Story Listen
- Thread starter Lake Lili
- Start date
Lake Lili
Veteran Member
It was shortly before 3pm when we pulled into Bedlam. I don’t mean that we literally pulled into 100 Queen Street* but rather there could not have been more going on in such a small physical space if we had tried. Steve Santini and Nettie D’Angelo had arrived with two trailers of farm animals and a young red-haired woman driving a 26’ van filled with ‘stuff from the farm house and barn’. The young woman was introduced as Cicely Andrews. Mike took one look at her and become hugely useless. I’m all for love at first sight but he kept walking into things and it would have been amusing under normal circumstances but with so much going on it was rather more annoying. Still you had to laugh when he walked-into the truck for the third time.
The temporary fencing that I had got at Canadian Tire was keeping the animals in the field closest to Mrs. O’Keefe, and her grandchildren were watching with glee. On the other side of the O’Keefes the flat packed sheds I had bought with the gardening bonus from Canadian Tire were being erected to provide shelter for the animals. There was a hen house, a piggery and stable space for the two short-horned milking cows and the two matched black Canadian draft horses.
On hearing that horses had arrived the veterinarian and the farrier from the police encampment came over to inspect them. They ended up checking out all of the animals. Having a large animal vet within the walls was an unexpected bonus. There was a small animal vet in Cooperstown but he and his family were not Italian and had not decided if they wanted to stay yet – I figured they just hadn’t been outside the walls recently… Anyways the animals were checked over and housed.
Mr. Moretti, Father Andrea and Eric conferred with the Donatellos about what they were hoping to find. They looked at the apartment building but decided to take a vacant two-bedroom apartment over top of the children’s clothing store.
Mrs. Donatello announced that an elevator would make her fat and lazy, two things that Mr. Donatello found unacceptable. Several of the religious sisters were dispatched by Father Andrea to clean the apartment and to get it ready. Within an hour, the truck was unpacked and everything placed in the apartment. Boxes were being unpacked, as Tiny and I returned the truck to Hakeem’s men.
The Agricultural Committee had started its work this morning by taking a security briefing from Tiny. Tiny it turns out had all types of experience in unexpected places, one of those being that he had spent a great deal of time in the Middle East setting, building and staffing perimeters around military camps. He had spent the previous day walking the perimeters of Cooperstown with two police officers and the City’s Project Manager, and making adjustments. The walls had been expanded north beyond the Mew’s fields to include two five acre sites that completed the wedge between Hwys 305 & 307. So the enclosed community now ran between the railway lines one the north, south and west sides and Hwy 305, with Hwy 307 running north/south through the community but 30-ft below grade. Hwy 305 ran 20-ft below grade. Beyond our walls, on the other side of Hwy 305 started the land of parking lots, dealerships, strip malls and big box stores…
The last parcels of land incorporated had included two warehouses, only one of which was occupied. The other was abandoned. Mr. Moretti had then been in contact with the owner of the warehouse, Dino SanAngelo of SanAngelo Wholesale Italian Foods (est. 1922). In exchange for housing the SanAngelo extended family and his staff of twenty and their families, the owner had snootily agree to the inclusion of his property within the walled community. Tired of the attitude, Mr. Moretti had then stepped aside and made a call. He handed the phone to Mr. SanAngelo. Tiny told me that the man had lost all colour, stammered a “Si… Si... Si... Grazie” and handed the phone back deferentially to Mr. Moretti. It was a different Dino SanAngelo who had said that he would make arrangements for the delivery of the required number of park model trailers. Tiny had then told him how to lay them out in the staff parking lot and across the street.
When the SanAngelo staff were told of the changes only nine chose to remain on staff and one was terminated because his wrists bore the double line tattoo of the Swarm. The young man who was terminated was dropped at the Finch Station with a two week bonus in his pocket. He had left with a sneering smile and a laugh. One of the police men had promptly brought in a cyber-sweep team that swept the building, removing, bugs from telephones, bathrooms, keyboards and from the computer systems. He was followed by a locksmith who rekeyed all of the locks and replaced the most sensitive. Tiny had then requested the job descriptions and emailed them over to Father Andrea telling him to find replacements. By 4pm yesterday Father Andrea had filled all but one of the twelve positions from within the community and he was waiting to hear back from the twelfth. One of the twelve was young Taylor. Mr. SanAngelo had ordered the park models and the first three had arrived by 4pm and the rest had arrived by 9pm. The families were moved in the company trucks and Mr. SanAngelo had the company fuel tanks topped up.
