a Royal Flush, which were 1 in 649,739. Fortunately, they were lower than
getting any other poker hand, so one can hope.

“It looks like it is coming straight at us.”

“While I don’t know, Ginger, I’d imagine that it will be like that until it gets much closer.”

“We should have moved outside the 300 mile radius the moment Fox announced that.
We could still leave, you know.”

“Climb up on the dome and check out the traffic on I-10.”

“Bumper to bumper?”

“Yeah, in both directions; people seem to be assuming it will hit Phoenix like that movie
you told me about. You should have paid better attention when we came home. Fox or
one of the other stations should have a more accurate estimate tomorrow. The thing I
don’t understand is why they don’t have a more accurate estimate at the moment. We
both saw Deep Impact and Armageddon, and while Deep Impact had a more accurate
scientific basis, Armageddon did better at the box office.

“I looked both movies up on Wikipedia and was led to another page, Asteroid impact
avoidance. It said, and I quote

132
“Most deflection efforts for a large object require from a year to decades of warning, al-
lowing time to prepare and carry out a collision avoidance project, as no known plane-
tary defense hardware has already been developed. It has been estimated that a veloci-
ty change of just 3.5/t × 10−2 ms−1 (where t is the number of years until potential im-
pact) is needed to successfully deflect a body on a direct collision trajectory. In addition,
under certain circumstances, much smaller velocity changes are needed. For example
when it was believed there was a high chance of 99942 Apophis swinging by Earth in
2029 with a 10−4 probability of passing through a 'keyhole' and returning on an impact
trajectory in 2035 or 2036. It was determined that a deflection from this potential return
trajectory several years before the swing by, could be achieved with a velocity change
on the order of 10−6 ms−1.

“An impact by a 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) asteroid on the Earth has historically caused an
extinction-level event due to catastrophic damage to the biosphere. There is also the
threat from comets coming into the inner Solar System. The impact speed of a long-
period comet would likely be several times greater than that of a near-Earth asteroid,
making its impact much more destructive; in addition, the warning time is unlikely to be
more than a few months. Impacts from objects as small as 50 meters (160 feet) in di-
ameter, which are far more common, are historically extremely destructive regionally
(see Barringer crater).”

“What, the Meteor Crater is a target site?”

“It’s within the 300 mile radius. The Meteor crater is located at 35:01:38N 111:01:21W
and Phoenix is located at 33:32:33N 112:04:17W. Indo gives a line of sight distance of
119 miles on a heading of south-southwest, 210.7 degrees, from the crater to Phoenix.”

CNN provided the next report and the target area was still Phoenix, but the radius had
dropped to 140 miles. Blitzer stated that a further refinement was expected within an
hour. We switched back to Fox and they were repeating the same announcement, 140
mile radius around Phoenix. Neither of us can stand Wolf so we left the TV on Fox and I
told Ramón to keep the TV in their office staffed 24/7 and to broadcast updates on the
Business Band radios. I also specified they watch CNN.

“All points, this is Ramón. CNN is reporting a change in the impact point to 20 miles
north of Phoenix and a decrease in the radius to 95 miles.”

“That matches Fox and puts us just on the edge, Cal.”

“What aren’t they telling us, Ginger?”

Brit Hume was providing the Fox coverage. He stated that the speed of the comet had
been under estimated and now appeared to be traveling at 15 kilometers per second
due to the effect of Earth’s gravity. The object that excavated Meteor crater was a nick-
el–iron meteorite about 50 meters (55 yards) across. The speed of the impact has been

133
a subject of some debate. Modeling initially suggested that the meteorite struck at up to
20 kilometers per second (45,000 mph), but more recent research suggests the impact
was substantially slower, at 12.8 kilometers per second (28,600 mph). It is believed that
about half of the impactor's bulk was vaporized during its descent before it hit the
ground. Impact energy has been estimated at about 10 megatons. Estimated time to
impact was 46 hours and shrinking.

It was Friday afternoon, time for the weekly meeting. One person was holding down
Hank and Ramón’s office and four were riding the circuit around the ranch. A sixth indi-
vidual was in the OP atop the dome and the remaining adults were gathered in the
dome nursing drinks. The younger children were in the employee shelter being attended
to by the teens.

During the 2 hour meeting, we were updated twice. The first update changed the impact
point from 20 miles north of Phoenix to 25 miles north of Phoenix. The second update
reduced the radius of the strike area from 95 miles to 80 miles.

“Does that put us in the clear?”

“Close, but it might depend on the amount of speed the thing generates. Hume said it
appeared to be accelerating due to the Earth’s gravity.”

“He’s guessing.”

“I’ve never had the impression that he guessed about things. When he was doing Spe-
cial Report he posed hypotheticals but I never saw him guess. All we have to do is wait
2 or 3 more hours to know whether the ranch is in the strike zone or not.”

“And, if we’re not?”

“If that’s the case, we’re still waiting for number 9.”

“I thought we were at 5 and this would be 6. How big was the thing that created Meteor
crater?”

“Fifty meters.”

“So, what’s worse, 300 meters at high speed or 50 meters at a lower speed?”

“I’m guessing here, but 300 meters at high speed. That’s assuming it doesn’t melt when
it comes through the atmosphere. Comets are ice and the asteroid that created Meteor
crater was a nickel-iron asteroid. It just occurred to me; could this comet affect the San
Francisco volcanic field?”

“When was the last eruption there?”

134
“Nine hundred-fifty years ago ±40 years…. I looked it up when I went on Wikipedia.”

“Another bad habit you picked from TOM.”

“What bad habit?”

“Looking everything up on Wikipedia.”

“The article on Meteor crater said the strike released about 10 Megatons of energy and
that very little of the asteroid remained in the crater. If it doesn’t hit near here, we won’t
even get rain out of the deal.”

“That’s why we have irrigation wells Cal.”

135
 The Dome II – Chapter 14

The Comet struck north of Phoenix in the area of that old town Marty Robbins sang
about, Aqua Fria, where the Arizona Ranger shot Texas Red.

To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day

Hardly spoke to folks around him didn't have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a slip
for the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

It was early in the morning when he rode into the town

He came riding from the south side slowly lookin' all around
He's an outlaw loose and running came the whisper from each lip
And he's here to do some business with the big iron on his hip
big iron on his hip

In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red

Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of twenty four
And the notches on his pistol numbered one an nineteen more
One and nineteen more

Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around

Was an Arizona ranger wouldn't be too long in town
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead
And he said it didn't matter he was after Texas Red
After Texas Red

Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red

But the outlaw didn't worry men that tried before were dead
Twenty men had tried to take him twenty men had made a slip
Twenty one would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

The morning passed so quickly it was time for them to meet

It was twenty past eleven when they walked out in the street
Folks were watching from the windows every-body held their breath
They knew this handsome ranger was about to meet his death
About to meet his death

There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today
Texas Red had not cleared leather fore a bullet fairly ripped
And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

136
It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground
Oh he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

The Agua Fria post office closed in 1895. When a new post office opened in 1898, the
community was renamed Dewey, probably to honor Admiral Dewey's great victory that
year at the Battle of Manila – this was the height of the Spanish-American War. Another
post office was established at Val Verde (Humboldt) in 1899.

That’s in case you’re wondering what happened to Agua Fria. Some claim that Texas
Red was an alias used by Billy the Kid. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Ari-
zona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in
1957. Billy the Kid died 20 years before the Rangers were first formed.

The work assigned to these Rangers was arduous and dangerous one. For many years
sheriff's officers and vigilantes had found themselves entirely unable to cope with the
lawless bands which made their headquarters in the badlands. But the condition of af-
fairs had grown unendurable. The temerity of the outlaws was not only a scourge to the
community, but a menace to the good name of the Territory. No man's sheep or cattle
were safe from the raids of the organized bands of outlaws, who would sweep down on
a range, drive away the cattle, reach the mountain fastnesses (strongholds) long before
the posse could be organized for pursuit. Raids and murders had become so common
that they were scarcely noted.

There were a dozen bands of the horse and cattle thieves, at the head of which were
such men as 'Bill' Smith, the notorious Augustine Chacon, commonly called 'Pelelo', and
the train robber, Burt Alvord. Yet within a year of the time of its organization, this little
band of rangers, consisting of a captain, a sergeant and twelve privates, had practically
cleared the territory of hundreds of bad characters.

Many of them had paid for their lawlessness with their lives and the rest had been driv-
en across the line into Mexico... The Rangers are recruited from old cowboys and from
the ranks of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. They have to be able to rope and ride
anything on four legs, as their horses may be killed and remounts are at times absolute-
ly necessary. Especially quick work is required in heading fugitives from the border. A
crime is reported; the ranger slaps on the saddle and is away. To the credit of the rang-
er it may be said that nine times out of ten he brings back his man, dead or alive.

In 1957, a voluntary service organization called the Arizona Rangers was organized,
founded with the assistance of four former members of the agency. The modern Arizona
Rangers were officially recognized by the state of Arizona in 2002, when Arizona Gov-
ernor Jane Hull signed Legislative Act 41. The purpose of this act was “to recognize the

137
Arizona rangers, who formed in 1901, disbanded in 1909 and reestablished in 1957 by
original Arizona rangers.”

The present-day Arizona Rangers are an unpaid, all-volunteer, law enforcement support
and assistance civilian auxiliary police in the state of Arizona. They work co-operatively
at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law en-
forcement officials and officers. They also provide youth support and community service
and work to preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the original Arizona Rangers.

Anyway, Dewey and Humboldt are no more and because the comet strike didn’t affect
us directly, we’re at 9 or 5, depending on whether you ask me or Ginger. We had fol-
lowed the news closely and knew that it was going to hit north of Phoenix. It was only as
the comet approached the atmosphere that Brit Hume announced the expected target
was the Agua Fria National Monument. It was an hour later that the news reported the
destruction of Dewey-Humboldt and that the impact generated an estimated 15 Mega-
tons (of TNT) of energy.

For whatever reason I began to think about not what we had, but what we didn’t have in
terms of military weapons. We had M67s, 6 colors of smoke, 40mm grenades, Mk3A
concussion, AN-M14 Thermate and our homemade Molotov cocktails. What we lacked
was M15 Willy Pete, M61 grenades, LAW rockets (which were essentially rocket pro-
pelled grenades), Javelin Rockets, M84 stun grenades and riot control gas grenades.

Our supply of Mk 211 MP was limited to 2,400 rounds although we were in excellent
shape when it came to 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm. We also had the market cornered
on.45 Colt and .45-70 from Buffalo Bore. We had more than enough M-21s but only two
long range rifles, the Tac-50s. I’d heard good things about Vigilance Rifle’s VR1 semi-
auto chambered in .408 CheyTac and they were available with 5 or 10 round maga-
zines. That cartridge should give us something better than the 7.62×51mm and .338
Lapua Magnum and less than the Tac-50.

A 1999 Justice Department Office of Special Investigations briefing on .50 caliber rifle
crime identified several instances of the .50 BMG being involved in criminal activities.
Most of the instances of criminal activity cited in the Office of Special Investigations
briefing involved the illegal possession of a .50 BMG rifle. The briefing did not identify
any instance of a .50 BMG rifle being used in the commission of a murder.

I started a list in anticipation of discussing the additions with Ginger. Plus, if we could
get our hands on more of the HK416s and HK417s; so much the better. I also intended
to buy up every Winchester 1886 in .45-70 and 1892 in .45 Colt that we could get our
hands on. We really couldn’t tackle armor if the government brought it to bear beyond
using the Javelin missiles so I gave them a high priority. I’d discuss it with Ramón but
really didn’t want him to get in trouble acquiring the additional matériel.

138
“Cal, we checked the cattle herd and we’ve been hit by rustlers again.”

“How many this time?”

“Six head of almost market ready steers.”

“How close to market ready?”

“Right around 1,200 pounds.”

“Let’s drive up to Florence and talk to the Sheriff. Beef is up to about $1.10 a pound and
7,200 pounds of beef is big bucks. Why wasn’t it discovered before?”

“Two reasons, the first being the Comet and the second being them doing a better job of
hiding where they cut the fence. We almost missed the spot where they cut it this time.”

“Ok, grab your Winchester ’92 and Vaquero and let’s hit the road.”

“Honey, Hank and I are driving up to Florence.”

“What’s up?”

“We’ve been hit by rustlers again and lost 6 head.”

“Ouch.”

“Right. We’ll probably be gone about 3 hours at least.”

“Help you?”

“I sure hope so. We’ve had another 6 head of Black Angus rustled. Hank, do you have
the ear tag numbers?”

“Right here boss.”

“Didn’t you have an earlier experience with rustlers?”

“We lost 4 head that time, so yes; we seem to be their favorite target in the area. I was
thinking on the way up that if we got the ear tag numbers out, we might get lucky and
catch them this time. Either that or they take all 6 head to the same processor. These
cattle are just short of market weight and run about 1,200 pounds each.”

“You have that dome down by Eloy, right?”

“That’s us.”

139
“When did the rustling happen?”

“Best we can figure, the day the Comet hit.”

“We’ll get the word out to all agencies; but, I have to tell you it will be a long shot.”

“I’ll hold off on filing an insurance claim for 2 weeks and maybe you’ll get lucky.”

“If we catch them, you’ll prosecute?”

“Unless there something extraordinary about the circumstances, absolutely. Taking one
head to feed a family that’s down on their luck might be extraordinary. Six head would
be a stretch, even if the beef is recovered.”

“Ok, sign here and we’ll get it in the works. The yellow copy is for your insurance com-
pany.”

“Thank you Deputy.”

“Do you think they’ll get them?”

“We have an even chance Hank. I’ll have Ramón up the boundary patrols but I doubt
the results will be different from the last times. You put someone on the fence, right?”

“It should be done when we get back.”

“I’ll be happy when things like this stop happening.”

“Things like this are what make life interesting, Cal. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for
them to stop happening. At least you’re getting some of your insurance premiums back.
Assuming they don’t cut you off for too many claims.”

“We don’t insure through Allstate Hank. Lord knows it would be cheaper on the surface
but they have a reputation for doing that very thing. After the Northridge earthquake
back in ’94, all the private insurers cut off California earthquake coverage forcing the
state to control earthquake insurance.”

“We’re here and I’ll go check on the fence, Cal.”

“I need to visit with Ginger, Hank. A thought just came to mind.”

“I’ll mention the increased patrols to Ramón.”

“Okay, thanks.”

140
“Ginger, I just had an odd thought and I think only you can answer it. What’s status on
the kids’ vaccinations?”

“Cal, they’ve had the full set of childhood vaccinations and the five of us get flu shots
every year. What brought that up?”

“We’ve survived Yellowstone, a nuclear detonation and a Comet out of the Kuiper Belt.
We’ve repelled a Muslim Extremist invasion and it occurred to me we should be con-
cerned about the small things, like the common cold and seasonal flu.”

“We’re covered honey and we have enough Tamiflu and Relenza to give courses of
treatment of both to everyone on the ranch and on Andy’s farm. Plus Sheree said they
had full courses of treatments of both drugs too. Our clinic may only have a single bed,
but we’re prepared for every disaster from the common cold to gunshot wounds to heart
attacks. On the serious things, like heart attacks, about all we can do is stabilize and
maintain while we wait for transport.”

“Who’s doing the treatment? I’ve only had a basic First Aid class.”

“Me for one, Ramón, Maria and Hank have all had Advanced First Aid and are Interme-
diate level EMTs. If you get shot in the heart, you’re going to die. Try to get shot in the
head so all you’ll get is a headache.”

“Hey, I’m serious here!”

“Too serious, if you ask me.”

“I had another subject I wanted to bring up and discuss with you.”

“What caliber?”

“Well, among others .408 CheyTac. Look for whatever reason I began to think about not
what we had, but what we didn’t have in terms of military weapons. We have M67s, 6
colors of smoke, 40mm grenades, Mk3A concussion, AN-M14 Thermate and our
homemade Molotov cocktails. What we lack is M15 Willy Pete, M61 grenades, LAW
rockets which were essentially rocket propelled grenades, Javelin Rockets, M84 stun
grenades and riot control gas grenades.

“Our supply of Mk 211 MP is limited to 2,400 rounds although we are in excellent shape
when it comes to 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm. We also had the market cornered on
.45 Colt and .45-70 from Buffalo Bore. We have more than enough M-21s but only two
long range rifles, the Tac-50s. I’ve heard good things about Vigilance Rifle’s VR1 semi-
auto chambered in .408 CheyTac and they are available with 5 or 10 round magazines.

141
That cartridge should give us something better than the 7.62×51mm and .338 Lapua
Magnum and less than the Tac-50.

“I started a list in anticipation of discussing the additions with you. Plus, if we could get
our hands on more of the HK416s and HK417s; so much the better. I also intend to buy
up all the Winchester 1886s in .45-70 and 1892s in .45 Colt that we can get our hands
on. We really couldn’t tackle armor if the government brought it to bear beyond using
the Javelin missiles so I gave them a high priority. I’d discuss it with Ramón but really
didn’t want him to get in trouble acquiring the additional matériel.”

“Maybe he can refer you to the so called crooked supply sergeant. You’ll know when
you find him and flash a little gold, his eyes will gleam greed.”

“It would be even better if we had a trustworthy cutout.”

“There is no such thing as a trustworthy cutout. He gets caught and he’d give you up in
a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, huh?”

“Order the VR-1s and plenty of ammo. I’ll see what I can do on the Winchesters and
more scabbards. You can place another order with Buffalo Bore in the meantime. Try to
get some ordinary full power loads this time in .45 Colt.”

“Ramón, know any crooked supply sergeants?”

“Several, why? Crooked supply sergeant is an oxymoron. Haven’t you ever seen Kelly’s
Heroes?”

“Must have missed that one. When did it come out?”

“Around 1970.”

“Before my time. Anyway, what I’m looking for is things we’re missing. Things like M15
Willy Pete, M61 grenades, LAW rockets, Javelin Rockets, M84 stun grenades and riot
control gas grenades and more Mk 211 MP.”

“Big bucks.”

“We have big bucks to spend and have more every month that passes.”

“Anything else? How about 4 LAV-25s with the Bushmaster chain gun and M240 ma-
chine guns? Say 2 of the LAV-25A1, 1 of the LAV-ATs and 1 of the LAV-ADs?”

“Explain.”

142
“Two improved LAV-25s, one Anti-Tank with TOW Missiles and one Air Defense with
Stinger Missiles.”

“You can get those and the other things?”

“I know a lot of crooked supply sergeants. We’re talking BIG money here, maybe a cou-
ple of million. I know them by sight and reputation and not by name. The reverse is also
true; they know me by sight due to a few small things I scrounged.”

“I didn’t want to put you at risk.”

“No risk but you’d better get started on an underground garage for the LAVs and ex-
pand your bunker or build a second.”

“Hank mention the increased patrols?”

“Already implemented. Pairs at irregular half-hour intervals. Shorter intervals, not long-
er.”

“What do you carry for a backup handgun?”

“A PPK.”

“Try one of the Taurus PT1911Bs. If you like it, carry one in an IWB, small of your back
holster. We have plenty and have more on order. If you’re using the 230 grain Gold Dot,
try the 200 grain +P Gold Dot. That’s what we have the largest supply of.”

I avoided telling Ginger that the San Diego nuke was number 9 and the Comet number
10. I’d gone back and recounted and her count was right on the money. This was the
true source of my worry about what we didn’t have. Our main problem was our lack of
ability to bug out. If nothing else, we didn’t have enough semis, tankers and trailers. I
decided to just do what we could; and, see what God’s sense of humor would bring us
next.

I gathered a general description of TOM and his family from his stories and told Ramón
if anyone of that description showed up to send them on their way. TOM was about 5’4,
134 pounds, buzz cuts his entire head and most of his teeth are broken. I think it’s fair to
include shortness of breath since he has COPD; and, I suspect he has double or triple
rings under his eyes. Seems like he gave his birthday as 3/23/43, so we can add old.

Russia was entering into massive arms deals with the Muslim countries in the Middle
East and China was expanding their military armament, especially their naval forces. In
the same vein, Russia had several new submarines. Three block I Borei class SSBNs in
service and was equipping the block IIs with additional missiles; 20 versus 16

143
Taken at face value, the fleet of 10 SSBNs wasn’t expected to be fully commissioned
over an extended period and the Block II carried 20 Bulava SLBMs. All of the 10 Borei
class are expected to be commissioned by 2020. My analysis of the Russian expansion
showed 3 Block I with 16 tubes plus the 7 class II with 20 tubes. That’s 3×16×6 plus
7×20×6 = 1,128 SLBM warheads.

China was decommissioning its sole type 92 Xia class SSBN. Their flotilla of Type 94
Jin class stood at 5 carrying up to 12 to 16 JL-2 missiles with the MIRV’d warheads car-
rying ~10 250kT thermonuclear warheads. That’s 5×16×10 = 800. Where in the name of
God did the Chinese come up with 800 warheads? Either they have some empty missile
tubes or someone has seriously underestimated the Chinese weapons stockpile. It’s
worse than I thought.

Worse, Mr. President had negotiated our SSBNs down to 5 warheads per. That’s
14×24×5 = 1,680. If I’m not mistaken, 1,128+800 = 1,938 > 1,680. Ah, unilateral dis-
armament. And, if he pulls off a gun grab, the US might be successfully invaded. How
big of a step would it be for the liberals to become Communists? That small? Crap! Lock
and load? Nah, that’s what TOM always says. And, I read he gave his firearms collec-
tion to his son.

But, back to the VR-1 and the .408 CheyTac ammo; I kind of like the look of the Chey-
Tac USA .408 M300 Precision Engagement Rifle with the A5 McMillan Stock. Now, the
ammo choice is $1,346.40 for the 198 round ammo can with the 350 grain Sierra
MatchKing or $1,406 for the 419 grain solid copper projectile. Two rifles so we’d proba-
bly better order 12 cans of each and adjust. Have to call them for the rifle prices includ-
ing the Elite Iron Suppressor. Then I can fill Ginger in on what this part of the additions
cost. I’d better fill her in about my conversation with Ramón.

I know I told her about the stuff I thought we were missing, but Ramón brought up the
LAVs. I doubt the 2 million includes the garage or extra ordnance. Talk about a touchy
subject, the vehicles and ordnance all have serial numbers! I wonder if we can capital-
ize this stuff and depreciate it.

144
 The Dome II – Chapter 15

Six months later, we had everything on the list including the underground garage, 4
LAVs, a 40,000 gallon tank of JP-8, 4 load outs of spare missiles for the LAV-AT and
LAV-AD and tons of belted 7.62×51mm and nearly as much as belted 25mm, mixed be-
tween the M791, M792, M793, M910, MK210, and M919 rounds. The M793 and M910
were target practice rounds. The good part was the 25mm ammo worked in both the
M242 Bushmaster and the GAU-12 Equalizer. When it came to using the practice am-
mo, we went WAY OUT in the boonies.

Maybe the $20,000 engagement ring wasn’t too bad an idea. Neither was giving Ginger
every boy toy I added to our armory. Jacob was still with the Ready-Mix and they were
hurting for business. We got a good deal on the underground LAV garage and 2 nd bun-
ker. Considering what we added to the bunker this time, we did a bit or reorganization.
Ramón even managed a bonus, another M2A1 and an Mk 19 Mod 3.

Be that as it may, Ginger came up with 25 each Winchester 1886s in .45-70 and 1892s
in .45 Colt. Better yet, she found a lot of 52 7½” original Vaqueros. Due to her extreme
good fortune, Maria, Julie and she taped everyone on the ranch and ordered Laredoan
Crossdraw rigs for everyone equipped with 48 cartridge loops for .45 Colt, revolver on
the top, rifle on the bottom and 10 .45-70 loops. Finally, she contacted Cold Steel and
ordered San Mai III Laredo or Natchez Bowies according to each person’s preference.
For a change, they had what she wanted in stock and Julie and she drove to Phoenix to
pick up the order.

Of course when I placed that order with Buffalo Bore, the .45 Colt ammo ordered was
the standard full power loads for the Vaqueros. We could just shoot up the deer gre-
nades in the ‘92s. We were standing in tall alfalfa. It was a good thing too, because the
bank account was down to 100 grand, the lowest it had been in years. Of course that
was after our normal monthly gold and silver purchase.

“Which LAV is mine?”

“None of the four.”

“Why not?”

“You’re management and that means you don’t get to ride around in one of those coffins
on wheels. You want a VR-1, instead?”

“Ok.”

“I’ll order 3 more and more ammo.”

“Who else gets one?”

145
“Hank, Ramón, and Juan each get one because they’re snipers too.”

“They have Tac-50s too?”

“Of course.”

“That doesn’t make a lot of sense; they can only shoot one rifle at a time.”

“You have an M1A Loaded, M21, HK416, HK417, Winchester 1886 and a Winchester
1892 and that Mini-14. How many rifles can you shoot at one time?”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“You said it yourself, I’m management the same as you, Dad and Mom.”

“So are Ramón and Hank. And, of all of us, Juan is probably the best shot overall.”

“But you said the bank balance was low.”

“There’s another alfalfa check due and they started baling round bales this morning.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?”

“How’s it feel when the shoe’s on your foot?”

“It sort of pinches.”

“Now you know why I walk funny most of the time.”

“I picked up some prawns, filets and makings for Caesar salad for tonight.”

“Price come down?”

“No, but it has been a long time.”

As you can see married life on the ranch doesn’t differ much from married life elsewhere
except on the scale of things. We eat casseroles fairly often if the truth be told. But then
we raise Black Angus, hogs and chickens so we eat a fair amount of meat too. Say, I
wonder if she ordered suspenders for those Crossdraw rigs. We had to get them for all
of the men’s’ ALICE gear. John Wayne didn’t have that problem, because his Colt was
the 4¾” Gunfighter model.

146
Just another day in Paradise? Only if you were inside and the air conditioning was run-
ning. The dome had both refrigerated air conditioning and electric heat but the inside
temperature was like a cave, the average temperature of the year. We used more ener-
gy heating water in the electric demand water heaters than anything else. That was
probably due to the lack of windows and heavily insulated steel doors with wood cover-
ings. We did our best to make the dome appear normal. Maybe that’s why I misunder-
stood Jacob about the 6 feet of earth sheltering. Who wants to try to mow a dome?

Ginger saw an ad on TV for some new kind of grass that put roots down 4 feet and
didn’t require much mowing… A week later, we were in the middle of changing from the
old to the new. The old was Bermuda grass; the new was either grassology, quicklawn
or patchperfect. My only interest was reduced lawn mowing of a permanent grass.

When it turned out that they came up a bit short on grass seed, I got Jacob back down
to pour three pads with 3 foot high, two foot thick walls and added the 3 layers of sand-
bags for additional protection. The M240B remained in the primary OP and a M2A1
went in one of the other fighting positions and the Mk 19 Mod 3 in the other. Each of the
three had 2 M136 AT-4 and 2 Javelins.

These fighting positions were slightly larger to allow a sniper and 2 gunners for the ma-
chine gun and Javelin missiles. Since the LAV-AT was equipped with TOW missiles and
the LAV-AD with Stingers and the GRU-12, I speculated aloud we were sitting pretty;
immediately generating further discussion.

It was first pointed out that either a B-52 or B1-B equipped with JDAMs could complete-
ly ruin our day. The same could be said for those mothballed F-117 Nighthawks stored
at Groom Lake or a single B-2 Spirit from Whiteman AFB. And those rumored M1A3
Abrams had us out ranged by thousands of meters.

“Cal, never underestimate the American fighting man. Do it and you’re going to get your
butt kicked.”

“Hey, we’re always open to suggestions here.”

“I assume that Hank agrees with me when I say there isn’t much more were can do.”

“Ramón’s right Cal, there isn’t much more we can do. If you get caught with half the
stuff we have, they’ll weld your cell doors shut. I think our best bet is to stick with the
Winchesters and Vaqueros. With the OP manned 24/7, we should have enough warning
to switch weapons.”

So, sit back, shut up and grow alfalfa?”

“Plus the livestock yes.”

“That sounds downright boring.”

147
“Well, you do have that new rifle so you could spend enough time on the range until
you’re thoroughly proficient with it.”

“Speaking of which, I ordered both of you the same rifle plus a fifth for Juan. I assume
you noticed the modified emplacements on the top of the dome. We’ll put Ma Deuce in
one and that Mk 19 in the other. The original was made larger to accommodate that
Javelin.”

“You know Cal; you’re starting to sound like TOM.”

“Ginger said something similar.”

“He may have a point when he says it’s only when not if.”

“I’ll give you that,” Ramón chuckled. “We’ve had more than our share of extraordinary
events.”

“Review what we gave on hand and when we get the hay check, we’ll get it if we can.’’

Ramón wanted more ammunition and ordnance while Hank wanted the grain bins
topped off and all the fuels topped off monthly. If I read him right, he was suggesting
another Containment Solutions 40,000 gallon tank of untaxed diesel.

After yet another discussion. Ginger and I agreed with Ramón and with Hank to the ex-
tent of getting the tank but waiting to fill it when we had yet another alfalfa check or
hauled hogs and cattle to the market. These days, both checks were fairly large. Ramón
got an M1114 with an Mk 19 mounted and a truckload of belted 40mm grenades. He
made a list of ammo to add, but it wasn’t enough to justify the motor freight. He also
mentioned he might have a lead on the Frag 12 shotgun shells. Yuma Proving Ground
was reevaluating several improved rounds. So what if the ATF said they were destruc-
tive devices.

And then, just when we had the world by the tail, up popped the devil. For several years
we had been confident on getting at least 10 cuttings of alfalfa per year. We’d done eve-
rything possible to ensure large yields including buying young honey bees, adding po-
tassium and phosphorus and manure in recent years. While in most climates, alfalfa is
cut three to four times a year, it can be harvested up to 12 times per year in Arizona and
southern California.

Total yields are typically around four tons per acre in temperate environments, but
yields have been recorded up to 16 tons per acre. Yields vary with region, weather, and
the crop's stage of maturity when cut. Later cuttings improve yield, but with reduced nu-
tritional content.

148
Some damn bug was Hank’s observation about this cutting.

“Ok, what do we do about it?”

“Plow it under and plant GM corn for 2-3 years. Once we get the autotoxicity out of the
soil, we can go with GM alfalfa seed and spray the fields with Roundup. That’s all I
know to do and depending upon which disease we’re dealing with, even that might not
work.”

“Where did it come from?”

“Well, that’s hard to say. My first thought was it was in the seed when the ash forced us
to plow the fields and reseed them. I’m beginning to doubt that considering how long it
has been since we started over. Hell, it could be a mold, fungus or bacteria. Some of
those can lie dormant for 2 or 3 years. And, I’m not sure Roundup will solve the prob-
lem.”

“Do we have time to get in a corn crop?”

“It’s April so that shouldn’t be a problem. You’re going to have to hold off filling that new
tank with untaxed diesel.”

“Get the 1,280 plowed, disked and dragged. Use the same guy we used the last time.
See if he can plant the corn, too. We’ll buy the sprayer rigs since that sounds more like
a long term proposition.”

“You have enough money to do this?”

“We have reserves we can use, our retirement money.”

“Ginger, Hank says there’s a problem with the alfalfa. We’re going to have to plow it un-
der after this cutting and prepare the soil to grow corn for the 2 to 3 years. He also sug-
gested we use the genetically modified seed and spray with Roundup. When we can,
we plow the corn under and reseed with GM alfalfa and continue to use Roundup.”

“I wanted to talk to you about filling the diesel tank anyway. I located a source for bio-
diesel. It’s cheaper than untaxed diesel and we have the untaxed #1 diesel we can add
to the biodiesel to keep it from gelling.”

“When will he have some available?”

“He has 10,000 available now and said he could provide 15,000 a year for the next 2
years. The untaxed #1 costs slightly more but that should be offset by the lower price of
the biodiesel. We’ll just mix it at the same ratio, 20%.”

149
“If we were anywhere further north, we’d have to increase that. Ten percent #1 only
lowers the gel point 5 degrees.”

“We’ve seen no indication that those polar cold masses have come this far south.”

“Nevertheless, have the dealer top off the #1 untaxed and put 1,000 untaxed in the new
tank before you get the biodiesel delivery. If you will, keep an eye on the weather chan-
nel and add taxed and untaxed #1 to the #2 as appropriate. We’ve had to disconnect
from the grid before.”

“Only so they wouldn’t draw down our available power.”

“I know, but penny wise and pound foolish is something I want us to avoid being into the
habit of practicing.”

“We have enough fuel for a truck stop for crying out loud!”

“You’re right of course, Ginger. When we’re full up on diesel, we’ll have 150,000 gallons
and that will run the farm equipment for an extended period. But, it’s stabilized and will
last until we need it. It just seems like every day we face a new challenge.

“By the way, you’re VR-1 is in the gun vault with your name on it. There are 350 grain
Sierra MatchKing and 419 grain solid copper projectiles. Let me know when we can
schedule some range time and we’ll get familiar with the new rifles and keep in practice
with our existing rifles.

“You just keep finding bargains like you did on the diesel and we may be able to avoid
dipping into our retirement funds due to the changes we need to make to keep the
ranch going.”

“Did you ever think about converting the 1,280 to pasture, corn, soybeans and gardens
and planting the 540 in alfalfa? It wouldn’t be that hard to expand the herds now that we
have them as large as we do.”

“Maybe we should call a managers meeting.”

“I’ll check with Mom and Dad while you check with Hank and Ramón and we’ll schedule
something for later in the week.”

“They guys said anytime so it’s at the convenience of you and your parents.”

“Thursday afternoon then. We’re going to the range late on Wednesday afternoon.”

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Authors Note: I've searched all the parks in all the cities – and found no statues of
Committees. – G. K. Chesterton (I remembered the quote as: In all the towns and cities,
there are no statues to committees.)

The point to the quote is that in the end, one person is responsible for the final decision.
Calling for a managers meeting only served to gather additional ideas about how to ap-
proach a problem or series of problems. Ultimately, everyone would express an opinion
and conclude their remarks with something in the vein of That’s my opinion for what it’s
worth, Boss. Since you’re familiar with our style, Boss would be whatever Ginger and I
decided, together.

We did pretty well on the range although the VR-1 lacked the R2 feature of our Tac-50s
and the difference was quite noticeable. If you’re not familiar with the Tac-50, it was
modified, first to the Tac-50A1 and McMillan began to offer a hydraulic recoil reducer
which spread the recoil over a period 6 times longer than the plain Tac-50s and Tac-
50A1s. Having not shot a M107, I can’t give a fair comparison… but I believe the Tac-
50A1R2 has less felt recoil. And, they still cost less than an M82. One feature pertaining
to the VR-1 with the A-5 McMillan stock was it came with a 7 round magazine. I went
back to their website and a 7 round magazine was the standard size.

151
 The Dome II – Chapter 16

“The reason we called this meeting is to get input concerning whatever is affecting our
alfalfa. Bob, why don’t you go first? Ginger indicated that you grew corn, soybeans and
alfalfa on a rotational basis.”

“Cal, the field that grew corn the previous year was seeded with alfalfa since corn de-
pleted the nitrogen. The field that grew corn was the field that was in soybeans the pre-
vious year and alfalfa the year before that since both the alfalfa and soybeans are nitro-
gen fixing. That accounted for 480 acres of the section. The last 160 was permanent
pasture, the homestead, garden, orchard and whatnot. Never had a problem but I can
call Andy and see if he’s heard anything that might apply. You know that although alfalfa
is a perennial, it dies off about every 8 years?”

“It hasn’t been planted 8 years. Yellowstone was only 5 years back and we incorporate
potassium and phosphate annually based on soil tests. Bob, I not disagreeing with you,
just pointing out a few facts about our alfalfa growing program.”

“Have you thought about having an agricultural college looking at the crop and taking
samples?”

“Good idea, thanks.”

“Hank, any ideas?”

“Sorry boss, nothing more than we discussed earlier.”

“Ramón?”

“What? It’s grass and our job is to guard the ranch and watch for livestock thieves. Sor-
ry, Cal, I don’t know much about alfalfa beyond the fact that it seems to make you a lot
of money.”

“I have nothing to add Cal,” Alice noted.

“The only suggestion that I’m getting out of this meeting is to check with an Ag College
while Bob checks with Andy.”

“Is that why you called this meeting? You could have just asked,” Hank said with Ramón
nodding in agreement.

“Well, the choices are University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona State in Phoenix and
Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.”

“Get a plant pathologist from UAs College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Cal.”

152
“Good suggestion. Thanks, Hank.”

Sometimes you have to feed the fire to have your staff come up with ideas that can
solve your problem. I had heard horror stories about Monsanto and Roundup and want-
ed to avoid genetic modified crops if at all possible. We weren’t really growing food for
human consumption unless you counted the cattle and hogs. That said I didn’t have any
objections to growing corn and soybeans since they were a substantial portion of the
grains our livestock consumed.

The downside of growing our own grains was getting them blended into COB and the
other blend of cattle/hog/chicken feed. No, one cutting of alfalfa would buy a year’s
worth of the premixed bulk grains and alfalfa pellets.

“That seemed like a waste of time Cal.”

“Ginger, it wasn’t. I got several ideas including rotating crops, getting a plant pathologist
to look into the problem. I also concluded that if we can, I want to stay with alfalfa and
buy the bulk mixed grains and alfalfa pellets for the livestock. I’m not ready to go to ge-
netic modified crops unless we don’t have a choice.”

“You mentioned livestock and it put me in mind of something I’ve wanted to bring up.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“I’d like to add Moroccan Barbs to our horse breeding mix.”

“Ok, tell me about them.”

“This might not be the best time. They’re expensive.”

“How expensive?”

“Double or triple the price of stock type quarter horses.”

“Well, you could look into the subject. Looking is free.”

“And, if I find something I like?”

“We’ll discuss it. I think our alfalfa problem takes precedent.”

“Should I take that as a no?”

“How about a maybe?”

“Is that the best you can do?”

153
“At the moment, I’m afraid so.”

We kept a 20 acre patch of the alfalfa that seems to be the most affected by the what-
ever. We got the Professor up from Tucson and he took samples and more samples
and even more samples. He took maybe 50 plant samples and about the same number
of soil samples and said he’d let us know. Meanwhile the alfalfa, being a perennial, con-
tinued to grow and it looked better this crop than the previous crop. Five weeks later,
having heard nothing from Tucson, we harvested the next crop… all in the round bales.

“Yield was better this time than last, Cal.”

“Good, maybe it’s nothing to worry about due to some kind of fluke. Say Hank, Ginger
brought up the subject of raising Moroccan Barbs. What do you know about the breed?”

“Barb horse or Berber horse is a northern African breed with great hardiness and stami-
na. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse con-
formation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds. The Barb is a light riding
horse noted for its stamina. It has a powerful front end, high withers, short back, a slop-
ing croup, and carries its tail low. It is hardy with clean legs and sound hooves. It does
not have particularly good gaits, but gallops like a sprinter. It was used as breeding
stock to develop racing breeds such as the Thoroughbred, American Quarter Horse,
and Standardbred.

“The Barb may have had more influence on the racing breeds throughout the world than
any other horse except the Arabian. Berber invaders from North Africa took their horses,
the forerunners of today's Barbs, to Europe from the early eighth century onwards.
Once established with settlers on the Iberian Peninsula, the Barb horse was bred with
Spanish stock under 300 years of Umayyad patronage to develop the Andalusian. The
Andalusian was highly prized and it was used for major development stock in horse
breeding all over the world.

“Now the Andalusian is something to behold. The Andalusian, also known as the Pure
Spanish Horse or PRE (Pura Raza Española), is a horse breed from the Iberian Penin-
sula, where its ancestors have lived for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been
recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation has
changed very little over the centuries.

Throughout its history, it has been known for its prowess as a war horse, and was
prized by the nobility. The breed was used as a tool of diplomacy by the Spanish gov-
ernment, and kings across Europe rode and owned Spanish horses. During the 19th
century, warfare, disease and crossbreeding reduced herd numbers dramatically, and
despite some recovery in the late 19th century, the trend continued into the early 20 th
century.

154
Exports of Andalusians from Spain were restricted until the 1960s, but the breed has
since spread throughout the world, despite their low population. In 2010, there were
more than 185,000 registered Andalusians worldwide.

“Strongly built, and compact yet elegant, Andalusians have long, thick manes and tails.
Their most common coat color is gray, although they can be found in many other colors.
They are known for their intelligence, sensitivity and docility. A sub-strain within the
breed known as the Carthusian, is considered by breeders to be the purest strain of An-
dalusian, though there is no genetic evidence for this claim. The strain is still considered
separate from the main breed however, and is preferred by breeders because buyers
pay more for horses of Carthusian bloodlines.

There are several competing registries keeping records of horses designated as Anda-
lusian or PRE, but they differ on their definition of the Andalusian and PRE, the purity of
various strains of the breed, and the legalities of stud book ownership. At least one law-
suit was in progress as of 2011, to determine the ownership of the Spanish PRE stud
book.”

“How did the lawsuit turn out?”

“I don’t have any idea, sorry.”

Hank hadn’t said anything I hadn’t already read on Wikipedia. But he was on a roll and
it’s not polite to interrupt. If this crop continued to look good, Ginger might just get her
wish. However, to stir the soup, I decided to bring up Andalusians.

“Know anything about Andalusians?”

“George S. Patton loved the Lipizzaner and they frequently cost more than Moroccan
Barbs or Andalusians. What, you’ve actually been checking into the horses?”

“We haven’t heard from the Professor and the crop of alfalfa is looking very good. Yes, I
looked up the Barb on Wikipedia and that led me to read about the Andalusians since
that breed was developed from the Moroccan Barb. Have you done any window shop-
ping?”

“I know where we can get two Barb stallions and 6 Barb mares. He also had four 5 year
old Barb geldings.”

“Thirteen is an unlucky number.”

“Oh, he also has two 4 year old geldings.”

“What are the fifteen going for?”

155
“On average, six thousand a head with the stallion going for double the mares and the
geldings slightly less than the mares.”

“That’s NINTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, Ginger.”

“They come with new, fitted tack.”

“And the mares, if they’re with foal, can’t be ridden. So out of 15 horses, we can only
ride 7.”

“He knows an Andalusian breeder. But they’ll average 8 a head.”

“Eight thousand for one horse.”

“I said average. You said you looked them up on Wiki so you must be aware that Anda-
lusians run more than Barbs.”

“When we receive the check from the current cutting, buy the Barbs. When we have
some idea of what the following cutting is going to do, we’ll discuss the Andalusians.”

Do you remember the trouble I had learning to ride? Did you notice, The Barb generally
possesses a fiery temperament… You do remember my name is Burgess, not Patton
and, he was taller. Have you ever eaten in a restaurant that doesn’t list the prices on the
menu? If you haven’t, take this piece of advice… if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
That’s the way things turned out 3 months later when we had the check in hand from
the cutting the month before.

We had 15 head of Barbs just as she described. She did get him down to $85 thousand.
I think he made it up in the tack he supplied, no saddle bags, no pommel bags, no
scabbards, no lariats and no back cinch. I ordered the missing tack. There was no way
I’d rope a steer and be pulled off the front of the Barb. Assuming I got up the nerve to
test a fiery temperament. The Barb went 14.2–15.2 hands and the Andalusians average
15.1½ hands. So, an Andalusian was the same as a tall Barb. That’s a long way to
fall… A hand is 4 inches so the Barb is 56.8 inches to 60.8 inches at the withers. The
Andalusians average 60.6 inches.

At the risk of repeating something Ginger told me, the modern Quarter Horse has a
small, short, refined head with a straight profile, and a strong, well-muscled body, fea-
turing a broad chest and powerful, rounded hindquarters. They usually stand between
14 and 16 hands high, although some Halter-type and English hunter-type horses may
grow as tall as 17 hands.

There are two main body types: the stock type and the hunter or racing type. The stock
horse type is shorter, more compact, stocky and well-muscled, yet agile. The racing and
hunter type Quarter Horses are somewhat taller and smoother muscled than the stock
type, more closely resembling the Thoroughbred.

156
Our quarter horses were average at 15 hands. They were mixed and the four I’d learned
to ride on ran the gamut from 14+ hands to 16 hands. I finally convinced myself that I’d
show that Barb I’d picked out who was Boss. They say learning to ride a horse is a
learning experience and that Barb taught me about his temper. It’s a good thing I picked
a gelding for my first ride, they’re gentler.

“You’re afraid of the Barb. You should have seen yourself flying through the air. Show
no fear Cal or you’ll spend your life being an aeroplane.”

“Then you show me Ginger. He’s got a good head of steam worked up so you just show
me.”

I’ll be darned if she didn’t. It reminded me of when I was angry after three horses and let
all the anger out on the fourth horse. Which of course, embarrassed me, and made me
mad. I didn’t have any trouble riding the second gelding. And then, I remember my con-
versation with Hank about not telling the horse I was angry at myself and not the horse
and decided to keep it to myself. Sometimes I get flashbacks. Old age? No, I still have
staying power and unlimited practice time.

That goes without saying… when we’re not worrying over the next disaster. I remember
9 but can’t remember if we had a 10. That alfalfa problem could have been number 10,
but nothing came of it. No, the Comet was number 10. They never caught the cattle
thieves, either; but we filed an insurance claim and they paid market price for the 6 head
of 1,200 pound beef on the day of the theft. The agent wouldn’t take the claim until I
gave him a copy of the Sheriff’s Report.

That’s fine and good, as far as it goes. You do recall my concerns about China and
Russia and their SSBNs, right? I had a link to Sino Defense and could follow the Chi-
nese buildup but Russia was horse of a different color and there wasn’t a Russia De-
fense where I could follow the Russian build up with any degree of accuracy. If I knew
what to look for, I could usually find some kind of reference on Wikipedia. Although the
Bulava missile utilizes some engineering solutions used for the recent Topol M, it was
mostly engineered from the ground up. The most recent test was a failure due to a mal-
function in one of its systems on the second minute of the flight.

How many unsuccessful launchs of D-5 Trident II have we had? The flight test program
of the missile and the guidance subsystems of the weapon system began in January
1987, and the overall performance results from the tests indicated that the missile was
achieving its objectives for this phase of the program. Of the 15 tests conducted as of
September 30, 1988, 11 were successful, 1 was partially successful, 2 were failures,
and one was a “no-test” [the 15th flight test was destroyed by command destruct early
in its flight while the missile was performing normally at the time the decision was made
to destruct: therefore, the flight was a “no-test”]. Although the majority of the tests were

157
successful, each of the failures involved different problems and occurred at different
stages of the missile flight.

The Trident II can carry up to 14 MIRV warheads but START I reduced this to eight and
SORT reduces this yet further to four or five. New START provides for further reduc-
tions in deployed launch vehicles, limiting the number of Submarine-launched ballistic
missiles (SLBM) to 288, and the number of deployed SLBM warheads to a total of
1,152. Twenty-four times 14 = 336, so even with a single warhead, we can’t deploy all
336 missiles. Deployed warheads are limited to 1,152 or 82 per boat with 4 warheads
per missile. The Trident II’s capacity is 14 warheads per missile. Another reason I didn’t
vote for him.

We don’t really need more ammo or matériel; we’re set for several wars. With that in
mind, when Hank told me the yield of the alfalfa crop we shipped last week, I told Gin-
ger she could have 4 mares and 4 geldings and we’d use an outside stud service. Even
if we bought 2 Andalusian stallions, we have to use an outside stud periodically, so why
not do it from the start? Since the Lipizzaner was derived from among others, the Anda-
lusian, I hope she knows better than to buy the very rare Lipizzaner.

Ginger bought what we agreed on, 4 Andalusian mares (with foal) and 4 5 year old An-
dalusian geldings. Tack wasn’t included so we waited for the alfalfa check and bought 4
complete sets of tack. A complete set of tack includes the double rigged Western riding
saddle, saddle blanket, saddlebags, pommel bags, a lariat and a halter.

“I didn’t realize we were buying war horses.”

“I think El Cid might have rode one.”

“I seem to recall that he did. But why Andalusians?”

“Hey, it was your idea.”

“I know, but I didn’t realize they were war horse.”

“What, you thought maybe they rode Pintos?”

“And those Barbs are war horse too, aren’t they. Buying the Barbs was your idea.”

“Big deal, so we bought war horses. Once our breeding program is well established
they’ll simply be another source of income. That Professor called and said his report
and bill for services rendered is in the mail.”

“Did he tell you what the problem was?”

“Not really. He said his results were inconclusive.”

158
“How much was his fee?”

“Five grand.”

“That was money down the drain. We should have waited before hiring him. We knew
when the next cutting started growing that our suspicions were unfounded.”

“It was probably a good idea Cal. It could have been something serious. Andy called
Dad and told him they hadn’t had problems with their alfalfa and he didn’t have a clue
what it might be. You don’t suppose the soil reports were inaccurate and too much or
too little of potassium and phosphate was used?”

“It’s possible. We contract that out and someone could have made an error.”

“Are you going to ride the Andalusians?”

“I plan to. I managed to finally ride the Barbs and the Andalusians are about the same
size. Do you plan to have their training include acceptance of gunfire without bolting?”

“Already in progress with geldings and the mares will be trained after they drop their
foals. All of the Barbs completed their gunfire training some time ago.”

“We haven’t had them that long.”

“I think the breeder must have included gunfire training from early on. What would think
about adding Lipizzaners?”

“No mas! If you can get a really good price on more Barbs or Andalusians, do that in-
stead. I don’t really like this living from paycheck to paycheck like we’ve been doing re-
cently. We should hold off on more purchases until we have a couple of million in the
bank and the precious metals vault is a little fuller.

“That one story that Jerry wrote, Expedition, talked about the Dark Times. I know we’ve
had multiple extraordinary events but my sense is that we could be in for more. He used
Times, not Time, so was Kenni foretelling one event or multiple events? Maybe we
should up the LTS foods from their current 5 year level to 10 years or more. And, while
we’re at it, increase the total supplies to cover 100 people rather than 65. That includes
the gas masks and PPE.”

“I’ll contact Oregon Freeze Dry and see if we can work a deal and eliminate the mid-
dlemen.”

“Good idea. Contact Rainy Day Foods and see if you can work the same deal with
them. If you can, we’ll arrange transport ourselves so we have the food before the 22 nd
Century.”

159
“They aren’t that bad!”

“Maybe not but it sure seems like it. You should probably get a shipment of those pails
and Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and a couple of bag sealers, too. Contact Lehman’s
and get, say, 5 more of those Diamant 525 grain mills with plenty of spare parts to add
to our trade goods. And ask if they have motorization kits or know where to get them.”

“Are we ok on firearms?”

“With the last purchase of M1A Loaded and the H&K rifles, we should have enough
weapons. Ammo might be a different issue. I’ll talk to Ramón and see where we stand
in the ammunition department. I think we’re ok because we usually buy ammo when we
buy firearms. Rather than guessing, I’ll just have the ammo inventoried again. I can tell
you what he’ll say. ‘Again?’ Despite that, he’s a good Chief of Security.”

“It appears that we have our work planned out for a while.”

“Any idea how we can increase everything and still add to our precious metal supply?”

“Nope.”

160
 The Dome II – Chapter 17

I had no idea why I felt the way I did about increasing our preps. Was it one of those
would your rather have it situations? About the only things we were missing were
trapdoor Springfield carbines… but, we had enough 1886 Winchester in .45-70 and
1892 in .45 Colt to cover that need. We could end up having the same problem that
Custer had; being outnumbered. That said we were equipped about as well as a mech-
anized Infantry Marine Platoon with weapons squad.

“Ramón, what’s our ordnance situation?”

“Stored ordnance?”

“Yeah. Hard to tell how much the issue ordnance has been expended.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can make simple spreadsheets. I have an Excel spreadsheet to track ammo stored
and ammo issued. I implemented standard load outs for each type of firearms we have.
So, when someone practices, for instance, they bring their expended brass and it is re-
placed one for one. Standard load out for the .45 Colts is 100 rounds whether it’s a re-
volver or rifle. The .45-70 is 50 rounds, the 5.56×45mm 300 rounds, the 7.62×51mm
200 rounds and other calibers are similar.”

“What about the ammo in the Dome?”

“I just ignore that until Ginger or you draw more.”

“Bob and Alice?”

“They live in the Dome, same deal.”

“Reorder points?”

“Built-in and automatically ordered. I count it when it comes in and add it to the spread-
sheet. Order points are based on the most economical purchase quantity and at times
we’re a bit overstocked; but, rarely understocked.”

“Well, ok, I guess.”

“You got a burr under your saddle, Boss?”

“Ginger and I were talking about some things and I brought up Jerry D Young’s Expedi-
tion.”

161
“That the one where they go to Brazil on a scientific exploration?”

“You’ve read it?”

“Don’t sound so surprised I can read and even program simple spreadsheets.”

“Do you remember Kenni’s warning about the Dark Times?”

“Yeah. That got you worried?”

“Concerned anyway. We’re going to add more food so we have a 10 year supply for 100
people. I figured we had enough firearms for 100 people but wasn’t sure about the am-
mo.”

“I check both and let you know. You want a minimum 10 year supply of ammo?”

“For sure; and, maybe longer.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Tired Old Man.”

“Et tu Ramón?”

“Huh?”

“Ginger often compares me to TOM.”

“That description of the guy you said to not let on the ranch must be TOM.”

“Yep.”

“I’ll let you know about the firearms and ammo.”

“K.”

“Ramón follows the ammo supply on a spreadsheet.”

“He told me.”

“And, you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought you already knew. I contacted Oregon Freeze Dry. I asked about a 5 year
supply for 65 people plus a 10 year supply for 35 additional people. She said that was a
5 year supply for 135 people and they’d take the order. When she asked what I wanted
for food, I told her whatever Emergency Essentials would supply for 130 people for 5

162
years. She said she’d call back with the price and they’d ship when the funds cleared. It
will come by train.

“Next, I called Walton Feed aka Rainy Day Foods. I told him I wanted enough of the
basic units for 5 years for 135 people. He said that was 675 basic units of 3 super pails
of hard red wheat, 2 super pails of hard white wheat, 1 super pail of small white beans,
1 super pail of instant milk, 1 super pail of pinto beans, 3 super pails of white rice, 1 su-
per pail of black turtle beans, 1 super pail of quick oats, 1 #10 can of shortening powder,
1 #10 can of baking soda, 1 #10 can of baking powder, 1 #10 can of iodized salt, 2 #10
cans of sugar, 1 #2.5 can of beef bouillon, 1 #2.5 can of chicken bouillon, 3 packages of
yeast and 1 lid remover.

“I asked about coconut oil and they don’t carry it. Anyway, their deluxe unit for 1 year for
1 is $1,474 plus shipping, their standard 1 year unit for 1 is $1,076 plus shipping and the
basic unit I described to you is $659. However it includes 13 pails rather than the 9 pails
included with the deluxe unit. I told him I’d have to get back to him.

“Finally, I did an internet search for coconut oil. The largest container I could find was
Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil Certified Organic 5 gallons (640 FL. oz.) for $250. Jerry
reconstitutes shortening and butter powder with coconut oil. I rechecked Walton and
they have butter powder in a 50 pound bag for $285 and margarine powder in a 50
pound bag for $130. They recommend you add a small amount of oil to either product.”

“Did the Walton guy indicate any kind of discount?”

“Nope.”

“Did you ask?”

“Nope. He had an attitude.”

“We’ll need 13 times 675 or 8,775 pails with lids and 5 gallon bags. Check for Uline on
the Internet. I think they have a good price on 5 gallon pails. That will mean more pails,
bags and oxygen absorbers but we should be money ahead. If I recall correctly they
have the 5 gallon pails 120 per pallet. Let’s see, 8,775 times 6 equals 52,650. And,
52,650 divided by 5 equals 10,530. Divide that by 120 and we need 88 pallets. The lids
are separate and about $1.40. Well, ballpark anyway. You know, they sell the Mylar
bags and the sealers. I’m not sure on the oxygen absorbers or desiccants, but you can
ask. Their nearest location is probably Los Angeles but ask anyway.”

“You sure you don’t have the phone number?”

“Nah, I ran across them on the web. Wait, here you go: Los Angeles 2950 Jurupa St.
Ontario, CA 91761 1-800-295-5510. You’re just going to ask which size Mylar bag we
need for the five gallon pails.”

163
“Where are we going to store the stuff?”

“I’ll call Jacob. Earth sheltered above ground ok?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“I’ll get on the phone for the increased supply of PPE, unless you want to handle that.”

“Maybe I’d better do that.”

“Ok, I’ll order the ALICE gear and call Cold Steel about the tomahawks, machetes and
bowie knives.”

“In that case, I’ll call Laredo for the scabbards and Phoenix for the other tack. If you
want everyone to have a mount and remount, I’ll contact the stock horse breeder. We
can hold off on the Barbs and Andalusians until later.”

“Did you line up a stud service?”

“Two and both charge anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500.”

“Why so high?”

“Registered studs. Oh, Oregon Freeze Dried said it would take up to 3 months to as-
semble the order. On the beans we’ll order from the Dakotas, chilies from New Mexico
and the wheat from Kansas. I’ve got a line on the rice from Arkansas. We can get Fol-
gers from either their Kansas City plant or NOLA.”

“What am I missing?”

“Refilling the grain silos and topping off the fuels.”

“On it. If you’re anywhere near the freezer pull out 4 steaks and a bag of prawns or jum-
bo shrimp.”

“We’re out of Romaine lettuce.”

“Could Bob and Alice make a quick trip to Tucson? We’re about out of Merlot, too.”

“I’ll ask. A Question.

“We’ve been spending money like a sailor on shore leave. I’m curious how we can pay
for all the things we’re buying.”

164
“I called our bank and discussed an open line of credit of up to $500,000. On a good
year, alfalfa generates about $7½ million and the livestock sales another quarter to half
million. The line of credit was authorized on the spot.

“And the line of credit is just in case our spending out strips our income from alfalfa
sales. I don’t believe we’ll need to use the line of credit unless our timing is off concern-
ing things like the LTS food delivery, our ammunition requirements or a host of other-
wise inconsequential events.”

“Where are we going to store everything? Oregon Freeze Dried was talking about rail
cars and 88 pallets of pails are probably a few truckloads. Once those pails are filled,
they’ll take a whole lot more room than they do empty.”

Almost in a chorus, we both said “Jacob!”

“Double wall construction and 2 stories of empty space, Cal? Eight inch concrete walls
with accelerator and fiberglass fibers? Four double leaf doors installed in airlock fash-
ion? Oh and modification to the barn to add an airlock on either end? Gee, I don’t know.
I’ll need dimensions before I can start figuring. You want slip forms for horizontal walls,
too. You in a big rush?”

“Jacob, I’d like it finished in 3 months tops. Well, I guess just the inner walls in 3 months
because that’s when we’re expecting a shipment of several railcars of goods we’ll be
storing.”

“What about those air purifiers and plumbing?”

“A small office inside next to one of the doors with a ¾ bath. Make the office 100 square
feet with frame construction, insulation, ¾ inch drywall and the bath only as large as it
need to be for the shower, stool and sink. We can put a demand hot water heater and
put the air purifier on top of the office and bath. I’ll order the air purifiers, hot water heat-
er and office equipment. Oh, connect the Warehouse using pedestrian underpass to the
nearest tunnel section. I’ll let you know when we have the dimensions.”

“Ginger, I talked to Jacob and he needs dimensions. Call Oregon and get the volume in
cubic feet and I’ll measure a stack of pails five high and convert the height to reflect 5
gallon pails. We might just as well keep like goods in rows with a small aisle from airlock
to airlock.”

Four months later, after extending the line of credit to $1.5 million, the Warehouse was
done and the freeze dried goods were carefully arranged by type on one side of the
Warehouse. All the teens and women on the ranch were putting in 8 hour days 6 days a
week filling the five gallon pails with bulk purchased hard red spring wheat, soft white
wheat and durum wheat for semolina, rye to break the monotony, rice, beans, quick
oats, shortening powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, margarine powder,

165
butter powder, whole milk powder, beef and chicken bouillon and last but not least,
yeast.

We also packed chilies from New Mexico and the rice was Jasmine and long grain white
rice purchased from Arkansas in 100 pound bags. Space was also filling with Charmin,
Folgers Classic and Bigelow tea. There was even a small locked up section next to the
office reserved for liquor. We bought a whole barrel from Jack Daniels and several cas-
es of Gentleman Jack and Jack Black. We had some of everything, excluding Dom Pé-
rignon and only a six cases of Cristal. The desk in the office was positioned directly
across from the door which was all safety glass. The Warehouse required an inventory
program and I had Ramón work up a spreadsheet once we had an inventory. The Co-
conut oil was stored frozen in freezers next to liquor.

We also hired a butcher and a meat cutter and set aside a small area in the overbuilt
Warehouse to process beef, pork and poultry. The smoke house was outside. Ginger
doubled the chicken flock and had half the flock sitting on eggs to produce more chick-
ens. It took her a while to adjust the balance between broody hens and layers.

After we had the stocks assembled and the bank paid off, we looked at the potential of
truck farming. Considering the temperatures this far south, any gardening would be ear-
lier in the year or later in the year or maybe both. Ginger contacted The Ark Institute and
ordered heirloom seeds for those fruits and vegetables we ate. From some things she
saw on their website, she ordered a Crown Berkey for each family and spares for the
Warehouse plus enough black filter elements to last a Century or more. She also con-
tacted Medical Corps Org and loaded up on potassium iodate, doubling the amount we
had on hand.

We now had on the order of 100 full sized FM50, 50 medium sized and 50 small sized
plus extra Baby Safe Pro and the Child Safe Pro with plenty of extra filters. We now had
a total of 25 of each.

When the next alfalfa check arrived, half went into gold and silver, the food stores were
replaced and Ginger bought the one group of items missed when the Warehouse was
being filled, feminine hygiene. By now the women living on the ranch had accepted her
former choices, Tampax, Always Maxi-pads and panty-liners. Contraception was also
uniform, due to circumstances and all the women who could, used Depo-Provera. We
even stocked the injections (prefilled syringes) in our one bed clinic. The first injection
was provided by an OB/GYN in Tucson and follow up injections by Ginger.

The next alfalfa check went half into gold and silver, paid estimated taxes and replaced
anything consumed during the past month. We maintained $250 thousand in the busi-
ness account to allow Ramón freedom to order ammunition as needed. He had ob-
served that we were a sharp contrast with Arizona National Guard in that everyone
practiced at least monthly with all their weapons. He’d recently retired with 20 years in
and would have to wait to age 65 to begin drawing his pension.

166
I was happy that he retired. We simply couldn’t afford to have him away from the ranch
for 12 weekends and 2 weeks during the summer. We’d had spare aftermarket tanks
installed in his and Hank’s vehicles and either vehicle could make a round trip to Camp
Navajo with fuel to spare. On another topic, I had added additional Coors pint glasses
from Beer Collections, upping the quantity from 24 of each to 96 of each. And with the
Friday meetings, switched to full beer kegs (15.5 gallons) and keeping 4 of each in re-
serve under refrigeration.

“Want to increase the gardens this year? We’ve only been doing the early planting, but
we could also do a late planting.”

“How big?”

“I was thinking 20 acres.”

“Is that 20 acres twice a year?”

“Yes.”

“Drop dead.”

“Huh?”

“We’re producing almost more than we can eat from the garden we have. The canned
goods have a definite shelf life and I doubt there’s enough energy among the women on
this ranch to do a second garden. In case you’re wondering, I got more of the mixes
from Canning Pantry for pickles and tomatoes and there is a whole section in the Ware-
house with new canning jars and spare Tattler lids and rings.”

“You do make good pickles.”

“Don’t change the subject, but thank you.”

“Saw through that did you?”

“We’ve been married long enough that you’re virtually transparent.”

“Do you feel like riding up to Prescott?”

“What’s in Prescott?”

“Davidsons.”

“And just what is Davidsons?”

167
“They are the firearms company that now has exclusive distribution rights to the new
line of Winchester rifles.”

“And, you’re hoping to get lucky?”

“It was a thought.”

“Well, think about this. They probably limit sales of each model and caliber to one of
each to their dealers. Considering our past experience, we’d be better off going to
Tombstone because of the number of dealers there. And, we should stop in Tucson on
the way down instead of the way back. Plan B would be to send Ramón to Phoenix,
Hank to Tucson and the two of us go to Tombstone. While it’s on my mind, make sure
we have at least 100 M1A Loaded models with 25 25-round magazines per. If that
means we buy more 168 grain ammo so be it.”

Is it just me or is Ginger a little pushy?

168
 The Dome II – Chapter 18

Got lucky. Each dealer in Tombstone had just received a shipment and had one each
1892 in .45 Colt with a 20 inch barrel and a 24 inch barrel. They likewise had one 1886
with a 24 inch barrel. We also found a few pre-2006 Ruger Vaqueros in .45 Colt in ei-
ther 5½ or 7½ inch barrels and bought all of each that we found. Ginger was carrying
her large Galco shoulder bag and just kept pulling out the Ben Franklins. I’m definitely
going to have to order more .45 Colt and .45-70-405 ammo.

Hank beat us home and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“So, from the smile, you did well.”

“They’d just gotten in their shipments and not only did I get a 20 inch and 24 inch ‘92, I
got a 24 inch ‘86 from each dealer. Not all of them had pre-2006 Vaqueros but, on av-
erage, I got 2 per dealer. I’m glad Ginger gave me as much cash as she did. You’re go-
ing to need to have Ramón order a bunch of .45 Colt and .45-70. How’d you do?”

“It must have been our lucky day. Each dealer in Tombstone had just received a ship-
ment and had one each 1892 in .45 Colt with a 20 inch barrel and a 24 inch barrel. They
also had one 1886 with a 24 inch barrel. We also found a few pre-2006 Ruger Vaqueros
in .45 Colt in either 5½ or 7½ inch barrels and bought all of each that we found. Is
Ramón back yet?”

“Nope, but there are more stores in Phoenix than Tucson and it’s further away.”

Ramón didn’t return that night and he didn’t even give us the courtesy of a phone call. It
was around 4pm the next day when he did show up and he looked beat.

“You look like you been rode hard and put up wet.”

“Cal, I have to tell you that you aren’t off the mark by much. Ginger gave 10 bundles of
hundreds, thank God. It seems like nearly every dealer in Phoenix had just gotten in
their Winchester shipments and each had a ‘92 in both the 20 and 24 inch barrels. They
also had one ‘86 in the 24” barrel. On top of that, 3 dealers had several .45 Colt pre-
2006 Vaqueros with 5½ inch barrels. I don’t have much cash left, but we have Winches-
ters and Vaqueros running out our ears. I’m going to need to order more ammo. How
did you do? What about Hank?”

“Well, we picked up a few. You can put them all away tomorrow and after you do, order
the ammo. Remember we want the full power .45 Colt for the Vaqueros and the deer
grenades for the 1892s. Go with the .45-70-405 rounds for the 1886s.”

“But you didn’t really say how you did.”

“Fair to middling.”

169
“You’re mean, husband of mine.”

“And, how did you know the perfect time to go shopping for Winchesters and Vaquer-
os?”

