Another day in quarantine. But things had to get done. I gave Daphne a call while Melody made breakfast for the two of us. A little smoke cured sea lion belly that smelled and tasted like bacon with fresh eggs from the chickens.

"Hi Daph, everything okay?" She didn't look okay.

"No, Sean died last night while talking to us. Renée, so far, is doing okay but she's beside herself over losing him. I can't console her. Don't know what to do."

"Maybe you will need to take her to Marsha. But hold off a bit because she is a bit overwhelmed herself… Hold on!… I'm going to have to sign off, got a call coming in from the Valley…"

It was him, Ralph Hutchins, looking really tired and not his usual jovial, 83-year-old self.

"Gramps! You had me really worried! I called many times and couldn't get a hold of you. Why didn't you call me back?"

"Just got back here. Found my phone right where it always was. On the table in the kitchen."

"Where have you been? Why didn't you call from there?"

"I don't know, son. It's been a rough few days. When the water started comin' in the back door and into the kitchen, I shut off all the electricals. Before that I wore myself out carryin' stuff upstairs and gettin' everything up off the floor I could. But it was rainin' hard and the water was comin' up fast. Couldn't stop it!"

"That sounds like a nightmare. Why did you leave?"

"Wasn't goin’ to. I had the animals to tend to… Save them from the flood."

"What changed your mind?"

"I was barefoot with my pants rolled up in about 3 inches of water. When I heard a knockin' on my back door. It was Rich Meyer in a motorboat. He told me to get a suitcase of clothes and come with him."

"And then what happened?"

"We motored over to the barn and we roped some cattle and the horses, one by one and led them about a mile to higher ground. But by noon I was so tired, cold and soaked with rain he took me to their place to the 2nd floor because of their place bein’ also flooded…" Gramps hesitated to catch his breath.

"Did you save all the animals?"

"Don't know. Still findin’ some alive, some dead."

"Gladys gave me a hot meal and I went to bed. Couldn't get up until the next day. The boys continued to take the two boats they had and rescue more animals. Fear that all the crops are gone. We'll have to start over."

I could see he was about to cry. I never saw him that way before, not even when grandma died.

"Don't worry, Gramps. We've been waiting to find out if you were okay… Worried sick. I was planning to come as soon as I could and we are planning to head out today.

"But don't expect us until tomorrow, because we don't know what obstacles the hurricane and flood have thrown at us. But I promise we will help you replant and cleanup so that you can get back to the business of farming as soon as possible. Okay?" 

"That sure sounds good to me, son. Okay." He looked much relieved, and we both said our goodbyes.

I set noon as our departure time and begin making calls. Quoc had located two refrigerated trucks and three of the young fishermen to help load and unload, as well as drive the other truck filled with fresh seafood and fish.

Captain Jensen found another truck and filled it with staples not normally raised in the Valley to be traded for meat, fruit and nuts that the ship could use.

Melody and I took my truck with its winches and four-wheel-drive to lead the convoy because we knew we may come to places where the road may have been washed out and would require the power of the winches to get other trucks through. We would be pulling both the horse trailer and a small trailer with my all around electric 4 wheeler with the tools we might need.

Monsour Habeeb volunteered to bring his truck, his tools and pull two trailers as well. Derek and Wondah volunteered to stay behind and make sure that both communities were secure in our absence. They had to repair some of the security system at the port from the flood.

Derek told me, "Say hello to Grandpa Ralph for me and ask him when he's going to come back with you to stay with us."

I replied, "You know Gramps, Der, he'll never leave that place." I saw his agreement on his face through the phone.

"Yeah, I was just hopin'. Tell him I'll be on the next trip."

"Okay. We've gotta get going…"

In addition to the drivers, from the neighborhood and from the port we solicited young strong men and women to help out with unloading and loading the trucks, helping with cleanup on the farms and distributing goods to the villagers in Eunice.

We left the port at noon and had little difficulty leaving taking the 110 to the 405 to the 5 and out of Los Angeles. Most of the highway had been cleared of previous blockage so it was easier going and most of it did not have much debris from the hurricane or flooding to worry about.