Anyways, the end result was that Tiny accompanied me back to return Hakeem’s truck. Tiny drove the truck and I led with my car. The truck was duly signed over to one of Hakeem’s men. Tiny then requested and interview with Hakeem. I was not included and so sat quietly in the lobby. It wasn’t a long wait but the men were shaking hands as they left.
“Can I ask what was discussed?” I asked him as we sat in my car. Tiny shook his head and motioned to pull over. He then went over the car and pulled out two more voice operated transmitters and another GPS tracking device. We got back into the car.
Tiny smiled. “We were establishing that we knew each other’s boundaries,” said Tiny. “There was some overlap, but as I pointed out the businesses are Familia, so he has agreed to cede it to us.”
“In exchange for what?” I asked.
“Oh, I managed to point out that three malls he had included in his territory were actually Russian and a fourth was biker owned and that if he wanted to live long he had best work that out fast.” Tiny laughed. “Actually for Swarm, he has a pretty cool head on his shoulder and a good business sense. Then it helps that most of his money comes from white collar crime as opposed to drug dealing. In this area, that is mostly Triad business.”
We arrived back to a fascinating… well let’s call it a discussion. Steve and Nettie had scoped out the double garage that had belonged to the house that had been torn down. The best that could be said was that it was water tight to the elements and it had running water. They had decided that its close proximity to the animals suite them best and they were in the process of turning it into their home.
The Hyslops were appalled because to them a garage was not a house, but as Steve unloaded a huge wood stove the concern about them freezing to death passed. The garage door was replaced by a stud wall, wood door and conventional double hung window. They rolled this membrane over the floor and used some type of stinky sealant to glue it to the cement floor. Over top of it went at wood deck floor that had ridged foam insulation between its joists. The wood stove stood on large cement pavers and had a sheet of metal behind it to protect the wall. Stud walls were quick raised inside and insulated, pine paneling covered it over and by 9pm there was paint on three of the walls. The large 25-ft by 23-ft space had a sink and tap at one end. There was a closet beside it and they put a composting toilet in there. They were almost there but decided to sleep in the truck while it aired out overnight.
While acknowledging that they had worked wonders and that it was better than the first house she had lived in, Mrs. Vincenzo though brought up the biggest sticking point. Steve and Nettie were not married and this made any living together unacceptable, especially since both were Italian and both were Catholic. The other ladies nodded and agreed, but Nettie pointed out that they were engaged and that they were going to be married in Genoa at Christmas time and she was not going to take all that away from her Nonna just to keep them happy. The ladies smiled, laughed and turned their attention to interfering with wedding plans.
=====
*100 Queen Street is the name of the original insane asylum in Toronto. The old buildings were torn down and replaced with modern facilities that still cater to those with mental health needs. Bedlam means a scene of uproar and chaos and takes its meaning from the Royal Bethlem Hospital in London, England.
The temporary fencing that I had got at Canadian Tire was keeping the animals in the field closest to Mrs. O’Keefe, and her grandchildren were watching with glee. On the other side of the O’Keefes the flat packed sheds I had bought with the gardening bonus from Canadian Tire were being erected to provide shelter for the animals. There was a hen house, a piggery and stable space for the two short-horned milking cows and the two matched black Canadian draft horses.
On hearing that horses had arrived the veterinarian and the farrier from the police encampment came over to inspect them. They ended up checking out all of the animals. Having a large animal vet within the walls was an unexpected bonus. There was a small animal vet in Cooperstown but he and his family were not Italian and had not decided if they wanted to stay yet – I figured they just hadn’t been outside the walls recently… Anyways the animals were checked over and housed.
