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an enjoyable conversation, and even Judy the Younger had fun.
June 13, 1631: A Creek inside the Ring of Fire
David Bartley had a crush on Sarah Wendell; which he of course, would never admit to. This was bad
enough. What made it worse, was that Sarah had a crush on Brent Partow; which, of course, she would
never admit to. Brent and his twin brother Trent were David's best friends, and had been since his family
moved to Grantville in ninety-six.
Brent didn't have a crush on Sarah. He was the second largest boy in the ninth grade. He was interested
in football, all things mechanical, and recently all things military. Girls, as Girls, had been creeping into his
awareness, but only creeping, and the Ring of Fire had pushed them back several steps. He was good
looking, and enthusiastic in his interests, willing to share them with others and listen to their views, so far
without regard to their gender. Which may explain Sarah's crush.
His brother Trent, the largest boy in the ninth grade by about a millimeter and maybe a half a pound,
acted as a governor for his exuberant fascinations. Brent would come up with a plan to make or do
something, and Trent would come up with all the reasons it wouldn't work. Then they would argue it out,
using David, and lately Sarah, to act as referee and deciding vote.
The upshot of all these social interconnections was that the four hung out together, and talked about
football, all things mechanical, and recently, all things military. All things military focused on the Ring of
Fire, and the changes it had and would bring about.
Where the kids sat, near a small creek, the buildings of Grantville were hidden by steep tree-topped
hills, as well as quite a bit of the sky. "Flat," around here, meant any angle less than thirty degrees. If there
wasn't a building right next to you, it seemed as though you were in virgin forest never touched by men.
Sarah was talking about her dad's new job at the finance subcommittee, and its importance to all things
military. "Dad says that we're going to be in trouble if we don't come up with stuff to trade with the
Germans."
Trent argued almost by reflex. "We have plenty to trade, TV and radio, cars and microwaves. All sorts
of stuff." It was, after all, obvious that people from the end of the twentieth century must be rich in
comparison to people of the first half of the seventeenth.
Sarah was not impressed. "Can you build a TV? What about a TV station? My Dad says 'We have to
buy food, and we are gonna keep right on needing food.' We're not gonna keep having TVs and so on to
sell. Once they're sold, they're gone."
Sarah, an astute observer might note, was a bit pedantic on the subject ofMy Dad Said . She might have
a crush on Brent, but she loved and respected her father. That last part, had he known it, would have
come as quite a shock to Fletcher Wendell. He was convinced that his daughter's youthful admiration had
gone the way of the dodo a year and a half hence.
Before the Ring of Fire, that youthful admiration had indeed been on the decline. When his job
disappeared with the Ring of Fire, Sarah was naturally concerned with how that would affect her. This
entailed a certain amount of resentment; youthful admiration had gone almost comatose. What use after
all, is an insurance salesman in the Dark Ages? Then, with his new job with the finance subcommittee,
Fletcher Wendell suddenly had an important role in the survival of Grantville. His older daughter's
admiration for Dad had popped right out of its sickbed as if it had never even been asleep. Which fact
she had gone to some length to hide admiration for one's dad being damaging to fourteen-year-old
dignity.
"There're things we can build," David said, "We have the machine shops." This comment had less to do
with defending Trent, than the fact that David, for all intents and purposes, didn't have a dad and sort of
resented Sarah's harping on hers.
"What?" Sarah asked.
Alas, David had no ready answer, So he had to make do with a disgruntled shrug and a vague "Lots of
stuff." Not nearly impressive enough. Shortly after that the gathering broke up and the kids went home.
David was bothered by that shrug, and the lack of knowledge it represented, much more than anyone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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