But when we got to the Grapevine things were different. Up ahead we saw the first mudslide that had crossed all five lanes of the road on an uphill grade making it more difficult to cross. The mud and rocks were about 3 feet deep over the roadway and about 30 feet wide.

Monsour had mounted a snowplow on the front of his truck for just such a situation. However, the mud and rocks were much more difficult to push aside than snow, ice and slush. I had to help push him through the first slide to open a single lane down to the original pavement for the rest of the trucks to follow us through.

But the second slide was even bigger. Fortunately, it ended after crossing all five lanes, so we were able to skirt around it in the shoulder and by using the winches to get all the trucks back on the pavement and not stuck in the mud off the pavement.

Finally, the third slide was smaller than the first with only about one foot of debris spread out for about 50 feet that we were able to push through as well.

By that time it was 4 o'clock and I knew we wouldn't make it to Gramps's place that night. We pushed on to Cal 99 until we saw signs indicating Road Closed Ahead just before the 99 and 5 split. As we took the detour to the right as directed, the businesses at that intersection all looked vacant and probably were. They seemed long abandoned and had hurricane damage. We stopped and had our evening meal. The only thing stirring was a few blackbirds.

Fifteen miles north on that rural two-lane highway, we saw a roadblock up ahead with men armed to greet us. I told Melody, "Keep your hands on your AR-15, but don't raise your hands above the windows where they might see the gun.

"And don't fire unless they fire first," I warned her.

I ran down my window keeping my eyes on the armed man directly in front of me with the badge that seemed to be the one I would talk to.

When I saw him put up his hand for us to stop, I called out as friendly as I could, "Hello! What's wrong with the 99?"

"Flooded out. Road's underwater at the aqueduct. You have to go this way through our village and take the high bridge to get back on 99."

"Raise your hands high and show us that you're not armed. And then get out of the truck so we can talk."

We both raised our hands high, opened our doors carefully and climbed down from the truck while the others behind us wondered what was going on. No way to tell them what was happening.

We approached until the man with the badge held out his hand again keeping us at length. Three other men with rifles pointed at us stood by.

He spoke. "I'm Deputy Sheriff Ramirez. What's your business in the Central Valley? If you are escaping Los Angeles, turn around and go back. There's nothing here for you."

"My grandfather, Ralph Hutchins, lives up near Eunice. He got flooded out and we are coming to help him get his farm back in order and to bring supplies of food to him, neighboring farmers and the villagers of Eunice."

"That's mighty fine, but we've had a steady stream of folks running out of Los Angeles, thirsty, tired and hungry and we are in no position to help them. Most returned. But those that insisted on continuing sometimes tried to steal from us or take advantage of our good nature." He spit on the ground.

"Worse, a couple of times we've had gangs come through and try to shoot up our town. We shot back with everything we had. Lost some good folks after we lost so many in the pandemic. What you carrying?" He pointed with his rifle.

"Like I already said, some foodstuffs that aren't available in the Valley, seafood and fish." I watched his eyes to see if he believed me.

"Okay, the sheriff ain't here. He's resting from a wound. But about 300 pounds of that seafood and fish ought to be enough to let you pass through. But mind you, no stopping and bothering anyone. We will have guns on you the whole way. Do you understand?"

I nodded and said, "We understand, you will need something to take the load. Follow me."

A pickup truck pulled up and I walked back to where the two refrigerated trucks were with the pickup following. The driver of the first refrigerated truck who looked to be only about 16, obliged when I told him we had to unload 300 pounds and he opened the rear of his truck.

Some of our guys and some of their guys quickly unloaded the required amount onto the pickup and we were cleared to go. We didn't weigh anything and I was in no position to quibble, but I think they got more like 500 pounds. I told everyone to wave friendly as we drove through the village.

It was a small village with the main street only about four blocks long. We waved. at a couple of heads that looked out of windows as our convoy passed. But we also saw the barrels of rifles and shotguns on the rooftops aimed our way. I shuddered to think of having to shoot our way through. So glad we didn't have to.