Mr. Moretti, Father Andrea and Eric conferred with the Donatellos about what they were hoping to find. They looked at the apartment building but decided to take a vacant two-bedroom apartment over top of the children’s clothing store.
Mrs. Donatello announced that an elevator would make her fat and lazy, two things that Mr. Donatello found unacceptable. Several of the religious sisters were dispatched by Father Andrea to clean the apartment and to get it ready. Within an hour, the truck was unpacked and everything placed in the apartment. Boxes were being unpacked, as Tiny and I returned the truck to Hakeem’s men.
The Agricultural Committee had started its work this morning by taking a security briefing from Tiny. Tiny it turns out had all types of experience in unexpected places, one of those being that he had spent a great deal of time in the Middle East setting, building and staffing perimeters around military camps. He had spent the previous day walking the perimeters of Cooperstown with two police officers and the City’s Project Manager, and making adjustments. The walls had been expanded north beyond the Mew’s fields to include two five acre sites that completed the wedge between Hwys 305 & 307. So the enclosed community now ran between the railway lines one the north, south and west sides and Hwy 305, with Hwy 307 running north/south through the community but 30-ft below grade. Hwy 305 ran 20-ft below grade. Beyond our walls, on the other side of Hwy 305 started the land of parking lots, dealerships, strip malls and big box stores…
The last parcels of land incorporated had included two warehouses, only one of which was occupied. The other was abandoned. Mr. Moretti had then been in contact with the owner of the warehouse, Dino SanAngelo of SanAngelo Wholesale Italian Foods (est. 1922). In exchange for housing the SanAngelo extended family and his staff of twenty and their families, the owner had snootily agree to the inclusion of his property within the walled community. Tired of the attitude, Mr. Moretti had then stepped aside and made a call. He handed the phone to Mr. SanAngelo. Tiny told me that the man had lost all colour, stammered a “Si… Si... Si... Grazie” and handed the phone back deferentially to Mr. Moretti. It was a different Dino SanAngelo who had said that he would make arrangements for the delivery of the required number of park model trailers. Tiny had then told him how to lay them out in the staff parking lot and across the street.
When the SanAngelo staff were told of the changes only nine chose to remain on staff and one was terminated because his wrists bore the double line tattoo of the Swarm. The young man who was terminated was dropped at the Finch Station with a two week bonus in his pocket. He had left with a sneering smile and a laugh. One of the police men had promptly brought in a cyber-sweep team that swept the building, removing, bugs from telephones, bathrooms, keyboards and from the computer systems. He was followed by a locksmith who rekeyed all of the locks and replaced the most sensitive. Tiny had then requested the job descriptions and emailed them over to Father Andrea telling him to find replacements. By 4pm yesterday Father Andrea had filled all but one of the twelve positions from within the community and he was waiting to hear back from the twelfth. One of the twelve was young Taylor. Mr. SanAngelo had ordered the park models and the first three had arrived by 4pm and the rest had arrived by 9pm. The families were moved in the company trucks and Mr. SanAngelo had the company fuel tanks topped up.
Anyways, the end result was that Tiny accompanied me back to return Hakeem’s truck. Tiny drove the truck and I led with my car. The truck was duly signed over to one of Hakeem’s men. Tiny then requested and interview with Hakeem. I was not included and so sat quietly in the lobby. It wasn’t a long wait but the men were shaking hands as they left.
“Can I ask what was discussed?” I asked him as we sat in my car. Tiny shook his head and motioned to pull over. He then went over the car and pulled out two more voice operated transmitters and another GPS tracking device. We got back into the car.
Tiny smiled. “We were establishing that we knew each other’s boundaries,” said Tiny. “There was some overlap, but as I pointed out the businesses are Familia, so he has agreed to cede it to us.”
“In exchange for what?” I asked.
“Oh, I managed to point out that three malls he had included in his territory were actually Russian and a fourth was biker owned and that if he wanted to live long he had best work that out fast.” Tiny laughed. “Actually for Swarm, he has a pretty cool head on his shoulder and a good business sense. Then it helps that most of his money comes from white collar crime as opposed to drug dealing. In this area, that is mostly Triad business.”