“Call it hunch… or woman’s intuition. I didn’t know and we could have been wasting our
time and fuel. Sometimes something is just perfect and you know to grab on and hold
on for all it’s worth. There’s something I have to tell you. I’ve been reading your journal.
You stopped talking about the children shortly after the twins were born. Can you ex-
plain that?”

“Not really. Well, we had Yellowstone and on January 1, 2016 that nuke in San Diego.
We got really busy after we left the shelter/dome. But no, I can’t explain it.”

“Did you set aside firearms for them?”

“Yes ma’am. Each has Kimber Custom TLE II, a PT1911B, a Browning Hi-Power Clas-
sic, a Walther PPK in .380acp, a Mossberg 590A1, a Loaded M1A with scope and
EOTech sight, using those Sadlak scope mounts, the Surefire suppressor and Harris
bipod. In addition, they have M21s with the same accessories as the Loaded M1As in-
cluding in both cases the Springfield Armory leather sling and Nightforce NXS 3.5-
15×50 F1 riflescopes with the MLR2.0 reticles plus a mount for the AN/PVS-22 Univer-
sal Night Sight and the night sights which I finally broke down and bought one for each
M21. I haven’t bought them the Tac-50s or VR-1s yet; do you think I should?”

“You tell me.”

“First off, Nightforce no longer manufactures the NXS 12-42×56mm with the mil dot reti-
cle. I’ll put in an order for 3 of the Tac-50A1R2 with the McMann Night vision rail and the
Elite Iron suppressors. I’ll get parts kits and the whole nine yards. That Canadian, Fur-
long, used a Leupold Mark 4-16×40mm LR/T M1 Riflescope. However, I was thinking
about the US Optics SN3 5-25×58 T-Pal. They’re actually better scopes.”

“MUNS?”

“Absolutely. Hornady 750 grain A-MAX match and Mk211MP, say 4,800 rounds of each
per rifle.”

“No VR-1s?”

“They kick a lot more than the A1R2.”

“Still…”

“Ok, VR-1s in .408 CheyTac.”

170
“You didn’t mention the Winchesters or Vaqueros.”

“Would an 1886 with a 24 inch barrel and 1892s with 20 and 24 inch barrels do it? We
can buy some cowboy loads to start them out on.”

“Close, but no cigar. Winchester 9422s in 22LR, Ruger Ranch rifles with 20 inch after-
market barrels with 1 turn in 7, Ruger Bearcats and Single Sixes to start off with and
Coach Guns. Ruger pre-2006 .45 Colt revolvers in all 4 barrel lengths including the 3¾,
4⅝, 5½ and 7½ inch. Ditto the SR-556 with the same 20 barrels and the Ruger SR-762
with 20 inch barrels with 1 turn in 10 plus an HK416 and an HK417 apiece. At least 2 X
Products drums for each magazine fed rifle and 25 25 round magazines for the M1As.”

“You done?”

“Yep.”

“I work on the M1A Loadeds, M21s, Tac-50A1R2s and the VR-1s in .408 CheyTac and
you handle the rest.”

“Ok.”

I suppose before this is all said and done, we’ll drop another cutting of alfalfa on a small
number of firearms but if she’s happy, I’m ecstatic. I have to tell you it’s just a good thing
we’re breeding stock horses, Barbs and Andalusians. All we need to buy for them is
complete sets of tack and it sure isn’t going to be hand tooled. I love them to death but
my name isn’t ‘Daddy Warbucks’. With our gold and silver acquisition program, our
three are going to be wealthy beyond belief and will each own a full section of decent
real estate.

“Cal, can you come to the office?

“What’s up?”

“Just come to the office please.”

“Ok, I’m here, now tell me what’s up.”

“It’s one of those good news, bad news things. We found another cut fence in the pas-
ture. The good news is that we did a head count and we aren’t missing any horses, beef
or hogs.”

“You still running the patrols Ramón?”

“Same as before, irregular half hour intervals.”

171
“Ok, I want you to do some things. One, assemble a 12 member Rapid Reaction Force.
Two, cut the irregular 30 minute intervals to irregular 15 minute intervals with one per-
son instead of two for each interval. Locate and acquire AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night
Vision Devices. Try Optics Planet in Northbrook Illinois; if they have them in stock pay
for overnight shipping. We don’t have Kraut helmets so check for a separate mounting
kit, like the Armasight Hands-Free Night Vision Monocular Kit. Use all three M1114s
with the 2 standard LAV-25s for backup.

“If we catch whoever is doing it, shoot, shovel and shut up. The rules of engagement
are simple. If the outrider spots someone cutting the fence, radio for the Rapid Re-
sponse Force and lay low until they get there. The RRF should be able to get to any-
where on the Ranch in 5 minutes so that will be the maximum allowed response time.”

“Cal, we don’t really have what I’d call Rapid Response Force types on the payroll. Our
people are good, but not that good. Furthermore, it would mean pulling them off their
jobs to have dedicated RRF.”

“Suggestions?”

“I may know some Highway Patrol, Police and Deputy Sheriffs that will fill the bill.”

“Ramón, hiring you forced us to raise everyone’s wages. We can’t bring on 12 more
people at $48k per year.”

“Ah, but I was hired a Chief of Security and that’s why we wouldn’t accept your offer of
$42k. We’d have 3 shifts, each staffed by 4 people. One would roust the other 8 using
radios and we’d practice until we could have all 3 M1114s anywhere on the ranch in 5
minutes. I believe I can get 12 people at $42k without much of a problem. You’re going
to have to provide housing and all the rest. We can roust regular employees to man the
LAV-25s.”

“I’ll get back to you.”

“… and that’s the situation, Ginger. Someone is looking to rustle more livestock. Ramón
has a point about taking our people off their regular jobs. But, it means another 12 dou-
blewides and another shelter plus more food, PPE and all that goes with it. On top of
that I’m guessing that they’ll want Kimber’s and H&K rifles plus those 590A1 shotguns
and maybe Hi-Power Classic and Walther’s for backup and hideout pistols.”

“As long as it doesn’t affect what you’re buying for the children, it’s up to you Cal. But
I’m telling you, the kids come first. We’ve been an armed camp for quite some time, but
never with professionals. The thought makes me uneasy. They could come in handy
though if Kenni was right.”

172
“Kenni is a character in a PAW fiction story. Can Jerry see the future? Maybe, but they
should change his name to Rick Rescorla.”

“Who was he?”

“He was British soldier but joined the American Army, went through OCS and fought in
the Battle of Ia Drang with Colonel Hal Moore. He’s the man on the cover of the book
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young. More importantly he was the Chief of Security
for Morgan Stanley on 9/11/01. Rescorla was the subject of a 2005 documentary enti-
tled The Man Who Predicted 9/11. The film was shown on Channel 4 in the UK and the
History Channel in the United States. The firm lost 13 employees during the September
11 attacks in 2001 (Thomas F. Swift, Wesley Mercer, Jennifer de Jesus, Joseph DiPila-
to, Nolbert Salomon, Godwin Forde, Steve R. Strauss, Lindsay C. Herkness, Albert Jo-
seph, Jorge Velazquez, Titus Davidson, Charles Laurencin and Security Director Rick
Rescorla), while 2,687 were successfully evacuated.”

“I think I may have seen that, but that was a long time ago. Anyway do what you must to
protect the ranch and our family.”

“Gotcha.”

I called the dealer we’d bought batch of 8 homes from and told him I needed 12 more.
He said they no longer made that model, but he could come close if I’d settle for activity
rooms. I told him to go ahead and call when he had all 12 in and I pay him COD. When I
thought about it, I knew he was shining me on and called him back. He admitted that
either version was available but they had changed model numbers. I told him to make it
half and half, on a hunch and that I expect all 12 to be priced at the price of the lower
cost model. He agreed.

Then, I called a class 3 dealer in Phoenix who had been investigated by the BATFE
several times and accused of dealing in the H&Ks. I’d bought several of the HK416s
and HK417s from him and knew he had a source. I ordered 12 of everything Ginger and
I discussed including both the 416 and 417, suppressors, etc. He quoted a price… I of-
fered less but offered to pay in gold which at the moment was running just above
$2,000. We had a deal and he’d deliver; gold on the barrel head. The gold would be
valued at the spot price on the day of delivery.

I had a head of steam built and called Avon Protection Systems for more of the gas
masks and a, gulp, large quantity of spare filters. I think those filters are made of gold.
We had an excess of Winchester rifles and pre-2006 Ruger Vaqueros at the moment
and I skipped those. I called Emergency Essentials and told them exactly what I pre-
sumed I needed for 42 people (12×3.5) for 10 years and got their best price. I called the
bank and wired the money. And then I paused long enough to tell Ginger we needed the
pails for 42 people for 10 years. She said she’d see to it.

173
I checked with Hank and we could provide mounts but no remounts of the stock horses.
A couple more years, he said, and we’d even have remounts. We had some 2 and 3
year olds in training. Then I called Jacob.

“What now Cal? Another barn, a shelter, tunnels, garages, what?”

“Well, I called about another shelter, but now that you mention it, all of the above.”

“I’ll check with the boss but I’ll probably bring down a small batch plant, again. How
soon?”

“ASAP. And, Jacob, the shelter should be large enough for 20 families or 7,000ft².”

“It would be easier to make it 100 foot square. I would also probably save us another
trip later.”

“Do that. Plan on adding another section to the barn, our herd of horses is growing.”

“You’ll get the doors and air systems?”

“Yes, just like always. The garage, no, make that garages, should handle 6 vehicles and
we’d better build 4. Each building will be connected to the tunnel system.”

That meant getting 2 sets of ignition components times 24, 6 dozen more CM-300s and
a gross of CP-200s. Also, more tires and wheels, filters and what not. I’d given in and
got a tire balancing machine some time back when we’d bought all the extra tires. I
couldn’t get lead wheel weights and had to settle for zinc. We had every tire store in
Phoenix and Tucson saving used lead wheel weights for us and we were paying the
Chicago Mercantile price for lead.

One of the Vaqueros was a better mechanic than Vaquero and he was a good Vaquero.
He was working about half-time keeping all the vehicles running. He could handle gas
or diesel engines. He had some experience installing those Cummins 4BT and 6BT en-
gines. We had 6 of each still in the crates in the Warehouse.

I called McMillan and ordered 3 more Tac-50A1R2s, with everything including the high
priced scopes and MUNS. Then I ordered 3 more VR-1s in .408 CheyTac, complete in
every regard. While I had them on the phone I ordered more of the ammo in the cans.
They said they didn’t have it in stock in the quantity ordered but would have it when the
rifles were finished. I wired them money too.

At this point in time, I had to stop and wait for more alfalfa checks or use the line of
credit. I decided to wait. The line of credit was tied to our checking account and if we
overdrew the account, $50k increments were automatically added to the checking ac-
count and shown as a draw on the line of credit. Stupid me, I forgot to tell Ginger I was
holding off on the spending.

174
We didn’t sell horses. We bred the mares as often as possible and gelded the colts.
Every other breeding cycle we brought in outside sires except for the Andalusians which
were all outside sires from different breeders. Hank kept track of that and we were
bringing in sires from far and wide. We didn’t want a problem arising because of in-
breeding. If you’re trying to do something like reestablish the Morgan line, inbreeding
was the way to go. Hell, we didn’t even own any Morgan’s.

Sorry about cussing, just checked the bank balance and saw $100k transferred from the
line of credit. We ran it up before and it appears we’re doing it again. I said to myself, “In
for the penny, in for the pound” and placed more orders. We were back to spending
money like sailors on shore leave and neither of us had been in the military. If a person
looked our ordnance and matériel, they would no doubt think we were the military.

While Jacob had a crew excavating for the shelter and tunnels, he had another crew run
a trencher creating the trench for the utilities. One advantage to the 12 new dou-
blewides was that the location of the utility hookups hadn’t changed. Different, my ach-
ing hind end. He slipped up though when the order was placed, we got 3 bedroom
models with the Activity Rooms and optional Study. We could equip the Study as the
communications shack with CBs and CM-300s.

The thing about being an armed camp with as much ammo and food as we have, if our
neighbors from the Tohono O’odham Reservation attack, we can probably hold them off
until we run out of food.

Historically, the O’odham inhabited an enormous area of land in the southwest, extend-
ing South to Sonora, Mexico, north to Central Arizona (just north of Phoenix, Arizona),
west to the Gulf of California, and east to the San Pedro River. This land base was
known as the Papagueria and it had been home to the O’odham for thousands of years.

From the early 18th Century through to the present, the O’odham land was occupied by
foreign governments. With the independence of Republic of Mexico, O’odham fell under
Mexican rule. Then, in 1853, through the Gadsden Purchase or Treaty of La Mesilla,
O’odham land was divided almost in half, between the United States of America and
Mexico.

According to the terms of the Gadsden Purchase, the United States agreed to honor all
land rights of the area held by Mexican citizens, which included the O’odham, and
O’odham would have the same constitutional rights as any other United States citizen.
However, the demand for land for settlement escalated with the development of mining
and the transcontinental railroad. That demand resulted in the loss of O’odham land on
both sides of the border.

Following the Plan de Iguala, O’odham lands in Mexico continued to decrease at a rapid
rate. In 1927, reserves of lands for indigenous peoples were established by Mexico. To-
day, approximately nine O’odham communities in Mexico lie proximate to the southern

175
edge of the Tohono O’odham Nation, a number of which are separated only by the
United States/Mexico border.

On the US side of the border, the Gadsden Purchase had little effect on the O’odham
initially because they were not informed that a purchase of their land had been made,
and the new border between the United States and Mexico was not strictly enforced. In
recent years, however, the border has come to affect the O’odham in many ways, be-
cause immigration laws prevent the O'odham from crossing it freely.

In fact, the US-Mexico border has become “an artificial barrier to the freedom of the
Tohono O’odham... to traverse their lands, impairing their ability to collect foods and
materials needed to sustain their culture and to visit family members and traditional sa-
cred sites.” O’odham members must produce passports and border identification cards
to enter into the United States.

On countless occasions, the US Border Patrol has detained and deported members of
the Tohono O'odham Nation who were simply traveling through their own traditional
lands, practicing migratory traditions essential to their religion, economy and culture.
Similarly, on many occasions US Customs have prevented Tohono O’odham from
transporting raw materials and goods essential for their spirituality, economy and tradi-
tional culture. Border officials are also reported to have confiscated cultural and reli-
gious items, such as feathers of common birds, pine leaves or sweet grass.

The division of O’odham lands has resulted in an artificial division of O’odham society.
O’odham bands are now broken up into 4 federally recognized tribes: the Tohono O'o-
dham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the
Salt River (Pima Maricopa) Indian community. Each band is now politically and geo-
graphically distinct and separate. The remaining band, the Hia-C’ed O’odham, is not
federally recognized, but reside throughout southwestern Arizona. All of the groups still
speak the O’odham language, which derives from the Uto-Aztecan language group, alt-
hough each group has varying dialects.

Toe-no Ode-um? No. What's right? We couldn't tell ya. We found four different pronun-
ciations from people who supposedly researched this: Taw-haw-naw aw-aw-dham,
Taw-haw-naw aw-aw-tham, Toe-HOE-noe aw-aw-TAHM, and Toe-HO-no AH-tomb. We
give up.

Yes, I looked it up under the guise of know your neighbor/enemy. While I don’t expect
an attack, I didn’t anticipate Yellowstone, the San Diego nuke or the Comet. What can I
say, stuff happens and, would you rather have it and not need it, or need it and not have
it? I’ve also read Improvise, Adapt, Overcome and Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it.

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 The Dome II – Chapter 19

I went back and reread my journal after Ginger made the comment she did. I did ask
about the kids’ vaccinations but that’s the last time I mentioned them. What can I say,
things to do, places to go, people to see, things to buy and sell. I also noted that I wrote
down singlewides when all the manufactured housing was Fleetwood Beacon Hill Se-
ries D doublewides with 3 Bedrooms, 2½ Baths, Approx. 2,280ft².

Here we are seven months later and we have everything/one bought, installed, deliv-
ered or hired and the alfalfa check this month will pay off the credit line and pay the es-
timated taxes. Remember, in this life, there are only two things you can’t avoid: death
and taxes. All that God can do is bring me home or send me to the other place; the IRS
can take the ranch.

I didn’t mention the new President… his name is not Clinton and he favors repeal of
Obamacare. We paid 100% of the health insurance premiums for our employees and
said phooey on Obamacare. We’re actually paying less per employee than they would
have to pay to get Obamacare.

As a country, we’ve had a few bad moments (Presidents) in my opinion. Martin Van Bu-
ren, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, Ulysses S. Grant almost made my list but he did
what he could to rebuild the nation after the Civil War, William Howard Taft (created in-
come tax), Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover doesn’t make the list because he was a
victim of circumstances, Franklin Delano Roosevelt… need I say more, Lyndon Baines
Johnson with one positive and uncountable negatives, Richard M. Nixon who was okay
but was in fact a crook, James Earl Carter a good nuclear engineer who was poor at
running the country, William Jefferson Clinton who had zipper problems and our previ-
ous President, the Kenyan who couldn’t do anything right. It’s a shame that Robert Ed-
ward Lee wasn’t President, I think he would have been a good one. Biased? No doubt,
but you didn’t see that many Democrats on the list.

This Republican vs Democrat fighting is getting old. People are elected to serve their
constituents, not the other way around. When I mentioned the possibility of fighting our
neighbors, Ramón doubled the ammunition orders and took over the ordering from Buf-
falo Bore. He even had one individual melting the wheel weights and casting the 255
grain .45 Colt bullets and 405 grain .45-70 bullets. I sure hope that truckload of Pyrodex
and the two kinds of primers store well.

I didn’t mention that the Warehouse is climate controlled at 50°F. Walton Feed was the
source of that recommendation; they say 60° or lower. We only bought a few things
from them and it was all bulk bags because we couldn’t locate a cheaper source. Hot
Chocolate comes to mind along with various bread, muffin and desert mixes. The pow-
dered whole milk was available from The Great American Spice Company; unsure if it
was the best choice I pawned off the selection to Ginger.

177
She ordered several different whole milk powders and finally selected one imported
from China. I’d seen the product and dismissed it specifically because it was made in
China. The kids liked it and with 5 remaining cans of the product, she shared it with all
ranch families. The approval rate was 85% when compared to the other products.

We still had 30-35% of the Warehouse unused and Ginger added more quart, pint and
jelly jars and the Tattler lids and rings. The chain linked liquor section was so full, she
stopped adding to it. It began to look like clear sailing until the radical Muslims started
round 2.

If you recall, round 1 started with them dropping a section of the I-80 Bridge in Daven-
port, Iowa. That was followed in no particular order with the dropping of the I-90, I-70, I-
40 and I-10 Bridges. The last bridge taken down was the I-5/Highway 14 Bridge on the
northwest end of the San Fernando Valley. We waited with baited breath to see which
bridge went down next. Instead of dropping additional bridges or attacking pipelines,
they set off a 5 megaton warhead on Harbor Drive in San Diego wiping out North Island
and sending fallout our direction.

The Trans Canadian Pipeline had been stopped in its tracks by a Nebraska judge and 3
years later, the present time; it had worked its way up to the US Supreme Court docket.
Also before the Supreme Court was Heller II challenging the changes in law DC imple-
ment in the wake of District of Columbia v Heller and MacDonald v Chicago. Most of us
were thrilled with Heller because it said the Right to Keep and Bear Arms was an Indi-
vidual Right and McDonald adding frosting to the cake stating the right applied to the
individual states, counties and cities.

Heller II was, as noted, filed in response to DC changing their laws to circumvent Heller.
And Chicago pretty much copied DC. McDonald either hadn’t challenged the law
changes or was waiting on Heller II. The Nebraska case was heard first and the SCO-
TUS reversed the district court and denied a rehearing. They just might get that pipeline
built yet.

Heller II was the last decision reported by the court and the Court not only held for Hel-
ler a second time, they ruled the FOPA of 1986, the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the
Miller decision violated the Constitution. Two judges had waited for Osama Obama to
be replaced by a Republican House, Senate and President. From outward appearanc-
es, guns rights had been fully restored.

The significance of Miller was upholding the National Firearms Act of 1934; the Gun
Control Act of 1968 eliminated, among other things, the mail order sale of firearms and
the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, intended to restore a portion of the laws
changed by the Gun Control Act of 1968 had that last minute change referred to by
most as the Hughes Amendment which eliminated civilian sales of automatic weapons
not registered on the National Firearms Registry as of the effective date of the law, May
19, 1986. McDonald wouldn’t be able to file a second case as long as cities and states
followed the clear mandate dictated by SCOTUS.

178
The price of select fire firearms and suppressors fell virtually overnight because the rul-
ing included the McDonald decision that the ruling applied to all states, counties and cit-
ies. For the first time since our acquiring the H&K firearms, they became legal for us to
own. We dug out the Crystal to celebrate. Surprisingly, class 3 dealers weren’t particu-
larly upset with the decision because they already dealt in class 3 firearms for Law En-
forcement. Obviously the SCOTUS was tired of focusing on firearms laws. And, at
worst, they wouldn’t have to hear those types of cases for a minimum of 4 years.

The dealer in Phoenix who had been our primary supplier of the H&Ks called and asked
if we’d be interested in more of the rifles. I told him we would on the condition he could
supply enough of the AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers. He jumped on that saying the
launchers weren’t destructive devices but he couldn’t supply the 40mm grenades. I told
him we’d simply have to find another source and would settle for the launchers and the
number of rifles to bring our total to 112 each of the 416 and 417s.

Maybe the government with their buying power can get the price down to $600 a pop,
but the best price he could offer us was $1,500 each plus the cost of the magazines. I
told Ramón to increase the 168 grain 7.62×51mm and 62 grain 5.56×45mm to ensure
6,000 rounds for the HK416s and HK417s and keep his eyes open for more the 40mm
grenades, especially the M433s, M397A1s and M583A1s.

The times were a changing…

He asked if we wanted all Black Hills and I suggested Lake City M80 and M855 for
practice and the Black Hills as duty ammo. I also told him to hold off ordering until I
checked the checkbook. A quick glance revealed we had enough money for the rifles,
grenade launchers and the ammo and I gave him the go ahead.

Gold had slipped back down to ~$1,650 and we replaced the gold used to buy the last
batch of H&K rifles plus a little extra. We had enough gold and silver now that we were
forced to use the Trust vault for the silver and the class 3 vault for the gold. No matter,
there were gun safes on the first and second floors of the dome and after moving the
firearms we moved the silver to the now empty vault. These were the oversized and
overpriced Fort Knox gun safes. We stored the ready ammo on the top of the safes.

Ginger took it upon herself to order the X Products 50 round drums and Checkmate In-
dustries 25 round magazines. The little bump in the road had been smoothed over as
we received the firearms for the kids. We also started James on his riding lessons on a
stock horse, fully intending to move him to a Barb gelding when the time came. I was
thinking maybe 2 years while Ginger was figuring 1 year to 18 months.

Hank pointed out that we were getting deliveries of alfalfa pellets on a monthly basis
and suggested second grain bins for each of the products we used. Ginger agreed and I
gave him the go ahead. The grain bins were about the least expensive building on the
ranch.

179
“Cal, are you ever going to sell any horses?”

“I hadn’t planned on it Hank.”

“We up to nearly 200 head and 3 farriers to keep their hooves in good shape.”

“You added more housing for the farriers I assume?”

“This place is taking on the appearance of a Fleetwood sales lot.”

“Is there anything wrong with the homes we selected?”

“No, they’re more than fine. But if you add more people, we’re going to need to start a
second row.”

“That new shelter has the capacity for up to 100 people and every building including the
garages is connected by the underground tunnels. We have 10 banks of submarine bat-
teries, 10 50kw wind turbines and enough PV panels to generate another 100kw. Even
the Power House is accessible via tunnel.”

“I know. You’re still farming 3 sections, though, and unless you want the income to fall
off, you should buy those 2 half sections the BLM has for sale. They would keep us
about even.”

“I haven’t been following land sales, how much do they have on the market?”

“The 3 sections backing your 3 sections.”

“So, we could add 2 sections of alfalfa and a section of pasture?”

“You can and if you’re short on cash, there’s always that line of credit.”

“I hate using that.”

“So you’ve said. But I’m telling you it would be smart to act while the iron is hot. We’re
going to need to expand the horse pasture anyway and this might be the best way to do
it.”

“We won’t be cutting into the Tohono O’odham Reservation will we?”

“No, there are several sections between us and the Reservation.”

“Ok, look into it and get me a price.”

180
“Ginger, Hank pointed out that the 2 half sections and the full sections behind them are
on the market by the BLM.”

“I thought you didn’t want to expand the ranch.”

“I didn’t. As he pointed out, we’re running out of space for pasture and since the herds
have grown, we simply need more space.”

“How much?”

“I don’t know and have him looking into it.”

“Do we have the money?”

“Like he pointed out, if we don’t we have the line of credit to fall back on.”

“Does he have any idea of the interest rate the bank charges for using the line of cred-
it?”

“I doubt it. I suppose we could put 20% down and go for a conventional short term
mortgage.”

“I’ll buy that. Most of the things we bought using the line of credit cost well more than
they were worth.”

“You realized that we’ll have to put in more of that horse fencing plus maybe 6 miles of
regular fencing.”

“Plus 3 12 inch wells.”

“Right. When you bought the STS and LTS foods for the new shelter, how many people
did you buy for?”

“Forty-two, just like you told me.”

“The new shelter will support 100 people.”

“So you want 10 years for 58 additional people?”

“Unless you disagree.”

“We’re going to need to hire more people if we double the size of the ranch.”

“How many more doublewides?”

“Best guess, 15 or 16.”

181
“Can you work another deal on 16 more?”

“Yes, but it won’t be cheap. Besides the homes, we need more PV panels, upright
freezers, communications gear, more garages and additional tunnels. I might be able to
squeeze in a twelfth battery bank and another 50kw generator. Between the 10 wind
turbines and the additional PV panels, the generators are essentially used to recharge
the batteries.”

“You’d better add 5 more wind turbines since you didn’t when we added those last 12
homes. I take it the 11th battery bank was for extra PV panels. And, I think another
40,000 gallon tank of untaxed diesel would be in order. You’d better add another relay
rack of inverters.

“I sure never thought we’d end up with what we have and are expanding to include.”

“Talk to Daddy, he started with a quarter section. Say, did we license all 32 channels?”

“Twenty-eight, you dad has the other 4 channels licensed.”

“I know, but they’re licensed for Missouri. I’ll get that done.”

Andy was doing fairly well on the Missouri farm. They’d added a shelter and 5 year sup-
ply of LTS food for 20 people. Since the farm was still a single section he only had the
one hired man. He’d generally call once a month and talk to his parents and Ginger. Af-
ter his heart attack Bob had followed his doctor’s orders exactly and got the required
exercise, maintained the recommended diet and except for aging was the picture of
health.

Alice took the responsibility for helping with raising the kids and since she had been a
teacher in Missouri before marrying Bob, home schooled them. At the present they were
about one grade ahead of their peers. The home schooling wasn’t extended to the em-
ployees because it would have made too large of a class size and covered several
grades. She was using the textbooks used by the local school and our library included
the last published edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica and computer access to the
online version plus Wikipedia, of course.

I didn’t bother Bob because he was on the radio getting caught up on the latest news. It
turned out I didn’t need to check with him, he checked with me with some surprising
news.

“Do you have any last minute things you were planning on doing Cal?”

“Something up?”

182
“Rumor mill stuff, but if it’s true, it’s a real attention getter. Word has it that all 5 type 94
Chinese subs have disappeared and if that weren’t bad enough, all 3 of the block I Borei
class and the 3 commissioned block II Borei class disappeared last week. Both the Chi-
nese and Russians have replenishment ships under sail.”

“Ginger and I were talking about adding 5 more wind turbines, another battery bank, in-
verters and what we presume would be the final 16 doublewides. There’s also the food
and what not relating to additional employees. We’re thinking of buying the two half sec-
tions and 2 full sections behind the ranch from the BLM.”

“How fast can you get that done?”

“That depends on Fleetwood, and the alternate power dealers.”

“No, I meant the land.”

“Hank is working on it.”

“He’s a good one, that’s for sure.”

“We’d probably use the same fencing contractor we used originally. They were good.
The reason for the expansion is our horse herd. They need more pasture and the cattle
herd is going through the alfalfa reducing the amount we can market. The cattle, hogs
and alfalfa are our principal sources of income. I’m sure you noticed our moving the
firearms up into the gun safes to free the second vault. We’re storing the gold and silver
in separate vaults now.”

The doublewides could only be built so fast, but there were already a few in inventory at
Hemet, CA. The BLM land was in escrow and being a cash sale would close quickly.
The alternate power dealers were waiting for the concrete to cure before erecting the 5
new turbines. Jacob had poured the bases using an accelerator and fiberglass. The re-
lay rack of inverters/charge controllers was installed and connected. The utilities were
also installed for the new homes, six of which were being setup with six more in transit
and the last four under construction.

Ginger had the last four business band channels licensed for the frequencies we were
already using and the additional food and supplies were in the Warehouse along with
the upright freezers. I’d even managed to add the 40,000 gallon tank of untaxed diesel
and fill it along with another 30,000 gallon refurbished propane tank filling it and topping
off all of the other fuel tanks. This time we added an extra quantity of PRI products. The
only fuel we were ‘short’ on was gasoline, having only the 20,000 gallon tank.

Once we had the additional 1,280 acres of alfalfa in production, we’d have the line of
credit paid off in no time. And, if push came to shove, we could sell some gold. Ramón
had been reevaluating the ammunition situation and was recommending increasing the
quantities for the rifles from 6k to 10k duty rounds with appropriate adjustments to the

183
other ammo and adding a bunch more of Lake City overruns. The entire package of
firearms for our children was in hand and stored in yet another Fort Knox gun safe. With
the firearm purchases, accessories like holsters, gun belts, scabbards, universal clean-
ing kits, spare parts, magazine rebuild kits, etc. were on hand.

As far as the strictly military items, we’d have to get by with what we had on hand…
World War Seven. Furthermore, it would be a very long time before we dug out the cast
bullets, Pyrodex and primers. I think I see a little bit of what Ginger was getting at when
she compared me to TOM. We had more firearms and ammo than he ever thought of
having.

The NWS SAME radios remained quiet and every day of quiet brought us just that much
closer to being ready for come what may. We’d had to deal with the fallout from one
nuke and had managed. What would it be like if Russia and China dumped, what was it,
800 Chinese warheads and 3 × 16 × 6 plus 3 × 20 × 6 = 648 warheads. That added up
to 800+648=1,448. That was too damn many. North Korea was famous for scare tac-
tics, what if China and Russia had adopted those same tactics? They could slip one sub
into port at a time, do a crew swap and replenish, probably in a span of a few days tops.

We still didn’t have many of the P-8A sub hunters deployed. The way the MAD works,
you get a lot better reading if the detector is parallel to the course of the sub. To reduce
interference from electrical equipment or metal in the fuselage of the aircraft, the MAD
sensor is placed at the end of a boom or a towed aerodynamic device. Even so, the
submarine must be very near the aircraft's position and close to the sea surface for de-
tection of the change or anomaly. The size of the submarine and its hull composition
determine the detection range. MAD devices are usually mounted on aircraft.

The P-8A Poseidon was supposed to be better than the P-3C Orion. In mid-2008, the
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) deleted the requirement for the P-8A to be
equipped with magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment in an effort to reduce
weight by 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) to improve range and endurance. The Russian and
Chinese subs were supposed to be state of the art (Chinese art) and the Russians had
built the Titanium hulled Alfa submarine with a diving depth of 800 meters and 41 knots
submerged. The later Akula (NATO designation) could dive to about 550 meters and
run at 35 knots. We won’t talk about the Hotel class K-19 or the class Oscar II class
Kursk K-141. Like Ginger said, “you’re batting 600, nobody’s perfect.”

The downside to the rumor mill is that what’s happening changes on a daily or even
hourly basis. All we could do was continue to work on our plans. The 3 new sections
were graded relatively flat and received the first application of manure. The fence con-
tractor and well driller were brought in to install 5½ miles of fence and 3 additional wells.
The electric well pumps relied on inverted 48vdc stored in a bank of 6 8volt AGM batter-
ies powered by a PV array with a backup generator to recharge the batteries as neces-
sary. This fence was ⅓ cedar posts and ⅔ T Posts. We specified 4 strands of barbed
wire, primarily to denote the property lines.

184
When the fencing contractor finished he moved up front and replaced some of the hog
wire and barbed wire with the 60 inch horse fencing. The horses got the 540 and the
hogs and cattle a full section. Aside from the growing homestead, the remainder went
into alfalfa. We were now up to 4 sections of alfalfa and it proved to be more than our
customer could use. It took a bit but we found another alfalfa customer who would take
the balance. I started to think about market saturation; it’s possible to have too much of
a good thing.

While it’s not possible to stop worrying or wondering what we overlooked, we kept tying
up loose ends. We had 240 submarine batteries and no spares. One dead battery
would eliminate that bank. So we got an additional 24 submarine batteries with the acid
stored separately and 16 spare charge controller/inverters and 4 pallets of the 300kw
PV panels. That Warehouse was over built by a factor of 2.

Ginger now had the recipes and ingredients to bake commercial bread, hamburger and
hot dog buns, and a small commercial bread slicing machine with plastic bags and twist
ties. The buns would have to be hand cut. As loyal as we were to Hormel, Oscar Mayer
got their piece of the pie in the form of lunch meats and hot dogs. She preordered from
a Tucson Supermarket and we used the bread freezer for the lunch meats and hotdogs,
baking bread and buns as needed. Juan’s wife made flour and corn tortillas.

185
 The Dome II – Chapter 20

“Well, what do you think?”

“I could get used to the whole wheat bread and buns.”

“We could buy bread flour in 25 pound bags at Wal-Mart and probably in hundred pound
bags from Costco.”

“But, don’t you have to keep it frozen to avoid it getting rancid or buggy?”

“Yes, you do. We’d have to put in a huge walk-in freezer to store the flour. In the end,
we’d still be eating whole wheat bread and buns.”

“No, forget that; it’s just one more expense and one more thing to worry about. The
stored wheat will last the rest of our lives won’t it?”

“It sure will. I was just checking.”

“These are really good with the onion, tomato and lettuce. Is there any way to ensure
we’d have those things year round?”

“Yes, it’s not a problem. TOM mentions Texas Greenhouse Company in several stories.
I think they make a unit 30 feet wide that you can add to the length and get it up from 60
to 90 feet or even 120 feet.”

“I don’t see us growing coffee or tea.”

“There more than enough room in the Warehouse to store 2 or 3 truckloads of Folgers
Classic and all the Bigelow tea we could drink in a lifetime.”

“Can you handle that?”

“Do we have the money in the checking account? I hate paying those interests rates
when we use the line of credit.”

“Absolutely. I’ve been accumulating money in the checking account to buy more gold
and silver. It’s probably a good idea to spend it whether it’s on coffee and tea or gold
and silver.”

“I get on it first thing tomorrow Cal. You know, it’s strange but I’ve never seen Jerry rec-
ommending any greenhouse company by name. In True Terror he mentioned the com-
pany that fashioned the domes and the company in Kansas City but never by name.”

“You know, I sometimes think they edit each other’s stories. But, other times it seems
obvious that they don’t.”

186
“If we only knew, huh?”

“Who do you like best?”

“That depends on the story and what your favorite firearms are. TOM is like you and a
M1A fan while Jerry likes the PTR-91. Jerry likes the Glock and the semi-auto Reming-
ton shotgun and TOM favors M1911s and Browning Hi-Powers plus the Mossberg shot-
gun. In the firearms department, you’re obviously a TOM affectionato.”

“And both like the Walther PPK for hideout guns; although, from time to time, Jerry goes
with the modern derringers. Did you ever notice that the 3 brands of cigarettes we have
1,200 cartons of each are the brands that TOM smokes or smoked at one time, Pall
Mall, Marlboro and Kool?”

“I wonder how long it would take him to go through our smokes.”

“Best guess, 3,600 weeks or 50 years. I’ll help with dishes.”

“Better yet, make sure the kids have their baths and get ready for bed. You might want
to shower yourself.”

“In a mood are we?”

“Always.”

Yee-Haw.

I must be in much better physical condition, I was tired this morning. We had good hired
hands so there wasn’t all that much for me to do on a daily basis. Check with Hank and
Ramón to get status reports on the alfalfa and livestock and if there were any security
issues. Same old, same old. This morning, Ramón had a suggestion and he just
wouldn’t let it go.

“Cal, we’d up our security by several orders of magnitude if we either erected a berm or
added a concrete wall around all 6 sections. I’d favor the berm and we could use soil
from just outside your property line. That would have three benefits; one, we’d have a
barrier not easily penetrated; two, the ditch created by removing the soil would effective-
ly make the berm twice as tall; three, and finally, we could fill the ditch with water and
grow those fish like they do up in Phoenix in the canals.”

“We already grow Blue Tilapia in the pond, Ramón. We have plenty of duckweed seed
stored in the Warehouse. In fact our initial batch of fish came from Phoenix. You’re talk-
ing about a canal that would be 10 miles long and would have to be sealed to prevent
the water from draining into the very porous sand surrounding the ranch. We used Ben-

187
tonite to seal the pond and it wasn’t cheap. Finally, I’m not sure it would be a good idea
to dig a ditch on land we don’t own.”

“So the answer is no?”

“The answer is maybe, it would need to be a family decision. Hank what do you think?”

“I see merit in Ramón’s suggestion and agree with your concerns.”

Walking back to the Dome, I realized that Hank had carefully avoided the question. It
wasn’t that we didn’t have the fish; we had to harvest them on a regular basis to main-
tain growing room in the pond. We harvest the entire pond about every six weeks using
a 3½ inch net. Three of our hands who mainly worked on the alfalfa field were hire spe-
cifically because they could fillet at least 60 fish per hour into boneless fillets. Our diet
was very balanced although the Blue Tilapia was low in Omega 3 fatty acids.

So, over lunch, I brought up Ramón’s suggestion. Bob objected immediately on the ba-
sis that you don’t build any structures on other people’s land. Alice nodded while he was
explaining his position in a rather heated voice. Ginger asked three questions: how long
would it take, how much would it cost and where could sell the fish fillets?

I told her I didn’t have an answer to any of the three questions and asked if she would
be interested in looking into it. She said she might after she got the coffee and tea or-
dered and checked the bank balance. One thing I haven’t mentioned is how long it
takes to harvest 4 sections of alfalfa. It’s pertinent here because the checks from the
two companies came in on average slightly over two weeks apart. The other concern
was harvesting and filleting the fish. That could turn into a continuous project with a ten
mile canal.

It was a 3 Excedrin moment. I advised Ramón that afternoon that the family had dis-
cussed it over lunch and that Ginger was going to look into it as soon as she completed
her current project and that the current project wasn’t time consuming. He’d know when
it was completed when the semis arrived. I also pointed out that due to the expansion of
the ranch we were receiving the same amount of money twice as fast. What I didn’t tell
him was that the gold vault was full and I was going to have to find another place to
store the silver and use the second vault for more gold.

“Jacob, I have a small project I need completed most ASAP.”

“What now Cal?”

“Anther vault off the basement wall and make it triple the size of the two current vaults.”

“You have that many guns?”

“No we don’t have that many guns (we have more), I need a place to store valuables.”

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“But just one vault door, right?”

“Right.”

“We’ll order the door and I’ll send a crew down when it comes in. Do you want it twice
as wide or twice as deep?”

“Three times as wide.”

“Ok, I’ll check our copy of the blueprints.”

“I didn’t know you had a copy of the blueprints.”

“I put in the basement and kept of file copy of those. And one day when I drove down to
see how the dome construction was coming along, I got a spare set from Monolithic.
We’ve either constructed everything else or supplied the concrete so I have blueprints.”

That decided that; we’re putting in a berm and ditch and someone else is going to fabri-
cate the sole gate and supply the concrete for the wall tying the berm into the gate. In
fact, I think after the wall is poured and sets up, we’re going to build the berm over the
wall and right up to the gate posts. Thank God the homestead was set back 80 feet
from the road. That was the little lane where we took out those Muslim Terrorists.

I made a quick calculation of the volume of soil to be moved based on a canal 10 feet
deep by 10 feet wide by 52,800 feet long and the volume was 52,800,000 cubic feet or
in concrete terms 1,955,556 yards rounded upwards. Heck, call it 2 million cubic yards.
The property of swelling on contact with water makes sodium bentonite useful as a
sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier. It is used to line the
base of landfills to prevent migration of leachate, for quarantining metal pollutants of
groundwater, and for the sealing of subsurface disposal systems for spent nuclear fuel.
Similar uses include making slurry walls, waterproofing of below-grade walls, and form-
ing other impermeable barriers, e.g., to seal off the annulus of a water well, to plug old
wells.

Bentonite can also be “sandwiched” between synthetic materials to create geo-synthetic

clay liners (GCL) for the aforementioned purposes. This technique allows for more con-
venient transport and installation, and it greatly reduces the volume of bentonite re-
quired. The ionic surface of bentonite has a useful property in making a sticky coating
on sand grains. When a small proportion of finely ground bentonite clay is added to hard
sand and wetted, the clay binds the sand particles into a moldable aggregate known as
green sand used for making molds in sand casting. Some river deltas naturally deposit
just such a blend of clay silt and sand, creating a natural source of excellent molding
sand that was critical to ancient metalworking technology.

189
It is also used to form a barrier around newly planted trees to constrain root growth so
as to prevent damage to nearby pipes, footpaths and other infrastructure. Farmers use
bentonite to seal retention ponds. We’re ranchers, not farmers. But are we, really? We
grow vast herds of cattle and hogs and 2,560 acres of alfalfa. Maybe we’re farmers but
not grain producing farmers. How many crops of corn or soybeans could we grow this
close to The Sonoran Desert?

Let me tell you more about where we live. Eloy is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, United
States, about 50 miles northwest of Tucson and about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix.
According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 10,855. Ac-
cording to the US Census of 2000, the city has a total area of 98.9 square miles (256
km²). The city offers a varied range of community facilities for its citizens. Outside the
city limits, the city has a planning area of almost 560 square miles (1,500 km²).

As of the census of 2011, there were 16,964 people, 2,492 households, and 1,988 fami-
lies residing in Eloy. The population density was 144.8 people per square mile
(55.9/km²). There were 2,734 housing units at an average density of 38.1 per square
mile (14.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 58% Hispanic or Latino, 5.32% Black
or African American, 41% White, 4.48% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.11% Pacific
Islander, 31.48% from other races, and 4.71% from two or more races.

There were 2,492 households out of which 50.1% had children under the age of 18 liv-
ing with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 21.9% had a female house-
holder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 15.5% of all households
were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of
age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was
3.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from
18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of
age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 137.1
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 154.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,518, and the median income for
a family was $28,494. Males had a median income of $25,295 versus $21,088 for fe-
males. The per capita income for the city was $9,194. About 27.9% of families and
31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.6% of those under
age 18 and 24.6% of those age 65 or over.

The largest employer is Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and those CCA
prisoners are included in the census. As of 2010 the CCA-operated Saguaro Correc-
tional Center, located in Eloy, houses the majority of Hawaii's male prison inmate popu-
lation.

The Eloy Elementary School District provides elementary education in grades K through
8 through its four schools:

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Curiel Annex School (preschool and kindergarten)
Curiel Primary School (grades 1 through 3)
Eloy Intermediate School (grades 4 through 6)
Eloy Junior High School (grades 7 and 8)

The one high school in the town, Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, is separately
administered. It has about 440 students.

While we grow alfalfa and livestock, the largest crop grown in the area is cotton. Yep,
King Cotton! This was yet another vote against a ditch and berm. As much I hate to
think about it, the ditch and berm are going to have to be on our property. That didn’t
mean removing all those new fences because the canal would probably be classified as
an attractive nuisance and those 4 strands of barbed wire would remain in place. We
have to move the 60” horse fencing and replace it with more barbed wire outside the
new canal.

And, when I gave it further consideration, I realized we had too much horse fencing and
could store the extra for repairs as needed. Better contract the fence removal and put-
ting in the barbed wire. But, that would have to wait until the canal was dug and lined.

After the coffee and tea were delivered and stored in the Warehouse and the green-
house erected, I contracted for the ditch and berm. It simply made more sense to use a
single contractor to build both. I had him start inside the new 5½ miles of barbed wire
and promised an early completion bonus. We lost a few acres of alfalfa land but we both
agreed it was worth it for the increased level of protection. Now, they’d need bombers or
warheads to get inside the ranch.

But drones were in the news nearly every day and with 155mm artillery shooting the
M982 Excalibur rounds we might be in trouble. Excalibur has a range of approximately
40 to 57 kilometers (25 to 35 mi) depending on configuration, with a circular error prob-
able (CEP) of around 5 meters (16 feet) to 20 meters (66 feet). Excalibur is compatible
with the United States M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, M198 howitzer
and M777 Lightweight Howitzer.

There was also the M712 155mm Copperhead cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, termi-
nally laser guided, explosive projectile intended to engage hard point targets such as
tanks, self-propelled howitzers or other high-value targets. It may be fired from different
artillery pieces, such as the M109A6, M198 howitzers and M777 Lightweight Howitzer.
The projectile has a minimum range of 3 km and a maximum range of 16 km. (The
M198 is being replaced in US and Australian service by the BAE M777 howitzer.)

It seems that with an active mind focused on What Ifs a person can imagine a lot of
things which is probably why there are 180+ items of things that can happen on Jerry’s
list. Does TOM have a list? I bet he has copy of Jerry’s. TOM primarily only has one

191
thing on his list, GTW. Can you imagine looking out your barracks window and seeing
12 B-47s in a shotgun area with 2 nukes apiece aboard? That was 1962 and we’re in
late 2017 and it hasn’t happened, yet. That’s 55 years…

Plus, there is nuclear disarmament; unilateral by the US, but still… it’s disarmament.
19+55=74, TOM’s age assuming he’s still out there in the People’s Republik. The funny
thing about him moving from Iowa to California is that he didn’t gain anything. Iowa’s
gun laws are almost as bad as California’s. Except Iowa became a shall issue state de-
spite opposition from an estimated 99 Sheriff’s and untold Police Chiefs.

I had to say an estimated 99 Sheriff’s for 2 reasons; I’m from Arizona and what do I
know about Iowa politics; and, Iowa has 99 Counties and I assume 99 County Sheriff’s.
I wonder how many of them are named Joe. Is he old enough to retire yet? I’m bored;
maybe I should go out and watch the alfalfa grow.

“How many cans of coffee do we have now?”

“Cal, I didn’t count them, but the trailers were 53 foot trailers and full. We move the old
coffee forward and widened the row a lot by moving the existing supply of tea to a dif-
ferent location where we had room for both the old tea and the new tea. That was a 53
foot trailer too. Looking at the pile of tea, I realized we should have bought 2 truckloads.
Anyway I called Bigelow and told them to send another truckload identical to the one we
received.”

“Ok, I guess if you say so. They’re making great progress on the ditch and using the soil
to build the berm. With those machines they’re using, they’re constructing a few hun-
dred yards of berm daily. The berm isn’t quite as high as the ditch is deep so I’ve a few
of the hands creating a shelf, for want of a better term, to stand on.

“In medieval military engineering, a berm (or berme) was a level space between a para-
pet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat. It was intended to re-
duce soil pressure on the walls of the excavated part to prevent its collapse. It also
meant that debris dislodged from fortifications would not fall into (and fill) a ditch or
moat. In the trench warfare of World War I, the name was applied to a similar feature at
the lip of a trench, which served mainly as an elbow-rest for riflemen.

“In modern military engineering, berm has come to mean the earthen or sod wall or par-
apet itself. The term especially refers to a low earthen wall adjacent to a ditch. The dig-
ging of the ditch (often by a bulldozer or military engineering vehicle) can provide the
soil from which the berm is constructed. Walls constructed in this manner are an effec-
tive obstacle to vehicles, including most armored fighting vehicles, but are easily
crossed by infantry. Because of the ease of construction, such walls can be made hun-
dreds or thousands of kilometers long.

“Berms are also used to control erosion and sedimentation by reducing the rate of sur-
face runoff. The berms either reduce the velocity of the water, or direct water to areas

192
that are not susceptible to erosion, thereby reducing the adverse effects of running wa-
ter on exposed topsoil. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico, the construction of berms designed to prevent oil from reaching the fragile Lou-
isiana wetlands (which would result in massive erosion) was proposed early on, and
was officially approved by the federal government in mid-June, 2010, after numerous
failures to stop and contain the oil leak with more advanced technologies.

“I had a concern about erosion but decided to coat the outside of the berm with sodium
bentonite useful as a sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier. It
is used to line the base of landfills to prevent migration of leachate, for quarantining
metal pollutants of groundwater, and for the sealing of subsurface disposal systems for
spent nuclear fuel. Similar uses include making slurry walls, waterproofing of below-
grade walls, and forming other impermeable barriers, e.g., to seal off the annulus of a
water well, to plug old wells. The property of swelling on contact with water makes sodi-
um bentonite idea because when it swells, it become slippery, making it difficult for
someone on foot to climb the berm.”

“You’ve been on Wikipedia again.”

“I had to because there are several different types of bentonite. I wanted to use the right
one. Anyway the ditch isn’t square like I initially planned. It’s a bit wider at the top than
the bottom and we’re going with straight sodium bentonite regardless of the expense. It
should take the contractor long enough to put it in that the biweekly alfalfa payments
should keep pace with the construction. He insisted on 10% down and percentage
completion payment with a 10% reserve. The Bentonite contractor that lined the pond
wanted 30% down with percentage of completion and the same 10% reserve, but I got
him to accept 20%.”

“How much do we have invested in this white elephant?”

“I don’t know, call our accountant. Can you think of anywhere in Arizona safer than this
ranch?”

“Probably not; but is it worth it?”

“It most certainly is because it provides safe haven for our family including your parents
and Andy and Sheree and their kids if they can get here; plus all of our employees and
their families. Not only do we generate the alfalfa income there is the income from the
sale of cattle and hogs.”

“What did you have Jacobs crew doing?”

“Adding another precious metals vault.”

“I bet he has almost a complete set of prints of all the construction.”

193
“He does, which was the deciding factor for the canal and berm.”

Sometimes I think you’re paranoid.”

“There ain’t no doubt about it; just because your paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out
to get you. You know we bought those AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Devices. We
should have bought those Enhanced Combat Helmets developed for the Corps to
mount them on.”

“We have Interceptor body armor, is that best we can do?”

“The Army went to the Improved Outer Tactical Vest and The Corps went to the Modu-
lar Tactical Vest. They went with the ECH helmet although they temporarily fielded the
Lightweight Helmet. I’ll talk to Ramón and see what we can come up with.”

194
 The Dome II – Chapter 21

1. A New Messiah
2. A new Persian Empire
3. Active shooter at public venue/business
4. Active shooter at school/college campus
5. Addictive Entertainment
6. Advanced Technology disaster
7. Agenda 21
8. Airplane crash
9. Anarchy
10. Antibiotic resistant bacteria
11. Armageddon
12. Atmospheric River storm/severe flooding
13. Automotive accident
14. Avalanche
15. Aztlan/Reconquista Uprising
16. Bank closure/failure/mandated bank holiday
17. Bath Salt drug zombies
18. Becoming a refugee
19. Becoming lost in the megalopolis
20. Becoming lost in the wilderness
21. Bee Colony Collapse Disorder / crop pollination failures
22. Biblical flood
23. Biblical plagues
24. Biological war/attack
25. Black hole appearance
26. Blackout
27. Blizzard
28. Boat wreck/ship wreck
29. Brownout
30. Carrington Event/Massive solar flare
31. Celestial object impact/near miss
32. Chemical war/attack
33. Civil war
34. Civilian disarmament
35. Cloning of dangerous plants/animals
36. Cloning of humans
37. Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
38. Communication restrictions
39. Crime wave
40. Crop failures
41. Dam failure/collapse
42. Dangerous wildlife confrontation
43. Dark matter/anti-matter incident
44. Declining drinking water aquifer levels

195
45. Drinking water aquifer contamination/poisoning
46. Drought
47. Dust bowl
48. Earth Core Cooling
49. Earth orbit shift
50. Earthquake
51. Eco-system collapse
52. Electro Magnetic Pulse attack (EMP attack)
53. Electro Magnetic Pulse from coronal mass ejection or other solar activity
54. Encroachment of drinking water aquifers by seawater
55. Environmental disaster
56. Epidemic
57. Ethnic war
58. Evidence of extraterrestrials
59. Extraterrestrial biological contamination
60. Fire storm
61. Flash mob violence/criminal event
62. Flash flood
63. Food shortages/price increases
64. Forest fire/wild fire
65. Fuel shortages/price increases
66. Fungal infections of food staples crops
67. Gamma ray burst from neutron star collision
68. Global cooling/Ice Age
69. Global nuclear war (aka GTW)
70. Global warming
71. Gold/PM recall
72. Gold/PM restrictions
73. Government Tyranny
74. Grand Alignment induced tectonic activity
75. Ground surface tilt/rise/subsidence from tectonics/magma movement
76. Gulf Stream shutdown/subsidence
77. Hail
78. Hazmat incident
79. Heat wave
80. Home gardening restrictions
81. Home invasion
82. Hostage situation
83. Hostile extraterrestrials
84. House/apartment/building fire
85. Hurricane
86. Hypercane
87. Ice Storm
88. Infrastructure collapse/failures
89. Invasion of the US
90. Invasive plant and animal species

196
91. Kidnapped
92. Lahar
93. Landslide/mudslide
94. Large scale JIT delivery failures
95. Limited nuclear war/attack
96. Limnic eruption
97. Local major accident (aircraft/auto/rail/building)
98. Local major crime
99. Local/regional gun grab
100. Lockdown at school/college campus
101. Lockdown at work/business
102. Loss of job
103. Magnetic pole shift
104. Major conventional war
105. Major economic depression
106. Major nuclear power plant incident
107. Martial Law
108. Massive tectonic activity
109. Maunder Minimum low sunspot cycle triggered ice age
110. Medical emergency
111. Mega Tsunami (La Palma, West Antarctic Ice Sheet)
112. Mega Volcano (Yellowstone Caldera)
113. Methane Hydrate release
114. National bankruptcy/default
115. Nationwide/global economic breakdown
116. Nemesis induced Oort Cloud meteorite rain
117. New colonial activity (Fr., Sp., Port., It., Germ., Japan, China, Russia, UK, Bra-
zil, Ven.)
118. New, more restrictive assault weapons ban
119. New World Order (NWO)
120. Out of control bio-genetics/bio-technology
121. Out of control Nano-technology/robotics
122. Overpopulation
123. Ozone layer depletion
124. Pandemic/Syndemic pandemic
125. Peaceful extraterrestrials
126. Peak oil
127. Personal financial breakdown
128. Personal/family catastrophic illness
129. Personal impact crimes
130. Pestilence
131. Political unrest/backlash
132. Pyroclastic flow
133. Racial war
134. Rainforest deforestation
135. Rampant inflation

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136. Rapid Population Decline
137. Refugees
138. Regional climate change
139. Released/escaped dangerous zoo/circus animals
140. Religious war
141. Resource war
142. Rogue Military Activity
143. Rotational pole shift
144. Runaway GM food plant failure/cross contamination
145. Safe deposit box (non-bank) restrictions/closures
146. Sand/dust storms/Haboob
147. Sea level drop
148. Sea level rise
149. Second coming
150. Sentient computer(s) take over
151. Severe Lightning
152. Shipwrecked/marooned
153. Shortages of goods and services for a variety of reasons
154. Sinkholes
155. Slow rise flood
156. Social break down
157. Solar radiation increase/decrease
158. State bankruptcy/default
159. Strikes/boycotts/embargoes/price controls
160. Sub-atomic particle research accident
161. Sudden regional major population shift
162. Super-storm
163. Tailings pond dam failure/collapse
164. Terrorism of all types
165. The Anti-Christ
166. Tornado
167. Total gun ban/confiscation
168. Train wreck
169. Travel restrictions
170. Tsunami
171. UN Small Arms Treaty
172. UN/One World Government
173. US Coup
174. US revolution
175. Utilities failures
176. Vehicle breakdown/stranded
177. Volcano
178. Water shortages
179. Water system contamination/poisoning
180. Wealth redistribution (by currency exchange/tax rates)
181. Weapons restrictions

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 182. Weather Modification attack
183. Widespread civil unrest/riots
184. Wild animal rampage
185. World Population dramatic increase
186. Zombies/vampires/werewolves/other supernatural dangers (just kidding!)

No, I didn’t ask TOM or Jerry; I found Jerry’s list elsewhere. We’ve already experienced
some of things on his list and some are closely related like a drought and water short-
ages. I must say that given our current building project, we should be able to avoid
some of the items listed.

When I next checked the progress on the ditch/canal I noticed that the bottom was slight
rounded and it seemed slightly wider than ten feet. In fact, there seemed to be a slight
slope on the walls of the ditch.

“What’s going on here? The ditch is wider, the sides are sloped and the bottom edge
rounded?

“Sorry Mr. Burgess, we tried it the way you wanted and were continually going back be-
cause of cave-ins. Our engineer suggested this approach and its working. You get
about the same volume of soil for the berm, if not a bit more. If you’re planning on seal-
ing the ditch with Bentonite, you should have them start because that will keep the soil
in place even better.”

“We already have someone lined up to put in the sodium bentonite. I call him have him
come take a look. How much have you completed so far?”

“Just short of 4 miles.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to stay ahead of him?”

“Now, yes. We’re doing 400 plus yards a day with new the contour. Most of the Benton-
ite Contractors I know would have push to maintain that pace. Same guy do your
pond?”

“Yes.”

“How long did it take him?”

“Point taken; I’ll get them started.”

“A suggestion.”

“Yes, what is it?”

199
“Have him apply Bentonite to the outward side of the berm and install a sprinkler system
along the top to moisten the outer wall in case of trouble.”

“Oh right, it swells and gets slippery, right?”

“Right.”

I called the Bentonite Contractor and explained the changes needed and told him he
could begin immediately. I’d have a check in hand the day his crew and he showed up. I
wasn’t surprised when they showed up the next morning around 7am. He had the new
contract made out showing the increase total cost and I cut him a check on the spot be-
fore returning to my now cold breakfast.

After getting his crew started, he returned to the dome with a question. What did I have
in mind for sealing the inside of the berm? I told him I hadn’t planned on sealing it. He
pointed out with the winds we sometimes got; I should do something to keep the soil
(sand) in place. I asked if he was thinking about Bentonite and he said that would be
poor idea because the same reason we were covering the outside of the berm. Besides,
he said there were cheaper solutions and if I was interested, he’d look into them. Ginger
nodded, so I told him to look into it.

The solution based on a protected dome:

Spray On Plastics’ Flexible Mould Skin polyurea was the perfect coating for the applica-
tion. Its slow gelling time allowed the applicator to run the coating around the bumps
and recesses of the concrete. What's more, since Flexible Mould Skin is a pure poly-
urea, it is not dramatically affected by the presence of moisture. A layer of flexible mould
skin approximately 125 mils thick was sprayed over the entire dome, and was covered
with 2” of polyurethane foam insulation. It was backfilled in sections to provide a level
working platform for the sprayers. In the end, this system provided a complete, seam-
less seal that was quick to apply.

He said his crew could apply the initial coating and he could leave an applicator and
whatever quantity of the product we wanted. It would allow us to make whatever chang-
es we wanted to the inside of the berm. He said they’d be happy to make the changes
for us but he didn’t think it would cost-effective, depending on what we did to the inside.
It was also a long drive from Flagstaff. He had a knowing look in his eye so Ginger told
him we’d follow his suggestion of making changes ourselves.

The fencing contractor noticed the pace of the excavation/berm contractor and tempo-
rarily moved the horse fence, asking where he could store the extra sections. Ginger
and I decided on a quickly erected pole building with a dirt floor at the side of the horse
pasture. We put down some pallets for them to stack the fence on and constructed the
building around the pallets. The pallets were leftovers from arranging the Warehouse.
One couldn’t really see the Warehouse walls because of the pallets stacked against
them 8 feet high.

200
The Warehouse was a commercial, 10 feet per floor, building and was about 27½ feet
tall due to the double walls, I-beams to support the concrete, concrete and six feet of
soil. We sealed the top of the Warehouse with asphalt. It would be cost-prohibitive to do
the same with the berm. We decided to get 2 55 gallon drums of Spray On Plastics’
Flexible Mould Skin polyuria along with one applicator.

The number of Vaqueros and ranch hands was close to perfect to handle those opera-
tions. We had 4 unused doublewides and everything we needed in the armory, bunker
and the warehouse without buying anything else. Ginger checked the STS foods and
made list of items we needed to fill in. I checked with Ramón and he smirked before he
said, “World War 8.” I replied, “Gee, I hope not.” I asked there was anything he needed
and he said, “Twelve more security people, Boss.”

“Why?”

“We have 12 people running three shifts a day, seven days a week. Even God rested on
the seventh day.”

“We have 4 unused 3 bedroom homes. That would put the twelve new people all private
bedrooms. Do you think you could come up with 12 single ex-military to fill those slots?”

“Probably. Despite the fact that our people are good, there is always ex-military looking
for jobs. Okay if I put an ad in Soldier of Fortune?”

“If you aren’t looking for special operation types, do it.”

Our fence contractor had fenced off 320 of the 540 acre horse pasture leaving room for
the construction equipment. One of our purchasers showed up with hay semis and
started hauling the large round bales to their processing plant.

“How long to fill the ditch and finish off the berm?”

“They’re making almost 450 yards so it won’t be long. We need a gate for the driveway
stout enough that it would take large Caterpillar tractor to get through it. Plus I’d like a 6’
high wall extending from the gate into the berm. We’ll worry about the berm after the
gate is in and I’d like to see it done before the Excavation Contractor leaves so he can
build the berm right up to the gate posts.

“The Bentonite Contractor is moving faster than either of us thought and he’ll finish with-
in ten days of the excavation/berm project. Get the gate constructed out of 8 inch
schedule 120 pipe with 12 inch schedule 160 gate posts 12 feet long. After the gate is
hung, I want 5 10 inch schedule 160 12 feet long posts added behind the gate that will
go into drop in receptacles. Make the gate six feet high and the pole receptacles six feet
deep. The center post should back the seam where the 2 gates come together. Get with

201
a plumber or a plumbing supply to determine the size pipes needed for the receptacles.
Get with Ginger and draw some cash. Oh, the gate sections should 14 feet long.”

I was hoping that the excavation contractor could drill the 7 post holes and we could use
Rapid Set Cement All 55 lb. Multi-Purpose Construction Material. The stuff has a com-
pression strength of 9,000 psi. He went us one better, actually installing the 5 recepta-
cles and the two gate poles. Actually, Ginger found a company in Tucson to fabricate
the 2 gates. The suckers were heavy, forcing them to use a crane to install the 2 gates.
The automatic openers must have been custom built and used 6 code settings opposed
to the Stanley garage door openers 4 settings. Plus the power could be cut from multi-
ple locations. Standard practice was to leave the gates open, power on.

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 The Dome II – Chapter 22

Nobody lives forever. Bob had second heart attack. Our little clinic had Ventlab BVM
with Bag Reservoirs, a case of each size with adapters to fill the bags with pure O 2. We
also had 2 AEDs, IV solutions and various drugs to be administered at the direction of a
physician. I called a doctor in Eloy while Ginger used the AED and Ramón used the
Ventlab.

When Bob’s heart failed to restart after multiple blasts from the AED, Ramón took over
manual chest compressions and Ginger the Ventlab bag. They kept it up for what
seemed like forever. The ambulance had arrived from Eloy and the EMT told them to
stop, Bob was gone. I’m glad I had 2 shoulders and that Maria had come along with
Ramón, she corralled the kids with Ramón’s help.

Bob wanted to be buried in the family plot back in Missouri. After the undertaker picked
him up, I got on the phone to make arrangements to fly him back to Missouri. Alice used
her cell phone to call Andy and give him the bad news. He offered to fly out but she told
him to make arrangements for a closed casket service and get the grave opened. She
recommended a local funeral home there where they lived to make the arrangements.

“Ginger I’m moving back to Missouri and will live with Andy.”

“What about all your things?”

“I’ll take my clothes and you take the rest. Considering what airlines charge these days
for baggage, I’m only taking one suitcase and you can ship the rest of my things. Give
your father’s clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Everything else, Cal and you
keep. Remind me to sign over the car title before I leave.”

“There were no signs that I saw that Daddy was having problems.”

“He hid them. There were plenty of signs. I’d see him pop a nitro and immediately reach
for the Excedrin bottle. I told him that we should go to Phoenix and see that doctor and
he insisted he’d be fine. Hard headed man, I swear. Still, he had a good life until the first
heart attack. And after they put in the stent he seemed to be doing fine. It’s just been
this last year and he always denied there was a problem when I confronted him.”

“Ok Mom if that’s what your want; we’ll do it your way.”

She later revealed to Ginger that she wasn’t hurting for money because they both had
paid up insurance policies for $150,000. Alice also counted out their small gold collec-
tion and gave half to Ginger with instructions to add it to the rest. She’d give Andy his
half when she arrived in Missouri. We both offered to fly back with her to accompany the
body and she declined, saying “stay home and take care of my grandchildren.”

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Andy called after the funeral and told Ginger that they’d received Alice’s things. He also
said that the undertaker back home had freshened up their Dad’s makeup and that the
funeral was open casket. Their mother was adjusting but seemed to be “lost… so lost.”

Ginger gave him an accounting of the things we’d discovered when we went through
their things. The only thing he asked to have was the Colt 3 rd generation Single Action
Army. Ginger got the name of a dealer to ship it to and took it to Tucson to a dealer to
arrange shipment.

While I was researching the topic ‘berm’ I found one place that said ‘a berm should be 3
horizontal feet for each vertical foot. I calculated that the 10 foot by 10 foot pile of soil
would create a 20 foot base 10 feet high, given a sharp edge at the very top. It’s easy to
visualize, draw a square 10 inches by 10 inches and run a diagonal. We need a flat top
to protect those of us behind the wall, leaving 2 choices; one, change the slope of the
wall making it steeper, e.g. a 16 foot base that’s higher and cut off flat at 10 feet; or,
two, keep the wall as is and make it shorter.

With Bentonite sealing the outside surface and the Spray On Plastics’ Flexible Mould
Skin polyuria sealing the inside surface, we gambled and used the first choice and end-
ed up with a flat top 10 feet high that we could use sand bags to create merlons and
crenels. I’m not sure which author gave me the idea, TOM or Jerry, but I’m thinking Jer-
ry. Do you have any idea how many sandbags it takes to create 10 miles of merlons
and crenels? Furthermore, sand bags aren’t cheap.

