Kids a story

[antik]

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With the way, the economy was heading our church in cooperation with several other churches combined efforts to provide a safe place for orphans to live. It was to be set on a piece of land of a rich person, in one of the churches owned and was willing to donate; it used to be a country estate/farm turned into a hunting lodge. The youth groups from all the churches got together along with some of the adults to put together a place that was mostly self-sufficient. I was on the committee that did research to present to the elders on what we needed. we found lot’s of information on the internet, including some stories by fleataxi, TOM (tired old man), and Jerry D Young, along with many other useful things to know, we also were able to get a CD from Backwoods Home of all of their older issues including things like recipes and other things including solar power information. All the adults started looking into getting as much of these things as they could, at the beginning of the summer we got ready to go and get to work on the property. We all volunteered to do this instead of taking a vacation. We had country churches and rich city churches the city churches were more interested in purchasing things, the country churches donated the animals and plants and seeds to plant. My family and I came from a small town church that did a little of both, the youth pastors were going to stay with the kids, and other professionals like plumbers, electricians, construction, farmers, and vets would come as their schedules permitted. Quite a few of the orphans that would wind up living there also came to help. Sound like fun? Not. It was a lot of work, the old place was big enough but it sure was rundown and dirty, with bugs and the odd mouse or rat, I brought my cat Tiger, she was a great mouser. I sure was glad we were going to stay indoors, the only tent I had was an old German tent, with several moth holes Mom and Dad had patched. It was bought at a garage sale for 2 dollars and that included a sleeping bag and an old lantern, it all was cleaned up and made usable. Not by any stretch of the imagination considered pretty, the sleeping bag weighed a good deal with a plaid flannel liner. Mom relined it with a petty sheet, after a good wash, she also redid the outside with some nylon from an old poncho, along with doing new stuffing, it was now nice and puffy and light, the only thing left from the original is the zipper, Tiger had to travel in her pet carrier, another redone item. Mom and Dad came also, since Dad had lost his job and Mom was a stay at home Mom, they had the summer free and consented to chaperone, it all just worked out that way, we were being evicted and this seemed like a good opportunity. Dad had worked the last 10 years as the custodian at the school, before that he had been a repairperson, Jack of trades. He could do many things. It made him a good fit to teach many things we needed to learn, we would be moving to the orphanage at the end of the summer so all our things were packed and moved. They would be house parents and do the upkeep. Mom had always had a garden and canned what we did not eat fresh. I got along with the orphans better than the arrogant kids did from the city. They thought that since they had the newest and best things they were better than the rest of us.

We had been there working and cleaning about 6 weeks when the man who ran a orchard showed up, he went through the old orchard area, marked the dead trees to be removed. He would be bringing new trees out to replace them, we also climbed all the trees removing dead and diseased wood and cutting here and there to make the trees better and stronger. He also had us dig holes around the trees be filled with manure and fish guts, plus some seaweed stuff he brought. I was sure glad to be through with the stink even tiger avoided me. It is strange she does not like fish. We finished repairing the old barn. Everything was still in good shape since it was all made of stone with slate roofs. Thank goodness, there was no rot. Tiger was growing fat from the mice she was catching in the house, we needed a cat in the barn to kill those mice, When the livestock arrived so did a couple of barn cats. They would come up to you but would quickly run off not wanting you to get to familiar. Along with the cows, we now had some horses. Nothing fancy, also brought were wagons for the horses to pull. One of the farmers brought his tractor along with the stuff to get the fields back in shape. The older boys had been out cutting down all the trees trying to grow up in the field and had fixed all the fences. The goats had gone through and made good work of removing all the small brush. We did discover some berry vines and moved them to an area the goats could not get to just outside the fences. We also found the old wood stoves for the house, cleaned and reblacked them. An odd person from the city, came, cleaned, and repaired the chimneys. He removed the bird’s nest that he found. Then he repaired the screens at the top of the chimneys to keep them out in the future.