We arrived back to a fascinating… well let’s call it a discussion. Steve and Nettie had scoped out the double garage that had belonged to the house that had been torn down. The best that could be said was that it was water tight to the elements and it had running water. They had decided that its close proximity to the animals suite them best and they were in the process of turning it into their home.
The Hyslops were appalled because to them a garage was not a house, but as Steve unloaded a huge wood stove the concern about them freezing to death passed. The garage door was replaced by a stud wall, wood door and conventional double hung window. They rolled this membrane over the floor and used some type of stinky sealant to glue it to the cement floor. Over top of it went at wood deck floor that had ridged foam insulation between its joists. The wood stove stood on large cement pavers and had a sheet of metal behind it to protect the wall. Stud walls were quick raised inside and insulated, pine paneling covered it over and by 9pm there was paint on three of the walls. The large 25-ft by 23-ft space had a sink and tap at one end. There was a closet beside it and they put a composting toilet in there. They were almost there but decided to sleep in the truck while it aired out overnight.
While acknowledging that they had worked wonders and that it was better than the first house she had lived in, Mrs. Vincenzo though brought up the biggest sticking point. Steve and Nettie were not married and this made any living together unacceptable, especially since both were Italian and both were Catholic. The other ladies nodded and agreed, but Nettie pointed out that they were engaged and that they were going to be married in Genoa at Christmas time and she was not going to take all that away from her Nonna just to keep them happy. The ladies smiled, laughed and turned their attention to interfering with wedding plans.
=====
*100 Queen Street is the name of the original insane asylum in Toronto. The old buildings were torn down and replaced with modern facilities that still cater to those with mental health needs. Bedlam means a scene of uproar and chaos and takes its meaning from the Royal Bethlem Hospital in London, England.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you, enjoyable 
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thanks for the chapter Lake Lili a treat as always.
Wayne
Wayne
maineforlife
Contributing Member
Great addition! Thank you.
Lake Lili
Veteran Member
It was almost 6pm. Zeb had had his early supper and was now playing quietly in our room. My head was on laid on the one corner of the kitchen table that was not covered in boxes and bags from the great Train Station café heist… I mean haul. My brain had been getting progressively… more foggy… foggier… slowly shutting down... Ah blink! I had forgotten to tell Tiny about Hakeem hacking into the cctv, so despite it being dinner time for other people and Zeb wanting my attention, I called John and told him.
“The Swarm has done what!?!” John exclaimed. “I’m coming down.”
I put my head back down… More people, I didn’t need… John was at my door in short order.
“Now tell me again,” he said.
“They are able to hack into the cctv system and follow people around,” I told him. “That’s how Hakeen knew where I had come from.”
“Blast!” swore John. He pulled out his phone. “Tiny? We’ve got a security breach… Yeah… Apparently the Swarm have compromised the cctv system and are using it to monitor us. Yeah… Charlie told me… Hakeem told her…” I watched him take a deep breath and visibly relax. “Okay, I’ll tell her… Ciao.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“They know. Apparently there was a threat made against the new stables and some of the cyber cops began to trace the threats and came across some rather ham-fisted cyber-finger prints. So they dug trenches in the cctv system around us and have us working internally and within our designated territory. There is no longer a flow of information on the cctv lines outside our area.”
I thought about what that entailed and my exhausted brain began to protest.
“John,” I said quietly and with a slightly hysterical edge to my tone. “I need to take a break and have a nap. My brain is not firing on all cylinders.”
He smiled at me and pulled me to my feet. He kissed the top of my head and pushed me towards the bedroom. I could hear him checking the locks on my doors and then leaving. I climbed into my bed… It was glorious to lie down. Zeb came over and patted my arm and started to sing his go to sleep song
Out on the blue waves
Where summer breezes blow
I joined him and he snuggled up in my arms…
Our boats go sailing into sunset glow
We leave the shore line
To realms of dreams we go
Out to the center of the lake where breezes blow
Out on the lake is a wide open space
Where the sky reaches out to the far mountains’ face
Far from the world is a magical place
And it’s there we can dream as we sail.
