The Journal: Cracked Earth by Deborah D. Moore Page B

fell. I bundled up and got the snow-blower going
when the wind stopped, around 3P.M. At least I got paths cut, then
it began to get dark and the wind started up again. I heard the
plows out on the main road though they haven’t come down the side
roads yet. Even if I had someplace to go, I doubt that I could get
past my driveway. If this side road isn’t plowed, I won’t be able
to get into town for those on-going meetings, which might not be a
bad thing. No, I can’t say that. Though Anna may have the best
interest of the town in mind, she really doesn’t know how to go
about it, since she really doesn’t know how dark the human mind can
get during times of desperation. I’ve seen that dark side with Sam,
and it isn’t pretty.
     
    * * *
     
    Twenty inches of snow fell in the past
twenty-four hours. This really is early in the season for this much
snow. I wonder if the quakes shook up anything else, like the
weather patterns.
    I spent most of the day sitting by the stove,
reading. It was nice but it got boring after a while. If the wind
is down tomorrow I will clear the driveway and cut a path behind
the house to the bucket shed.
    I keep thinking about my woman’s group. Now
that I don’t have internet anymore, I wonder how they are doing. I
wonder if I failed them by not giving them enough survival
information. I wonder if I failed them by not insisting they stay
more on topic. I wonder if I failed them by not making them think more. I wonder if I should have closed the group when
I had a chance. I really do feel like I have let them down.

CHAPTER
EIGHT
     
    I heard the plow truck this morning! Then they
stopped and cleared out the snow they piled in my driveway. They
never did that before. Since they did, and I had already cleared
the drive myself with the snow blower, I went to the township
offices to see what was going on.
    Apparently Anna ordered the plow truck to
clear the road just for me, so I could get into town. I’m glad she
did. She sure needed the help and obviously couldn’t call me since
the cellphones aren’t working. There was another town meeting
scheduled for noon and I made it there by 11:00, with plenty of
time to get brought up to speed on the weekend events.
    It seems that a lot of people are upset over
the limited gas situation, and the lack of food at Fram’s store. I
was not happy to see Lenny pacing at the back of the seating area
but I was relieved to see Carolyn in the front. Lenny is the type
that paces, working up his steam to lash out. He was effectively
dodging the chairs in his way better than he was dodging the people
that were milling about.
    After the Pledge of Allegiance, Anna opened
the meeting to public comment. All hell broke loose when Lenny
started shouting at us. Anna stood up and told Lenny to shut up or
Karen would escort him out. I hadn’t noticed Karen and Ken standing
on either side of the room serving as our new police force. I
grinned. Lenny would be shamed by Karen ejecting him, but he would
have been okay with Ken doing it. It’s that macho thing. Anna
reminded the audience that all who wished to speak would have their
turn and were limited to three minutes each. I pulled a timer out
of my pocket and set it on the table in front of me. All eyes went
to that small device. There’s no arguing with a machine.
    “Now, Lenny, what is it you want to say?”
Anna said, giving Lenny the first spot.
    “First, what’s she doing here?” he
said while glaring at me.
    “Allexa? Well, Lenny, you should remember
that Allexa is the emergency manager,” Anna replied. Her voice was
saccharine sweet and I knew what was coming. “You were the one who
appointed her eight years ago and authorized her to take all the
classes that she needed to know her job well. Since we are deep in
an emergency ,” her voice suddenly got very steely, “she’s
been activated and is my second in command. Do you object?”
    “I guess not,” he mumbled. “Anyway, why can’t
we get any