Chapter Fifty-Three: The Aftermath

Most of the commune slept pretty late the next morning.  The bands were gone (and as predicted the Fae Whispers put everyone in such a mellow mood few people had difficulty sleeping) and Stan (as promised) was also gone.

“So,” said Luna, “I guess this is the beginning of our second year.”

“Yeah,” said Marge, “and we can start it by cleaning this place up.”

The celebration had left stuff everywhere.

“Hey,” said Dan. “It’s still the weekend.  We should be celebrating until tomorrow.”

Carrie started rubbing against his leg.  Dan reached down and stroked her.  “Yeah, you’re part of the commune.  Maybe we should include you in the celebration.”

“And don’t forget Harry,”  Ken said.  “He was the one who woke me and warned me about the fire.”

“Maybe we should make this the animals’ commune day,” Nancy said.  “We can include Harry and Carrie and the chickens and the goats and even Cow.”

“Maybe we should make this a recovery day,” Viv said.  “I’m still recovering from all our celebrating yesterday.”

“I’m with Marge,” Sal said.  “I think we should spend at least some of today cleaning up.”

In the end, three crews formed, a clean up crew, an animal care crew, and a down time/recovering crew.  By the end of the day, the place looked nice, almost everyone had recovered, and the animals seemed happy.

Dinner Sunday night was still celebratory.  There was plenty of cake left and the communards decided to do appreciations.

“Well, I appreciate all the work we’ve done together,” Nancy said.

“I agree,” said Cat.  “I think we work very well as a commune.”

“I appreciate all the good weather we’ve had lately,” Broc said.

“I want to appreciate Luna for starting this commune,” said Blue Sky.

“Me, too,” said Dan.

“I want to appreciate Dan for believing in this commune and finding people to live here,” Luna said.

“I also want to appreciate Dan,” Sal said.  “He came down to Old Corn and found me and Nancy.  If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be living here.”

“I want to appreciate all the folks who were willing to take me in even when they knew I was a runaway,” said Ken.  “Of course, you made me get my parents’ permission first.”

“And I want to appreciate all the folks who stuck with me, even after I got busted,” said Viv.

“I want to appreciate all of you for taking in Sowbug and me when we got laid off,” Dandelion said.

“Yeah,” said Sowbug.  “This place is awesome.   I’m looking forward to building more stuff.”

“And I want to appreciate the good care I’ve been getting from folks,” Paul G said.  He raised his cane.  “Hopefully I’ll be done with this soon and I’ll be able to really get back to work at the produce stand.”

“This from the guy who was up on his crutches selling vegetables a week after the accident,” said Blue Sky.

“I want to appreciate that this place lets me be me,” said Chuck as he swung his peach and burgundy gown back and forth.

“Amen,” said Darren who put a big arm around Chuck.

“Yeah,” said Cat.  “Me, too.  Thanks for allowing me to go through all the changes I’ve needed to go through.”

Blue Sky just put a big thumb up.

“I just want to say how much fun it is to be part of this whole adventure,” Marge said.

Carrie came up and rubbed against Marge’s ankle.  “I think she wants to appreciate being here, too,” Marge added.

“Yeah, and Harry and I are grateful that the commune took him in, too,” Ken said.

“I’m grateful for us having all the farm animals as well,” Patsy said.  “The chickens and the goats and the silly cow.”

“Yeah,” said Grace.  “All the animals are wonderful.”

Most people nodded.  Luna seemed to be staring at something on the ceiling.

“I just think this place is fantastic,” said Strange Brew.  “I liked Old Corn but this place feels more dynamic somehow.”

“What can I say?” Will said.  “I just appreciate everything about being here.”

                                                     *

And then it was a return to the work of farm and commune.

Sowbug and Dandelion showed their repair and maintenance work to Sal and Dan.

“As you can see,” Dandelion said, “we’re almost up to speed here.  We’ve done most of what you listed and have timelines for the rest.”

“Yeah,” said Sowbug.  “And we’re starting to think about that new building.  I mean, we’ve still got a couple of months work finishing off these projects, but it’s all doable, and having a couple of months to figure out exactly what we want to build will make it a lot easier to just start building when we’re ready to.”

“Did you have a process in mind?” Dan asked.