Out on the blue waves
Where summer breezes blow
Our boats go sailing into sunset glow
We leave the shore line
To realms of dreams we go
Out to the center of the lake where breezes blow*
We slept…
===
*Summer camp song
“The Swarm has done what!?!” John exclaimed. “I’m coming down.”
I put my head back down… More people, I didn’t need… John was at my door in short order.
“Now tell me again,” he said.
“They are able to hack into the cctv system and follow people around,” I told him. “That’s how Hakeen knew where I had come from.”
“Blast!” swore John. He pulled out his phone. “Tiny? We’ve got a security breach… Yeah… Apparently the Swarm have compromised the cctv system and are using it to monitor us. Yeah… Charlie told me… Hakeem told her…” I watched him take a deep breath and visibly relax. “Okay, I’ll tell her… Ciao.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“They know. Apparently there was a threat made against the new stables and some of the cyber cops began to trace the threats and came across some rather ham-fisted cyber-finger prints. So they dug trenches in the cctv system around us and have us working internally and within our designated territory. There is no longer a flow of information on the cctv lines outside our area.”
I thought about what that entailed and my exhausted brain began to protest.
“John,” I said quietly and with a slightly hysterical edge to my tone. “I need to take a break and have a nap. My brain is not firing on all cylinders.”
He smiled at me and pulled me to my feet. He kissed the top of my head and pushed me towards the bedroom. I could hear him checking the locks on my doors and then leaving. I climbed into my bed… It was glorious to lie down. Zeb came over and patted my arm and started to sing his go to sleep song
Out on the blue waves
Where summer breezes blow
I joined him and he snuggled up in my arms…
Our boats go sailing into sunset glow
We leave the shore line
To realms of dreams we go
Out to the center of the lake where breezes blow
Out on the lake is a wide open space
Where the sky reaches out to the far mountains’ face
Far from the world is a magical place
And it’s there we can dream as we sail.
Out on the blue waves
Where summer breezes blow
Our boats go sailing into sunset glow
We leave the shore line
To realms of dreams we go
Out to the center of the lake where breezes blow*
We slept…
===
*Summer camp song
Last edited:
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
thank you grl
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thanks for more of your great story Lake Lili, how you keep every thing straight is beyond me but you do a fantastic job of it.
Wayne
Wayne
Sammy55
Veteran Member
I feel so bad! I've not said ONE WORD about how much I love your story ALL YEAR LONG! so I'm fixing that now!
Thank you so much for your story!!! I love it!
Can we have some MOAR??? we've not had any all year...
I must be following you around, kaija!
Cute - "not had any all year"
Thanks much, Lake Lili, for the new story!! And I, like kaija, am greatly remiss in not giving you my thanks and appreciation.......
I love your story! An am wanting MOAR!! I will try to write when I can. Life is just too full lately and I don't seem to have much time to write, much less read..............
Lake Lili
Veteran Member
Happy New Year to you all... thanks for your compliments and encouragement.
*****
Zeb and I got a solid 2-hour nap in and while he was still snoozing in my bed, I got started on packing away as much of the Train Station café bounty as I could into the pantry. The cans and jars filled the spaces in the pantry, behind the couch, in behind the pots and pans, in the back of the linen closet… I put the cans of olive oil under my bed. I couldn’t believe that there were 30 tins of 3L Kalamata olive oil for cooking and a further 30 tins of 3L of Academia Barilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dipping. Did you know that it sells for $44/3L tin? Why the heck would a struggling restaurant have sixty tins of oil in stock? Well… their shortsightedness was my gift and should keep me a long time. I probably had 200 #10 tins of plum tomatoes… 200 tins… I sure hoped that Zeb was ready to eat tomatoes.
When it was as tidy as I expected it was going to get for a bit, I scooped up Zeb and we head out to the party I could hear happening out front. It was 8:30pm on the Thursday night before the long weekend. From the highway below us we could hear the northward hum of cottagers fleeing the City. An idle part of my brain wondered if any would be back. For those who don’t know southern Ontario, there is no way to explain the mass migration north that happens on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the summer. But for the most part it’s an Anglo, middle and upper class migration. The taxes on cottages are scary and the maintenance costs will sink you faster than you know. But it is the end of the summer season and even with everything else happening in the City, the lemmings were still going north.
