the night the zombie apocalypse came to Lake George, we blamed that on Obama too
it
started like any other evening
Summer
was just beginning and
the
smell of pine sap was in everything
as
thick as fog in October
strange
jokes were being told
over
the radio like it was Halloween already
reports
of zombies and animal desecration
cow
hearts and other organs
being
seen strewn about between
and
inside of the houses
in
this little hamlet nestled
in
the foothills of the Adirondacks
I
had a full day of activities planned for tomorrow
hiking,
photography and a multi-family pancake breakfast
but
I went to the hardware store first
with
a nagging feeling the talk radio loonies might be right
as
for more eggs, flour and bacon they could always wait
when
I got there it looked as if I wasn’t the only one
with
the crazy idea that this zombie thing might be real
and
in the frays of Summer, with our communication lines
not
as kept up as they could be , my thinking went
if
you didn’t hear from neighbors
perhaps
they were just chilling
with
the thought there is no work and this is play
I'm on vacation so don’t bother me. I’m trying to unplug here…
at
the hardware store there were only two pick-axes left
and
one shotgun, I bought them all with as much ammo
as
the clerk would sell me, he was clearly fidgety
and
said he wanted to leave, saying the stockpile of shells
were
“not” for sale even though they were in clear sight…
puzzled
by his apprehension I asked what might be the matter
and
he shot right back….why are you buying what you’re buying…
I
have children…and my vehicles are gassed…
make
sure you get propane, matches and water purifiers too, he said…
I
knew he felt like he was speaking the truth
and
that he might be as scared as I was puzzled,
he
said as I was leaving take these walkie-talkies out of their packaging
and
grab some batteries they might come in handy
and
he also said as I was nearly out the door
that
they used to say around these parts
that
the prison on the other side of the mountain
near
the lake a few miles North of here
was
used as part of some government experimentation trials
on
prisoners in exchange for their early release
I
laughed and then realized how serious he was so I apologized
and
I loaded the truck up with the gear
and as I pulled away things seemed quaint
and
oddly perfect and in place
so
when I returned to the rental cottage
much
to my surprise the street was littered
with
the haphazard drop trail of hurry and get the fuck out of here
as
I pulled into the driveway, a young woman came up to me
she
says people are dying and coming back to eat our hearts out
bands
of crows are following the growing hordes
an
army group of trucks came by to evacuate everyone
my
children are still missing, that’s why I stayed…
your
family has been sent North to a base the army said is near a prison
the
radio keeps cutting in and out with crazy tales of piracy
and
looting and the government collecting all the guns
complete
with jingly assertions that it’s all Obama’s fault
that
if we only had voted for Romney
47
% of us wouldn’t need to be eliminated
to
make the country great again
they
keep saying some great scourge, about to scrub the earth
had
just begun and no amount of balloting
could
ever substitute the mechanical ballet, we
Americans have
when thirsting for bullets and bibles and canned goods
she
looks up at me and says help me I’m scared
and
I don’t know what to do
so
I look at her white tee and blue jeans covered in frantic smears
of
pine sap and red clay from running around chasing
into
where her children may be and then back into her blue eyes
and
say to her if you want to ride with me
perhaps
together we can both find what we’re looking for
so
I say to her let’s take an inventory and find what we have
the
road ahead might not be an easy place to find answers
without
the ghosts of more questions coming into view first
like
those golden tablets Joseph Smith found
I’m
guessing, one must wander a bit through the debris
in
order to find something that can make up for a lack of history
so
we loaded up the truck just as the crows began to gather
a
few blocks away tomorrow seems to know I said
as
we were getting in the truck
that
today is just another shit storm
and
she says without missing a beat
so
much for things changing here in America
I
wonder what the rest of the world is thinking
as
they look for hope on the horizon too
EJR
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