Yesterday was a good day. We had ourselves a big Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey, ham, and all the fixings. Wild turkey is totally different in flavor than the old farm raised stuff, but still a delicious change of pace. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and I feel a lot better about mentioning the good things that have come from The Fall. So many people had similar things to say, and mentioned to me that they had been afraid to say it before my total lack of tact gave them an opening.
Not everyone feels that way, of course, but that's what being a human being is all about. Differing opinions working against each other to act as the driving force behind improving society. Overall I call it a good day for everyone.
Eating together did sort of put the exclamation point on the fact that there are so many survivors out there who are on the edge of starving. If you've been reading the last few days you know that Courtney, Steve and many others have been putting in a lot of time trying to organize a relief effort to help them out. Part of that included some pretty long range scouting trips to look for stores of food. I had to keep that quiet at Will's request, because letting anyone know we were sending people out was too risky for the ones leaving.
We have managed to locate a large supply of canned and preserved food. There's a little town several hours away whose only major employer was a cannery that supplied big stores with stuff they could slap their own branded label on cheaply. Add to that some pretty in depth forays into places that used to be emergency shelters, and what you end up with is a lot of easily transported food that's rich with calories if not particularly healthy eating...
Of course, we're sending other stuff as well. Extra veggies and the like. But this will help.
Jack and his people up north have been working tirelessly to organize this relief mission in concert with Courtney and some of the other groups from around the country. Jack's folks have managed to set up some rendezvous points between us in the mideastern part of the country and some of the folks who will be helping by donating fuel and trucks. It's on a tight schedule, though, much tighter than we thought would be the case. Apparently some of those folks, especially the ones south of us, are still dealing with zombies on a daily basis and have to work around that. So, Courtney and her team are going to be heading out this weekend to meet with the volunteers from Jack's place. They will be leading this trip to deliver food and other supplies, and to bring back people that want to come join either of our communities.
It's a huge deal, and some of our best people are going. Courtney and Steve will be working as a team as always. Little David will be going, though Darlene will surely miss him. I think she would go if the responsibility of being our leader didn't keep her here. They have had a slowly intensifying relationship since she joined us, and I think they are getting serious.
My brother Dave is going as well, along with his wife and kids. If that sounds strange, it really isn't. The dangers they will face on the road are about equal with what we face here, and this will be a great opportunity for my nieces and nephew to learn about giving, doing what is right by those in need. Dave is going to be helping with some repair and construction, and giving some fast lessons on the principles of building at each stop. He's a handy guy, and someone with his skills could be very beneficial in most of the places our delegation is going.
I'm really excited about it. I wish I could go, but too many council members and key personnel are going already. This is not only going to be directly beneficial, by helping those in need, but it's the best possible way for us to do exactly what Courtney has been doing (building ties and establishing diplomatic relations) on a large scale. And she'll be heading up the group, which is great. I think this trip will be a huge step toward creating the sort of universal goodwill needed to weather the storms of life as it is now in the long term.
Winter is a going to be a quiet time for many survivors as the zombies go inert from the cold. Maybe not so much in the far south, but if the temp drops below sixty for a while, at least they will get some breaks.
No, it's next spring that worries me. Knowing what we have already faced, knowing that the smart zombies will be back and maybe better prepared. Knowing that our struggle against the dead will reignite and burn every single day...
That is why we're doing this. So that every human being that wants to live in peace can do so. By strengthening one, we strengthen all. By helping fortify one group's community, we create one more place of safety for those who need it. It just doesn't get any better than this.
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