At this point in time, I was thinking, “I should have just built a concrete wall!” Of course
sand bag is just a term and we’d probably fill them with common dirt/soil, presuming we
did it. Thinking back, we provided the concrete for a continuous median a few years
back. That concrete had an accelerator in it and the form moved continuously. Which
got me to thinking about those portable medians. We’d want short pieces, maybe 5 foot
long and if we left a gap between the sections, we’d have our crenels. If we left a 2 foot
gap, which would make each section 7 feet and 52,800 divided by 7 is ~7,540.

A recent article in Newsweek reported that “according to a well-placed intelligence

source,” in 2007 Saudi Arabia began to purchase CSS-5 (DF-21) ground-to-ground
missiles from China. While similar reports appeared in the past, the recently published
information is distinguished by its confirmation by an official – albeit anonymous –
source, and by the revelation that the Americans knew about the Saudi-Chinese deal
and were involved in it. The report raises many questions about the Saudis’ motivations,
the implications of the deal, and the timing of the exposure.

Denied purchase of ground-to-ground missiles by the United States in the 1980s, the
Saudis, unbeknownst to the United States, purchased about ten launchers and several
dozen Chinese DF-3A missiles (called CSS-2 by NATO), which apparently were cus-
tomized to carry conventional warheads. The missiles were stationed in a number of
sites in Saudi Arabia and maintained by Chinese technicians. The covert deal led to a

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CRISIS in relations between Riyadh and Washington, particularly because the missiles
were originally intended to carry nuclear warheads. The CRISIS ended when Saudi
Arabia agreed to join the NPT.

The DF-3A missiles were already outdated when the Saudis purchased them, and it
was only a matter of time until they would seek to replace them or add more modern
missiles to their arsenal. Moreover, these missiles use liquid fuel, are cumbersome to
prepare for launching, and have low accuracy. And indeed, for several years there have
been reports on Saudi expansion of its missile arsenal. In 2009, the existence of addi-
tional sites suspected of belonging to the Saudi missile arsenal was reported.

A book by a former CIA employee published in 2010 even claimed that in 2003, the
Saudis, with the knowledge of the United States, purchased advanced ground-to-
ground missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Also in 2010, there were reports
that the strategic missile arsenal was being upgraded and that a new headquarters was
dedicated outside of Riyadh for the kingdom’s Strategic Missile Force. Already then,
doubts surfaced as to whether the Saudis needed the facility if they still had the old mis-
siles.

The latest report confirms the previous ones: the Saudis did in fact purchase missiles
from China, with the knowledge of the United States. According to the report, CIA per-
sonnel examined the missiles in Saudi Arabia in order to confirm that they did not carry
nuclear warheads. It may be that the deal was not revealed until now because the
Americans examined the missiles and were not concerned by what they found or be-
cause of a desire to avoid embarrassment on both sides. The Americans may also have
understood that if they were not involved in the process, Saudi Arabia could do without
them, as it did in the past, and they preferred to retain control of the process.

The Dong Feng 21 missile (East Wind 21) is a two-stage ballistic missile that uses solid
fuel, which shortens the launch preparation time and makes maintenance easier. It has
a range of some 1,700 kilometers and can carry a load of about 600 kilograms. It is
much more accurate than the old DF-3A; it is accurate to 30 meters CEP, allowing it to
attack specific targets like compounds or palaces. Its later models are also equipped
with terminal guidance, which enables it to hit pinpoint targets (though it is unlikely that
these later models were exported).

It is possible that the Saudis have purchased other missiles in addition to the DF-21, in-
cluding other models produced in China (such as the DF-11 or the DF-15) or Pakistani-
made missiles, such as one of the Shaheen series. Moreover, the Saudi efforts to ac-
quire long range weapons have extended to cruise missiles, and the British reportedly
sold the kingdom Storm Shadow cruise missiles as part of the Saudi program to up-
grade its Tornado jets.

The missile has a range of some 500 kilometers (and therefore, its export is restricted
under the Missile Technology Control Regime agreements). An unofficial confirmation of
the sale of the missile appeared in WikiLeaks documents in 2009, and in 2013 it was

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reported that in contrast to previous refusals, the United States had agreed to sell the
Saudis SLAM-ER cruise missiles.

While the new missiles have a shorter range than their predecessors, they have better
accuracy. This gives them a greater deterrent value in Saudi eyes, even if they have
conventional warheads, because of their ability to hit government buildings, strategic
facilities, and military bases in Iran. Does the presence of these missiles significantly
change the military balance in the region? Not as long as the missiles are armed with
conventional warheads.

The recent Newsweek report raises new questions as to the kingdom’s intentions in the
nuclear realm. Officials in Saudi Arabia, which is in the midst of a significant conven-
tional military buildup, have often stated that the kingdom is focusing on a nuclear pro-
gram to meet the country’s energy needs and reduce its dependence on oil. However,
Saudi Arabia has previously examined the military nuclear path, and to this end, has in-
creased its cooperation with a number of countries, in particular Pakistan. It has had
military cooperation with Pakistan for some years, and funded part of its nuclear pro-
gram.

In addition, several unusual comments from Riyadh since 2011 have indicated Saudi
Arabia’s willingness to examine the nuclear path if the international community is unable
to prevent Iran from attaining military nuclear capability. Because Saudi Arabia lacks an
independent knowledge infrastructure, if it makes a decision to pursue a nuclear option,
it will presumably prefer to purchase an off-the-shelf nuclear deterrent.

The Saudis’ motivation in purchasing the missiles is Iran’s progress in its missile pro-
gram and the growth and improvement in its ground-to-ground missile arsenal. It is pos-
sible that the progress in the Iranian nuclear program will lead to increased Saudi pres-
sure on Pakistan to provide the kingdom with some type of nuclear guarantees, whether
through extended deterrence, the stationing of nuclear forces in Saudi Arabia, or trans-
fer of nuclear warheads to the Saudis for installation on the new missiles (in a regulated
move or by turning a blind eye).

Not only have Saudi Arabia’s concerns not been mitigated by the interim agreement
signed with the Islamic Republic; they have actually intensified, if only because of the
agreement’s significance for Iran’s international and regional status. The Saudis are
anxious about the Iranian buildup, and it may be that the “revelations” on its missile ar-
senal are part of an attempt by Saudi Arabia to make its fears public. Furthermore, the
report on the American involvement comes in advance of an expected visit by President
Obama to the kingdom, which inter alia is designed to assuage Saudi fears that current
American policy endangers Saudi security interests.

In recent years, the discussion on strategic issues inside and outside the kingdom has
become more public, and therefore, it is likely that further “revelations” can be expected.
This is due to the negotiations with Iran and the significance Riyadh attributes to deter-
rent signals of this kind. The deal itself is also significant, indicating China’s growing in-

206
terest in selling advanced weaponry to the region (and to Saudi Arabia, China’s largest
oil supplier), but perhaps also the weakness of America’s standing in the region.

To date there is no solid evidence that Saudi Arabia intends to pursue the nuclear route,
even though nuclear weapons in Iranian hands would be a grave threat to the kingdom.
However, in light of its great wealth and relative military weakness, Saudi Arabia will
likely seek to construct security arrangements that will lend it more independence in de-
cision making and better chances of maintaining a stable balance of deterrence in the
Gulf over time. This is because of the tension in relations with the United States and the
fear that it will reduce its involvement in the region after improving its relations with Iran,
which would once again turn Iran into the dominant power in the Gulf. [Yeah, right.]

It is not clear whether Israel has received any guarantees from the United States (per-
haps even from Saudi Arabia) about the deals in question. Israel, as a rule, does not
favor equipping an Arab state with advanced weapons that are capable of threatening it
too. In the past, Israel actively opposed any such buildup. However, in recent years,
given the joint Iranian threat, Israel has preferred to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s
military buildup (and that of the other Gulf States), which has even been perceived in
Jerusalem as an advantage.

Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia’s arming itself with modern ballistic missiles should worry
Israel. In addition to the fact that these weapons are in the hands of a state hostile to
Israel, the buildup, particularly the silence surrounding it, and the nature of US involve-
ment, bode ill for the stability of the region and the struggle against missile proliferation.

Israel has determined that the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah acquired an advanced Rus-
sian cruise missile. Israel Navy officers said Hezbollah has received the P-800 coastal
defense system sold by Russia to Syria.

The officers said Hezbollah was believed to have already deployed the Yakhont cruise
missile, with a range of 300 kilometers and capable of striking Israel’s entire Mediterra-
nean coast.

“We assume that advanced Yakhont missiles have also reached the hands of Hezbol-
lah, and we are preparing for that,” Rear Adm. Eli Sharvit, commander of the naval base
in Haifa, said.

On February 24, the Lebanese and Syrian opposition sources reported an Israeli air
strike on Hezbollah along the Lebanese border with Syria. The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said the Israeli target was a Hezbollah missile base, and several people
were killed.

“The missile base participated in military operations in the area of Qalamoun in Syria
near the Lebanese border,” Syrian Observatory said. The Israeli officers said Hezbollah
deployed Yakhont in 2013 about a year after the Syrian Navy received the P-800. They

207
said repeated Israeli efforts to block the delivery of the weapon from Syria to Lebanon
were partially successful.

In August 2013, the United States reported an Israel Air Force strike during the previous
month that targeted a Syrian military warehouse near the port city of Latakia. The US
Defense Department assessed that the Israeli target was the Yakhont missile arsenal,
which officials determined was not destroyed.

“Hezbollah is a highly functional organization, active in its sector,” Sharvit told a briefing
on Feb. 25. “It continues to arm itself with strategic weapons, and has not stopped trying
to get its hands on weapons that will influence [future warfare].”

The officers said the navy was being trained and equipped to foil the Hezbollah or Syri-
an missile threat against Israel. They said Hezbollah could use Yakhont to attack Isra-
el’s new natural gas facilities in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The best Iranian and Russian platforms are in the region between Syria and Lebanon,
and Hezbollah’s and the Syrian military’s efforts to grow stronger do not stop,” Sharvit
said. “We are on constant alert to secure our assets.”

A report out of Pravda quotes President Vladimir Putin as saying that Russia has moved
strategic nuclear missiles to Cuba in response to the United States’ continuing efforts to
encircle Russia in Eastern Europe.

The article, written by Lyuba Lulko, explains how Russia is reviving its military opera-
tions in Vietnam, Cuba and the Seychelles.

In October 2001, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Lourdes radio-electronic
center on the island had been shut down as a “gift” to President George W. Bush on the
basis of promises given by Bush that the US missile defense system would never be
deployed in Eastern Europe.

However, with the missile defense system under the auspices of NATO now reaching
“interim operational capability” in Europe at the end of May, that promise has been shat-
tered.

“The Russian Federation has fulfilled all terms of the agreement. And even more. I shut
down not only the Cuban Lourdes but also Kamran in Vietnam. I shut them down be-
cause I gave my word of honor. I, like a man, has kept my word. What have the Ameri-
cans done? The Americans are not responsible for their own words. It is no secret that
in recent years, the US created a buffer zone around Russia, involving in this process
not only the countries of Central Europe, but also the Baltic states, Ukraine and the
Caucasus. The only response to this could be an asymmetric expansion of the Russian
military presence abroad, particularly in Cuba,” the report quotes Putin as saying.

208
“With the full consent of the Cuban leadership, on May 11 of this year, our country has
not only resumed work in the electronic center of Lourdes, but also placed the latest
mobile strategic nuclear missiles “Oak” on the island. They did not want to do it the ami-
cable way, now let them deal with this,” added Putin.

According to the report, Cuba, which was angered by the original decision to shut down
the radio-electronic center, has agreed to allow Russia to locate the missiles on Cuban
territory because of its fears over new US military bases in Colombia.

Whether the quotes attributed to Putin are accurate or not remains to be seen. They
appear nowhere outside of the original Pravda piece.

Once the primary mouthpiece of the Soviet Communist Party, Pravda’s influence has
now declined rapidly. The online version is managed by former journalists who worked
for the original newspaper but other than that the two versions are separate entities.

Speculation that Russia was re-building its nuclear infrastructure in preparation for a po-
tential future conflict came with the news that 5,000 new nuclear bomb shelters were
being constructed in Moscow to be completed by the end of 2012.

Officials justified the move by saying they wanted the entire population of Moscow to be
able to reach a nuclear bomb shelter within minutes. China has also built huge under-
ground bomb shelters, outpacing the United States whose bomb shelters from the cold
war era still remain as they were at the time or have been decommissioned.

The prospect of Russia moving nuclear missiles to Cuba obviously harks back to the
1962 Cuban missile crisis, which marked the closest moment that the world came to
World War III and a potential nuclear holocaust.

Given the gravity of Putin’s alleged statements, don’t expect to wait too long for Russian
authorities to deny the quotes featured in the Pravda report.

What, me worry? Can’t think of one reason why (but I can think of several, all spelled
missile).

Old news? I wonder how much 7,540 median sections would cost. Heck, forget that,
we’ll just build enough forms to use up 12 yards of concrete and do it a batch at a time.
We can just get the concrete from the nearest plant; we don’t need to be supporting
Fred. Remember him, my ‘new’ stepfather. Best use fiberglass fibers and an accelera-
tor. We ought to make those puppies extra thick. How much concrete will a .50BMG AP
cartridge penetrate? Looked it up on the Internet… one source said An AP .50 round
will penetrate 18 inches of hardened steel at 100m. Really?

Plan B… How much concrete will a 7.62×51mm NATO AP round penetrate? Internet,
different source: M61 Armor Penetration @ 300 meters: 0.28 in (7 mm) @ 500 meters:

209
0.2 in (5 mm); the M993 7.62mm AP Round is capable of penetrating a 7mm thick high
hardness armor (HHA) plate at a distance of 500 meters from the muzzle of the weap-
on. This corresponds to ¼ inch armor plate at a distance of 550m.

Yeah, very thick. On the other hand the standard issue rifle for the US military is the
5.56×45mm NATO in those highly reliable M-16s/M-4s. Even the Russians are using
5.45×39mm these days. Ah, the good old days with 7.92×57mm Mauser, .30-06 Spring-
field (7.62×63mm) and the 7.62×54mmR. The 7.62×51mm NATO is supposed to be
equal to the .30-06 Springfield. If that’s true, why did Carlos use a .30-06 Springfield in
Vietnam? Used a Ma Deuce once, too.

In 1977, NATO members signed an agreement to select a second, smaller caliber car-
tridge to replace the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. Of the cartridges tendered, the
5.56×45mm NATO was successful, but not the 55 grain M193 round used by the US at
that time. The wounds produced by the M193 round were so devastating that many
consider it to be inhumane.

Instead, the Belgian 62 grain SS109 round was chosen for standardization. The SS109
used a heavier bullet with a steel tip and had a lower muzzle velocity for better long-
range performance, specifically to meet a requirement that the bullet be able to pene-
trate through one side of a steel helmet at 600 meters. This requirement made the
SS109 (M855) round less capable of fragmentation than the M193 and was considered
more humane.

The 5.56×45mm NATO inspired an international tendency towards relatively small

sized, light weight, high velocity military service cartridges that produce relatively low
bolt thrust and free recoil impulse, favoring light weight arms design and automatic fire
accuracy. Similar intermediate cartridges were developed and introduced by the Soviet
Union in 1974 (5.45×39mm) and by the People's Republic of China in 1987
(5.8×42mm). I think the concrete barriers will do fine against most of the current crop of
military ammo.

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 The Dome II – Chapter 23

“I’m thinking about ways to modify the berm, now that it and the gate are in, to make it
more defensible. I considered sand bags filled with dirt, but it’s just a few yards short of
10 miles around the perimeter. I’ve also considered building a set of forms and pouring
12 yards of concrete at a shot to form something similar to those median dividers.
Those could be about 24 inches high and 60 inches long. If we spaced them 24 inches
apart we’d have hole to shoot through every 5 feet. The outside edge of the canal is
about ten miles long, so we can use that to approximate the other computations. Are
you with me so far?”

“Cal, when Mom moved back to Missouri, we lost our school teacher. My PhD is in Eco-
nomics, not education. If that’s not bad enough, they won’t pay attention. When I put
James on the spot, he said, ‘Well, you’re only our Mom, not our teacher’. When I con-
fronted Kathleen and Jennifer they said essentially the same thing.”

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t graduate college. I ran a class 3 dealership and a Ready Mix
Company in the past and more recently farmed 3 sections of land and at the moment 6
sections. What do you think about my idea?”

“Men! Do what you want, you will anyway! I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to
continue the home schooling until I can hire a teacher. I’m thinking a natural blond about
my height with a DD cup or bigger so I’ll have an excuse to cut your throat if you so
much as look.”

“Blonds have a reputation of being dumb.”

“Are you calling Sharon Stone dumb? She has an IQ of 154 and she’s has platinum
blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, a voluptuous figure and a deep sultry voice. Jill St.
John has an IQ of 162.”

“Jill St. John has red hair.”

“Plus a voluptuous figure and appeared in bikini-clad, sexpot roles.”

“Ok, hire whoever you want and I’ll start getting forms built.”

“I wonder if Loni Anderson is available.”

Maybe Sharon isn’t dumb, but she acts that way all too often. Ginger should hire her; I
wouldn’t give her a first look, let alone a second. Now, if Lynda Carter wasn’t so tall… 5’
9”... She’s a Phoenix native and she won the title of Miss World USA representing her
home state of Arizona in 1972. She didn’t win; the title went to Miss Australia. (Lynda:
I'm 5’ 9”, but most people think I'm about 6 feet tall. It's because I have very long legs.)
A little full in the chest, too; 36C-25-35.

211
At the moment, I’m beginning to think TOM is right and the next catastrophe will be a
GTW. That’s all the more reason to turn the ranch into an enclave that would be difficult
to overrun. With that in mind, I got our farmhands and security people involved in build-
ing the median divider forms. After the first was completed, we filled it with water and
measured the water as we emptied the form. How many cubic feet are there in a gallon
of water? The correct question was how many gallons of water are in a cubic foot and
the answer was 7.48. The answer to the original question would be 1 divided by 7.48
equals .1337.

We measured the water in 5 gallon pails from the pallets of pails and a few quart jars
and pint jars and converted the volume back to cubic feet. When it was all said and
done and enough forms built with one extra, we formed up a sandbox for the children on
the ranch using 2×6s. Ginger was pleased with the sandbox and asked when the play-
ground equipment would arrive. I told it wouldn’t get here until she ordered it. Big mis-
take! Always specify exactly what you have in mind. What a playground!

We ended up with 6 swings, 2 slides… one low and one high, a jungle gym, horizontal
bars, tether ball, playhouse, basketball hoop, teeter totter/see-saw, and a refurbished
rotowheel, just to name some of the equipment. I hadn’t seen a rotowheel in years.
Probably took them off the market as being too dangerous.

A rotowheel is a flat metal ‘circle’, with divisions. Each division is a triangle and a square
style U shaped loop making about 12 divisions on the wheel. It is close to the ground
and children run alongside bringing it up to speed then jump on and ride it until it’s time
to jump off and bring it up to speed again. Lose your grip and centrifugal force will throw
you off. Public playgrounds were a concept developed by Teddy Roosevelt. The City of
New York banned swings as too dangerous. I think that explains the SAFE Act. New
York is where 15 people stood around looking and did nothing when a woman was
stabbed to death.

Catherine Susan “Kitty” Genovese (July 7, 1935 – March 13, 1964) was a New York
City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens neighbor-
hood of the borough of Queens in New York City, on March 13, 1964 by Winston Mose-
ley. The circumstances of her murder and the lack of reaction of numerous neighbors
were reported by a newspaper article published two weeks later; the common portrayal
of neighbors being fully aware but completely unresponsive has since been criticized as
inaccurate. Nonetheless, it prompted investigation into the social psychological phe-
nomenon that has become known as the bystander effect or “Genovese syndrome” and
especially diffusion of responsibility.

Genovese's killer, Winston Moseley was found guilty and sentenced to death on June
15, 1964. That sentence was later reduced to lifetime imprisonment on the grounds that
he had not been allowed to argue during the trial that he was “medically insane”. Mose-
ley committed another series of crimes when he escaped from custody on March 18,
1968 and then fled to a nearby vacant home, where he held the owners hostage. On
March 22, he broke into another home and took a woman and her daughter hostage be-

212
fore surrendering to police. Moseley, who was denied parole for a sixteenth time in No-
vember 2013, remains in prison. I heart New York… in a pig’s eye. A vacant home is a
source of hostages. Don’t that beat all?

Speaking of which, with a new pig barn, we expanded our herd of sows from 30 to 60.
With an average surviving litter of 12, twice a year, we were doing very well on our live-
stock and had increased the Black Angus herd to double, too. After the GTW, we can
use most of the alfalfa acreage to grow wheat, corn, oats, beans and rice to feed the
starving masses, assuming we don’t take a direct hit. Fort Huachuca isn’t THAT far
away.

Fort Huachuca is a product of the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s. In February
1877, Colonel August B. Kautz, commander of the Department of Arizona, ordered that
a camp be established in the Huachuca Mountains. This camp would offer protection to
settlers and travel routes in southeastern Arizona while simultaneously blocking the tra-
ditional Apache escape routes through the San Pedro and Santa Cruz valleys to sanc-
tuary in Mexico. A temporary camp was established at the post’s current location on
March 3, 1877, by Captain Samuel Marmaduke Whitside with two companies of the 6th
Cavalry. The site was selected because it had fresh running water, an abundance of
trees, excellent observation in three directions, and protective high ground for security
against Apache tactical methods. Camp Huachuca was redesignated a fort in 1882.

In 1886, General Nelson A. Miles designated Fort Huachuca as his advance headquar-
ters and forward supply base for the Geronimo campaign. Geronimo’s surrender in Au-
gust 1886 practically ended the Apache danger in southern Arizona. The Army closed
more than 50 camps and forts in the territory, but Fort Huachuca was retained because
of continuing border troubles involving renegade Indians, Mexican bandits, and Ameri-
can outlaws and freebooters.

In 1913, the 10th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers” arrived and remained almost 20 years. The
10th Cavalry joined General John J. Pershing in the 1916 expedition into Mexico and,
during World War I, it was assigned the mission of guarding the United-States-Mexico
border.

By 1933, the 25th Infantry Regiment had replaced the 10th Cavalry as the main combat
unit for the fort. The 25th, in turn, was absorbed by the 93rd Infantry Division during
World War II. When the 93rd departed for the Pacific in 1943, the 92nd Infantry Division
arrived at the fort for training and subsequent assignment to the European Theater. Dur-
ing the war years, the troop strength reached 30,000 men at the fort, which in the 1930s
had been described as suitable for a brigade-sized unit of about 10,000 men.

At war’s end, the fort was declared surplus and transferred to the State of Arizona. It
was reactivated during the Korean War by the Army Engineers.

A new era began in 1954 when control passed to the Chief Signal Officer, who found
the area and climate ideal for testing electronic and communications equipment. The

213
importance of the Fort in the national defense picture grew steadily from that moment.
In 1967, Fort Huachuca became the headquarters of the US Army Strategic Communi-
cations Command.

Then, in 1971, the post became the home of the US Army Intelligence Center and
School, bringing with it the School Brigade.

The Strategic Communications Command became the US Army Communications

Command in 1973, subsequently changing to the US Army Information Systems Com-
mand in 1984.

In October 1990, the post changed hands with the US Army Training and Doctrine
Command became the new host command; the US Army Intelligence Center and Fort
Huachuca now operates the post.

Today, Fort Huachuca is a major military installation in Arizona, and one of prominence
throughout the Southwest.

Nah, they couldn’t that far off target.

“I’ve been reading your journal again. You’re starting to sound more like TOM with every
entry.”

“Could be. Where did you get that playground equipment? They haven’t make things
like a rotowheel in years. Probably took them off the market as being too dangerous.”

“I was economizing so you could build your wall.”

“They’re called merlons.”

“We don’t have enough people to staff 7,540 slots.”

“They’re called crenels. Of course we don’t. Do you really think we’d be attacked on the
whole 10 mile perimeter of our property?”

“I found a school teacher.”

“Lynda Carter?”

“No. She looks like Jodie Foster with a big chest.”

“I’ll remember that, Jodie Foster is gay. No, thank you.”

“Jodie Foster has a Bachelor degree from Yale, Magna Cum Laude.”

“What about the gal you hired?”

214
“MA in Accomplished Teaching from ASU; and, she’s bi-lingual, English and Spanish.
Lynda Carter is happily married and a recovering alcoholic.”

Well… she did sort of look like Jodie Foster in a distant sort of way. And she was very
full in the bosom. Every single man and most of the married ones noticed. But we were
working dawn to dusk casting, unmolding and adding the merlons starting from the gate
and working our way outward. We also cast corner pieces that were, at best, awkward
and had to be hand cut to fit.

Ramón said that Selma was trouble with as capital T. Turned out not to be true. She ac-
cepted most of the requests for date from the single men and after a bit, settled on a
steady. They were married before we had all the merlons in place.

“This place reminds me of a short castle complete with moat. I guess an attacker could
get across the moat and up the slope, if we didn’t know they were there.”

“You’re right, Ginger, and I’ve been considering that. We have the night vision equip-
ment and could build two guard towers at the gate and one on each of the corners.
Then we could add a guard tower in the middle of each side. Ramón would have to
come up with more machine guns but it’s only 8 guard towers. Only staff the tower at
night when people would be likely to attack.”

“Why do you think people would be likely to attack?”

“How many armored cars have delivered gold and silver here? In downtown Phoenix or
Tucson, an armored car doesn’t stand out. But in Eloy? Get real. And they must have
noticed that most, if not all of them, come here. The people see truckload after truckload
of alfalfa moving off the ranch and most people have an idea of what those round bales
must weigh (1 ton). With the FDIC limit being what it is, most would assume that the
money we receive for the hay and livestock isn’t sitting in some bank. Combine that with
the armored cars and it is ether bundles of Ben Franklins or precious metals.”

“Just how much do we have?”

“We can measure it in tons. One thousand troy ounces weigh about 83⅓ troy pounds or
68½ regular pounds. We’ve bought anywhere from 500 troy ounces to 2,000 troy ounc-
es, depending on the building projects and other expenses, for years. And some of the
purchases were silver Eagles and junk silver coins because they represent known
quantities of silver. The authors assume in a PAW world, precious metals will double in
value. And, if you’re still reading my journal, you know that I’m concerned about a Gee-
Tee-Dubya.”

“Huh?”

“Global Thermonuclear War.”

215
“Like I said, you sound more like TOM every day.”

The bales generally went 5 per acre because of the irrigation, and we got $100 or more
per ton/bale. Now, 1,280 times 5 equals 6,400 times $100 equals $640,000 twice a
month. I hadn’t recomputed after the operation was doubled and we were generating, in
round numbers, $1,280,000 per month from alfalfa sales. Times 12 equals $15,360,000.
That doesn’t count the sale of hogs twice a year or beef annually. Our payroll and
equipment had increased, but only slightly. We staggered the cutting so we were essen-
tially cutting continuously.

How many hogs? Well… 60 times 12 equals 720 times 2 equals 1,440 less butchered,
generally between 20 and 40, so call it 40. Therefore 1,400 hogs at 250 pounds equals
360,000 @ an average market price of $1.10 per pound equals ~$396,000 per year. We
generally have 60 cattle at 1,250 pound market weight annually. Of these, we probably
butcher half these days and market the other 37,500 pounds as prime beef. Prime beef
goes for maybe $1.60 so the cattle operation is our smallest, generating about $60,000.
Grand total in a good year, $15,360,000 plus $396,000 plus $60,000 equals
$15,816,000 gross revenue.

We provide housing, which we depreciate; food, an expense; fuel, an expense; fire-

arms, which we depreciate; and ammunition, an expense. Add those items to our pay-
roll which averages about $44,000 per employee or ~$3,520,000 (80 employees) and
we have a very positive cash flow and much lower taxable earnings. The Trust was a
corporation, but the ranch is a proprietorship. JTWROS… look it up. Arizona is a com-
munity property state.

Some of wives are part-time employees and are paid in canned food, meat, things from
the Warehouse and some cash. Because of this practice, we have some turnover in the
Warehouse and those things are being rotated on a 10 year basis. To ensure our ability
to grow wheat, corn, oats, beans and rice, we stocked heirloom seeds which are repro-
duced in the greenhouse. Our limited seed stock is always fresh.

No one person can think of everything, no matter how hard they try. I suspect that this
may underlie TOM’s obsession with salvaging as soon as it is safe to do so. Even Jerry
seems to advocate a similar line of thinking. The question then becomes, how soon is
safe after something like a GTW, for example. Jerry suggests that the older people who
are unlikely to experience radiation induced cancer be the first out of the shelter. Sec-
ond choice might be persons who are no longer reproductive. If a nation is to recover
after a GTW, the survivors should endeavor to increase the local population. TOM says
with the radiation level below 104mR/hr, a person will experience a maximum of
2.5R/day and the limit is 300R per 120days.

He also recommends sleeping in the shelter until the radiation is 50mR/hr for adults and
lower for children. I examined his seven_ten_rule spreadsheet and I’m guessing it takes
years to fall to the normal background radiation level. Ginger had established our aver-

216
age normal back ground levels well before those terrorists exploded the 5mT nuke in
San Diego.

Once the moat (canal) was in, the outside of the berm coated with Bentonite and the
merlons in place, we started creating stairs on the inside of the berm about every 400
yards to access the flat below the top of the berm. As each section was completed,
ammunition was distributed to the top of the stairs. It generally included 7.62 and 5.56
ammo, some shotgun shells and 9mm and .45ap pistol cartridges. The exotic munitions
like the hand grenades, 40mm grenades, LAWs and AT-4 rockets would be brought to
the area where the trouble broke out.

Ramón, Hank and I made the trip west of Flagstaff on a search and steal mission look-
ing for more Mk 19 Mod 3s, M2A1s and M240Bs. Ramón flashed his Retired ID card,
getting us through the gate. We then went to the bunkers and armories picking and
choosing. I won’t say we took everything not nailed down since we were ‘shopping’ from
a list. The list was long, listing specific weapons and related ammunition. We comman-
deered a 10 ton truck and trailer loaded them down, putting them on their springs.

The hard part wasn’t getting in, it was getting out. This called for a bluff. Ramón was
wearing Sergeant First Class Insignia and told the guard who asked for our requisition
forms that we had to leave them with the NCOIC of Logistics. When the Corporal called
to confirm, the NCOIC of Logistics was unavailable. The assistant NCOIC of Logistics
was available and confirmed the requisition had been kept and to let us go on our way.

About the time we reached Flagstaff, Ramón started chuckling hard enough that he had
tears running down his cheeks.

“What’s so funny?”

“The assistant NCOIC and I go back to boot camp. I’ve known him for 20 or more years.
It’s just too bad they didn’t have 2 trucks and trailers; we’ve have nearly cleaned them
out. The NCOIC told me he had to leave for a dentist appointment and his assistant
would handle anything that came up. Believe me, this was a one shot deal. Regardless,
we have a total of 8 Mike 240 Bravos, 8 Mike 2 Alpha 1s and 8 Mark 19 mod 3s plus
half a truck and a full trailer of ammo for the towers.”

“Hank, how is the ditch doing?”

“We seeded with Blue Tilapia from the pond as soon as it was filled and the duckweed
established. We’ll probably seine it with the net with 3½ inch squares.”

“Harvesting the Tilapia is going to be a big job.”

“I think so, almost continuous. Have you found an outlet for the fillets?”

“Sure haven’t; I’d better discuss this with Ginger.”

217
“You do that a lot.”

“I guess you’re right. Ginger and I are a team. My first wife Carolyn and I weren’t on the
same wave link and it got her killed.”

“Ginger isn’t your first your first wife?”

“Second marriage for each of us. My wife was killed in a holdup of a Circle K. She
wasn’t anti-gun but she wouldn’t carry one. Ginger’s first husband liked to bed under-
grads. It eventually got him killed, after the divorce. I saw Ginger in a bar one night and
offered to buy her a drink. We were married 7 days later.”

“You have three wonderful children,” Ramón said, “and, I’m lucky I was a part of that.”

“Yes it could have turned out bad if you hadn’t led the way to Phoenix Code 3.”

“That was you with the Arizona Highway Patrol?”

“It sure was. We do things like that from time to time but it was the first time anyone
called the Department and asked them to thank the Trooper.”

“I had to do it Ramón; you saved Ginger’s and the twins lives. It took us a long time to
figure out a way to thank you.”

“Yeah, God Bless the BATFE.”

“So that’s where you got the Kimber and custom M21?”

“Shh, Hank, don’t say that too loud. At the time handing over the M21 and Kimber plus a
M1A Loaded and Taurus PT1911 weren’t exactly legal.”

218
 The Dome II – Chapter 24

“Did you get what you went looking for?”

“Yes, we got enough to put one of each in all eight towers. We’ll get some armor plate
somewhere and engineer gun shields for each of the 3 guns in each tower. Considering
the penetration of .50BMG rounds, I expect they’ll probably be good for most .30 caliber
rounds. It doesn’t matter, the standard issue infantry weapon these days seems to be
smaller than 6mm.”

“How are we on fuels?”

“They’re set it up for them to be refilled the 15th of every month. Plus you have us set up
on biodiesel should the need arise.”

“Are we finished improving the Ranch?”

“Well… I can’t be sure, but nothing comes to mind. The subject of the harvest from the
canal came up. I said I’d talk to you and we’d figure out something.”

“I don’t know Cal. I read somewhere that the US imports over 500 million pounds of Ti-
lapia. For all I know, the market could be saturated. How do you propose to harvest and
prepare them?”

“We’d use the 3½ inch net so we only get the largest, fillet the fish and flash freeze the
fillets. Is our liquid nitrogen storage full?”

“Yes, it’s refilled twice monthly.”

Flash freezing is accomplished by subjecting food to cryogenic temperatures. The most

commonly used, that I was aware of, was liquid nitrogen. It is atmospheric neutral since
the atmosphere is 78% nitrogen. Some industries use a combination of liquid CO2 and
N2 instead of pure nitrogen. Without considering it, we were actually green because the
alfalfa removed CO2 and produced N2. Somehow I doubted that our 2,560 acres of alfal-
fa offset the loss of the Brazilian rainforest.

I actually have no opinion on climate change. If, in fact, we’re experiencing global warm-
ing, it won’t last. That’s because global warming causes Arctic and Antarctic ice to melt
along with Greenland and Iceland. The fresh water enters the oceans, especially the
Atlantic, and will eventually submerge the Gulf Stream. It’s one of those when, not if,
sort of things.

All 186 items on Jerry’s list were when, not if events, in my opinion. But what do I know,
I’m a college dropout farmer and my name isn’t Percivale George Jackson. We didn’t
have some scheme to acquire gold and silver based on market changes like Percy or
Jack Travis Sandusky. We did try to buy low and sell high, that’s just good common

219
sense. We’d only done it a few times when gold seemed to be inordinately high and fell
a few months later. Additionally, we bought only US gold and silver Eagles and US junk
silver. It would have been cheaper to acquire the one ounce bars but would people ac-
cept them like the coins?

Besides, like I said before, the authors seem to think the price of gold and silver will
double in the event of any major catastrophe. So far, we haven’t apparently had what
would classify as a major catastrophe, ‘cause the gold and silver was below $1,400 and
$23 an ounce respectively. It was obvious a good time to buy. With the defenses fin-
ished and nothing else pressing, we spent about 25% of our income doing just that.

I’m beginning to wonder what constitutes a major catastrophe after Yellowstone, the
Comet, the Muslim invasion/shootout and the San Diego nuke. Maybe it’s localized and
if you don’t get hurt, it doesn’t make the list. Any way you slice it, the IRS and Arizona
Revenue Department were getting about half of our net taxable income; which made it
easier to borrow a small amount from the Arizona Army National Guard. Don’t get con-
fused over the Marine Corps LAVs; Camp Navajo stores $7 billion worth of equipment
for the other branches of the US military. Anyone need a Minuteman II or Trident C-4?

Ramón put in his 20, mostly in the Arizona Guard. What’s the difference if he took the
stuff one piece at a time or all in 2 shopping trips? His assessment of our status was
that we were basically at the mechanized platoon size with an enhanced weapons
squad. And he had his 24 person Security Squad.

Without a project to occupy my time, I tried to learn to use our communications gear. I
had the General class license and was studying for the Extra class. Ginger as willing to
offer hints and the special scientific calculator. Beyond that, I was on my own. When I
complained that the calculator wasn’t much help she took time to show how to make the
6 step calculations. The remainder was rote memorization.

I took the test and passed. When my license arrived I posted the larger portion in the
Den and had the pocket portion laminated. I understand that the PAW authors don’t
make a big deal of unlicensed radios after the crap has hit the fan and that amateur
band are not to be used for business. But the VHF business band radios wouldn’t reach
Phoenix or Tucson without repeaters. Since we were stocking the pm’s in the 3 vaults in
record amounts, I contracted a radio shop in Phoenix and asked him to install a repeat-
er between Eloy and Phoenix, and did the same with a radio shop in Tucson.

Repeaters are typically installed on an elevated piece of ground about halfway between
the two destinations. We bought the towers from the dealers and added a bank of 6 8
volt batteries plus an inverter. PV panels kept the batteries charged, similar to our well
powering setup without the generators. The batteries typically were charged in the 96 to
98% range. Typically you pay rent on the small property where your repeaters are lo-
cated.

220
We came up short on a solution to the Tilapia. The short term solution was to install a
large freezer to store the fillets at -18°C (0°F) or less. What’s more, it had to be huge
freezer, mandating a walk-in. Also, if we ended up with fish being stored for too long, we
could donate the fillets to one of several charitable causes.

“Ginger, we have heirloom seeds to grow wheat, corn, oats, beans and rice seed in the
Warehouse. Do you think we can store them like the other heirloom seeds or do you
need to grow fresh seeds every year?”

“Considering the size of the greenhouse, we’d better do both. We’ll store about 95 per-
cent of the seeds in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and use the remainder to bring
the stock up to 100% and repeat each year until we have enough to plant almost all of
the alfalfa acreage. I assume that’s what you’re getting at because of your fears over a
Gee-Tee-Dubya.”

“Good guess. I’ve also decided to keep the heifers until our cattle herd is up to 120. I did
an analysis of which part of the operation produces the most income and it’s the alfalfa.
When we have the GTW, we’ll be short on beef to feed the masses. What do you think
about increasing the hogs to 90 sows?”

“How much do we get out of the 60?”

“The pork we eat plus just shy of $400 thousand.”

“Go for 120 sows. What did you use as the average surviving litter?”

“Twelve.”

“Take the hits to the income and increase the herds.”

“Hank, I talked over with Ginger and we want increase the hog herd to 120 sows and
Angus herd to 120 cows. We’re just going to take the hit on the income to get it done.”

“Increasing the cattle herd probably won’t amount to much and neither will the hogs; you
make most your money from alfalfa sales. With the herds of Quarter horses, Barbs and
Andalusians, we could probably afford to sell horses.”

“I think not; horses don’t use gasoline or diesel.”

“World War III still on your mind?”

“More than ever; just call me Chicken Little.”

“There must be a dozen versions of that fairy tale. Disney made 2 cartoons about it; one
during the Second World War and another in 2005. Be that as it may, we’ll go through

221
the herds and find the roughly 30 heifers and 60 gilts. Figure on 2 seasons to increase
the beef herd.”

“Uh, ok, thanks, Hank. I just had a thought… I’ve got to go talk to Ginger.”

“Ginger, Hank says no problem on the hogs and the beef will take 2 years. I just had a
thought; why don’t we have magnum caliber handguns?”

“You’re the former gun dealer, you tell me.”

“My father didn’t care for them.”

“Your father is long dead; what about what you think?”

“It sort of depends on the firearm. I’m sure Ruger has sold tens of thousands of the
Blackhawks and Super Blackhawks. They’ve probably sold a lot of those Redhawks too.
Smith & Wesson brought back some classics including the model 29. I’m actually happy
with what we have, but wondered if the military calibers and the black pow-
der/smokeless powder firearms were the way to go.”

“Colt has an 1877 Bulldog Gatling Gun available in .45-70 that they brought out in a
while back.”

“Still available?”

“As far as I know yes.”

“Know what they cost?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

“And they’re .45-70, you say.”

“That’s what I read on their website.”

I went searching and at Cabelas found:

After 2 years of R&D using the original plans and specifications, the US Armament Corp
of Ephrata, Pa., has brought back to life the Model “1877 Bulldog Gatling” gun. This in-
credible reproduction is chambered in the original 45-70 Government Caliber with a
maximum firing rate of 1000 rounds per minute. The Bulldog is equipped with a Bruce
Feed Gravity Feed system (not a magazine) which hold 40 rounds in parallel and is fed
with wooden feed blocks. The Bulldog has five 18¼ inch barrels which are fully en-
closed in a cylindrical housing, with an overall length of 34 inches. The Bulldog was the
first rear hand-crank gun that Gatling ever produced. Every turn of the rear crank pro-
duces a complete revolution of the 5 barrel unit thus firing the gun 5 times. The spent

222
cartridges are automatically ejected from the gun. At the rear of the gun there are ad-
justments for windage and elevation. The tripod mount includes beautiful brass and iron
components, and legs of solid ash wood. The Bulldog weighs in at 135 pounds, and the
tripod weighs an additional 135 pounds. The original 1877 Bulldog was tested for accu-
racy and scored an incredible 996 direct hits out of 1000 rounds at a distance of 500
yards. Price $36,000.

And, with an assistant to load the magazine, you could fire forever… I’ll take 8. It’s only
money; and unless you’ve slept through part one and part two of this story, money isn’t
a problem. We have tons of money, literally!

Isn’t it refreshing to have a PAW story where the author didn’t have to win the Lottery,
Power Ball or inherit tons of money? We earned our money after I inherited the gun
business, ½ of the Ready Mix Business and 3 sections of land. Everything I’d inherited
was tied up in the land with its Dome and my half of the Ready Mix Business. I sold
Fred my half of the Ready Mix shortly after Ginger and I got married. Due to her experi-
ence of growing up on a Missouri farm and suggestions, that I listened to, we ended up
with 3 safes of gold and silver plus 3 more sections of land. Let me restate that, we
moved all the gold to the triple sized safe that Jacob recently built and kept the silver
Eagles in the Trust safe and junk silver in the former gold safe.

We had a bunch of employees, 80 including the security force of 25 including Ramón.

Hank and his group of Vaqueros and farm hands accounted for the other 55 full time
employees. I know I mentioned the part time employees, the wives.

I called Cabelas in Glendale and inquired about the 1877 Bulldog Gatling gun. It had
been sold but they could order another and have it in 6 months. A line of TOM’s, from
Top Gun came to me, “BS 6 months! This thing could be over in two months! Get on it!
And I want 8, not 1.”

They told me to call the manufacturer and gave me the telephone number before they
hung up. The manufacturer wanted my FFL and I explained that I’d turned it in when I
gone out of the class 3 business. No FFL, no gun.

“Look, I’ll drive to Tucson and have my favorite dealer FAX you his FFL license. Give
me your FAX number and you’ll have it within the hour. And I want 8 of the 1887 Bull-
dog Gatling guns you build. I need them in 2 months, in my hands. Yes I’ll pay extra if
you incur any overtime. Thank you. Goodbye.”

After I got back from Tucson, I called Pennsylvania again, but it was after hours. I didn’t
leave message for them to call me back. I did get up at 6am and was dialing by 7am. I
asked to speak to the salesman and gave his name. I was connected and…

“This is Calvin Burgess from Eloy Arizona. Did you receive the FAX from my Tucson
gun dealer yesterday? Can you fill the order for 8 of the guns within the 2 months? Yes,
I said I’d pay overtime if you incurred it. I need to fabricate one of those wooden blocks.

223
Do you sell them or can you get them? Yes only one per gun. You can? Can you just
add them to my tab? Ok, P.O. Box 14 in Eloy, Arizona. Thank you. Goodbye.”

Does it pay to be polite? I got 8 of the wooden blocks with holes drilled in them by Priori-
ty Mail. I gave the 8 blocks to Ramón and told him 2,000 identical blocks but he had 2
months to get the job done.

“You’ve been all doom and gloom since I told you about that Gatling gun and now
you’re smiling. Something change?”

“The 8 guns are under construction and will be delivered in 2 months, presumably with
parts kits. I got 8 of the wooden feed blocks they use to load the .45-70 cartridges. All I
need to have everything to close this project is for Ramón to manufacture 2,000 dupli-
cate feeding blocks, a lot of .45-70 ammo and time.”

“How much were they?”

“Thirty six thousand each, MSRP; and, since I put a rush on them I expect they’ll proba-
bly cost the full $36k.”

“Three hundred thousand for guns that were declared obsolete by the US Army in
1911?”

“Yep.”

While we could afford Buffalo Bore .45-70-405, we certainly weren’t going to spend that
kind of money to get the ammo for the Gatling guns. A search of the Internet led to a
YouTube video of the gun in action. The demonstrator didn’t use another person as a
loader and limited the demonstration to 40 rounds at once. The new gun was slightly
different from the original guns in that it had a rear crank as opposed to a side crank. A
time shoot with the demonstrator cranking as rapidly possible revealed a throughput in
excess of 800 rounds per minute. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

The problem with the towers having 4 machine guns each was a conundrum in itself,
with no apparent easy solution. Ramón suggested making the towers rectangular and
mounting the machine guns side by side. Eight towers and 24 security people is only 3
per tower, not counting someone to load the Gatling gun. He pointed out that the Gat-
ling guns would probably be used as weapons of last resort when one or more of the
other machine guns ran out of ammo. I told him to make it so. And then, I gave him the
dirty job of buying the .45-70-405 ammo for the Gatling guns.

He got the ammo, 2 truckloads worth. It was all .45-70-405, full power ammo and not
Buffalo Bore. Normally, one looks at the head stamp to determine the manufacturer and
the ammo was marked R-P. When I looked on the web, the lowest price I found on Re-
mington 405 grain was about $35 for a box 20.

224
“Ramón, how much did the ammo cost you?”

“Eighty-nine cents a round. I bought you a lifetime supply.”

“No way!”

“Way. You see, I know this guy in Lonoke, Arkansas where their plant is. I called him up
and asked what they would do if they got a large order for .45-70-405. Well, he says
they make that in a flat nose lead round. So I asked him how much and he said the
MSRP was $44.95 for 20 round box. So I asked what wholesale price was and he said it
depended. So I asked him what it depended on and he said, ‘quantity purchased, 20
round box or bulk packed.’

“So I said how much for the loose bulk packed in in 500 round cases. He sort of sucked
wind and asked, ‘how many cases do you want?’ So I asked ‘how many cases do you
have?’ And, he says, ‘lots.’ It seems like at the end of a production run they pack the
last 500 or so rounds in a case, measured by weight and they put the case(s) in a
warehouse. The intention, he said, was to open the cases when they did the next pro-
duction run and to box them in 20 round boxes. From what I gathered, someone was
remembering to get the cases from the warehouse for the next production run and
they’d just get the open case and top it off to 500 rounds and start a new case.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Trust me, Boss, I’m serious. He said he had no idea how many cases they had, but it
was A LOT. So I asked how much for all you got? He says he has no idea. He’d check
the warehouse the next day and talk to his boss. So he calls me back the next night and
says they have enough 500 round cases for 2 truckloads. So, I asked how much and he
says we can have it wholesale. I told him no thanks; I was looking for a good price.
Normally the wholesale of ammo is give or take 66⅔ to 70% of retail for commercial
ammo. The military is different; they sort of make their own.

“Anyway ⅔ of $44.95 is about $30 a box of 20. But this is loose packed in 500 round
cases and those 20 round boxes must cost them something and I offered him 75¢ a
round. He says they can’t go that low so I offer him 80¢ a round and he’s weakening, I
could tell. He says ‘well…’ and I said ‘last offer 85¢.’ He responds with and ‘you pay the
freight.’ I asked how much was the freight and he said figure 4¢ a round and I said,
‘done, done and done.’ It should be here later today or tomorrow.”

“Ramón, go look, they’re sitting there with disgruntled looks on the faces waiting to be
unloaded.”

“No way.”

“Way.”

225
Eight-nine cents round? Get outta here. It was COD and was 89¢ a round, Ginger wrote
the check and counted cases; I’ll be damned. We had to store it in the new pole building
we’d put up to store the horse fence in.

Meanwhile the contractor was erecting the outdoor walk-in freezer. We got it from Barr,
Inc. and it’s a 40’×48’×20’4”H Drive-in freezer, 1.920ft². MBCI mnfg panels and Krack
mnfg equipment. Modular, tongue & groove cold storage Eco-ficient panels with 4” thick
non-CFC foamed-in-place polyisocyanurate foam insulation and a stucco white interi-
or/exterior finish. USDA & FM Approved. Unit includes (1) 8' x 8' manual sliding door.
The personnel swinging door was optional, but it wasn’t that much. The install trim
package was also purchased. Plus, it will run on 240 volt AC.

Back in the days when Charlie the Tuna lived on Terminal Island, his buddies were
sleeping in the freezer which was maintained at -60°F. Every afternoon, Sunday through
Thursday, the workers would haul about 25-30 bins of the frozen fish into a concrete
bin, and then the bin would be filled with warm saltwater. Early the next morning the fish
were thawed and the men Star-Kist employed would take their very sharp knives and
gut the fish.

They go into something that resembled the bread basket they use to deliver bread to
stores and the baskets into racks. The racks would be wheeled into steam cookers and
the fish would be automatically cooked. The next morning the cooled fish would go to
the line where the women would dismantle the fish and put it on a conveyor. The con-
veyor fed the canning machine and the sealed cans went into baskets which were pres-
sure cooked again.

Finally, they’d pull random cans and test them to see if the product met their quality
standards. If it didn’t, it would end up being one of the ‘off brands’ on the store shelves.
The closer the product was to their standards, the higher the price on the shelves. They
had hundreds of brand labels. Who owns them now? They closed the Terminal Island
Plant.

1910

Yugoslav immigrant Martin J. Bogdanovich buys a fishing boat and begins fishing off the
California coast

1918

Bogdanovich and five partners, seeking to profit from the US Government’s World War I
procurement of tuna for troops, form French Sardine Co. in San Pedro, California

1942

226
French Sardine Co. adopts StarKist brand name; during World War II, more than half of
the company’s output is bought by the US Government

1944

Martin passes away and his son, Joseph, becomes chief executive

1952

The company opens the largest tuna cannery in the world on Terminal Island in Califor-
nia

1953

The company’s name is changed to StarKist Foods Inc.; 9 Lives pet food business
brand is established making use of tuna by-products

1960

StarKist Foods Inc. opens a plant in Puerto Rico

1961

Charlie the Tuna debuts in StarKist television commercials and TOM’s ‘friends’ start
calling him Charlie

1963

StarKist Food Inc. is acquired by H.J. Heinz Company with Joe Bogdanovich remaining
as President; StarKist opens a plant in American Samoa

1980

StarKist becomes the top US tuna brand

1985

High labor costs compared to its Puerto Rico and American Samoa canneries leads
StarKist to close the Terminal Island, California plant

1988

Heinz Pet Productions is split off from StarKist with William R. Johnson, future Heinz
Chairman, as President

1990

227
StarKist adopts a “Dolphin Safe” policy

1993

StarKist Seafood recombined with pet products, is relocated to Newport, Kentucky

2000

StarKist relocated to Pittsburgh and introduces tuna in a pouch as the latest in packag-
ing innovation

2002

Del Monte acquired StarKist from Heinz

2008

Dongwon Industries acquires StarKist from Del Monte Foods

According to Wiki, Charlie had a comeback when they brought out the pouches.

What they forgot to tell you was that Bumblebee albacore is the best tasting tuna.

228
 The Dome II – Chapter 25

We’ve done a lot of building… the amount of land… the size of the herds… the moat
and berm… the gate… the 8 machinegun towers and we have a greenhouse and
Warehouse plus an ammo bunker and underground garage with 4 LAVs. Everyone has
more firearms than they can shoot and we even added Gatling guns, which ended up
costing $37,500 each in round numbers. The only thing we haven’t had is a catastrophe
recently, except for the Comet, which missed us. Ten down and seventeen to go. Check
that, Bob’s fatal heart attack was number 11 so it’s 11 down and 16 to go.

When the twins were able to ride Ginger, James, Kathleen, Jennifer and I rode the 10
mile circuit around the ranch every morning it wasn’t raining which was nearly every
day. After unsaddling and rubbing down the horses, we had lunch, bathroom breaks
and headed for the range. We started them with the 9422s and Ruger Bearcats. The
9422s used LR cartridges and the Bearcat shorts. When they were accustomed to the
shorts, we moved to longs and finally long rifles. Then, while they were wide awake,
‘Jodie Foster’ aka Selma spent the remainder of the afternoon homeschooling James,
Kathleen and Jennifer.

Ramón had added a Highway Patrol radio to the office and another to his Chevy Tahoe
SUV, along with light bar and siren. Like the Arizona Highway Patrol, his vehicle was
white. He could easily be mistaken for an unmarked Highway Patrol vehicle. He still had
his uniforms and bought a badge from a Badge Company. His pistol was nonstandard
as was his shotgun and rifle but one riot gun looks like another riot gun and it would be
easy to mistake a HK416 as a M16. The Arizona Highway Patrol uses handguns in the
.40 short and weak, not the Kimber .45acp. In a holster, one pistol resembles another
pistol.

According to Fleataxi, the .40 S&W came about because the FBI wanted a more power-
ful cartridge and went to the 10mm. The 10mm is a powerful cartridge, too powerful, as
it turned out. So, Smith and Wesson came up with a 10mm short and weaker than the
10mm round. It was designated the .40 S&W and he claimed that the S&W stood for
short & weak. The migration by the FBI followed the famous 4/11/86 Miami Shootout, a
textbook example of how not to do things. There are other examples of how not to do
things, like the famous 2/28/97 North Hollywood Shootout.

Just when we expected to see incoming warheads, the 5 Chinese type 94s and 6 Rus-
sian Borei class reappeared on the radar. Add to that the fact that my stomach was
bothering me. I tried Pepcid AC and it helped. Ginger made an appointment for me to
see a doctor in Tucson. He ordered 2 endoscopic exams, a Colonoscopy and an
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The second made sense but the other end didn’t seem
to be bothering me.

It seems I had hemorrhoids but no other problem with the other end. So, he came from
the top and took pictures of what he found, ulcers. He prescribed Carafate to heal them
and Prilosec generic to keep them from coming back. Maybe I was worried and it was

229
taking its toll. It was what John Ross would call an unintended consequence. I kept the
Pepcid AC handy for when the Prilosec wasn’t quite enough. Does this count as number
12? I hope so, that would only leave 15 to go. Where’s the Pepcid?

The year 2018 came in like any other year, football games on TV. Not being much of a
fan, I sent some time with my family and then retreated to my ham shack to listen and
perhaps visit with some other hams. Mid-afternoon, Ginger brought in a plate of snacks
and a pint of Coors. I was engrossed in a conversation I was listening to and held up a
finger. The rumor mill was saying that Russia was pulling out of the Ukraine and Geor-
gia.

They’d been in Georgia since Bush was President and had entered Ukraine in 2014. It
couldn’t be because of Chernobyl because Chernobyl was in the far northeast of
Ukraine. When it happened, Reagan was President. The two hams changed topics…

“Thank you for the beer and some snacks would be perfect right about now.”

“You don’t eat right Cal and I think that has something to do with your ulcers. If you put
food in your stomach, the acid dissolves the food and not your stomach.”

“You could be right Ginger. Sometimes I get busy and simply forget to eat.”

“And you end up popping a Pepcid, don’t you?”

“I guess so; I always carry a bottle now.”

“How many do you take?”

“Two, just like always.”

“Pepcid used to be 10mg tablets. The ones you take are 20mg and you should only
need one.”

“One doesn’t seem to do the trick.”

“When you think you need a Pepcid, come to the dome and have something to eat. We
always have lunch meat and usually have leftovers.”

“We should cut back on what we cook to avoid leftovers.”

“Some things we really like only come in certain sized packages, so we’re bound to
have leftovers. You like the Mexican lasagna, right? That’s the only size package avail-
able.”

“What’s new with you?”

230
“Let me grab my drink and I’ll tell you.”

“Ok, I’m concerned about the ongoing drought in California because it is affecting food
supplies in a major way. Many of the foods produced in California have alternate
sources, like the rice we get from Arkansas. I made a list of California produce:

Apples, late summer through fall (cold storage until spring)

Apricots, late spring through early summer
Artichokes, spring and again early fall
Arugula, available year-round but best in spring and fall
Asparagus, spring
Avocados, classically summer, but now harvested year-round
Basil, summer
Beets, year-round
Belgian Endive, available year-round but best in fall and winter
Blackberries, summer
Blueberries, summer
Boysenberries, early summer
Broccoli, year-round but best in fall and winter
Broccoli raab, fall through spring
Brussels sprouts, late fall and winter
Cabbage, best in late fall and winter but available year-round
Cantaloupes, late summer
Cardoons, winter and early spring
Carrots, year-round
Cauliflower, best in fall and winter but available year-round
Celeriac/celery root, fall and winter
Celery, best in fall and winter but available year-round
Chard, summer and fall
Cherries, late spring and summer
Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), fresh in summer (dried year-round)
Chicories, fall and winter
Chiles, summer
Clementines, winter
Collard greens, year-round
Corn, summer
Cucumbers, summer
Edamame, fall
Eggplant, summer and early fall
Escarole, fall and winter
Fava beans, spring
Fennel, fall through spring
Fiddleheads, spring
Figs, summer and fall
Garlic, summer and fall (stored year-round)

231
Gooseberries, summer
Garlic scapes/green garlic, spring
Grapefruit, winter and spring
Grapes, late summer and early fall
Green almonds, spring
Green beans, summer and early fall
Green onions, spring through fall
Horseradish, fall and winter
Huckleberries, late summer and early fall
Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes, fall and winter
Kale, best in fall and winter
Kiwis, winter and into spring
Kohlrabi, late fall through spring
Kumquats, late winter and spring
Leeks, fall through spring
Lemongrass, summer and fall
Lemons, winter and spring
Lettuce, available year-round nationally but best in spring
Limes, late summer and fall
Mandarins, winter
Mangos, summer
Marionberries, summer
Melons, summer and early fall
Mint, year-round
Morels, spring
Mushrooms (cultivated), year-round
Mushrooms (wild), spring through fall
Nectarines, summer
Nettles, spring
New Potatoes, spring
Okra, late summer and early fall
Onions, spring through fall (stored in winter)
Oranges (Navel), winter and spring
Oranges (Valencia), spring and summer
Oregano, year-round
Parsley, year-round
Parsnips, fall through spring
Peaches, summer
Pears, fall
Pea greens, spring
Peas and pea pods, spring and early summer
Peppers (sweet), summer and early fall
Persimmons, fall and early winter
Plums & pluots, summer
Pomegranates, fall
Pommelos, winter

232
Potatoes, late summer through fall but available from storage year-round
Pumpkins, fall
Quinces, fall
Radicchio, late summer through early spring
Radishes, spring through fall
Radishes (daikon, watermelon, other large varieties), fall and winter
Rapini, fall through spring
Raspberries, summer
Rhubarb, spring and early summer
Rosemary, year-round
Rutabagas, fall and winter
Sage, year-round
Salsify, fall and winter
Scallions, spring through fall
Shallots, summer and fall (from storage through winter)
Shelling beans, summer and early fall
Snap peas/snow peas/pea pods, spring
Sorrel, year-round
Spinach, year-round
Spring Onions, spring
Squash (summer), summer
Squash (winter), fall and winter
Stinging Nettles, spring
Strawberries, spring and summer
Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes, fall and winter
Sweet Onions, spring and summer
Sweet potatoes, fall and winter
Tangerines, winter
Thyme, year-round
Tomatillos, late summer
Tomatoes, summer
Turnips, fall through spring
Watercress, year-round
Watermelons, summer
Winter Squash, fall and winter
Zucchini, summer
Zucchini Blossoms, summer

“Not that we eat all of those things but with the drought, some of the things we do eat
cost almost double or triple. California grows about 80% of all fruits and vegetables in
the US, so California seasons, such as they are, are in some ways, national seasons.
That is, you may not be able to get something locally, but even buying nationally keeps
you in touch with the hemisphere's seasons, which is something.”

“Don’t we grow enough for our needs in the greenhouse?”

233
“We could if we added another 60 feet onto the 90 feet we have.”

“You’ve got their number give them a call and have them ship 60 feet. We can put in the
foundation and erect the additional 60 feet. Or, if you want, have them ship 90 feet and
we’ll just double it. Heaven know we have enough power for another 90 feet of grow
lights.”

“Good, that will give us the room we need to grow the wheat, corn, oats, beans and rice
seed you want.”

When Mama is happy, I’m happy. I haven’t heard from my mother since she said “While
I never.” So, unless Jacob is carrying tales, she doesn’t know she has 3 grandchildren.
Jacob probably told Fred, but did Fred tell my mother?

We’ve done a few drills to improve our response times in case trouble comes our way.
These were daylight exercises and unannounced. The overall purpose was to time how
long it took to close the gate and add the backing pipes plus have the 8 towers staffed.
The first drill was a disaster. The gate was closed, but the power left on and the pipes
weren’t inserted behind the gate. The last person to arrive at his tower position arrived
23 minutes after Ramón called the Red Alert.

In the made for TV film Red Alert staring William Devane, Adrienne Barbeau and the
late Ralph Waite, a computer at a nuclear power plant malfunctions and receives erro-
neous information of a radiation leak. It seals off the compound, trapping the crew in-
side. I only saw it once and I don’t remember it being quite the way it was described. I
remember this:

Red Alert was filmed in 1977 with William Devane plays the role of Frank Brolen, Mi-
chael Brandon plays the role of Carl Wyche, and Adrienne Barbeau plays the role of
Judy Wyche. In a small town in Minnesota sits a nuclear power plant that goes into
meltdown followed by a sudden explosion. Enters Frank Brolen and Carl Wyche who
must figure out what started the meltdown. Enters Henry Stone who's the plant manager
and he's the by the book type.

When employees start to die Stone orders the plant in lock down mode. Wyche calls his
wife Judy and tells her to get out of town and fast. Brolen and Stone get into an argu-
ment over the lock down which leads to Wyche going in any way. Things start to get
worse and it's up to Brolen to get in to not only rescue his Partner but the other workers.

And it must have not melted down; there was no BIG explosion at the end. That’s the
kind of movie the SyFy channel should show instead the crap they have made and
show over and over and over… If I never here word shark again, it will be too soon.
Devane is a Sierra Hotel actor.

I think maybe Ginger is right; I’m starting to have TOM’s associative memory… Anyway
we did better on the second drill and came in at 14 minutes.

234
“Not good enough, Ramón. I want everyone in place within 5 minutes. Ginger says
that’s unrealistic so, I’ll set for 7½ minutes. And, that means everyone on the wall, the
gates locked, posts in place and power off. Women not on the wall will be in shelters
with the children locked down. I’m going to buy a used D-10 to roll up to the gate as
backup and I expect it to be in place, once it’s delivered.”

“Be reasonable Cal, you can‘t expect that kind of reaction time from our people.”

“Sure I can because if I don’t get it, they won’t be ‘our people’ ‘cause they’ll be working
for someone else.”

“Hank, you agree with Cal?”

“He’s the Boss; it doesn’t matter what I think. I’ll have a word with the ranch hands and
you talk to your staff. I was the first person Cal hired and I don’t want to be the first one
fired because of this. I’ll make my people understand that they better plan on carrying
the military hardware all the time. That shouldn’t be a problem for your people; I think
they must sleep with their firearms.”

“They only have 2 minutes to be dressed, armed and out the door, Hank.”

“Doesn’t apply to their Boss, huh?”

“Fill your hands, you S-O-a-B!”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, always wanted to say that since I saw True Grit, with John Wayne.”

“God do I miss John Wayne. I heard that he always felt bad that he didn’t serve in World
War 2.”

“He did more staying home and raising everyone’s morale. Which was your favorite
film?”

“There are too many to single out one. I suppose his final film The Shootist, put him in
the best light.”

“I suppose so, with Lauren Bacall and Ron Howard. Several bug name stars, James
Stewart, Hugh O’Brien, Richard Boone, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine,
Sheree North and Scatman Crouthers. I liked the flashbacks from his old movies that
created the JB Brooks legend.”

Author Note; I met Scatman Crouthers in a Target Store in Los Angeles in the early
1980s. He was delighted to be recognized by so many of the patrons.

235
“Have we done all of this for nothing, sweetheart?”

“What do you mean nothing Cal? We employ 80 people in honorable jobs that earn
them a good income. In the process we’re providing a real future for our children and a
means to survive and prosper regardless what the future may bring. We can feed the
surviving population of Eloy in case of a catastrophe in nearly every circumstance. We
have backups 3 and 4 layers deep. What more for one ask for?”

“First, my ulcers healing up. Second, the country returning to what made it great during
the first 200 years of its existence. And third, peace in our time, above all else.”

“You don’t want much do you?”

“I don’t think so. All it would take would be total nuclear disarmament.”

“That isn’t going to happen.”

“Scary thought isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry about things over which you have no control. If nothing else, that should
help your ulcers heal.”

“You do know that’s easier said than done.”

“For you maybe; I basically live one day at a time.”

“We drank up the Cristal celebrating the Comet missing the ranch. Let’s make up a list
of what we need to fill in and drive up to Phoenix and fill those holes.”

“Let me check the liquor inventory sheets and the back stock. We might as well take the
Bob truck and fill anything else that the Warehouse has slipped.”

“I’ll add the trailer behind the Bob and we’ll do it all in one trip.”

“Grab ten bundles of Ben Franklins.”

“Maybe we should take a semi and 40 foot box trailer.”

“The Bob and trailer will be enough.”

“You considering some high ticket items?”

“Not specifically; but you never know what we might find.”

236
The trailer was filled with Charmin and feminine hygiene supplies. The front part of the
Bob held the liquor plus what we picked up at the supermarket; prawns, fillets, New
York strips, shrimp cocktail sauce, romaine lettuce, croutons, lunch meat, sandwich
loaves and an assortment of condiments plus a case of French Market coffee for special
occasions. Our dealer was out of full auto weapons, but we didn’t really need any. She
picked up several bags Ore-Ida shoestring fries and battered shrimp for the kids, one of
their favorite meals. After the last stop we headed home.

Halfway between Phoenix and Eloy, a call came over the business band radio.

“Red Alert, Red Alert. This is not a drill.”

“Ramón, Ginger. Sitrep?”

“Where are you?”

“About halfway home.”

“We have a large well-armed crowd generally focusing on the gate.”

“Cal says to give them a reason to leave using the Mike 240 Bravos and Mike 2 Alpha
1s.”

“We already tried that.”

“Cal asked if you shot over their heads?”

“Affirmative.”

“He say to lower the point of aim to their feet.’

“Ginger, Ramón, no go.”

“He says fire for effect (that volume of fires delivered on a target to achieve the desired
effect).”

“Ginger, Ramón, its working. They’re scattering in the direction of Eloy.”

“Cal says to move the security group to the Eloy off ramp; we’re going to need protec-
tion getting this load of supplies home.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Maintain the Red Alert status until we get home.”

