AAWC

Time for another story post! 😉 xD I’m excited for it, just getting a TINY bit tired of not being able to TELL MY AMAZING ANNOUNCEMENTS!!! AAAAAAGH!! XD 😛 😀 This story I think is gonna be fun …for me at least! 😉 Here’s where I got the idea:

Today we watched around 2 hours of a documentary about the Dust Bowl. It was crazy. And terrible. Awful things happened. I feel SO blessed that I wasn’t born in that time of history. In one of the years when the dust was blowing, they said that there were only 13- THIRTEEN- days when there WASN’T a duster!!! That’s awful!!! It killed all the cattle. The men would put cows and calves in ditches and shoot them, so that they could at least get money from the government. The fences were so built up with dirt, dust, and sand, that you could walk straight over them, and all the horses and cattle walked away. Worst of all, people, TONS of people died. Suffocated. Even some of the doctor’s family died! One guy talked about how his only sister, who they had wanted to have for so long and then finally did, died from the dust. Kids would wake up with dust all over their covers, and the only spot not dusty on their pillows was where their head was. The clouds would come rolling in, and it would get so black, that they couldn’t see their hands in front of their face…in mid day, it got as black as midnight. One day, called Black Sunday, the skies started out beautiful and blue. No dust storms today, they all thought. They opened the windows too. But then a huge black cloud of dust came rolling in, one mile high, and nearly 200 miles wide. It got completely black. Multiple people just KNEW the world was ending. Christians were saying that this was it, this was the ‘end of the world’!! The people that opened windows had dust in their houses, and had to dig with a shovel to open their screen door… All in all, things were awful. I thought a little story might help to see what it would have been like more clearly. Look, I’ve NEVER EVER experienced anything AT ALL like this, so my story will most likely not be whatsoever like it. But I hope it’ll sum up some of how awful it was.

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“Kira! Kira come in the house, quickly now!” Trent called urgently to his 6 year old sister, his hair flopping crazily in the blowing wind. The dust was rolling in, and his dad was still out in the fields.

“I’m coming, Tren. The ground..” He couldn’t hear the rest over the howling wind, but he got the just of what she was saying. She neared the door and he pulled her quickly inside.

“Trent, can you get some cloths wet? I need to put some in the cracks here!” Shana, his older sister, who was 17 called. Trent was 15. He had blonde longish hair, that came right to his brown eyes.

“Sure. I need to get Beth and Kira down to the cellar first, though. Is Sam still in the shop?” He wrapped Kira in a blanket and headed toward the cellar. Then directed her down the stairs and turned around for an answer. He saw Shana’s head peek around the edge of the kitchen wall.

“That’s fine, fine. Yes, I believe Sam is still down there! He was working on-” She looked around to make sure no one was listening, “- a present for mother. Could you get me the cloths, then go looking for him!” She wiped dust off her apron and washed some dishes, being careful not to get too much dust on them.

Trent headed to his mother’s room where they kept the cloths, and got some wet. Then brought them in and set them on the table. He looked for Beth and saw she was already headed toward the stairs.

“Thanks.” Shana said quickly without looking away. Trent headed out the door and over to the shop, trying to clear the dust out of his eyes. The wind was blowing hard, and already it was very dark, even though it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. He opened the shop door, and called for Sam.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He heard the answering reply from the 10 year old. Trent smiled and they made their way back to the house, covering their heads with grain sacks. They quickly opened the house door and slipped in, some of the dust swirling inside behind them.

“For petty sake, shut the door!! You don’t want that storm coming straight into the house now do you!?” Their mother said, coming into the room with a rag tied around her mouth. “What are you doing without your masks on!! You know you could get dust in you!!! Please be more considerate, boys.” she continued, feeling worried for her two sons.

Kira walked into the room, curling her blond hair on her finger.
“Kira, I thought I told you to go to the cellar.” Trent said, folding his arms. Sam looked from Trent-the determined 15 year old, to Kira-the determined 6 year old.