Mom had a garden going first thing, even though it was a little late to get it growing. All the old bedding and manure in the old barn plowed into it. We were starting to get the first of the things from the garden, some of the kids had not liked salads before now did since we had it so often and Mom had a killer dressing she made. Mom was thankful so many of the herbs were still growing in the old herb garden. She had taken some of the new manure and added it as a tea to the beds and the plants now looked happy. Our plumber from home had been here all this time and had been fixing all the piping in the house; the well had tested good having been new when the previous owner bought the place. He had also set up a solar heater for hot water, using the old dish from satellite receiver left out back. One of those huge ones now lined with reflectors to heat the water running through pipes attached where the heat focused.

I am a rainbow; well I do have many colors of paint on various pieces of apparel, and anatomy, luckily, I had a shower cap to keep it out of my hair. I learned that when I had helped paint with my mom and dad, just once was enough of having my hair grow out so I could cut off the paint I could not get out of it. Now we are building bunk beds, we have several rooms large enough for sharing and are taking old broken beds and using parts to make bunk beds with new wood to keep them strong and able to withstand the occasional jumping. We also built wooden lockers and chests for the rooms, the city churches are getting mattresses and linen. The women’s ministries in several churches are quilting up a storm. In my humble opinion, I think it will be warm and cozy to be here. Also coming is tons of clothes both used and new. We are getting more kids coming out, I overheard that parents could not take care of them when they lost their jobs and homes, so just dropped them off at churches or sent them on a church bus and left before they came home. Some literally just have the clothes on their backs.

[antik]

My name is Esther; I am 16 years old and an only child. I am small for my age at almost 5 feet tall, I look like I am in grade school still, and I have long auburn hair or as my dad would say red hair and a temper. My mom says I look and act just like her Aunt Esther that I was named for. I hope not, as she was a spinster and ended up with a house full of cats; Tiger was a kitten she gave me before she died. I was born in September 1995. This year I will be 17, my mom has home schooled me and I will finish my high school work this year. My parents say unless we elect a better president this year, the country will finish falling apart. Unemployment is going up all the time and most times people can’t make it without at least both parents working. That was the reason they were so happy with being able to come here. They will be house parents and caretakers of the place. We live in Missouri, now in the middle of nowhere. The kids have decided to call it Erehwon, which is nowhere backwards. We had been living near St Louis and that is where most of the city kids live.

[antik]

The goats had disappeared this morning, several of us older kids started after them, up until now they had been eating down the brush in the closest fields, made a good job of it also. I took a walkie-talkie with me on my four-wheeler, and scouted the fence line now that I could drive around the field. I found the gap in the fence and could see the path they had eaten in the next field, the other kids soon caught up and we went after them on foot. We were in high hopes they had not gone far.

Soon we came upon them cavorting around a stone barn in this field. I can just see the work this will take to get into usable shape; inside it still had a bunch of old farm things. I recognized a plow and a few other things although I could not name what they were; I had last seen the like in a museum of farming from the past that were pulled by horses or oxen. Covering it were spider webs and dust, and old tack that hung from the posts looking old and dried out, probably to far-gone to only be useful as patterns to make new.

I called dad on the walkie-talkie and explained what we had found. In his excitement, he forgot to release the talk button and I could here him hollering at the boys he had with him, “come on we have found another barn.” I got the rest of the kids with me to go back and make sure this area was fenced in for the goats. They could clear this field if we could make sure they were secure.

Mom was in the house with the younger kids, she had the preteens working their way through the attic and the cellar, and it was not finished enough in my eyes to deserve the term basement. It did have a stone floor but in places stones had shifted so you had to clean around them to reseat them, they appeared to be just set in dirt. Both places were full of dust. Now I knew why no one wanted the old place due to the work it needed cleaning it up. We have found lot’s of antique’s and stuff to send back and sell to help buy some of the things we need to do once all the donations quit.

Dad thinks the donations will taper off and quit within a year, as more people become out of work, he is looking to make sure all of the things we can’t grow or make will be on hand before we run out of time. He hasn’t always been this way. Oh he has always been a penny pincher and his favorite expression is wear it out, make do or go without. Mom is the same way most of our clothes are used, remade and then made into something else when no more wear is left in them.

When I was still little Mom would buy formal gowns at the thrift store and pieced them out to make me a fancy coverlet that and some embroidery were fit for a princess at least that is what I imagined. Not to be outdone Dad bought a plain wooden bed and carved and added to it till I thought my bed was like a throne. I always felt so loved when I went to bed, to me it was better than something store bought new since they both spent so much time and effort to make me feel special, even today I look forward to getting my stuff into what will be my room.

