Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

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JuanDiolosa
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:36 pm

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by JuanDiolosa »

Well, I guess there's not much I can do, except hoof it back to my truck. As I get up off the suddenly much cooler ground, I'm still feeling a little woozy from falling out of the cab. Not to mention having the tractor suddenly disappear on me like that is a little scary. For real, though! What the heck?

Pizza.

It's gotta be the pizza. Those mushrooms and sausage were a little off. Damn you Casey's Pizza! I gave it some more thought, but then remembered the gasoline from early this morning. Yup, it could be the gasoline, most definitely. That pizza was too good to be bad. Best pizza I've ever eaten bar none.

What else would cause these hallucinations? Crazy joker faces, robot-sassy pony Houdini chicks, entire tractors disappearing, tasty gas station pizza (who would have thunk it?). I have to be suffering from fuel poisoning!

I blame my girlfriend - or should I say EX girlfriend, Ginger. If she hadn't have canceled my (her) credit cards, I wouldn't have had to ninja siphon some gas out of this car I saw parked at the rest stop off the Interstate last night. Those two dudes sleep-snuggling with their man-buns, neck beards, and trendy tattoos won't miss it. They probably make enough money being a barista at Starbucks, anyway. Ugh! I must have swallowed more than I wanted to when I was huffing it, and I'm suffering from it now.

Woah. Where'd all the leaves on the trees go? I'm going to die. I just know it. This is too much. My brain is about to explode. I swear there were leaves on the trees just a half hour ago. And I'm feeling a tad bit cooler, almost as if the temperature dropped several degrees. Look at the ground! It's hard as a brick with ice! Where's all the mud I was just driving through?

Oh, man. I need a doctor.

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Side Note:
I switched computers for this play through and the settings are a little off. No big deal. I set everything up the way I had it, cheated in the payment from Dieter, and set the field to cultivated. Ignore the way the truck looks when you see it again as compared to the initial screenshot. I like this one better.
JuanDiolosa
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:36 pm

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by JuanDiolosa »

I get out to the entranceway after brushing cold dirt off my britches, and look down the highway for some sort of vehicle I can possibly hitch a ride with back to the dealership where my truck is parked.

Nope.

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Not a soul in sight. Oh well, the brisk morning air will do me good. It's not that far, I am sure. It only took a few minutes to get here in the tractor. Brisk. More like blustery. The wind has picked up a little, and the temperature is starting to get to me. I feel like Piglet when he and Winnie go out to fly a kite (A Piglet kite, but a kite nonetheless)!

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Maybe I should jog.
Nope.

No jogging. That's why God made tires. So's we can ride to church, is what mama says. Who jogs these days anyway? Prolly those two cute boys cuddled up at the rest stop on the Interstate, that's who. With their morning protein bars and water bottles. Pssshhh... whatever. Water is for children under 11. I get enough water in my beer.

Sheesh. This is a long walk, but I remember this curve. The dealership is just around the corner. I'm positive.

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Nope.

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Are you kidding me, right now? I've been walking for days, and my legs are starting to get cramps. Must be some gasoline build-up in my leg tissues. I need a breather. This walking is for the birds. I pull out my my cigarettes and light one up. Ah yes, much better. Maybe the dealership is around that small bend up ahead. It's gotta be. No maybe's!

I flick my still smoldering butt into the overgrown ditch, and briefly ponder if I could outrun a wildfire. Pssshhh... I'd be long gone by then. The wind is blowing the other way.

Where in the heck are the people? I haven't seen a car in 3 thousand miles. I round the bend, after what seems an eternity and that big CASE IH sign in the distance is like a beacon of hope. Oh, man. We're almost back to the truck. I pick up the pace. Just a tad bit under the jog setting.

Warmth is at hand! I can finally see my truck parked at the back of the lot. Oh, baby. I can feel that heater kicking in already!

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I literally stumble across the lot fumbling in my mud caked Wranglers (Can't afford no 501s) for my keys. Opening the door, I shove the keys in the ignition, turning the mechanism in one well-practiced motion. For a second, my heart skips a beat as the starter clicks and whines, then catches. VROOOM! That big old gas guzzling V8 roars to life. It's like a choir of angels singing to my ears.

Impatiently, I wait for the heater to warm up with my fingers locked in a death grip between the vents, desperately feeling for just a hint of warmth through the initial icy air being blown into the cab. That dash fan doesn't help at all, either. It's hard-wired into the electrical system and there's no off-switch. One-arm Jake mounted that fan on the dash for me a few years ago. What an idjit! I hate him!

I'm nearly in tears, and my teeth feel like they are about to crack from the chattering they are doing, when I finally feel the blessed heat start to pour through the vents.

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Oh, Lawd, thank you. I almost perished from the cold! I light another cigarette without opening a window, and let the smoke fill the cab. Ah, this is perfect.
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FSarndrone
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by FSarndrone »

Bravo 👍🏻
I love multiplayer :mrgreen: and John Deere :coolnew:
JuanDiolosa
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:36 pm

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by JuanDiolosa »

A knock at the passenger side my window rouses me from a cold induced near coma, my body most certainly still poisoned with gasoline pockets pooled in my legs. Dieter is standing outside my truck with a stainless steel clipboard in hand, wearing his Joker smile. I reach across the cab and lift the lock to the door, and he slides into the seat.

"Sa da tay, my main daimie", he greets me, as I give him a weak smile in return.

"Well", he says, "I popped over to 71 a few minutes ago to check on your progress, and you have surprised me. And I'm not one to be surprised, mind you." He says this last with narrowed eyes, and an almost admonishing tone.

