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“Courage is not having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” Theodore Roosevelt
But we’re not skiing down. It’s just for the big chairlift ride to the summit. That’s it. Then we’re riding back down.”
Uh oh. You guys gonna get stuck up there, aren't you? Just like that Frozen movie.
Grief had a way of walloping you when you least expected it, even years later.
“The emergency response chain is only as strong as its weakest link. All you gotta do is visit the DMV to understand how incredibly inefficient the government is. Do we really want to put all our trust in that?”
“Do you have a terracotta flowerpot and small candles, like tea lights? Steel washers and bolts? You can make a small heater with that.”
Never heard of that. Interesting.
Basically, you use a set of nesting clay pots, separated by and attached to a central steel bolt, with steel washers spaced in between the pots to form a heat exchanger thing. “Then you flip it over and support it on a few bricks to position the center bolt directly above a small candle or three. The flame heats the steel bolt directly, causing it to heat the clay pots and trap the hot air rising from the flame. The clay radiates heat. You’ll have to huddle close to it or use it in a small space, though. You can also use a couple of Sterno cans and a larger pot to get even more heat.”
“It’s a waste of precious fuel to boil so much water. All you need is ordinary Clorox bleach. A three-quart bottle of six-percent sodium hypochlorite costs about two dollars, and will treat nearly forty-eight hundred gallons of clear water. A drop per pint is the recipe.”
For cloudy river water, tell ’em to filter it through a clean cloth like a T-shirt first and double the bleach. Then let it sit for an hour or so.
“We have a hand pump,” Quinn said. “I know because I pumped five gallons this morning in negative five-degree temperatures. It was practically child abuse.”
“They can build an Amish bucket—a manual, hand-operated well bucket—out of four-foot-long by four- or five-inch wide PVC piping with a check valve cap on the bottom. Use a rope to drop it down and haul it up, and it’ll bring up about a gallon each haul.”
She always said the government wouldn’t be worth much if anything went wrong for real.
Truth
Why did anyone need to believe in a devil when humans were evil enough?
In his strong, steady arms, he cradled his family. Kind, beautiful Daphne. Spirited Juniper. Spunky little Chloe. All of them, dead.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry was a pebble hurled at a hurricane. Worse than worthless.
God is still here, despite what you may think. He may have allowed my family to pass out of this world, but my faith is not shaken. I still believe. I will always believe. He has not forsaken me, and I will not forsake Him. I will not abandon my calling to help this town through its darkest days.”
“Keep your eyes open, my friend. The devil is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he is not always who you think.”