“The storm’s not that bad.” Mother cut in, knowing that all of them were short tempered at times like this, and not wanting things to get worse. “We can stay up here and eat supper. Kira, can you set the table?” Just then Beth came wondering in the room again and Trent rolled his eyes. “No one listens to me!” he muttered, upturning his palms slightly. Beth walked to him her arms raised, and he picked her up.

Kira got the dishes out and put them, upside down, on the table, so that the dust wouldn’t get in them. Baby Tommy was crying as mother gently bounced him, and the wind still howled frighteningly outside.

They were all seated at the table now, eating their cold soup, the dust still coming in through the cracks. Shana sat across from baby Tommy, feeding him with a spoon. A word of disgust came from Beth and Sam, sitting next to each other on a bench. It roused Trent from his dozing and he glared angrily at them. They did it again, and he looked more closely to see that they were messing with something in their soup.

“mooooom!” Sam complained noisily. “There’s dirt in my soup!”

“Mine soup too.” Beth said.

“Mine too.” Kira echoed.

“Just deal with it, alright!! We ALL have dirt in our soup, and are WE complaining about it!?” Shana started angrily, then added, “No!” Kira’s glance fell back to her soup and she started eating.

“Shana, dear. None of us are happy about this, but they’re only children, take it easy on them! They do as many chores as us, do you think that’s easy for them??” Her mother whispered gently. Shana tilted her head.

“No, I suppose I was being too harsh.” She told mother, then made her voice higher. “I’m sorry Sam, Beth, and Kira. I’m just not happy with this stuff either.”  Her sisters nodded. She looked at Sam.

“It’s alright, Shan, we understand.” He told her, then they all started eating their soup again. The door was rattling and the dust was blowing in through more cracks. Trent was the first to finish, so he got more rags and put them in other cracks, finding that the ones he had put- not five minutes ago- were already caked with mud and dirt. He glanced toward the door as he heard it open and saw his dad come in.

“Dad! You’re home!!” He exclaimed, grinning.

“Daddy!” Little Beth yelled, turning around in her chair and gripping the back part. “You home now.” She smiled, showing the gap in her teeth. Their dad smiled, it always cheered him up to see them.

“Hey daddy. Did you see the dust storm?” Kira asked, her freckled face crinkling up in disgust.

“Dust storm! What dust storm!! I didn’t see anything!” He joked, wide eyed.

“You didn’t see it daddy? It was right there, right there and then, then, then it came and, and…” Beth started, her voice rising in a high pitched tone.

“I was only joking.” He told her with a wink. “I need to wash up, then can I have some of that delicious soup that Shana made?!” He asked with pleasure.

“How’d you know that I made it, and not mother?” Shana asked, curious what his answer might be.

“Cause it looked so good, I thought it had to be yours.” He flashed a grin at his wife.

“Hey!” She said, smiling back. “Mine’s …sometimes good!” He always put a lighter mood to things. She stood up and wiped the dust off of him, then gave him a hug.

“Can you believe all the dust out there, dad?” Trent said later, now sitting on the wicker couch in the family room.

His dad shook his head. “It’s crazy alright. It’s crazy. The crops are doing bad son…very bad. I need help harvesting, will you be able to help?” He asked, pursing his lips.

“Me?” Trent replied with surprise.

His dad looked him in the eyes, and was very proud of everything he saw there. He slowly nodded, and Trent squinted, as if in thought. Then he rubbed his chin. Thinking more about it, he slowly replied. “Well…I would like to. I think it would be great. I can do it tomorrow..but, just like that, you want me to help?” He asked, confused why his dad wanted him now. But his dad’s next words put a flicker of doubt in him about it.

“Well, there’s one …minor problem.” He took a deep breath. “I have to ask your mother.”

Trent could see the problem easily. He formed a silent ‘Oh’ with his mouth. “But really, what could she say!?” He said, not meaning it at all.

“Absolutely NOT!! He can’t just go out there, in all that dust!!!” Their mother replied. Trent rolled his eyes.