“We do,” Dandelion replied.  “We’d like time to talk with all the folks here about what they want for both the new building and the future of the commune.”

“Sounds ambitious,” said Sal.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Marge were talking about the new cookbook.  

“It should be out soon,” Nancy said.  “I can’t wait to see it.”

“But you helped put it together,” Marge said.  “Don’t you already know what it looks like?”

“Sort of,” Nancy said.  “But this will be different.”

“Different how?”  Marge asked.

“You know, it will be new, freshly printed, ready to hand out.  It’ll be the real deal.”  Nancy paused.  “I don’t know.  It’s just I still have trouble believing that we make such nice cookbooks.”

Out in the fields, Luna and Chuck and Viv and Broc were surveying the crops.

“Everything’s doing well,” said Luna, “But I want more.  We should be planting fall crops now.”

“Where?” asked Viv.

“What about over here?” asked Chuck.  He was standing with Broc near a patch of bolted lettuce.  They made a strange pair.  Chuck had on a citrine skirt and deep cerulean blue blouse.  Broc was wearing a muscle shirt and cargo pants.

“Yeah,” said Luna.  “That lettuce is gone.  Kohlrabi and kale would do well there. But we can also plant over there.”

“That was where Wahina and Birch were,” said Broc.

“I know,” said Luna.  “But no one is using the land now.”

“Are you expecting new folks to be coming?” asked Viv.

“We haven’t been looking for anyone,” Luna said.  “But you never know.”

“You never know,” echoed Broc.

And later that afternoon, Strange Brew and Patsy had a conversation about how the animals could be better used on the farm.

“We’re starting to get eggs from the chickens,” Strange Brew said.  “Pretty soon we’ll be getting milk from the goats.”

“And from Cow,” Patsy added.  “We can use the milk to make stuff like yogurt and cheese.”

“Yeah,” said Strange Brew.  “I know all about that.  We call that stuff, ‘Value Really Added’ products.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Patsy.  “We could open another stand, just selling Value Really Added things.”

“Let’s get on that now, sister!” said Strange Brew.

It was a day of many interesting conversations.  There seemed to be lots of optimism all over the farm about the future of the commune.  There was an air of freshness and new beginnings.

But all that was before Dick arrived.

Back again

I just heard from someone who told me that they were reading this story and wanted to find out how it turned out.  (You know who you are.)  The truth is that I don't know how it turns out.  This is a continuing saga and who knows where it will go.

But since there's at least one person who wants to read more, these tales of the commune will start up again on Wednesday, September 30th.  And it will start up where it left off--at the commune's anniversary.  And I will go back to putting out weekly chapters.  I already have a few surprises in store.

See you then.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The First Anniversary

“Oh, wow,” said Sal.  “We’ve been a commune for a full year.”

“Yep,” Luna said.  “I bought the land a year ago yesterday.”

“We need to do a big celebration,” said Grace.  “Do you think we could do something special this weekend?”

“I can make a big, fruity anniversary cake,” Nancy said.

“And we still have the stage,” Blue Sky said.  “We could bring some of the bands back.”

“My faery friends have a camp not far from here,” Darren said.  “The band Fae Whispers comes from there.  I’m sure they’d be glad to come for our party.”

“They were great,” Cat said.  “But they should definitely play last in the evening again.  Otherwise they’ll put everyone to sleep before it’s time for bed.”

“I betcha I could get The Green Mountain Boys on short notice,” Ken said.  “They’re also right around here.”  

“I’m sure I could persuade my Sweet As Syrup friends to play as well,” Luna said.  “Three bands would be plenty for our celebration.”

“Three bands and a gigantic cake,” Dan said.  “Sounds great.  What else do we need for an anniversary?”

“We’ve got to invite Ed and Ralph,” Marge said.

“And Peter and George and Fred,” added Viv.

“Can we invite the Troll and the Trollwork Team?”  asked Dandelion.

“Of course,” Nancy said.  “We should invite lots of folks.  We should just make up a list and send out invitations.”

“I think we should have a small committee to work on the invites,” Strange Brew said.  “I’m certainly up for being part of that.”  

“Me, also,” said Broc.

