The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 49

The Runt brought me a flyer this morning. It was an announcement to join a new community. They call themselves The Heroes of the Earth. The flyer was asking people to be a part of the NEW PACE (New Established World Order that Prevents Animal Capture and Exploitation). This sounds suspicious to me. Curiosity was killing me, so I took my new brightly colored flyer and walked out to the Spurs to see Joshua. By the time I had arrived, he had a flyer of his own. Joshua was certain this new community was behind all of his recent troubles. Not wanting to point fingers right away, I suggested that we go to town and check out the Heroes of the Earth. I thought it might be a good idea if we talked to their leader. This whole thing could be a coincidence.

Joshua and I went to town. It wasn’t long before we ran into several members of the Heroes of the Earth. They were handing out more flyers and giving their speeches about saving all animals. Humans are destroying the delicate balance of nature. Apparently if we don’t stop eating animal flesh (their words, not mine) and exploiting animals for our own selfish reasons the Earth will continue to destroy all humans.

I consider myself an open-minded woman. People should be able to live their lives in pretty much anyway they choose. I think they are a cult. I don’t have anything against anyone that is a vegetarian. Some people can’t stomach the thought of eating meat. I think that is normal. I’m not getting a normal feeling from these people. Joshua and I asked one of the members if we could talk to their leader. They greeted us very friendly and said that Father and Mother will be holding a meeting later in the evening we were welcome to attend. This should bring up another red flag. Any community that addresses their leaders as Mother and Father is weird.

Joshua and I have a date. It should be fun.

Journal 48

The raids to frighten the cattle continue on the Spurs campsite. Joshua is extremely irritated. He wants the guilty parties captured. Last night one of his boys was arm’s length away from capturing one of the raiders. At first, I thought maybe it was someone playing stupid games but now I am thinking it is probably something more sinister. I hope that we will have the answers soon.

Little Aleece is still doing well but I am thinking she is probably starting to miss her mom. Casey has been gone for a few days (although no time limit was set) I am hoping she will return home soon.

Lost is doing well. She didn’t even have an accident in my room last night. She has started sleeping under the baby’s cradle instead of on my bed. It’s somewhat funny but I think Lost is trying to protect Aleece.  She lets out a little bark whenever someone walks by my room. Joshua said I shouldn’t let her do that. He said the barking would become an annoyance when she gets older. Joshua is going to come by later and show me something better to teach her.

Journal 47

It was a lovely day. Tony and I went around Bear Country trying to gather information from the different gangs about the raids on the Spurs’ cattle. No one seemed to know much or weren’t interested in giving any information for whatever reason.  I haven’t been able to come up with any reason why someone would want to give the Spurs trouble.  Maybe it is just someone being stupid and causing trouble just because they can.

The walk with Tony was nice. I thanked him again for his help with Aleece the other night. I tried to fish for information about his past. I only know that we used to attend school together before life here in Bear Country changed. He used to date cheerleaders. We had classes together, but we really didn’t know each other.  Tony actually didn’t arrive here in Bear Country until long after we had the Bear Gang established. It was a great day when we learned he was very good at fixing things. We had so many things broken. He fixed everything. He even got the showers to work. I didn’t find out much about his past except that his parents were the first to die in his neighborhood. He misses his parents as much as I miss mine.

Journal 46

Joshua dropped by to talk. At first, I thought he was mad at me for something I did. He was just frustrated. He spent the entire night chasing down cattle rustlers. He wanted to pick my brain and find out what I knew about the local gangs. I know a great deal about the local gangs. I know their attitudes, weaknesses, and strengths. I don’t know who might want to cause the Spurs trouble. As far as I can tell, everyone is happy The Spurs are here.

The Spurs have been excellent guests and hosts on numerous occasions. I believe the Spurs are an asset to Bear Country. I told Joshua I would ask around and see if I could come up with any information that might help him find his cattle rustlers.

I think that Matt and Hemy have solved their living arrangement problems. They both had smiles on their faces from ear to ear all day long. Sheriff Pete, several of his deputies and Jon. went out to the Spurs campsite to see if they could lend a hand. I have been having a very good day with Aleece. We went to the basement to thank Tony for his assistance in the middle of the night. He said it was not a problem. I asked him how he knew what to do and he said his mother had taught him long ago. I was going to ask him more questions, but he didn’t look as if he wanted to go into any further detail.