About 5 miles ahead was an incline that led to a long bridge over what had been an occasional rainy season riverbed before 99 was built. It was now the path of the aqueduct and nearly the whole span of the bridge was flooded by what I surmised was dams broken further up the valley. The aqueduct was completely underwater, had disappeared from site in the muddy and debris filled deluge.

I knew we would have to come back the same way. In a few miles, a sign directed us back on 99 and all around we could see the devastation from flooding. In some places there was a thick layer of dried mud on the road to drive through. Fortunately, in some places other vehicles had made a path we could follow and had cleared the road from debris. Farmers that survived were using roads.

The sky was full of vultures and eagles again. We saw many dead animals. Some of them were bloated. They attracted not only the vultures, but seagulls and crows.

We saw coyotes and foxes feeding on the carcasses and were surprised to see a cougar with two cubs feeding on a dead horse close to the road, unconcerned by our passing.

It was getting dark and we were really tired, so I stopped the convoy and we camped for the night. We were up at dawn and within two hours had reached Grandpa Ralph's place. It didn't look the same with all the debris and mud.

Gramps came off the front porch waving and yelling.

"Hey guys! Don't come down the drive. Stay out on the road. You'll get stuck down here!"

After introducing everyone, we went inside to plan what we would do and drink some fresh coffee. First, I assigned some of the guys and gals to help clean the house and barn. Then, Gramps told us about some farms that could use the foodstuffs, seafood and fish and in exchange for beef recently butchered from drowned cattle. After the cleanup, the same people we would leave would see what they could save or replant in Gramps's garden. Harvest nuts and fruit from the trees.

And then, we brought in flour, rice, beans, sauces, sugar, cereals, spices, canned goods and other basics that we got from the ship warehouse into the house to replenish what Gramps couldn't get from the store anymore.

He was overcome… "Gosh, you guys are great bringing this stuff all the way from LA. It's a lifesaver for me. I've nearly run out of all of it." He nearly cried, too.

Leaving Gramps supervise, we moved on down the road to the Meyer farm and were greeted with lunch from Gladys again. We unloaded seafood and fish and more staples in exchange for two steers recently butchered and packaged. We moved on to other farms with Cy, Jr. driving ahead of us so that we wouldn't get shot at and introduce us to the other farmers to make our exchanges.

At the end of the day, we dropped off all the remaining foodstuffs and some of the meat we had acquired that day in Eunice.

Some of the villagers told us they were gathering animal skins and starting a tannery so that they could make leather goods and crafts. They had also started a pottery factory because plastic containers were no longer readily available from the store. One of the families was making furniture from salvaged wood.

When we arrived back at the farm, Gramps had, with the help of some of the others, a huge barbecue for us with our choice of beef, pork or chicken.

We spent the next two days continuing the cleanup, and loading our vehicles with fruit, nuts, and anything else that the surrounding farmers had in excess. We promised to bring more seafood in the future to barter or buy with cash if we could get some kind of money system working again that we all could agree to.

      Before we left we could see green sprouts pushing up through the sunbaked mud green and lush. Evidence that under the soil water was retained and that the horses, cows and sheep would have ample grazing as well as hay to cut before the fall rains. Seeds spread by the floodwaters provided much food for chickens, ducks and geese as well.

Even more remarkable was the wildflowers that appeared everywhere, filled with buzzing bees and butterflies. Nature's ability to take advantage of opportunities like this flooding was amazing.

Our return was easier. We cruised through that village to friendly waves. When we reached the checkpoint, we stopped, and unloaded some of what we had gathered to give to the villagers. I even got to shake hands with a heavily bandaged Sheriff. He told me, "From now on, you guys are welcome here. Come back all you want."

By nightfall, we made the port and everybody there came out to help unload what we had gathered. The three cows and five goats where the most welcome. A corral had already been made for them. And the five chickens and rooster would begin providing eggs and chicken for the seafarer's diet.

The rest of us arrived home very late and very tired. As Melody and I relaxed in the pool after eating at midnight, I still had things on my mind we needed to do.

What kind of curveballs would be thrown at us next?

Copyright 2023 © Ronald W. Hull

9/7/23