New Hope Lost
The afternoon faded into evening as the sun set behind the mountain in the west bringing darkness to New Hope in its shade early. I remember playing some games with the kids after having a taste of wonderful berry and pumpkin pies the women baked for my enjoyment. It seemed like a long time since Lisa had made me pies like that.
I was introduced to Adam Waite, a rather large and imposing man with steely blue eyes and graying temples that was the elected leader of New Hope. His wife, Leslie, was the self-appointed teacher of all the children. In her other life she had a PhD in physics. Adam had been an aeronautical engineer with a PhD as well. They both did the heavy lifting for New Hope, now that Pete and Darla were aging. Adam was most interested in my story because he wanted New Hope to move out like Pete did and repopulate California.
"Pete tells me that you are going to go with us on our run into the City tomorrow. We haven't seen anyone in these parts for so long it's really wonderful to have you with us. I will be leading the party tomorrow and I'd like you to ride with me. There's a lot I'd like to learn from you. So, I'll be picking your brains as we go. Do you mind?"
He made me smile. "Not at all. I'll be learning from you, too. I really like the way you have created such a large self-sustaining community. I've done that in a couple of places where I've wintered. Otherwise, I've just been wandering and scavenging as I go and find that is getting harder to do each year."
"I know what you mean. We have stripped Petaluma. We have to think about branching out into a larger, self-sustaining community of communities. Where we wouldn't have to scavenge and salvage to continue. The commune is a good place to start, but we need to move on and develop a civilization again. I find it a daunting task but one we must do in future generations, remembering the mistakes made in the past."
"Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with that problem. I've just been surviving… Staying alive. And unfortunately, finding death not easy to deal with." Tears came to my eyes that I tried to hide but couldn't.
Adam was taken by surprise by my reaction. "I didn't mean to… I want our children to… We've had our share of death and disappointment." He tried to empathize with me.
I shrugged my shoulders and wiped my tears away. "That's okay. Just thought of bad memories. I'm so glad I found a vibrant community like yours."
"It may be too soon to think about it, but maybe some of us need to go with you this winter and establish another community where you winter with your help. Think about it."
By that time a huge bonfire had been built by the kids in an area that was a natural bowl used for gathering with benches all around. As the warm night grew deeper, everyone finished their chores and arrived where the bonfire had been lit and was burning brightly, reflecting off the faces of the 37+1 occupants of New Hope and giving the sense of a festive time as popcorn was being made on the fire for the kids and singing broke out led by Leslie Waite.
Adam got up and told everyone about the run they were going to make the next day and reassigned some tasks to make sure that New Hope would continue to run like clockwork with some of the men gone. And then, he announced that I, as their special guest, was to tell my story.
I was a bit nervous and reluctant at first, but the college teacher in me pulled myself together and I raised my voice with my back to the fire so that everyone could hear. Charlie, occupied by the kids, became part of the audience. Rocky had also found friends among the children, petting him constantly to his pleasure.
"I taught at the University of Minnesota before everything went bad. I lost my girlfriend and needed a break from the stress of trying to meet the demands of teaching, research and public service required of young faculty to advance. I chose, like a professor in chemistry that I had in my undergraduate days, to spend the summer in the wilds of northern Canada.… He was my inspiration to go alone."
The assembly mostly sat in attention as I outlined some of my adventures and my continual travel except during the winters when I holed up at one place or another. From time to time, someone would raise their hand and ask me a question. I'd stop and answer it, so the whole talk wasn't a lecture, but a rather conversation of what had transpired in the 20 years I was mostly, traveling alone.
I was near finishing my story and the fire was burning down into beautiful glowing red coals with embers floating off when the air got very heavy and we could hear thunder and see lightning off in the east gradually creeping our way. I thought nothing of it and continued to wind up my story until I was interrupted by Adam.
"I'm sorry. But I have to intervene. We don't get lightning here unless it is a very strong storm. I sense that this is going to be one of those gully washers that come at the onset of the rainy season. I think, for everyone's safety, that we need to spend the night in the mine. I sense that we are going to get a lot of rain and the hillside above the mine is unstable with the fire we had a month ago.
Keith motioned to me to follow and everyone quickly disbanded, running around the commune and battening down the hatches on all of the homes. Awnings had to be taken down, lawn chairs and tables taken up and everything made secure in case there were high winds or flooding waters. It was a routine that they had gone through many times before, so it moved quite efficiently and everyone started moving towards the mine. I followed Keith there. Of course, Charlie and Rocky were with us along with all the other pets.
Inside, down one of the tunnels, Keith found a side room that was not occupied and showed me a bed there that one of the women had already prepared for me. It was right next to the one shared by Keith and his wife and two children.
Back in the main room everyone gathered to watch the storm on the big screen. The cameras could be aimed remotely and a guy at the console selected from several cameras what was on the screen.
We watched as the lightning became more intense. The cameras actually observing better than the human eye. The wall of the storm front approaching at high speed until it hit New Hope with a vengeance and everybody watching went, "Ohhh," as though they were watching a sports event. The strong winds whipped the cameras about and debris could be seen flying by. There was concern for the solar panels and windmills, hopefully anchored well enough to withstand the onslaught of the wind and rain, perhaps, hail.