“Copy.”

237
Our Red Alert required all towers to be staffed and with the remaining employees at the
site of the greatest threat. Sprinklers weren’t used unless the opposing force tried to
cross the canal. Wetting the Bentonite took little time with the water being supplied by
the 6 12 inch wells.

When we arrived home, I directed Ramón to close the gate and block it again. Staff
would be in the towers for the next 24 hours and Ramón was instructed to get with Hank
and come up with a guard rotation. Two of the hands helped unload the truck into the
Warehouse. Over the next day or two Ginger and I would box up the booze to be moved
to the dome. As a just in case measure everyone not on the walls or in the towers would
stay in the shelters when off duty.

“What was that all about?”

“Beats me, Cal. We have a garden that produces about the amount of food we eat in a
year and you can eat alfalfa… sprouts, but I personally don’t care for them. Maybe all
the semis delivering food sparked some interest… but no one knows what you’ve ac-
cumulated. The gold and silver might be an exception since it’s usually delivered in ar-
mored cars but you can’t eat gold and silver.”

“You can’t eat it, but it would allow them to raise cash to buy what food is available.”

“Is that the next one? Not enough food to go around?”

“We don’t have any trouble growing food and buying what we don’t grow. If they can
grow cotton, they can grow food.”

“It’s different for the ranch and you know it.”

“It is; I’ll admit that. We grow our own food and sacrifice a portion of the profits to keep
everyone’s freezers filled with beef, pork, chicken and fish. We bake our own bread and
we maintain a stock of food in the Warehouse for a minimum of 10 years for everyone
on the ranch. We probably have enough guns, ammo and backups to last through
World War ten. If we give it away, we won’t have it and what good would that do any-
one?”

“What would it hurt to set aside 40 acres for the residents of Eloy to grow food?”

“We get five large bales of alfalfa per acre, 12 times a year. You figure it out Ramón; 40
times 5 times 12 times $100 is how much?”

“Uh $240,000.”

238
 The Dome II – Chapter 26

“That doesn’t make sense. You once said that alfalfa generated $15,360,000 per year.
Total acreage of 2,560 divided by 40 equals 64 and 64 times $240,000 equals, un, nev-
er mind. What’s a quarter of a million per year to you Cal, you’re filthy rich?”

“Let’s say we turn the ranch over to our 3 children in 20 years. Twenty times $240,000
equals $4,800,000 divided by 3 means each child get shorted $1.6 million dollars.”

“Just how much of your annual net income are you investing in gold and silver coins?”

“About 25 percent.”

“How much is about 25 percent?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but $2.5 to $3 million a year, most years. That buys
1,500 to 2,000 ounces of gold per year or a lot more silver. The standard ratio between
gold and silver historically is about 50 to 1, but it varies. The last few years it’s been
running over 60 to 1.”

“So what will happen to what you have when there’s a precious metals recall?”

“Nothing; we’ll erect drywall over the vault doors since the vaults are outside the foot-
print of the basement walls and no one will notice.”

“Just how much do you have?”

“We’ll never make Forbes billionaires list. Otherwise it’s none of your business Ramón.”

Each of the 3 vault doors used the same three numbers in their combinations, in differ-
ent orders. One number was the year of James’ birth, the second was the year of the
twins’ birth and the third was the day of Ginger’s birth. All of the numbers were between
0 and 31, a delightfully unlikely combination on dials that went from 0 to 99. But was it
L-R-L or R-L-R? Or, did it vary by vault?

Fifteen years of expansion and precious metals purchases every year with some years
more than others. We obviously had more gold than silver because all the silver was
contained in ⅔ of the space available to store gold and had room for more. The problem
with gold was that even the 1∕10th ounce contained too much value for most transactions
in a PAW economy.

I see that I’m page 114 of part II of my journal and there hasn’t been much action com-
pared to part I of my journal. What can I say, things happen when they happen and I
just record them for Ginger to read and offer comments. You think I didn’t know she was
reading journal? Think again, we are muy cerca.

239
“Don’t know what that means? It’s not the same as muy simpatico, but its close. I even
gave you a hint. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to grow vegetables and fruit for you.
Tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable and though they’re a member of the nightshade plant
family the fruit isn’t poisonous; just the leaves are. It’s officially at 12 down and 15 to go.

And then, it was like I got slapped upside the head by a stroke of lightning. I hadn’t been
keeping track of Russia’s or China’s boomer fleet. Russia had 8 of the Borei class
commissioned and in service while China wasn’t officially saying which undoubtedly
meant more. By what logic was Russia and China allowed to increase their boomer
fleets while the good old US of A was required to reduce the number of missiles and
warheads?

On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 as part of
an agreement with Congress to resolve the debt-ceiling crisis. The Act provided for a
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the “super committee”, to produce legisla-
tion by late November that would decrease the deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years.
When the super committee failed to act, another part of the BCA went into effect. This
directed automatic across-the-board cuts, known as “sequestrations”, split evenly be-
tween defense and domestic spending, beginning on January 2, 2013.

The sequestration became a major topic of the fiscal cliff debate. The debate's resolu-
tion, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), eliminated much of the tax side
of the dispute but only delayed the budget sequestrations for two months, thus reducing
the original $110 billion to be saved per fiscal year to $85 billion in 2013. And then,
came the exceptions.

Sequestration didn’t actually end until 20Jan17 when the new Republican President was
sworn in. Congress had been sworn in earlier on 3Jan17, a Tuesday. By the time the
new President sat down at his desk in the oval office, legislation was on his desk to re-
peal the Budget Control Act of 2011. It was good way for him to appeal to those who
elected him, the conservatives; he signed it.

Because we didn’t really have room to store more ammunition, we replaced what we
shot. When the people from Eloy were at the gate, only a few cans of ammo were ex-
pended, Ramón was very conservative of the belted ammo. We had 200 round cans of
7.62, 100 round cans of .50BMG and when the 40mm cartridges are linked into belts
with M16A2 links for the Mk 19 grenade machine gun, the M548 ammo can will hold 48
rounds, called the ‘USMC Pack,’ of belted 40mm×53mm grenades. What one doesn’t
know, one learns.

That applies to everything, not just the military ammo. If you want to clear leather in a
hurry with your Vaquero, you practice. But, never forget the lesson John Payne gave on
The Restless Gun, you have to shoot accurately before you learn to shoot fast. On April
23, 2013, Timeless Media released The Restless Gun-The Complete Series on DVD in
Region 1, North America. The 9-disc set features all 78 episodes of the series.

240
Don’t remember the name of the episode where he taught the kid the lessons and end-
ed up shooting the kid. Dale Robertson’s The Tales of Wells Fargo had a similar story
where the emphasis was only loading five rounds in a Colt six shooter. Knowing he was
being set up, Jim Hardie loaded the 6th round in his Colt. Most of the TV westerns were
set in the period before smokeless powder. Black powder generates a lot of white
smoke… it’s all in the details. White smoking would interfere with the filming.

Sorry, got off the subject, again. The subject was my lack of attention to Russia’s and
China’s growing boomer fleets. China has to have at least 6 Type 094 Jin class and in 2
years, Russia with have all 10 Borei class, 3 Block I and 7 Block II. Our new President
doesn’t impress me of being the sort to back down, unlike our previous President. Re-
gan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr. and the new guy seem to be cast from the same mold. Reagan
and both Bush’s went to war, whether it was called for or not (Iraq). Clinton launched
cruise missiles and Obama did nothing except cause sequestration and Obamacare.
Though intended for the poor who couldn’t afford health insurance; the poor were the
largest group not to sign up for Obamacare.

Well, that’s not fair, he sent F-22 to the Middle East and F-16s and F-15s to allies when
Russia invaded the Crimea. The name rang a bell:

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death,
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

It wasn’t the slaughter I imagined… Killed: 110; Wounded: 161; another case of the
Russians kicking butt. Putin was the Premier from 1999-2000 and then, acting President
from 1999-2000 when he was elected to his 1st 4 year term as President and he was
reelected and was President from 2004-2008. Barred from a 3rd consecutive term, Dmit-
ry Medvedev, his First Deputy Prime Minister was elected in his stead. In a contested
election, he became President again in 2012 and then again in 2016. Dmitry Medvedev
should get his next chance in 2020. Russia was still in Georgia and Ukraine; a presence
at least. When Putin was Prime Minister, he did the things he couldn’t do as President.
The Borei class will be finished in 2020 and he’ll probably become Prime Minister in
2020. It’s food for thought. And, if I understand Chinese politics, Xi Jinping’s term in of-
fice should run from 2012 to 2022.

The facts give a target date, 2020, for disaster number next (13?). Not that I believe in
TOM’s harebrained idea that bad things happen 3s, but it’s working so far. By the way,
the Charge of The Light Brigade was caused by a misunderstood order. The Captain
who poorly forwarded the order, Louis Edward Nolan 4 January 1818 – 25 October
1854, was killed in the charge. So there wasn’t anyone to blame. In those days, com-

241
munications didn’t travel at the speed of light and the Britain didn’t know what happened
for 3 weeks. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem was published December 9, 1854 in The
Examiner, about 3-4 weeks after the news reached London.

They probably don’t teach it in public schools these days because it ‘glorifies war’. The
one thing about war everyone should note is that there’s nothing glorious about war. It’s
a dirty, nasty and bloody period that puts 2 opposing forces against each other doing
their best to kill each other. If he’d just turned around and went home when they tried to
bomb his car, he and his wife might have lived and we would have avoided World War
One. We’ve only avoided World War Three because it is too terrible to think about. One
of these days… Yep, I do sound like TOM.

It was evident that the Free World has considered America as the Lord Deliverer and
Protector. Surely America is a great country, wealthy and very advanced. But so was
the Roman Empire in its own time. Wealth is not a precondition of power and history
tells that the richer a nation grows, the weaker it becomes. It was not a wealthier or a
more advanced nation that destroyed the Roman Empire. It was the barbarians! –
adapted from Devil’s Guard © 1971 George Robert Elford

“Ginger, I’m convinced that Armageddon is right around the corner, in about 2 years.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you convinced?”

“Russia is in Georgia and Ukraine for one thing.”

“Russia is in South Ossetia and the Crimea, not Georgia or Ukraine.”

“According to Ukraine and Georgia those are occupied territories.”

“Ok, so what? They’re a half-world away from Eloy, Arizona.”

“Next point. Russia will have their fleet of Borei class SSBN finished in 2 years. They’ll
have 3 block I subs with 16 missile tubes and 7 block II subs with 20 missile tubes.
Each tube can launch a Bulava missile with 6 warheads. That will give the Russians
3×16×6 plus 7×20×6 = 1,128 SLBM warheads. The Chinese must have completed their
6th type 94 Jin class giving them 6×16×10 = 960 SLBM or a grand total of 1,128+960 =
2,088 warheads.”

“How many warheads did we deploy on the 14 Ohio class SSBNs?”

“Originally, 14×24×8= 2,688.”

242
“And you claim that new START forced the reduction warheads to 5 per missile as well
as the number of missiles?”

“Actually, it’s 4. New START provides for further reductions in deployed launch vehicles,
limiting the number of Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) to 288, and the
number of deployed SLBM warheads to a total of 1,152. Twenty-four times 14 = 336, so
even with a single warhead, we can’t deploy all 336 missiles. Deployed warheads are
limited to 1,152 or 82 per boat with 4 warheads per missile.”

“What is 288 divided by 14?”

“Twenty point five seven.”

“So, 2 SSBNs have 24 missiles and the other 12 have 20?”

“Right, 2×24=48 and 12×20=240 and 48+240=288.”

“That’s dumb.”

“But, they can replace the Trident IIs with Tomahawk Cruise missiles.”

“How long did it take to convert the first four?”

“Eight years, 2002 to 2010. But they converted 96 tubes total. Twelve times 2 is only 24
tubes. They could do that in one to two years easily since they’ve done it 4 times al-
ready. As far as which 2 SSBNs to leave at 24 Trident D5 tubes, I’d choose the newest,
the Wyoming and Louisiana.”

“And if we develop a supersonic or hypersonic cruise missile?”

“If it will fit in the space the tomahawk uses, it would be a direct swap.”

“Does anyone make a supersonic cruise missile?”

“The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines,
ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Republic of India's Defense Research
and Development Organization and Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who
have together formed [[BrahMos Aerospace](MINISTRY OF DEFENCE)] Government
of India. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the
Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

“It is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation. The missile travels at speeds of
Mach 2.8 to 3.0. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service,
with the air and submarine-launched versions having completed in the testing phase. A
hypersonic version of the missile, namely BrahMos-II, is also presently under develop-

243
ment with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It was expected to be
ready for testing by 2017.

“Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid-range cruise missile like
P-700 Granit, Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in
order to comply with Missile Technology Control Regime restrictions, to which Russia is
a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian missile, and guidance has been de-
veloped by BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is expected to reach a total order worth
US$13 billion. I don’t know the current status of that program.”

“So Russia could have the BrahMos cruise missiles?”

“Yes. But, they’re short range, 300-500km or 186-310 miles.”

“Fighter delivered?”

“Absolutely; unless Russia developed a model that could be launched from a submarine
torpedo tube. It doesn’t matter, we’re not that close to any ocean. China has had the YJ-
12 supersonic cruise missile since 2000 and the YJ-22 since the latter part of the
2000s.”

“Which country is the most advanced with supersonic cruise missiles?”

“India. They have 4 frigates equipped with the BrahMos and some diesel submarines as
well as the INS Rajput, a guided-missile destroyer and the lead ship of the Rajput class
destroyers of the Indian Navy.”

“How much room is there in the Warehouse?”

“We could probably up the food supply to 12 years for a 100 people. I don’t know about
non-food products.”

“There’s room, we can always take them out the boxes shrink wrap them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Feminine hygiene products, extra clothes and anything else that we can shrink wrap. I
think I’ll go for 5 years for 100 people and order more 5 gallon pails but half as many. I’d
better get busy, standing around isn’t getting it done.”

“Ramón, double the supply of the ammo except for the Remington .45-70-405. Can your
friend at Camp Navajo get us more belted ammo and more of the grenades, etc.?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

244
“He’s retired same as me.”

“Well… can you get more belted ammo, grenades and etc.?”

“How much do you want?”

“World War 12.”

“Dig in your vault and get me 750 ounces of gold Eagles. I’ll bring back what I don’t
need.”

“Will that be enough?”

“For 750 ounces, I can probably get them to deliver it.”

“Have it delivered to the Eloy exit and we’ll have trucks standing by. Meanwhile, I get
the Tucson contractor started on another bunker.”

“What’s Ginger doing?”

“She’s ordering an additional 5 years of food from Oregon Freeze Dry, a few items from
Walton Feed, grains from various sources and some miscellaneous items.”

“Please remind her to check the medical supplies and do an inventory. I’ve got some
calls to make.”

“You’re not complaining. Why’s that?”

“Everyone gets lucky from time to time.”

He brought back 250 one ounce gold Eagles and we overloaded 4 40 foot trailers haul-
ing the munitions from the exit to the ranch. The never went faster than 15 miles an
hour to avoid problems with the loads. We left the munitions on the trailers until the new
bunker was completed. The homestead had to be expanded, yet again, as it had been
when the first bunker was constructed.

“Those LAVs will wear out before we use up the 25mm ammo Cal.”

“But you did get some of everything?”

“Oh yeah… World War 15.”

“But we only have 15 years’ worth of food on hand and or on order.”

245
“Not my department. You’re rich, build another Warehouse.”

“It’s just that I hate giving the job to Jacob and Fred getting the profit.”

“Fred who?”

“Fred Logan, my step-father. He’s the guy that married my mother and bought my half
of the Ready Mix.”

“What’s the big deal? I mean that Warehouse is very well constructed and you could
build a second behind it, add the air purifiers, tunnel and end up with 30 years of food
for 100 people.”

“Don’t forget the double leaf doors to create 2 airlocks.”

“Spend the money Cal; you can’t take it with you.”

“It will just attract more attention to the ranch.”

“And having 4 40 foot trailers of ammo didn’t? What about the non-military ammo deliv-
eries? What about the food deliveries’ of 5 years’ worth of food for 100 people? We’re
on everyone’s radar from the Armored Car Company to the food suppliers to the folks in
Eloy. Isn’t that why you had the canal dug and the berm erected; to keep everyone and
his brother out?”

“Well, I suppose.”

Once this round construction was complete, the food, ammo and other supplies laid in;
the notes in my journal didn’t indicate any significant activity around the world worth
mentioning. Russia commissioned the 9th, and then the 10th Borei class and completed
their sea trials, a fact noted in Wikipedia. Wiki also corrected the information on the type
94 Jin class reducing the number of missiles tubes from 16 to 12. Two additional type
94 Jin class were noted; but whoever wrote the piece said it wasn’t certain if they were
new submarines or previously reported submarines. From satellite photos, all Jin class
looked alike.

246
 The Dome II – Chapter 27

By the beginning of 2020 we had replaced all the gold expended and expanded our
holdings. Russia was still sitting on South Ossetia and the Crimea. The US hadn’t modi-
fied the Ohio class SSBNs and we presumed that 12 had 4 empty missiles tubes and 2
had 24 tubes with D-5s. The process reported in the news was that the missiles were
removed and replaced with a different missile with only 4 warheads. And, 12 of the
SSBNs had 20 missiles switched and 4 removed.

Russia had inspected the agreed upon SSBNs and found one to have 24 missiles with 4
warheads and the second to have 20 missiles with 4 warheads. The inspection, done in
accordance with new START, was done during 2017. Things were not as they ap-
peared, however.

The missile swapping on the 2 inspected Ohio class was per the treaty. The missile
swapping on the other 12 replaced the 24 missiles with 24 missiles with 8 warheads.
After the inspection, the 2 inspected submarines were brought back up to design speci-
fications, 24 missiles with 8 warheads each. Apparently the only reason they didn’t in-
crease that to 14 warheads per missile was the lack of warheads.

The US was up to 2,688 SLBM warheads again, exceeding the combined Russian and
Chinese number of warheads. Didn’t the new (conservative) Republican President trust
the Russians and Chinese? Since the W-88 warheads were part of the ‘enduring stock-
pile’, the Trident II missiles were probably armed with 8 W-76 100kT warheads; they
made approximately 3,000. There was no way to put 14 warheads on 336 missiles; we
didn’t have 4,704 warheads available.

China’s 6 Jin subs and Russia’s 10 Borei subs were reported to be half in port and half
at sea. There was nothing to be excited about and Ginger was riding my hind end over
talking her into increasing the food supplies. I was guilty of hiring Jacob and asking him
to duplicate the Warehouse. I was innocent of deciding the new Warehouse should be
as full as the original Warehouse. That was Ginger at Ramón’s suggestion.

Each vehicle had a Magellan RoadMate 9270T LM Truck GPS and each person on the
ranch had a Magellan eXplorist 310 Handheld GPS with the World Edition map includ-
ing a complete road network for the US, Canada, Western Europe and Australia as well
as major roads throughout the rest of the world and the optional Topographic maps
downloaded for enhanced and expanded mapping coverage.

It was with some consternation when we discovered our GPS receivers weren’t working
after June 15, 2020. The US had 36 GPS satellites in orbit as of January 2019. It takes
4 satellites to establish your position. That was probably the only good Executive Order
Clinton ever issued; on May 2, 2000 “Selective Availability” was discontinued as a result
of the 1996 Executive Order, allowing users to receive a non-degraded signal globally.
Why not Garmin? Why Garmin over Magellan? Six of one and a half dozen of another.
(Got a bulk purchase discount on the Magellan’s.)

247
Everyone was sticking close to the ranch these days because Stella was home school-
ing all of the children and adolescents right here on the ranch. Instead of monthly supply
runs to Tucson or Phoenix, Ginger would order the supplies and pay for delivery. They
can’t get you if you never leave. Plus everything was kept topped off religiously. The
guy producing biodiesel had called it quits and Ginger was looking for an alternate sup-
plier.

The pails of food should be good to the year 2525, if man is still alive and woman can
survive. The Oregon Freeze Dried products should be good for quite some time due to
storage conditions and stock rotation. I took the time to check the NWS SAME radios,
replacing all the batteries with new lithium ion batteries. The CP-200s and portable CBs
were also checked and the batteries replaced. As my level of tension increased it
seemed to affecting everyone on the ranch.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“A chill pill. You’re driving everyone crazy with your worrying. And not to make it worse,
but 2 Borei class and 1 Jin class sailed today.”

“I just think it’s time.”

“Time for what?”

“Time to bend over and kiss my butt goodbye.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re in charge here and Hank and Ramón are our principal advisors. The
four of us are what binds the ranch into cohesive unit able to take on all comers’.”

“What are you doing with the fish?”

“Filleting them, sharp freezing them and storing in the drive-in freezer.”

“Have you contacted the food banks and Churches in Eloy?”

“Let them eat cake!”

“Better we should donate the fish to Eloy, even if it’s done anonymously.”

“Ok. We’ll pack it in Mylar bags and pass it out to the Churches, using a freezer trailer.”

248
“How does that differ from a refrigerated trailer?”

“Same thing, cranked down to 0°F.”

“We’d best do it on a Saturday afternoon so it doesn’t thaw before Sunday service.”

“Ok if I take a few security guys to prevent me from getting hijacked?”

“Why don’t we just get the security guys to deliver the fish?”

“Don’t trust me?”

“I don’t trust some of the residents of Eloy. There’s no sense in you looking for trouble.”

“Just what put a burr under your saddle?”

“The GPS going down is not natural. The Russians have their own system called
GLOSNASS, the Chinese have their own system called known as COMPASS or Bei-
Dou-2, the European Union’s system Galileo became active last year and India’s Indian
Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) became active in 2015. On top of that
you told me 1 Jin class and 2 Borei class sailed. That puts 4 Jin and 7 Borei at sea.
Where did you get the information?”

“The ham net we monitor 24/7.”

“Speculation or hard facts?”

“Hard facts. The speculation was that the other 2 Jin class and other 3 Borei class were
loading provisions and getting ready to sail.”

“I knew it! Give me another chill pill; I think it’s going down.”

“Gee-Tee-Dubya?”

“Gee-Tee-Dubya!”

“I’ll call TOM.”

“You have his number?”

“He put it in several stories.”

“Did you reach him?”

249
“Yep.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he was getting warmly dressed and going to sit in the front yard and catch one
when it landed.”

“He’ll be 77 on 3/23/20. I guess he won’t get his wish.”

“What wish?”

“He claims his goal in life is to live one day longer than his father. His father was about
78½ when he died.”

“They didn’t get along?”

“Fire and ice! While you were on the phone I told Ramón to have his staff load half the
fish from the drive-in into a refrigerated trailer set to zero and for 4 of his staff to deliver
the trailer to Eloy and drop it. Afterwards, they’ll notify the local ministers about the fish
so the ministers can dole it out on Sunday.”

“Just like that?”

“I instructed them to tell at least 3 ministers so 1 didn’t claim it all for his congregation
and they were instructed to tell the 3 to pass the information around to the other minis-
ters.”

“I’d better check the freezers in the shelters for fish because there’s no tunnel to the
drive-in.”

“Sorry about that; it just wasn’t practical. Make sure the ham net is monitored 24/7.”

“We’re already doing that. It gives the teens chances to earn pocket money. Although I
don’t know why they need pocket money because nobody leaves the ranch.”

“It’s better than a FEMA camp!”

“Are you sure? Have you ever been in a FEMA camp?”

“No, but the stories….”

“Are just stories.”

She had a point, but that file on my computer that identified ~630 FEMA camps wasn’t
fiction. It even included pictures and although the camps weren’t staffed, the gates and

250
razor wire was in place. It wouldn’t take much to staff the camps to begin accepting
people being ‘relocated’ after an emergency.

Would we need to be ‘relocated’ after an emergency? I can’t see why. The horses
would have to settle for alfalfa instead of alfalfa pellets and we’d have to cut our alfalfa
production back to 1 section or less. Instead, we’d plant wheat, corn, oats, beans, rice
and barley (for COB). Yes, we had barley seed; I didn’t mention it because it was pri-
marily for the horses.

All the horses were ridden often enough to avoid their becoming frisky. James, Kathleen
and Jennifer were growing up and riding their Barbs every day on the family outing.
They had graduated to larger caliber rifles (1892, .45 Colt) and Single Six’s.

When the 4 security people returned after delivering the fish, they locked the gate and
parked the Peterbilt with its ISX12 engine, one of our over-the-road tractors. Even as
they dismounted, the radios announced “Red Alert, Red Alert. We have incoming mis-
siles.”

Some screwed up and it wasn’t yours truly. It was worse than I imagined, the missiles
weren’t ICBMs, but SLBMs. They were launched from various locations in the Pacific,
71 successful launches; and from the Atlantic, 185 successful launches. One doesn’t
have to be Albert Einstein to realize that the 2 nations behind the attack were China in
the Pacific and Russia in the Atlantic. The Chinese had 72 missiles on their 6 boats and
Russia had 188 missiles on their boats. All 450 Minuteman III missiles were launched
without a single failure to launch.

The Russians and Chinese might have suspected our duplicity regarding the Ohio class
SSBNs, but they never publically challenged the US. What occurred behind closed
doors will forever remain a mystery. A larger percentage of the Russian population was
sheltered than the percentage of the Chinese population. China had people to spare.
Both countries had to assume we’d launch on warning, with our Minuteman III missiles.
They hadn’t counted on 336 missiles with a total of 2,688 warheads being available
from the SSBNs. Their SS-18 Satan missiles had all been decommissioned by 2009.

The SS-18s (R-36M) were replaced by single warhead RT-2UTTKh (Topol-M2) with
800kT warheads and Topol-M1 with up to 10 warheads. It was speculated that in 2020
the RVSN are likely to be equipped with 177 Topol-M (mobile and silo-based), as well
as 30 UR-100NUTTKh (SS-19) with up to 6 warheads each and 108 RS-24 Yars (SS-
29), mobile and silo based missiles.

I assume that China attacked Russia with all of their missiles that would reach Russian
targets and Russia reciprocated, missile for missile. With the advanced warning and
practice alerts, every head of livestock and every person on the ranch was sheltered
before missile warheads hit Phoenix and Tucson. The freezers were fully stocked and
we actually had room to spare. The tunnel network that Percy had worked out gave us
access to every building except the drive-in freezer.

251
The automatic transfer switches cut us from the grid when the grid went down. We had
power to last ‘forever and a day’ plus food for 30 years and ammo for World War 15.
Somehow I doubted that there would be a World War 4. Both China and Russia target-
ed counter-value targets. In military doctrine counter-value is the targeting of an oppo-
nent's assets which are of value but not actually a military threat, such as cities and ci-
vilian populations. Counter-force is the targeting of an opponent's military personnel,
forces and facilities.

The rationale behind counter-value targeting is that when two sides have both achieved
assured destruction capability – that is, that the nuclear arsenals of each side have the
apparent ability to survive a wide range of counter-force attacks, and carry out a second
strike in response – then, in an all-out nuclear war, the value of targeting the opponent's
nuclear arsenal diminishes, and the value of targeting the opponent's cities and civilians
increases. This line of reasoning, however, assumes that the opponent values its civil-
ians over its military forces.

One view argues that counter-value targeting upholds nuclear deterrence because both
sides are more likely to believe in each other's no first use policy. The line of reasoning
is that if an aggressor strikes first with nuclear weapons against an opponent's counter-
value targets, then, by definition, such an attack does not degrade the opponent's mili-
tary capacity to retaliate.

The opposing view, however, counters that counter-value targeting is neither moral nor
credible because if an aggressor should strike first with nuclear weapons against only a
limited number of a defender's counter-force military targets, the defender should not
retaliate in this situation against the aggressor’s civilian populace.

The AMP 200, AMP 100 and AMP 50 were connected and we were waiting for radioac-
tive fallout. It was like the nuke in San Diego, only different. San Diego was a known at-
tack, hours before the radiation would reach us. Phoenix and Tucson were pure specu-
lation and much closer.

My paranoia finally paid off in spades. And, we’ve received initial fallout, from some-
where.

© 2014, Gary D. Ott

252
 The Dome III – Chapter 28

“Well, crap. I’d have been perfectly happy to have been wrong, you know.”

“Cal, with what Ginger and you have amassed, you’re in a perfect position to set your-
selves up as King and Queen of Arizona.”

“With you as Court Jester, Ramón?”

I picked up the mike to the intercom. “Hank, what’s the status of the livestock?”

“They’re watered, fed and bedding is down. The float valve will keep the water troughs
filled and the horses will require the most attention because of constant feeding of small
quantities of grain, hay and alfalfa pellets. I think we should have bought a machine to
make the alfalfa pellets, Cal.”

“You’re probably right Hank; they say hindsight is 20/20.”

“The reason I didn’t bring it up is because the pellets are only a supplement to the alfal-
fa forage they get. If we had draft horses actually working, we’d have to plant Timothy,
so they don’t bloat. Timothy is commonly grown for cattle feed and, in particular, as hay
for horses. It is relatively high in fiber, especially when cut late. It is considered a harsh,
coarse grass little relished by livestock if cut earlier. It is considered part of the standard
mix for grass hay and provides quality nutrition for horses.”

“We’re going to have to cut alfalfa production drastically and grow wheat, corn, oats,
beans, rice and barley. We’ll also have to get a large garden put in, maybe 40 acres.”

“The wives and teens are barely able to do 20 acres, Cal.”

“Not all at once, 20 acres twice. Some of the men are going to need to help on that.
Mostly the men who work harvesting alfalfa continuously will probably end up helping
with that. We'll rotate those men between the garden and the other crops. There a cer-
tain pieces of equipment that we don't have like a planter we'll have buy or salvage. An-
other item is a cultivator plus plow, disk and drag."

"Have you considered Nuclear Winter?"

"Considered, yes. That's something over which we have no control. The guy we hired to
plow the various fields always used 5 John Deere tractors with pull type 10-bottom
plows. We'll need heavy, four wheel drive tractors. We'll also need cultivators. Presum-
ing we can find what we need; we'll salvage first and pay for them as our other option.”

“The two most likely places to find that equipment are Phoenix and Tucson.”

253
“Assuming they’re still there. We’re already getting fallout so I assume one or both were
targeted.”

"Phoenix is the capital so that makes sense; but why Tucson?"

"Davis Monthan Air Force Base which has a 3.3 Megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar
photovoltaic (PV) array and a 2.7 MW rooftop-mounted PV array, both of which are lo-
cated in the Base Housing area. Then there’s that 14.5 MW PV field on the northwest-
ern side of the base. Plus the significant number of high-tech industries, including gov-
ernment contractors. For example, Raytheon Missile Systems, Texas Instruments, IBM,
Intuit Inc., Universal Avionics, Sunquest Information Systems, Sanofi-Aventis, Ventana
Medical Systems, Inc., and Bombardier Aerospace all have a significant presence in
Tucson. Roughly 150 Tucson companies are involved in the design and manufacture of
optics and optoelectronics systems, earning Tucson the nickname ‘Optics Valley’.”

“When did you learn that Cal?”

“I got bored one day, Ginger, and looked up Tucson on Wikipedia. It was almost more
interesting than Phoenix so I copied the page into a Word file for future reference and
also saved it as PDF file. It could turn out to be a shopping list.”

“The best shopping list out there is the Yellow Pages.”

“Once you know what you want, yes. My PDF file tells me what’s generally available in
Tucson.”

“It would be the closest location for fuel Cal.”

“Where’s that breeder we get the Andalusian stud services from?”

“Oro Valley, north of Tucson.”

“Maybe we can still get stud services.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“He called a while back and had 2 different proven studs he was looking to unload. It
was a good price, so I bought them.”

“And you were going to tell me when?”

“I just did. On a hunch I called the Barb breeder and he also had 2 proved studs out of
different lineages so I bought those too. Since most of our horses are Quarter Horse
stock horses I located 4 proven Quarter Horse stock horse studs. Then, I got another

254
Lipizzaner stud and talk about expensive. I also picked up 2 unrelated Black Angus
bulls and 2 unrelated York boars.”

“Planning ahead were you?”

“You damn betcha. I also bought a huge supply of hoses, engine, transmission and oth-
er tractor parts along with enough oil for 10 years. Anything I missed can be fabricated.”

“How?”

“Have you looked in the machine shed lately?”

“No; what would I find?”

“Among other things, machines. You know, a metal lathe, milling machine, wood lathe
and the new Warehouse has enough factory horseshoes to keep our horses shod for
years.”

“Hank, did you know about the horseshoes?”

“I helped her order them, Cal. We moved the forge to the machine shed to centralize all
various repair functions. I suggested she get a hydraulic hose crimp machine, fittings
and spools of hoses of different sizes. Frankly, I’m surprised it was Ginger and not you
selecting the equipment. She seemed to know what she wanted so I just pointed her in
the right direction.”

“Like I’ve said before, we’re a team. What one of us doesn’t know or think of the other
seems prepared to cover.” (he-he-he)

“If that’s the case, Cal, why was it Ginger who directed me to buy more ammo?”

“Ramón you said we were covered to World War 15!”

“Would you rather have it and not need it or need it and not have it?”

“Hey, that’s MY argument for buying more ammo.”

“She must have been listening, Cal.”

“So where do we stand on ammo?”

“We’ll be very old and gray before we’re using Pyrodex. Just in case, we planted 6 wil-
low trees, got a ton of sulfur from Louisiana, and got 7½ tons of potassium nitrate both
products packed in sealed barrels. That just in case we live that long and run out of Py-
rodex. We also increased the number of primers to cover the black powder.”

255
I think I created a monster. I wanted to be prepared come what may. We have enough
explosives that one small diameter bomb might cause an explosion destroying every-
thing within the berm. It could depend on which SDB they used; SDB I (Boeing) or SDB
II (Raytheon). The Boeing model was for fixed targets and the Raytheon model was for
moving targets. Either could be carried by the A10, F15, F16, F22, F35, B1, B2 or the
B52.

We used intercoms with microphones to eliminate much of the background noise. When
I was updated on the radiation readings, 965R/hr, I notified the other two shelters. We
could make our first check outside at 67 days when the radiation should be about
475mR/h. One hour after the detonation, the radiation level at ground zero is 3,000R/hr.
The one hour delay allows the short lived isotopes to decay to zero. There wasn’t much
wind and what there was seemed to change directions randomly, confusing the source
of the radiation.

That spreadsheet is only a guide. It should track accurately, depending on the circum-
stances. Given our location, we could get radiation from other places like Palo Verde,
Los Angeles and Plant 42 located in Palmdale. I suppose, depending on wind direction,
the list could include Diablo Canyon. San Onofre had been shut down in 2013 and dur-
ing March 2014, Southern California Edison began selling off non-radioactive equipment
from the former nuclear plant. You know, on second thought, maybe China would hit
San Onofre because the shutdown was supposed to take years and one of the last
things to be removed would be the radioactive material when they could find some-
where to store it.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is the world's third deep geological repository
(after closure of Germany's Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben and the Schacht
Asse II Salt Mine) licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste for
10,000 years that is left from the research and production of nuclear weapons.

It is located approximately 26 miles (42 km) east of Carlsbad, New Mexico, in eastern
Eddy County, in an area known as the southeastern New Mexico nuclear corridor which
also includes the National Enrichment Facility near Eunice, New Mexico, the Waste
Control Specialists low-level waste disposal facility just over the border near Andrews,
Texas, and the International Isotopes, Inc. facility to be built near Eunice, New Mexico.

Various mishaps at the plant in 2014 brought focus to the problem of what to do with a
mounting stockpile of spent fuel, from commercial nuclear reactors, currently stored at
individual reactor sites. In 2010, the USDOE mothballed plans to develop Yucca Moun-
tain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. (Thanks, Harry!) A lot of the used fuel rods
were being stored in dry casks located at the nuclear facility that had used the fuel rods.
When a plant was shut down the fuel was left in the reactor to cool down. If the intent
was to refuel the reactor, the cooled fuel rods were transferred to dry cask storage.

Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nu-
clear fuel that has already been cooled in the spent fuel pool for at least one year and

256
often as much as ten years. Casks are typically steel cylinders that are either welded or
bolted closed. The fuel rods inside are surrounded by inert gas. Ideally, the steel cylin-
der provides leak-tight containment of the spent fuel. Each cylinder is surrounded by
additional steel, concrete, or other material to provide radiation shielding to workers and
members of the public.

There are various dry storage cask system designs. With some designs, the steel cylin-
ders containing the fuel are placed vertically in a concrete vault; other designs orient the
cylinders horizontally. The concrete vaults provide the radiation shielding. Other cask
designs orient the steel cylinder vertically on a concrete pad at a dry cask storage site
and use both metal and concrete outer cylinders for radiation shielding. Currently there
is no long term permanent storage facility; dry cask storage is designed as an interim
safer solution than spent fuel pool storage.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“There’s no think about it Cal, I’m going with you to check things out.”

“But Ginger, the level of radiation is over 450mR/hr.”

“I don’t care. You can take it to the bank that I don’t care...”

“Where have I heard that before?”

“It’s The Foster Doctrine.”

The Foster Doctrine comes from Pam Foster of Pamela Foster and Associates in Atlan-
ta. It’s a very simple doctrine:

WHAT’S ALL OF THE FUSS?

“Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic
people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

“Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day,
in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation’s capital and in a field in
Pennsylvania? Did nearly three Thousand men, women and children die a horrible,
burning or crushing Death that day, or didn’t they?

“And I’m supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was “desecrated” when an over-
worked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well, I don’t; I don’t care at all.

“I’ll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all
those innocent people on 9/11.

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“I’ll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Ho-
ly Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime In Saudi Arabia

“I’ll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off Nick
Berg’s head while Berg screamed through his gurgling, slashed throat.

“I’ll care when the cowardly so-called “insurgents” in Iraq come out and fight like men
instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

“I’ll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care
about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

“I’ll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties
are somehow derived from international law instead of the United State Constitution’s
Bill of Rights.

“In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave Marine roughing up an Iraqi terror-
ist to obtain information, know this: I don’t care.

“When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated
in what amounts to a college hazing incident, rest assured that I don’t care.

“When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move be-
cause he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank that I don’t care.

“When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a Prayer mat, and fed ‘spe-
cial’ food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being
‘mishandled’, YOU can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don’t care.
“And oh, by the way, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s spelled ‘Koran’ and other times
‘Quran’. Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and – you got it, I DON’T CARE!

“If you agree with this view point, pass this on to all your e-mail Friends. Sooner or later,
it’ll get to the people responsible for this Ridiculous behavior! If you don’t agree, then by
all means hit the Delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don’t com-
plain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great
country.

“If you can read this, Thank a teacher!

“If you are reading it in English, Thank a Veteran.”

“I sort of remember that. It was a chain e-mail wasn’t it?”

“Yep. I’m ready, what’s the hold up?”

“Ginger, you really don’t want to get the radiation exposure.”

258
“Why, will it make me sterile? You’re the one more likely to be sterilized by the radiation
than me. Or, did you forget we can play patty cake whenever we want?”

“Alright already, let’s go.”

“Hold on you two, are you going out armed?”

“HK417s with suppressors and AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers plus EOTech sights.
Fourteen spare rifle magazines and 12 HEDP grenades. We also have our Kimber’s
plus the Hi-Powers for backup with 5 and 4 magazines per.”

“Are you taking your AWC Amphibians?”

“Naturally, with 2 spare magazines, all loaded with match ammo. I love that stuff, its
standard velocity.”

“A couple of us should suit up and go with you.”

“Sorry, Ramón, no; call it owners’ prerogative.”

“Careful now; lock and load. Ramón, please close the inner door after us.”

The airlock was lighted with LED fixtures that gave off a tremendous amount of light for
the amount of power consumed. Based on the amount of power the PV panels were
generating, it either had to be twilight or the panels were covered with some of the fall-
out. We had Peltz TacTikka LED headlamps rather than MagLites to keep our hands
free. Surefire lights were mounted on our HK417s.

“Cover me and I’ll open the outer blast door.”

“Pop it just a crack and let me look out before you open it Cal.”

“Ok, good idea.”

I opened the blast door just a little, creating a space to look out that was about the
thickness of the door.

“See anything?”

“It’s sort of dark out; kind of like twilight.”

“That explains the reduction of output in the PV panels. I was guessing it was either
partly dark out or the PV panels were cover by fallout.”

“Or both?”

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“Could be. Turn on the Surefire light on your rifle.”

“Carbine.”

“Whatever; just do it.”

“You don’t have to be pushy.”

“Yes I do, this blast door is heavy and we need to spray some WD-40 or something on
the hinges.”

“I can help.”

“You help us both by covering my back and keeping an eye out. Damn, the door hit
something and won’t move further. Peek around the edge and see what the problem is.”

“The problem is the bodies.”

“What bodies?”

“It appears to be people from Eloy. I sort of recognize one person.”

“Sort of?”

“It’s hard to tell with the burns. Oh, I bet those are burns from the radiation. Hold my
carbine and I’ll move them.”

“How many?”

“Three, a man, a woman and a teenage girl; I knew we should have put in intercoms
outside the blast doors.”

“Once Jacob poured the airlocks, it would have been difficult.”

“I seem to recall that Jacob and you had a failure to communicate.”

“That was my fault. I simply didn’t understand what he meant.”

“Aren’t you glad you married me and I was around to explain when they blew that nuke
in San Diego?”

“Don’t discount the contribution you made in finding grass seed that didn’t require much
mowing. It only takes two guys to mow it; one up top pulling the rope attached to the
mower and one on the mower guiding it.”

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“Ok, push the door open.”

“Take your rifle.”

“Carbine.”

“This is my rifle and this is my gun. This one is for shooting and one is for fun.”

“Huh?”

“It’s what DI’s told the Marine recruits when they referred to their service rifle as a gun.
A gun is a cannon on a naval vessel.”

“Picky, picky.”

“Yeah, like the difference between a rifle and a carbine. Most service weapons are con-
sidered rifles if they have a 20 inch barrel and a carbine if the barrel is shorter. That ap-
plies to M16s, Steyr AUGs and your Mini-14.”

“Don’t forget we converted all the Ruger rifles to 20 inch barrels and 1 in 7 or 1 in 10.”

“Which makes them rifles instead of carbines.”

“It’s dark out.”

“Yes it is and it’s half an hour before noon.”

“Shine a light on the PV panels Cal.”

“Didn’t bring one so we had our hands free.”

“Use the Surefire on your carbine. It sort of looks like sand on the PV panels, but I can’t
tell for sure with the Surefire light.”

“Neither can I; it sure is cold out.”

“I’ll have to check the greenhouse.”

“Only when the radiation falls below 100mR/hr.”

“Can you fire up a forklift; we need more fish from the drive-in freezer.”

“They should be fully charged. Will one pallet box be enough?”

“I think I can squeeze that much in.”

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“I’ll look for a partial box.”

“We gave those to ministers in Eloy.”

“Ramón, check all the freezers and see if we have room for a cubic yard of fish. That’s
27 cubic feet.”

“Standby, I’ll check with the other shelters. Ginger should know how much room we
have in your freezers.”

“Ginger, how much room do we have?”

“About 12 cubic feet empty. There are more people in the other shelters so there should
be enough room.”

“Cal, best guess is 13 cubic feet.”

“10-4.”

“That’s less than a cubic yard Ginger.”

“I can still add Calvin. Get a pallet box.”

What Cal was overlooking was the fact that the fish fillets were small enough to fit into
all the nooks and crannies in the freezers. I rather suspected that the empty space had
been under estimated to avoid having more Blue Tilapia distributed to the shelters’
freezers. I filled those freezers and knew the ratio of poultry to beef to pork to Tilapia.
The average person eats 60 pounds of beef, 50 pounds of pork, 60 pounds of chicken,
15 pounds of turkey and 15 pounds of fish a year, a total of 200 pounds. We didn’t have
a lot of turkey, 2 22 pound birds per freezer. The chickens were better but probably not
60 pounds per person. We had extra pork and beef and the extra space had been filled
with Tilapia. I’ll just do a Marie Antoinette on them and tell them to eat fish.

“Why did we have to have WWII, Cal?

“It was inevitable Ginger.”

It is possible to make a reasonable prediction about where World War III will break out
based upon historical Russian military strategy. Putin is following a very predictable pat-
tern that dates back to over 100 years of Russian military history coupled with the pre-
sent set of events.

The Present Situation

Russia is bleeding the Petrodollar dry by leading the BRIC nations in the purchase of
Iranian oil for gold. The same situation is emerging in Europe as Russia is on the verge,

262
either by invasion or by proxy control of Ukraine, of controlling a good portion of energy
needs to Europe and being able to bypass the Petrodollar as a means of payment for
Russian energy shipments into Europe. Further, Russia has just completed a deal
which brings China into the Russian energy sphere of influence. This will eventually
culminate in the weakening of NATO and the isolation of the United States both eco-
nomically and militarily. What does Russia want and what will be its eventual goal?

Some believe that Russia wants to occupy the United States and perhaps Putin eventu-
ally does, but it is not practical at this particular point of time. Economic attrition and mili-
tary isolation are Putin’s best friends at this time. After all, the US is in possession of
over 2,000 nuclear weapons and 72 nuclear armed submarines which are virtually un-
detectable. Despite the presence of these American deterrents, do not be lulled into a
false sense of security, this cold war will soon turn hot.

Putin’s Military Strategy

Putin is pursuing a military strategy that most Americans have never heard of and even
fewer understand and it has to do with Russia’s geographic makeup and this holds the
key to Russian military strategy. Although Russia possesses one of the largest land-
masses in the world; they possess an abhorrent lack of useable coastline. Historically,
Russian economic growth has been severely impeded because of the lack of usable
ports. Russia rues the day that they sold Alaska to the United States. It also helps to
explain why Syria has jumped to the forefront of world affairs. Russia is sitting on vast
energy deposits and they are threatening to expand their energy based and mineral
world dominance by exploiting the newly discovered riches at the North Pole and they
have invested significant resources in beefing up their Arctic fighting forces towards this
end. Russia may be able to acquire vast mineral resources, but without significant ports
from which to trade, the Russian economy will always run in second gear. One does not
need to have access to Putin’s war plans to understand what is going on; one need to
only be a student of history in order to predict where this coming conflict is headed.

The Heartland Theory

British geographer and military historian, Sir Halford Mackinder, in 1904, wrote an article
that changed how politicians and military men viewed the world. The theory that had so
influenced nearly five generations of strategists was called simply, the Heartland Theo-
ry. Basically, Mackinder’s Heartland Theory views geo-political military history as a
struggle between land-based and sea-based powers. Mackinder believed the world had
become a “closed” system, with virtually no new lands left for the European powers to
discover, to conquer, and to fight over without creating chaos elsewhere. According to
the theory, the common denominator for world conflict has been reduced to sea powers
vs. land-based powers, which would subsequently struggle for dominance of the world,
and the ultimate victor would be in a position to set up a world empire. The determining
factor in this struggle was physical geography; “Man and not nature initiates, but nature
in large measure controls”.

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From Mackinder’s perspective, Soviet Russia had to be contained within the heartland.
Mackinder’s believed that whosoever controlled Eurasia, controlled the world, so long
as the controller had access to useable ports. The problem for Russia is that they have
so few usable ports thus impacting commerce and the movement of men and material
in a time of war. So long as Russia could be prevented from being a major sea power,
the forces of the United States and Western Europe were safe. However, if Russia
should become a sea power in conjunction with its massive land-based power, Russia
could rule the world. And now, through the release of Russian secret documents we are
finding out that Stalin was willing to fight a war with the US over obtaining Alaskan sea-
ports as predicted by the Heartland Theory.

Stalin’s Secret Plans to Invade Alaska In 1951

In 1999, at a conference held at Yale University, previously-secret Russian documents

revealed that Russian Dictator Joseph Stalin had undergone extensive planning in
preparation to invade North America as early as 1951. The event was one of a series of
programs sponsored by the Washington DC-based Cold War International History Pro-
ject (CWIHP), which monitors new documents pertaining to the Cold War. The Yale
conference centered on Stalin’s relationship with the United States. These documents,
from the Cold War, revealed that Stalin had a definitive plan to attack Alaska in 1951-52
and had undergone major military preparations in anticipation of the invasion. Russia
has always considered itself to be landlocked and this served as the major motivation
for Russia’s planned incursion which would have given Russia access to good sea
ports. Stalin subsequently died and the plans were abandoned, at least temporarily,
mostly due to American dominance in nuclear weapons. In 2014, we see the im-
portance of the Heartland Theory in guiding Russian foreign policy with regard to Syria
and to some degree, China. The Chinese-Russian energy deal allows Russia access to
Chinese ports. Russia is steadfast in its protection of Syria because of the Russian
need to use the ports of Tartus and Aleppo. And it is highly likely that once the energy
pipelines in Ukraine are secured by Putin, Europe will soon be making seaport conces-
sions to Russia in exchange for Russian based energy shipments. At the beginning of
the crisis in Crimea, the first objective of the Russian military was to secure the naval
base in Sevastopol. The Russians desire the fleet to grow in support of a new Mediter-
ranean task force created by Russia last year as a move to counter an increase in US
naval presence in the Mediterranean. If Ukraine had been allowed to be wooed by
Western banksters to join the European Union, Russia’s most important naval force
would have been effectively neutered because of the potential loss of Sevastopol as a
naval base. The G7 nations may view Putin’s actions in Crimea as being offensive,
Putin, no doubt, views the action as a matter of military survival. Again, the Heartland
Theory comes into play. The Heartland Theory also came into play during last year’s
Syrian crisis as Putin threatened to nuke the United States if it invaded Syria in violation
of international law. Syria is critical to the Russians on a number of fronts including the
prevalence of Syria’s warm water ports. Syria’s importance to Russia can be condensed
to five essential factors:

264
1. Russia has a naval installation in Syria. The base is vitally important because it is
Russia’s last foreign military base outside of the former Soviet Union. Putin is playing a
bit of a slight of hand approach by stating they are closing the facility. However, the
Russians are maintaining navy technicians and they service their permanent flotilla in
the area.

2. Russia utilizes the port at Aleppo and Tartus to facilitate its sea trade.

3. Fortifying Syria provides protection for Iran who is undermining the Petrodollar by
selling its oil for gold. This allows Putin to be engaged in an economic war against the
dollar and the Federal Reserve.

4. Syria is a military satellite of Russia as Assad continues to buy a high quantity of

Russian military exports, which aids the Russian economy.

America’s Options

Control of Ukraine and its gas shipments through the country is the key to swinging the
balance of power on the planet. If Ukraine comes under the complete control of the
Russians, energy blackmail and the eventual disintegration of NATO will occur. If Rus-
sia moves to take over Ukraine, what options does the United States have? It is not like-
ly that at this point in time that NATO has the ability to keep Russia out of Ukraine.
Where is Russia most vulnerable? The clear answer is in Syria. Syria has both econom-
ic and military significance to Russia. If Syria was to fall to the United States, the military
and economic loss would be catastrophic, not the least, would be the loss of Syrian
ports. Russia’s prudent course of action would be to continue to erode the US economy
by its relentless attacks upon the Federal Reserve and the Petrodollar. However I do
not foresee the Federal Reserve banksters are going to continue to let this happen as
the dollar erodes. Subsequently, when Ukraine falls, Syria and possibly Iran will be at-
tacked by the United States. The provocation will likely be a false flag event within the
United States in which the Syrians are falsely implicated. Remember the Heartland
Theory, it also predict the second front of the coming World War III. Along these lines,
Putin will attack Alaska if the United States attacks Syria. This is how a cold war can
turn hot in a hurry. If you do not believe me, just ask the Polish as they have begun mo-
bilizing for war. DHS just began a martial law lock down drill yesterday which will last for
nearly a month. Ask yourself, what do these people know that you do not? Again, I want
to caution people to stock up on supplies. If a false flag event does occur, your ability to
resupply could be seriously imperiled.

“That’s brilliant, when did you come up with that?”

“I didn’t. That an excerpt of a 2014 radio show, Dave Hodges, March 28, 2014 The
Common Sense Show. A friend e-mailed it to me and I went to the source and copied
that into a file titled, It is possible to make a reasonable prediction about where World
War III will break out based upon historical Russian military strategy.doc”

265
“I’d like to read it.”

“Here, take the copy I printed out. Add Laserjet toner cartridges to our list of things we
are looking for.”

266
 The Dome III – Chapter 29

All of Jerry and TOM’s stories were on the computer. In TOM’s case, it was almost like
having Wiki on the computer. I had done a search on the computer containing the sto-
ries and searched for ‘pounds of beef’. One of the stories with a hit was The Mag. TOM
had looked up meat consumption, probably on Wiki, and included it in that story.

The fact of the matter was that Jerry wrote better stories, in most respects. When it
came to what he liked, he had a lot in common with TOM. TOM went for the high priced
M1A Loaded, Mossberg 590A1 and a M1911 knockoff, the PT1911. We had them too,
the M1A Loaded, the PT1911 and the 590A1. The M1A Loaded was the least expensive
M14 clone with a match grade barrel and other match features. The PT1911 had the
features of our Kimber’s for $300 less. TOM admitted that the shotguns he’d owned the
most of were the ever popular Remington 870. He started out with an 870 in 12 gauge
and a second in 20 gauge. Next he bought a 20 inch barrel for his 12 gauge and had
the chamber reamed out to 3 inches.

Later, he bought a pair of 870s with 20 inch barrels but made the mistake of getting
blued actions rather than parkerized actions, which didn’t rust. Jerry was an H&K fan
and bought an affordable PTR91 and apparently for personal reasons a Remington 11-
87 and had a Poly-Choke installed. Everyone has their favorites and in my case it was
the Browning Hi-Power shooting 124 grain Speer Gold Dot +P ammo. I noticed in later
stories that TOM switched from recommending 230 grain Speer Gold Dot .45acp to the
200 grain Speer Gold Dot +P.

If the wind turbines couldn’t keep up with our electrical needs, the 50kw generators
would kick in so I wasn’t overly concerned on the reduced PV panel output. I got the
forklift and hauled a yard of fish covered with a plastic sheet to the Dome’s blast door
and radioed Ramón to get a bundle of the 1½ft³ U-Haul boxes and leave them in the air-
lock. When he radioed that boxes had been delivered along with a tape gun, we opened
the blast door and Ginger went in to assemble the boxes and when assembled opened
the blast door and tossed them through.

I loaded them and stacked them just outside the door we were using. When about ⅔
were loaded, I radioed her to open the door and stack them in the airlock. It almost
takes as long to explain it as it did to do it. We rinsed down with the decontamination
shower and called Ramón again to distribute the fish to the 3 shelters.

“More fish? Why can’t we have T-Bones?”

“Because we have the loins cut as New York Strips. The only T-Bones we cut are the
true Porterhouse steaks and there is only one on each side of beef. By the original defi-
nition, a true Porterhouse had no dividing bone between the filet and loin. Modern
butchers cut the big T-bones and call them Porterhouse steaks. A true Porterhouse has

267
no center bone and is very thick. They harken back to the day when butchers didn’t
have band saws to cut steaks and the Porterhouse was cut from between 2 T-bones
and the only bone was at the top.”

Author’s Note: When I was very young, I saw a butcher cutting pork chops using a
cleaver in a grocery store in Greene, Iowa. The description of the true Porterhouse was
provided by an US Air Force meat cutter and repeated to me by Hughie, who taught me
to cut meat. The former was the same individual who saw the change of command from
the Jupiter C missiles to the Polaris missiles in Turkey in 1962. All 5 George Washing-
ton class Polaris subs were in service during 1962 as were the Ethan Allen class Ethan
Allen and Sam Houston. The 3rd Ethan Allen class, 7 November 1962, didn’t depart on
its first patrol until 11/7/62 due to a collision with a US ship. The Ethan Allen class
George A. Marshall with a port call in İzmir, Turkey, in October, and she became the
first US FBM to visit a foreign port. The Thomas Jefferson made its first patrol beginning
in October 1963. The submarine remained in service until replaced by the Ohio class.
Additional classes were added before the Ohio class. 41 for Freedom refers to the US
Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines from the George Washington, Ethan Al-
len, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes.

In October 1959, the location of the third and final Jupiter MRBM squadron was settled
when a government-to-government agreement was signed with Turkey. The US and
Turkey concluded an agreement to deploy one Jupiter squadron on NATO's southern
flank. One squadron totaling 15 missiles was deployed at five sites near İzmir, Turkey
from 1961 to 1963, operated by USAF personnel, with the first flight of three Jupiter
missiles turned over to the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (Turkish Air Force) in late October
1962, but USAF personnel retaining control of nuclear warhead arming.

I guess I should have known for a fact that World War III would be started by Fleet Bal-
listic Missile Submarines. But then, one can never know the enemy’s mindset. The ad-
vantage of missile subs was the long range of the missiles coupled with a short fly time
if they were released closer to your shores.

“I’m going to check the greenhouse.”

“No you’re not, Ginger, you’ve had enough exposure for today.”

“I’ll wear my suit.”

“I don’t care if you wear a dress; you’re not checking the greenhouse.”

The greenhouse was accessible via tunnel. All the buildings except the drive-in freezer
were. Most, but not all buildings, had what amounted to a small basement, another of

268
Jerry’s ideas, later copied by TOM. The latter wasn’t bashful about adopting Jerry’s ide-
as or information from Wikipedia. Apparently the links he included in his stories were
mostly dead links by the time he published his CD because the links had been removed.
I could sense my statement put Ginger in a huff but I was right, even if she wouldn’t
admit it.

“You were right, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. I just don’t want you or anyone to get too much exposure to the radiation.
From the looks of the sky, about the only thing we’ll be growing is what we can produce
in the greenhouse and livestock. We’re going to need to limit the livestock growth due to
the amount of feed we have stored.”

“We have a lot of feed stored.”

“We have a lot of livestock, too. We’ll probably end up herding them from the barns to
the first Warehouse and slaughter them there since that’s where the meat cutting
equipment is located. Someone is going to get some exposure just moving the bacon
and hams to the outside smokehouse.”

“They’ll get exposed moving the livestock too.”

“Both the barns and the Warehouse have ramps to the tunnels. It was initially done to
allow pallets to be moved from the Warehouses to the shelters. Hank suggested adding
ramps from the barns to the tunnels so we could move livestock if the worst happened.”

“I feel bad about those 3 people.”

“Don’t, they were clearly trespassing.”

“The woman worked in the garden a long time ago, that’s why she seemed familiar.”

The TTAPS study focused on Nuclear Winter. Nuclear winter (also known as atomic
winter) is a hypothetical climatic effect of counter-value nuclear war. Models suggest
that detonating dozens or more nuclear weapons on cities prone to firestorm, compara-
ble to the Hiroshima city of 1945, could have a profound and severe effect on the cli-
mate causing cold weather and reduced sunlight for a period of months or even years
by the emission of large amounts of the firestorms smoke and soot into the Earth's
stratosphere.

Similar climatic effects are believed to have followed large comet and asteroid impacts
in the past, due to sulfate bearing rock being pulverized and lofted high into the air
combined with the ignition of multiple forest firestorms, which is sometimes termed an
impact winter and following a Super volcano eruption, pluming sulfate aerosols high into
the stratosphere, known as a volcanic winter.

269
The nuclear winter scenario assumes that if 100 or more city firestorms follow the nu-
clear explosions of a nuclear war, and the firestorms loft large enough amounts of sooty
smoke into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, soot lifted by the conveyor
belt offered by the pyro cumulonimbus clouds that form during a firestorm. At 10–15 kil-
ometers (6–9 miles) above the Earth's surface, the absorption of sunlight could further
heat the smoke, lifting some, or all of it, into the stratosphere, where the smoke could
persist for years, if there is no rain to wash it out. This aerosol of particles could block
out much of the sun's light from reaching the surface, with this causing surface tempera-
tures to drop drastically, and with that, it is predicted surface air temperatures would be
akin to, or colder than, a given region's winter, for years on end.

The exact timescale for how long this smoke remains, and thus how severely this
smoke affects the climate once it reaches the stratosphere, is dependent on both chem-
ical and physical removal processes.

The physical removal mechanisms affecting the timescale of smoke particle removal are
how quickly the aerosol particles coagulate, and fall out of the atmosphere via dry dep-
osition, and to a slower degree, the time it takes for solar radiation pressure to move the
particles to a lower level in the atmosphere. Whether by coagulation or radiation pres-
sure, once the aerosol of smoke particles are at this lower atmospheric level cloud
seeding can begin, permitting precipitation to wash the smoke aerosol out of the atmos-
phere by the wet deposition mechanism.

The chemical processes that affect the removal are dependent on the ability of atmos-
pheric chemistry to oxidize the smoke, via reactions with oxidative species such as
ozone and nitrogen oxides, both of which are found at all levels of the atmosphere. His-
torical data on residence times of aerosols, albeit a different mixture of aerosols, in this
case stratospheric sulfur aerosols and volcanic ash, from mega volcano eruptions, ap-
pear to be in the 1-2 year time scale. Aerosol atmosphere interactions are still poorly
understood.

Based on new work published in 2007 and 2008 by some of the authors of the original
studies, several new hypotheses have been put forth.

A minor nuclear war with each country using 50 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs as air-
bursts on urban areas could produce climate change unprecedented in recorded human
history. A nuclear war between the United States and Russia today could produce nu-
clear winter, with temperatures plunging below freezing in the summer in major agricul-
tural regions, threatening the food supply for most of the planet. The climatic effects of
the smoke from burning cities and industrial areas would last for several years, much
longer than previously thought. New climate model simulations, which are said to have
the capability of including the entire atmosphere and oceans, show that the smoke
would be lofted by solar heating to the upper stratosphere, where it would remain for
years.

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Compared to climate change for the past millennium, even the smallest exchange mod-
eled would plunge the planet into temperatures colder than the Little Ice Age (the period
of history between approximately AD 1600 and AD 1850). This would take effect in-
stantly, and agriculture would be severely threatened. Larger amounts of smoke would
produce larger climate changes, and for the 150 teragrams (Tg) case produce a true
nuclear winter (1 Tg is 1012 grams, one trillion grams), making agriculture impossible for
years. In both cases, new climate model simulations show that the effects would last for
more than a decade.

The source of the information was, naturally, Wikipedia and I’d copied it after the San
Diego nuke event. We were fairly certain this attack had been counter-value as evi-
denced by the hits on Phoenix and Tucson. The available evidence seemed to fit the
TTAPS study and more recent studies. We were possibly looking at 10 years, or longer,
before crops could be grown outside a greenhouse. The Tilapia would be dead due to
the cold except for the few we kept in tanks in one of the barns. (Prepare for the worst
and hope for the best.)

Until the radiation fell to an acceptable level, preferably 50mR/hr, we couldn’t occupy
the towers. That would probably occur in ~15½ months. Until then, we were caught be-
tween a rock and a hard spot. We were able to move around, but only underground.
The emergency exits for the shelters depended on the tunnel system. After the initial
use of pedestrian archways/underpasses, we changed the program and all tunnels were
7 feet high with a concrete foundation and floor and 7 feet wide. The bases were 20 feet
below ground level and had a protection factor over 10 million. Lessons learned the
hard way are easier to remember. We still have the original archways/underpasses,
stacked between the two Warehouses beyond the smokehouse, 3 layers deep.

Our greatest asset wasn’t the gold and silver in the vaults, the food in the Warehouses,
our livestock or our hardware. It was the land, all 3,840 acres. It was going to be a terri-
ble job recovering it when we got out but I’d guess we’d have it done before weather
permitted growing crops. No matter what we grew. We’d have tons of manure to incor-
porate and probably several tons of rotten fish. If I remember my history of early Ameri-
ca, Indians used fish for fertilizer. I was never able to confirm that with Wikipedia. What
made more sense was that the Indians ate the fish and used the leftover flesh, skin and
bones for fertilizer.

We’re 9½ weeks into a probable 15½ month stay waiting for the radiation to fall to
50mR/hr. We would depend on our AMP devices in lieu of the spreadsheet. We never
asked TOM for it. A version was included on his CD and another version of it on Jerry’s
CD. Plant 42 was a logical target because Lockheed’s Skunk Works was there and a
warhead for Los Angeles could have been easily diverted there.

The fifteen months weren’t all pleasant due to the staff being cooped up in the shelters.
From time to time, tempers wore thin, arguments developed and a rare fistfight oc-
curred. Ramón had to settle the disputes because he had the most experience. Ginger
and I were only brought in once to threaten an employee with banishment. He was hot

271
and probably would have said, take your job and shove it. Fortunately the head of the
family, his wife, stopped him simply by telling him to sit down and shut up… or else.

He might have made it, we were 218 days into the stay and the outside radiation level
was 119mR/hr. I have no idea what she had in mind with or else but Ginger hinted that
she was probably threatening to use a woman’s ultimate weapon, withholding sex. The
shelters had individual bedrooms for the adults and dorms for the teens and younger
children.

“Do you think anyone in Eloy survived?”

“Cal, I believe that some must have survived. Several of the women that helped early on
asked a lot of questions about our various building projects. They actually witnessed
some of the projects in the construction phase and I explained about radiation shielding
much as I did with you. I’m certain that after the San Diego nuke event, some who
hadn’t taken it to heart did so. Some had constructed a Kearney shelter when the news
of the San Diego nuke broke. I’m quite certain that those families had a stocked shelter
by the time the news of the Comet broke.”

“The 3 bodies…”

“She had been listening when I gave those explanations and was very skeptical, claim-
ing it could never happen. She asked for a tour of the Dome and I declined, saying the
house was a mess.”

“What, you missed a dust mite?”

“No; it wasn’t any of her business what the inside looked like. Her husband worked for
one of the cotton farmers in the area.”

“Most of the employees and their families have seen the inside of the Dome.”

“And none of the people from Eloy. The only outsiders that have seen the inside are the
out-of-town contractors. Despite the amount of food we have, we’re going to be very re-
served on how much we distribute. We won’t have to go around looking for others until
we can do an outside garden. Starting the field crops like corn, oats, barley, wheat,
beans and rice should come in the same time frame.”

“That could take 10 years.”

“So? We have food for 30.”

“And, ammo for World War 20.”

“You know, I expect Andy to eventually show up, given the weather and the overcast.”

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“How’s your Mom doing?”

“According to Andy and Sheree she wasn’t doing well. I sure wish the farm wasn’t so
close to St. Louis.”

“Its west of St. Louis isn’t?”

“It’s southwest, Sullivan, east southeast of Whiteman Air Force Base. They could get
radiation from Kansas City or Whiteman depending on the wind.”

“We could get radiation from Phoenix, Tucson, Palo Verde, San Onofre, Los Angeles,
Palmdale, Edwards Air Force Base and Diablo Canyon.”

“That’s so far. I think our greatest concern would be the amount soot a city like Los An-
geles could generate.”

“Based on what we saw on our outing and a follow-up study to TTAPS, you’re probably
right. The later study indicated that if an enemy stuck counter-value targets, the atmos-
phere might not clear for years. Yes, I read it at Wikipedia and have a copy.”

“Don’t you just love those 3 terabyte drives?”