Zeb and I joined the other residents of Poplar Plains in the piazza. A large number of people had also walked up from the other end of Cooper Street. As I watched people greet each other, I thought again what we had talked about earlier… about how inter related Coopertown really was. Settled mostly in the early 1950s, they had gone to school together, attended church together, brought over family from Italy to marry each other’s children, and regularly employed each other’s children… John’s waving caught my eye and we pushed through the throng to join him.
Zeb reached out his hands and laughing, Eric put a slice of pizza in them. It was a long table seating about 12 people. Many I recognized but didn’t know.
“When are you going to let me cut all that hair off?” said Gina Moretti beside me. “You must be boiling in all this heat!” Her hands lifted my waist length dirty blonde hair and let it fall.
“Never! Keep your scissors away!” growled John.
“Oh pooh! What do men know!” laughed Gina. About a decade older than me, Gina was famous in Cooperstown for channeling Sophia Loren. It was rumoured that her father still kept bullets in his rifle to keep the men away from his divorced daughter, but more of us suspected that her equally stunning daughter, 22-year old Barbie Johnson, was the source of her grandfather, Tony Morreti’s protective stance. Barbie, who was sitting on the other side of her mother was dating one of our building’s divorced fathers, Greg Saunders, an industrial painter. He had his two children with him – Becky (5) and Stevie (2). I was surprised to see them sitting together so openly and quietly inquired to Gina.
“Oh that one knows he is being watched,” said Gina with a chortle. “His ex- wife showed up today with her new husband and left the children with Mrs. Orlandini. She kissed the kids and told them to have fun with their Dad. Greg got home from work to find the kids unexpectedly here. He called his ex but her phone is cancelled. He drove by her house – nada! So Greg calls their lawyers and the judge’s office and tells them he’s got the kids and is keeping them. Greg has one of those big single rooms… So the boys have been over and walled off a little bedroom and built bunk beds for Becky and Stevie, and we girls cleaned the communal kitchen and bathroom. We also filled his fridge and pantry with kid friendly foods.”
I had to smile. I wondered if Greg knew that a claim had just been staked on him. Apparently his redemption only required proof that his ex was the horror. I hoped it would work out for them. Also at the table was Eric, with his arm slung around Annie Henderson. Good to see that Eric had pulled himself together. Dino & Alice Mancini were also at the table. Their 5-year old Grace was happily comparing baby dolls with Greg’s Becky. Gennaro & Janet Moretti were there with Marco asleep in a stroller.
“Janet?” I asked the pregnant woman. “Did Maria Collodi get in touch with you to let you know that we now have a GP here as well as myself working as a practical nurse?”
“She did call me. Thanks!” said Janet. “I have an appointment with Dr. Collodi next week and I am getting my files transferred to him.”
I saw Father Andrea deep in discussion with one of the Basiallin Brothers from the Charbonnel College just north of the railroad tracks. Gina saw my looking their way.
“Oh! That’s Brother Anthony – one of my cousins! Have you met him yet? My Aunty Carla is so proud to have a son in the priesthood… Great guy… broke a lot of hearts when he joined up but he is a terrific hockey coach and not a bad priest… He’s the one that helped my Anthony get a scholarship for their hockey program… and now he’s being scouted by the OHL Peterborough Petes and the Toronto Marlies,” Gina said. She was going to call him over when John excused himself and I saw him, Tiny and Sgt. Gibson join the two priests.
“Good God!” I exclaimed. “How many of you are there?”
“A lot,” said Gina with a laugh, another glass of wine in her hand. “You know that’s weird…”
“What is?” I asked.
