Living With the Dead: The Hungry Land Read Online Free Page B
Author: Joshua Guess
bread.
That's how they came to be at my house, making breakfast. My stove has been modified to run on a propane tank, and has an (admittedly cobbled together and crappy) vent hood that keeps us from killing ourselves with gas and smoke. It's one of the few stoves in the compound that can be used inside (excepting the mess halls), which is why Pat brought them here.
He's got a good idea with these girls. Making sure they learn the basics of farming along with the hard realities that go with it. Then moving on from the production of the food to how to cook it on a small scale for personal use. After breakfast, he took them to the closest of our three mess halls, where as I type this they are learning how to make meals on a larger scale. It's a lot for them to take in, and I expect they'll lose some of the knowledge being crammed into their brains by tomorrow...but some will stick. And they'll do it all over again, three days a week, until they've mastered it.
Pat's going to have them working pretty much nonstop. Tonight they'll be working with him at the forge for two hours, then spending time with Jess to learn some of her skills--I think she's going to do basic knitting this time. I imagine that Pat will keep on working them, eager as they are to make him happy, right up until they start asking for breaks. Their almost fanatical need to be near him, understandable though it is, is unhealthy. Making them do all of this will accomplish myriad goals.
1)Getting them interacting with others, which they aren't inclined to do on their own
2)Genuinely teaching skills that will serve them and the rest of the community well over a long period of time
3)Acclimating them to the rigors of making life work as an adult
4)Hopefully making them aware, through constant effort, that they do in fact need time off to be kids.
The last one is a big deal for Patrick. He's worried that the girls just won't get out there and have a little fun. They don't talk to other kids, don't even act like other kids. When the alarm sounds because of a zombie swarm being sighted near a part of the wall, they don't get worried or scared, don't cry like some of the other young ones. They just check whatever weapon happens to be at hand, make sure it's easily accessible and functional.
Pat's hope, as well as my own, is that the unending lessons will eventually make them ask for a day off. He says that when and if that happens, he'll be a happy man. Of course, he's going to hedge his bets a little, and tell them that if they want a day off that they have to spend it with the other kids. He's not going to let them hang on to his coattails forever...
I think it's a great idea. In fact, I'm going to get in touch with my other council members and see what we can do about cutting the duties of the other children around the compound so they can join the girls. With Aaron to help manage and guide the process and me to organize the times and details, I think we can make a good effort toward giving the next generation an education like nothing any of us have seen.
Those three little girls are special, and the friendship between them is beautiful. Pat realizes, as do the rest of us, that to keep that bond among them would be a shame. Better to see them share it will the other children, and bring all of our younger citizens together with a common goal. It's exciting to think about, and more so to actually plan!
I'm gonna go get started now.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Dodging Sleep
Posted by Josh Guess
I'm afraid I just don't have much in me today. It's hard to express with written words the exhaustion we're all feeling as we try to weave the broken threads of our lives here at the compound back together. It's not that we aren't working together--we are, or else we'd be in a whole universe of hurt--but the sheer amount of work with the people we have is just too much.
Zombies have finally started showing up on the north side of the compound in real numbers
That's how they came to be at my house, making breakfast. My stove has been modified to run on a propane tank, and has an (admittedly cobbled together and crappy) vent hood that keeps us from killing ourselves with gas and smoke. It's one of the few stoves in the compound that can be used inside (excepting the mess halls), which is why Pat brought them here.
He's got a good idea with these girls. Making sure they learn the basics of farming along with the hard realities that go with it. Then moving on from the production of the food to how to cook it on a small scale for personal use. After breakfast, he took them to the closest of our three mess halls, where as I type this they are learning how to make meals on a larger scale. It's a lot for them to take in, and I expect they'll lose some of the knowledge being crammed into their brains by tomorrow...but some will stick. And they'll do it all over again, three days a week, until they've mastered it.
Pat's going to have them working pretty much nonstop. Tonight they'll be working with him at the forge for two hours, then spending time with Jess to learn some of her skills--I think she's going to do basic knitting this time. I imagine that Pat will keep on working them, eager as they are to make him happy, right up until they start asking for breaks. Their almost fanatical need to be near him, understandable though it is, is unhealthy. Making them do all of this will accomplish myriad goals.
1)Getting them interacting with others, which they aren't inclined to do on their own
2)Genuinely teaching skills that will serve them and the rest of the community well over a long period of time
3)Acclimating them to the rigors of making life work as an adult
4)Hopefully making them aware, through constant effort, that they do in fact need time off to be kids.
The last one is a big deal for Patrick. He's worried that the girls just won't get out there and have a little fun. They don't talk to other kids, don't even act like other kids. When the alarm sounds because of a zombie swarm being sighted near a part of the wall, they don't get worried or scared, don't cry like some of the other young ones. They just check whatever weapon happens to be at hand, make sure it's easily accessible and functional.
Pat's hope, as well as my own, is that the unending lessons will eventually make them ask for a day off. He says that when and if that happens, he'll be a happy man. Of course, he's going to hedge his bets a little, and tell them that if they want a day off that they have to spend it with the other kids. He's not going to let them hang on to his coattails forever...
I think it's a great idea. In fact, I'm going to get in touch with my other council members and see what we can do about cutting the duties of the other children around the compound so they can join the girls. With Aaron to help manage and guide the process and me to organize the times and details, I think we can make a good effort toward giving the next generation an education like nothing any of us have seen.
Those three little girls are special, and the friendship between them is beautiful. Pat realizes, as do the rest of us, that to keep that bond among them would be a shame. Better to see them share it will the other children, and bring all of our younger citizens together with a common goal. It's exciting to think about, and more so to actually plan!
I'm gonna go get started now.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Dodging Sleep
Posted by Josh Guess
I'm afraid I just don't have much in me today. It's hard to express with written words the exhaustion we're all feeling as we try to weave the broken threads of our lives here at the compound back together. It's not that we aren't working together--we are, or else we'd be in a whole universe of hurt--but the sheer amount of work with the people we have is just too much.
Zombies have finally started showing up on the north side of the compound in real numbers
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