Well back to telling about our new place, it is sure hot this year, Mom had kept up the garden, teaching the littlest ones about all the plants and how they grew. Learning weeding wasn’t such a chore if you were saving your favorite food from the evil weeds and monster bugs; everyone got a running account of the daily war at the supper table. The little boys were valiant knights slaying dragons and the little girls were Joan of Arc marching to battle. I don’t know how she can get them believing all these things so fast. Just a few months ago most of them didn’t know anything about a garden, now they were the keepers of one, and proud of it. Mornings she would marshal her troops and outfit them with their tools for the day. Dad had taken some of the cheaply made garden tools a shortened the handles to better fit them, knowing they wouldn’t last if used to hard, he said it was the right tool for the right job.

Mom wanted to get busy canning the things that were starting to make in larger quantity than we could use on a daily basis. That included the green beans, peas, and squash, cucumbers and soon the tomatoes. Dad set her up an outdoor kitchen using a propane cooker originally from a turkey fryer, and a sink originally used as a laundry sink. It was big enough to hold the big pots. The churches sending us things had outdone themselves finding jars then adding new lids and rings where needed. Mom had also found a stash of old jars in the cellar which she had sent most of them into town to sell, except the large ones for refrigerator pickles.

Mom had also found several big crocks that she thought had been used for making sauerkraut and other fermented or brined foods. Also had come a large assortment of oil lamps, which Dad had gone over and cleaned and fashioned ways to set them up on shelves with a reflector behind them so they wouldn’t be accidentally knocked off a table. We had our own as Mom had collected them through the years both from family members and thrift stores. Mom was really proud of the Aladdin lamps she found. Dad put new wicks in and replaced the chimneys on the ones that needed it. He also set up a barrel in the cellar with kerosene to use in them. He was having the people coming to work here to bring us some each trip. It was filling but slowly.

The kids from the youth groups had to leave to get back to school and I hate to say I miss them, Most of the kids arrived that will be living here. Some of them are worthless, a few of the teens didn’t believe they wouldn’t eat if they didn’t work, and then wanted to call the police when the rule was enforced. No phone so they were out of luck. When the next group of people arrived to help around the place you should have heard the complaints. Some of the kids had been homeless before so even though they had to be taught how to do things they came down hard on the complainers. I think they would have done anything not to be homeless again. One boy my age Samuel said he had been homeless twice, the first time when his Dad left his Mom and him, he was still in grade school then again when he was 12, his mom died and his Dad started drinking, I think that was harder on him, his Dad was one that dropped him at a church and took off. He was glad to have a good place to live with plenty of food. Dad took a special liking to him and had started teaching him lot’s of the tricks to keeping things going.

[antik]

sorry yes Jerry, we had an insurance man where I live named Rodney and I used to hear his commercials all the time, In my feeble brain I sometimes mix the names up. here is some more

Part 3

Well as Dad says, the other foot has dropped, this week we had the state social workers drop in, and it looks like we will have more people living here than originally thought. As I explained earlier we were going to consolidate several already set up children’s homes into here to get the kids out of town, we are now planning on some of the house parents moving here to help with the kids. Our newfound second barn will be turned into a learning center and apartment for 1 family, and then they are in discussions on how to house the others.

I’m just a kid so this is all second hand, mostly from the other kids, several of the social workers the kids like however not all, I thought one looked like he had eaten a sour apple, you know teeth clenched and a look like he was gonna barf. So far we have the go ahead, as I understand it the state just doesn’t have the money and manpower to put a wrench in things, not enough foster parents available, so I think they are classifying our place like those famous boys ranches you used to hear about, Dad did agree to take on several kids that were about to age out of the system. He will train them in all the jobs he needs help with.

How can anyone get through school and not know basic skills eludes me, I got the job of bringing them up to speed in basic math and reading. I think I’ve pulled half my hair out. Math is used every day, Mom was great setting up a meal with pizza so I had a way to illustrate fractions to them, without them realizing what was happening, with so many kids and trying to keep track of how to cut them up so everyone had some then some wanted some topping but not another.