“Well,” she said, trying express in words what seemed unusual to her. “It’s that the priests are always tucked in by 8pm unless they are sitting up with a parishioner… You almost never see one of the Brothers off the College property and yet I can see four of them here…”
*****
Zeb and I got a solid 2-hour nap in and while he was still snoozing in my bed, I got started on packing away as much of the Train Station café bounty as I could into the pantry. The cans and jars filled the spaces in the pantry, behind the couch, in behind the pots and pans, in the back of the linen closet… I put the cans of olive oil under my bed. I couldn’t believe that there were 30 tins of 3L Kalamata olive oil for cooking and a further 30 tins of 3L of Academia Barilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dipping. Did you know that it sells for $44/3L tin? Why the heck would a struggling restaurant have sixty tins of oil in stock? Well… their shortsightedness was my gift and should keep me a long time. I probably had 200 #10 tins of plum tomatoes… 200 tins… I sure hoped that Zeb was ready to eat tomatoes.
When it was as tidy as I expected it was going to get for a bit, I scooped up Zeb and we head out to the party I could hear happening out front. It was 8:30pm on the Thursday night before the long weekend. From the highway below us we could hear the northward hum of cottagers fleeing the City. An idle part of my brain wondered if any would be back. For those who don’t know southern Ontario, there is no way to explain the mass migration north that happens on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the summer. But for the most part it’s an Anglo, middle and upper class migration. The taxes on cottages are scary and the maintenance costs will sink you faster than you know. But it is the end of the summer season and even with everything else happening in the City, the lemmings were still going north.
Zeb and I joined the other residents of Poplar Plains in the piazza. A large number of people had also walked up from the other end of Cooper Street. As I watched people greet each other, I thought again what we had talked about earlier… about how inter related Coopertown really was. Settled mostly in the early 1950s, they had gone to school together, attended church together, brought over family from Italy to marry each other’s children, and regularly employed each other’s children… John’s waving caught my eye and we pushed through the throng to join him.
Zeb reached out his hands and laughing, Eric put a slice of pizza in them. It was a long table seating about 12 people. Many I recognized but didn’t know.
“When are you going to let me cut all that hair off?” said Gina Moretti beside me. “You must be boiling in all this heat!” Her hands lifted my waist length dirty blonde hair and let it fall.
“Never! Keep your scissors away!” growled John.
“Oh pooh! What do men know!” laughed Gina. About a decade older than me, Gina was famous in Cooperstown for channeling Sophia Loren. It was rumoured that her father still kept bullets in his rifle to keep the men away from his divorced daughter, but more of us suspected that her equally stunning daughter, 22-year old Barbie Johnson, was the source of her grandfather, Tony Morreti’s protective stance. Barbie, who was sitting on the other side of her mother was dating one of our building’s divorced fathers, Greg Saunders, an industrial painter. He had his two children with him – Becky (5) and Stevie (2). I was surprised to see them sitting together so openly and quietly inquired to Gina.
“Oh that one knows he is being watched,” said Gina with a chortle. “His ex- wife showed up today with her new husband and left the children with Mrs. Orlandini. She kissed the kids and told them to have fun with their Dad. Greg got home from work to find the kids unexpectedly here. He called his ex but her phone is cancelled. He drove by her house – nada! So Greg calls their lawyers and the judge’s office and tells them he’s got the kids and is keeping them. Greg has one of those big single rooms… So the boys have been over and walled off a little bedroom and built bunk beds for Becky and Stevie, and we girls cleaned the communal kitchen and bathroom. We also filled his fridge and pantry with kid friendly foods.”
I had to smile. I wondered if Greg knew that a claim had just been staked on him. Apparently his redemption only required proof that his ex was the horror. I hoped it would work out for them. Also at the table was Eric, with his arm slung around Annie Henderson. Good to see that Eric had pulled himself together. Dino & Alice Mancini were also at the table. Their 5-year old Grace was happily comparing baby dolls with Greg’s Becky. Gennaro & Janet Moretti were there with Marco asleep in a stroller.
“Janet?” I asked the pregnant woman. “Did Maria Collodi get in touch with you to let you know that we now have a GP here as well as myself working as a practical nurse?”
“She did call me. Thanks!” said Janet. “I have an appointment with Dr. Collodi next week and I am getting my files transferred to him.”
