Sam giggles and says, “Daddy, Grandma’s got some hot chocolate for you.”
Kathryn jumps into my arms and wraps her legs around me holding me like that is really warming me and I quickly ignore the hot chocolate with Kathryn on my mind. Looking into Kathryn’s eyes I could see her desire building, but a shiver runs through her not from the desire. Kathryn says, “I think I need that hot chocolate you’re making me cold.”
I carry Kathryn downstairs as Sam giggles beside us. I let Kathryn down reluctantly to take the hot chocolate. She and Sam take one as well. Mom has some fresh baked cookies to go with the hot chocolate. The warmth of the hot chocolate and kitchen slowly seep back into me. I still have a desire for Kathryn and hope that soon will find private time to share.
We get quite a bit of snow, and from what Grandma says she has the potential to get quite a bit more. She loses power and before the highways become impassable she comes and stays with us. It looks like she packed her entire refrigerator in the coolers she brought. Most of the family is with us, the Edwards’ house lost power too. George and Alyssa are at their cottage it has power and George has to clean off the solar cells a couple times. I had to clean our solar cells too, or we would’ve run out of power.
Marshall’s, Misty’s, MC’s and Joan’s new homes were nearly complete once the cottage was, after a day off they move the entire crew down to the three houses to rapidly complete them. Now Marshall and Misty’s house only have a couple of the rooms with finishing touches still lacking. Joan’s house is not very far behind now, and both will be fully complete in a few days. The crew also is working on MC’s home, and shortly after they should be finished there is well. I realized this was Daniels idea, once has Kara’s answer the crew will still be together to work on their home.
George and Alyssa are alone enjoying their honeymoon. Johnny and Joan are with us moving back into their old rooms. Although everybody comes over to my house for most of the day, everyone is watching the satellite weather and getting updates on Sandy.
Sam and Kathryn play in the snow, they make a dozen snowmen and it looks like a frame from Calvin and Hobbes, they even have the one snowman with the blow dryer. I take a bunch of pictures of the two of them hard at work making snowmen. We come in mostly frozen, and get a hot lunch of grilled cheese and hot soup. Reese actually falls down into the snow laughing so hard at the snowmen. It made a great picture, especially when Kara and Karen join her. The Coach remarked, “I’m really going to have to talk to that girl.”
We actually get snow over two days. On the third day we get a backup generator from the National Guard. The engineers and an electrician wire it to the kitchen of the high school. A few people started sheltering there. The cafeteria makes hot food and is the first a few people have had since when the snow started and their power went out.
Later on I am discussing with a few of the teachers how they managing to survive this far through the storm, more than a few burnt trash in their fireplaces, what firewood they could find and even a few old chairs. I sang the praises of solar power, and informed them that I didn’t actually lose my power because I wasn’t on the grid.
We realized that if the school was on solar power, or even solar backup using the grid and some solar we could at least powered the cafeteria and lighting maybe even a little heat. It would help a lot of people stay warmer.
I call the solar contractor I used for George and Alyssa’s cottage and asked if they could make a proposal for powering the school, at least for the cafeteria and some heat and light. The solar contractor loves the idea. He was like most people out of power, his house only uses solar backup so he is now having a lot of cold nights.
Fortunately the school was warm enough that none of the pipes frozen bust, but more than a few homes and businesses had major plumbing problems. People around here aren’t accustomed to losing power and such cold weather.
I silent partnered with the plumber, and he told me a lot of people are having problems paying. I told him, “The ones who can pay get them to, the ones you know will have trouble asked them to pay what they can now, and we’ll make a payment arrangement where they can pay what they can. Don’t worry about the ones who can’t, just go ahead and fix their pipes I’ll cover them.”
I can almost hear him shake his head not believing what I told him. He asks, “What if no one says they can pay any?”
I say, “Shake their hands and say Merry Christmas from JJ.”
There is a very hearty laugh that comes through the phone it’s one reason why like the man. When he recovers he says, “I’ll tell you what, I will tell them Merry Christmas from JJ and me.” And that’s the other reason.
We’re still having power outages, and we have about three chords of firewood, we don’t really needed to keep warm so I begin to load the truck once it is full I take it down to the school and put a sign saying free firewood take only what you need. Only a few people take a little more than what they can burn in a night or two, but the truck emptied pretty quickly.
