Chapter Three - part eleven

   James had put that free time to use. He had gone to see how much worse things really were at home and in the big cities. James found his home to be more like a ghost town than it already had been. His folks had managed to stay on the farm, but now they had a lot of other people living and working with them. Those people were mostly older couples who simply couldn't afford to live on what they now received from the government. They had to either move to one of the cities and live in the public projects or find another way to survive. The people who had stayed in the rural areas had learned that in order to survive they had to work together. They formed their own small 'families' and took care of each other. They pooled what little they had and by doing that they could all live fairly well. It wasn't the same kind of life as James remembered while growing up, but it was a better life than life in the projects would have been for most of them.

   James and Sarah spent some time driving across the country to see her folks and to look things over too. They quickly began to see how much things had changed. Along the main roads and in the larger cities things didn't seem a lot different at first glance. A more close examination revealed a lot more though. There were a lot more empty stores and shops. There were even entire neighborhoods vacant in some of the towns. If you ventured off of the heavy traffic routes the change quickly became much more obvious. The medium sized cities were worse and the small cities and towns were much the same as James had seen in his own home town. They were becoming ghost towns with only the older residents refusing to leave. One of the biggest shocks to them was the lack of simple everyday stuff once you got off the heavily traveled routes. They found almost no convenience stores or even fast food chain stores. You had to be careful or you could find yourself short of gas too. That was just a small part of what they saw though. Most of the roads were in terrible shape. James also noted that a lot of other stuff wasn't being properly maintained either. It was getting bad in a hurry.

   They also noticed another disturbing change as they moved away from the coast and into the center of the nation. It was obviously dying. Oh there were still communities; some looked almost like they had before things had truly begun changing. If you looked a little closer though you noticed that there was no real life left in them. The people were just moving along with no real energy or urgency. Everything seemed to be drab and dreary. There was little sign of anything new or improved to be seen. The people were just trying to exist and little more. It was the farms that hit James the hardest though. Many of them were simply empty now. The homes abandoned right along with the fields. Out in the plains the big farms were still in operation, but it was easy for someone who had grown up on a farm to see that even they had changed. They looked different to James. It took him a while to see exactly what had changed and understand it, but he finally did. They were only corporate businesses now, the people were just employees. There was no love of the land or the work to be seen. Equipment looked to be patched up and in need of serious maintenance. The farm fields were in even worse condition. It was obvious to James that the people no longer cared for the land or the work they did on that land. They did just enough to keep a job and that wasn't a lot. The owners were corporations who had no real understanding of farming or love for it. It was all about farming for profit now.

   It was much the same on the farms as it had been in the factories and stores in the bigger cities. There were lots of people working and living out their daily lives, but very few of them actually seemed to be happy anymore. In fact they often were just plain rude and inconsiderate. Sarah told James that it had been getting that way for a long time, but not this bad. They also noticed that people in uniforms weren't shown much respect at all now. That was a major concern, but James was more concerned by what he did see than what he didn't. Respect was something he thought the people in uniform deserved, but he often saw a look of almost fear in the eyes of the people who watched those in uniform the closest. That really bothered James. Why would the people of America be afraid of their own soldiers? He had no answer to that question, not until they reached Texas and he was able to talk to Sarah's dad.

   Their second day back Senator Robert Davis had invited James into his office and closed the door behind them. James had grown much closer to Sarah's dad over the years, but he had also learned how to tell the difference between Robert Davis the father and Robert Davis the Senator. Today James knew he would be speaking with Senator Davis. Once they were both seated James was certain he was facing Senator Davis today. James was sitting in front of the desk and Robert was sitting behind it. James just waited in silence. He had been invited to this private meeting, so it was up to the Senator to start it.  Senator Robert Davis was near the end of his term. He was also soon going to have to make a decision about that. He could run again for the Senate or he could simply step down. There was speculation that he was considering a run for President instead. James wondered if that was the reason behind this unexpected talk.

   Robert Davis had been trying to decide what to do for a long time. In fact he had been questioning things since before this term in the Senate had started for him almost five years ago. Now that it was about to come to an end he had to make a decision. He was relatively sure of what he was going to decide, but he wanted to see what this young man said first. He smiled as he studied him again. James Andrew Cooper, the Ironman, soldier and hero, husband and father. A man who was leaving large tracks behind in the world without even knowing it. Senator Davis studied his son-in-law carefully before speaking. This young man had proven himself to be far more than many would have believed he could be. He had proven himself time and again to be courageous enough and faithful enough to go and do what many said couldn't be done. Robert Davis was aware of the questions James had been asking. Now he had to decide if he could or even should give him a few answers to those difficult questions. As he studied James he began to smile and nod. Then he leaned forward to speak.