Glen Tate: 299 Days: The Preparation

We’ll see, Grant thought. We’ll see.

Grant’s refuge from all this stress and worrying was the cabin. Everything was calm there. It was quiet. It was beautiful. Every time he went out there, he was on vacation. Even if it was for an hour in the middle of the day. It was a vacation from the world.

Grant loved the smell of the cabin. It smelled like fresh Christmas trees and the ocean, which made sense because it was surrounded by evergreen trees and the ocean. Just smelling the cabin calmed Grant and relaxed him to the point that it was almost impossible to get mad.

Lisa wondered sometimes why Grant was in such a good mood around the house. What she didn’t know is that earlier that day he had run out to the cabin for a short time. He wouldn’t tell her.

Lisa was still rather cold toward the cabin; it was “his thing,” not hers. The maintenance and utilities were costing a fair amount of money. Regardless, it seemed like she had just decided that she wouldn’t like the place. She didn’t hate it and didn’t try to stop Grant from going there; she just didn’t like it. Grant didn’t know why. He thought that perhaps it was because his worthless parents, both of whom Lisa really disliked, had just handed him something. She also knew that Grant loved the cabin more than anything else except her and the kids. She was competing with a building out in Hickville. She was a beautiful doctor; why couldn’t that be good enough for him? Why did he need a stupid old cabin to feel great? He had her. Wasn’t that enough?

When he was out there for more than a little while, he would drop by the Colsons and Morrells and visit. Strengthening his relationship with these neighbors was as important as any other prep; maybe more so. He would explore the woods around the beach, and looked for sources of water and defensible terrain. He just watched the wildlife. There were amazing birds out there. There were harbor seals in the inlet and fish jumping. Fox roamed around the area. Eagles flew by, sometimes grabbing a fish out of the water. It was amazing.

It was now spring, and everything was blooming. There was something terribly dreary about a winter of cloudiness and rain in Washington State. Residents of Washington must endure rain from about Thanksgiving to St. Patrick’s Day. However, when it stops raining and the sun comes out, the place is glorious.

Grant looked around the cabin, which was surrounded by spring blooms. He kept thinking that this spring was going to be the beginning of something more than just a growing season for plants.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it felt like the beginning of something big. Then, when he was down on the beach just looking at the water, the outside thought said something jarring.

It will be big. Keep preparing. You don’t have enough.

Grant heard that loud and clear.

He would step up his Costco food runs. Whenever he went to Costco alone for weekend errands, he would “accidently” put some oatmeal packets, pancake mix, or other bulk foods in the cart. He would put these items in the trunk of his Tacura for the weekly run out to the cabin. Lisa never looked in his trunk. When he had enough items out in the shed from the recent runs, he would vacuum seal them. His six month food supply had slowly grown to about eight months. His shed was getting filled up. Good.

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ISBN 978-0615680682

Copyright © 2012 by Glen Tate

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Prepper Press Trade Paperback Edition: September 2012

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Table of Contents

299 Days: The Preparation

About the Author