I had them figuring out how many pieces equaled a half or fourth of a pizza from the different number of pieces they were cut in, easy if it was cut in 4 pieces but if cut in 6 or 8 or 10. Once we got a visual on what a fraction looked like, in a food they wanted and with trying to even out the portions they were pros, as long as we didn’t call it MATH, no problem.

Next stop is the barn to portion out the feeds for the horses and other animals, this is done so the smaller ones get it right and not give to much or to little to each animal, that was a little harder but they pulled through, Samuel helped a lot, he had gone to some of the same schools they did and could explain it better. We laughed later about not mentioning MATH. Just explaining what portions to feed, Then hold it, cutting up apples and carrots to add, so each got the same amount, then the hay, we had bales that opened up with about 10 flakes each, so each horse got 2 flakes and each cow got 2, Then I had them write up what each one got.

Poor Wayne he needed lots of help with that, but as long as we didn’t call it MATH or READING, he got the hang of it. He must have been really smart to get this far faking it. He was just hung up on the labels. I also think he might have one of those learning disabilities like dyslexic or ADD; he got it in the action of doing if not able to perform like a regular school required, and he panicked if he thought it was a TEST.

OH lord, I didn’t pray for patience so why are you teaching me so much about it. Old sour apple cornered me before he left going on about me being home schooled. I was saved by this really nice older lady that I later learned is a big shot at social services and they left, I do have to test out for my high school degree.

That is next month. Then I will be sent a diploma, from our home town school, which is where my home schooling has been registered.
They are sending us the supplies for all the kids to be home schooled. We are too far to send them to a regular school and the state doesn’t have the money to do special transportation. We will get regular visits from a home schooling teacher to check on our progress

When it rains it pours. I feel like I am living in a noisy beehive. Construction has started for the new housing and learning center. The churches got together and decided to have a construction crew come in to build, the owner goes to one of the churches in the city so he bid really low, basically just the materials, and all that wholesale, most of his workers also go to that same church. Dad said to watch out for this one man he had working for him, he said he seemed off.

Wow, it’s my birthday and Angie a girl my age got cornered by that man, nothing happened but he is gone. He tried to put his hands on her, and I don’t know what, she kicked him, she said it had happened before and while she was in counseling she attended a self defense class. He was all doubled over and puking up. The men tied him up and took him back. Angie was wearing these old pointy toed cowboy boots, he was swearing he didn’t do anything but her clothes were torn and no one believed him.

Angie is 17 going on thirty to hear her tell it, her stepfather molested her and her Mom didn’t stop it. That was how she wound up in foster care, she said after she got into church she was finally able to put it behind her and forgive them both. I think she is my new best friend, she is teaching me self defense also.

Mom has taken her under her wing and they are sewing up a storm, Mom found out what sizes she wears and new undergarments are being sent out for her, plus Mom is making her a new outfit for her baptism day, the preachers from several churches are coming and we are doing a dunking in the pond.

I am so full just roll me down the hill, apparently all the ladies from different churches found out about our dunking, and brought all sorts of dishes to eat, they rolled in with the preachers. After a few times being grilled about what happened with Angie, all of us teenagers dressed in our chore clothes and got scarce, but not without full plates of food. They were like a bunch of broody hens clucking after their chicks with the littler ones.

We will now have a nurse living with us, not exactly a nurse, a Physicians Assistant, along with her 9 year old daughter. She was married to that creep Angie kicked. They went back to town to pack and finish some lawyer stuff; I didn’t get what that meant. They will be back in a couple of weeks.

[antik]

I think I need to explain a bit, when they arrived back in town with Mr. Quincy, the police were going to let him go after the doc’s had made him more comfortable, Amanda his wife was making a fuss about it, but then found out from her daughter Jennifer that he had done the same thing to her, Mrs. Quincy decided he wasn’t coming back there with them. In the mean time, a Lawyer had shown up for Mr. Quincy and thinking they could turn it around and charge Angie with assault, getting Mr. Quincy out of the charges they had on him now, Amanda knew the Doctor in charge and when he called her to tell her what was going to happen, Amanda and Jennifer went to child services to report the abuse at home, so now she was getting a divorce, this being her 2nd marriage she already knew an attorney, and the papers were quickly filed, Jennifer wasn’t his child she was from Amanda’s 1st marriage so visitation wasn’t an issue.