“I’d like to help with designing the invitations,” Paul G said.  “In fact, I’d be up for any job I can do sitting down.”  He looked at the crutches next to his chair.  “I’ll be so glad when I don’t need to use these anymore.”

“Okay, folks,” Sal said.  “We got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.  Let’s get going.  We’re gonna really celebrate this weekend!”

                                                      *

Ed and Ralph arrived on Friday night.  They spent most of the evening saying congratulations to everyone.

“Hey,” Luna said.  “We wouldn’t have this place if it wasn’t for you two.  This celebration is about the two of you as well.”

“Well, we certainly feel like we’re auxiliary members of the commune,” Ed said.

“In that case, we should be saying congratulations to you,” said Sal.

Just as folks were getting ready for bed, Amanda and Steve arrived.

“You didn’t think we’d miss this big occasion,” Amanda said.

“Hey, what have you folks been up to?” Nancy said.

Amanda giggled.  “Ask Steve,” she said.

“We’ve got a little schoolbus now,” Steve said.  “We’re traveling around the country in it--and we’ve got it to run on vegetable oil.”

“Wow, cool,” said Sowbug, who overheard the conversation.

Saturday morning was the morning of the mothers.  Luna’s mother, Cat's mother, Ken’s mother, and even Blue Sky’s mother showed up.  

“My mother wanted to come,” Dandelion said.  “But she couldn’t make it.”

“Mine neither,” said Broc sadly.  “She almost never leaves South America.”

The lawyer brigade, Peter, George, and Fred, arrived just before noon.  The first band, Sweet as Syrup, showed up shortly after that.  And just as they began to play, the Trollwork Team arrived with The Troll in tow.

“You’ve done so well with this commune,” Luna’s mother said to her.  “I tried to bring your father but I think he’s permanently glued to the couch.”

Dandelion was dancing with Purslane, Sowbug was dancing with Sorrel, Thistle was dancing with Roly-poly, and Earthworm and Nematode were engaged in a long, intense conversation.  Sal and Nancy were dancing, Ed and Ralph were dancing, Grace and Will were dancing, Steve and Amanda were dancing, Marge and Viv were dancing,  Darren and Chuck were dancing, and Cat was dancing with Blue Sky.  The Troll was just sitting back and watching the whole thing.

Paul G, still on crutches was having a conversation with Broc.  The four mothers sat in a circle talking.  Patsy kept trying to persuade Ken to dance with her.  And Strange Brew seemed to be busy taking care of the chickens, the goats, and the cow.

Finally, Luna grabbed Dan.  “This is all your fault,” she said.  “If you hadn’t agreed to be in my commune and then left to find new members, I don’t think this commune would have really happened.  The least you can do is dance with me.”

By the time The Green Mountain Boys showed up, things were in full swing. The two bands knew each other and just started jamming together.  Finally the music stopped long enough to have Nancy’s giant cake brought out.  

“Don’t worry,” Cat said.  “There’s also lots of nutritious fruit for those that don’t want to eat cake.”

“I just want to say thank you to all of you,” Luna said.  “This has been the best year of my life.”

“And, hey,” Dan said.  “This is just the beginning.”

The two bands started up again just as the third band, Fae Whispers, showed up.  And they brought a surprise guest.

“Don’t worry!” Stan said.  “I’m not staying!  Honest!”

Chapter Fifty-One: The Site Visit

Sowbug and Dandelion were working on the front porch of the Side House when they saw a white minivan slowly making its way down the drive.  Two folks got out, a woman with dark hair and an intense expression and a man with close cropped brown hair, a close cropped brown beard, and a luminescent pearl earring.

“Hi,” the woman yelled to them.  “We’re Beechpest and Unicorn.  We’re here to check out the place.”

“Let me get Luna,” Dandelion yelled back.  Two minutes later Dandelion returned with Luna and Sal and Dan.

“Hey, Beechpest,” Sal said.  “This is Luna.”  She looked a little further.  “Oh, hey, Unicorn.  You came too.  This is great.  Nancy and Strange Brew are around some place and they’ll both be happy to see you.”  She paused again and then said, “Oh, yeah, Unicorn, this is Luna and Dan.”

“Hey,” said Unicorn, “Pleased to meet both of you.”