“Ok folks we’re at 242 days and the outside radiation level is 104mR/hr. The adults will
be allowed out for up to 4 hours with a caution. Don’t go out if you plan to have more
children. Children will be allowed their first outing at approximately 432 days when the
radiation level is expected to reach 50mR/hr. 131Iodine has a half-life of 8 days and we
shouldn’t need KIO3. We have adequate supplies available if anyone wishes to take it
and anyone spending more than 4 hours outside will take it.

“The first order of business will be cleaning the guard towers and staffing them with ro-
tation of 4 on and 20 off. The second order of business will be decontamination of the
Homestead and enough ground to let the livestock out. Hank and Ramón will have in-
structions after they meet with Ginger and me.”

“Hank, what have you been doing with the manure and bedding?”

“We’ve been hauling it out using loader buckets and piling it.”

“Big pile?”

“You have no idea, Cal.”

“We haven’t been out. How much has the sky lightened?”

273
“Very little according to the hands cleaning barns. At least no sunshine has made it
through the overcast. It’s only a few degrees warmer.”

“Ramón, use your reserve security forces to hose down the towers and check them for
radiation. There are electric heaters in the new Warehouse we bought to heat the tow-
ers. At the moment, forget the Gatling guns and just use the M2A1, Mk 19s and
M240Bs plus their personal arms.

“Later we’ll run the net the length of the canal and remove the dead Tilapia, adding
them to the manure. We should probably do the pond first to estimate the difficulty of
the task. Keep in mind that those time limits I specified are carved in granite. I really
must insist that no one gets more than 4 hours of exposure at 104mR/hr and 8 hours
exposure at 50mR/hr. I simply don’t have enough information about cumulative radiation
doses to risk everyone’s lives on higher exposure levels. And Ramón, the four hours
includes travel times so figure accordingly.”

“Does that apply to us too, Cal?”

“Yes, Hank, it applies to everyone. If some of the wives want to help Ginger in the
greenhouse, we can get it cleaned up and start new plants. The wind turbines and PV
panels generated most of the electricity needed and the generators only kicked in a few
times to help charge the batteries so we should be good on propane for the moment.
The diesel tanks were refilled early on June 20, 2020, 2 days before the war. Ginger,
did you find another biodiesel producer?”

“Sure didn’t.”

“That will give fuel recovery a higher priority. If it stays darker than normal for very long,
nobody will be growing crops. How many engine rebuilds do we have for the genera-
tors?”

“Four with two alternator heads each, plus a slew of parts and filters for 10 or more
years.”

“Oil?”

“Generator oil is Castrol 15w-40 and we have 5,500 gallons, 100 55 gallon drums. We
also have the various lubricants the farm equipment uses in very large multiples. At
least as much as, if not more than, the generator oil; just like you told me Cal.”

“I told you, Hank?”

“Don’t you remember, Cal?”

“Nope; I guess I must be getting old.”

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“Not really, Cal; you just have too much on your mind. I did it when you started replacing
batteries and had to order everything in because the distributors didn’t have the quantity
I wanted on hand. I got a good volume discount too.”

“It was delivered around the time I gave you the chill pill honey. You were so worried
about the small details that I looked after the big details, like the extra ammo and the
stallions. Ramón probably exhausted his ammo contacts.”

“What did you get, Ramón?”

“I got more of everything including the Remington .45-70-405. He said that when they
shipped it to us they actually had enough for 2½ truckloads and they hadn’t produced
anymore .45-70-405 since. I could have what they had for 89¢ a round if I paid the
freight, so I bought it and paid the freight. I stored it in the new pole building with the first
2 truckloads.”

“I think that should cover us on .45-70-405.”

“You instructed me not to get more, but Ginger didn’t, so I did.”

“The freight wasn’t that much honey.”

“What else did you get?”

“Two and one half truckloads of Remington full power .45 Colt.”

“I didn’t know they loaded that.”

“Neither did I Cal, but they were one hell of a lot cheaper than Buffalo Bore. Came to
89¢ a round plus freight. Buffalo Bore goes for 2 bucks a round plus freight unless you
buy 12 boxes. They pay the freight if you buy 12 boxes or more.”

“We’ll still have ammo at the end of the tribulation.”

“Are you regular Methodists, Evangelical Methodists or Wesleyan Methodists?”

“United Methodist Church Ramón, regular Methodists. The United Methodist Church
(UMC) was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the Evangelical United
Brethren Church (EUB) and The Methodist Church. The former church had resulted
from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage; however there was no
longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The latter church was a
result of union between the Methodist Protestant Church and the northern and southern
factions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The merged church had approximately 9
million members as of the late 1990s. While United Methodist Church in America mem-
bership has been declining, associated groups in developing countries are growing rap-
idly. You’re Roman Catholic, right?”

275
“Well, yeah; what about it?”

“Nothing, probably 70 percent of the farm hands and vaqueros are Roman Catholics. I
don’t believe we have any Jews. Any Jew willing to work as hard as we do on the ranch
probably moved to Israel. None of the hands has ever refused to work on Shabbat.”

“Huh?”

“Sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night.”

“Is that absolute?”

“Well, the timing is for 99.99 percent of the Jews around the world. The amount of work
done on Shabbat varies among various Jewish sects. I’ll hire anyone except a Muslim.”

“That’s discrimination.”

“It’s The Foster Doctrine.”

“What’s that?”

“Ginger has a copy of the e-mail on her computer.”

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 The Dome III – Chapter 30

“Apparently Ramón had never seen her e-mail. He agreed with the sentiment and main-
tained that it was still discriminatory.”

“Of course it is. I believe that Americans have many prejudices and some of them date
back to the founding of the nation. When the consensus changed, they amended the
Constitution. The Civil War ended in 1865, 155 years ago, and you’ll still find Johnny
Rebs south of the Mason Dixon Line. You’ll probably find a few north of the Mason Dix-
on Line, too.

“What most people refer to the Stars and Bars was actually The Second Confederate
Navy Jack, 1863 – 1865. There may be one good thing come out of World War Three,
no more Méxicans’ sneaking across the border. Since the majority of our staff is Hispan-
ic or Latino, it should be obvious that I don’t mind folks who originated in México. Arizo-
na used to be part of México. On the 2010 US Census, question 8 asked:

Is the person of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano
Yes, Puerto Rican
Yes, Cuban
Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin – Print origin, for example, Argen-
tinean, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and so on.”

“So are they Hispanic or Latino?”

“All that I know is that they’re employees. They may speak Spanish at home, but all are
fluent in English. They’ve been American long enough that Machismo doesn’t seem to
be much of a problem. I liked to croak when she told him to sit down and shut up… or
else.”

“He’s maybe 5 foot 9 and 150 pounds and she can’t be over 5 foot 2 and I guess 140
pounds?”

“I think her BMI is probably over 25. When they’re Señoritas, they have a figure to die
for and when they become Señoras and have 2 or 3 kids most of the women seem to
hold the weight.”

“I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight in 5 months after James. Kathleen and Jennifer
took longer because I had to let the incision heal before I could add exercise to com-
plement my diet.

“When they removed my uterus, the doctor left my ovaries because current medical
thinking is that the advantages out weighted the risk of ovarian cancer. My uterus had

277
just about ruptured by the time I was rolled into the ER. Of course, the decision was the
doctor’s because I was unconscious.”

“In the old days, they wouldn’t have removed your uterus without consulting the family,
specifically the husband. That caused problems for many Roman Catholics. Do you re-
gret that?”

“No, Cal, we have a son for you to spoil and 2 girls for me to spoil.”

“Actually I believe it is tossup which of us spoils James more, you or me. Kathleen and
Jennifer are Daddy’s little girls.”

“Not so little, Daddy.”

James had been born in 2012 and the twins in 2013, making them 8 and 7 respectively.
As far as I was concerned they would be Daddy’s little girls until I saw Ginger taking Al-
ways, Tampax and panty liners to their bathrooms. After that, they would be Daddy’s big
girls. I was guessing that it would be 6 or 7 years before that happened. It was likely
we’d be well into the post-war recovery waiting for the sun to shine through the clouds.

Final exit from the shelter came 462 days after we entered. We entered on June 22,
2020 and exited fulltime on September 27, 2021 and baby, was it cold outside! We had
security out from the day after the radiation level fell to 104mR/hr but everyone was lim-
ited to 416mR/day total. The same applied to the cleanup of the homestead and clean-
up of a spot for the livestock. If I were to speculate, I’d say that the stink in the barns
might be gone by the time we got sunlight.

“This is the gate, Red Alert!”

“Whatcha got?”

“I’d say about 30 to 35 people.”

“Armed?”

“Affirm.”

“Ramón, turn out half the part time security troops and man the front wall.”

“10-4; you do realize that they will be spread thin.”

“What’s the range of the machineguns?”

“Ok, never mind.”

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Ramón was a 20 year man with 14 of those years as a member of the Arizona National
Guard, while I never spent one day in the military. Kind of made me wonder. The effec-
tive range of M240B is 1,800 meters on a tripod; the M2A1 is the same 1,800 meters
and the Mk 19 Mod 3 is 1,400 meters. Two miles is ~3,219 meters and half of 3,219 me-
ters is 1,609 meters. The Mk 19 wouldn’t quite reach, but we could loft the grenades as
suppressing fire.

“What do you want?”

“Let us in.”

“Nope. Answer the question.”

“Food. You have some and we want it.”

“Yeah, and the people in Hell want ice water.”

“If you don’t give it up we’ll take it.”

“Un-huh. Check the guard towers on both sides of the gate.”

“What am I looking for?”

“There are 4 security people in each tower and you should look for a Ma Deuce, an Mk
19 Mod 3 and a M240B.”

“How’d you get those?”

“It doesn’t matter; what’s important is for you to remember we have them.”

“Is that all you have?”

“Nope. Do you know what M242 Bushmaster is?”

“It’s a 25mm machinegun.”

“Right with a range of 3,000 meters. The LAV-25AD has 8 Stinger missiles and a GAU-
12 Equalizer 25 mm 5-barreled Gatling cannon and the LAV-25AT has TOW missiles
launched from an M220 launcher. It carries a total of 16 TOW missiles, and 1,000
rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition for the M240 machinegun.”

“I’ll be back.”

I shot him right where he stood. Arnold always said “I’ll be back” and he always came
back. It was cheap ammo, Lake City M80 overruns.

279
“You killed him.”

“You heard him; he said ‘I’ll be back.’ It didn’t make sense to me to allow that.”

They tuned and left, taking the body with them. I counted them as they left and there
were 26 of them including the dead man.

“Ramón, teach your staff how to count how large a crowd of people is. It doesn’t make
sense to pull people off their jobs unless it’s a large crowd; at least when we’re the only
people with machineguns.”

“I screwed up, Cal. We should have taken some of the M224A1 mortar systems.”

“How big is that?”

“Sixty millimeters. It was the latest thing around 2010. It was lightweight compared to
the M224 system. I found the bunker with the 60mm mortar bombs, but it didn’t dawn on
me at the time we’d need mortars.”

“Range?”

“It depends on the round, close to 3,500 meters or about 3,800 yards.”

“Make a note and if we’re ever in the Flagstaff area, we can check Camp Navajo; which
brings me to the unpleasant subject of salvage. Our basic needs are covered for years
except for fuel and the different equipment we’ll need to switch from alfalfa as are pri-
mary crop to growing food for other survivors. We’ve already had a taste of what some
of the locals will do. I doubt we’ve heard the last of them. I believe that we can expect
the random survivor or two from Phoenix and Tucson.

“What I don’t know is what to expect them to have for weapons, presuming they’re
armed. Most will be looking for food and are bound to hear our livestock making typical
livestock sounds; you know what I mean. We’ll present the picture of being well nour-
ished simply because we will be well nourished. Some could be like that hothead earlier
and some may offer to work for food. I intend to handle the hotheads in same manner
as I did earlier and since we’ll need all the labor we can get, bring aboard anyone who
offers to work.

“Our first salvage operation will be a trip to Tucson and points between here and there.
On the subject of fuels, we want #1 and #2 diesel, kerosene, gasoline and propane.
We’ll also need more of PRI stabilizers we’re currently using. On the subject of farm
equipment, we’ll need tractors, plows, disk harrows, rototillers if available and spring
harrows or drags to prepare the soil. We’re also going to need broadcast planters for
grass and drills for the other crops. We went through this once before with Yellowstone
and a second time with the San Diego nuke. As most of you will no doubt recall, we
contracted the preparation of the soil for use. That contractor used 5 very large four

280
wheel drive John Deere tractors pulling 10-bottom plows, tandem disks and finally
drags.

“We’ll need the same equipment in the same quantity if we can locate it. Ginger sam-
pled the soil and the radiation levels were only slightly above background levels for this
area. Consequently, I’m not inclined to get road graders and remove any soil. We’ve
built the natural sand and clay into a respectable layer of loam and I don’t see the wis-
dom in discarding it. Besides, consider the pile of soil we’d create scraping nearly 3,800
acres of land.

“Hank and Ramón will be in charge of acquiring the farm equipment and the fuels, re-
spectively. Military weapons will be carried and one LAV-25A1 will accompany each
group. We’d better plan on each group towing a 500 gallon trailer of diesel fuel. Hank,
you’ll need flatbeds for the equipment so only take the semi-tractors and locate the flat-
beds. Ramón, you’ll get tankers which we don’t have so it’s only semi-tractors for you
too. Let’s get on it folks. Remember, the maximum allowable dose is 1.25R/day but for
this, you can slip it up to 2R/day.”

“Ginger, I have a terrible headache, got something strong?”

“Yes. You can have it after I check you over. Here, take your blood sugar level while I
get the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. Well, your blood sugar is normal at 100.
Your blood pressure is 148 over 88 with a pulse of 104. Let me check your eyes; equal
and reactive. Here, take this and tell me if it doesn’t go away.”

“What is it?”

“Hydrocodone/APAP 10/325.”

“In English.”

“Strong Vicodin with limited Tylenol. You should lie down and let it work because it may
cause drowsiness. Do you have a history of high blood pressure?”

“Not that I know of.”

“It might be a stress reaction to shooting that guy. I’m curious; why did you shoot him?”

“He said, ‘I’ll be back’ and I believed him. Arnold always came back so I decided to nip it
in the bud (to put an end to something before it develops into something larger).”

It sounded like good advice so I went to our bedroom, undressed and crawled between
the sheets. They were cool and relaxing, and I must have dozed off.

“Cal, wake up.”

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“Huh? I must have fallen asleep.”

“Clear out the cobwebs, sleepyhead, supper is getting ready.”

“What did you fix?”

“We’re having prawns, Caesar salad, filet mignons, baked potatoes and cherry pie à la
mode with homemade ice cream for dessert; plus one of the good bottles of Merlot.”

“Is there time for me to get a shower?”

“Plenty of time; I just put the potatoes in the oven.”

It had been a while since we’d had one of the special meals. The price of prawns had
gone through the roof and that bottle of Merlot would have been a vintage year if it were
champagne. (Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the
finished product). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily,
grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality,
as in Port wine, where Port houses make and declare vintage Port in their best years.
From this tradition, a common, though incorrect, usage applies the term to any wine that
is perceived to be particularly old or of a particularly high quality.

I showered and shaved, dressing in a nice dress shirt, one of my pairs of wool dress
slacks in tan and added my blue blazer. No tie. When I came down, Ginger said the po-
tatoes were 25 minutes out and to time the filets accordingly. I noticed that our kids
were absent. There were chopped chives, butter and sour cream potato toppings. The
warm rolls were homemade. The salads were in the refrigerator, needing only dressing.
I pre-heated the countertop gas grill and was just ready to turn the filets when Ginger
returned.

“Seven minutes plus resting time out.”

“Good, I’ll get the salads out. Sorry, but the dressing is the bottled stuff from the store.”

“It doesn’t matter. In fact I rather like the factory stuff. Why don’t you just put the bottle
on the table and we can dress our salads individually? I didn’t see the prawns.”

“I was out of room and they’re in the small refrigerator for the bar. I’ll get them.”

When she returned, I had the potatoes resting in a basket to keep them warm and the
filets in the oven resting. We started with the prawn cocktail and Caesar salads. When 5
minutes had elapsed, I pulled the warm plates from the oven and added the potatoes,
cutting each but not opening them. It was an enjoyable meal, but filling.

“I don’t really have room for cherry pie à la mode.”

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“I know what you mean; it will keep.”

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I let you guess what the alternate dessert
was. In fact, we both slept in the next morning. After a leisurely breakfast, Ginger went
to collect James, Kathleen and Jennifer. (The 3 are always listed in the order of their
births.)

“Cal, there was a radio call for Ginger on 40 meters. He said he’d call back at 2100
hours UCT.”

“Did you get a name?”

“Andy.”

“From Missouri?”

“Yes. He said they had a place in the Ozarks and he wanted to talk to Ginger about
coming out here.”

“Andy is Ginger’s brother, Ramón.”

“Then her mother should be coming back here?”

“I would presume so. Do you have any idea where we could find a triple wide with a de-
sert package?”

“Of the top of my head, Phoenix or possibly Tucson.”

“You didn’t go with your people?”

“We talked it over and the consensus was that I should stay here and coordinate my two
teams. They’ll be staying together as much as possible but I sent an M1114 with a
M2A1 mounted.”

“Ok, it’s your decision and you probably know what will work best with the people you
sent. I’ll tell Ginger about Andy calling and she’ll be standing by the radio at 2100 UCT.
Write down the frequency for her.”

“I did that earlier; here you go.”

“Thanks, Ramón.”

I suspected there was more to the story about Ramón staying behind and it had nothing
to do with avoiding action. Conversely, it probably had everything to do with him saying
‘I screwed up’. In his story Paradise, FlightER Doc got 25mm ammo for their LAV-25s

283
from Camp Navajo, the same as we’d done, if I recall correctly. Doc got to meet Dubya
but I wasn’t interested in going to Paraguay.

In an aside, let me ask you something. What did Junior have in common with senior be-
sides a family relationship and the same first names? After each was out of the Oval Of-
fice, neither of them sought headlines and more specifically avoided them most of the
time. Senior got together with Clinton and worked to raise money for those suffering
from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. US President George W. Bush donated $16,000 from
his personal funds; the city of Fargo, North Dakota gave $10,000 of taxpayer money;
and motorists in Chattanooga, Tennessee have been allowed to donate money to the
relief effort in place of paying for traffic citations. President Bush also called for a na-
tionwide fundraising drive, headed by former US Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill
Clinton, and ordered American flags to fly at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the vic-
tims of the Indian Ocean Earthquake and the resulting Tsunamis”.

After Obama took office, Senior seemed to be devoting his time to growing old and Jun-
ior became a painter. No not houses, the other kind of painter. Bush appeared on NBC's
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 19, 2013, along with the former First
Lady. When asked by Leno why he does not comment publicly about the Obama ad-
ministration, Bush said, “I don’t think it’s good for the country to have a former president
criticize his successor.”

At President Obama's request, Junior and Bill Clinton established the Clinton Bush Haiti
Fund to raise contributions for relief and recovery efforts following the 2010 Haiti earth-
quake earlier in January.

On May 2, 2011, President Obama called Bush, who was at a restaurant with his wife;
to inform him that Osama bin Laden had been killed. The Bushes joined the Obamas in
New York City to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist at-
tacks. At the Ground Zero memorial, Bush read a letter that President Abraham Lincoln
wrote to a widow who lost five sons during the Civil War. He’s a class act, like his father.

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant Gen-
eral of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on
the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should
attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain
from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they
died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your be-
reavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the

284
solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of free-
dom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

“Andy radioed from the Ozarks and will contact you on this frequency at 2100 UCT. He
wants to talk to you about coming out here. I think Ramón is up to something. He said
he screwed up by not getting us 60mm mortars. Apparently the military came out with a
lightweight version of the M224 called the M224A1 mortar system and it has an in-
creased range with certain projectiles which are called bombs.”

“I’ll be standing by the radio for Andy’s call. What time is 2100 UCT in Arizona time?”

“Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone and is UCT -7. As you know, we don’t observe
Daylight Saving Time, with the exception of that the Navajo Indian Reservation, which
extends into two adjacent states, Utah and New Mexico, does observe daylight saving
time. The Hopi Reservation, which is entirely within the state of Arizona and is an en-
clave of the Navajo Indian Reservation, does not observe DST. The answer is 21 – 7 =
14 or 2pm.”

“Missouri observes Daylight Saving Time; or they did before the war. I suppose that’s
why Andy used UCT or GMT to establish the time of the call. Excuse me while I set the
radio to this frequency you gave me.”

It didn’t take Ginger long to go to my den/study, reset the frequency and turn the volume
up so she could hear on most of the first floor. Promptly at 2100 UTC, the radio broke
squelch and I heard Andy’s voice. I couldn’t help from overhearing and it was both a
happy call and a mournful call. They had sufficient fuel to make the trip in his Suburban
with the Cummins 6BT engine pulling a travel trailer. They expected to drive straight
through, pausing only for rest stops (bathroom breaks/refueling) and to switch drivers.
The 2 children would be riding in the travel trailer instead of the Suburban (don’t get
caught). The children were Robert (Bob) age 14 and Cynthia (Cindy) age 12. We could
put them up in the Dome long enough to locate, haul and assemble a triple wide.

The Lipizzan breed suffered a setback to its population when a viral epidemic hit the
Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and eight percent of the expected foal crop were lost.
Since then, the population at the stud has increased, with 100 mares at the stud as of
1994 and a foal crop of 56 born in 1993. In 1994, the pregnancy return increased from
27% to 82% as the result of a new veterinary center.

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Today, though found in many nations throughout Europe and North America, the breed
is relatively rare, with only about 3,000 horses registered worldwide. The number of
foals born each year is small, and breeders take extreme care to preserve the purity of
the breed. Educational programs have been developed in order to promote the breed
and foster adherence to traditional breeding objectives. The Lipizzan today competes
successfully in dressage and driving, as well as retaining their classic position at the
Spanish Riding School.

Because of the status of Lipizzans as the only breed of horse developed in Slovenia, via
the Lipica stud, Lipizzans are recognized in Slovenia as a national animal. For example,
a pair of Lipizzans is featured on the 20-cent Slovenian euro coins. Mounted regiments
of Carabinieri police in Italy also employ the Lipizzan as one of their mounts. In October
2008, during a visit to Slovenia, a Lipizzan at Lipica, named 085 Favory Canissa XXII,
was given to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. She decided to leave the ani-
mal in the care of the stud farm.

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 The Dome III – Chapter 31

“I meant to tell you, Cal that I ran across a Lipizzaner stud and 3 mares. There are so
few around the world, I decided to buy them. I mean, who else has radiation proof
barns?”

“Expensive?”

“Don’t ask.”

“I just did; how much?”

“The stallion was 18 ounces and the mares 12 ounces.”

“Ounces of what?”

“Gold of course. You can’t even buy the tack for 18 ounces of silver.”

“Did you get tack, too?”

“Yeah, but its plain black; I got everything too, saddle bags, pommel bags, breast col-
lars, second cinches and rifle scabbards.”

“So you spent 30 ounces of gold?”

“No, I spend 54 ounces of gold. The mares were 12 ounces each, not 12 ounces alto-
gether.”

“Are they with foal?”

“Yeah, out of a different stud. That’s why they cost so much.”

“Gold must be running $3,000 or more per ounce. You paid $162,000 for 4 horses?”

“That was before the war and gold was running about $1,800 an ounce so I only paid
$97,200, including the tack.”

“Regardless of the price of gold… 54 ounces?”

“I had more than that when we got married.”

“Yes, you did. We have Barbs, Andalusians and Lipizzaner horses plus close to 200
Quarter Horse stock horses. Are you done yet?”

“We don’t have any draft or dray horses. We don’t have any carriage horses.”

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“We don’t have carriages either nor horse drawn farm equipment.”

“We will probably end up with both. Do you really think you can find 5 large John Deere
4 wheel drive tractors and 5 10-bottom pull type plows in Arizona?”

“Hank is looking.”

“I think that it is likely that the large 4 wheel drive John Deere tractors, the 10-bottom
plows, large tandem disk harrows and such are most likely special order from the Wa-
terloo Works or other plants.”

“Why other plants?”

“They built the tractors in Waterloo. The corporate headquarters was in Moline, Illinois.”

“Past tense?”

“You said the strike was counter-value. John Deere is one of the largest, if not the larg-
est, farm equipment manufacturers. Waterloo would be a logical counter-value target.”

“So where do we get draft horses?”

“From the Amish.”

“And carriage horses?”

“From a Morgan breeder.”

“Are there any Amish in Arizona?”

“I don’t really know. There should be Morgan breeders if we can find them. We’d proba-
bly have to ask the breeder where find carriages. We could get hunter or racing type
Quarter horses to pull carriages if all else fails.”

Yes, there is an Amish community in Phoenix. They mostly live in a couple of little
pockets of the area known as “Sunnyslope” and are for the most part just snowbirds,
here for the winter just like so many other people. I do not think there are any old order
Amish but they are Amish none the less. They wear the traditional clothing and do not
own cars, and you will see them riding bicycles or walking. They take cabs if they need
to go far. Their housing is provided by Mennonites who own a small trailer park in
“Sunnyslope” and a street of houses, they are equipped with cooling, heating and light-
ing but the Amish are just renting these homes for the winter and it is acceptable to
them to use the amenities. Some of them are here for health reasons as well.

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Unfortunately there is no true Amish society in Arizona, the group that lives here does
not farm or really truly follow the Amish ways. Some are very wealthy. They just find
ways to operate their business that seem to edge around their rules.

The answer was probably no because the war happened on June 22, 2020. Snowbirds
generally are in Phoenix from about October through April or May.

Andy, Sheree and the kids showed up about 30 hours after the radio call. Ginger had a
million questions starting with what happened to Alice followed by what happened to the
farm and then questions about the Ozarks. The travel trailer and the Suburban were
packed with clothes, weapons, ammo, mementos and food. Andy, Sheree and the kids
were exhausted and after a quick bite to eat, showered and fell into bed. Despite her
curiosity, Ginger held off an asking those questions until they got caught up on their
rest.

“Mom held on after Dad’s death for a long time Ginger, but every day that passed, she
seemed to withdraw just a little more. By January of 2020, she seemed to come out of it
finally and was more her old self. When the announcements of missiles in the air came,
we believe she had a stroke. She really needed to be in a hospital in St. Louis but that
was out of the question and the five of us finished packing the travel trailer, filled the fuel
trailer and headed for a piece of property I bought in the Ozarks with a good cave that
we’d pre-stocked.

“She passed on the trip down and we buried her on the Ozark property. Anyway, people
were running around like chickens with their heads cut off and we were lucky to make it
to the property. We didn’t get a lot of radiation in the area, just lucky I guess, and we
just hunkered down until the ham net indicated we could probably make it here without
a lot of problems. I heard that the farm got a fairly large dose of radiation, probably from
an off target warhead aimed at St. Louis.

“That pretty much left your ranch as our alternate bug out location. Since they were hit-
ting cities instead of military installations, I speculated that Phoenix and Tucson were
likely targets. With that in mind, we waited until we could make the trip without running
into high radiation areas. That meant circumventing cities like Albuquerque, etc. Once
we had a route laid out, I got on 40 meters and tried to raise you. One day I got lucky
and talked to some guy named Ramón who said he was your Chief of Security. I guess
you know what happened after that.

“I thought you grew alfalfa, not livestock”

“Andy, Alfalfa was our principal crop and generated over $15 million a year. We were
prepared to convert to wheat, corn, oats, barley, beans and rice. We’ve been accumu-
lating heirloom seeds for all those crops and the plan is to convert a major portion of our

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crops from alfalfa to food crops. That’s going to be more labor intensive and our hope
was to get the Eloy survivors to help in the production.

“So far we’ve had 2 attempts to take the food by force of arms and we’re uncertain
whether we can accomplish that. I assume you noticed the canal around the property to
discourage attempts to steal food. The outer wall of the berm is coated in sodium ben-
tonite with becomes slimy when wet. Our 8 guard towers can turn on the water and
make the berm impenetrable.”

“Fixed fortifications are monuments to man’s stupidity.”

“George Smith Patton, Junior. Patton was wrong, in a way. The German’s couldn’t get
through the Maginot Line so they simply went around it. France had completed their
portion of the defensive barrier but Belgium hadn’t. The German’s attacked Belgium and
punched through in no time at all.

“The World War II German invasion plan of 1940 was designed to deal with the line. A
decoy force sat opposite the line while a second Army Group cut through the Low Coun-
tries of Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as through the Ardennes Forest, which lay
north of the main French defenses. Thus the Germans were able to avoid a direct as-
sault on the Maginot Line by violating the neutrality of Belgium, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands. Attacking on 10 May, German forces were well into France within five days
and they continued to advance until 24 May, when they stopped near Dunkirk.”

“How long is the berm?”

“It’s approximately 10 miles long. We have 8 guard towers and the greatest distance be-
tween any of the towers in 1½ miles. The towers are equipped with an Mk 19 Mod 3, an
M2A1 and a M240B. They also contain Javelin missiles, M136 AT-4 and M72A7 LAW
rockets. The staff also has their individual weapons as a backup and a reproduction
1877 Bulldog Gatling Gun in .45-70.”

“Hand grenades… that sort of thing.”

“Yes, we have a whole lot and a wide assortment of 40mm grenades for the launchers
on the H&K rifles.”

“Tanks?”

“Nope. But we do have 4 LAV-25s in various configurations.”

“They have the 25mm chain gun?”

“All but one. It’s equipped with Stinger missiles and a General Dynamics GAU-12 Equal-
izer 25 mm 5-barreled Gatling cannon. We were lucky to find that version because the
Marine Corps discontinued use of the LAV-25AD at some time in the past.”

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“You have an armed camp!”

“Andy, you have no idea how well armed this ranch is.”

“Ok, I believe you, but why?”

“Have you ever heard expression, would you rather have it and not need it, or need it
and not have it?

“Certainly.”

“The bottom line is we have everything we could think of. Your sister even added a Li-
pizzaner Stallion and 3 mares with foal, out of a different stud. We’re running just short
of 300 head of horses, 120 head of Black Angus cows with 2 additional non-related
Bulls and 120 head of sows with 2 additional non-related boars.”

“What kind of horses?”

“We have Quarter Horse stock horses, Moroccan Barbs, Andalusians and 4 Lipizzaner.
We need carriage horses and Draft horses according to Ginger.”

“Why?”

“We have 6 sections of ground. Ginger suggested that we’d be unlikely to find the large
John Deere 4 wheel drive tractors, 10-bottom plows, tandem disc harrows and the like.”

“She’s probably right. They hit Waterloo and the Quad Cities.”

“How do you know that?”

“We got our news from the same place you probably do, the ham net. Most everything
north of I-70 has snow and the further north you go, the deeper it becomes.”

“So, do you think we’ll need to use horses to farm?”

“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised. Do your have any idea where to get carriage
horses?”

“Frankly no.”

“The Morgan is a great carriage horse but so is the Quarter Horse and you probably
have enough due to your breeding program to select several to train to both harness
and saddle. As far as draft horses, I’d recommend Percheron or Belgians simply be-
cause of availability.”

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“Ginger and I discussed that and there aren’t any Amish in Arizona except for snow-
birds.”

“That’s one point against Belgians with the other being there are but a few Belgian
breeders in the whole country. There are far more Percheron breeders.”

“Farming with horses would seem to me to be a massive undertaking.”

“Oh, it would be. The typical horse farmer in the Midwest was lucky to farm a quarter-
section with a single team. The Amish generally get together with all their teams and do
one farm at a time. Once you get the gardens plowed, I believe that you could get by
just disking them. And, assuming you plant alfalfa you also need to include timothy for
draft horses. If you use a single bottom walking plow, your quarter horses can pull them
once they’re trained to harness. That way, you won’t have to look for draft horses.”

“Andy seemed to think that we could get by with the quarter horses we have if we train
them to harness. He said something about a single bottom walking plow.”

“You’ve seen them in movies and probably on TV show reruns. The guy walking behind
his horse or team of 2 horses plowing one furrow at a time. We have enough of the
stock Quarter Horses that our only limitation would be how many plows we could find.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong. You said anything I missed can be fabricated.”

“I said that, yes.”

“Please fabricate us 90 single bottom walking plows.”

“Ok, will do. It will take a while but you’ll have your single bottom walking plows.”

“Hank I need a favor.”

“What can I do for you Ginger?”

“I take it you didn’t find any large John Deere 4 wheel drive tractors.”

“We didn’t; I assume that they’re special order for places like Arizona.”

“Did you find any plows?”

“We found lots of plows but no pull type 10-bottom plows.”

“Good, here’s what I’d like. Bring back all the plows you can find, regardless of size. We
have all that equipment in the machine shed and should be able to remove the coulter,

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moldboard and share and fabricate single bottom walking plows and use our Quarter
Horses to pull them.”

“The Quarter Horses are trained to saddle, not harness.”

“There should be plenty of time to train them while you’re fabricating 90 single bottom
walking plows.”

“We don’t have harnesses. Don’t you think those would be easier to find than the John
Deere tractors or the tandem disk harrows or the 10-bottom plows?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“My brother Andy put a bug in his ear about plowing with horses because the John
Deere Tractor works in Waterloo, Iowa was one of the counter-value targets, as was the
corporate headquarters in Moline when they hit the Quad Cities. Oh, there are actually 5
cities, not 4; Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline. Anyway, I told
Cal I’d see to it we had 90 single bottom walking plows. I had it mind that we could dis-
assemble factory made plows and use the share, moldboard and coulter to make single
bottom plow and use hard wood for handles. What do you think?”

“Do you know anything about oxen?”

“Steers, right?”

“Right. We have 2 seasons worth of steers and heifers. They’re stronger and last longer
than a horse. We’d just have to get a different harness or fabricate our own out of nylon,
Kevlar or whatever we could find. If we made our own, each harness could be fabricat-
ed for a specific ox.

“Working oxen are taught to respond to the signals of the teamster or ox-driver. These
signals are given by verbal command and body language, reinforced by a goad, whip or
a long pole. In pre-industrial times, most teamsters were known for their loud voices and
forthright language.

“Verbal commands for draft animals vary widely throughout the world. In North America,
the most common commands are:

Back: back up
Gee: turn to the right
Get up (also giddyup or giddyap, contractions for "get thee up" or "get ye up"): go
Haw: turn to the left
Whoa: stop

“In the New England tradition, young castrated cattle selected for draft are known as
working steers and are painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster makes or

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buys as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes for each animal as it grows. The
steers are normally considered fully trained at the age of four and only then become
known as oxen. In other traditions, adult cattle with little or no prior human conditioning
are often yoked and trained as oxen. This is done for economy, as it is easier to let a
calf be raised by its mother, and for lack of adequate methods for housing and feeding
young calves.

“Heifers can be used too so no one could accuse us of sexual discrimination. We’ll have
to fashion the yokes in large quantities, but we can do that if we can find a pattern in an
agricultural museum. Give me the ok and we can start immediately gathering plows and
harness materials.”

“Ok Hank, do it.”

“Cal, we’re in the process of gathering the materials for the walking plows and harness-
es. However, I think we’ll use oxen instead of horses. We may train some horses to
harness if we can come up with some carriages. I’m speculating here, but let’s assume
9 months to a year before we can start plowing. That custom guy you used had 5 10-
bottom plows. If we have enough material we might be able to make as many as 100 1-
bottom walking plows and cut the plowing time.”

“By how much?”

“That I don’t know, maybe by ¼ to ⅓. We’ll also have to come up with single disk har-
rows and we might be able to get by with 25 of those depending on the width of a single
gang. I’ll let you know when I know. Oh, Hank said he came up empty on heavy John
Deere 4 wheel drive tractors, 10-bottom pull plows and large tandem disk harrows.”

“What about the spring tooth harrows or the drag harrows?”

“I think they’re actually called spike harrows. We may be able to actually get spike har-
rows or fashion them if we can get the spikes. Spring tooth harrows are outdated and
rarely used these days.”

“What kind of wood for the handles?”

“Ash if we can find it; otherwise oak.”

“How are you going to identify ash or oak trees? They may be common in Missouri, but I
doubt there are many in Arizona.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret; I’m not going to try and identify the trees. How many
Vaqueros do we employ that have lived in Arizona since before it became part of the
United States?”

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“Good plan. Where are you going to get coulters, shares and moldboards for the
plows?”

“Around. We’ll probably start in Tucson and the vicinity. After, we can try the outskirts of
Phoenix; probably on the west side of the metropolitan area.”

“You have something going and you aren’t going to tell me about it, are you?”

“It’s no big deal. Smaller plows are available and we can dismantle them and use one
bottom to fabricate a 1 bottom horse or oxen drawn plow. Tandem disk harrows are
available and we can use a single gang. The same should apply to spike harrows.
That’s why we have a very well stocked machine shed that includes welders, rod, wire,
gasses, a metal lathe, wood lathe, milling machine, metal stocks including square and
round tubing and sheet goods. Hank and I probably missed something that we’ll end up
salvaging like the plows, disks and drags. My only concern is how tough the beef will
become if we use them as oxen.”

“They’ll probably make an additive for ground beef. I think I’d better get with Andy and
ask him to fill me in on what it’s like farming in the Midwest. Maybe I can get up to
speed and you won’t make me feel like a dummy.”

“You’re no dummy Cal; you married me didn’t you?”

“What if I’d been too shy to offer to buy you a drink?”

“Now, that would have been dumb. I’d noticed you and was hoping you’d ask to buy me
a drink. I don’t really know if I’d have asked you, though. That’s awfully forward.”

“Right. You sure went along after I asked.”

“Naturally, you asked.”

“And the bedroom antics that followed?”

“You were a widower and I was a divorcée. It’s not like we were teenage virgins.”

“And, we both remembered how!”

“It’s not something one tends to forget. Then it turned out that you were well off and that
was the frosting on the cake because you could support us rather than my supporting
us.”

“Would you have done that; supported us?”

“I don’t know because the question never came up. But, when I gave you advice, you
had the good sense to listen. We’ve done well for ourselves and have 3 wonderful chil-

295
dren. I hadn’t planned on them being home schooled but they’re at least 1 grade and
possibly 2 ahead of where they’d be if they were in public school. Plus they’re learning
life skills that will be extremely important in the coming days, weeks, months and years.”

“You know I had trouble telling the twins apart don’t you?”

“I fixed that with the name tags initially and later by styling their hair differently.”

“Oh, I thought that I was just getting better at identifying them.”

“They are, quite literally, identical so you’d still be guessing.”

“What are we going to do when they grow up and start looking for friends of the oppo-
site sex?”

“We have at least 10 years to figure that out. Now, presuming we use oxen rather than
horses in the fields, we’ll probably start by plowing the garden to educate the farm
hands on using the walk behind plows. Next, I think we should plow the 540 and the
other section we’ll be using for permanent pasture. By then, all of the plows, disks and
drags should be fabricated and the oxen well trained. I suggest we plow one section at
a time, disk and drag it and prepare it for planting. When the sun finally peeks though
the clouds, we can give some thought to planting.”

“What would you think about Andy working with Hank to manage the farming? Hank
could be in charge of the livestock and Andy in charge of the field crops.”

“Good idea, I guess I don’t have to talk you into it.”

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 The Dome III – Chapter 32

First, I talked to Andy about farming the ground and then talked to Hank about manag-
ing the livestock, training steers into oxen and training a few horses to harness to pull
carriages assuming we found some. Both were agreeable but Andy cautioned me that it
would be a tremendous undertaking to plow, disk and drag ~3,740 acres. That’s the
gross, which should be reduced by a 20’ wide by ten mile berm, 20 foot wide canal and
the space the fences took. I used a calculator to approximate the acreage the berm, ca-
nal and fences took and multiplied 50 feet by 52,800 feet getting 2,640,000 square feet
or 60 acres. So, call it 3,680 acres of useable land.

Now, 3,680 divided by 24 (6 times 4) equals 153⅓ acres of useable land per quarter
section because we had a single homestead for 6 sections of land and it was included
in the 100 acres missing from the one section that was devoted to gardens and the
homestead. I hope you understand because I’m going to assume you do. In California’s
Central Valley, some of those cotton fields run 6,400 acres and don’t have any fences.

After 90 days, they had the first 40 plows constructed and Hank said the next 60 would
be done in another 90 days. The disks would take about 45 days and the drags about
30 days. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun (not!). Ninety times 2 plus 45 plus 30
equals 255 days, but who is counting? Hank had some of his hands constructing oxen
yokes based on a single yoke they found in a museum, scaling it both up and down
while others were training a few Quarter horses to harness for when they found carriag-
es.

In this case, time was on our side because the sky wasn’t clearing very fast at all. Dur-
ing the winter months the snow extended down past the Missouri-Arkansas border but
was melting back to the I-70 corridor in the ‘warmer’ months. The Missouri-Arkansas is
about even with the southern Oklahoma panhandle border with Texas, 36° 30′ N.

And thus it began; the plowing, disking, dragging and getting the soil prepared for crops.
Weeds came up so there must have been some sunlight hitting the ground, even if the
appearance was otherwise. We planted grass, a mixture that Andy came up with. We
also planted alfalfa and got 2 meager cuttings per year. Any alfalfa is better than no al-
falfa.

Most of our electricity came from the wind turbines with some supplemental generator
time used to recharge the battery banks. The only garden produced was in the green-
house and it was a continuous process. Between the livestock butchered, the eggs from
the flock of chickens, milk from dairy cows, the fish in the tanks in the barn, we had
enough to eat.

It was a lonely existence and we had no visitors. I figured that was better than having
people show up with firearms and things we didn’t take from Camp Navajo. Eleven
years after the war, on July 4, 2031 the sun peeked through the clouds for the first time.

297
James was 19 and the twins 18. They had all the firearms purchased for them and we
should have called them Deadeye and Company. There wasn’t a weapon of any de-
scription in our expansive armory that they weren’t totally familiar with and competent
with. Each had ‘a special friend’ but it was only friendship at this stage of the game.

Jim was seeing the daughter of one of the Vaqueros. I learned, much to my surprise,
that she was Pima. I don’t have anything against Indians, but I didn’t know Hank had
hired one. Kathy was seeing a 9th generation Méxican and her sister Jen was seeing a
10th generation Méxican. That was about all they have in their age range to choose
from. The young lady and young gentlemen were just that, a Lady and Gentlemen.

Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of ages, it is my pleasure to introduce the Flying
Wallendas… (Not these days… The Greatest Show on Earth… Kind of sounds like
what’s his name, Moses.)

We had salvaged over the ten or so years after we came out of the shelter and all the
fuels were topped off with large supplies of reserve fuels. Ramón and some of his staff
had made a run to Houston to Products Research, Inc. and brought back a truckload of
PRI-D and PRI-G in 5 gallon pails and 1 gallon jugs. I know it’s supposed to only have a
shelf life of 3 years, but to stall it going bad, every bit of fuel on hand was stabilized and
we repeated that yearly.

We found biodiesel equipment but no sodium hydroxide and no methyl alcohol or in-
structions on how to make biodiesel with ethyl alcohol. It didn’t matter because we were
using very little diesel fuel and almost no gasoline. Our farm tractors saw almost no use.
Beyond periodically starting and running them for 15 minutes or so about twice a month,
they sat there on blocks to prevent tire rot. We had extra tires, but have you ever
changed a tractor tire?

Ours had the recommended amount of ReSeal and the tires were rotated when the en-
gines were fired up. Unfortunately not all of our tractors were 4 wheel drive and on
those, we had to turn the front tires manually at about the same rate the engine turned
the rear tires. ReSeal is a liquid inserted into the tire by injecting the recommended
amount through the valve stem and as the wheels rotate, the inside of the tire is con-
stantly recoated with the sealer. I love that 961 diesel and if it ain’t permanently broke,
why replace it?

My father inherited the tractor and 3 sections from my grandfather. He didn’t want to
grow cotton but kept the land. Instead, he established a Ready Mix company in Phoenix
and later got into selling class 3 firearms. What I didn’t mention about the AR-18 was
that the receiver was stamped metal and the weapon developed a nickname, ‘the wid-
owmaker’. If it’s not a short stroke gas piston, you don’t want it.

When the sky cleared, several things changed. First and foremost, we planted a large
outside garden, 30 acres. Second, we planted alfalfa, a whole section (we didn’t trust
the growing season). We also planted wheat, corn, oats, beans, rice and barley; one

298
half section each of corn, oats and barley and one quarter section of hard red wheat,
one quarter section of durum wheat and one quarter section of soft white wheat and one
quarter section of long grain white rice. Two and one half sections and the tractors were
finally off the blocks. Beans were planted in one of the remaining sections. Hank had
found a self-propelled combine with a grain head and a corn head. We didn’t find a row
crop cultivator and were forced to go with no till. The combine had screens of every size
imaginable. I suspected that we could use that combine to harvest most of our crops.

“We need wagons.”

“Then, go find some. But don’t bother to look in the area of Dewey-Humboldt.”

“You think?”

“Well, they said 15 megatons. You’d better take all 4 LAVs and 3 Hummers. You’ll need
either a flatbed or a cargo van so take both.”

“Drive the LAVs or haul them on the modified flatbeds?”

“Haul them. Ramón’s people will handle the LAVs and Hummers.”

About the modified flatbeds… About 3 years back we had a bunch of lowboys and flat-
beds. They loaded the LAVs on a lowboy but had trouble getting them off. So, Hank
came to me with an idea.

“Cal, we’re having one hell of a time unloading the LAVs. A flatbed would work well if we
had a loading dock. When we’re away from home, we might not have time to find a
loading dock. What would you think of our modifying 2 of the flatbeds and lowering them
to the height of the rear portion of the lowboys?”

“How would that help?”

“We load the LAVs with a ramp and when they’re pulled forward, everything is fine. The
problem seems to be getting them back over the rear wheel hump. What I propose to do
is lower the flatbed to the same height as the lowboy rear. On the front, we can deter-
mine how much to leave to insure a 180° of motion, or close. We cut the flatbed at that
point and level it with the rear hump. Next, we use some of the steel we have to create
supports connecting the front and rear right at the cut. When we’re done, we can close
the hole with steel plate. We can fabricate a second set of ramps for the second modi-
fied flatbed.

“I don’t know exactly how fast we can unload, but it has to be faster than the lowboy or
flatbed. I supposed it would be something similar to a mechanical folding gooseneck in
application.”

299
“Why don’t you just find 2 mechanical folding goosenecks?”

“We’ve looked high and low and haven’t found 1 let alone 2.”

“Ok, Burger King.”

“Huh?”

“Have it your way.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“They had an advertising jingle that went something like this:

(Chorus) Have it your way, have it your way! Have it your way at Burger King!

Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce;

special orders don't upset us.
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way...

We can serve your broiled beef Whopper

fresh with everything on topper.
Anyway you think is proper; have it your way...

(Chorus) Have it your way, have it your way! At Burger King, eat at Burger King!”

“Do you remember what Charlie told Maverick?”

“Don’t give up your day job?”

“Yep.”

I wonder if Hank was being sarcastic. No I don’t, I know he was being sarcastic. I looked
at some pictures I had of various types of semi-trailers on my computer and I couldn’t
see the problem getting an LAV off a lowboy. Hank was our longest term employee and
if he said it was a problem, who was I to argue? It wasn’t like we needed any materials.
Ginger, Hank and Ramón had seen to that. As soon as the Lipizzaners foaled and the
mare went into estrous, Ginger rebred all 3 mares. At the moment, we have a total of 1
Stallion, 6 mares, 3 fillies and 3 geldings. She will let them rest every other estrous cy-
cle from now on. We’ve gained 3 mares, 3 fillies and 3 colts that we gelded. One of the
3 mares seems to only throw colts while the other 2 seem to throw fillies.

I watched as they loaded the LAVs and they were easy to load. I’ll have to wait until
they return to see how easy they are to unload. One thing I noted was that the vehicles
were backed onto the modified trailer. The LAV-25 is 2.5 meters wide (8.2 feet) and
there were curbs on the loading ramps and the beds of the modified trailers. The curbs

300
were tall enough that the driver could feel when he was drifting off track. He couldn’t get
off track on the trailers at all.

Ramón’s people obviously had practiced the loading and unloading until they could
practically do it with their eyes closed. Had I been thinking, I’d have probably specified
flatbeds to haul the wagons. On the other hand, they might find unassembled wagons at
an implement dealer’s location and could load those in the cargo van. The main thing
was to get the tires. Many dealers’ provided used aircraft tires because aircraft tires are
typically retired due to flat spots rather than age. They are also of heavy duty construc-
tion. Used as a wagon tire, they could conceivably last for years. I guess I should have
mentioned checking Sky Harbor for tires.

As TOM says, wish in one hand and spit in the other. I wonder if he caught the war-
head. Just in Case, I’d better remind Ramón. Speaking of Justin, I wonder why they
never got married. Maybe they were ‘special friends’. Maybe I should password protect
some of the stories. When I set James down to have ‘the talk’, he asked what I needed
to know. Kids! I told him I was just checking. For crying out loud, they were raised on a
farm with well over 400 head of livestock. What did I need to know? What could I do,
they already had all of their guns. Everyone age 18 and up went armed except when
they were sleeping or in the shower/bath. Even then, weapons were within arm’s reach.
The only ammunition expended was in the semi-weekly practice session where every-
one qualified with his/her weapons. Yes, all of them.

About an hour after they left and probably just as they arrived on the outskirts of Phoe-
nix my stomach began to bother me again. Because I’d stopped carrying the Pepcid, I
had to go to the dome and find my open bottle or open a new bottle. I found the open
bottle in the medicine chest and took 2. It didn’t help so I took a generic Prilosec. That
didn’t work either.

“Ginger, about an hour ago I took 2 Pepcid because my stomach was bothering me.
When that didn’t work I took a generic Prilosec, about 30 minutes ago. Something is
wrong and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“You don’t think it has anything to do with this being Andy’s first trip off the ranch do
you?’’

“It could be but shouldn’t. Could you see if you can raise them on any of the radios?”

“No problem. This is very unlike Andy. He’s a stickler for maintaining radio contact.”

“Sorry Cal, I couldn’t raise them. Now, I’m getting worried. Maybe we should go to Yel-
low Alert. What were they shopping for?”

“Farm wagons. Hank said they were more likely to find them in Phoenix.”

301
“In that, he could be right. I’ll call a Yellow Alert and roust out the remaining Security
Force and all the farm hands available.”

“I hate to call an alert that could last for hours.”

“I could last for only minutes.”

“True; I’d opt on the side of caution.”

“Me too.”

“This is a Yellow Alert; report to your assigned positions.

“I repeat, this is Yellow Alert report to your assigned positions.”

“What’s up?”

“We’ve lost radio contact with the away teams.”

“Did you try all the radios?”

“Across the board, ham, business and CB”

“This is not good. Andy was skeptical about this trip.”

“I was skeptical about this trip, too, Sheree. We’ll give it an hour dispatch and a backup
force if we haven’t established contact.

“Ranch, this is Ramón. We’re about 20 minutes out with pedal to the metal. We have
one minor WIA and we got what we were looking for.”

“Roger, trouble?”

“I’ll say. I suggest you raise the alert level. We’ve lost them but they can’t be far behind.”

“We’re already at Yellow.”

“Go to Red.”

“Roger. Cal out.”

“Red Alert. Red Alert. The away teams are inbound with one minor WIA.”

“What’s the difference between Yellow Alert and Red Alert?”

302
“Yellow Alert means the weapons are in Condition 3, chamber empty, full magazine in
place, hammer down. Red Alert means the weapons are in Condition 1, a round cham-
bered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety on. At first sight of any opposing
force, we go to condition 0, safety off.”

“Define minor WIA.”

“Non-life threatening; typically a graze, the wounded individual took a bullet in their body
armor plate. Both hurt like the dickens but the wounded individual can still fight. The bul-
let in the plate is probably more disabling than a graze. The graze will require a combat
bandage at most. A bullet in a plate causes a blunt trauma injury behind the plate and
extensive bruising. Body armor won’t stop large caliber rounds like .408 CheyTac or
.50BMG Sheree.”

“Attention! They’re pulling off the freeway.”

“Roger. Everyone go to condition zero but don’t shoot the friendlies. Get the gate open
and standby to close it and block it. I’ll cut the power after it’s closed. Someone fire up
the dozer.”

The practices had paid off when we finally had the possibility of trouble at the ranch.
Everyone moved like a precision, well-oiled machine. Just as the away teams finished
pulling through the gate, the challenge went up a notch.

“I have multiple vehicles pulling off the freeway headed here.”

“Get those posts in place behind the gate and move the dozer up. How many?”

“I don’t know, maybe 25 pickups with people in the beds.”

“Standby to take the pickups out with rockets or grenades once they show their inten-
tions.”

“Who was wounded, Ramón?”

“Me. I took a .30-30 round in the plate. Man, does it hurt.”

“What’s the story with the people coming?”

“We were just finishing up loading tires at Sky Harbor for the wagons we found in sev-
eral places. Apparently we were spotted at the first implement dealer’s and we picked
up a tail. By the time we made to the second place, the number of vehicles was proba-
bly up to 5, possibly more. They were holding back, mostly observing. When we
reached the third dealer’s there were probably a dozen ‘abandoned’ pickups sitting
around. Add that dozen to the 5 or 6 and we had approximately 18 vehicles with as
many as 6 individuals per vehicle.

303
“The problem was that we found very few wagon tires. Hank suggested checking out
Sky Harbor for used aircraft tires. We hit the motherload, ending up with 8 tires per
wagon. We packed it up and started to head home when they opened fire. I don’t know
where they came from but there must have been 50 to 60 vehicles trying to block us
and engage us. We hadn’t unloaded the LAVs because, initially, Phoenix appeared to
be a ghost town.

“The LAVs work just fine even if they’re loaded on a trailer and we began to whittle them
down. Someone with what looked like a Winchester 94 popped a shot my in direction;
he hit me center mass, right in my plate, knocking me on my butt. When there was a lull
in the fighting, I gave the order to bug out. We caught them off guard and got clear of
them heading back home. I’m not sure but I think some of those people were from
Eloy.”

“If that’s the case, they knew right where to come.”

“I think so. Look, I’ve got to join my troops in one of the gate towers.”

“I’ll get in the other.”

“You really like that HK417, don’t you?”

“Yes, but for work this close, I also brought my 590A1.”

“I’ll assume we’re in trouble if you give the command ‘fix bayonets’.”

“I gave orders to take the vehicles out with rockets or grenades if they’re hostile.”

“Good.”

The M2A1 and M240Bs opened up. It was probably the shortest battle in history. I didn’t
hear any explosions and assumed they didn’t use the Mk 19s or any rockets or gre-
nades. Before any of our people exposed themselves, the attackers each got another
burst of 7.62×51mm. They were all dead and we gained 24 pickups and their contents
which consisted mainly of liquor.

“Who was wounded?”

“Ramón took a .30-30 in his plate.”

“Oh, ouch.”

“Yep. But any gun battle you can walk away from is a victory. He said some of the peo-
ple were from Eloy.”

304
“What were they doing in Phoenix?”

“Salvaging, mainly liquor.”

“Why did they come here?”

“They were probably looking for food. At least Andy didn’t get hurt.”

“Sheree isn’t too happy about him going on that trip.”

“That’s family business, I’m not getting involved. Did you fit them all out with weapons?”

“Everything but large caliber rifles; otherwise they have what you and I have and so do
Bob and Cindy.”

“How is the garden doing?”

“Not like before the war. I think the 30 acres will yield about what we got from 20 acres
before.”

“We won’t build any reserves?”

“Probably not this year except for what was planted in the fields, especially the wheat’s,
beans and rice. We can replace the corn, oats and barley although it’s going to be Scot-
tish oatmeal not rolled oats.”

“Why can’t we have rolled oats?”

“What, you didn’t look it up on Wiki?”

“Nope.”

“The hull of the oat groat is very hard. In order to remove the hull and roll the oats, they
have to be steamed.”

“I thought you said we could fabricate anything we needed. Why couldn’t you use a
pressure cooker to steam the oats and run them through a press of some kind before
they cool?”

“We’ll see. It’s not like we’re going run out of oatmeal any time soon.”

“Possibly. We got where we are by planning ahead.”

“Wait a minute; I bought a Schnitzer Manual Steel Flaker from Canning Pantry specifi-
cally for rolling grains. I completely forgot about that.”

305
“And we have several of the All American pressure cookers.

306
 The Dome III – Chapter 33

“Ok, we’ll make rolled oats but we’ll probably do them last since they’ll take more time.”

The yield from the field crops were about like the garden produce, off maybe a third. We
had fresh hay, COB and general livestock feed and filled all the bins. Extra COB was
put in the Alfalfa pellet bin. Creating the COB was an experience because we had to
crack the corn and barley separately and mix it into ratio that Hank had obtained from
the elevator where we previously had purchased the COB.

When we butchered beef, we didn’t butcher any oxen, choosing instead milk cows with
little to no production. This time we had the meat cutter cut T-bones and called the
boneless club steaks New York Strips. Speaking of food, what had those attackers been
living on since the war? Were there that few people left that there was enough food to
feed 60 people or 60 families for 12 years? Canned food would have surely spoiled over
a 12 year period. Most had a typical maximum shelf life of one year, if you were lucky.

Now the question became how many more attacks would we endure as we continued to
replenish our food supplies? Those supplies that could be stored in pails with oxygen
absorbers in sealed Mylar bags were long life products, but the canned goods weren’t.
Would the atmosphere clear enough in another year so we could increase our crop
yields? We had more questions than answers.

The most intriguing question was where has the government been since the war? Did
they store that much food in Cheyenne Mountain? I was more than sure that they didn’t.
I couldn’t quite picture a General or high ranking civilian salvaging from grocery stores
or the President living on boiled beans and cornbread. Maybe the Administration had
anticipated the war and stored enough Mountain House foods for 500 people for 15
years… Or was that where all the Mountain House foods had disappeared to way back
when?

The war happened in 2020 during the height of Presidential campaigning, 4 months be-
fore the election. With the country bathed in radiation and seeming perpetual darkness
they couldn’t have had an election, could they? There sure hadn’t been elections in
2024, 2028 or 2032.

Maybe the mountain took a direct hit with 25mT nuke. Cheyenne Mountain was de-
signed for a 30 megaton nuclear explosion within 1.0 nm (1.2 mi; 1.9 km). The sup-
posed retired SS-18 Mod 6 carried a single 20mT warhead and only 6 were deployed.
Supposedly, all 6 had been retired in 2009. The Mod 1 carried either an 18mT or 25mT
warhead. Maybe they pulled one of those from their strategic stockpile… Now I’m
guessing.

“Cal, got a minute?”

“Sure Ramón, something special?”

307
“A suggestion; we’ve been putting 3 people in the towers. Since the Mk 19s are shorter
range I’m suggestion we go to 2 people instead of 3. If the Mk 19 is needed, rather than
M240B, the M240B gunner could switch to the Mk 19. If they get down to using those
Gatling guns, there are still 2 people, one to crank and one to load.

“In the alternative we could have 2 when we’re not on alert and add the 3 rd if an alert is
called. Hank said he ended up being a little shorthanded now that were growing grain
crops and those extra 8 people should eliminate that.”

“I’ll take it under advisement but for the moment you can cut back to 2.”

“He’s not shorthanded now that the crops are in.”

“Oh, I realize that but we’re in the process of storing wheat, corn, cracking and storing
barley, storing the rice and the 3 types of beans. It turns out we have the equipment to
produce rolled oats but it’s a time consuming process and the ladies are doing a lot of
switching off on the flaker. We could use your 8 to pack the bulk items that don’t require
extra handling. These field crops will get us back to a 30 year supply of the items in
pails.”

“Do you only have one flaker?”

“Apparently; Ginger even forgot we had it. You do realize that we have a lot of food pro-
cessing equipment, including spare parts for everything.”

“Where did she get the flaker?”

“She got it from Canning Pantry in a small burg north of Salt Lake City. I’d imagine Salt
Lake City took a hit as a counter-value target and further north there’d still be ash from
the Yellowstone eruption. Getting there might be a challenge.”

“Speaking of challenges, I did get those 60mm mortars and the same quantity of 81mm
mortars. We took all those projectiles we could find.”

“My understanding is that those projectiles are called bombs.”

“I tend to think of them more as rockets. Either way, they certainly are deadly within
their given range. We got the M252A1s which are lightweight versions like the
M224A1s. While the M224A1 have a maximum effective range of 3,490 meters, the
M252A1s have an effective range of 5,935 meters. The standard crew for the 60mm is 3
while the standard crew for the 81mm is 5.”

“Five people for 1 weapon? We don’t have enough people!”

308
“I was planning 2 people for both types using pre-positioned shells. We have 8 complete
units of each size and I had it mind to put a pair at each tower.”

“I know we planned for the worst but are there any reasons to believe we’ll have to deal
with the worst?”

“I really hope not Boss. With that said, who knows? And, where the hell are the county,
state and federal governments?”

“I’ve asking myself the same question. We were prepared to shelter for long enough
time for the fallout level to fall to 50mR/hr and all the years it for the sun to shine. Our
levels of preparations were unusual to say the least. I can’t imagine that very many
preppers were able to prepare for that length of time. A couple of years would be highly
probable for some. A dozen years, unlikely.”

“Do we still need to be on the lookout for that guy you mentioned?”

“I doubt it. When you announced incoming missiles, Ginger called him. He said he was
going to sit in his front yard and catch one.”

“Where is he from?”

“Palmdale, California.”

“What’s there that would merit a warhead?”

“It’s the home of Air Force Plant 42. There were several military aircraft manufacturers
there including Lockheed’s Skunk Works. The B-2 bombers are returned to Northrup
factory there every 7 years to be refurbished.”

“I’ll send 8 of the men to help the ladies.”

“And, I’ll discuss your proposal with the family. By the way, how did Andy do?”

“He can shoot with the best of them. One magazine through the M21 took down 20 of
the OpFor. Then he switched to Mossberg and took down another 9.”

“All kills?”

“I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter since they were out of action. Firepower kills at
the minimum; they couldn’t shoot back.”

“Ramón suggested cutting back tower personnel from 3 to 2. I approved temporarily un-
til the family could talk it over.”

309
“Are you including Andy and Sheree?”

“They’re family aren’t they? Ramón said Andy took down 29 of the bad guys.”

“Dead?”

“He didn’t know but he did say they were out of the fight.”

“He is a very good shot. All 4 of them headed for the range when I passed out the
weapons. You realized that they probably have nothing to go home for?”

“He splitting duties with Hank and doing a good job of it. We actually got better crop
yields than I expected.”

“That’s one of the benefits of no till farming; the soil retains the moisture better.”

“Then that’s why we didn’t need to irrigate; I be damned. How are you doing rolling
oats?”

“I should have bought more of the flakers or motorized versions.”

“If you want more, just ask Ramón. I told him where to go to find them. You’ll have 8 ex-
tra men tomorrow to bag and store the beans, rice, corn, wheat and barley.”

“We’re having a problem with the barley because of the hull. We pressured cooked a
batch like we did with the oats and not only removed the hull but also the bran. It looks
just like the pearl barley we had on hand.”

“Pearling is a process of removing the hull and the bran from barley. There’s even a
strain of barley know as pearl barley although I don’t know how it differs from other
strains. For all I know it could be a reference to processed barley.”

“I think I’ll hold some back for beef and barley soup. Oh, we’ll have 16 extra men, not 8
since Hank is providing 4 and Andy 4. I think we’ll be close to our food levels before the
war, excluding coffee and tea.”

“And the freeze dried food.”

“If you told Ramón about Canning Pantry, he won’t be that far from Emergency Essen-
tials or Nitro-Pak. Maybe he can make a detour.”

“If he goes, he’s going to have to settle for using the Hummers. We might as well have
him drive up to Montpelier, Idaho since he’ll be so close. Make up a list of the bulk
packed things we got from Walton Feed. If we had another Hummer, we could send 3
cargo vans rather than 2.”

310
“And if you had 3 more, you could send 5 instead of 2.”

“I’ll talk it over with Ramón.”

“So, that’s what we discussed.”

“I just don’t know, Cal. Let a few of us make the trip to the camp and see what we can
find. Why one extra Hummer?”

“Tail End Charlie.”

“Makes sense. Are you sure you want us away for what could be a month?”

“Remember there’s snow north of I-70 so leave early to get back. Get most of the stuff
on the way up. I’ll bag up 1,000 ounces of gold and 100 ounces of silver. You’ll have to
drive a tanker of stabilized diesel, probably as the last semi. That will cut the number of
cargo haulers by one.”

They brought back 5 M1114s, 3 equipped with M240Bs, 1 with a M2A1 and 1 with an
Mk 19 Mod 3. That brought us to a total 8 Hummers permitting a 7 semi/8 Hummer con-
voy. The next question was whether to include flatbeds in the convoy. They decided to
take the fuel trailer, 1 flatbed and 5 cargo vans, all 53 footers. Three had reefers in case
they found something they wanted to keep frozen. They run with reefers off on the way
north. They did recover the reefer from Eloy which accounted for the 3 rd 53 foot reefer.

It is 613 line of sight miles from Eloy to Hyrum. We weren’t flying and the closest I could
figure from maps was 800 miles ± 5 miles highway miles. We sent 45 days of rations
with the convoy and 2 people per vehicle, 30 people. Half were armed with HK416s and
half with HK417s, one of each per vehicle, plus shotguns and .45acp pistols.

Ramón was instructed to load on the way up and if they had room, pick up more on the
way back, especially Mason jars and extra cases of regular mouth lids. The problem
with Tattler lids is they’re expensive and people don’t give them back. Besides, Fruita,
CO wasn’t on the way up or back. Any garden produce canned to sell would have regu-
lar lids. It also made it easier to differentiate between the products. The ladies would
switch to the metal lids when our years’ worth of food was canned and stored.

The Blue Tilapia had finally been reintroduced to the farm pond and in a year or two
would be added to the canal, depending on how much the water warmed. It’s a tropical
fish, you know, Africa and the Middle East. They’re sometimes called St. Peter’s Fish
because St. Peter caught Blue Tilapia in the Sea of Galilee. Up until he was challenged
to become a fisher of men.

311
Ramón was calling each evening between 1900 and 2100 and give us a progress re-
port. We agreed they should make southern Utah the first day and find a good spot to
lie over. That call came in around 1945 and they were near Zion NP. They planned to
pick up I-15 for as much the trip as possible stopping in Orem at or near Emergency
Essentials. They’d load up there the next day and move up 189 to Heber City and check
out Nitro-Pac.

It was nearly 2100 before they called in the next day and they had paid for supplies in
Orem with a combination of diesel fuel and gold. They did get what they wanted but the
packing date on the Mountain House foods dated back to before the war. Orem claimed
they had no idea of what had happen in Heber City.

Nitro-Pak was closed for business and when they broke in the only things left were
cobwebs. Someone had beaten them to Heber City several years before. Ramón said
they we going to bypass Salt Lake City taking 40 north to I-80 to I-84 and rejoin I-15
south of Ogden.