"What do you mean?", I ask warily. It's starting to get a little warm in the truck, and I realize I am sweating. Purging the gasoline fever, no doubt.

He shakes his head, "No, no. You misunderstand. There's no need for alarm", he cautions. "What I meant to say is that you have done an outstanding job preparing the seedbed on 71, and in such short order, too!"

He good naturedly slaps my thigh as he exclaims cheerily, "You have performed much better than any Helper could have. Yes, indeed!"

Without giving me time to respond, he goes on, "Why are you sleeping in this cold truck? And to that matter, why are you sleeping anyway? It's nearly mid-morning!"

I briefly explain my 3 thousand mile trek across the countryside, and how the weather unexpectedly turned so cold. "I nearly died from pneumonia!", I whimpered as I lit a cigarette and inhaled sharply, narrowing my eyes and peering around a curl of smoke to emphasis the direness of what almost happened.

"And there were no vehicles on the way back to the truck to hitch a ride from, either. So I walked." I stated indignantly.

"Well, of course there's no traffic, my boy.", he says, "everyone is tabbing."

Slow blink.

Dieter sees my confused face, and reaches in my shirt pocket to help himself to my last cigarette. "You don't mind, do you?" He asks without waiting for an answer as he expertly flicks the Zippo around in his fingers and lights up.

"I can't remember the last time I actually 'drove' myself somewhere", he says around the cigarette stuck lightly in his lips.

He ponders a brief moment and snaps his fingers, taking another drag. "Ja, ja... now I remember", he says slowly, "I purchased a new car for my nephew several years ago, and took it on a trip to see some property down south."

The air is getting thick with smoke with both of us lit up, but Dieter seems not to notice.

I reach across the short space between us, and lift my Zippo out of his front pocket, where he absent-mindedly stuffed it during his short reverie. Taking no notice, Dieter goes on, "Tell me, you've never tabbed? Surely, you don't drive this truck everywhere you go?"

Slow blink.

Again, he sees my befuddled look, and like a parent to a child, he asks, "My dear boy, you own a time piece, correct?"

I nod.

"Let me see," he says as he grabs my left wrist and pulls it to his side of the cab, dragging my upper body with the movement. "Yes, just as I thought, he nods, "It's quite dated, but it is indeed fit with a tab."

"Just look at your wristwatch. Do you see that?" he points to the small knob used to set the hands of the watch to the correct time"

I peer down at my Timex, with it's scratched face and worn plastic strap, wondering just what he's on about. "Yes, I set the time with it by pulling it out and twisting it. What's so special?", I ask, "And what do you mean by 'it has a tab'? Of course it does", I state matter of factly, "how else would I set time? And more importantly, what the hell does my watch have to do with anything?"

Dieter waits patiently for me to finish, and with his parent-voice instructs me, "Press the tab".

Taking the cigarette out of my mouth and holding it between my index and middle fingers, with the same hand, I press the pin, and exhale a cloud of blue smoke.

Click.

I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly something other than nothing. I stare at Dieter nonplussed, and take another lazy drag.

"What now, wild man?" I ask.

"Well, of course it's not going to work," he says, "You don't have anywhere to go."

Slow blink.

"Here, let me demonstrate," as he pulls a gold train conductors watch attached to a thin chain from his vest pocket.

Click.

Slow blink.

It takes my mind a second to realize Dieter is no longer in the cab of the truck with me, as the sound of pop-rocks with their tiny little mouth explosions fade away. Just like Sassy Pony from this morning, he has disappeared! The small yellowish brown stained pillow Ginger used to use while sitting in the cab with me still has the impressions from Dieter's weight.

A sharp rap at the window pulls me out of the state of shock I am experiencing.

Dieter opens the door and sits back down in the bench seat, letting some of the smoke out of the cab and much needed fresh air in.

I can't breathe.
JuanDiolosa
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:36 pm

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by JuanDiolosa »

Dieter takes on a thoughtful look, and after a moment or two it seems as if he's made his mind up about something. He takes a drag of his cigarette, and speaks around the smoke as he exhales, "Here's what's going to happen, my main daimie", Dieter says, "You're going to work for me. You've got the skills. You're on the run from somewhere, obviously, and you've got only the money I've recently paid you for the work this morning. Which, allow me to say again, was excellent."

As I start to protest, Dieter shushes me with an upraised finger, "Let me finish. You're sleeping in your truck for crying out loud and your clothing is as ragged as your breath. You've not had a shower in days, by the smell of you, and you look as if you have missed a meal or two."

"Not true! I had a slice of pizza, earlier," I mumble.

Dieter snorts and crushes his cigarette out in the dash ashtray where I keep loose change and an arrowhead I found somewhere.

"Exactly", he says smugly, as he opens the passenger door. "Come with me, let's walk across the street. I want to show you something."

Dieter slides out of the truck and starts walking away, without turning to see if I am following.

Well, of course I follow. Mama ain't raise no short bus kid.

We get up to the edge of the parking lot and start to cross the street. As we do, I take note of the distinct lack of road traffic. Tabbing, huh? I feel slightly nauseous. This is still a little overwhelming to me. It's almost as if I'm in a dream. The laws of the universe seem not to apply here in Ohio. Or at least the universe I'm used to.

We cross the road, and enter the paved driveway of a grand old Victorian style house set back a ways from the road with what looks to be a large workshop or vehicle shelter off to the side, and another set of larger structures bordering the corner. The wooden fence extends behind the house separating it from a large field with the brittle remains of the prior harvest.

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FSarndrone
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Starting from Scratch (Or How I Ended Up in Ohio)

Post by FSarndrone »

I guess this is the end.
I love multiplayer :mrgreen: and John Deere :coolnew:
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