Sal hugged Beechpest and Unicorn.  Then Dan hugged Beechpest and Unicorn.  Then Luna hugged Beechpest and Unicorn.  Then they all went on a tour of the farm.

“This is Groovy House,” Sal said.  “Sowbug and Dandelion helped build it.  They weren’t part of the commune then, but they liked the place so much that they’ve come and joined us.”

“How many people are living here now?” asked Beechpest.

“We’ve got nineteen at the moment,” said Dan.  “That includes four BBAAers, but doesn’t include friends and neighbors and lawyers who stop by and even stay here occasionally.”

“How new is this building?” Unicorn asked.

“Three months old,” said Sal.  “The original building burned down.”

“Yeah.  We know how that is,” Beechpest said sadly.

“These are the two older buildings that were on the property when I bought it,” Luna said.  “We call them Side House and Back House.”

“Wait,” Beechpest said.  “You bought the place?  Who owns it now?”

“I guess I do,” Luna said.  “Is that a problem?”

“Maybe,” Beechpest said.

After walking through the buildings, the tour went to the EcoGreenHouse and then out into the fields.

“Here’s where we grow all our vegetables,” Sal said.  “The stuff we sell and the stuff we eat.”

“Oh look,” Unicorn said.  “You have chickens and goats and a little cow.”

“Yes,” said Luna.  “We guess we do.”

“The chickens have just started laying eggs, so sometimes we have eggs for breakfast,” said Dan.  “We don’t sell eggs at this point.”

“And the goats and cow are too young to give milk,” Sal added.

“And back there is where the BBAAers are tenting,” Luna said.  “Sowbug and Dandelion are going to help Dan and Sal build a new house for people to stay in soon.”

“Is that the place?” Beechpest asked.

“That’s the place,” Sal said.

“Okay,” Beechpest said.  “Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

                                                      *

“So my first question is,” Beechpest said.  “How does it work with you,” she pointed to Luna, “owning the house?”

“Well,” Luna said, “we haven’t really talked about it.  We’ve been too busy with farming and building the commune to worry about ownership.”

“I can see that,” Beechpest said.  “But I think this is one of those things that could be a problem later.  It’s not really equal opportunity if you own the place.  It gives you a real advantage over everyone else.”

“Will this stop us from being a Commune Worth Talking With?” asked Sal.

“No, not really,” Beechpest said.  “But it would probably keep you from being a full fledged member of the CEOC.”

“How long does it take a commune to become a full member of the CEOC?”  Dan asked.

“At least a couple of years,” Beechpest replied.

“Good,” Dan said.  “Hopefully in a couple of years we’ll have this tricky ownership issue all figured out.”

“Do you have a maximum size that you would like to see the commune become?”  Beechpest asked.

“Oops,” said Luna.  “That’s another thing we haven’t talked about.”

“I’d say we want to be at least twenty folks,” said Sal.  “And maybe as many as forty.  I can’t imagine we’d want to have much more than that.”

“I don’t know,” Luna said.  “I’ve thought about having as many as a couple of hundred folks here sometimes.”

“What?” said Sal.

“As she said,” Dan said.  “We haven’t talked about it.”

“Do you have any plans in case something happened to anyone?” Beechpest asked.

“What do you mean ‘something happened’?” Dan asked.

“You know, someone gets sick or there’s an accident.”

“Are you talking about insurance?” asked Sal.

“Yeah.  That’s one possibility.”

“No,” said Luna.  “We don’t.”

“I think our plan is for no one to get sick,” Dan clarified.

“Doesn’t the CEOC offer insurance?” asked Sal.

“We have our own plan, called KIWI,” said Beechpest.  “But you have to be a full member of the CEOC to be part of it.  Unfortunately, we don’t offer it to Communes Worth Talking With.”

“What does KIWI stand for?”  asked Dan.

“Keep Invigorated Wellness Insurance,” said Beechpest.  “It’s also a tasty fruit.”

“We’re going to have to keep working on this one, too,” Luna said.  “Do you have more questions?”

“Probably,” Beechpest said.  “But we’ve got to get going.  I promised to take Unicorn to see the Jen and Berry’s Sorbet Factory and it’s only open for a few more hours.  Anyway, I’ve seen enough to know that you qualify as a Commune Worth Talking With.”