The next call came from north of Ogden and they were camped out on highway 89 an
hour or so from Hyrum. When he called at 1800 the next evening, they’d gotten every-
thing we wanted from Canning Pantry ‘and then some’. They still had daylight and were
going to drive up 89 to Montpelier, leaving the loaded trucks refueled and guarded in
Hyrum.

Montpelier was not abandoned and they’d raised their prices significantly. Ramón tried
trading stabilized diesel and it was no go. Next, he tried gold and the guy’s greedy eyes
gleamed. He handed over the list and the guy said he could fill it at the regular price,
pricing gold at $1,500 an ounce. Ramón explained that going price was about $3,000 an
ounce and the guy said, no problem, just double the prices.

“No way mister. Head ‘em up.”

“Ok, $2,500 an ounce.”

“Sorry, no. We’ll check Heber City.”

“Go ahead, they’re closed down.”

“You don’t say.”

“I heard Emergency Essentials cleaned them out.”

“You carry Mountain House products?”

“Just started before the war.”

312
“We ordered from you just before the war and you didn’t have the selection of Mountain
House foods you have available now. “

“The order only came 2 days before the war.”

“Like I said, fill the list based on gold at $3,000 an ounce. Otherwise we’ll put the word
out on the ham net that you’re selling stolen food and gouging on top of that.”

“I ah…”

“Head ‘em up.”

“Wait. Ok deal. You promise to keep it to yourself.”

“Sure.”

“Ok, back 2 trucks up to the loading dock. I’m alone and need help loading the stuff.”

“Just point the way and we’ll load it for you.”

Two hours later, they were loaded, the man paid and they were on their way back to
Hyrum with most of their gold intact. After picking up the semis and Hummers in Hyrum,
they retuned to Canning Pantry and loaded a trailer of pints, quarts and lids. They then
drove on down through Ogden and set up camp in a likely location. They had one more
stop to make in Orem to finish filling the cargo vans.

“You’re back?”

“Sure am. Can you fill an identical order to the first?”

“Just, but it be double diesel and the same amount gold.”

“Agreed.”

“No biodiesel.”

“This is genuine stabilized #2 diesel.”

“Which stabilizer?”

“PRI-D.”

“Ok, deal. Back the empty truck up to the dock.”

“Trucks, actually; most of them have partial loads.”

313
“Then we’d better get started. Got your invoice handy? It will make it go faster.”

“Here you go.”

“Uh, thanks.

“Wait, we’re out of a couple of items on your list.”

“No problem, substitute.”

“But the substitutes run more.”

“When we were up Montpelier, the guy up there said you cleaned out Nitro-Pak in
Heber.”

“Why that no-good, low-down excuse for a human being. The owners got killed in the
attack. They were having a Fourth of July Picnic in Salt Lake City for all their employ-
ees. I called Rainy Day on the radio and filled him in. We took the food because it was
abandoned and it made more sense for us to sell it than to let it go to waste.”

“I don’t care and you can take it to the bank. Now, what about the substitution?”

“Why not? You’ll pay the regular price?”

“Of course, but no double diesel.”

It was late when they finished loading but they had daylight and headed south. They
made it just south of Nephi and stopped for the night. Ramón called and said they had
everything they wanted and more. The Mountain House cans were newer than ours,
packed just before the war. Plus they had a few surprises but we’d just to wait until they
got home. He went on to say that if they drove straight through the next day; they’d be
home around sunset ± an hour.

We were all waiting up when the convoy pulled in. All 30 of the men were beat and
begged off filling us in. The only thing that Ramón said was, “We were over armed.”

“We got quite a bit at Emergency Essentials in Orem, paying for it in gold and diesel.
Nitro-Pak in Heber had been cleaned out. At the next stop in Hyrum where we picked
up the ‘special items’. One truckload of pints and quarts plus multiple cases of regular
mouth lids. The ‘special items’ include a popcorn popper, heavy duty bar blender, all of
the Mrs. Wages mixes they had in stock and a much larger grinder for ground meat.

“Montpelier was rather disappointing. He had stock that was available at the regular
price valuing gold at $1,500 an ounce. He claimed Emergency Essentials had cleaned
out Nitro-Pak. Anyway, I didn’t believe him and bluffed and he admitted that both he and

314
Emergency Essentials cleaned out Nitro-Pak because they were having a 4th of July
picnic in Salt Lake City.”

“Yeah, so?”

“The war happened on June 22nd. I don’t know where they were on the 4th of July, 2020
but they weren’t having a picnic in Salt Lake City. With space left, we stopped in Hyrum
and got another load of jars and lids and returned to Orem. He wanted more diesel and
I figured what the hell. But when he claimed to be out of something and I said substitute,
he balked. I talked him into it and didn’t have to give him double diesel or pay extra for
the substitutes.

“We spent the last night outside of Nephi and were home last night. We never fired a
shot. Maybe the NRA was right about the mere presence of a gun preventing violence.”

“Thanks Ramón, we’ll get everything unloaded and put away. What about the popcorn
popper and bar blender?”

“I’d like to pour a slab and erect a Community Center where we can all get together and
celebrate events like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Independence Day. There’s steel
building fabricator in Phoenix, on the west side.”

“Good idea. Get with Hank and Andy and make it happen.”

“They had a good trip.”

“We may have to give Ramón a bonus.”

“When are we going transfer the Tilapia to the canal?”

“Last I checked water temperature it was only 53°. We either wait for the sun to heat it
or come up with an alternative.”

“For instance?”

“In Percy’s Mission, a limited amount of hot water was obtained by circulating water
through the radiator of the engine of a generator. We could switch to generator power
after plumbing the generators to discharge hot water into the canal and draw cool water
from a different location. Furthermore, we should have erected a drawbridge to improve
our security at the entrance to the property.”

“At least a drawbridge would make sense with merlons, crenels and guard towers. The
generator idea sounds like it would be more trouble than its worth. Maybe if we could
find a wood/coal fired boiler type furnace, we could make that work.”

315
“Right, I’ll check it out on the Internet.”

“No, we’ll use the Phoenix and Tucson Yellow Pages. We have both the Residential
Yellow Pages and the Business to Business Yellow Pages for both cities.”

Did anyone still make those boilers? It was a good idea because we could check it out
from our kitchen or dining room tables. Heating and Air Conditioning seemed the logical
place to look.

316
 The Dome III – Chapter 34

Hank was assigned the duty of figuring out how to raise a drawbridge. A bearing
mounted pipe was mounted across the gate space and powered from ground level us-
ing flat chain. Flat chain is a form of chain used chiefly in agricultural machinery. The flat
chain had idler sprockets to take up any slack in the chains that developed from use.

The actual bridge had been made of 2 layers of 1 inch road plate supported from below
by steel I-Beams welded in place at 4 foot intervals. The length of the bridge was 16
feet to ensure a solid rest on the inside and outside of the canal. It took 2 minutes to
raise the drawbridge to full vertical and lock it in place. If we didn’t have 2 minutes to
raise the drawbridge, the dozer could pull it to near vertical using a cable and the flat
chain would complete the raising. When everything was accomplished, power was cut
to the gate and the motor driving the gearbox for the flat chain drive sprocket.

The hard part had been producing the hinge for the inside edge of the drawbridge. Hank
finally gave up and welded the inside edge of the drawbridge to another large pipe rest-
ing in a socket made from a slightly larger diameter pipe. A slot was cut in the larger
pipe to allow full motion of the drawbridge from level to vertical and slipped over the end
of the pipe welded to the drawbridge.

We ended up with 4 commercial coal burning boilers and made a trip to the Cholla
Power plant. Cholla is in NE AZ 5 miles west of Holbrook AZ and 1 Mile SE of Joseph
City AZ. We wanted to haul back coal from the power plant. The coal burned at the
plant comes from the McKinley Mine in New Mexico. There was a train sitting there with
a mile or two of coal cars ready to make a delivery and it was even pointed the right
way. The guys eventually figured out how to run the diesel electric locomotives and
started their trip towards Eloy.

An Advance Team led the way, setting switches, with power where possible and manu-
ally where not possible. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we were pouring slabs for the
boilers and routing the intake and exhaust pipes for the water. It was suggested that the
water should be run clockwise around the 6 sections and as long all 4 boilers ran the
same way, I said, “Whatever.”

Once we had all four running and the water up to about 68°F I was thinking we could cut
back to 1 or 2 boilers and feed them less coal. Ginger had recently inventoried the fuels
and she said we had enough for at least 20 more years depending upon how many out-
side trips we made.

“I don’t like outside trips, they expose everyone to dangerous conditions.”

“Get used to it Cal, we have 3 upcoming weddings.”

“Oh, who?”

317
“James and his Pima girlfriend.”

“Doesn’t she have a name?”

“From age ten until the time of marriage, neither boys nor girls are allowed to speak
their own names. We’ll know when they’re married. And there are Kathy and Jen who
have received proposals from their boyfriends.”

“They have names?”

“Jason is Kathy’s friend and Manny is Jen’s friend.”

“Nobody ask me for their hands in marriage.”

“Did you ask Daddy for my hand in marriage?”

“Alright, point taken. I’d have thought James would have said something.”

“In the 2030s? Get real. At least they’re not shacking up.”

“I hope they have sense to get pre-nuptials.”

Be that as it may, I made discrete inquiries about Jason and Manny. Hank said they
were hardworking employees. I also talked to what’s-her-name’s father. He had high
praises for his daughter and expressed doubts at her marrying outside her tribe. “I’ll
take it up with the Council and let you know.”

“I’m sorry. I assumed it would be your decision.”

“Oh, it is, but I still need the advice of the council.”

“Do they have the ability of overruling your decisions?”

“They do, although it’s expressed more as disappointment. Personally I’ve met and ap-
prove of James. Most Méxicans have Indian heritage and I don’t see much difference.
Let me caution you, don’t call her a Squaw.”

“Feminist?”

“Like you can’t believe. Are you going to insist on pre-nuptials?”

“I’m not sure. The thought did cross my mind.”

“I would advise against it. Ginger and you don’t have one, do you?”

“We were too busy getting married.”

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“Get the cart before the horse?”

“She wasn’t pregnant if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I was and it’s good to hear. Our customs are different from yours but we’re in the
2030s, surviving day to day. Unless I get back to you within the next 10 days, you may
assume the Council approved.”

“Now, what’s this about dowries?”

“Well in the 18 and 1900 hundreds, the father of the bride supplied a string of horses to
the groom. In other tribes it was reversed. In both events it was referred to as the bride
price. Your family doesn’t need any horses or anything of value we might be able to
give. Were the shoe on the other foot, I might be inclined to ask for a Kimber and an
M21.”

“Really? Come with me.”

“That case has a new M21 and the smaller case a Kimber. I’ll tell Ramón to issue you
double the normal load out so you can get accustomed to the new weapons. What do
you have, the HK416 or 417?”

“HK417 with that grenade launcher and suppressor, with 11 20 round magazines.”

“What does your wife have?”

“A 5½ inch Ruger Vaquero and a Winchester 1892 in .45 Colt.”

“I’ll give you an 1892 in .45 Colt, a Vaquero and the usual assortment of Cold Steel
knives. Your wife can have a HK416 and Browning Hi-Power. Ginger can take care of
the knives.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“If the Council approves you will be family and everyone in the family has the same ar-
maments.”

“Does that include a Tac-50?”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check out McMillan. We won’t know until we look. What do
you think of the ranch?”

“Fort Defiance?”

“Isn’t here already a Fort Defiance in Arizona?”

319
“Yes, it’s near the Window Rock close to the New Mexico border on I-40. It’s nothing
like this. You know the tribe to your immediate southwest?”

“I do, but we’ve never had contact with them. Are you related?”

“Same tribe. There are 4 Reservations, 2 near Phoenix, the one to your southwest and
the northern México group.”

“Most of them survive the war?”

“About 80 percent. Just because we’re ‘savages’ doesn’t mean we’re uneducated. Cal,
you seem like an intelligent, moral individual and James gave me the same impression.
He has my permission to marry Morning Dove. She prefers to go by Dawn.”

“Ginger, make the wedding plans, all 3 father’s agreed.”

“Where are we going to hold the weddings?”

“In the new Community Center. Hank is tracking down the kitchen equipment, a pool
table and juke box if he can find them. I told him to watch for bar equipment.”

“Cafeteria style?”

“That would be my first choice with a separate bar.”

“The beer has all gone bad.”

“I was considering a craft beer made by one of our employees. It’s not Coors; but it isn’t
half bad.”

“How the liquor and liqueurs holding out?”

“Starting to get low. I saw a distributor listed in Tucson.”

“Locate a distributor who sold soft drink syrups and get a dispenser and more CO 2.
Mind if I ask something?”

“Go for it.”

“Ramón is in charge of Security, Hank is in charge of the livestock and Andy is in

charge of farming. What are you in charge of?”

“Worrying and it’s a full time job. There are about 200 of us here, men, women and chil-
dren. We secure behind a moat, drawbridge and berm with merlons and crenels. We

320
don’t have enough people to put one in each crenel so we added guard towers that are
close enough to cover each other. By the way, the water is up to 70°. I should restart
those 2 boilers.”

“Don’t change the subject. Tell me more about you worrying.”

“You and I are in charge of worrying about all the small details. Things like growing Ti-
lapia in the canal.”

“You just said the water is only 70° so it’s too cold to put the Tilapia the canal.”

“And that worries me and I’m going to restart the boilers I shut down.”

“Afraid we’d run out of coal? We won’t live long enough to see the last of the coal un-
loaded and moved here.”

“Yes, I jumped the gun, but I didn’t want the canal to get too hot.”

“When it reaches 78° you can worry about the temperature of the water and shut down
the boilers as needed. We do have a lot of room for Tilapia fillets in the drive-in freezer.”

“Do you plan on 30 acres of gardens next year or are you going to increase it to 40
acres?”

“Thirty acres should give us more production so we won’t be increasing the acreage.
There are people on the ham net but none will give their location so we don’t have any
trading partners for what we do produce.”

“Have you told anyone we have food available?”

“Why would I do a fool thing like that?”

“If they were interested, you could at least get the state where they live to determine if
we could deliver.”

“The nearest states are California, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. They
didn’t find many people in Utah when they went north.”

“And, I figure Denver and the Springs were probably nuked, taking care of eastern Colo-
rado. There isn’t much in western Colorado that we need.”

“There’s Tattler in Fruita.”

“We have enough lids for trading and more than enough Tattler for our own use.”

“I guess that leaves Nevada and southern California.”

321
“Not much in eastern Nevada and they probably nuked Fallon, Reno and Vegas.”

“And they probably nuked both California reactors, San Diego, Los Angeles and San
Francisco. Well, maybe not San Diego. They probably moved any naval vessels that
survived to Hawaii and Seattle.”

“Assuming any survived.”

“They never said, did they?”

“Nope. Now, about the wedding…”

“The only clean suit you have is that fancy western cut suit. Both of your tuxedos are
dirty and need dry cleaning.”

“It’s a little snug.”

“Gaining weight are we?”

“You don’t seem to be.”

“Sweat it off canning the garden produce. Next year you help and you’ll be back to what
you weighed when we got married.”

“I’m not fat!”

“I didn’t say you were. With the employees we have doing the work and you doing the
worrying, you aren’t as active as everyone else. We did stop the daily horse rides after
the war due to the climate at the time. Firearms practice doesn’t burn a lot of energy.”

“Ok, what do you suggest?”

“Can you still ride a horse?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it. Make one turn around the ranch, have lunch and do it again.”

“Why?”

“So you’ll be in shape to work for Hank next spring.”

“Hank works for us, not the other way around!”

322
“He knows that and he’s likely to avoid having you do anything that you can’t. You have
to show him you can do anything the Vaqueros can do. It’s called leadership as op-
posed to management.”

“And, I suppose you’ll be having me working for Ramón the following spring?”

“I was thinking Andy, but Ramón will do. You need to show leadership in all aspects of
the work on the ranch.”

It wasn’t quite cold enough that the horses had grown winter coats. Or, someone was
trimming their coats. I selected my favorite Barb gelding and saddled it, adding the sad-
dle bags, pommel bags and rifles to the scabbards. My revolver today was a Ruger
Vaquero with a 7½ inch barrel. Ruger never made a 3” Vaquero, but they made a spe-
cial run of 3¾ inch barrels for Davidsons. I went back and corrected my journal to reflect
the correct barrel size.

The rides were lonesome going alone so I generally got someone to ride with me. When
it was a Vaquero, I usually got lessons on using the lasso (lariat). When it was a mem-
ber of the security team, we practiced with handguns while mounted. When it was my
immediate family; the discussion generally centered on the upcoming June weddings.
With Andy, the topic centered on the crops and his plans to improve yields.

I did learn a lot, especially from the Vaqueros and security people who were, by in large,
ex-military. I learned much more about the prospective spouses. Andy was a different
story. When he wasn’t bemoaning the loss of his farm, he reiterated, time after time, his
crop plans for the coming year and where he going to use manure; which never
changed from one telling to the next.

When the time came, Ginger ‘suggested’ I start working for Hank. His only comment
when I showed up was, “you ready?”

The first task was rounding up the cattle and branding the new calves. This was some-
thing he started doing after that last bunch of cattle was rustled. The horses were given
lip tattoos. I did some branding but no lip tattoos. By Independence Day, I was nearly as
proficient with the lariat as some of the long term Vaqueros; they had me aced on rop-
ing calf legs for the branding.

“How do you think you’re doing Cal?”

“You’re asking me? I think the thing that I have the most trouble doing is lassoing the
hind leg of those calves.”

“You’ve got that right. Why do you think you’re having trouble?”

“Some of these Vaqueros have worked for us for years; I simply can’t compete.”

323
“I think you’re wrong. You can compete, you just lack self-confidence. Sometimes it
takes you more than one throw to lasso the leg, but some of those people with years of
experience take more than one throw, too. Getting a rope on their neck is the easy part
while getting the second rope on the hind leg is the hard part. The calf is fighting the
lasso around its neck and is moving every which way to get loose. I’ll see if I can get
one of the old hands to work with you on roping the hind legs.”

I learned I was close to the old hands and with practice was about equal with everyone
and better than some. Hank was right about roping a moving target, giving me confi-
dence. Ginger pulled me off the assignment and had me working in canning operation
where I swear I was sweating fat. My formerly snug jeans ended up being rotated into
active service and the size larger returned to the drawer.

I thought that when the canning was finished up, it pretty much ended it for the year.
Didn’t work that way, I ended up working for Ramón as just another security hand. With
what I’d picked up from the vet’s this turned out to be the easiest of the 4 tasks. I was 3
down with 1 to go, working for Andy. My thinking had matured a little and I just did what
Andy directed. It was the hardest physical work. The accomplishments were more tan-
gible, grains in the bins, hay and straw in the lofts (hay mow). I sure didn’t gain any
weight working for Andy. Four down and none to go. Or, so I thought. There were grains
to process and to seal in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.

“Am I done now?”

“Still worried?”

“I haven’t had time to worry.”

“Then, you’re done now. You are also a leader rather than a manager because you
know exactly what it is you’re asking someone to do. We’re only running one boiler and
the water in the canal is holding right around 80° ± 2°. We’re restocking the drive-in
freezer and we now have humanitarian packages of food for anyone who comes look-
ing.”

“Is this reprieve temporary or permanent?”

“That’s up to you. Get flabby again and out of shape, start worrying and giving out or-
ders like you don’t understand what you asking and it will be temporary. Otherwise it’s
permanent.”

“Why do I feel like Jeremiah Johnson?”

“You’ve come far, pilgrim.”

“Feels like far.”

324
“Were it worth the trouble?”

“Huh? What trouble?”

“The blisters, following directions you disagreed with; all of it.”

“If it means not doing it again it was worth it.”

“They postponed the weddings until you completed all of your tasks.”

“I plumb forgot about that.”

“We brought in the 3 triple wides.”

“I remember that.”

“They’re hooked up and furnished.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“That was when you were learning how to be a Vaquero. While you were being a securi-
ty officer, the kids decided to postpone the weddings until you completed all 5 tasks.”

“When’s the wedding?”

“Next week. I found someone to clean your tuxedos.”

“Formal wedding?”

“It’s just you and me for the moment. It depends on what the others have for dress-up
wear. Suit and nice dresses for sure.”

“Black tie ok?”

“I think white tie would be over kill. The beauty of formal dress is that it doesn’t matter if
the pants are a littler large because you’re wearing suspenders. I’ll be wearing my silk,
full length, empire silhouette evening gown.”

She loved that gown because it emphasized her bust line. I always thought that a tuxe-
do was considered evening wear but times change and they were popular, almost de
rigueur for weddings.

Everyone turned out for the weddings, many in suits and cocktail dresses but all the
parents were in black tie. The reception menu was as diverse as the wedding parties

325
and something was served to meet every taste, with an emphasis on Méxican. Morning
Dove told James her name and then insisted he call her Dawn.

Pretty as a midsummer’s morn

They call her Dawn

Dawn
Go away I'm no good for you
Oh Dawn
Stay with him, he’ll be good to you

Hang on
Hang on to you
Think
What a big man he'll be

Think
Of the places you’ll see
Now think what the future would be with a poor boy like me
Dawn go away

Please go away
Although I know
I want you to stay
Dawn go away
Please go away

Baby, don’t cry

It's better this way
Ahh, ahh, ah
Ohh, ohh, oh

Dawn
Go away back where you belong
Girl we can’t
Change the places where we were born.

Before you say

That you want me
I want you to think
What your family would say

Think
What you’re throwing away
Now think what the future would be with a poor boy like me
Me

326
Dawn
Go away, I'm no good for you
Dawn
Go away, I'm no good for you

The Four Seasons – Dawn

It didn’t fly; James was anything but poor.

327
 The Dome III – Chapter 35

There were no surprise announcements of pregnancies, but there’s always tomorrow,

it’s only a day away. That wouldn’t work either because, assuming the timing was per-
fect, the suspicion wouldn’t arise for 2 weeks. Among the supplies in our one bed clinic
was a large box of pregnancy testers. The question posed was, were they any good be-
cause they were beyond their expiration date. Way beyond. There’s still the old fash-
ioned way, 2 missed periods are a pretty good clue. An embryonic heartbeat can usual-
ly be detected in the 6th week or later. At the end of the 8th week, the embryonic stage
is over and the fetal stage begins.

“It just occurred to me, we’re going to have grandchildren.”

“Make you feel old.”

“Not particularly, that wasn’t my concern.”

“What was your concern?”

“Do we have enough firearms for the grandchildren?”

“That depends upon how many grandchildren we have.”

“Figure on an average of 3.”

“Nine complete sets of firearms? It’s not like we can go to a gun store and buy them.”

“No, they’d probably be closed. However, some of them will still be there and some may
not have been looted. Didn’t you say something about looking for a Tac-50 for Dawn’s
father?”

“I did tell him I’d check out McMillan. McMillan is about a block from Sky Harbor and if
they got tires from Sky Harbor, we just might find some rifles at McMillan.”

“What about the class 3 dealer who supplied most of the H&Ks?”

“He was on the northeast side of town and may have missed any direct blast effects.”

“Ask Ramón to assign 2 Hummers to accompany us tomorrow when we go shopping in

Phoenix.”

“Yes, Dear.”

“Don’t yes dear me, I have plans for tonight.”

“Prawns, filet and Caesar salad; what’s for desert?”

328
“Me.”

I very nicely asked Ramón for the 2 Hummers explaining we were going to Phoenix to-
morrow to do a little shopping. He asked what caliber and I told him 5.56, 7.62, 9mm,
.45acp and maybe something with lot more kick. He’d have 2 Hummers ready to go at
7am.

The next morning, she said, “Wow!”

I said, “I’ll double that!”

“Stay in shape, and you’ll hear more Wow’s.”

First stop was McMillan where we found 4 Tac-50A1R2s, 4 Tac-416s and 4 Tac-338
Lapua with magazines galore and scopes, mounts, rings, Elite Iron suppressors and 10
MUNS. We also found 10 M3A ladder type adjustable stocks and bedding material for
glass bedding. The class 3 dealer had an even dozen each, HK416s and HK417s with
the 20 inch barrels and suppressors and lots of magazines. We shopped around and
finally came up with 11 590A1s, Mossberg part number 51663.

The handguns we found at first were a mixture of Colt M1911s and Taurus PT1911s but
we kept looking and found a Kimber dealer who also carried Browning Hi-Powers in
both flavors, Mk III and Classic. This guy was a stocking dealer which I assumed meant
he had a lot stock. He did. One of Ramón’s men pointed us to several dealers that ca-
tered to the Single Action Shooters. Used Vaqueros in 4⅝, 5½ and 7½ inch were in
abundance but no dealer had more than 1 1886 in a 20 and 24 inch barrel or 1 1892 in
the 20 and 24 inch barrels. We were short and decided on the spur of the moment to go
to Tucson and Tombstone the following day. There were more dealers in Tombstone
than Tucson so we’d hit Tombstone first. I asked the party honcho to square it with
Ramón.

He must have thought he was the Terminator, he said, “No problemo” instead of “No
hay problema.” The first translates to ‘Not problem’ while ‘No problem’ translates to ‘No
hay problama’.

After he was Governor, he went back to making movies. There was an issue raised in
the LA Times back then that almost no movies were actually made in Hollywood. He
was probably out of town on Judgment Day. The Apostles Creed tells us:

He ascended into heaven,

And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

‘Quick’ is old English for ‘living’.

329
One can’t really get to Tombstone without going through Tucson and Benson / Whet-
stone. If you exit to Whetstone, you take 90 south to 82 and turn east to the junction of
80 and turn south into Tombstone. If you exit to Benson, you take 80 south to Tomb-
stone.

I hadn’t been down to Tombstone for a long time, ergo, before the war. The town was
larger than I remembered. This Tombstone catered to tourists. Somewhere I have a
copy of The Tombstone Epitaph; a reprint of the paper the day after the Shootout at the
OK Corral. I also had a book on The Lost Dutchman Mine, but we have more gold than
he did, so why chance it… people get killed for looking for it.

We got most of what we wanted in Tombstone, and the Tucson nuke hit the old movie
studio location on the other side of the mountain. The town was relatively intact, all
things considered; the radiation must have done them in. With our goal fulfilled, we re-
turned to the ranch, arriving in the middle of another firefight. Ginger and I held back,
while the guys in the 2 Hummers joined the fray. The OpFor hadn’t walked up to the
gate / drawbridge and demanded anything. They were well concealed with good cover
and were snipping with M82A1Ms.

They were out a ways, I don’t know, maybe 1,600 meters, and the Mk 19 Mod 3 couldn’t
quite reach. The 2 M2A1 were putting out short bursts, raking the general area where
the snipers were set up. Oh so close, but no cigar. Then a Hummer radioed Ramón
passing information to allow them to correct their fire and then they moved up behind
the snipers. The Hummer with the Mk 19 didn’t fire; I told them I wanted those rifles.
The Hummer with M2A1 opened up and the battle was over. Turns out we had 1 KIA 3
WIA from glancing rounds and they had 6 KIA from direct hits. Don’t you just love it
when a plan comes together?

Five of the rifles were in 100% condition and the 6 th had only cosmetic damage. And, I
was thinking, ‘damn, I wished there had been 8 of them so we had one rifle for each
tower’. Sometimes people get stuck on stupid, including me. I wasn’t thinking about
possible grandchildren at the time.

“We need 3 more of those.”

“Three? I was thinking 2. You know so we could have one in each tower. With the soft
mounts we could use them in the mounts for the Mk 19 Mod 3 which doesn’t have the
range of the M82.”

“Where would you get the soft mounts?”

“Uh, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.”

“We’d have to cross Arizona, New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, Arkansas
and a portion of Tennessee to get there?”

330
“I suppose.”

“Forget it. Just add them to our armory. The kids and expected grandchildren have Tac-
50s or something in a large caliber sniper rifle.”

“We could keep them and give all the grandchildren 50 caliber rifles between the 4 Tac-
50s and 6 Barrett M82A1Ms.”

“And if they’re fruitful and multiply…”

“We have the Tac-416s and Tac-338s.”

“What’s the damage Ramón?”

“One KIA, 3 WIA, glancing wounds, they’ll survive.”

“Who was KIA?”

“You never met him. He was a new guy who applied for a job on the Security Force. I
told him I couldn’t hire him without getting the Bosses approvals.”

“Bosses?”

“Ginger and you; and, you know it whether you’ll admit it or not.”

“That’s fair.”

“It’s a shame he got killed, I think he would have been a good one.”

“It also tells us something we didn’t really know before.”

“Oh, what?”

“There are more survivors than the people on the ranch.”

“Have you seen any?”

“We didn’t see any in Phoenix, Tombstone or Tucson. However, there were at least 7,
our KIA and the 6 your guys killed.”

“If they’re a cross section, about 71 percent (6÷7) of the survivors are bad guys.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll have to find the other 29 percent. (1÷7)”

331
We didn’t have room for more people although it would be incumbent on us to provide
shelter and all the rest if someone showed up. The easiest solution would be erecting
another pole building with dirt floors and insulation to keep it warm. A wood / coal out-
side furnace could heat the whole building depending on its BTU output. We could sal-
vage two in case one wouldn’t cut it. Wood / coal stoves would equip a kitchen. Add
coal to the list of things you can never have too much of.

Propane wasn’t an issue and we could always install more PV panels and invert-
er/charge controllers. We batted it around some and decided to try to get more dou-
blewides since we could move fences, if necessary. This time we started in Tucson and
pulled back 30 sections, or 15 doublewides. Next we went back to Phoenix and found
20 sections or 10 doublewides.

We started assembling them after installing the utilities. Both Phoenix and Tucson sup-
plied furniture, washers and dryers plus upright freezers. That’s where we hit our first
stumbling block; everyone wanted an automatic washer and propane dryer. We took a
semi with 2 53 foot cargo vans and loaded up (our first B-Train). We ended up with
spares stored in Warehouse 2. Anticipating a much higher propane demand, we topped
off the propane tanks and returned to Tucson to refill the propane tankers.

This trip we saw a few people who tried to avoid us. We boxed them in and I asked who
spoke for the group.

“Well, I suppose that would be me.”

“Do you have a name me?”

“I’m a 1st generation American who migrated from Germany in 1992 and most people
call me Kraut.”

“Kraut, my name is Calvin Burgess and my wife and I own a small ranch between Tuc-
son and Phoenix in the vicinity of Eloy. We’re looking for more residents because in our
experience about 70 percent of the survivors of the war are up to no good and the other
30 percent could probably use our help. That 70 percent criminal element would rather
take than bargain and trade.

“We’re open to trade and will accept gold, silver, things we’re in need of and labor. We
provide housing, community bomb shelters, horses and plenty of beef, pork, chicken
and fish to eat. We produce our own bread, its whole wheat, milk and so forth.”

“My name is Eric Braeden, no relation. What kind of housing?”

“Doublewide mobile homes with appliances, washer, dryer, upright freezer and propane.
We also produce our own electricity using 15 wind turbines and a lot of PV panels with
50kw generators for backup.”

332
“You’ve been stealing the diesel and gasoline haven’t you?”

“We’ve been recovering it and restoring it to useable fuel.”

“Cleaned out the gun stores too.”

“Yep. Interested?”

“Have to talk it over with the wife. I think all of us would have to discuss it with our
spouses.”

“Fair enough. If you decided you’re interested, take the Eloy exit and drive south to the
castle.”

“You have a castle?”

“We have 6 sections surrounded by a canal where we grow fish and a berm with guard
towers about every 1½ miles. People who work for us get food, housing, transportation
around the ranch and appropriate firearms.”

“And if we don’t care for firearms?”

“Move to California, you’ll be in good company. Everyone on the ranch is armed except
when they’re in bed or bathing.”

“How many families do you have room for?”

“At the moment 24. They’re 3 bedroom homes. We put in a 30 acre garden and most of
the field crops are for both human and livestock consumption. If we get 24 additional
families we can increase the size of the garden.”

“What do you grow?”

“Three varieties of wheat, corn, oats, barley and 3 varieties of beans, pinto, large white
plus either small white, red beans, black beans and pink beans. The remainder of the
food is grown in the garden or greenhouse; and we don’t grow anything that’s unpopular
with most of the folks. We’re now rationing coffee and tea to one can per month and 2
boxes of teabags per month. That’s 57 ounces of coffee and 40 teabags.”

“Everyone is trained to use the weapons assigned to them and is expected to qualify bi-
weekly.”

“What do you have?”

“Sorry, you’ll only find out if you move to the ranch. We’d be foolish if we told everyone
what we had. Trust me, we aren’t under gunned.”

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“What kind of transportation?”

“Most of hands ride Quarter Horse stock horses. My family also raises Moroccan Barbs,
Andalusians and Lipizzaners. They’re pretty much reserved for family use.”

“Lipizzaners? No way.”

“The herd is small but growing. We only breed the mares every other breeding cycle
now. People said no way when we got the Barbs and again when we got the Anda-
lusians, but we got them and are protecting the breeds.”

“No Morgans?”

“No Morgans or Tennessee Walking Horses.”

“Want some Morgans and Tennessee Walking horses?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Two Morgan stallions from different lines and 6 mares also from different lines.
Three Tennessee Walking horse stallions from 3 different lines and 6 mares and 3
three-year-old fillies.”

“No geldings?”

“Six of each ranging from 4-year-olds to 6 year olds.”

“Looking to sell them?”

“Thought maybe they’d be our buy-in.”

“Deal.”

“That’s if we decide to come.”

“Naturally. Got tack?”

“Only for the grown horses.”

“Even if you decide not to come, we might be interesting is buying them.”

“They wouldn’t be for sale.”

“Ok, we’re not short of horses.”

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A buy-in? That sounded like they thought the ranch was MAG, Mutual Aid Group. It was
after a fashion, but only 4 people had votes, Ginger, Cal, Sheree and Andy plus we had
2 advisors, Hank and Ramón. Everyone could make suggestions, we weren’t TOTALLY
closed minded.

Any suggestion adopted that really improved ranch operation was rewarded in some
way. We didn’t pay bonuses, but things like extra coffee, more tea and etc. were re-
wards in themselves. If we were going to make a trip away from home across state
lines, it had to be really important. For example, more coffee from one of Folgers’
plants, maybe more tea… but they were on the east coast and Ginger had ordered that
extra truckload of Bigelow. That was good for us and bad for a lot of the hands who
didn’t like Earl Grey. Earl Grey is an acquired taste, especially Bigelow Earl Grey.
Couldn’t get Twinings either, Twinings North America was in Clifton, NJ.

You know with bad always comes some good; we were no longer worried about global
warming and actually hoped it got warmer. Not that we were short on that New Mexico
coal that Cholla Power plant burned. We’d about exhausted the new doublewide mobile
home market and building a pole building to house more people in apartments came up.
We could do it like they did hotels, 3 bedrooms interspersed with 2 bedrooms and 1
bedroom efficiencies.

The first step was designing the layout for the 3 bedroom and then the 1 bedroom effi-
ciencies followed finally by to 2 bedroom apartments. These would all be single bath
units; they could cross their knees or use one of the bathrooms in one of the other ranch
buildings. The 1 bedroom efficiency fit into the space created by the 3 rd bedroom so a 3
bedroom and 1 bedroom combined made a rectangle. That meant that the 2 bedroom
would be rectangular and we could fit some combination units in a single space. That, in
turn, meant that we could adjust the shell to any size to accommodate so many units. In
doubles because each combined unit would have a similar combined unit across the
central hallway.

After careful consideration, we decided to build the number of units that we had shelter
space for. We considered and discarded the hot racking concept for the shelters; every-
one would have their own bed. What? No, I doubt that there’ll be another World War be-
tween the inhabitants of Earth, be they so few, but what about non-Earth aliens? It was
on the list, number 83, Hostile extraterrestrials.

Got a good price on the lumber, plumbing and electrical fixtures; they only cost a little
diesel fuel, for trips to Phoenix. And somewhere along the line, someone got the idea to
adopt the Farnsworth method of construction and to make the apartment building 2 sto-
ries, ergo, double the space in the same foot print. I guess that there will be some hot
racking after all, except for the Dome. Speaking of which, we didn’t water the lawn very
often and didn’t need to mow the grass.

335
Decided to build an extended basement below the apartment with about a double foot
print, roof it with road plate and 6 feet of soil. We needed a foundation for the apartment
building anyway.

336
 The Dome III – Chapter 36

Our daughters and daughter-in-law are all pregnant and each appears to have a differ-
ent due date. I’ve gotten the prenatal vitamins from the clinic and have given the pills to
them, explaining that I was relatively sure they wouldn’t hurt them but, given the pills
ages, wasn’t certain that they would do a lot of good. I suggested that they eat very well
balanced diets, just in case. Between you and me, I hoped I was correct about the pre-
natal vitamins not hurting them.

Cal is a new person these days since I pushed him into being a leader rather than a
manager. He frequently helps the Vaqueros, Security Staff or the builders putting to-
gether the new 2 story apartment building. We initially agreed on only building enough
apartments that our existing shelter space would accommodate. And then, came the
suggestions; ergo, use the Farnsworth method of construction and later, make the build-
ing 2 story. We didn’t have any problem accumulating the building materials.

I think I’ll try and persuade him to increase the shelter space to eliminate hot racking.
It’s not like we’re short on food, in total. We’re rationing the coffee until we can find
some more and the Earl Grey isn’t too popular so we have plenty for the dome. Our
three were introduced to Earl Grey early on and eventually developed a taste for it. It
seems that many of our employees preferred Lipton Tea and they were on their own, I
wouldn’t buy it. They seemed to follow our pattern of stocking up on essentials and col-
lected more Lipton after the war, whenever they had the chance.

But, during the 10 years or so when the sun didn’t shine, I noticed our coffee supply get-
ting hit harder than usual and had to limit it to one can per family per month. Cal’s idea
about Tennessee had some merit; provided we could take a convoy and make some
side trips, like Kansas City and NOLA. Maybe we could hit a few Wal-Mart warehouses
and fill in a few essentials, like Lipton Tea. The hands work harder when they feel ap-
preciated.

“We should try and find some grocery warehouses. The hands prefer Lipton tea, not the
Bigelow; we’re short on Folgers and I won’t drink Starbucks; so, how about a road trip,
Cal?”

“Kansas City or NOLA?”

“Among others, yes. I’m sure Twinings must have a warehouse somewhere near Clif-
ton, New Jersey. If we go that far, we should check out Bigelow Tea in Charleston,
South Carolina. We could cut through Tennessee on our way to NOLA and head north
to Kansas City. We might find some wheat in the Kansas elevators on our way home
and perhaps chili peppers in New Mexico.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute Ginger. Did you not say, ‘We’d have to cross Arizona, New
Mexico, the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, Arkansas and a portion of Tennessee to get

337
there?’ followed by, ‘Forget it. Just add them to our armory. The kids and expected
grandchildren have Tac-50s or something in a large caliber sniper rifle.’”

“I changed my mind.”

“Just like that?”

“No, I gave a little thought.”

“How little?”

“More than you think. Give in, you aren’t going to win and I’ll develop a headache.”

“I thought we were past all that foolishness.”

“That’s the thing about headaches, they occur when you’re least expecting them.”

“How big of a convoy?”

“A tanker of diesel fuel, 6 cargo vans and 8 Hummers. Put the tanker in the middle of
the convoy.”

“Have you ever heard the song Convoy?”

“Not that I know of.”

LEGEND:
(sung by background singers)

[on the cb]

Ah, breaker one-nine, this heres the rubber duck. you gotta copy on me, pig pen, cmon?
ah, yeah, 10-4, pig pen, fer shure, fer shure. by golly, its clean clear to flag town, cmon.
yeah, that Big 10-4 there, pig pen, yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy.
mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy...

It was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June

And a Kenworth pullin’ logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin’ hogs
We’s headin’ for bear on Eye-one-O
‘bout a mile outta Shakeytown
I says “Pigpen, this here’s Rubber Duck”
“And I'm about to put the hammer down”

(‘cause we got a little ole convoy rockin’ thru the night)

(Yeah, we got a little ole convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight?)

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(Come on and join our convoy, ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way)
(We gonna roll this truckin’ convoy ‘cross the USA)
(Convoy)

[on the cb]

Ah, breaker, pig pen, this heres the duck. and, you wanna back off them hogs?
yeah, 10-4, bout five mile or so. ten, roger.
them hogs is gettin in-tense up here.

By the time we got into Tulsa-town we had 85 trucks in all

But there's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf
And them bears ‘s wall-to-wall
Yeah, them smokeys ‘s thick as bugs on a bumper
They even had a bear in the air
I says “Callin’ all trucks, this here's the Duck”
"We about to go a-huntin' bear"

(‘cause we got a great big convoy rockin’ thru the night)

(Yeah, we got a great big convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight?)
(Come on and join our convoy, ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way)
(We gonna roll this truckin’ convoy ‘cross the USA)
(Convoy)

[on the cb]

Ah, you wanna give me a 10-9 on that, pig pen? negatory, pig pen; youre still too close.
yeah,
them hogs is startin to close up my sinuses. mercy sakes, you better back off another
ten.

Well, we rolled up Interstate Forty-Four

Like a rocket-sled on rails
We tore up all of our swindle sheets
And left ‘em settin’ on the scales
By the time we hit that “Chi-town”
Them bears was a-gettin smart
They brought up some reinforcements
From the “Illinois” National Guard

There’s armored cars and tanks and jeeps

‘n’ rigs of ev’ry size
Yeah, them chicken coops was full of bears
And choppers filled the skies
Well, we shot the line, we went for broke
With a thousand screamin’ trucks
And eleven long-haired friends of Jesus
In a chartreuse microbus

339
[on the cb]
Ah, rubber duck to sodbuster, come over. yeah, 10-4, sodbuster? lissen, you wanna put
that micra-bus right behind that suicide jockey?
yeah, hes haulin dynamite, and he needs all the help he can hear.

Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey Shore

Prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn’t have a doggone dime
I says “Pigpen, this here’s the Rubber Duck”
“We just ain’t a-gonna pay no toll”
So we crashed the gate doin' ninety-eight
I says “let them truckers roll, ten-four”

(‘cause we got a mighty convoy rockin’ thru the night)

(Yeah, we got a mighty convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight?)
(Come on and join our convoy, ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way)

(Convoy!) ah, 10-4, pig pen, whats your twenty?

(Convoy!) omaha? well, they oughta know what to do with them hogs out there fer
shure. well, mercy
(Convoy!) sakes, good buddy, we gonna back on outta here, so keep the bugs off your
glass and the bears off your...
(Convoy!) tail. well catch you on the flip-flop. this heres the rubber duck on the side.
(Convoy!) we gone. bye, bye.
(We gonna roll this truckin’ convoy ‘cross the USA)

“I have heard a recording. Who was it?”

“C. W. McCall. C. W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries, Jr. (born Novem-
ber 15, 1928, Audubon, Iowa, United States), an American singer, activist and politician
known for his truck-themed outlaw country songs.

“In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, an Omaha, Nebraska
advertising agency, Fries created a Clio Award-winning (1974) television advertising
campaign advertising Old Home Bread for the Metz Baking Company. The advertise-
ments featured a truck driver named C. W. McCall, who was played by Dallas, Texas,
actor Jim Finlayson. The waitress named Mavis Davis was played by Dallas actress
Jean McBride Capps. The commercial’s success led to songs such as ‘Old Home Filler-
Up an’ Keep on a-Truckin’ Café’, ‘Wolf Creek Pass’ and ‘Black Bear Road’. Fries wrote
the lyrics and sang while Chip Davis, later of Mannheim Steamroller, wrote the music.

“McCall is best known for the 1976 #1 hit song ‘Convoy’, which came at the peak of the
CB fad in the United States. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold
disc by the RIAA in December 1975. Though McCall is not a one-hit wonder, ‘Convoy’

340
has since become his signature song. McCall first charted the song ‘Wolf Creek Pass’,
which reached #40 on the US pop top 40 in 1975. At least three other songs reached
Billboard’s pop Hot 100, including ‘Old Home Filler-Up an’ Keep on a-Truckin’ Café’,
‘Round the World with the Rubber Duck’ (a pirate-flavored sequel to ‘Convoy’), as well
as the environmentally-oriented ‘There Won’t Be No Country Music (There Won’t Be No
Rock ‘n’ Roll)’. A dozen McCall songs appeared in Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart,
including the sentimental ‘Roses for Mama’ (1977).

“In 1978, the movie Convoy was released, based on the C.W. McCall song. The film
starred Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Burt Young and Ernest Borgnine and was di-
rected by Sam Peckinpah. It featured a new version of the song, written specially for the
film.

“In addition to the ‘original six’ McCall albums released between 1975 and 1979, two
rare singles exist. ‘Kidnap America’ was a politically/socially-conscious track released in
1980 during the Iran hostage crisis, while ‘Pine Tar Wars’ referred to an event that actu-
ally happened in a New York Yankees-Kansas City Royals baseball game during 1983
(a dispute concerning the application of a large quantity of pine tar to a baseball bat
used by George Brett, one of the Royals players).

“In 1986, McCall (William Fries) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ul-
timately serving for six years.

“In 1990, American Gramaphone Records issued a CD containing a number of old

McCall tracks re-recorded for the digital CD age, plus a new song, ‘Comin’ Back For
More’, which was inspired by Alferd Packer, an alleged 19th century cannibal.”

“That explanation sounds canned.”

“I copied it from Wikipedia. I also copied the story of Albert Johnson who was the basis
of the Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson movie Death Hunt.”

“He was real?”

“He was real. The ending of the movie didn’t follow what really happened; it ended after
a 150 mile foot chase lasting more than a month and a shootout in which Johnson was
fatally wounded on the Eagle River, Yukon on February 17, 1932.”

“What about my suggestion?”

“What suggestion? I assume you already have it set up with Hank and Ramón. When
do we leave?”

“We’re waiting on those people from Tucson to make up their minds. We’ll go after we
know. All the drivers going with us are Vaqueros and Ramón will supply the Hummers
and one security person per.”

341
“Maybe we should drive down to Tucson and get them off the dime.”

“Agreed and we’ll take Hank and Ramón and let them answer any question the people
might have.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Fine.”

I’m a chauvinist and prefer not to hire women for the security forces unless they have
military combat experience. The wives and girlfriends of our hands probably worked
harder in the garden, processing and canning than the Vaqueros and farmhands did in
the fields. They were justly compensated because Ginger saw to that. Maybe it related
back to Carolyn’s murder, but that’s just how I am. You move on; you never forget.

The next day we returned to Tucson, riding in the Hummers with either Hank or Ramón
and one security troop. We asked for Kraut and he was soon brought to where we sat.

“Kraut, as much as I hate to rush you, we need an answer now. We have some press-
ing business to conduct and have been delaying it waiting on your answer.”

“Any chance we can check it out before we say yes or no?”

“I’m sorry; I thought that I made that perfectly clear when I told you where we’re located.
By all means send some representatives to check the ranch out along with your new
accommodations, etc. including our Warehouses.”

“We have more than the 24 families and you said you could only accommodate 24.”

“We’re finishing up a new, 2 story apartment house with a basement shelter. All build-
ings on the ranch, save the drive-in freezer are accessible via underground tunnels.”

“Can you pick up a party of 6 at 7am tomorrow?”

“Ramón?”

“No problem. Sidearms only.”

“What if we don’t have a sidearm?”

“Not our problem. If and when you move to the ranch, you will be provided with
sidearms.”

“But…”

342
“Let it go Kraut,” came a voice from the crowd.

After returning from Tucson, Ginger gathered up several ladies and each of the 24 dou-
blewides were stocked with an identical amount of food. The Apartment building was
finished except for painting the outside window frames. Hank got a crew on that. The 3
bedroom apartments were supplied with the same items used for the double wides, the
2 bedrooms got ⅔ of that amount and the 1 bedrooms ⅓ of that amount. The furnish-
ings were placed in the apartments although flatware, dishes, pot and pans were kept
stored in Warehouse 2.

According to Kraut, the next morning they had located a total of 34 families, 2 senior
couples and 4 single individuals in Tucson. The party included Kraut, a married woman
from another family, a senior couple, a single male and a single female. He asserted it
was more or less a representative sample of the survivors. To be honest, Kraut gave
me bad vibes; I attributed those to his somewhat harsh manner. His handgun was a
Glock 21.

Never judge a book by its cover. That’s double faced statement; the book can have nice
cover and be awful and the reverse is also true. By the end of the tour, I was seething;
Kraut did in fact think the ranch was a MAG. He was asking questions like, “When are
the planning meetings,” “Does everyone get to vote on everything or just important
things?”

“Kraut, the ranch is not a Mutual Aid Group. It is, in fact, a business owned by Ginger
and me. There are 4 voting members, Ginger, her brother Andy, his wife Sheree and
me. The only official advisors are Hank and Ramón. Except for a small security force,
everyone else works as a Vaquero or a farmhand. Everyone qualified with a weapon
helps defend the ranch if, as and when it’s attacked. Exceptions are determined by the
voting members based on the advice of Hank and Ramón. If that’s unacceptable, you
won’t be welcome at this ranch.”

“But you have so much.”

“Everything was earned, with a few exceptions, prewar.”

“What did you steal post war?”

“We recovered abandoned fuels that had to be restored, abandoned firearms and am-
munition and mobile homes.”

“That’s it?”

“For the most part, yes.”

“It’s not fair you have and others don’t.”

343
“Sure it is; there was nothing preventing others from preparing the same as we did, on
an appropriate scale. We may have had more money available to devote to prepara-
tions but we had more people to prepare for.”

“What about those expensive horses?”

“They may be the last of their breed in the United States.”

“If this isn’t a MAG, then there is no buy-in, right?”

“Right.”

“But you would have taken the horses as a buy-in, right?”

“Right; they may be the last of their breed in the United States. We have the space and
can produce the feed for a large number of livestock.”

“I’ll tell you, Calvin, I thought you had a MAG, not a Kingdom. I’m disinclined to move
here. I lost 6 friends recently and I don’t get good vibes here.”

“Six you say? Close friends?”

“Very close; the 7 of us were members of a .50 caliber shooting group.”

“Tac-50s?”

“Barrett M82A1Ms. I couldn’t go with them because I was under the weather with some
bug or something.”

“I see. I can see where you’d get bad vibes from the ranch. What do the rest of you folks
think?”

The seniors were for it, as were the singles. Neither Kraut nor the other woman was for
it. One of the seniors commented that she was recently widowed with 5 other women.

“We’ll take you back to Tucson and you can think about it. Hank, take care of it, please.
Ginger, call a director’s meeting with Andy and Sheree, please.”

“Right.”

“Ok honey.”

“There were 7 snipers, not 6; Kraut was the 7th and couldn’t come because he was sick.
Germany was reunified in 1990. Eric Braeden is the stage name of a German actor who
most recently starred on The Young and the Restless. The Ministry for State Security,

344
commonly known as the Stasi, was the official state security service of the German
Democratic Republic or GDR, colloquially known as East Germany. It has been de-
scribed as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agen-
cies to ever have existed.

“I suspect that Kraut and the other members of their .50 caliber shooting group were
former Stasi who emigrated from Germany to the US in 1992 using false identities they
generated before the Wall fell in 1989 or shortly thereafter. I also presume that they
brought their families with them using the same type of false identities.”

“You sound so sure Cal.”

“I am very sure, but I can’t prove it. After we ‘think it over’, I suggest we propose to invite
people from Tucson based on interviews of each family unit. I’m inclined to invite the
seniors, without an interview, but that might wave a red flag. After the interview we can
bring the families we ‘accept’ up here to decide if they want to move here. If they want
to move, we’ll take them back to Tucson to gather their belongings the next day and in-
terview another family unit. One family per day will only postpone our trip by approxi-
mately one month.

“Braeden starred in a movie I saw on cable, Colossus: The Forbin Project, a 1970
American science fiction thriller film. It is about a massive American defense computer,
named Colossus, becoming sentient and deciding to assume control of the world.

“As I recall the plot, Dr. Charles A. Forbin, Eric Braeden, is the chief designer of a secret
government project that has built an advanced supercomputer, called ‘Colossus’, to
control all of the United States and Allied nuclear weapons systems. Colossus is imper-
vious to attack, encased within a mountain and powered by its own nuclear reactor.
When it is activated, the President of the United States announces its existence at a
press conference, proudly proclaiming it a perfect defense system that will ensure
peace.

“Shortly after, Colossus sends a cryptic message: ‘Warning: There is another system’.
Moments later, the President learns the Soviets will shortly be activating their own ver-
sion of Colossus, a computer known as ‘Guardian’. Forbin tries to figure out how Colos-
sus learned of Guardian's existence.

“Colossus asks that communications be established with Guardian. The President al-
lows the construction of the communications link to help determine the Soviet machine's
capabilities. Once the link is established, Colossus begins sending messages, starting
with simple mathematics but becoming increasingly more complex. After a while,
Guardian responds. Soon the two machines begin communicating in a binary language
that the scientists cannot interpret.

“This alarms the President and the Soviet General Secretary, who agree to disconnect
the link. The machines insist that the link be restored. When the President refuses, Co-

345
lossus launches a nuclear missile at an oil field in the USSR; Guardian launches one at
Henderson Air Force Base in Texas. Demands to stop the attacks are ignored, and the
link is hurriedly reconnected. Colossus is able to shoot down the Soviet missile, but the
US missile destroys the oil field and a nearby town. Cover stories are released to the
press.

“The two computers exchange information without limitation. A meeting between Forbin
and his Soviet counterpart, Dr. Kuprin, is hurriedly arranged. When Colossus learns of
the meeting, Colossus and Guardian order that Forbin be returned California, while So-
viet agents are ordered to shoot Dr. Kuprin.

“The computer demands that Forbin be placed under 24-hour surveillance so that it can
watch him at all times. Before this is done, Forbin meets with his team outside and pro-
poses that his associate, Dr. Cleo Markham, pretend to be his mistress to keep him in
touch with clandestine operations against Colossus.

“After deciding the computers are impervious to attack, Forbin suggests disarming the
missiles to prevent nuclear blackmail. American missile commanders come up with a
plan to replace the missile triggers with fakes. However, based on existing maintenance
schedules, it will take three years to neutralize all the missiles.

“When a voice synthesizer is set up, Guardian/Colossus announces that it has become
one entity. Guardian/Colossus then instructs the governments to retarget all nuclear
missiles at those countries not yet under its control. Both governments see this as an
opportunity to covertly disarm the missiles much faster under the pretext of carrying out
these orders. The process starts with a missile in Colorado. The procedure is success-
ful.

“Meanwhile, working by direct personal contact, the scientists attempt to overload the
computer by feeding in test cycles. The attempt fails, and the individuals responsible are
ordered immediately executed by firing squad. Shortly thereafter, Guardian/Colossus
sends plans for an even larger computer to be dug into the island of Crete.

“Guardian/Colossus, which has so far only communicated with the American and Soviet
governments, arranges a worldwide broadcast. It announces it is ‘the voice of World
Control’ and declares that its mission is to prevent war, as it was designed to do so.
Mankind is given the choice between the ‘peace of plenty’, or one of ‘unburied dead’. It
also states that it had detected the attempt to disarm the missiles and detonates two of
them in their silos ‘so that you will learn by experience that I do not tolerate interfer-
ence’. Guardian/Colossus tells Dr. Forbin that ‘freedom is just an illusion’ and that ‘In
time, you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love’. Forbin
replies, ‘Never!’”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“That’s number 150 on Jerry’s list. Be that as it may, what about my proposal?”

346
The vote was ‘sort of’ 3 to 1 with Sheree being in total disagreement with and Andy be-
grudgingly supporting my proposal.

Author’s Note:

When the executives at Control Data Corporation found out that Universal was planning
a major movie featuring a computer, they saw their chance for some public exposure,
and they agreed to supply, free of charge, $4.8 million worth of computer equipment
and the technicians to oversee its use. Each piece of equipment carried the CDC name
in a prominent location. Since they were using real computers - not just big boxes with a
lot of flashing lights - the sound stage underwent extensive modifications: seven gas
heaters and five specially-constructed dehumidifiers kept any dampness away from the
computers, a climate control system maintained the air around the computers at an
even temperature, and the equipment was covered up at all times except when actually
on camera. Brink's guards were always present on the set, even at night. The studio
technicians were not allowed to smoke or drink coffee anywhere near the computers.

The many prominent blue and gray “consoles” (the ones with a rotary knob on the right
side) for Colossus are cannibalized console panels from several IBM 1620 computers
remounted on prop “computers”.

Programs and commands for Colossus often elicit the expression "OLD PROGRAM
NAME" on the large text displays of the computer. This reflects the influence of time-
sharing terminal interfaces used at the time, especially for interactive programming envi-
ronments in the BASIC language. Existing programs were often loaded for editing or
execution by typing the command OLD into a terminal, and then responding to a prompt
with the program name, whereas new programs were created by typing NEW. Similarly,
RUN was the command used to actually execute a program written in BASIC on these
systems.

The computer seen in the film was the payroll computer at the studio.

Producer Stanley Chase said that while it’s frightening to suppose a computer could
take over the world, it was indeed possible. His technical advisor said that a machine
like Colossus actually existed at that time. The model for Colossus was supposedly the
NORAD system that controlled the US national defense systems, and that’s why the
computer programming center in the film was located in the Rocky Mountains (which is
also the home of NORAD). The US government wouldn’t allow a film crew on the NOR-
AD grounds, so the exteriors were filmed at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley,
California. The missile sites were photographed in the California desert near Palmdale.

D.F. Jones worked with computers in Britain during WWII and knew about Colossus, the
computer which was the heart of Britain’s code breaking complex at Bletchley Park.

347
When the Colossus commanded missile re-targeting procedure is shown in a segment
where the conspirators are watching for the success their sabotaged warhead arming
module replacement, the new target coordinate provided by Colossus (Lon 99 deg 6
min 45 sec, Lat 19 deg 26 min 5 sec) is that of Mexico City, Mexico.

Universal later reused the footage of Colossus being activated as part of Cyborg: The
Six Million Dollar Man. Before they begin operating on Steve Austin to attach his bionic
limbs, the entire activation sequence from Colossus is used.

Originally Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck were considered for the lead role, but
Stanley Chase insisted on an unknown actor for the lead and German-born actor Eric
Braeden was cast.

Near the end of Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, the speaker that the Colossus
computer uses to speak to the humans can be seen in the Presidents bunker at Crystal
Ridge on one of the main computer terminals. In T3, through this speaker, John Connor
hear calls for help from all over the United States after Skynet and the machines be-
come self-aware.

In the movie, one of the attempts by the humans to regain control of Colossus is to try to
overload the machine by feeding it too much data. This sequence is not in the original
D.F. Jones novel “Colossus”, on which the movie is based; however, it is a major plot
point in the novel’s sequel, “The Fall of Colossus”, which was published in 1974.

The outside views of the “Colossus Control Center” are images of the Lawrence Hall of
Science, just opened in 1968 when this film was being made. LHS is a science and
computer museum still open to the public in the hills just above the University of Califor-
nia Berkeley campus and is a University managed facility.

When Colossus/Guardian detonates a nuclear bomb near the end of the film, the blast
footage seen on the monitors and TVs is that of “Ivy Mike”, the first US test of a nuclear
fusion device. It took place in November 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

Endnote

“I’m surprised at Andy. Sheree said no and I said yes; that left him between a rock and
a hard spot. His yes was very tentative.”

“I noticed, Ginger. I believe that he’s unhappy being here in Arizona. They really didn’t
have much choice if the farm got a huge amount of radiation. On the other hand, we got
enough radiation to need to shelter for a very long time. I think that if he had his
druthers, he’d move back to Missouri.”

348
“You’re probably right. I could give him my gold and silver, the stuff I had when we got
married, to set him up.”

“We have those M3A stocks and bedding material. I wonder how far the farm is from
Genesco.”

“The farm is near Sullivan. I’d guess give or take 325 miles. I looked it up once when I
was thinking about buying an M1A rifle.”

“I sure would like to get 12 of those SA9102 actions. Surely we have someone here that
could glass bed the actions.”

“If anyone would know, it would be either Hank or Ramón. Ask them.”

349
 The Dome III – Chapter 37

I asked Hank and Ramón and neither had a clue. It didn’t really matter at the moment
because we had stocks but not the actions, mounts, scope rings or scopes. I thought I
could probably pick up the suppressors in Phoenix because everyone and his brother
manufactured suppressors in Phoenix. I explained our decision of interviewing one fami-
ly unit a day until we had all the people from Tucson that we found acceptable.

“Doesn’t that include Kraut? I purely don’t like the man or trust him either. You’ll be get-
ting a pig in a poke if you accept him.”

“We discussed that and I think he’s an East German and a former member of Stasi. In
fact, he was one of the snipers with the Barrett rifles who couldn’t make the trip because
he came down with a bug of some kind or another. There are 6 widows who are proba-
bly the wives of the 6 men we killed and we won’t invite them either. We’ll be interview-
ing 1 family unit per day and if they pass muster, they’ll be invited to the ranch to check
it out. If they want to stay, we’ll take them back to Tucson the next morning and inter-
view the next family while the first gather their things. Plan on 2 Hummers with M240Bs,
a couple of LAWs and an assortment of hand grenades.”

“Better Cal; we may get out of this with our lives.”

“After they’re settled in, we’ll be making the cross country trip looking for things we’re
short on like coffee, tea and Barrett rifles with soft mounts. I wanted to put one Barrett in
each tower for when the attackers are beyond the reach of the Mk 19s. Hank you’ll be
providing the vehicles and Ramón will provide one security man for each of the 8 Hum-
mers. I’ve decided to leave the two of you here to make sure the ranch is intact when
we get back. We’re also taking Andy and family back with us to Sullivan, Missouri so
they can resume farming.”

“What if his farm isn’t in good enough condition to farm?”

“We’ll probably bring them back if that’s the case. This is the easiest approach, letting
them see for themselves. We’ll probably hit Kansas City first to get Folgers, cut down to
Sullivan, and check for grocery distributors in both KC and the St. Louis outskirts. From
there we’re going up to Springfield Armory looking for SA9102 actions to mount in the
M3A stocks we found.

“Twinings North America is located in Clifton, New Jersey and we’ll check them and Bi-
gelow Tea in Charleston, South Carolina for tea. Then, we’ll head for Barrett Rifles in
Tennessee and turn south for NOLA, another Folgers operation. At that point I guess it
will depend on how much space we have in the cargo vans. We might check Houston to
see if PRI survived and we may or may not check Kansas elevators for wheat. Last stop
will be New Mexico looking for chili peppers. I figure on 4 weeks minimum and 6 weeks
maximum. Hank, please have your mechanic check out Andy’s Suburban and travel
trailer.”

350
Ginger and I did the interviews of those indicated that they wanted to move to the ranch.
Surprisingly, that included Kraut and the 6 widows. We selected the seniors, a foregone
conclusion. We carefully screened the others, attempting to determine if they were
friends of Kraut and the 6 widows. None had even been acquaintances, before the war,
and none were anti-gun. Many were, in fact, firearm owners who carefully husbanded
what ammo they had. We saved Kraut’s family and the 6 widows for last and not sur-
prisingly didn’t extend an invitation to them to move to the ranch.

We had deferred the decisions on the last 7 until everyone else was settled at the
ranch. Housing was assigned according to their need with most of the seniors getting 1
bedroom or 2 bedroom apartments. Kraut’s family and the 6 widows were very unhappy
when they weren’t invited to move to the ranch. I could see it in his eyes, although he
said nothing. I do believe they all expected it because of being interviewed last. Were
our days of getting fuel supplies from Tucson at an end? It didn’t really matter; we had
about 90 plus percent of the fuel supplies moved to the ranch by then. And, Phoenix
had so many more supplies of stored fuels.

“Ramón, keep the gate locked and blocked. And, raise the drawbridge after we leave.
We haven’t heard the last of Kraut and company. Keep in mind he has a Barrett
M82A1M and who knows how much ammunition.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t have some of those new H&K rifles, Cal. We’ll be
keeping 2 in the towers 24/7 until you return. Do you really think you can do all the
things you mentioned in 6 weeks?”

“Truthfully, it depends on what we find. Ginger says Andy can drive a semi-tractor so if
we find more than we expect, we will be getting a semi-tractor and appropriate trailer to
haul the extra. Hank, a new requirement; as I understand it, a B-double consists of a
prime mover towing two semi-trailers, where the first semi-trailer is connected to the
prime mover by a fifth wheel coupling and the second semi-trailer is connected to the
first semi-trailer by a fifth wheel coupling. I don’t want dollies; I wanted the fifth wheel
mounted on the back of the 53 foot trailers. Can you do that?”

“It’s what we did when we went after the washers and dryers… no problem. It’s just a
matter of getting some extra trailers that already have the rear fifth-wheel coupling.
That’s not hard to do in Arizona. Some of ours already do for pulling pups. Give me a
couple of days.”

“Have you checked everything on the tractors and trailers?”

“They have new tires all the way around with new mounted spares with extra spares
that will work on the tractors and trailers. The mechanic has been through each engine
and transmission and he says they’re good to go for 25,000 miles. The brakes are in
good condition and we turned rotors and installed new pads plus axle bearings where
necessary. There are spare filters and barrels of oil in one of the trailers. The mechanic

351
will be driving that tractor and his complete toolbox is in the trailer, strapped to the side
near the rear door with oil and spares strapped opposite.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to do more than oil changes or add fluids.”

“Amen, brother. But he has the fluids, a few extra batteries and a selection of parts. If
you do acquire another semi-tractor, get a Peter Car, that’s what he has parts and ex-
tras for. Average oil change interval is 15,000 miles but some Cummins engines are
rated for 25,000 miles between changes.”

“When are we leaving?”

“Hank said a couple of days. They’re going to Phoenix to look for 53 foot trailers with
mounted fifth wheels on the back.”

“They have a name?”

“They’re part of road trains. In the simplest terms a B-Train consists of two trailers linked
together by a fifth wheel, and is typically up to 85 foot long. The fifth wheel coupling is
located at the rear of the lead, or first, trailer and is mounted on a ‘tail’ section common-
ly located immediately above the lead trailer axles. In North America this area of the
lead trailer is often referred to as the ‘bridge’. The twin-trailer assembly is hooked up to
a tractor unit via the tractor unit's fifth wheel in the customary manner. Our B-Trains will
be longer but, if DOT tries to stop us we follow the advice from Convoy.

“The main advantage of the B-Train configuration is its inherent stability when compared
to most other twin trailer combinations and it is this feature above all else that has en-
sured its continued development and global acceptance.

“B-Train trailers are used to transport many types of loads and examples include tanks
for liquid and dry-bulk, flat-beds and curtain-siders for deck-loads, bulkers for aggre-
gates and wood residuals, refrigerated trailers for chilled and frozen goods, vans for dry
goods, logging trailers for forestry work and cattle liners for livestock.”

“Jeez, ask a simple question and get a lecture.”

“Are Andy and family ready to leave?”

“Are we letting him keep the M-21?”

“They can keep all the weapons in their possession. We can provide a reasonable
amount of ammo, following TOM’s guidelines.”