Turns out Mr. Quincy had been charged before and got out of it after intimidating the girl. This sounds like one of those soap operas doesn’t it. Angie wants to meet Jennifer and help her get through the feelings she will have. I can’t imagine how she must feel. My Dad was always my pillar of strength helping me get through the rough spots in life I could always talk to him. We always prayed before and after our talks so maybe the big guy had a hand in it. Angie and I made a deal to start and end each day with the Lord’s Prayer. She learned about forgiveness after she started saying it every night, and that was the way she broke the hold the molestation had in her life. She even brought the 12 step program book she used it was through her Church, and was called Overcomers it was originally designed for alcoholics and drug dependent people but explained it helps anyone who has problems.

Mom had an idea to bring all the Nanny goats up to the main barn to milk them since we were going through so much milk and most of the kids complained about the instant stuff. Dad and the boys built milking stations to use when we milked them, they went out in the 1st pasture to finish eating the brush, All the trees were now down and the goats also went to town on the tops of the ones whose leaves were still green, It was funny watching all the babies climbing up on the stumps and trunks. Dad along with the help of the construction people had fixed up a nice gate where the fence had been broken down. He decided some trees had grown through it and broke the wires as the trees grew, it was a section with to much brush to see clearly, also where we got a lot of blackberry canes came from.

We gave all the nannies a good bath to get of the stink from the billies. First time through we used Dawn dish soap. Then a nice smelling herbal soap my Mom made. We finished of with a rinse that included apple cider vinegar. We also had to clean and sterilize the pails we were to use. I found out Mom had found some stainless steel pails in a thrift store and bought them, thinking they were too good to pass up and knowing they would last longer she got them far cheaper than she should have. We milked each morning then let the kids nurse the rest of the time. 5AM comes early.

Angie and I still laugh thinking about that first day, Mom ended up coming out to show us how to milk, she grew up around goats so had some experience. Letting them eat while we milked saved us time in the end because it held their attention. Then we took the milk inside, Mom strained it into a big container with a lid on it then put it in the cellar where we had found a spring box, it seems one corner of the house sat over an underground stream the water was super cold, it apparently had been dug out and lined with stones, that corner of the cellar was the coolest and lined with bins for root vegetables I was told.

Dad had been busy during this time making fishing poles for all the little kids, on one of his outings he had come upon a clump of bamboo, and he and the boys cut all they could carry back, to construct he took a piece of wire that used for snares is a good weight, then drilling a hole through the bamboo pole every couple of feet he would poke the wire through and on the top take a twig about the size of a matchstick and winding the wire around it then poking the rest back through the same hole these ends were then wrapped around the pole than using his supply of fingernail polish picked up here and there through the years would paint the wrapped wire on the pole for protection and a smooth finish the twig or matchstick was removed usually by breaking it where it was wrapped and pulling both ends free, with a final one as near the end as he could get it, these became the line guides a small spool of fishing line was attached on the big end the line threaded through the guides to the end where they then attached the hooks sinkers and bobbers. I learned to fish with one similar, not too different than a cane pole which dad says he never sees in the stores anymore.

On the weekend set up for fishing as many of the families from our donor churches that could came out to help the kids fish, bait hooks and unhook fish that were caught, also lot’s of fishing gear arrived with them, the women sent all the supplies for a big fish fry, along with already made Cole slaw, potato salad, and fresh ears of corn to roast. OK roll me down the hill again.
Someone had found some used outdoor games that the ones who didn’t go fishing got to set up, badminton, horseshoes, and croquet. During all this was when the sheriff shows up. He was here to talk to Angie about Mr. Quincy, he turned out to be a nice man and stayed around and ate some fish with us of course the fish he ate each had a story of the tremendous fight it put up and how the mighty fisherman won the day, he must of like kids some cause they were all pretty smelly after helping to clean up their catch. We ended up seeing more of him in the weeks to come. It turns out that no one knew at the time but when Angie was attacked there was more to it and Angie was scratched under her arm and got an infection in it since it was never cleaned properly, she ended up going to town to the doctor. And that had to be added to the sheriff’s report.