“But mom! Dad needs me! Please!! I’ll be careful. And I’ll even wear that awful…” He hesitated, and made a disgusted gesture with his hands, “Thing!”

“I need his help, dear! No one else can help…he’s the only one. I’ll make sure he stays OK, just please, let him go out. Please.” His dad asked, grabbing his wife’s hand.

She clenched her teeth. “I just don’t want him getting dust in his lungs. You know……” She paused, tilting her head dismissively. “I just don’t want that to happen to him. I only have one Trent.” She nodded. “But…yes, I see the point. And as long as he makes sure” she emphasized, saying it louder to make sure Trent knew she was talking to him, “That he takes care of himself! Ok? Ok! Now let’s get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.” Trent nodded hurriedly and headed to his room.

The next morning he was up early, ready for the day. It was another dusty day, and the clouds were rolling in. He put on a long sleeved shirt and overalls. Then slipped his cap on. He didn’t like the overalls one bit, but knew they were his only option. He headed downstairs, slipping his hands in his pockets. He jumped when he heard his mother’s hurried voice.

“Here’s a sandwich, and here is a drink. Don’t forget to drink enough water, you hear?” She said.

“Yes ma’am.” He said quickly.

“Trent.” She said, grabbing his shoulders and getting on tiptoes to be at eye level. “You be careful. Please. I need you, and you can’t go getting yourself sick!” She nodded defiantly and gave him a hug. Then slapped him on the back. “Now get moving!” She smiled and took a deep breath, heading back into the Family room to resume cleaning the dirt off an age old painting of an eagle. It reminded her of Trent somehow. How even when it (or he) got dusty and dirty (literally), he kept on ‘flying’, without complaint. She loved her son so much.

Trent headed out the door, slipping on his mask that was ever so uncomfortable. The dust was gathered around and he could barely see the shapes of cows in the pasture. There was huge mounds of dust everywhere, and all of the tractors were covered nearly half down in dust. The barn was covered enough that you could crawl onto the roof, using the sand and dust as a ladder. Every now and then, the dust would fade into a light hays, and then cloud up again. He headed over to the barn where his dad was standing, propped up by the shovel.

“Trent, grab that other shovel and help me un-bury the tractors.” He headed into the barn and grabbed a shovel nearest to the gait, petting their dog, Jolt, on the head. The dog was tied up during the dust storms and stood patiently in it’s pen, whining when anyone walked by. “Good boy.” Trent murmured.

They had it almost all the way uncovered when the dust started coming harder, and closing in around them. But they got it and the others uncovered, and started one up, driving it to the field to start cutting the corn. By the end of the day, both of them were coughing a bit and sneezing. There was nothing for the cattle to eat, so they had burned the thistles off of cactus and feed them that. They were worn out by the end of the day, and as soon as- or before- Trent hit the pillow, he was asleep. Work was rough. He dreamed about it getting better, the skies clearing, and the rain pouring to relieve them of this awful drought. He woke up briefly in the night, and thought, I wonder, I wonder,  if someday it will be all better, and there will be no more dusters or droughts. Then fell asleep again and slept peacefully that night, with Beth tucked up under his arm.

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There! 😉 Phew! 😛 😮 Exhausted! xD I actually DID include the mascot..if that will count… what I did. 😉 😀 I know Trent PROBABLY isn’t really an old fashioned name..but I thought it fit! 😉 🙂 Hope you enjoyed! 😀 I just thought I would write something like this..cause I feel like the people back then deserve our thanks for everything that they did. And their bravery. There were so many sad and bad things that happened, and were done in the time of the Dust Bowl. And so many people that died… If you read this post, Thank you very much, I appreciate it! 😉 🙂 Better go now, that this post is 2,450 words long!!! 😀

~K.A~

P.S that post IS coming soon! 😉 😛 The one with all the neat things in it!! 😉 😀 Yup, now it’s  (the post).. 2,470 words long! xD 😀 Bye! 😉