I saw Father Andrea deep in discussion with one of the Basiallin Brothers from the Charbonnel College just north of the railroad tracks. Gina saw my looking their way.
“Oh! That’s Brother Anthony – one of my cousins! Have you met him yet? My Aunty Carla is so proud to have a son in the priesthood… Great guy… broke a lot of hearts when he joined up but he is a terrific hockey coach and not a bad priest… He’s the one that helped my Anthony get a scholarship for their hockey program… and now he’s being scouted by the OHL Peterborough Petes and the Toronto Marlies,” Gina said. She was going to call him over when John excused himself and I saw him, Tiny and Sgt. Gibson join the two priests.
“Good God!” I exclaimed. “How many of you are there?”
“A lot,” said Gina with a laugh, another glass of wine in her hand. “You know that’s weird…”
“What is?” I asked.
“Well,” she said, trying express in words what seemed unusual to her. “It’s that the priests are always tucked in by 8pm unless they are sitting up with a parishioner… You almost never see one of the Brothers off the College property and yet I can see four of them here…”
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thanks a lot Lili, great addition.
maineforlife
Contributing Member
Oh no, Four Priests together....something is going on.
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Lake Lili Thanks for more
Wayne
Wayne
Lake Lili
Veteran Member
Dear Readers,
This story is a long way from being over, but I have written myself into a cartographic corner. So please excuse me for taking a couple of days to sort out the exact layout on the map and then I will be back. Part of the story may have to be rewritten. If that has to happen, I will repost before requesting that the original come down. Writing about the SHTF in a complex urban environment is a complex process and I really want for you to be able to draw a map and follow Charlie and her friends through their world.
Thanks for you patience,
Lake Lili
This story is a long way from being over, but I have written myself into a cartographic corner. So please excuse me for taking a couple of days to sort out the exact layout on the map and then I will be back. Part of the story may have to be rewritten. If that has to happen, I will repost before requesting that the original come down. Writing about the SHTF in a complex urban environment is a complex process and I really want for you to be able to draw a map and follow Charlie and her friends through their world.
Thanks for you patience,
Lake Lili
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Good luck
stjwelding
Veteran Member
Thanks for the heads up Lake Lili we will be hear waiting for more when you are ready.
Wayne
when you are ready.Wayne
maineforlife
Contributing Member
Lake Lili, I am always willing to wait for you
Catshooter
Contributing Member
By what metric do you measure "good all week"? The mind boggles at the possibilities don't you know.
Cat
I'm trying to not go there especially with a name like "panic sex lady"! LOL!
just too old for that ...hehehe
Nature_Lover
Wait! What?
Thank you for the story Lili, and when you get it all sorted, I'll read it as fast as you can post it. I really enjoy reading about the strong culture traditions in this story, this is stuff I was not aware of
I'm not even going there... *sheesh panic sex lady :/ good thing you're being good
But I will mention that I've always wondered what kind of gun Catshooter uses to shoot the cats out of.
and Catshooter what method do you use to clean out the cat hair from that weapon?
I'm not even going there... *sheesh panic sex lady :/ good thing you're being good
But I will mention that I've always wondered what kind of gun Catshooter uses to shoot the cats out of.
and Catshooter what method do you use to clean out the cat hair from that weapon?
Catshooter
Contributing Member
I am normally a cat lover. But a friend moved into a farm with about 35 feral cats and was afraid his two year old was going to get clawed or bitten, so he asked me to help.
I did. Those cats were incredibly nasty.
Thus the name. Me and my 45.
Cat
I did. Those cats were incredibly nasty.
Thus the name. Me and my 45.
Cat
Nature_Lover
Wait! What?
I've been checking daily. I am an addict.
Thank you for this story, and I hope you update it soon.
*withdrawals are no fun
*this story is fun
see where I'm going with this?
Thank you for this story, and I hope you update it soon.
*withdrawals are no fun
*this story is fun
see where I'm going with this?
Catshooter
Contributing Member
I'm sure by now PSL is a pretty cute choir girl . . .
Cat
Cat