Reverend Akins comes by as the truck is all but empty seeing me help an older lady load two arms full of firewood into her car. He smiles and asks “How much are you charging?” As the old lady giggles and gives me a hug.
With a chuckle I say, “Paid in full now go stay warm.”
The Reverend asks, “How much did you come with?”
I answered matter-of-factly, “A truck full.”
He shakes his head and says, “No wonder that jerk downtown was so mad when he heard about you. He was charging ten dollars for half of what you gave that lady for a hug.”
We both smile as the power come on lighting up the streetlights, hopefully for a long time. Even a couple hours would allow people to warm their houses up. Hopefully warm enough to keep them from freezing tonight. I let the Reverend take the rest of the wood, the church has an old-fashioned furnace that can burn coal or wood. It’s only about five or six armloads anyway just enough to really warm up the church if the power goes back off.
As I am driving through town I notice the young man my age bundled up against the cold he stands by a nearly full pickup truck of wood. I stop in front of him. I look and he happens to be one of my former teammates who graduated a year before me. I ask him, “Jamie, what are you trying to do overcharging for the wood like that.”
He takes a deep breath before he says, “I wasn’t charging that much, about the same as the gas station only mines not in a plastic wrapper.”
I shake my head and tell him, “It’s all perception Jamie, if people think you’re charging too much you are. So what are you trying to do, what do you need the money for?”
He looks at me and says, “Remember my girlfriend, Anna?” I shake my head yes and he continues, “Well she’s really wanting to get married and I’m trying to make enough money for a ring.”
His intentions were pretty good, but his method wasn’t. I take pity on Jamie anyway and say, “I’ll purchase all of the wood if you deliver to Reverend Akins at his church. How much do you need for the ring?”
He takes a deep breath and says, “Its twelve hundred bucks.”
I shake my head looking at the load of wood. I decided torture Jamie just a little. I start by saying, “Jamie I don’t know that price doesn’t sound right for that much would you got there.”
Jamie takes a deep breath and hangs his head. I can’t keep it up. I reach into my wallet open I pull out the hundred dollar bills I normally carry twenty of them. I tell him, “Jamie all I got is two thousand will that be enough.”
Jamie’s eyes go large and his hand shakes nervously as he gingerly reaches for the money he stutters, “That… That… That’s great JJ.”
He takes the money and counts it looking at me he says, “JJ are you sure?”
I smile and say, “Jamie remember what I told you, it’s perception. What I am willing to pay, is different than what others can. In the old days shopkeepers bartered for everything, if they perceived someone could really afford to pay more prices on that item increased. If they thought the person could not pay very much but needed the item sometimes the price would go down, but both knew that the merchant somehow or another would regain part or the entire discount later. Now the prices being the same everywhere if the customer thinks it’s too high they walk away. They may even pay more for it at a different store when they decide they needed even if it’s too high.”
Jamie asks, “You think that’s what happened to me, I charged just a little too much and I didn’t sell much.”
I shake my head yes, “If you’re trying to sell like this watch your customer’s face, give them enough to make them smile. You’ll empty that truck pretty fast, and still make a lot of money and not get this cold.”
Jamie has a confused look and then he gets it. He says, “If I gave a few more pieces to each customer, a little better deal than the gas stations I still would’ve been able to sell the entire truck.”
And I tell him, “Customers tell their neighbors and friends. Happy ones spread the good news. Mad ones love to complain about it.”
Jamie chuckles, “I heard you’re a teacher now, and apparently a very good one. I’ve just been schooled. Thanks JJ. I’ll drive over and give the wood to Reverend Akins.”
Chuckling I tell him, “Get yourself warm, I hope you haven’t been out here long enough to get frostbite.”
Jamie chuckles almost nervously, “I don’t think I have, but I’ve been out here for about four hours straight now.”
I tell him, “Go warm up the wood can wait a few minutes. I got to get home myself.”
Jamie did drop that load of wood off to the Reverend like promised. Thankfully he wasn’t freezing long enough to get a serious case of frostbite. But the Reverend being from up north notice the signs and had Jamie take his shoes and socks off and then the Reverend took warm water and warm Jamie’s feet slowly. The Reverend told Jamie another half an hour and he would’ve lost a toe or more.
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