“Oh, that’s great!” said Luna.

“Wait,” said Unicorn.  “One more thing.  Is there someplace around here to buy maple syrup?”

Chapter Fifty: A Visit from the Reagons

It was a dark and stormy night.  The wind rattled against the windows.  There was a knock upon the door.  Ken answered it.

There, in the door, stood Hillary and Alec Reagon.

“May we come in?”  Ms Reagon asked.

Ken wasn’t sure what to say.  He looked behind him and saw Luna who nodded to him.   He slowly moved aside.

“Thank you,” Ms Reagon said.  She walked through the doorway and her son lumbered in behind her.

It was just past dinner and all the commune members were around, cleaning up.  Except that now they had all stopped in their tracks and most were still holding dishes while staring at the Reagons.

“We heard the ambulance come here a few days ago and wanted to make sure that everyone was all right,” Ms Reagon said.  “We were concerned.”

“Paul G slipped and broke his ankle,” Luna said.  “He’s doing better today.”

Paul G, standing with the help of a pair of crutches, waved at the Reagons.

“Well, that seems most fortunate,” Ms Reagon said.  “I’m glad it wasn’t more serious.  You seem to have had a number of unfortunate accidents here recently.”

“Quite true,” Dan said.

“We know that we have not been over here before this and we apologize. We wouldn’t want anyone to think we were unfriendly.  We had also wondered why no one had come over to welcome us to the neighborhood, but we are aware that you lead very busy lives.  I do hope that we can see more of each other in the future.”

Luna was struggling for an appropriate reply when Nancy came to her rescue.  “We are truly sorry that we have not been more sociable since you arrived.  As you said, we have been quite busy here.  It was so good of you to come and check to see how we are doing.”  She smiled sweetly at them.

“What are neighbors for?” said Ms Reagon.  She looked at her son.  “Come, Alec, I think we are done here.”

Ken opened the door and the two Reagons somberly departed.   No one spoke until they were down the drive and crossing the street.

“Wow, that was surreal,” Darren said.

                                                      *

“It really was surreal,” Luna said.  “What do you suppose it was all about?”

It was the day after the Reagons’ visit and Luna and Dan were telling Peter and Fred and George all about it.

“Intimidation is what I’d say it was about,” said George.

“I agree,” said Fred.  “They don’t have Cecil Nixon to go after you now so they figure they could make you nervous by showing up themselves.”

“Well, they certainly made me nervous,” said Luna.

“I think that they’re desperate,” George said.  “They came because they couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

“Do you really think so?” Dan asked.

“Sure,” Fred said.  “But don’t get complacent.  I’m sure that they’re trying to think up something new and nasty.  Meanwhile, it seems like this is the best that they could do.”

“Yeah,” said George.  “I think they’re buying time.”

Just then Strange Brew came in.  “I’ve got Beechpest on the line.  She’s calling from Old Corn.  She wants to know if there would be a good time next week for her to come here for an official site visit.”

“Sure,” Luna said.  “Tell her that she can come anytime.  We’re looking forward to her visit.”

“I’ll let her know that,” Strange Brew said.

After Strange Brew left the room, Peter asked, “What was that all about?”

“We’re trying to join the Confederacy of Equal Opportunity Communes,” Dan said.  “They need to do a site visit so they know that we really exist.”

“What’s involved in being an Equal Opportunity Commune?  Do you need to have any legal work done around it?”

“Not that I know of,” Dan replied.  “Although some of them do have this cool tax status.  It’s called a 502zzz status.”

“What’s a 502zzz?” asked George.  “I never heard of it.”

“It’s a special tax status for hippie communes,” Luna said.  “I think that it’s only applicable to them and religious cults.”

“I’ll have to look into that,” said Peter.  “Meanwhile, I wouldn’t worry too much about Hillary Reagon’s visit.  I think Fred and George are right.  I think this was a desperation move on their part.”

“I can’t believe that they asked why we never visited them,” Luna said.  “I looked at Alec’s rifle when they moved in and decided I never wanted to go near the place.  Now Hillary claims that she wants us to visit.”

“I’ve only got one thing to say about that,” said Peter.  “Don’t.”