Journal 45

Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia delivered a set of books on parenting to my room as soon as they heard I was going to be taking care of Casey’s baby. It was a sweet gesture, and I am thankful for their thoughtfulness. Although I am not sure if the library intended for the books to help me with my endeavor of caring for Aleece or if they actually thought I was lacking in my parenting skills. Oh well, it turns out the books have a lot of useful information. When the day started, I was sure that Lisa and I were up to the tasks, taking care of a baby as small as Aleece didn’t really take a lot of effort. Currently, she eats, sleeps and poops.

Our first day actually went really well. Lisa and I prepared a schedule of the tasks that each of us would be responsible for. Aleece seemed to be accepting the schedule well. We diapered, feed, and rocked her to sleep. It was so easy until about 2 o’clock in the morning. We changed her, fed her, and rocked her in the rocker.  She cried and cried and cried some more. Therefore, we changed her diaper and tried to feed her another bottle. The crying escalated until we had just about everyone awake that was sleeping in the admin hallway. People can get so cranky. I tried to rock her, and then I walked around the room a good hundred times. Then Lisa tried. We were almost in tears because we were sure we had broken this little baby.  Tony entered my room and asked if he could help. I almost laughed. What could he do that we haven’t already tried?  Out of frustration and a deep sense of defeat, I handed over the crying baby. Tony made a quick check to make sure she was not wet and wasn’t hungry.  Lisa and I both rolled our eyes. There was no way a man was going to be able to do what we couldn’t. Tony sat in the rocker; he unbuttoned his shirt and placed the baby’s tummy against his chest. He rocked Aleece in the rocker and sang a little song in some language I have never heard before. In a moment, she was asleep. Lisa and I looked at Tony in amazement. Where did he get these parenting skills? I don’t know but I am thankful and so is Lisa. Both of us fell onto our beds and went to sleep. I don’t know when Tony left or when he laid the baby in her cradle, but she woke Lisa and me up at around 8 o’clock this morning. She was happy again. My respect for Tony has increased to a new level.

Journal 44

I woke up this morning looking forward to my date with Joshua. I was walking toward the showers when I heard Casey crying. She was sitting in her chair holding Aleece. For a moment, I thought something was terribly wrong with the baby. Lisa was already in the room trying to comfort Casey and asking her what was wrong. I went in and asked if there was something I could do. Lisa looked a little confused herself. She shrugged her shoulders and said that Casey had been crying most of the morning. Poor Casey, I think today she was just a little overwhelmed with motherhood and raising a baby alone.  Little Aleece was fine. I think that sometimes life seems too much. Yesterday and the day before Casey appeared fine. She was happy and enjoying life. I offered to watch Aleece for a couple of days so that Casey could get away and find herself. Lisa thought it was a good idea. She said she could help with the baby too. At first, Casey didn’t want to go but we insisted. It’s somewhat funny because I was complaining about having to take care of a puppy. The puppy cries endlessly if not allowed to sleep on my bed.

I am sure a baby is a little more complex and will require a lot more responsibility and attentiveness. I have decided to name the puppy “Lost”. (It is not a dumb name for a dog) It perfectly describes her. Anyway, we helped Casey pack her things and sent her on her way. Aleece is sleeping and Lost is sleeping. Lisa has moved into my room to help during the night. Surely, the two of us can take care of a baby for a few days.

I almost forgot. I cancelled my date with Joshua. Oh well, perhaps we will go out another time.

Journal 43

Sometimes we have to make hard decisions. I overheard Matt and Hemy arguing about their living arrangements. I wasn’t trying to ease the drop, but their discussion wasn’t a quiet one.  Matt wants Hemy to move into Bear Country and Hemy wants Matt to move into Central. Hemy doesn’t want to give up her position as gang leader. I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to give up being a gang leader either.  I am hoping they can come to some sort of neutral ground. They are the cutest couple, and they seem so happy. At least they seemed happy before their loud discussion earlier.

I am going out on a date with Joshua. He promises this date won’t involve square dancing or roping cattle. I don’t have anything against those things, but they are not in my top ten favorite things to do.

