No Time To Talk

No Time to Talk

Suzanne Marsh

2030

“Travis, don’t have the time to try n talk to ma afore we leave Texas for the winter gaming.”

Travis Martin and his brother Trent watched the clouds warily. They had to get across the Davis

Mountains before the first snow hit the mountains. There was no good communications from Texas to most of the surrounding USA. They wanted to see their Ma before heading for Colorado. They spoke as they rode:

“Travis”, Trent began:

“I wish there was an easier way to let Ma know we was coming, you know how she hates

us just dropping in.” Travis, looked over at Trent:

“Yeah, I know but there just isn’t any way to let her know other just dropping in on her. She

hates that.”

Travis and Trent were on their way to hunt deer and antelope in the western part of Texas. They had to ride horses since there was no automobiles. Horses are sure footed in mountainous areas, mules are better however. There is no telegraph system, electricity was not being used since most folks simply could not afford it any longer. Most folks used lanterns, or gas lamps. People were raising food for themselves, groceries prices were so high no one could afford those either.

Travis, was in the lead with Trent right behind him, their horses were walking along what had once been Interstate Ten, in Texas. The old Pilot Truck stop was gone, since trucks began running on electricity. That put the trucking industry out of business quickly.

Things seemed to have changed so quickly for the world; no transportation, no communications, no conviences of any sort. Travis and Trent, made the transitions with aplumb but knew what they were missing. To them it seemed it was a domino effect. First communications rapidly disappeared. Television, run by electricity could no longer function. Cell phones were no longer available to the general public. Times had changed so radically, in just a few short years.

Travis and Trent were almost home, Fort Davis was just over the summit. They pushed on, finally reaching the ranch where they grew up. Travis, dismounted, hoping Ma was home, otherwise he and Trent would simply have to wait until she returned. Fortunately for them their Ma was at home:

“Travis, Trent what a surprise, I sure am glad to see you. I need help running this ranch. Since

the electricity is gone, it’s hard to keep the cattle in the pastures. Milking is fiasco, I have

hired several people. One did not want to work, one worked but had no idea how to

milk a cow. That is a problem I just can’t seem to solve.”

Travis, sensed there was more to what was happening and waited:

“Travis, I don’t want to lose the ranch, but I don’t know how much longer we can hold on.

I had several windmills put in, they pump water from the well but nothing else. When

darkness comes, I can’t light any area. The coyotes and wolves attack the cows and

calves. Things are bad Travis.”

Trent finished bedding down the horses, then went in to join Ma and Travis. They had no idea what to do with themselves. No television, no wifi, no streaming, so how were they supposed to entertain themselves? Ma, played the piano while they sang hymns and songs. That lasted about half an hour, then Ma went to bed. Travis and Trent went outside, for the very first time they saw stars shining brightly. They could pick out the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, Orion, it was becoming a game, who could spot the most constellations in a night.

That lasted for an hour, there was nothing left to do but go to bed. They took a lantern, checked on the horses. The wolves began to howl, the old rooster began to crow, danger was out there, the boys, went into the house, grabbed two shotguns. They returned to the barn and waited. A coyote ventured into the yard. It was headed for the hen house, Trent picked it off. The moon was high in the sky as a lone wolf approached the hen house. The old rooster began to make more noise. Trent hated the thought of killing a wolf, they were an endangered species, but on the other hand he did not want to lose several hens. He shot the shotgun off, scaring the wolf. Ma, came running out of the house, another lantern waving, the boys motioned her to go back into the house.

Time was, folks used to have security cameras but like everything else those were a thing of the past. Travis and Trent, often thought about their cell phones. How easy it had been to simply push a button, and boom the person was on the other end. Ma, still had one, it didn’t work but she was hopeful.

Things were so different now. More like a new era of pioneering, at that is the way it seemed to Travis and Trent. Living on a ranch was better than living in the city or the suburbs, it was easier to obtain food from the land. The city folks had it hardest, no grocery stores, no electricity, no running water, all things that were taken for granted, were now something nostalgic to remember.

The boys meadered back into the house, dragging their feet it was only eight o’clock in the evening. They paused at the old computer room, Pa had built. What they would not give to restart the computers. Since there was no electricity, the computers were useless to them.

Their first night home, they were bored, beyond bored. For years they had used their computers. They turned on lights, sometimes forgetting to turn them off. The quiet was deafening, no noise from the old interstate, no music blaring from their CD’s.

They wanted their world back, the world of sight and sound. A cow bellowed as she was giving birth to her calf. One of the horses whinnied, sounds of silence. There was no time to just call a person and talk, time to raise food yes talk not any longer.