“I wonder if he caught that warhead.”

“If he survived he’d be in his 90s and without medicine. Either way he’s dead.”

352
°

Authors Note: The report of my death was an exaggeration. Both warheads hit Ed-
wards. They were, after all, made in China. But, she did call me and I got dressed and
went out front to wait. Put on SPF-60 because I didn’t want to get a flash burn.

Adapted from Mark Twain

Endnote

“Get ‘em?”

“Yep. Give us a day to swap out the tires, check the brakes and lube whatever needs
lubed and you can leave the day after tomorrow.”

“I saw that.”

“Saw what?”

“The Day After Tomorrow.”

“Oh, the movie; Dennis Quade, right?”

“Yep.”

“Never happen like it did in the movie… helicopter freezing in the air like that… ridicu-
lous.”

“Let’s hope that the cold has lowered the level of the Atlantic. New Jersey and South
Carolina are both on the Atlantic.”

“They say the snow was down around I-70. Where is Sullivan, Missouri in relation to I-
70?”

“South. Sullivan is on I-44 that connects St. Louis and Springfield. I-70 connects St.
Louis with Kansas City and runs west northwest from St. Louis, according to Ginger.”

“That’s a pretty narrow line.”

“Like said, we’ll probably bring them back if that’s the case. Andy can drive a B-train if
we can find the right kind of trailer. We’ll be short on a Tail End Charlie so we’ll probably
pull a middle-of-the-pack Hummer.”

“Maybe Ramón can find another M1114.”

353
“We cleaned out Camp Navajo.”

“We haven’t been to Fort Huachuca and it isn’t that far away.”

“Ramón can you find us more M1114s?”

“We cleaned out Camp Navajo.”

“Fort Huachuca isn’t that far away.”

“Which gun?”

“All you can find of M1114s and guns to mount on them.”

“No M249s, right?”

“Right.”

“We’ll be back.”

“Sometimes he reminds me of Arnold.”

“Ginger, will you explain to Andy that there may be a delay of an extra day or 2.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re his sister and he might take it better from you.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking. I want to know why there may be a delay of an extra
day or 2.”

“We’re short on Hummers. I sent him to Fort Huachuca to get more M1114 and mount-
ed guns.”

“We have the right number of Hummers for the number of semis.”

“True… but if the farm isn’t viable he could drive B-train that we could put together and
drive that and Sheree could drive the Suburban.”

“Why wouldn’t it be viable?”

“The snow line is down to I-70. How far south of I-70 is Sullivan?”

“Not far enough to be positive. Ok, I’ll let him know.”

354
I like to read PAW/Patriot fiction, sue me. In Normal, Grand talked about the 10th Spe-
cial Forces Group at Fort Carson, ergo, Colorado Springs. I had a list on my computer
and verified that the 10th SFG was stationed at Fort Carson and near Stuttgart, Germa-
ny. Hmm… At 13.42 years, the radiation level should be down to 3mR/hr, lower than
normal background, at Cheyenne Mountain and Fort Carson. The Special Forces are
always the first units to get the new play pretties, ergo HK416s and HK417s with the
matching AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers and the best optics, EOTechs, ACOGs, Aim-
point CompM4, ITL MARS and suppressors. Delta Force got them in 2004. The SEALs
used them to kill bin Laden.

“I explained the delay to Andy and Sheree. I think they’re having second thoughts; es-
pecially when I pointed out the distance between I-70 and Sullivan.”

“They could stay here for the moment and we could check the farm out and you could
communicate back here on 40 meters and tell him what you see and what you think. We
could arrange for Security forces to escort them home if it’s viable. Part of that depends
on how many M1114s and weapons Ramón brings back, and their condition.”

“Ramón’s back. He has a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“You may just change your mind.”

“What are those things?”

“M1117 Armored Security Vehicles and each include an Mk 19, a M2A1 and a M240H.”

“We’re not taking those; they’d use too much fuel.”

“I didn’t expect you to take them, Cal. I got them for the ranch and you can take the 2
LAV-25A1s. Make them Point and Tail End Charlie.”

“Hank, are the LAVs ready to go?”

“Yes. We just need to finish the brake jobs on the new trailers and you can leave. We
brought back new rotors, pads and axle bearings. It won’t take that long. You can leave
tomorrow.”

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always (I sometimes substitute only)
A day

355
A way!

I believe I’ve read every story TOM and Jerry published… before the war. I’m not going
to Palmdale or Reno to find out how they are. We go eastbound tomorrow, if it ever gets
here. At midnight, precisely, tomorrow changes its name to today and the day after to-
morrow changes its name to tomorrow. Trust me on this, I’m almost positive.

“We’re all done, Cal. You can leave in the morning.”

Sucker must have been reading my mind…

Thanks, Hank. I’ll tell Ginger and she’ll tell Andy.”

“I had the impression you inherited the ranch.”

“I did, before I married Ginger. Arizona is a community property state.”

“Still, generally speaking, the property that each partner brings into the marriage or re-
ceives by gift, bequest or devise during marriage is called separate property (i.e., not
community property). One has to consider division of property, also known as equitable
distribution, is a judicial division of property rights and obligations between spouses dur-
ing divorce. It may be done by agreement, through a property settlement, or by judicial
decree.”

“Everything we gained after we were married would have to be 50-50; she works as
hard as I do. It’s irrelevant, we have a good marriage.”

“We’ll have the motors warmed up by 7:30 in the morning.”

What the hell was that all about? Whatever; now is not the time to ask.

“Let Andy and Sheree know that we’re leaving at 7:30 in the morning.

“I have both our bags packed and included cold weather clothing, just in case.”

“Weapons?”

“All of them and plenty of all types of grenades, rockets and explosives. We might need
them to clear a downed overpass or something.”

“Food?”

“Mountain House; all the things you and I prefer. I put the word out that everyone was to
take whatever Mountain House products they prefer. Keep your eyes open for someone
turning red from eating too many freeze dried strawberry slices. There was no way to
bring any frozen meat so we’ll have to tough it out.”

356
“How much food did you bring?”

“Twelve weeks. You originally said 6 weeks and I doubled that and brought enough cof-
fee, tea and hot cocoa for the entire 12 weeks.”

One of the features of the drawbridge was our ability to lock it in an upright position. An
L shaped bracket was mounted on top of the concrete that went up to the gate post. A
similar bracket was mounted on the drawbridge and when it was raised, a ¾ inch bolt
was used to bolt the drawbridge to the concrete bracket. Those brackets were protected
by 3 inches of laminated road plate welded to the drawbridge.

“Mount up!”

They scurried to board vehicles and when everyone was aboard, I commanded, “Move
out.”

With a Lav-25 in the lead, we headed for the I-10 junction 3 miles north. We maintained
25-50 meters between vehicles since the trailers were nearly empty and all had good
brakes. I had changed my plans again, for safety’s sake and we connected with I-17
north. We’d passed through Flagstaff with the coal train and found it intact. I was more
concerned about Albuquerque where we’d pick I-25 north.

Other than the too frequent potty breaks, we made good time, stopping 1 hour before
sunset and set up camp. The security troops set up a night watch, had a quick meal and
either went on duty or crawled into one of two tents they brought. Ginger and I had a
pop-up tent trailer with a chemical toilet and accommodations for 4. We perked a pot of
Folgers and boiled water for our beef stew entrée. The plan was to rotate through the
entrees and sides, testing each in turn and determine which combinations worked best.

“Listen up. Our plans for today involve skirting Albuquerque on the west and then north.
We’ll pick up I-25 north and get as close to Raton Pass as we can. The tanker will climb
the pass with 2 Hummers and a LAV-25 in support. When they reach the top, the LAV-
25 and both Hummers will remain to guard the tanker. Since we’re virtually unloaded,
our trip up the next morning should be much faster than it would be having the loaded
tanker with us.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go now?”

“A convoy can only travel as fast as the slowest vehicle.”

“So?”

“Do the rest you agree with the suggestion?”

357
“Why the hell not? The sooner we get to the various locations we’re going, the sooner
we’ll be home.”

“Any dissent?”

“No? Check your fuel level and fluid levels. We’ll leave as soon as that’s accomplished.”

“What’s the destination?”

“Fort Collins; specifically the 10th Special Forces Group.”

“Don’t the Special Forces, SOCCOM, get the best of everything?”

“That’s why I want stop there.”

“It’s next to Cheyenne Mountain. Surely the Chinese hit NORAD.”

“I’m sure they did; and they probably used the largest warhead available for their JL-2
missiles. For a while, I gave some thought to ether a 20mT or 25mT warhead. However
the JL-2 is MIRV’d or carries a single 1mT warhead. As a result I don’t believe the
Springs was hit very hard.”

“What if they aimed all of the warheads to targets in the Springs?”

“Instead of debating it, let’s go check it out.”

We stopped just beyond the top of the pass. The next day should provide answers to
the questions raised. Who knows, we might even find the missing US Government.

The next evening we arrived in southern Colorado Springs, found the entrance to Fort
Carson, entered and set up camp. The very first things we noticed were all the skeletal
remains. Something was definitely wrong about what we found and my previous as-
sumptions.

“What do you think?”

“I think I was wrong. From appearances, I’d speculate a MIRV’d missile with Enhanced
Radiation warheads that wasn’t picked up by our defense systems in time to give peo-
ple a sufficient warning. It would explain the negligible damage we see. It doesn’t ex-
plain why the government hasn’t exited Cheyenne Mountain.”

“What do you want to do first; check out the Mountain or gather up what we came for?”

“Locate the 10th Special Forces Group Headquarters, warehouses and bunkers. That
Mountain isn’t going anywhere.”

358
The 10th Special Forces Group had all the goodies a person could ever want, given that
the MREs and Tray Packs were really out of date. We loaded ammo in a pair of trailers
and topped it with the lighter weight goods, like rifles, optics, silencers, etc. Our best
guess was that that pair of trailers were loaded to about 45 tons each. In yet another
change in plans, we decided to send the B-Train home to unload and return to meet us
in KC. We detached a LAV-25A1 for escort duties and attached a tank trailer behind the
LAV filled with off road diesel. What, they’re going to arrest us for using the wrong fuel?

Next we checked the Mountain. We speculated that Fifth Columnists had come out of
their shelters and planted explosives at both entrances to the Mountain tunnel and
sealed the entrances completely. What good does it do someone to be in the best shel-
ter in the country if you end up being trapped inside? Ginger radioed Ramón and ad-
vised him to be on the lookout for an LAV and B-Train. It was to be unloaded immedi-
ately, refueled and sent to rejoin us in KC. When he asked what was coming, she said
‘play pretties’.

359
 The Dome III – Chapter 38

Translation, World War XXV. There wasn’t any point to try and open up Cheyenne
Mountain just to count the bodies so we headed cross country on US 24 to join I-70
headed for Kansas City. We had our fingers crossed that I-70 would be open this far
north. Fortunately, the delays in selecting the Tucson residents to live on the ranch had
delayed us enough that any snow had melted.

They must have really rushed to turn around the B-Train and LAV because they caught
up to us in Topeka, Kansas. Then again, we weren’t traveling pedal to the metal or 24/7
like they were. We stopped for the night in the vicinity of Lawrence. What was it about
Lawrence that was tickling my conscience? Oh, The Day After, the 1983 TV movie star-
ring Jason Robards. A forewarning?

Strange, there weren’t any Minuteman III missiles in Kansas and the missiles at
Whiteman AFB were Minuteman IIs. During the Cold War, the United States Air Force
Strategic Air Command 351st Strategic Missile Wing stood alert with Minuteman I and
later, Minuteman II ICBMs starting in 1963 at Whiteman AFB Missouri. The wing was
bestowed the lineage, honors and history of the World War II USAAF 351st Bomb Wing
upon activation.

The 351st supervised missile training operations and coordinated construction of SM-
30B (later, LGM-30B) Minuteman I missile facilities from 1 February 1963, to 29 June
1964. The first missile arrived 14 January 1964 and was placed its silo two days later.
The 508th SMS became combat ready on 5 June and the 509th on 10 June 1964. The
last flight of the fifteen missiles was accepted 29 June 1964, making the 510th opera-
tional. The wing then had 150 fully operational missiles. Meanwhile the 340th Bom-
bardment Wing phased down for inactivation and 351st Strategic Missile Wing gradually
assumed host-wing responsibilities at Whiteman AFB, between 1 July and 1 September
1963. Later, the Wing converted to LGM-30F Minuteman II missiles between 7 May
1966, and 3 October 1967.

The wing won the Colonel Lee R. Williams Memorial Missile Trophy for Calendar Years
1965, 1967 and 1973, as well as the SAC missile combat competition and Blanchard
Trophy in 1967, 1971, 1977, 1981 and 1993. It was named SAC's "Best Minuteman
Wing" in 1972.

On 1 September 1991, the wing was redesignated as the 351st Missile Wing and im-
plemented the objective wing organization. It was relieved from SAC and reassigned to
Eighth Air Force in the new Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992. It was again reas-
signed on 1 July 1993 to Air Force Space Command and assigned to the new Twentieth
Air Force.

The wing and its three squadrons of Minuteman II ICBMs were inactivated on 31 July
1995 as a result of planned phase-out of the Minuteman IIs. What they didn’t tell you in
The Day After was that those were real launches of Minuteman III missiles from Van-

360
denberg AFB. Unable to get permission to use US Department of Defense stock foot-
age of mushroom clouds, although able to get stock footage of Minuteman III ICBM test
launches, producers were forced to recreate mushroom clouds using special effects.

The scenes of Air Force personnel aboard the Airborne Command Post, in the com-
mand center receiving news of the incoming attack, the B-52 crew, and the crew in the
silo launching their missiles, are footage of actual military personnel during a drill, and
had been aired in 1979 in a CBS documentary, “First Strike.” In the original footage, the
silo is “destroyed” by an incoming “attack” just moments before launching its missiles,
which is why the final seconds of the launch countdown are not seen in this movie.

At first sight, Kansas City, Kansas didn’t look all that bad to me. That changed when we
came closer. From the looks of things, it had been an air burst that had, perhaps, gone
off prematurely. The CEP was on the money for the Lake City Ammunition Plant, a very
large place. But it was simply too high. So while one group went to find the Folgers plant
and get 2 trailer loads of Folgers Classic, a second group went looking for grocery dis-
tribution warehouses and we went to the Lake City Plant. The warhead destroyed the
manufacturing plants but the warehouses on the rail lines were mostly intact. Lake City
manufactures 5.56mm through 20mm ammunition; 25mm ammo was ‘no joy’. US DOD
code meaning, “I have been unsuccessful,” or, “I have no information.”

The 25×137mm ammunition was manufactured by ATK. The question was, where? ATK
Ammo is manufactured in the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mis-
souri and in the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia. Is that the New
River Ordnance Works? The plants are capable of producing over 1.5 billion rounds of
small caliber ammunition every year! Virginia is north of South Carolina, no? Hot Diggy
Dog…

The primary mission of Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) is to manufacture

propellants and explosives in support of field artillery, air defense, tank, missile, aircraft
and Navy weapons systems. RFAAP is currently operated by BAE Systems making it
the sole supplier of TNT to the US Department of Defense. On May 12, 2011, the Army
announced that BAE Systems had won the “facilities use” contract to become the op-
erator of the plant. BAE Systems also operates Holston Army Ammunition Plant in
Kingsport, TN. There’re more, you know; check it out: http://www.jmc.army.mil/ .

Just in case you survive WW III and need some ammo… for anything. We loaded 4
trailers one layer deep with 5.56mm through 12.7mm and filled the empty space above
with lighter things, like Folgers, Charmin, Northern, Puffs, Kleenex and feminine hygiene
and anything else we found that we were short of. Next stop was Sullivan, Missouri.
While there wasn’t any radiation, there was snow on the north sides of buildings and it
was damned cold out.

We went looking for another B-Train with a Peter Car semi and a pair of 53 foot trailers.
It took 2 days to find what we wanted and 8 days to get everything up to spec. New
brakes, rotors, axle bearings, new tires (using the mounted spares), replacement hoses,

361
engine and transmission work. Then we found new tires and spent a day getting the old
tires off the rims and the new tires mounted and balanced, replacing the spares we
used.

Our next stop was Springfield Armory, Inc. in Genesco, Illinois and we found more
SA9102 actions than we had stocks for. We could find more M3A stocks. I’m not sure if
we’re ahead of schedule, on schedule or behind schedule but we’re on the road headed
for Clifton, New Jersey. Clifton was about 10-12 miles north of Newark and we all know
who is in Newark, right? Ammoman!

Whenever the address includes a suite number, it’s safe to assume it’s not a ware-
house. We bypassed the lock with large hammer and started going through files, draw-
ers, etc. to find the address of the warehouse. The first warehouse referred to was in
England, probably the point of origin.

“Got it,” Ginger yelled.

“Is it in Clifton?”

“Nearby… Newark.”

It was in a warehouse district and the building across the street had burned. A portion of
a sign remained… iscount Distributo. (Discount Distributors d/b/a Ammoman). Never-
theless we got the tea. And turned south to locate Radford Army Ammunition Plant.
25×137mm ammo is heavy and loads were moved around before loading the 25mm
ammo. Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, TN was much closer than Charles-
ton. We sent a LAV and a Hummer to check out Holston. We got a call to move on, they
manufactured RDX and HMX.

Bigelow had impressive grounds and lots of tea. We finished topping off the ammo trail-
ers and filled another with Bigelow products. We had room for more but we exhausted
their inventory. After a day layover and rest, we headed for Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Our tails were dragging and we maintained an average road speed of 50mph.

We found 4 completed M82/A1Ms, 12 Barrett suppressors and loads of 10 round maga-

zines. We added enough drag cases for the Barrett rifles and the Tac-50s, 416s and
338s. We were starting to get filled up and headed for NOLA to fill the last pair of trailers
with coffee and cigarettes. Houston and Products Research, Inc. were next to last on
my revised list. We found a straight truck (diesel) to haul the PRI products. The only
good way to test them was to add them to fuel and try to run a diesel engine on it. We
had a 12kw China Diesel generator that wasn’t used much and we’d test the stabilized
diesel on it after we recovered some old diesel from Phoenix.

We had visited and or traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Mis-
souri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee (twice), Arkansas, Texas and hadn’t seen a living soul. That left us with find-

362
ing chili peppers seeds in New Mexico. We were on the final leg of our journey. After
New Mexico, we would head home.

H & K has locations in Virginia, New Hampshire, and Georgia and we should have
checked them out. We were in New Mexico for a second time, looking for chili pepper
seeds, not all that far from home. We found people. There were Méxican soldiers in uni-
form carrying FX-05 Xiuhcoatl rifles and carbines and driving a combination of Méxican
military vehicles and US civilian vehicles, mostly diesel crew cab pickups.

We were armed with 7.62×51mm rifles, among others, and had them out gunned. Hav-
ing an OpFor out gunned doesn’t count for much when they have you out numbered
100:1. We retired (retreated). The Vaqueros would just have to settle for the jalapeño,
poblano, New Mexico (chile colorado), Anaheim and serrano. We had them covered up
to 23,000 SR (hottest serrano).

“Ranch, we’re one day out and will be coming in from New Mexico on I-10.”

“Roger, take care going through Tucson, the widows and he have found more survivors
and are attempting to bargain their way onto the ranch as part of a prisoner exchange.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“They’ll let the others go if we will accept them. I didn’t know what else to call it.”

“Blackmail.”

“10-4.”

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the second and this installment of the tale have more
curves than Wolf Creek Pass or Red Mountain Pass which is known for being treacher-
ous in the wintertime due to the steep 8% grade and switchbacks on the north side fac-
ing Ouray, though the entire road is paved. In addition, there are very few guardrails on
this side and passing is difficult, if not impossible. I should probably finish up with what
happened with Kraut and the widows… but we’re not home yet so I don’t know. It could
be over quick or take a while. And… if there are Méxicans military in New Mexico why
aren’t they in Arizona?

© 2014, Gary D. Ott

363
 The Dome IV – Chapter 39

I should probably finish up with what happened with Kraut and the widows… but we’re
not home yet so I don’t know. It could be over quick or take a while. And… if there are
Méxicans military in New Mexico why aren’t they in Arizona? It was an interesting ques-
tion and I took it to Dawn’s father, John immediately after we arrived at the ranch.

“John, coming across New Mexico we saw Méxican Soldiers, in uniform and carrying
those FX-05 Xiuhcoatl rifles and carbines and driving a combination of Méxican military
vehicles and US civilian vehicles, mostly diesel crew cab pickups. Have you heard any-
thing?”

“I haven’t but I’ll check it out if I can use 2 Quarter Horse stock horses. Give me 4 days
to check it out and get back to you.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Southwest and it’s better if you don’t know the rest.”

“Going to see your cousins?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Do you have everything you need?”

“Could you spare an 1886 with a 24 inch barrel and some of those Mountain House
Pouches?”

“The pouches are in Warehouse 2, help yourself. I’ll get the rifle and ammo. How much
do you need?”

“One hundred rounds of .45-70 and 300 rounds of .45 Colt. I’ll hang panniers across the
saddle on the second horse to carry the supplies.”

“How soon are you leaving?”

“How fast can you get me the rifle and ammo? I can be ready to go in 15 minutes.”

It only took me 10 minutes to get the 1886 and the 400 rounds of ammo. It was heavy
and James helped me get it from the snow fence storage building and Dome shelter.
The ammo was Remington, full power… the stuff that we got for 89¢ a round, delivered
and most for 89¢ plus freight or 93¢ delivered. The panniers were packed and he rode
out the gate to get around the ranch and presumably cut cross country to the Res.

Both saddles had 2 scabbards as did all of our saddles. John had a 40 channel portable
CB, primarily to notify us of his return, so he wouldn’t be misidentified. The next day,

364
everyone but security forces and 4 Vaqueros engaged in unloading our haul from the
cross country trip. That took from sunup until supper time. I called a meeting in the
Community Building for 7pm and when everyone was there, announced the bar was
open. Three of the security force had been bartenders at one time or another and as-
sumed the task of handing out the beer, mixed drinks and soft drinks.

“I called this meeting to cover our trips and some of the things we learned. We presume
the government is sealed in Cheyenne Mountain because someone, possibly Fifth Col-
umnists, sealed both entrances to the tunnel with explosives, trapping people in the
mountain. We collected 2 cargo vans of supplies from the 10th Special Forces Group
Headquarter warehouses. That was the load we sent back here. Thank you for the fast
turnaround, they met us in Topeka, Kansas.

“We got 2 trailer loads of Folgers in Kansas City and quite a bit from grocery distribution
warehouses. Although the target was the Lake City Ammunition Plant, the warhead ap-
parently pre-detonated at a higher altitude sparing their warehouses. We collected 5
calibers of ammunition we can use. We kept shifting loads to keep the trailers loads be-
low 40 tons.

“We next checked Andy’s farm and it’s too cold to be farmed for the foreseeable future
so we put together another B-Train for Andy to drive. Our next planned stop was Spring-
field Armory in Genesco, Illinois where we collected several of the Super Match parker-
ized actions/barrels and various accessories.

After that we stopped in Clifton, New Jersey and we were able to locate their warehouse
in Newark where we cleaned them out. Ammoman was located across the street and it
was a burned out shell. We determined that ATK manufactured 25mm ammo at a plant
in Radford, Virginia and turned south to locate Radford Army Ammunition Plant for the
25×137mm ammo. We also checked out Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport,
Tennessee but they manufactured RDX and DMX explosives so we headed to Charles-
ton, South Carolina and clean out the Bigelow warehouse.

“We had those 6 M82A1Ms and I wanted more so we stopped in Murfreesboro, Ten-
nessee where we found 4 completed M82A1Ms, 12 Barrett suppressors and loads of 10
round magazines. We added enough drag cases for the Barrett rifles and the Tac-50s,
416s and 338s. We were starting to get filled up and headed for NOLA to fill the last pair
of trailers with coffee and cigarettes.

“Next, we went to Houston and Products Research, Inc. We found a diesel straight truck
to haul the PRI products. It occurred to me that H & K had locations in Virginia, New
Hampshire, and Georgia and we should have checked them out, but we were tired and
very close to home.

“We were in New Mexico for a second time, looking for chili pepper seeds, not all that
far from home, when we found people. There were Méxican soldiers in uniform carrying

365
those FX-05 Xiuhcoatl rifles and carbines and driving a combination of Méxican military
vehicles and US civilian vehicles, mostly diesel crew cab pickups.

“We were armed with 7.62×51mm rifles, among others, and had them out gunned. Hav-
ing an OpFor out gunned doesn’t count for much when they have you out numbered
100:1. We retreated and came home without the chili pepper seeds.”

“I understand that Kraut has been giving you problems and it has something to do with a
prisoner exchange. Fill me in.”

“Cal, apparently they found several more families they had been unaware of and took
them prisoner as bargaining chips to be allowed on the ranch.”

“That’s not going to happen. The additional families may or not be accepted since we
have the room. But those East German SOBs aren’t going to end up on this ranch. I
think the best approach might be to kidnap one of those widows and subject her to wa-
terboarding. I understand that no one can resist that for very long.”

“They can’t; in the most common method of waterboarding, the captive's face is covered
with cloth or some other thin material, and the subject is immobilized on his/her back.
Interrogators pour water onto the face over the breathing passages, causing an almost
immediate gag reflex and creating the sensation for the captive that he is drowning. Vic-
tims of waterboarding are at extreme risk of sudden death due to the aspiration of vomit.
Vomit travels up the esophagus, which can then be inhaled.”

“Would we be better off kidnapping Kraut or one of the widows?”

“Kraut probably has the experience of SERE training. I’d go for a woman.”

“What’s SERE?”

“Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a program, best known by its mil-
itary acronym, that provides US military personnel, US Department of Defense civilians,
and private military contractors with training in evading capture, survival skills, and the
military code of conduct. Established by the US Air Force at the end of the Korean War
(1950–53), it was extended during the Vietnam War (1959–1975) to the US Army, US
Navy, and US Marine Corps. Most higher level SERE students are military aircrew and
special operations personnel considered to be at high risk of capture.

“The US Air Force SERE School was located at Fairchild AFB, Washington, while
SERE Training for the US Army was located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and at Fort
Rucker, Alabama. The Navy and Marine Corps SERE School have known locations at
the US Navy Remote Training Site at Warner Springs, California, the remote Marine
Corps Mpuntain Warfare Training Center at Bridgeport CA and Portsmouth Naval Ship-
yard in Kittery, Maine.”

366
“We’ll defer a decision on that until John returns. He should be back in 4 days. I have
him checking on the situation with the Méxican military being in the US.”

“They’ve been doing that for years, in so-called hot pursuits.”

“But never on this scale. We were outnumbered about 100:1.”

“They’re not just in New Mexico. They’re also in California, Arizona and Texas. And, ac-
cording to my sources, they’re real soldiers, not cops in uniform.”

“What do you mean?”

“For years the Méxican Army was nothing more than policemen dressed up as solders.
One could tell by gaging their actions. The people I know southwest of here were never
caught trying to cross the border by the Méxicans, only the US Border Patrol. You have
to understand that before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the tribe lived in an area
that ended up on both sides of the new border. Add the Gadsden Purchase to that and
more of the tribe was north of the border.

“Over the last 50 odd years, until the war, the US government kept increasing its efforts
to prevent crossing the border. That applied to everyone; illegal immigrants and our
people crossing for religious purposes. With the border fence, they were effectively
blocked from their spiritual homelands.

“Apparently México wasn’t targeted in the war. It’s logical to think that many US citizens
would have been trying to cross the border to get to warmer places with less radiation.
Eventually, holes were opened in the border fence and people began streaming south.
That forced the country of México to change those policemen into real soldiers. They
had good firearms, since H & K initially thought the FX-05 was a clone of the G-36.

“There were holes in the border fence in all the states where the fence existed and
when the radiation faded, México began recruiting a real Army. Eventually, they invaded
the US looking for salvage or whatever. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, you
know. You do know that many US vehicles are manufactured in México, right? Those
crew cabs you saw were vehicles manufactured in México before and after the war and
purchased by the Méxican government using proceeds from what little oil they were
selling from a new, larger oilfield they opened.”

“So the 3rd world countries are running the world?”

“Let’s say anyone who lacked nuclear weapons and thereby wasn’t a target. The word
is that the Chinese SLBMs had the range, but not the accuracy attributed to them. Rus-
sian missiles, on the other hand, were both accurate and deadly. Some reportedly had
CEPs measured in meters. Both sides were lying in the end. The US had full capacity
on its Ohio class SSBNs and the Russians ‘unretired’ a bunch of the SS-18s.”

367
“What is México’s aim?”

“Reconquista. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2009 and 2010, six
out of seven US states with highest proportions of people of Méxican origin were in the
Southwestern United States, including the seven modern-day states that used to be part
of México – California (30%), Arizona (25.9%), New Mexico (28.7%), Texas (31.6%),
Nevada (20%), Colorado (15.1%), and Utah (9.4%). 31% of Méxican residents of the six
states (CA, AZ, NM, TX, NV, CO) were born in México, the majority of the remaining
69% being second- and higher-generation Americans of Méxican ancestry. The four
southwestern Border States had only 23% of population of the country, but were home
to 65% of all first-generation Méxican immigrants.”

“If we don’t oppose them, do you think I could get a land grant for our 6 sections?”

“Hah!”

“Anyone have a clue what the other Vaqueros will do?”

“Most families were living here before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gads-
den Purchase and just want to be left alone to make a living and put food on the table.
They don’t want to be singled out according to ethnic heritage.”

“Is that a problem here?”

“Definitely not. That’s not to say that there wasn’t resentment in the past. It was mostly
resentment at Santa Anna. Historians also report that he is ‘perhaps the principal inhab-
itant even today of México’s pantheon of those who failed the nation.’ His centralist
rhetoric and military failures resulted in México losing just over half its territory, begin-
ning with the Texas Revolution and culminating with the Méxican Cession of 1848.”

“But, would they fight the Méxican soldiers?”

“Unknown. My best guess would be yes, to preserve what they have. Ginger and you
provided above and beyond for all of the people living here including life’s necessities,
pure air, shelter, water, food, a means of defense, and transportation. Find out. Do a
secret poll, asking the questions you need answers to on something akin to a ballot re-
quiring only checkmarks or Xs.”

“Ramón, you should have an idea what we need to know. Can you handle the poll?”

“You’re not overlooking my Méxican heritage?”

“Everyone either lived here in the beginning or came here from somewhere else. It’s ir-
relevant.”

368
“Don’t tell that to an Indian, Cal.”

The poll was unrevealing. Ramón’s first question dealt with ethnicity and one option was
North American, which everyone checked. Canadians and Méxicans are North Ameri-
cans. The next question was would you defend the ranch against Méxican soldiers, 2
choices, yes, no. All selected yes. The third question was would you shoot a Méxican
soldier to protect the ranch, 2 choices, yes, no. All selected yes. The fourth question
was would you kill a Méxican soldier to protect your family, 2 choices, yes, no. All se-
lected yes. The final question was would you kill a Méxican soldier to protect the ranch,
two choices, yes, no. 50-50.

“Sorry Cal, I must have worded it wrong.”

“Ramón, we’ve reviewed the poll questions and agree that you worded it wrong. We’re
no worse off than before. We might be a little ahead since we know they’ll kill the sol-
diers to protect their families but not all will to protect the ranch. We need to do a Jo-
seph Goebbels and convince everyone that protecting the ranch is the same as protect-
ing their family.”

“Is it?”

“Who provides the life’s necessities, pure air, shelter, water, food, a means of defense,
and transportation?”

“The ranch…”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“I guess I’m telling you.”

“If the Méxican Army overruns the ranch, what will happen to the food stores, munitions
and the livestock?”

“They’ll take it all, right?”

“That would be my guess. I believe they’d slaughter all of the livestock for meat, take
the food to feed the Army and use the munitions against any remaining US citizens.”

“I’ll make them believe.”

“And, I’ll help,” Hank added.

“You should run for political office Cal.”

369
“Not in a million years Ginger.”

“That time you spent learning to become a leader is paying off, big time.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

I didn’t have a lot of confidence that we’d get through the two problems facing us, Kraut
and the Méxican Army, unscathed. We had own armor, of a sorts… 4 LAV-25s and 4
M1117 Armored Security Vehicles. What did the Méxican Army have? Crew cab
pickups were a given, but the military vehicles? No tanks, but armored personnel carri-
ers on par with our LAVs and Armored Security Vehicles; and, artillery up to 155mm,
self-propelled and towed. Other weapons were generally on par with those we had as-
sembled. If Wikipedia were still up, you could look up the Méxican Army and see all the
US vehicles manufactured in México that their Army used.

That 100:1 ratio was probably low. On the other hand, if they had invaded California,
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, maybe not. We should have gotten those H & K ri-
fles… When you screw up, you can deny it or correct the problem. It wasn’t like we were
short on 5.56 or 7.62 ammo, so we just need the rifles. H & K had 3 US locations and 2
were sales offices, Commercial & Law Enforcement Sales were at 5675 Transport
Boulevard Columbus, Georgia 31907 USA; Military & Federal Law Enforcement Sales
were at 19980 Highland Vista Drive, Suite 190 Ashburn, Virginia 20147 USA; and, logi-
cally, Manufacturing (USA) was at 27 Piscataqua Drive Newington, NH 03801 USA. It
had to be the furthest location, didn’t it? Near as I could tell using an atlas, it was a one-
way distance of 2,700 miles, without detours.

“Ramón, we need you to do something while we stay here and take care of the problem
in Tucson.”

“What?”

“Heckler and Koch have 3 locations in the US. One is a manufacturing facility and it’s
located at 27 Piscataqua Drive Newington, NH. We need you to take a B-Train and col-
lect every rifle and carbine you can find at the location along with all the magazines for
either weapon. My best guess is that it’s 2,700 miles one-way without detours. I think a
majority of the Russian weapons used during the war were aimed at the industrial
northeast so plan on detours.”

“When do we need to leave?”

“Yesterday, if it were possible. It’s not, so no later than the day after tomorrow at dawn.
The B-Train in the best condition is the one we put together in Missouri for Andy to pull.
Get with Hank and select the best Peterbilt tractors to pull the B-Train and tanker. You
better plan one 8,000 gallon tanker of diesel and plan on using 3 of those 4 M1117s you

370
found. Tell Hank that I said that the mechanic should drive the B-Train Tractor and take
the same spares and tools as he took the last time. What’s the crew on a M1117?”

“Three.”

“Alright, half your staff, 12 security people, including you, will go. Nine in the M1117s, 1
in the B-train and 2 in the tanker. I don’t care which vehicle you ride in. One of the sen-
iors is a retired gunsmith and he glass bedded the Springfield Armory actions in the
McMillan M3A ladder stocks and installed the Surefire Fast Attach mounts, the Harris
bipods, the Sadlak scope mounts with A.R.M.S. throw lever rings and Leupold Mark 4
ER/T 4.5-14×50mm M1 Front Focal scopes plus EOTech Holographic sights. Grab
those and get them sighted in. You have your M21 and I have a spare that I can loan to
the 12th person. We have enough of the UNS to equip half the rifles and the other can
use the spare MUNS that I was going to put on the M82A1Ms.”

“What about Kraut?”

“Don’t worry about it; we’ll take care of Kraut. And, don’t worry about the Méxican Army.
From something John said; the cousins are raising hell with those that crossed into Ari-
zona. Actually that’s the main reason we’re sending you; to get them reliable firearms.
Oh, get all the AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers you can find. If you know somewhere to
get 40×46mm grenades on your cross country trip, don’t let the quantity we have on
hand stop you from getting more.”

“Don’t forget that the Méxican Army uses the same rifle grenades.”

“I know and I think the cousins are collecting them. While there’s nothing wrong with the
FX-05, we’d all feel better if they had genuine H & K firearms.”

“I heard that.”

“Ok, you heard me. What bothered you about what I said?”

“I thought the MUNS were for the grandchildren.”

“They are, but none have been born yet and I doubt they’ll mind.”

“You assume much. What makes think we can take out Kraut and the 6 widows?”

“Would you agree that Kraut presents a clear and present danger to the ranch as much
as the Méxican Army does?” (Freedom of Speech test.)

“Well, of course.”

“What are we going to do to Méxican soldiers when we have the chance?”

371
“Kill them?”

“Absolutely.”

“And, since Kraut and the widows are a clear and present danger to the ranch we’re go-
ing to kill them too?”

“By George, she’s got it.”

“My Fair Lady, 1964.”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“We capitulate.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to tell him, ‘ok, you win, let them go’.”

“Why should he believe you?”

“I’m going to lower the drawbridge and tell them to come up whenever they’re ready.
When he sees the drawbridge down, I believe he’ll be less suspicious of what I said.
When they’re here, we go to Tucson and interview his hostages and bring them here if
we agree they belong.”

“But the hostages will be out for revenge!”

“They’ll get over it when we show them the bodies.”

“You’re going mano-a-mano with him?”

“Nope. Actually, I thought I’d shoot him in the back; all of them when they’ve disem-
barked their vehicles. I could probably use a M240B, but just in case they’re wearing
body armor, maybe I should use the Ma Deuce.”

“That’s cold, Cal.”

“Yep.”

“Is that all you can say?”

“Yip.” (Jerry brought that up for Expedition.)

372
The thing about Kraut was that I had my mind made up and I didn’t want anyone con-
fusing me with the facts. I figured I was 3 standard deviations toward being right. In a
normal distribution (Bell curve), 3 standard deviations from the mean equal 99.73 per-
cent of the population. Not positive, like I said when I said, “I can’t prove it”, but sure
enough based on the current facts presented to me to act on my feelings. If you can’t
tell if the snake is poisonous, do you let it bite you to find out or simply shoot it?

Well the South side of Chicago

Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man named Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble

You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him “Treetop Lover”
All the men just call him “Sir”

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler

And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wear his diamond rings
On everybodys nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday bout a week ago

Leroy shootin’ dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And ooh that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
Leroy Brown learned a lesson
‘Bout messin’ with the wife of a jealous man

373
And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog,

Well the two men took to fightin’

And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog

Jim Croce – On Thursday, September 20, 1973, during Croce’s Life and Times tour and
the day before his ABC single “I Got a Name” was released, Croce, Muehleisen, and
four others were killed when the chartered Beechcraft E18S they were traveling in
crashed while taking off from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisi-
ana. Others who died in the crash were charter pilot Robert N. Elliott, comedian George
Stevens, manager and booking agent Kenneth D. Cortose, and road manager Dennis
Rast. Croce had just completed a concert at Northwestern State University’s Prather
Coliseum in Natchitoches and was flying to Sherman, Texas, for a concert at Austin
College. The plane crashed an hour after the end of the concert.

“Calling the ranch.”

“This is the ranch.”

“Who am I talking to?”

“Cal.”

“Where’s Ramón?”

“He’s not here.”

“Good, maybe we can do business.”

“Yes you can move to the ranch. Ginger and I will interview your hostages and see if
any of them qualify as additions to the ranch.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

374
 The Dome IV – Chapter 40

“Well, if you were anywhere near the ranch, you could see with your own eyes that the
drawbridge is lowered and the gate is open.”

“Yeah, we can see that.”

“Anyway, I sent Ramón away so I could do the negotiations. You have those people
with you?”

“What people?”

“The hostages.”

“No, we left them in Tucson, right where we found them. I have the addresses written
down and you can round them up yourselves.”

“Ok, come on down. Park in front of the Dome and hand the paper with the addresses
through the window to Ginger. I’ve got chores to do. She will assign apartments accord-
ing to need.”

“What kind of chores?”

“We’ve been on the road and I need to take care of the trash.”

I’d moved one of the M2A1s from the front pintle mount to the rear pintle mount (a pintle
mount is a fixed mount that allows the gun to be freely traversed and/or elevated while
keeping the gun in one fixed position). Ginger would be facing me and move when I was
ready to open fire. Just in case, she was wearing body armor in case they tried to shoot
her.

They were driving a SUV and all of them were crammed into the vehicle. It was pulling a
U-Haul trailer, presumably with their personal possessions.

“Where’s Cal?”

“Taking care of the trash. Got the list?”

“Here.”

“Your stuff in the U-Haul?”

“Ja.”

“I’ll get some people to help unload it and move it to the apartment building.”

375
“Danke.”

While Ginger appeared to be rounding a few hands to help with their personal posses-
sions, she was actually getting out of the line of fire. There were farm hands standing
near the Dome where we’d prepositioned them and to watch her; Kraut and company
were facing away from me. Trusting souls…

Braaaaaaat Braaaaat Braaat Braaat Braaat

“Someone give me a hand with the trash.”

“Where do you want them Boss?”

“Lay ‘em out in a row right about there, Hank. Ginger, do you have the list?”

“It’s blank piece of paper.”

“He could have been bluffing, but let’s not chance it. I need 2 Hummers, 1 with an M2A1
and 1 with an Mk 19; crews of 3.”

Tucson was occupied alright. Méxican soldiers, mostly driving crew cab pickups. We
saw at least one each of the following: Humvee, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series,
Dodge Ram, Yamaha Rhino, Chevrolet Cheyenne (Silverado in México) and Kodiak.
We left Tucson faster than we arrived; they were less than 50 miles away.

“Lock it down; the Méxican Army is in Tucson. Gates, posts, Cat, drawbridge and
someone reposition the M2A1.”

“Already done Cal. I suspected you wouldn’t find any survivors and had the bodies
dumped in a slit trench across the road. It will only take a few minutes to cover it over.”

“Yeah, do that. You’d better have more munitions moved to the towers while someone
is doing that. Did you recover his Barrett?”

“He had 2, both M82A1Ms.”

“Ok, we picked up soft mounts and a lot of magazines in Tennessee plus four more of
those rifles. Add a soft mount to each rifle and put 40 magazines in each tower. We can
use the M82s if they’re out of range of the Mk 19s.”

“Did you notice the tower improvements?”

“Missed that. What did you do?”

“Added 3 layers of road plate to all four sides.”

376
“That’s about 76 mm. Will it do any good?”

“It can’t hurt.” (M2 AP penetration: 500 meters: 0.75 in (19 mm) 1,200 meters: 0.39 in
(10 mm); M8 API penetration: 500 meters: 0.63 in (16 mm) 1,200 meters: 0.32 in (8
mm); M20 APIT penetration: 500 meters: 0.83 in (21 mm) 1,200 meters: 0.43 in (11
mm)).

“Ginger can you get the ladies to start loading all the different magazines?”

“I’m on it.”

“While you’re at it have one of the ladies get a stock pot of pinto beans simmering and
cook up some Spanish rice. I think that would go down pretty good if this thing drags
out. Oh, and probably flour tortillas.”

“I’ll get the food started first and get the other women loading magazines. How do you
want the .50 caliber loaded?”

“Half and half. Those Mk211 rounds should do a number on engines.”

“I’ll get Dawn, Kathleen and Jennifer in the shelter, too.”

“Make sure they’re armed. And check with the other ladies and if they’re pregnant, add
them to the shelters.”

“Do you actually expect that fast of a reaction from the Méxican Army?”

“I don’t know if they saw us leaving Tucson and I’d rather be safe than sorry. We need
to bring up the LAVs from the garage and the remaining M1117. With those and the
hummers, we have respectable opposing force.”

“They can’t shoot through the drawbridge.”

“Neither can the Méxican Army. The difference is that they can bring in the self-
propelled 155mm artillery. I saw PzH 2000s and ARCHER artillery systems in New
Mexico. But you’re right, we can leave the LAVs and the M1117 garaged.”

“Are we actually going to be fighting a real, honest to goodness mano-a-mano combat

situation?”

“Are any of the boilers running?”

“Nope; they’re all shut down.”

“They might drive right on by on I-10. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We’re
past due for some actual good news we didn’t fall into or make happen. I saw a program

377
on Wings, later Military and still later American Hero’s Channel comparing self-propelled
artillery. The latest iteration of the PzH 2000 was a 2 man operation and the ARCHER
artillery system was similar with a bad case of anorexia nervosa.”

“Are we the only people who survived the war?”

“Apparently some of the tribes survived, if you believe John. And, obviously the Méxi-
cans survived. Key members of the government apparently survived until they tried to
leave the Mountain. With Phoenix and Tucson taking hits, anyone that knew about the
ranch may not have. But there were people in Utah so there have to be people who had
sufficient preps to weather the radiation fading.

“People like us, preppers, probably read some of the PAW fiction and at least had sal-
vaging in the back of their minds. Don’t count possible survivors out for the moment. We
have some surviving from Tucson living here. I’m developing a new attitude about sur-
viving doomsday, Ginger, them that can, do. We help those that ask for help; perhaps
even some who don’t ask for help like John’s ‘cousins’. That’s why I sent Ramón to New
Hampshire, so we can arm the Indians.”

“Just don’t give them booze.”

“Every Injun is a drunkin’ Injun like Ira Hayes? Bull! Ira Hayes was drunk because of Joe
Rosenthal, not because of anything he did.”

Then Ira started drinkin’ hard

Jail was often his home
They’d let him raise the flag and lower it
Like you’d throw a dog a bone!
He died drunk early one mornin’
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes.

“How do you know? Let me guess, you looked it up on Wiki before the war, right?”

“Damn right. The only person alive from the flag raising that knew his name was under a
death threat from Hayes not to reveal his identity. The Corps threatened to punish the
guy for not obeying a direct order from the President and he identified Hayes. Hayes
couldn’t handle the stress of the publicity and started drinking, eventually dying from al-
coholism. That Tony Curtis movie The Outsider really showed how it was for Hayes.”

“How do you know? You couldn’t have learned that on Wiki.”

“Footnotes at the bottom of the page referred to the 1961 movie The Outsider starring
Tony Curtis. I looked up the movie on the Internet Movie Database and read the com-
ments which said it was Curtis’ best role and an accurate portrayal of Hayes life.

378
“All that extra information I gave you three about Colossus: The Forbin Project came
from the Trivia about the movie on the Internet Movie Database about the movie. You
don’t have to be Albert Einstein if you know how to search the Internet.”

“I hope you saved all that information on the Hard Disc Drive because we don’t have the
Internet anymore and everyone will think you’re stupid.”

“Smart enough to marry you.”

“Touché.”

“We heard from Ramón. He said they’re about halfway to the location.”

“They’re making good time, 1,350 miles in 2 days. If they don’t have to detour, they’ll be
there in 2 more days. They should be able to load what’s available in a half-day and be
back in about 6½ days.”

“Cal, don’t count your chickens….”

“You’re right, Hank; sometimes when I hear good news I extrapolate it too far into the
future. How is everyone doing? Getting enough to eat, staying warm, bored out of their
minds and wants something more than beans, rice and flour tortillas? We’ll have a
chicken dinner for everyone when they’re relived and maybe a pot roast, Swiss steak or
Salisbury steak.”

“How about fixing some tacos, chiles rellanos, enchiladas, tamales and some mole
sauce?”

“Ginger?”

“Some of that is easy, but mole takes a while to prepare. I’d better get on it; Community
Center?”

“Yes. Most of the magazines should be loaded by now.”

“We’ll have more to load when Ramón returns.”

“We’ll just pass out the rifles and carbines, grenades launchers, magazines and the
ammo and grenades. They can load their own. The military ammo is all on stripper clips
with 1 guide per bandoleer.”

“Do we have enough 40mm grenades to pass them out?”

379
“I told Ramón, ‘if you know somewhere to get 40×46mm grenades on your cross coun-
try trip, don’t let the quantity we have on hand stop you from getting more.’ He’ll be
keeping an eye open.”

“Ammo and munitions haven’t been stored at National Guard Armories since Bonnie
and Clyde. Actually, it’s because of Bonnie and Clyde.”

“Yeah, well, they’ll have the ammo distribution points written down and Ramón will know
where to look for the information.”

Ramón et al., returned 13 days later. Not only did they have the B-Train and tanker,
they had a HEMTT towing a trailer. Both the HEMTT and trailer had 20 foot containers.
Ramón explained that they identified likely locations on the way east. He said that either
H & K had a large inventory or they’d received a shipment from Germany and there
more HK416s, HK417s, AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers than he ever imagined.

"What are the HEMTT and trailer with the container for?”

“You said to get all the 40×46mm grenades we could find. We picked up a HEMTT with
a container aboard towing that trailer. Both were empty. On the way home, we proceed-
ed to fill them. Picked up some more of the M855A1 in military packaging along with I
don’t know how many containers of grenades. Both containers are full to the top and
overloaded. Getting the stuff and driving slow because being overweight slowed us
down.

“From time to time, we saw people and stopped and talked to them. I told them to look
us up if they were ever near Eloy, Arizona. I saw a lot of 5.56 and 7.62 rifles and no
small number of 12 gauge shotguns and .45acp pistols. That’s the other thing we picked
up at H & K, 9mm and .45acp pistols.”

“Ammo?”

“A lot more 9mm than .45acp but we got all the .45acp we could find. Hit some of those
big gun dealers like MidwayUSA. That’s why we’re overloaded, the .45acp. We also
took all the hollow point 9mm +P.”

“What’s the .45acp?”

“Ball and hollow point. Most of the ball is 230 grain.”

Most 124 grain +P 9mm hollow point has energy similar to .45acp ball. Grand pointed
out in Normal that the Air Force Security Forces used Golden Saber hollow point. We
loaded the Browning Hi-Powers we carried for backup with 124 grain +P Speer Gold
Dot. Since TOM had changed from 230 grain Gold Dot to 200 grain +P Gold Dot, we’d
followed his example. We had common tastes in firearms, so used his ammo of choice.

380
The Speer Gold Dot tables show that the 124 grain +P 9mm has 410 ft-lb of energy at
the muzzle while 230 grain .45acp has 404 ft-lb at the muzzle and the 200 grain +P
.45acp has 518 ft-lb. More energy is better, right? The 230 grain FMJ will usually put
your target on their butt. The 230 grain God Dot ensures that and the 200 grain +P is
double indemnity insurance. I know all about double indemnity insurance, right?

Those 13 additional days waiting for Ramón to return were stressful. He hadn’t radioed
again until he was back, so we didn’t know if his mission was a success or failure. Mag-
azine fed rifles and carbines are no good without magazines. The HK416 could use
M16 magazines while the HK417 could only use H & K magazines. Obviously the mis-
sion was a greater success than anticipated.

“John, I believe we have enough weapons to equip most of your ‘cousins’ to the south-
west.”

“What about the Pima group?”

“I don’t have an exact count of the H & K weapons so it would depend on how many
Pima survived.”

“The total O'odham number about 20,000 before the war. I haven’t been to the Gila Riv-
er Indian Community since the war. The Tohono O’odham community suffered about 50
percent losses of their population. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community un-
doubtedly had high losses since the community borders the Arizona cities of Scottsdale,
Mesa, and Fountain Hills.”

“A few thousand then?”

“Very few thousand; probably, more likely, several hundreds.”

“In that case I believe we can arm everyone that wants a weapon. We got HK416s,
HK417s, AG-C/EGLM grenade launchers, magazines, .45acp handguns plus ammo
and grenades.”

“Bayonets?”

“Nope.”

“Bummer. I guess we’ll have to use our own knives.”

“So, how many firearms, 2,500? Three thousand?”

“One rifle with a grenade launcher and one handgun per person. You didn’t mention
shotguns. No matter, they’re white men’s weapons.”

“How are we going to handle distribution?”

381
“I’ll head out like before and point them to the ranch in groups of about a dozen. When
we have the Tohono O’odham community equipped we’ll do the Gila River Indian
Community survivors followed by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.”

“What about the Apaches?”

“If you want them, you do it.”

“Navajos and Hopi?”

“They’d probably end up turning the weapons on each other.”

“Anybody else?”

“Not off the top of my head.”

“We’ll get everything sorted and get ready to pass it out.”

“You know Cal; it could be that the collective tribes outnumber the other surviving citi-
zens.”

“I’m well aware of that John. Aside from helping the various tribes to defeat the Méxican
Army, I have an ulterior motive.”

“And that would be?”

“That land grant of these 6 sections I mentioned earlier and you replied ‘Hah!’.”

“Assuming the remaining US citizens prevail, I’d be willing to bring it up to the Council.”

“Fair enough. Do you want to put together a string of pack horses to haul some of the
weapons and ammo with you when you return to the southwest?”

“I’ll take a HK416 and HK417 with grenade launchers, magazines, silencers and 2 cas-
es of ammo per and 1 case of HEDP grenades. One extra horse with Panniers should
be enough over what I took last time. The reason I had the second horse saddle last
time with the Panniers over the saddle was so I could switch mounts. There are 72 gre-
nades per case, right?”

“Right.”

“Damn.”

“What?”

382
“I just remember those Morgans and Tennessee Walking horses Kraut mentioned. We
never recovered them.”

“They weren’t there to recover.”

“He was lying?”

“Not at all; all I said was that they weren’t there to recover. That’s why he had to bluff
about having hostages.”

“What happened to them?”

“They were captured to be used to trade for rifles and ammunition.”

“Anybody I know?”

“I don’t know if you know them, but you do know of them. Figure 6 rifles with ammo and
accessories per horse. After you’ve gotten the horses, you can negotiate for the 6 sec-
tions in the same type of trade. It could take most of what you brought back from New
Hampshire.”

When everything was unloaded, sorted and counted there were ~3,600 HK416s, ~1,200
HK417s, 5,000 HK 9mm and .45acp pistols, ~2,400 grenade launchers and every rifle
or carbine had a silencer. Magazines numbered ~54,000 between the H & K 5.56 and
M16 magazines, standard 30 round magazines. The H & K magazines worked better.
There were ~18,000 H & K 20 round magazines but none of the drums. There were
~86,500 HE and HEDP grenades in total, ~ 36 per grenade launcher. Everyone had at
least 500 rounds of either 9mm or .45acp ammo.

Someone, not from the ranch, had collected every fixed blade knife in the Phoenix and
Tucson areas and probably from other locations. It was pointed out to me that the
HK416 and HK417s had bayonet lugs like the G-36 did and with minor modifications,
the FX-05 bayonets could probably adapted to the two rifles, providing we could get the
bayonets from México.

A bayonet might be useful in CQC/CQB/CQF (Close Quarter Combat/Battle/Fighting),

but didn’t do a person much good at long range. We only had them on our Mossberg
shotguns, a CQC weapon.

Although there is considerable overlap, close quarters combat is not synonymous with
urban warfare, now sometimes known by the military acronyms MOUT (military opera-
tions in urban terrain), FIBUA (fighting in built-up areas) or OBUA (Operations in Built
Up Areas) in the West. Urban warfare is a much larger field, including logistics and the
role of crew-served weapons like heavy machine guns, mortars, and mounted grenade
launchers, as well as artillery, armor, and air support. In close quarters combat, the em-
phasis is on small infantry units using light, compact weapons that one person can carry

383
and use easily in tight spaces, such as carbines, submachine guns, shotguns, pistols,
knives, and bayonets. As such, close quarters combat is a tactical concept that forms a
part of the strategic concept of urban warfare, but not every instance of close quarters
combat is necessarily urban warfare – for example, a jungle is potentially a stage for
close quarters combat.

Which explained why, in Vietnam, the US Military adopted the M-16 and CAR-15 and
relegated the M14 to a backup, longer range role. The M14 was filling the same role at
the end of Enduring Freedom and on naval vessels and Coast Guard vessels. There
are 2 problems with the M16, no gas piston and NATO SS-109 (M855); they fixed the
latter with M855A1. They didn’t fix the former enmass. SOCOM got HK416s. Now if they
had talked H & K into a 22 inch barrel for the HK417 with 1:10 rifling, and issued 3
HK416s per HK417, everything would have been Jim Dandy.

If at all possible, CQC should be avoided in favor of Urban Warfare. In a situation like
the one we were facing, where the numbers favored the Méxican Army, the objective
was to avoid direct physical contact, except perhaps when a sentry need to be taken out
with a knife and no alternative existed. Our 600, 1,200, 4,000 and 8,000 grit DMT dia-
mond stones saw a lot of use when people came to pick up their weapons.

Sorry, 2 thoughts fighting for attention and slightly related so I mixed them. Did we have
enough rifles and carbines for the number of people we needed to supply? Almost is the
most accurate answer. But, once they used those weapons, they could fill in the holes
with the FX-05s. We did have ammo for WW 20 or was it 25? I’m sure that I said 25 be-
fore. No matter, it should enough for the Méxican Army and any other branch of service.

Maybe real life wasn’t like the western movies they used to make because the Indians
were civilized. Wait, that was before the war. With the invasion by México, they’d be
back to fighting for their lives. If just one Méxican was killed by an Indian and identified,
all the Indians would become targets, if they weren’t already.

All these years we’d had problems with Méxicans trying, and usually accomplishing, to
cross the border illegally suggesting that México wasn’t a nice place to live. You don’t
suppose that’s why the Méxican Army came to our country do you? Illegal immigration
to get away from the bad conditions in México; Nah… Reconquista to reform the Nation
of Aztlán was much more likely. It has been the subject of much PAW fiction starting
with Fleataxi with his Aztlán Invasion. He’s been gone since April 12, 2011.

I copied a map from Wikipedia to my computer that showed the original Méxican bor-
ders. Somewhere between ¼ and ½ of old México was on our side of the border. Call it
⅜ to average the two, but it’s closer to ½. How many of the residents of the ranch were
not members of the Latino/Hispanic group or the Native American group? Not many,
that’s certain. Would they rely on their US Citizenship or their ethnic origins? The an-
swer to that question is found in understanding people like Ira Hayes and the Windtalk-
ers, ergo, various tribe members of several Indian Nations use their native language to
talk in code indecipherable by the Japanese.

384
The Japanese figured out that one of Sergeants on the Bataan Death March was Nava-
jo and spoke the language… Didn’t do them any good. He spoke Navajo but the words
used by the Windtalkers were a code within a code where the Navajo word for buzzard
might refer to something like a bomber. Worse, the Japanese didn’t have Colossus, the
name of the computer in Bletchley Park used to decipher the Enigma code.

The people receiving the firearms and ammo didn’t need much training. They set off in
small groups’ intent on kicking butt. While the more common expression is kicking butts
and taking names, they had little interest on who they killed; so long as the person was
in a Méxican uniform. The additional arms issued only served to increase the body
count.

385
 The Dome IV – Chapter 41

John went to the Gila River Indian Community and made them the same offer. After
bouncing it around for a while, they agreed to join and ask where to get what they
needed. John explained about the castle on I-10 west of Eloy and told them to bring an-
ything they need besides firearms and ammo. He suggested they find a diesel powered
bus or 2 that ran and ‘Come on Down’. The next day, he headed for the Salt River Pi-
ma-Maricopa Community or what was left of it. He had little luck finding any survivors
and those he did find weren’t interested.

We had weapons and ammo leftover after equipping all the ‘warriors’ and their family
members that wanted ‘something’. John would give us occasional updates, mostly body
counts. The Méxican Army continued to spread and we’d sometimes see small convoys
on I-10. Then, one of those convoys got off I-10 and swept through Eloy. We didn’t hear
any gunshots, but they were 3 plus miles away. It became abundantly apparent that
they’d seen our ‘castle’ from I-10 when the group turned south from Eloy and headed
our way.

“Red Alert. Do not respond to the Méxican forces in any way, shape, form or manner
unless you get the word to open fire. If the command is given, take them out as expedi-
tiously as possible. No quarter.”

“One of your relatives fight at the Alamo, Ramón?”

“Nope, they lived in this general area as far back as anyone can remember. No Quarter
is the English translation of El Degüello which Santa Anna ordered played at The Alamo
in addition to hanging a red flag signifying the no quarter would be given. You did see
those OKC-3S bayonets we picked up on a detour through Franklinville, NY, didn’t
you?”

“Do you know anyway to mount those bayonets on the HK416s and HK417s?”

“They should just slip on.”

“Really?”

“We brought back all the gun parts we could find. Oh, oh OPEN FIRE.”

The strange part was they’d detoured around Franklinville on their way up and one of
the people mentioned Ontario Knives so they’d stopped there on the way back and hit
the mother lode. Hang on; I’ve got to shoot a Méxican soldier. Got him, now where was
I? Oh, the bayonets… The bayonets were part OKCs Tactical line and they cleaned out
that group and a couple of others. I’d have to get with John and tell him we had bayo-
nets after all.

386
It seems the misunderstanding arose over the shortest barrel that didn’t extend enough
for the ring on the bayonet to slip over. It wasn’t a problem because the HK416s and
HK417s had the long barrels with the bayonet lug as the bottom portion of the front
sight. And since I’m on bayonets, I wonder if TOM ever got a bayonet lug on his M1A
Loaded and ever figured out how to fit the 16” bayonet from the Springfield rifle. Or,
maybe his kid from Arkansas did.

TOM said that his kid claimed that if you were close enough to use a bayonet, you were
too close. The kid may have been right, when he went to Iraq; they were issued M4s
with stubby 14 inch barrels. Hell, they’re almost too short to be called a carbine and
were more of a PDW. It gets confusing.

The HK416 models chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO available to the military and law
enforcement market are:

D10RS: sub-compact with a 264 mm (10.4 in) barrel

D14.5RS: carbine rifle 368 mm (14.5 in) barrel
D16.5RS: rifle with 419 mm (16.5 in) barrel
D20RS: full-sized rifle 505 mm (19.9 in) barrel

As of 2013, the HK416 A5 models chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO available to the
military and law enforcement market are:

HK416 A5 – 11”: sub-compact with a 279 mm (11.0 in) barrel

HK416 A5 – 14.5”: carbine rifle 368 mm (14.5 in) barrel
HK416 A5 – 16.5”: rifle with 419 mm (16.5 in) barrel
HK416 A5 – 20”: full-sized rifle 505 mm (19.9 in) barrel

The HK416’s barrel is cold hammer-forged with a 20,000-round service life and features
a 6 grooves 178 mm (1 in 7 inch) right hand twist.

The HK417 is currently available with three different barrel lengths (all in 7.62x51mm
NATO):

HK417 12” ‘Assaulter’ Model – 12” standard barrel

HK417 16" ‘Recce’ or ‘Recon’ Model – 16” standard and accurized barrels
HK417 20” ‘Sniper’ Model – 20” accurized barrel

Accurized barrels provide 1 MOA accuracy (with match grade ammunition). A barrel can
be changed in under two minutes with simple tools. All HK417 barrels are cold hammer
forged and chrome-lined and use a conventional lands and grooves bore profile with a
279.4 mm (1 in 11 in) twist rate. They are designed to function reliably with bullet
weights ranging from less than 9.3 to 11.34 g (147 to 175 grains) and are threaded for
flash hider, muzzle compensator, and sound suppressor attachment.

387
Of course the ‘ideal’ twist rate for 175 grain bullets is 1:10, but don’t be confused by the
facts. It has to do with bullet weight and length. If I may quote Chuck Hawks.

The rate of twist is expressed as one turn in so many inches (i.e. 1 in 10” or 1:10). The
twist in a rifle barrel is designed to stabilize the range of bullets normally used in that
particular caliber. It takes less twist to stabilize a given bullet at high velocity than at low
velocity. At the same velocity in the same caliber, longer (pointed) bullets require faster
twist rates than shorter (round nose) bullets of the same weight and heavier bullets re-
quire a faster twist than lighter bullets of the same shape. It is undesirable to spin a bul-
let a great deal faster than necessary, as this can degrade accuracy. A fast twist in-
creases pressure and also the strain on the bullet jacket.

Fortunately, the rate of twist chosen by the rifle maker is usually appropriate for the in-
tended cartridge. Anyone ordering a new barrel for a hunting rifle will generally do well
to specify the standard twist as supplied by the major rifle manufacturers for that caliber.
Where there are two twist rates in common use, for example 1:10 and 1:12 for the .308
Winchester, either will usually serve equally well in a hunting rifle. Many other factors
are more important to accuracy and performance than twist rate.

Once in a great while, though, a manufacturer makes a mistake. One such case in-
volved the .244 Remington. When first introduced, barrels for this caliber were made
with a 1-in-12 twist, because Remington anticipated that their new cartridge would be
used primarily for varmint shooting. The 1 in 12 inch twist is ideal for best accuracy with
varmint weight bullets (70-85 grains) in a high velocity .24 (6mm) caliber rifle. The heav-
iest spitzer bullet that a .244 with a 1 in 12 inch twist barrel could stabilize was 90
grains. The customers, however, also wanted to use their new .24 caliber rifles for hunt-
ing medium size big game, with 100 grain bullets. Needless to say, customers ignored
the new .244 Rem. Remington soon saw the error of their ways and changed the rifling
of their .244 barrels to 1 turn in 9 inches, but the damage was done. Sales remained so
slow that eventually Remington had to discontinue the .244. The following year they re-
introduced the exact same cartridge as the 6mm Rem. and produced all 6mm rifle bar-
rels with 1 in 9 inch twist barrels, which can stabilize all .24/6mm bullets.

Here is a formula for calculating twist rate:

(Remember that is a quote from Mr. Chuck Hawks. I’m not trying to claim it’s not
correct, I’m trying to give credit where credit is due.)

If you read further down the page, he said the correct twist rate for .308 was 1:12.
Standard M14 rifling has right-hand twist of 1:12 inches with 4 grooves. Keep in mind
that the ammo was 147 grain 7.62 NATO. The M1As manufactured by Springfield
Armory, Inc. were either 1:11 or 1:10 with the faster twist rates being used on the heavy

388
weight match grade barrels used by the Super Match, M21 and now discontinued M25.
It depends on the bullet weight and length, read the formula. The Loaded M1A shot the
147 grain South African surplus just fine, 0.5 MOA at 500 meters on one rifle I knew
about.

Back to the matter at hand, the dead Méxican soldiers. We’d take their weapons and
ammo without doubt. Crew served weapons would either be added to our collection or
hidden. The bodies could joint Kraut et al. The idea of creating a Boot Hill was dis-
cussed and dropped. Which left us with the vehicles; we could change the plates on the
pickups and SUVs. We already had Hummers, no problem there; paint US military ID
numbers on the vehicles.

‘Cousins’ who wanted additional rifles or carbines would be offered their choice between
the German arms or the FX-05s. John nixed that idea as soon as I brought it up, claim-
ing that any Indian walking around with a FX-05 was wearing a sign on their back that
said ‘Shoot Me’. He said they’d be willing to trade the FX-05s 2 to 1 for a HK416 or 3 to
1 for an HK417, plus an extra rifle for the grenade launcher.

A bit of artistic license is taken beginning with the following chapter about who won the
Presidential Election in 2016. I don’t know if he’s going to run and if he does whether he
stands a chance of getting elected. But, his name has been mentioned.

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 The Dome IV – Chapter 42

“Who is in charge here?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Before the war, they called me Mr. President.”

“You’re dead.”

“Sez who?”

“I do, Calvin Burgess. We went to Fort Carson looking for salvage and afterwards
checked the Mountain. Both ends of the tunnel were blasted shut.”

“That’s right, the primary entrance was blasted shut and after we exited the other end,
we blasted it shut.”

“When did you come out?”

“Oh, that wasn’t all that long after the Springs took the warheads. China used those ER
warheads, you know.”