[antik]

Angie returned from the doctor’s visit very subdued, she had some antibiotics to take, from what I dragged out of her Mr. Quincy had a ring on his finger with an infected scratch under it, they had found it when he was there and thankfully knew what to give her, Amanda and Jennifer showed up with her and her talks with Jennifer had been traumatic for both of them. Jennifer felt like her father didn’t deserve forgiveness and Angie couldn’t get her to see forgiveness helped the forgiver more than the forgiven, the most she could do was get Jennifer to pray with her. That night we said the Lord’s Prayer together.

Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power forever

Jennifer broke down and cried, Angie spoke to her about letting go of it by giving it to Jesus, and asking for his help in forgiving, to pray good things for her father even if begrudgingly, she said as she did so it will get easier and easier, until with the forgiveness come an insulation from the past pain to let you heal, like putting ointment on a wound with a bandage it’s still there but not as raw. Jennifer wept and we all prayed together.


The home schooling supplies arrived, and Mom split all the kids into teams, including the boys that dad was working with, each team had some from each grade level, the older once helping the younger ones, top work on getting them all up to their proper grade levels. I was added to the ones that needed the most help, it was cool seeing the ones who were older and could barely read learn so much helping the younger ones with the same struggles. The younger ones adored their older teachers and the responsibility of helping the younger ones gave the older ones a new respect for themselves. Mom also brought out all the craft supplies to be divvied up; all the kids counted things out to be sure everyone got an equal share. Mom presided over the final piles and no one wanted to get on her bad side. The piles were packed up in boxes labeled with each group’s team name they selected. She also reminded us all that Christmas this year would be all be made by the giver or traded for between kids. So those skillful in one area would either help another who was not or trade for their work on what they wanted to give. Some even collaborated to make an item. Soon we had a barter closet where things were put until barter was agreed on. Angie, Jennifer and I made numerous jewelry sets using different cords, ribbons or string intricately tied inset with beads and sometimes with pretty polished rocks with holes we had drilled in them. Some of the girls had learned to knit and crochet so cornered that market Mom had some knitting circles Dad had made for her that knitted a tube; these were turned into hats, scarves and leg warmers. Dad has a twinkle in his eye I can’t wait to find out what he is making this year.

The Barn/Learning center is almost ready, one change not 1 couple but 3 will live there one on each floor, although having the extra help in the house helps. Another surprise is the construction guy knew someone who can put in an ammonia refrigeration system so one room will be refrigerated. Since they won’t have a cold stream to put things in to keep cold, it will have one section that will keep frozen stuff frozen, so our canning things will stretch further, and we can keep our meat good until it is gone. Even eating so much chicken and eggs our flock is growing Mom is keeping the broody hens’ busy setting on eggs, once the room is done I think all the men who can hunt will be up for deer season. One of the men is a butcher so will cut and wrap it all here so it will be done properly.

Mom wants dad to go hunting for turkey for her to fix for thanksgiving. Dad just grinned and said he would. He started teaching the older boys how to shoot, they had to learn all the firearm safety rules and you can hear Dad question them on it throughout the day, I think most of us have it memorized as well as they do.

We have Kittens, 3 of them, Mom said they will be taken to be fixed as soon as they are old enough; she is fit to be tied. We have 2 boys and 1 girl. The youngest kids are vying for a chance to work in the barn and cuddle them a little The Momma Kitty is good about leaving the nest and letting them touch and pick them up as long as they don’t move to far with them, once someone tried to sneak one out and Momma Kitty ran in front of him and started hissing and yowling. I think that cured him better than his punishment of not getting to go see them for a week.


Halloween is coming up, the kids are disappointed we don’t celebrate it but Mom agreed to a festival for the kids but they have to put it together themselves. The only rule is nothing modern, any games have to be something they can all do, I showed them a bunch of games I knew were good to do. We will have horseshoe throwing, sack races, and three legged races, a taffy pull, and a tug a war and for the littler ones we will have a fishing game. The kids are getting together everything they will need, we agreed to all make something for the prizes. Some of the girls into the cooking thing will bake cupcakes and popcorn balls.