Speaking about roping cattle, apparently Pete and Jonas are getting very good at it.  Joshua said they are a quick study. They both have stopped falling off their horses. Both boys have cut their bruise count in half.

Journal 42

I was sitting in my chair, feet propped up on the windowsill, looking out my window watching the day go by when I saw something frightening. Gretchen, Marty, and Cecelia were in the yard dressed in western clothing. They never leave the library. Ok, sometimes they leave but the library is their world. They read and do research. They’re smart and analytical.  It’s just weird. I know that trends come and go. I have noticed an increase in western clothes on Lafayette Blvd. The Spurs have become a big influence on the gangs that live in and around Bear Country. The Spurs are unique and different. I didn’t expect their influence to invade the sensibilities of the Library Trio.

Curiosity was killing me. I had to know what was going on in their minds. Perhaps a virus from the herd of cattle infected their brains. My friends obviously weren’t thinking properly. I grabbed the puppy sleeping on my rug. (Technically, it’s not my puppy; I just haven’t found it a new home yet.) Anyway, I followed the Library Trio to the edge of town, to the Spurs campsite. I almost had a heart attack. Music was playing, and people were dancing. People were Square Dancing. This just isn’t normal. People in Bear Country don’t square dance. They listen to heavy metal, rock, and rap music.

I walked around, mostly in a daze. Gretchen, Marty, and Cecilia joined a group of dancers. It wasn’t long before several other members of my gang began to dance.  The virus was obviously spreading, and it was taking over my gang.

That’s when it happened. Joshua tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to dance. I stared at him for a moment. I tried to tell him that I don’t square dance, but he wouldn’t let me say no.  Before I knew what was happening, we were Square Dancing.

Joshua invited me back tomorrow.

Journal 41

It’s been a lazy day. Bear Country is quiet. It is probably because people are still hanging out at the Spurs campsite. I was going to go myself but decided to catch up on some missing sleep. I found an abandoned puppy today when I took out the garbage. She is so scrawny. I didn’t see her mom anywhere. I am thinking that she has probably been gone a while because the puppy is nothing but skin and bones. At first, I was just going to leave her there next to the garbage. I really wasn’t in the mood to take on another responsibility. She tried to follow me as I walked away. She has the most pitiful eyes. I tried to shoo her away, but she wasn’t listening. She just kept following me. I went back into the school and that scrawny little puppy started to cry.

There is almost nothing worse than a crying puppy. I opened the back door and in she walked. In my stern voice, I said, “You can’t stay here.”  She wagged that little pitiful tail and looked at me with those pitiful eyes. It was sad. I picked her up into my arms. She smelled awful. It was bad. I couldn’t send her out in public to find a new home smelling that way, so I gave her a bath and a meal.  It would have been rude of me to send her on her way without a full stomach. She looked as if she had eaten in a while. After her tummy was full, she fell asleep on the rug next to my bed. As soon as she is awake, I am going to find her a good home.

Journal 40

Joshua and his gang were wonderful hosts. The dinner was excellent. I am so glad I am not a vegetarian because that steak I ate was heaven. I don’t even feel guilty about the cow that once was. Maybe a little guilty but not enough to want to save the next cow that might end up on my plate. The evening outdoors was also excellent. It was a perfect evening. The stars seemed so bright. Brighter than usual and the weather was gorgeous. People surrounded the campfires in groups of around twenty.

The Spurs have some very interesting stories to tell. Some of them were very funny. I like these people; they are polite, and they make me laugh. They do talk a little funny, but you get used to it. I am really hoping they stay around a while and it’s not because I find Joshua cute and that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. (For a brief moment, I thought he had a girlfriend, but it turned out to be his sister.) I actually don’t think I have a chance. I can always hope.

I want the Spurs to hang around because they add something different to this community and they have a large supply of beef. I am not sure how long they plan to stay or if they might decide to homestead here. Homestead is a funny word. The Spurs say many funny words. I find the way they talk appealing. I am not sure why. The night lasted into the early morning hours. Most people fell asleep where they were sitting. A few of them couldn’t have walked home if they wanted to.  The Spurs have a large supply of alcohol on hand. Joshua said it was for special occasions and last night was a special occasion.