“We speculated as much. Where have you been, the war occurred on 22Jun20?”

“We must have hit the 10th SFG before you did. We got some HEMTT A4s, M978 tank-
ers, pulling trailers with CONEXs and some M985 cargo trucks pulling more trailers with
CONEXs. On top of that we had 8 HETS with M1070A1 tractors and M1000 trailers and
recovered 4 M1A3 Abrams and 4 M2A4 Bradley IFVs. Then we took off cross country.
Say we gonna stand here jawing, or will you let us in?”

“What do I call you?”

“Well, my name is John Ellis Bush, but how about Jeb?”

“How’s George?”

“Don’t rightly know. Mom and Dad are gone of course. George was in Paraguay, Neil is
MIA, Marvin is MIA and Dorothy was probably killed in the attack on Washington DC.”

So, here we are in 2035 and the former President, call me Jeb, is at our doorstep seek-
ing admittance.

“Ramón, pull back the Cat, pull the posts, open the gate and lower the drawbridge.”

“In that order?”

390
“I don’t care, just get it done and put us on Yellow Alert until everyone is inside and
we’re buttoned up.”

“Do you trust him?”

“He was going to be reelected in 2020.”

“But he’s not President anymore.”

“I know that, but common courtesy demands that I invite him in.”

“What about the others?”

“Jeb, who are the others?”

“United States Marines, my escort. Got five of Battalions of Army soldiers on the way
down from Phoenix to fight the Méxican Army.”

“How big is that Ramón?”

“About a Brigade; they run from 3 to 6 Battalions plus support elements.”

“You can all come in, stand by while we unlock.”

I lowered the drawbridge while someone else pulled back the dozer and others pulled
the pipes and opened the gate.

“From the looks of it, you don’t welcome company.”

“We don’t welcome uninvited company, no. Got a bunch of them buried in the field
across the road. Some Méxican soldiers, some East German Stasi and some wannabe
bad asses. Ginger and I live in the Dome. This parcel of land is 6 sections including the
canal that totally surrounds the berm. We grow Tilapia in the pond and canal.”

“Hi, I’m Ginger.”

“I’m Jeb and I wish I was a lot younger.”

“Thank you. How old are you?”

“Seventy-nine. I thought I had the world by the butt when I was Governor of Florida;
and, maybe I did. Times change and we undid most of the harm that my predecessor
did to the country. Russia and China were lying so we lied too. We have several Ohio
class boats with missiles still in the tubes in various ports around the nation. We
cleaned out the gold coins at the West Point Mint and have been paying surviving mili-

391
tary using the gold. We also cleaned out the inventories of any coin dealer we could find
in the cities that took hits. We tried to clean out H&K but somebody beat us to it. No
matter, it seems there were several other factories producing military firearms.

“We’re using a little bit of everything we can find that is select fire. There’s FN and
Knight’s Armaments, Remington and several other manufacturers that assemble select
fire weapons for Law Enforcement and the military. We got a lot of standard, loaded
standard and national match 7.62 rifles in Illinois. Someone had cleaned out the parker-
ized Super Match actions/barrels but left the Super Match rifles with stainless steel bar-
rels so we have a few sniper rifles.”

“We have quite the collection of H&K rifles, grenade launchers, etc. It was us who took
the parkerized Super Match actions/barrels. We had them glass bedded in McMillan
M3A ladder type adjustable stocks. We also cleaned out McMillan’s finished rifles.”

“Well, the place was abandoned so I don’t see where anyone has room to complain. We
have a few armorers assembling the remaining components into useable firearms at
McMillan and at Barrett. We had some but, not really enough. What do you grow on
your land Cal?”

“Mostly food, Jeb. Beans, Rice, Wheat, Corn, Oats, Barley and some alfalfa for the live-
stock.”

“You got enough to provision a Brigade?”

“I hate to say yes and get caught between a rock and hard spot but if we produce more
this year as we did last year, probably.”

“We’re talking about food for almost 3,000 people.”

“I figured that many, Jeb. It would force us to live on our reserves, however, so it would
be in your best interests to defeat México as fast as possible.”

“I’m tempted to nuke México City.”

“Why haven’t you?”

“Only the President and the Secretary of Defense have the combined authority to au-
thorize the strike. I’m not President so the Secretary of Defense isn’t the Secretary of
Defense. Besides, it has to go through the Pentagon and they wiped it out.”

“What about the Joint Chiefs?”

“They were in the Mountain with me and my cabinet.”

“Who has the football?

392
“A military attaché.”

“Could you contact those Ohio class subs from the Mountain?”

“Well of course. But the Mountain tunnel is closed at both ends.”

“So, we open one and you, the SECDEF and the Joint Chiefs issue the orders to the
sub nearest to México City.”

That would take a lot of explosives.”

“We have a lot of explosives and there are probably more at the 10 th SFG at Fort Car-
son. All we need are the Marines to help and guard us while we get you in. I’ll talk to
John and see if any of his ‘cousins’ are explosives experts.”

“Who is John and who are his cousins?”

“John is a Pima Indian and his ‘cousins’ are the surviving members of the Pima tribe.”

“Ira Hayes’ tribe?”

“Yep.”

“They made several movies about the guy, but I liked The Outsider the best.”

“I hope you will join us for dinner, Jeb. I suspect that Ginger pulled the food from the
freezer and I can assure that it’s better than tray packs or MREs. We have one menu
specifically for special occasions. Your Marines should enjoy what the other wives’
come up with in the Community Center.”

“How did you manage to do all this?”

“My first wife was killed in a holdup of a Circle K and murder is double indemnity. I also
inherited half of a Ready Mix operation in Phoenix plus my father’s class 3 firearms
business when Dad died of pancreatic cancer. Mom remarried and my new stepfather
wanted clear title to entire Ready Mix operation, so I sold it to him.

“The 3 sections were also part of the inheritance and early on I arranged for the Dome.
The Dome has a basement providing space for a shelter. Shortly after the Dome was
completed I met Ginger. I was a widower and she was a divorcée. We hit it off and got
married. We have 3 children, a son and 2 daughters. All three of the women are preg-
nant with their first child.

“At Ginger’s suggestion we got into raising alfalfa. We were getting 12 cuttings a year
and sold most of it alfalfa pellet producers. It generally runs 5 tons per acre at $100 a

393
ton, producing a base income of $640,000 per month gross. Eventually we purchased 3
more sections from the BLM and increased the alfalfa acreage to 4 sections or 2,560
acres and doubling the monthly income to $1,280,000, an annual total of $15,360,000.
We received small amounts from the sale of Black Angus cattle and York hogs.

“I’ve always been a prepper of sorts and after we got married and kept adding hired
hands, we started to accumulate long term supplies of most things we use, especially
food products. I also held a class 3 license from the ATF and many of the purchases
were sold to a Trust owned by my father and later owned by Ginger and me.”

“Just how much did your ranch generate in overall income before the war?”

“Just shy of $16 million a year gross.”

“Paid a lot of taxes, huh?”

“Not a penny more than we had to; damn Democrats always had their hand out, wanting
more. Believe you me, we expensed everything we could and capitalized and depreci-
ated what we couldn’t expense. We pulled that banjo string about as tight as we could.
Only thing we didn’t spend a lot of money on was vehicles. Good thing too, ours still ran
after the war, not that we didn’t have plenty of parts in case they didn’t.

“The firearms are all assets of the Farm Corporation except for those that were owned
by the Trust Corporation. We even added the firearms we ‘collected’ to the Farm Corpo-
ration asset base, under guise of ‘finders-keepers’.”

“What did you invest all that money in?”

“Gold and silver Eagles. At the moment we’re valuing gold at $3,000 an ounce and sil-
ver at $60 an ounce. We have 3 vaults nearly filled with gold and silver coins. Well, not
all of the silver is Eagles; we have a fair amount of the so called ‘junk silver’. We figure
that $1,000 face value is 715 ounces at revalued face value of $42,900. There are
10,000 dimes in $1,000 face value and it makes a dime worth about $4.29 and a quarter
worth about $10.73. Don’t have many halves, but what do have are worth about
$21.45.”

“Aside from the firearms you already mentioned, what do you have?”

“We’d better not go there Jeb. More than you might think and leave it at that. We can
handle airplanes and tanks, up to a point. If we had more reloads, we could handle
more.”

“What do you need?”

“Stingers and TOWS.”

394
“What do they go on?”

“LAV25s. The hummers are either equipped with M240Bs, M2A1s or Mk 19s. The
M1117s have all three.”

“Where did you get those?”

“Found them lying around; abandoned property, free for the taking.”

“Why don’t I believe that?”

“Darned if I know, but it would be up to you to prove otherwise. Until your Brigade gets
here, it’s just you and the Marines. Fortunately, Marines are familiar with the LAV25A1s,
LAV25-AT and the LAV25AD. If they wanted to crew those for us, we probably wouldn’t
have any objection. The rule is, if you break it, you fix it.”

“Speaking of the Marines, where are they?”

“Probably in the Community Center chowing down.”

“Cal, time to heat the grill.”

“Ok Ginger. How do you like your steak Jeb? I specialize in Medium.”

“Medium rare?”

“Ok, I cut one minute off both sides. Never cooked one medium rare before.”

“What do minutes have to do with it?”

“I grill the steaks 7 minutes on each side and let them rest 5 minutes and get a perfect
medium. I’m guessing 6 minutes a side for medium rare and 5 minutes a side for rare.”

“Don’t you have a meat thermometer?”

“Of course we do. Don’t use it on steaks because it lets the blood out.”

“What are my Marines eating?”

“Best guess would be Méxican. Most of the good cooks are wives of the Vaqueros. Gin-
ger can do very good Méxican, even though she’s from Missouri. Speaking of Vaqueros
reminds me that I didn’t mention our firearms that can use Pyrodex or black powder in a
pinch. We have a huge number of pre-2006 Ruger Vaquero revolvers and all the new
Winchester 1886s in .45-70 and 1892s in .45 Colt we could lay our hands on. Ruger
states that the ‘New Model Vaquero’ will handle +P and +P+ ammunition without any

395
issues, but warns users not to shoot reloads in any of their guns as it will void the war-
ranty; but that could just be advertising.”

“I don’t know, Cal, they’d be open to litigation for that claim if one of their revolvers blew
up due to +P or +P+ being fired in them.”

“I think they’d just claim that you were using hand loads. Since hand loads are used in
recycled brass, nobody could prove either way and the burden of proof would be on the
Plaintiff.”

“You went to Law School?”

“No, but I read Wikipedia a lot.”

Ginger was setting out the Caesar salads, the prawn cocktails and warmed buns. She
checked the potatoes and they were done so she reduced the heat to minimum and
added 3 plates.

“Did you go to Law School Jeb?”

“No, Latin American Studies.”

“Tell me, did we have any clue about what the Russians and Chinese were up to?

“Are you familiar with the expression, it’s a matter of when, not if?”

“That’s mantra of survivalists and preppers.”

“All of our Ohio class submarines were at sea with replenishment ships within 24 hours
sailing time. And, as I said before, they were carrying a full load of Trident IIs.”

“The steaks are ready, let’s let them set and dig in with salads and prawns. I thought
that to comply with New START, our subs had to be downloaded.”

“They selected 2 SSBNs and we downloaded to conform to the agreement. As soon as

they left, they were reloaded to a full complement of missiles and 8 warheads.”

“We thought so. I thought that part of the agreement with the Russian was the 2 of the
subs would be in overhaul.”

“The 2 we scheduled needed the least amount of work and a month later they were os-
tensibly sent on sea trials to test the upgrades.”

Does sneaky son-of-a-gun fit? I think so and that makes him smarter than the average
guy. No, we didn’t donate to his campaign! We bought more lariats that month, in Tuc-
son.

396
Tango-Sierra-Hotel-Hotel-Tango-Foxtrot. Status: Foxtrot-Uniform-Bravo-Alpha-Romeo.

Sorry, just practicing my NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Alpha can also be spelled Alfa. It
reminds me of: Crew ejects safely after US F-15 crashes in Mideast on training mission.
It seems to me it would have smarter to eject before the plane crashed…

We’ve got ourselves an interesting situation. First off, the Méxicans have invaded the
US and some say it is the Reconquista. Second off, the dead President isn’t dead. Third
off, we’re selling rifles and munitions to the Indians, Pima to be specific. Finally, we’re
discussing the possibility of going back to the Springs, blow our way into Cheyenne
Mountain and launching a nuclear strike against México City. Oh, some of our Ohio
class still have missiles with 8 W-76 warheads each. They’re 100kT, airburst or contact,
Manufactured 6/78 - 7/87, active service, ~3000 produced, Trident I and Trident II Mk-4
RV TN warhead, missiles can carry 8-14 RVs, developed by LANL, part of the US “en-
during stockpile”. (LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory)

397
 The Dome IV – Chapter 43

Not quite a ‘Méxican Standoff’, but close enough to count. What’s a fella going to do
when faced with two choices, neither of them very good? Sometimes, a fella just has to
choose the choice most likely to end the standoff. It’s just a shame that those W-76s
weren’t ER devices.

So, off we went again for the 10th SFG at Fort Carson. The Marines, after a little instruc-
tion, took to those LAV-25s like old hands. Ramón assigned his best people to man the
M1117s; a crew of 3 and one of Hank’s people filling the 4 th seat. I was the ‘Leader’ so
naturally, I led. It was another Convoy which included the Hummers, a fuel tanker, a few
trailers with food and extra ammo.

We followed the same route we used on the last trip and it seemed like it took almost no
time to get to the Fort. Some of the officers that came along seemed to know where
everything was stored at Fort Carson and it didn’t take long to get a bunker of RDX or
something like that. Two of the Marine Sergeants, a Gunny and a Staff, seemed to
know their way around explosives and they blasted our way in using the front entrance
and a fair amount the explosives. Got a front-end loader to haul the rock and pile it. Two
days after they started, we were inside.

“Y’all be careful, hear. That lining of the tunnel is in serious disrepair where we reo-
pened it.”

That was quite the combination from the Gunny; one minute he sounds like a hillbilly
and the next minute like a graduate of Harvard Law.

“Gunny, you and the Staff Sergeant standby outside, in case it collapses and you have
to dig us out again.”

“Yes sir, Mr. President. Sorry sir, Jeb.”

“Where’s the submarine you’re planning on using Jeb.”

“Outlying Field, San Nicholas Island. We managed to get a couple of barges of stores
out to those folks and they’ve probably been sitting around drinking stale beer, assum-
ing they have any left.”

“Have you figured out where you’re going to target the warheads?”

“We’ve been discussing that; México City, for certain. We’re also thinking of directing
some of them about 100 miles south of the border, but that’s up in the air for the mo-
ment. It could create a new ‘nuclear border’ and we might be able to drive the Méxican
Army back across the actual border and into the fallout areas.”

“If the left one don’t get you, the right one will?”

398
“Cassius Clay.”

“I think he prefers Muhammad Ali.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Once inside, they got things powered up and eventually working. Now it was time to see
if the Navy would follow the orders of the former President, SECDEF and Joint Chiefs.
Step one was to establish contact with the sub at San Nick. They opened the football
and gave the codes to the Joint Chiefs. When the Joint Chiefs concurred, the Chairman
passed the authorization codes to the sub.

Since the warheads had to have their targets reprogrammed, it took a while. The sub,
meanwhile, had departed San Nick and before submerging, acknowledged the new tar-
gets and asked for reconfirmation of their orders because targets were in México.

“This is the President and the SECDEF is here with me in the Mountain. I confirm the
targets. Do you wish to speak to the SECDEF?”

“Negative. We’re submerging and will launch in a few minutes.”

“Could someone bring the ranch up on 40 meters?”

“Sure, but why?”

“I want to tell them to Duck and Cover.”

“This Ramon, what’s up?”

“The sub is about to launch on the Méxicans; Duck and Cover.”

“Roger, everyone into the shelters. I’ll put the word out. Do we have time to shelter the
livestock?”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Cal, Ginger. What’s going on?”

“The US is going to nuke México and end this stupid little war.”

“Haven’t we had enough deaths?”

“Tell it to the Méxicans. Sorry, dear, I’ve got to go.”

399
The D-5 missile has a 90–120 meter CEP. With a 100kT warhead, close counts. Appar-
ently several D-5 missiles were launched and took out most of the counter-value targets
and more warheads created a nuclear curtain south of the border. It was a little closer
than I liked, ~75 miles south of the border. Now, if that Brigade could push the Méxicans
back across the border, we could go about rebuilding the country. There is more to sur-
viving than just living. Those that can, do.

By the time we’d returned from Colorado Springs, the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) had
the Méxican Army on the run from El Paso to San Diego. The BCT didn’t destroy any
bridges until the Méxican had crossed; and then they brought in the 155mm stuff and
blew them to splinters. It wasn’t described as a rout although that’s what it amounted to.

“It’s going to be a while until we can clean up the country and hold elections, Cal. Do
you have any suggestions on what we should do now?”

“Jeb, you were the last elected President and until we hold those elections, I think
you’re the leader of this great land. Do what Leaders do, and lead. There’s probably no
one person in the country that has the oversight you do. You were Governor of Florida
for 8 years and served 3½ years as President. Did you nuke your wife’s home town of
León?”

“Well, Columba wasn’t too happy with the attack but I pointed out I spared León despite
it having a large enough population to be considered a counter-value target.”

Columba Bush has been active in promoting the arts. In 1999 she worked with Arts for a
Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE) to develop Arts for
Life!, a program devoted to increasing the importance of art in the education system.
She has also used her experience with her family’s substance abuse issues to aid
treatment and prevention programs such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA). She has served as co-chair of the NIAAA initiative, Leadership to
Keep Children Alcohol Free, and has served on the board of the Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Mrs. Bush and her husband are both active Catholics. She is a member of Regnum
Christi. In 2007 they attended the Regnum Christi Family Convention in Atlanta.

She appeared in a Spanish language campaign commercial for her father-in-law,

George H. W. Bush, in 1988, but generally tends to be uninvolved in politics

“Does that mean you will or will not be sleeping on the couch?”

“We’ll see. So you think I should continue my role as Leader?”

400
“Until we can have elections, yes. Do you think we can get far enough into the process
of recovering the country?”

“It’s going to be a huge job because they struck mostly counter-value targets. That has
pluses and minuses. As far as population control goes, we lost anywhere from 80 to 95
percent of our population from all causes; Yellowstone, the Comet and the war. We
can’t rebuild most of the cities. I believe we should abandon them and start afresh. That
would eliminate more than half the work it would take to rebuild the country.

“I noticed that most of your hired hands live in doublewide mobile homes. Back in 2014,
I caught something on the news one day about investing in mobile homes or mobile
home parks. I believe that we could build mobile homes and or mobile home parks a lot
faster than regular construction. I also understand that there is something called a de-
sert package that results in better construction and more insulation.”

“Most of our homes were built in Hemet, California. We only buy one model, the Fleet-
wood Beacon Hills series with the optional activity room. Bedroom 2 can be ordered as
an optional study which reduces the full bath to a half bath. We actually have both. Our
3 children have triple-wides from another manufacturer. While the homes aren’t exactly
built on an assembly line, current building practices just before the war began to take on
those aspects.”

“Affordable?”

“Well… we might not be the people to ask. They are employee housing and accounted
for as assets, and depreciated accordingly. But you know, it might not cost the country a
dime to rebuild. Aren’t all the foreign gold deposits in the US stored in vaults in the Fi-
nancial District in New York City?”

“I was briefed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York when I took office. The best I
can remember, considering my age is that:”

Gold custody is one of several financial services the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
provides to central banks, governments and official international organizations on behalf
of the Federal Reserve System.

The New York Fed’s gold vault is on the basement floor of its main office building in
Manhattan. Built during the construction of the building in the early 1920s, the vault pro-
vides account holders with a secure location to store their monetary gold reserves.

None of the gold stored in the vault belongs to the New York Fed or the Federal Re-
serve System. The New York Fed acts as the guardian and custodian of the gold on
behalf of account holders, which include the US government, foreign governments, oth-
er central banks, and official international organizations. No individuals or private sector
entities are permitted to store gold in the vault.

401
Much of the gold in the vault arrived during and after World War II as many countries
wanted to store their gold reserves in a safe location. Holdings in the gold vault contin-
ued to increase and peaked in 1973, shortly after the United States suspended convert-
ibility of dollars into gold for foreign governments. At its peak, the vault contained over
12,000 tons of monetary gold. Since that time, gold deposit and withdrawal activity has
slowed and the vault has experienced a gradual but steady decline in overall holdings.
However, the vault today remains the world’s largest known depository of monetary
gold.

As of 2012, the vault housed approximately 530,000 gold bars, with a combined weight
of approximately 6,700 tons. The vault is able to support this weight because it rests on
the bedrock of Manhattan Island, 80 feet below street level and 50 feet below sea level.

Gold bars are transported by elevator from street level to the vault’s basement location.
Once inside the vault the bars become the responsibility of a control group consisting of
three representatives: two members of the New York Fed gold vault staff and one
member from the New York Fed internal audit staff. These three individuals must be
present whenever gold is moved or a compartment is opened in the vault – even to
change a light bulb. This helps ensure proper safekeeping and maximum security for
the gold.

All bars brought into the vault for deposit are carefully weighed, and the refiner and
fineness (purity) markings on the bars are inspected to ensure they agree with the de-
positor instructions and recorded in the New York Fed’s records. This step is vital be-
cause the New York Fed returns the exact bars deposited by the account holder upon
withdrawal—gold deposits are not considered fungible.

Following the verification process, the gold is moved to one of the vault’s 122 compart-
ments, where each compartment contains gold held by a single account holder (mean-
ing that gold is not commingled between account holders). In rare cases, small deposits
are placed on separately numbered spaces on shelves in a “library” compartment
shared by several account holders. Each compartment is secured by a padlock, two
combination locks and an auditor’s seal. Compartments are numbered rather than
named to maintain confidentiality of the account holders.

The New York Fed charges account holders a handling fee for gold transactions, includ-
ing when gold enters or leaves the vault or ownership transfers (moves between com-
partments), but otherwise does not charge fees for gold storage.

While gold bars are mostly uniform, there are subtle differences that can signify, among
other unique characteristics, when and where a bar was cast.

Before 1986, bars cast in the United States generally were rectangular bricks. Currently,
however, bars cast in the United States conform to the long-standing international
standard for most bars cast overseas, which are trapezoidal in shape. For bars cast in

402
the United States under the pre-1986 standard, a bar’s shape can also indicate where it
was cast. Bars from the Denver Assay Office have rounded sides; bars from the San
Francisco Assay Office have rounded corners; and bars from the New York Assay Of-
fice have square edges. Markings on the bar also reveal information about its produc-
tion. For example, a set of numbers on the bar often identifies its melt—the molten gold
from which a bar is made—while another set indicates its fineness or purity. A stamped
seal of a refiner often identifies where the gold was cast.

Surprisingly, gold bars are not 100 percent pure gold. If they were 100 percent pure, the
bars would be too malleable to preserve their shape. This would render them difficult to
store or move. Therefore, each bar contains a small amount of at least one other metal,
such as copper, silver or platinum. Tinges of color can indicate the type of alloy, howev-
er modest, from which a particular bar is composed. For instance, traces of silver and
platinum give the gold a whitish shade, copper is most often found in reddish bars, and
iron produces a greenish hue.

The market value of a gold bar depends on its weight, purity level, and the prevailing
market price for gold. Rather than market pricing which fluctuates daily, the New York
Fed uses the United States official book value of $42.2222 per troy ounce for gold hold-
ings.

The vault is safeguarded by a comprehensive multilayered security system, highlighted

by a 90-ton steel cylinder protecting the only entry into the vault. The nine-foot-tall cylin-
der is set within a 140-ton steel-and-concrete frame that, when closed, creates an air-
tight and watertight seal. Also, once closed, four steel rods are inserted into holes in the
cylinder and time clocks are engaged, locking the vault until the next business day.

Security is further enhanced by the massive steel-reinforced concrete walls surrounding

the vault and 24-hour monitoring of activity inside and outside the vault by security
cameras, as well as the use of motion sensors when the vault is closed. Continuous su-
pervision by the vault control group also ensures that proper security procedures are
followed at all times. Additionally, the gold is protected by the New York Fed’s robust
building security system and the armed Federal Reserve police force.

“Jeb, being it’s that far below the surface, it shouldn’t even be radioactive. I’ll tell you
though; it will take every thermal lance and bottle of oxygen to burn through those 90
ton doors. The beauty of it is that everyone but the US population will be paying for the
initial rebuilding. No one on the ranch has those skills or I’d offer to do it for 1% of the
gold recovered.”

“One-tenth of 1%.”

“Ok, I don’t like haggling ½ of 1% tax free, final offer.”

“Done, done and done.”

403
One-half of one percent of 6,700 tons of gold was 67,000 pounds of gold or ~61,067.71
troy ounces at $3,000 per ounce. In total, $183,203,130. It was worth whatever risk was
involved. Maybe Ginger and I could retire early and let our three divide up the ranch. Or,
just close the outer and inner doors to the Dome, lock the tunnel doors and play patty
cake. Just thinking about that retirement was an incentive in and of itself.

“Ramón, we’re making another road trip. We need the ability to haul back 6,700 tons of
concentrated weight. We’ll also need a double tanker rig filled with stabilized #2. I’m not
sure how long it will take, so plan on food and water for 1 year. We need the 4 LAVs, 4
M1117s, and all the Hummers equipped however you have them set up. I think it might
be a good idea to take 2 of those B-Train 53 foot rigs, too. We need a full complement
of people with no empty seats.

“Now before we go, round up all the thermal lances and bottles of oxygen you can find
along with some spare acetylene bottles and a full complement of oxygen-acetylene
cutting tools. Ask around and see if anyone has any experience with a cutting torch or
thermal lances. I would assume that if the person has experience with thermal lances,
they have experience with cutting torches.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do we need this stuff?”

“Well, I made a deal with Jeb to recover all the foreign gold in the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York for ½ of 1 percent of the gold, tax free. That would be 67,000 pounds of
gold or ~61,000 troy ounces at $3,000 per troy ounce. I’ll pay a bonus to everyone who
helps in the amount of ½ of 1 percent of the gold I get, divided equally among you.
You’ll be dividing up ~305 troy ounces.”

“Not good enough, Cal, 5 percent.”

“Two and one half percent divided among you, final offer. Going, going, go…”

“Ok, 2½ percent.” (Two and on half percent was only 1,527, troy ounces, rounded up,
and when divided, wouldn’t really amount to much, $4,580,078; leaving Ginger and me
with $178,623,052.) Added to the $100+ million we already had, giving us a very nice
retirement package.

“I found 2 people with experience using cutting torches and thermal lances. They’re go-
ing with me to round up the supplies.”

“Take a guard force with you, please.”

404
“Thanks, it makes me feel better. You can count on both Hank and me participating in
this venture. We have trained staff we can delegate authority and responsibly to cover
for us while we’re gone.”

“Did you check Phoenix for supplies?”

“Tomorrow and the day after. Hank is going through the vehicles with a fine tooth comb
and they will be ready to go when we get back.”

“Ginger, do you have someone you can delegate responsibility and authority to for the
gardening and canning?”

“Several women, why?”

“Ever been to New York City?”

“That the largest counter-value target in the county; surely it was nuked.”

“I don’t doubt that at all. It’s the home of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They
store other countries gold there.”

“How much are we talking about?”

“Maybe 6,700 tons, ½ of 1% of the gold stored there, tax free. Maybe as much as
$178,623,052 worth, tax free.”

“Trust me Cal, if it gets put into circulation, the value of gold will sink faster than the Ti-
tanic.”

“And, if it isn’t put into circulation?”

“The price of gold will remain relatively stable.”

“Pack a bag with enough clothes for a year and enough food for a force of 36 for a year.
We’ll need a tanktainer too or maybe 2.”

“What is a tanktainer?”

“A tanktainer is an intermodal container for the transport of liquids, gases and powders
as bulk cargo. They hold over 10,000 gallons of liquid and in this case water. We have
that HEMTT and trailer and each can haul a tanktainer. All we have to do is locate an-
other HEMTT and trailer plus 4 tanktainers and we’ll be set.”

“Full selection of firearms and ordnance?”

405
“Might be a good idea.”

“I swear, Cal that you go looking for trouble.”

“And when I don’t, it finds me.”

“I’m not sure I want to go, the girls’ are close to their due dates.”

“There’s a small M*A*S*H unit attached to the BCT, with several doctors.”

“Then, against my better judgment, I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll find a travel trailer we can pull behind the Suburban. I’d better get the mechanic to
check it out for a 7,000 mile trip. Select one rifle and pistol and we’ll carry the original
Tac-50A1R2 and an M21.”

“Do you mind if I carry my Hi-Power in the Monarch rig, the Kimber in a fast draw rig
and a PPK in an ankle holster?”

“Go for it; which knife?

“My Gerber Mark I.”

“I’ll probably do the same. I’ll use my Mark I clone. I think it’s probably safe to leave the
cowboy guns here.”

“Any reason for that?”

“New Yorkers’ seem to think the Wild West begins in eastern Ohio.”

Three days later, we were finally organized and ready to leave. Jeb gave us a Letter of
Marque. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. (Clarendon Press, 1989) (
def. 1 of “marque” & def. 2a of “marque” defining “letter of marque”), the first recorded
use of “letters of marque and reprisal” was in an English statute in 1354 during the reign
of Edward III. The phrase referred to “a license granted by a sovereign to a subject, au-
thorizing him to make reprisals on the subjects of a hostile state for injuries alleged to
have been done to him by the enemy’s army.” James Bond called it a license to kill for
the good of Her Majesty’s Government.

We generally followed the path Ramón followed on his earlier trip.

406
 The Dome IV – Chapter 44

New York State had passed the SAFE Act. It was even more ludicrous than California
gun laws. On the other hand, we didn’t expect to run into any people when we arrived.
Sometimes expectations and reality don’t have much in common. Jeb had detached his
Marine escort to drive the LAVs and provide protection for our salvage group. Uh-huh.
They were probably there to make certain we only took our ½ of 1% of the gold bars
stored in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

None of our discussions included limits on what we did with our free time. Because of
that we were working 14-15 hour days. Eight hours on the clock breaking into the vault,
and 7 hours on our own salvaging. It took the better part of 6 weeks to burn our way into
the vault. The Gunny as keeping count and for every 200 ingots removed from the vault,
we got the 201st ingot; our half of one percent.

Once we gained access, semi-tractor trailer rigs showed up to haul the government’s
share to the West Point Mint. We speculated that they’d found enough former employ-
ees to crank out the gold coins. Once the vault was empty and our share of the gold
loaded on a B-Train, we were ready to leave New York and head to West Point. One-
half of one percent of 6,700 tons was 37.5 tons and we spread it out in one of the B-
Trains. After they weighed the ingots and determined the fineness, they traded ‘exact
weights’ of pure gold into gold Eagles.

We didn’t get the short end of the stick either; our salvage operations were extensive
and we didn’t have any empty space in the tractor-trailer rigs. With our end of the con-
tract fulfilled, we headed back to Eloy. When we arrived home, our people were given
their shares, even though it meant dipping into our silver coins to make their 2½% of our
½ of 1% come out even.

“I could sure use a shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, baked potato and filet.”

“Can you give me a couple days to rest up before we have our favorite meal?”

“Take as long as you need Ginger. I’m going to check with the security team and the
Vaqueros. I’ll try and find out if anything unusual occurred during our absence.”

“I think maybe I’ll lay down and take nap.”

“Pleasant dreams.”

“Anything unusual happen while we were going?”

“You could say that. Didn’t Jeb say he was 79?”

“Yeah, come to think of it he did.”

407
“And Dubya is 7 years older, right?”

“Something like that, he’s the oldest and would probably be about 86. Why?”

“Well the missing brothers, Neil and Marvin and their families went to Paraguay with him
as did his sister Dorothy Bush Koch and her family. And you know Dubya had some
heart problems in 2013. I think they had to put in a stent. Long story short, it got clogged
up and needed a replacement. The medical care in Paraguay couldn’t handle the prob-
lem and the entire family flew back to the states and landed in Midland. He got the
treatment he needed and he tracked Jeb down and the whole family showed up here.
I’ve got to tell you, stent or no stent, he looked like death warmed over. Before they left
with Jeb, he was looking better; his color was better and he had more energy.”

“Where did they go?”

“Fort Knox. It had something to do with the bullion depository. It wasn’t because of the
tanks; they moved all of them to Fort Benning in about 2010. How was your trip?”

“Profitable. We earned 67,067 troy ounces gold and took the ingots to the West Point
Mint and had them converted to Eagles in all 4 denominations. I heard some scuttlebutt
that they intend to start minting silver Eagles in the same denominations. When we got
back, we paid the bonus promised to those who went with us. None ended up million-
aires although they’re pretty well set for retirement. Once I confirm it with the Boss, we’ll
probably give everyone a raise because we’ve got a real job on our hands feeding that
Brigade Combat Team.”

“The yields look to be significantly higher this year. I looked into planting Citrus because
Phoenix was a major producer. I think we can do it by putting in a large orchard and
trimming the grains we plant since the yields are rebounding nicely. We’re lucky to have
large herds to provide organic fertilizer.”

There was a problem with the US minting silver Eagle coins in the fractional denomina-
tions like the gold Eagle coins. The 1 ounce would have a value of $60, the ½ ounce
$30, the ¼ ounce $15 and the 1∕10 ounce $6. Apparently the Bush family had a solution,
revalue gold and silver, keeping the metal coins in lieu of the Federal Reserve System.
The ratio between gold and silver was frozen to 50 ounces of silver equaled to 1 ounce
of gold. Then, gold was devalued to $1,000 per ounce. The made the 1 ounce worth
$20 and the fractionals $10, $5 and $2.50. They also revalued the ¼ ounce gold coin to
¼ the value of the one ounce or $250 instead of $200. They were waiting to announce
the changes until after the gold and silver coins were minted and ready for distribution.

With our original holdings of gold and silver we would still be very wealthy and that job
in New York City made us beyond wealthy. We made a deal with the government being
reformed to acquire 6 additional sections of land behind (west of) our original 6 sections.

408
We found the equipment used to dig the original canal and berm and did it ourselves
with new hired help.

We had to build earthen dams to keep the original canal in place until we had the new
canal dug, filled with well water and heated. With an absence of double wide homes, we
built a second apartment building, double the size of the first building, complete with a
shelter. The only difference with this shelter was that it was 2 levels and had the same
footprint as the apartment building. We also managed to connect the drive-in freezer to
the tunnel system.

Why were we still preparing? Habit? The snow line had receded and now the southern
limit was approximately the southern border of Iowa. Andy and Sheree had capital, too,
since he made the New York City trip. I think Ginger gave him more, but it wasn’t worth
fighting over.

We loaded up cattle, hogs, chickens, horses and oxen onto livestock trucks and grain
and hay on the appropriate trailers and set off for Sullivan, Missouri. The mechanic was
along, with parts, to rebuild any of Andy’s farm equipment that needed work. Andy,
Sheree, Bob and Cindy didn’t return to the family farm. The found a new farm that was
easier to work and consisted of 2 sections. We obviously stayed until the farm equip-
ment was running, along with the equipment the new farm had. Andy kept 2 oxen to be
added to ground meat and sent the remainder back with us.

We had only brought enough seed for 1 section so their first task would be growing the
first batch of crops and reserving enough of the harvested crops to have double or triple
the seed for coming years. They also had all the firearms, munitions and ordnance we
supplied them. We did locate a tall utility pole and install a complete set of antennas,
including beams mounted on a heavy duty rotor.

After a long goodbye, we headed home, anxious to see how everything was going. The
canal was nearing completion and the berm was coming along very well. They had lo-
cated Sodium Bentonite and the canal and outward face of the berm were coated about
a week behind the canal digging and berm formation. They were even pouring those
concrete merlons and setting them in place spaced to create the crenels. For us, it was
been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

The new vault required to hold our 65,390 ounces of gold had been finished before we’d
gone to Missouri and James and Dawn had moved into the Dome to keep it up while we
were gone. I’m telling you, James and his sisters would make good members of the di-
rectors and Ginger and I agreed to add them on to replace Andy and Sheree. Dawn
would eventually take over Ginger’s role of managing the garden(s) and Jason and
Manny would eventually take Hank and Ramón’s places as head of farming/livestock
and security. As family members, they’d be far better paid than Hank and Ramón.

“Cal, do you think we could get more Domes built?”

409
“I don’t know if Monolithic survived the war. They’re from Italy, Texas, south of Dallas-
Fort Worth.”

“Feel like another road trip?”

“Italy, Texas?”

“You’ve got it?”

“I’ll talk to Ramón.”

“Ramón, Ginger and I want to make another road trip.”

“You just got back.”

“I know, believe me. She has her mind made up.”

“Where to this time?”

“Italy, Texas.”

“Ok, I’ll bite… who or what is in Italy, Texas?”

“Monolithic Domes.”

“You already have a Dome.”

“True, but we have 3 children and 12 sections of land.”

“And to treat them equally, you need 2 more Domes?”

“There ya go.”

“What do you need for Security?”

“We need One Hummer with a M2A1, 2 M1117s, a tanker of stabilized JP-8 and a B-
Train. I’ll drive the B-Train.”

“The vehicles have already been brought back up to spec and I’m sure Hank will insist
on the Mechanic making the trip.”

“He can drive the tanker.”

“Why don’t you drive the tanker and let him drive the B-Train?”

410
“I’m, getting mellow in my old age; that’s ok with me. We’ll need provision for 4 months
and plenty of well water. Last thing we need to do is get the trots from bad water.”

“Ok, when?”

“She didn’t say, so I’ll assume ASAP. James will be in charge in our absence and the
board will consist on James, Kathleen and Jennifer with you and Hank and their hus-
bands as advisors. Hank and you should decide which husband will be your eventual
replacements and begin their apprenticeships’.”

“What about Dawn?”

“You mean pretty as a midsummer’s morn, they call her Dawn? Ask James.”

“On the off chance that guy from Palmdale shows up, what do we do with him?”

“Put him up in one of the apartments; I’d like to meet him. It’s not likely he’ll show up, he
was born on 3/23/43 and would be 92 years old. Just in case, keep your eyes open for
an old Dodge Ram with a Cummins 6BT engine or a converted Suburban with the same
engine. He’d probably be pulling a U Haul and a small tanker no larger than 1,000 gal-
lons. And, help him out; he hasn’t had a driver’s license since 2003.”

“You can plan on leaving tomorrow after breakfast Cal, and everything will be as di-
rected.”

“Pack your bags Ginger. We’re leaving in the morning. We’ll be taking a tanker, a B-
Train, a Hummer and 2 M1117s.”

“Who will be in charge while we’re gone?”

“James will be in charge with Kathleen and Jennifer on the board. Ramón and Hank will
be their advisers along with Jason and Manny. I told Ramón that Hank and he would
have to decide which of the 2 to train as their eventual replacements.”

“I expect Jason will replace Ramón and Manny will replace Hank. How many Domes do
we want 2 or 3?”

“Since Jeb hasn’t announced the gold and silver revaluation, we might as well get 3.”

“Same floor plans, etc.”

“I think so. This time we’ll be sure to add the 6 feet of earth cover.”

“Blast doors?”

411
“I don’t know, maybe Radius Engineering. We’ll need 4 more 30,000 gallon propane
tanks. I figure one for the apartment building and one for each Dome.”

“They didn’t tell you?”

“What?”

“They installed and filled a propane tank for the apartment building right off the bat.
They also added 3 Containment Solution 40,000 tanks; 1 for gasoline and 2 for diesel.
They’re getting Jet Fuel A from Sky Harbor.”

“We’ll still need air purifiers and another order of those FM50 gas masks and filters.”

“We should get that done before the metal revaluation.”

“Tell James to take care of it while we’re on the road.”

“I wonder if Oregon Freeze Dry is back in business.”

“The only way to find out would be to send the B-Trains up there and find out in person.
We can do that after we get back. Phoenix was hit; did that include the Ready Mix?”

“The equipment and supplies are still there but nobody was around; I checked.”

“Have Hank or Ramón get a portable batch plant plus the sand and aggregate and any
additives you want include in the gunnite.”

“I’ll do that now before I forget.”

“Did you get it done, Cal?”

“They’re on it and will drive up tomorrow after we leave. What have you been up to?”

“First I put our weapons and ammo in the sleeper of the Peterbilt pulling the tanker. Af-
ter that I selected the Mountain House products we’ll be taking and a selection of home
canned meat and vegetables. The Mountain House is okay when you don’t have any-
thing else, but home canned beats it seven times Sunday.”

“I’ve never heard it put that way before although I have to agree.”

It was about 1,050 miles to Italy, Texas counting detours. The only person at Monolithic
was a security guard who got on a radio and it didn’t take long for someone to show up.
I explained that they had previously built our Dome near Eloy, Arizona and the guy re-
membered. He asked if there was anything wrong and told him our only problem was

412
we needed 3 more Domes identical to the first. I explained that we didn’t have air purifi-
cation systems 50kw propane fueled generators or blast doors.

Apparently he had sources and assured us it was no problem. He wanted to know about
the shotcrete/gunnite and I told him I owned a Ready Mix firm when the first was con-
structed and would have a portable batch plant, aggregates and additives available
when they got here.

Next was the discussion of price. I suggested that the price of gold was about ~$3,000
an ounce. He claimed to have heard a rumor that gold would be cut to a fixed price of
~$2,000 an ounce the following year and he’d only go $2,000 an ounce. I hemmed and
hawed and finally gave him the go ahead at $2,000 an ounce; provided it was complet-
ed before the year was out. He gave us a frequency on 40 Meters to contact him about
any changes.

We shopped around on the edges of Dallas-Fort Worth, filling one trailer and half of the
second before heading home. We did find additional Kohler generators, parts and oil.
When we arrived at the ranch, several changes had taken place. The canal and berm
had been completed, the water in the second canal warmed and the dams removed.
The concrete merlons were in place and more guard towers erected and equipped us-
ing the weapons from the Hummers. They would be used only for transportation in the
future according to Ramón. They even pulled the .50 from our Hummer to complete one
tower.

The second 6 section area had 4 additional towers and some had a M240B, M2A1 and
Mk 19 but no Gatling gun. That gunsmith from Tucson had evaluated the feed system
on those Gatling guns and came up with longer magazines. These fed without a hitch
and had electric motors added. Gatling had added electric motors to one of the last ver-
sions of his gun. The motors were AC not DC but beside that work just fine. (By 1893,
the Gatling was adapted to take the new .30 Army smokeless cartridge. The new
M1893 guns featured six barrels, and were capable of a maximum (initial) rate of fire of
800–900 rounds per minute. Dr. Gatling later used examples of the M1893 powered by
electric motor and belt to drive the crank. Tests demonstrated the electric Gatling could
fire bursts of up to 1,500 rpm.)

The original problem with the Gatling gun had been the black powder used in the car-
tridges. With 3 truckloads of .45-70-405 Remington cartridges using smokeless powder,
that was no longer a problem. In fact, the only problem was the range, thus the M240B.
Perhaps the most noticeable differences after the war had been the loss of telephone
service and the Internet.

We were obviously short on some things and long on others, like the Gatling guns. They
had cleaned out every submarine and 820 amp hour AGM battery from Phoenix and
Tucson. PV panels were still our primary source of electrical energy and with 16 banks
of submarine batteries and 2 planned banks for each Dome, would continue to be for
the foreseeable future.

413
The 3 new Domes were completed by December 12th and occupied by December 15th.
Dawn and our daughters were expecting for a 2 nd time, again with different due dates.
On January 10th, the revaluation of gold and silver was announced. Having purchased
the Dome with gold valued at $2,000 an ounce, we were money ahead. We also kept
the portable batch plant, cement, aggregates and additives.

John showed up one day for a cup of coffee and to chat.

“Cal, you’ve done alright for yourselves. Even with the announced devaluation of pre-
cious metals, Ginger and you certainly aren’t poor. Was it your intention to give each of
you children 4 sections?”

“That’s our thinking at the moment, yes.”

“Every day when I get up and look around, I’m amazed with this place. It’s almost like
living in Medieval times. Think about it, you have a moat, an impenetrable berm, mer-
lons and crenels. The guard towers protect your outer barrier until you can move addi-
tional forces to any spot under attack. And, with the weapons you provided to the Pi-
ma’s, they have foregone any claim to your 12 sections.”

“I hadn’t heard that John.”

“That’s my main reason for being here, to inform you of the Council’s decision. It wasn’t
just the firearms either. One of the primary considerations was the amount of food Gin-
ger and you provided. This is harsh country and you not only managed to feed that Bri-
gade Combat Team but a few thousand Pima. This document is a Land Grant from the
Pima Nation for these 12 sections. It, coupled with your land deeds, give you unequivo-
cal control of the 7,680 acres of land. It isn’t often that we see whites sympathetic to the
Indian cause.”

“I’ve noticed that you use the term Indian rather than Native American. Is that signifi-
cant?”

“That Native American stuff was mostly started by the Lakota up at Pine Ridge. Most of
your Méxican employees are as much Native Americans as the tribes. Before the Span-
ish invasion of México, they were Indians, like the Aztec (Méxica) and Maya. Besides,
when you think about it, 6 of the 12 sections will be under indirect Indian control through
Dawn, Jason and Manny. The Canadians have it more correct than the US when they
refer to the First Nations.”

“As far as what we did, John, we were just doing what we thought was the right things to
do.”

“It’s shame most of the white men and women of the United States don’t believe what
Ginger and you do.”

414
“You know, Tired Old Man was critical of his friend Ron for his dislike of Indians.”

“Let me guess, Ron thought the Indians were lazy and unworthy of any respect.”

“I believe that was his general attitude.”

“It’s the most common. Of course in the latter part of the 20th Century and first part of
the 21st Century, the flow of illegals from México to the US was much more than a
stream and approached the size of a river. That’s why I mentioned the problems our
people had trying to cross the border. With that nuclear border 75 miles of the legal bor-
der, our people will have free reign until the government gets its act together and
reestablishes the Border Patrol. I think they should follow the example of the drug
smugglers and put in a tunnel.”

“We have a lot of unused sections of pedestrian underpass that you’re welcome to.”

“That’s an interesting idea. I think I’ll bring it up to the Council. If we could start at the
border, we could work our way north and south. We might even have it finished before
they elect a new President.”

“That’s all well and good John, but you should take precautions that the drug cartels
don’t take it over and use it to smuggle product into the country.”

“You can count on that. The northern end would be on the Tohono Reservation and the
southern end probably in a business own by the Southern Pima people.”

415
 The Dome IV – Chapter 45

The southern border of the Reservation supposedly went to the Méxican border. How-
ever, 60 feet out from the fence was US property. I presume that 60 feet out on the oth-
er side was Méxican property. We had on the order of 1,200 feet of Pedestrian Under-
pass. The Council decided to implement John’s suggestion, with 400 feet north of the
border and approximately 800 feet south of the border.

The project was implemented immediately, digging in both directions. At the northern
end a block building was constructed which was long enough for the tunnel to rise to the
inside of the building. A similar building was constructed south of the border and it was
much larger than the Reservation building. It had a storeroom on the north end that the
tunnel rose to, with the southern half of the building set up as a grocery store.

We could move food, via the tunnel, to the grocery store and the Southern Pima could
bypass the border through the tunnel. Care was taken that people only entered or exited
the Reservation building under the cover of darkness. On the southern end, people
would enter the grocery on the pretext of shopping and move to the store room. They
were accommodations like bathrooms and folding chairs in the storeroom while the
Reservation building was empty.

I told John how Jerry usually camouflaged storage rooms in his stories and a collection
of used furniture was added to the Reservation building. However, a useable path was
left near one side of the pile of junk. In addition, tarps were draped over the furniture to
‘protect it from dust’. The ruse worked well and when a Border Patrol officer asked to be
shown the inside of the building, he saw nothing but the furniture covered by tarps. The
area behind the furniture had a pile of gunny sacks to conceal the steel door that closed
off the tunnel.

It wasn’t as clever as TOM’s gunroom behind the bar, but it passed the test. If a trained
observer didn’t see past the subterfuge, we were good to go. I wonder what Monolithic
had to say when gold was devalued to $1,000 per ounce rather than $2,000 per ounce.
He’d brought up the devaluation, not us. Sometimes playing dumb is your best bet.
There’s a name for this type of behavior… Situational Ethics. TOM claimed that Situa-
tional Ethics and an ulcer were his primary motivations for quitting law school.

About 10 days later, I was called to the gate. The drawbridge was down, the gates open
and the dozer parked off to the side. There was an old Dodge Ram pickup that had to
be about 40 years old with a man standing beside it that looked to be 100. He had that
curved spine one sometimes sees in older people. He wasn’t completely bald but was
getting there. From my vantage point at the back of the drawbridge I could see 3 or 4
layers of bags under his eyes. He was using one of those HurryCanes they used to ad-
vertise on the TV. They were sold by Advanced Medical Solutions, Inc.

“I’m Calvin Burgess, can I help you?”

416
“Maybe… maybe not. I came this way from California looking for McMillan Brothers. I
found the place of business, but someone cleaned it out. I was headed to Tucson to
check if any gun dealers there carried McMillan Tac-50s.”

“Which version?”

“I think maybe that newer version, the A1R2. I also wanted a M3A ladder clamp style
stock for an M1A.”

“What might your name be?”

“Gary Dale...”

“Gary, someone cleaned out McMillan several years back. It’s been a long time since
the war; why didn’t you try sooner?”

“My wife had a bad heart and wasn’t up to traveling. Plus I had to find a vehicle that
would run. Believe or not, I found that Ram at a Camacho used car lot. I had to get a
new battery and add PRI-D to the fuel to get it running. After I had wheels, I scouted
around for a M1A, 590A1, a M1911A1 and a Walther PPK. Couldn’t find a Loaded M1A
and had to settle for a standard model. On the other hand, I did get a Browning Hi-
Power Classic with those stupid 10 round magazines. First thing I did when I hit Glen-
dale was to find a gun dealer and got some CMI 25 round magazines plus some 13
round Browning magazines.

“The Gun Galleria had plenty of PPK magazines and 8 round magazines for the
M1911A1. I’m sorry, I have to sit down. I’ve got emphysema and chronic bronchitis. I
also happen to be diabetic but I did manage to locate a lot drugs. They’re all expired
now, but still seem to work.”

“Care to come in for coffee?”

“You still have coffee?”

“Quite a bit as a matter of fact. You wife didn’t come along?”

“I’m afraid not. Her stents got plugged again and she died last year.”

“You didn’t have anyone to help you?”

“Nope; the wife and I got into a big fight with our daughter and she and the grandkids
moved out. I ended up doing most of the cooking. I got a break because we lived across
the street from a Target store and had a new freezer delivered just before the war. It
was a big sucker, 33 cubic feet. I stocked it with those loaves of frozen bread and buns.”

417
“Come in and take a seat and we’ll continue this after the coffee is made.”

“Starbucks?”

“No, Folgers.”

“Do you remember Hurricane Katrina?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Well, I warned everyone on a website I frequented that Folgers had a plant in New Or-
leans and they’d better stock up before Folgers raised their prices.”

And, as they used to show in cartoons, a light bulb came on.

“Ever heard of a writer that used the pen name of Tired Old Man?”

“Well of course. I never sold a lot of my CDs, you know. I guess I was a legend in my
own mind. They hit Reno, you know, but Terral picked up Jerry 2 days earlier and they
were in Winnemucca when the attack came. I only know that because he sent me a
Skype message several days before the attack telling me that Terral and Becky were
picking him up. They live in Winnemucca. I never used a GPS so when the satellites
went down, it didn’t really concern me. Man do I miss the Internet and Wiki.”

“What did you use to keep the freezer cold?”

“I had a gasoline fueled 7kw PowerBoss with a Honda engine. Already had 7 gas cans,
but every time our daughter was short of money she’d use a can to get her to her next
paycheck. That’s why I had to get the Dodge. There was no way I could carry 5 gallons
of gas a mile. I did get more Blitz cans from Lowe’s and I had a fair amount of PRI-G
and PRI-D. We had plenty of garden hose and I found a DC powered pump that I used
to pull gasoline and diesel from service station tanks, through the fill pipes.”

“Cal, who are you talking to?”

“Hey I recognize that voice.”

“When did you hear it?”

“The day we got nuked, a Lady called to warn me of the attack. I told her I would get
dressed and go out front and try to catch one. Unlucky me, both warheads hit Edwards.
The prevailing winds where we lived are out of the west 98 percent of the time and we
didn’t get any radiation. I had KIO3 and we took that, just in case.”

“Ginger, there’s someone here I’d like you to meet.”

418
“Ginger was the name of the Lady that called me.”

“Yeah, I know. It was my wife Ginger that called you.”

“Why?”

“I knew you didn’t watch TV very often and didn’t know if you had a weather radio with
SAME.”

“Good guess. The TVs were both off and we didn’t get around to buying one of those
Oregon Scientific WR602 radios. After our daughter left for work and the kids were in
school, I typically went around and turned off the TVs, except for my wife’s. She didn’t
typically watch TV until NCIS reruns were on USA channel.”

“Do you have any final destination in mind?”

“Fayetteville, Arkansas.”

“Why there?”

“My younger son moved there to get his PhD and when he graduated, got a job teach-
ing Military history at the University of Arkansas, initially as an instructor and eventually
as a Professor. Then, with the war, he got called up with the Arkansas National Guard.”

“So, you never got your M21 or Tac-50?”

“Nope. I claimed I had them in Dream a Little Dream of Me, but didn’t, in the beginning.”

“Ginger, I’d like to introduce you to Gary D. Ott aka Tired Old Man.”

“I’m pleased to meet you Ginger and you’re as pretty as your voice. Palmdale didn’t get
hit because the guidance systems on the JL-2s were made in China. Both warheads hit
Edwards, northeast of Palmdale.”

“Ginger, TOM never got an M21 or a Tac-50. He got a M1911A1 and a Browning Hi-
Power plus a PPK in .380.”

“And you want to give him what he didn’t get. Presumably both of those rifles plus the
HK416 and HK417 with grenade launchers.”

“Yes, I would with an Extended lower on the HK416.”

“I didn’t know we had those.”

“We only have a few.”

419
“How did you know about the Extended lower, Cal, I never published that story?”

“Which story?”

“Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

“I found the information about the Extended Lower on Wikipedia by reviewing AR-15
variants.”

“So did I.”

“I first got into the firearms business as a class 3 dealer and the Extended lowers were
available to class 3 dealers. I bought some before I met Ginger and I doubt I ever men-
tioned them to her.”

“What is an Extended lower Cal?”

“Ginger an Extended lower selector has S-1-3-A positions. Combined with the HK416
they make the perfect M16/HK416.”

“Ok, give TOM one of everything and put an Extended lower on both our HK416s.”

“Cal, the M21 has the SA9102 action mounted on the McMillan M3A ladder clamp stock
with a Sadlak mount, Harris bipod, Surefire suppressor, Springfield Armory leather sling,
Nightforce 3.5-15×50mm scope and a Universal Night Sight, right?”

“Ran out of those and we’re using MUNS now but I can swap out the MUNS and re-
place it with the UNS.”

“Please do. The Tac-50 has the MUNS doesn’t it?”

“Yes, but the Elite Iron not the Jet Suppressor. The scope is the US Optics SN3 5-
25×58 T-Pal.”

“The Big bucks?”

“Better scope all around.”

“What do you have for ammo?”

“The Best shooting Loaded gets Black Hills 168 grain BTHP match and the M21 Black
Hills 175 grain BTHP match. We’ll give you 200 grain +P for your Kimber and PT1911B
and 124 grain +P for the Browning. Do you want the Brenneke 1⅜ ounce Black Magic
slugs and Remington 15 pellet 00 and 41 pellet #4 Buck or the reduced recoil stuff?”

420
“The 3 inch stuff. You got the Hornady 750 grain AMAX and the Mk 211 MP ammo?”

“Yep.”

“Be still my heart. What quantities are available?”

“How about 4,000 rounds of each in .50 caliber, 6,000 rounds of each in 7.62 both
weights and 5.56 62 grain; say, 1,500 rounds of each in 12 gauge and 2,500 rounds of
the 9mm and 5,000 rounds of .45acp, 3 cans of HEDP in 40mm and 10 boxes of M67
plus 2 boxes of each smoke and 3 boxes each of Thermate, gas and stun. Did I miss
anything?”

“Cal, run it by Ramón. What about the Cowboy guns?”

“A 24 inch and 20 inch 1886 .45-70-405 and the same lengths of 1892 in .45 Colt full
power Remington loads in both calibers. A 4⅝, 5½ and 7½ pre-2006 Ruger Vaquero.
The .45-70-405 and .45 Colt are available in essentially unlimited quantities.”

“Just whatever quantities of Remington ammo you think is appropriate. Say you
wouldn’t be able to spare any Kools 100s, Folgers classic blend and Bigelow Earl Grey
would you?”

“Would 300 cans of coffee be okay and 20 cases of tea? Can’t do the Kools 100s but
we have all the Kools filter kings you want. How much room do you have?”

“Probably enough, the trailer is empty.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but with want we’ll give you, you’ll need a semi.”

“I can’t drive a semi; I can barely manage the pickup.”

“Oh, we’ll transport it for you and drop the trailer when you reach your destination. We’ll
have to get a 40 foot cargo van, but that won’t be a problem.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“No, thank you and thanks to Jerry for keeping us entertained.”

Hank located a 40 foot cargo van and did his usual, checking the axel bearings, brakes
and lubrication. Ginger directed the loading of the trailer and included a few things we
hadn’t discussed, like a Diamant 525, spare parts, a flaker, a small selection of Moun-
tain House foods and multiple pails of beans with at least 1 pail of each kind, rice, corn,
oatmeal, pearl barley and the 3 kinds of wheat. She also included my original 30 quart
All American pressure canner and cases of pints and quarts to fill the empty space.

421
John helped me fill in the Kools and found 3 cases of 100s. We didn’t know if his son
smoked so threw in a like quantity of Marlboros. Since we knew which firearms he’d
given to his son, we included 2 HK416 Extendeds and 2 HK417s. We added the 24 inch
1886, a 20 inch 1892 and more of the ammo. We scrounged around and came up with
the decent used gun leather and included it. We didn’t supply horses, chickens, cattle or
hogs since we were unsure of what his son had. Additional Mountain House products
were substituted. But, you know, I think they probably came from Nitro Pak.

We also added ammo for his son’s firearms, the 3 inch shotgun shells, 168 grain Serbi-
an match, 200 grain Gold Dot +P, 5 bricks of .22LR and a case of .32acp 71 grain Ser-
bian ball. If his original Loaded was the best of the 3, he could use the Black Hills in it.

When we were finally ready, Ginger hosted a going away meal of shrimp cocktail, baked
potato, Caesar salad and filet. She’d noticed the he was a very light eater and selected
a small filet. When I asked how he liked it, he replied, “A perfect medium.”

Needless to say he enjoyed the meal immensely. He was probably the slowest eater I
have ever seen and I slipped the steak and potato back in the oven to keep them warm
while he enjoyed his salad and shrimp. Knowing his history, I offered him a glass of
Merlot and he declined and asked for Earl Grey. How many years has he been sober I
wondered.

“I’ve been sober since January 2, 1999,” he stated. Could he read minds? “People often
ask if I went off the wagon when the war came, you know. I surely wanted to. I realized
it was death sentence due to my diabetes and didn’t, regardless of how many times I
was tempted. It’s really the only gift I have to give my family, my legacy of sobriety. My
personal goal was to outlive my father by 1 day. Hell, I achieved that years ago so I
changed goals to staying sober 1 more day.

“I had a lot of mottos: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it; Only the dead have seen the end of war; Improvise, Adapt, Overcome; Those who
stand for nothing fall for anything; Would you rather have it and not need it or need it
and not have it; The opry ain’t over until the fat lady sings; and, so forth. I consider my-
self to be a Jeffersonian in my political beliefs. I’ve never seen a gun law I didn’t want to
break. What part of shall not be infringed can’t they understand? Thank you for this ex-
ceptionally fine meal; I haven’t eaten this well in years. My compliments to the chefs.
Now, I need to hit the head and get some sleep. How long are the driving intervals?”

“We’ll probably drive straight through to Fayetteville. However, someone will spell you
so you can get some sleep in the sleeper on the Peter Car pulling the 40 foot trailer.”

“Peter Car, huh. I thought my oldest son and I were the only 2 people who used that
name for a Peterbilt. You don’t have Kenworth’s or Freightliner’s?”

“No, we only have Peterbilts.”

422
“Have you ever tried an Extended lower on a HK417?”

“No.”

“Try one, it might just work. Then if you can spare 2 more, modify the HK417s. Well…
Good night, and good luck.”

“Where have I heard that before?”

“That was Edward R. Morrow’s standard closing line. They made a movie by that title
that we have in our Blu-Ray collection.”

“Let me help with dishes.”

“I’ll do the dishes, you clean the grill. Aren’t you glad its ceramic coated and so easy to
clean?”

“The original wasn’t and it was a bitch to clean. That’s why I had a ceramic coated grill
commissioned. Believe me when I tell you, it wasn’t inexpensive. I still have the stain-
less grill around somewhere.”

“I wondered about that. It was the first ceramic coated grill I’d ever seen.”

“That was quite the weekend when you came down to see if I lived in a house or some-
thing else, wasn’t it?”

“First date resulting in being married in less than a full week, I hope to tell you.”

“Any regrets?”

“Yes and no. No regrets about our marriage, children and all that followed. Yes about
the catastrophes that followed. I eventually gave up counting and just prepared for the
next. You know, he must really be hard of hearing; did you notice that box on a chain
around his neck with small cables running to earplugs in both ears?”

“I noticed. He mentioned it in one of his stories about it being the price he paid for not
protecting his hearing when shooting firearms. He developed tinnitus in his right ear that
developed into deafness as he aged.”

423
 The Dome IV – Chapter 46

“Who is taking him?”

“The mechanic will drive the tanker and another of Hanks men the semi and cargo van.
The men Ramón will assign to the M1117s can drive a semi.”

“Are you going to try and fit the Extended to the HK417s?”

“I’ll run it by the gunsmith before bedtime.”

“You want to do what?”

“Fit an M4 lower to a HK417.”

“Let me see it. I think that the HK416 is an AR15 variant assault rifle, manufactured by
Heckler Koch. It features an HK416 upper receiver that can fit on any M16 lower receiv-
er without modification. How soon do you need to know?”

“Dawn tomorrow.”

“Warn security that if they hear weapons fire from inside, it will be me.”

“Right.”

Half an hour later I heard 20 round strings of 7.62 follow by 2 6 round bursts of the
same followed by single shots of 20 rounds each. I stood by the door waiting for the re-
port.

“Seems to work out ok. I’d have a military armorer check them out before I counted on
them. Here are the Extended lowers and I reinstalled the original lowers, just in case
they’re needed before they can be checked out. The main problem I can see is the 417
magazine wells are for 51mm cartridges as opposed to the 45mm cartridges. I have
some literature from H&K that says something while the lower parts will work, you need
a lower with room for the large magazine well so I included 2 of those I got for evalua-
tion to convert the semi-auto H&K from 5.56 to 7.62. You can have ‘em for what I got in
‘em, $400 each.”

“I’ll add $500 each if you can have them both with Enhanced lowers by dawn.”

“Would midnight be okay? I need my sleep.”

“Ok, $600; plus the parts you have for a total of $1,000 each.”

“Can I use your kitchen table?”

424
“It’s that easy?”

“Stop and think about who will usually be making the changes, soldiers in the field, typi-
cally with a Leatherman.”

I wasn’t so sure of that but H & K insisted that most changes could be made in the field
in a few minutes. “We’ll ‘do a quick run through on the firing range the next morning be-
fore they leave’”. I had 24 of the extended M4 lowers and we could change over 20
HK416 rifles, 2 for Ginger and me, 6 for our kids, 1 for Hank and 1 for Ramón, leaving
10 in reserve

Ramón reported that when they arrived at Fort Chaffee, the gate was locked but
manned. TOM handed over his California ID card and his Patron Member NRA card.
Then, he explained that he didn’t have a passport, only a social security card. He was
told to standby and calls were made. Eventually, his son showed up in CSM stripes.

“What are you doing here?”

Looking for someplace to hide, but I brought stuff, a 40 foot Conex of supplies. Got a
spare tent?”

“What’s in the Conex?”

“Coffee, tea, cigarettes, some food, ammo and ordnance.”

“Ok have them drop the Conex over there out in the open. Are they staying?”

“Nope.”

“Where Sharon?”

“Dead.”

“Lorrie and Amy?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Ever get a scope mount, rings and a silencer for ‘Baby’?”

“Nope.”

“You have them now plus weapons for a few more people.”

“You been looting again?”

“Nope, straight out gifts. Only the pickup, trailer, a new wheelchair with extras and a
couple of miscellaneous firearms are salvage. Is it okay if they leave?”

425
“Yeah, sorry.”

“Thanks for bringing my old man. Have a safe trip back fellas.”

Those were the long and short versions of our experience with TOM. His powered
wheelchair was in the trailer with 4 drums of stabilized gas to power the PowerBoss
which was also in the trailer. There were several batteries for the wheelchair and he
even had a box of spare parts. Someone, maybe his neighbor, had fashioned a rifle
rack and mounted it to the back. It was mostly empty when he showed up and full when
he left. What were the odds that we had the parts to adapt an Extended lower to a
HK416, a million to one? It’s just shame we didn’t have the parts to convert the HK417.

Wait a minute, he did it at our kitchen table and it didn’t really amount to much more
than changing the sear and selector. So, I asked if he could take the parts out of the Ex-
tended lowers and switch the HK417 lowers to Extended types. He said no problem and
it took longer to collect the HK417s than it took him to make the conversions.

426
 The Dome IV – Epilog

The ranch had many more adventures after TOM visited, but no more catastrophes. It
took about 3 more years before the country was in good enough condition to hold elec-
tions. None of the remainder of the Bush family had political aspirations and that dynas-
ty ended. I’ve never heard of either candidate for President and Ginger and I acted like
many Americans and didn’t bother to vote.

We did end up with 9 grandchildren, too. The canal between the first and second 6 sec-
tions was filled in and the berm used to refill it. We moved the towers to 1 mile apart and
put the Gatling guns up after treating them with Cosmoline. After covering the state of
Arizona and nearby states, we had enough gas, diesel and propane tanked to last
through our children’s lifetimes and probably well into our grandchildren’s lifetimes.

We had many apply for jobs but selected few. Veterans got a preference and married
veterans with good family lives got better preferences; also, being bi-lingual in Spanish
added to the preference. Being a member of the Pima tribe added to the preference but
not as much as being bi-lingual. That one was called the Ira Hayes preference. Being a
1st generation German was at the top of our no hire criteria. We had others although the
list is too long to post. Liberal came after 1st generation Germans and we wouldn’t hire
anyone from the states with previously bad gun laws.

TOM said he might finish Dream a Little Dream of Me, or not, he wasn’t sure.

©2014, Gary D. Ott

427