And then came the rain, lashing at the cameras and coming down in tropical sheets. It rained for seemingly, hours. By that time everyone had drifted off to bed, including Charlie, Rocky and me, all curled up in our little cubbyhole.
I slept fitfully though, waking throughout the night, and several times went to see what was happening at the monitors where one guy stayed up all night to keep watch. The storm still raged outside every time I looked. Finally, I sensed that morning was coming and went to look. The storm was over and I could see a faint light of dawn appearing in the east. I got anxious to see what might've happened to my rig on the road down below.
When I got back to my cubbyhole, Keith was up and asked me, "What are you doing?"
I told him. "It's morning and I have to go check on my rig to see if it got damaged in the storm."
Keith was concerned with my eagerness." It can wait, can't it? Stay and have breakfast with us first. By my watch, it's only 6 am. It's too early to go outside. The ground above us is saturated and probably unstable. We'll have to wait until it dries out, perhaps until noon, before it's safe for us to go outside."
I insisted. "Let me go and get it taken care of. I can let you know if it's going to be all right to make that run today that Adam planned. If I hurry now, I can be back in time for breakfast. It's the least I can do for your hospitality."
"I know that Adam wouldn't like you leaving when it's dangerous, but you have been out there a lot longer than I have, so I trust you will be all right. I'll walk you to the door and let you out. Take a look from there. Okay?"
I agreed with that and we walked to the entrance where Keith opened the door and we got a look outside. From that viewpoint in the dim light of early morning everything looked peaceful and there was no damage to be seen.
Keith reached in his pocket and pulled out his Jeep keys, "Here," he said, "Take these and take my Jeep. You'll get back with your report much quicker."
My critters and I stepped out into the muddy yard and out through the buildings until we got to Keith's Jeep. He had covered it with a tarp to protect it from the storm. I removed the tarp, folded and stowed it away, and started the Jeep up with a rather smoky, coughing sound as the combination gasoline and alcohol got to running rather badly.
The road downhill was newly crossed in a few places by gullies formed from all the water that had come off the mountain in the storm, now just a trickle from what had been a torrent. I was able to navigate those fairly well and was halfway down to the highway when I saw an ominous sign on the hills across the valley.
I could see wave after wave coming my way through the land by the movement of young trees and brush as though some mighty giant hand was shaking the land in my direction. I had seen it before. An earthquake!
There was nothing I could do as those waves of energy ran up the mountain toward me and shook the Jeep as they passed through in rapid succession, five or six of them in a matter of a minute coming one after the other with impossible, unstoppable power. Charlie screamed and crawled all over my back and neck. Rocky howled a low moaning howl like the half wolf he was. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I nearly panicked, bringing the Jeep to a stop as it rocked like on a stormy sea.
And then, it was over. But it wasn't. Above me, I heard a sound. The sound soon turned into a roar. To my horror, I turned and watched the top of the mountain come loose and come down, flowing like a mighty river and collapsing over the mine entrance into New Hope. I cried out, "Noooo… Nooooo!” But no one heard me above the roar. I turned around and drove as fast as I could down the mountain to the highway below, hoping against hope that I could get my rig out of the way of that mud/landslide coming down behind me.
Fortunately, by the time I got to the highway, the slide had stopped rumbling. It had expended its energy on the mountain shoulder that the commune occupied and came no further, held back partly by strong young trees and brush that was still on the mountainside between New Hope and the highway.
As soon as the slide stopped, I turned around on a rescue mission and drove back up the road until I was about 100 yards from the commune and I could drive no more, my way blocked by mud and rocks and charred stumps from the mountain above.
I left the Jeep with Charlie and Rocky and began to climb up over the mess but found much of it liquefied clay mud that made my progress very difficult. In the brilliant morning sun, I couldn't see the mine entrance above and above that there was a depression in the mountain that made me think that perhaps it had collapsed into the mine, crushing everyone. As it was, I saw no place of escape for those inside.
Crying uncontrollably, I slogged onward until I reached the houses that were all crushed and covered with debris. There wasn't a single vehicle that I could use. There had been some heavy equipment that I might've used to break into the mine, but it was buried.
By noon, I had reached where I thought the mine entrance might have been, but the whole landscape had changed. Nothing remained to indicate there ever had been a mine there at all. Twice during that awful period, aftershocks shook the place. The mud still sloshing around like jelly, Charlie shrieking and Rocky howling and whimpering. I was in hell on a beautiful early fall day.
Eventually, finding no sign of life anywhere and growing dehydrated in the hot sun, I struggled to get back to the Jeep and then back to my rig where I found water and food. After a dip in the creek to cool off and relax, clean the mud off all of us, I drove the Jeep back up to where the slide ended and left it with the keys. Hoping that if anyone ever got out, they would have some transportation.
I stayed there for one night and checked on the place again in the morning. Still no sign of life. I heard no one calling for help. I returned to my rig and drove off toward San Rafael. My heart heavy with grief.