Chapter Forty-Nine: Cat Comes Out

“It’s my decision,” Cat said.  “I get to decide just who I am.”

It was the Wednesday night commune meeting and Sal and Dan had just talked about the CEOC Convocation.

Then Cat had an item.  “Okay, I’ve thought about this for a while now and I have decided that I’m gender-free and non-sexual.”

“Can you explain what you mean by that?” Nancy asked.

“Sure,” Cat said.  “I don’t think of myself having a gender and no longer want to be thought of as having one.  I also don’t want to be sexual with anyone.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Broc said.  “I can see that you’re a…”

“Stop,” Cat interrupted.  “You don’t get to tell me what I look like.  I get to define who I am.”

“I’ve known you for a long time,” Darren said.  “I will support you in being whoever you say you are.  It may take me a bit to get used to it, but feel free to correct me.”

“Me, too,” said Marge.  “You can count on my support.”

“Hey,” said Blue Sky.  “I like this gender-free thing.  I am declaring myself gender free as well.”

“Wait a minute,” said Sowbug who was taking notes.  “I’ve got to keep track of who is gender free here.”

“I am all man,” said Broc.

“I figured that,” said Sal.

“So is anyone else gender free?” asked Luna.

“I think at the moment,” said Sowbug, looking at the notes, “that it’s just Cat and Blue Sky.”

“Well, we started this commune as an alternative,” said Luna, “and I think we need to support each person being who they are.”

“Amen to that,” said Viv, and then remembered she was supposed to be facilitating.  “Okay, next item.  Luna, what’s this about someone’s anniversary?”

“It’s our anniversary,” Luna said.  “We started this commune a year ago last summer.  I think we should do something to celebrate.”

The rest of the meeting was taken up with ideas for celebrating the commune’s anniversary.

                                                      *

The next day was a little rough on Cat.

First, Grace kept quizzing Cat about what it meant.

“I don’t understand how you can not have a gender,” she said.  “You look like you have a gender.”

“Well, I don’t accept people’s ideas of my gender,” Cat said.  “I’m being how I want to be.  Why does that bother you?”

“What if I told people that I didn’t have an age?”

“Wouldn’t bother me,” Cat said.

Broc did not say anything more about Cat’s gender, but kept looking at Cat which made Cat somewhat anxious.  Fortunately, he worked out in the fields and Grace worked in the house (and Marge was a strong supporter of Cat’s and had a little discussion with Grace).

But then something happened at the produce stand that took Cat’s mind completely off of these conversations.

It had been a busy shift at the produce stand but they were finishing up for the night.  Paul G had counted up the cash from their sales and was rushing it off to the main house when he tripped on a step and went flying.  Money flew all over the place, too.

Cat and Blue Sky went rushing over to Paul G to see if he was okay.

“Don’t worry about me,” he gasped.  “Get the money.”

The two of them quickly rounded up the bills and coins, which fortunately hadn’t bounced far.  They then went back to Paul G, who was rubbing his ankle.  “It hurts a bit,” he admitted.  “Could the two of you help me up?”

With the help of Cat and Blue Sky, Paul G stood up, but as soon as he put some weight on his left foot, he screamed and collapsed.  “Sorry,” he said.  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk.”

Cat stayed with him while Blue Sky ran to the house to get help.

“We called for an ambulance,” Blue Sky announced after returning. “It should be here very soon.  I hope.”

Unfortunately, it took almost forty-five minutes for the ambulance to arrive.  Cat and Blue Sky told Paul G every joke and silly story that they knew.

Finally, a big white vehicle with a flashing red light came screaming up the road.

“Sorry it took so long,” one of the ambulance attendants apologized.  “We ran into tire trouble with one of the trucks and had to go back and get the other one.”

Carefully, and with help from Blue Sky and Cat, the two attendants got Paul G onto the stretcher.  Cat gave them the story of his accident while he just lay there and winced.

“Wait a second,” Paul G said as the attendants started to roll him into the ambulance.  “I gotta say something to these two.”

He looked at Cat and Blue Sky.  “I don’t care who or what either of you says you are.  Both of you are just wonderful.  I love you two!”

And with that he was rolled up into ambulance which drove off, sirens wailing.

“Well, at least one person gets it,” Blue Sky said to Cat.