Alone on Earth – Entry #29

December 14, 2016

08:14AM
Dear Diary

I am continuing to adjust to the Anderson home. I did not know it, but the closet next to the fireplace is filled with firewood. I could have had a really warm night here on the couch in front of the fireplace. I will be ready next time. Ham, sausage, grits, gravy and hashbrowns. Of course, hot coffee hits the spot on a cold morning such as this, diary. I do have the fireplace going now. I checked the mercury thermometer outside. It is 17 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not the norm for Mobile. The sky is a very pale blue as I look out the kitchen window drinking my coffee. I must get ready to go into Mobile. I most likely will be spending the night there if I can find a suitable place to do so. I am taking the ATV since I can bring more stuff back on it. I will just bring my sleeping bag. Rifle, and the .38. And my bible. One can never have enough protection in this world, diary. It's odd...I used to cherish the mornings when I would go into Mobile during the Christmas season. But, this December I suspect the crowds will not be overwhelming. Just a hunch. Time to go.

11:23AM
Dear Diary

The complete, utter desolation of this once vibrant port city of Alabama stands in stark contrast to what it once was prior to The Event. Weeds growing up through cracks all down Water St. now and other streets throughout the city. Papers, beer cans blowing past me, and the howling of wind whipping through the skyscrapers make for an eerie scene before me. It is a scene straight out of the worst nightmares of mankind. Cars abandoned in the busy streets...reminders of people who once had dreams, wishes and lives to live. I yelled out “HELLO” and the echo seemed to vibrate for far too long...far too long, diary. I won't be doing that again. I am going to stay at the Mobile Hilton, a five star hotel tonight. It is at the corner of Government and Water streets. I'll be staying on the ground floor enjoying the hospitality of CEO of Hilton Enterprises, former party girl, Paris Hilton. Who would have thought that, huh? I need to get busy gathering items I will need on my journey westward. Go west old man.....with apologies to Horace Greeley. It's cold and I have work to do here.

2:33PM
Dear Diary

My Suzuki ATV is loaded up with a new pup tent, disposable grills, canned goods, beef jerky, candles and a multitude of items one would need if they were going camping. I have gotten the blood pressure medication I need for this journey. What I will not have is my CPAP for my sleep apnea. That is a major concern for me. All I can do is continue to take my BP medication and hope for the best, diary. I might find a generator out on the road somewhere when I go to spend the night. So, the two Honda generators will be left behind. I hope my omnipresent friend, the Blackness, is left behind also. But, I fear “it” will accompany me. “It” has a high stake in whatever happens to me, it seems. Since the FBI office is just a couple of miles down Government St., I think I will go take a look there to see if there is anything of interest which might give some insight into what happened on those two fateful days of November 16 and 17.

6:09PM
Dear Diary

Had a nice dinner of canned yams, salmon, boston baked beans. But, alas, no bread. Man certainly can't live by bread alone. It seems I will never experience that novel idea. Nothing to report from the FBI office. It was the same there as everywhere else. Scattered papers, computers knocked over on the floor as if people were in a panic to get out. It's beyond belief I never saw or heard anything to indicate there was something to be alarmed about, diary. This continues to bother me. It's almost like I'm the only person left out of the loop. It all seems unreal to me. This is a really nice room here. I have three candles going and.....a loud thump at the front desk area. I need to go investigate this.....it appears my friend the Blackness is with me tonight. It's been a while since we were in close proximity to one another. I screamed at him like a banshee...for all the good that did. The Blackness left it's calling card.....”The day is near.” Yes, I suppose the day is near. For whatever reason, I get the feeling the Blackness is greatly anticipating my trip out west. Why.....only God knows. It's funny.....I'm not even scared of the Blackness now. What more can “it” do to me? Kill me? I almost welcome death, diary. I don't want to live on this planet alone...man was not meant to be alone. He was meant to communicate with his peers, to live life, to persevere against all odds, to love, to make love and to enjoy his short time on earth. Life was not meant for him to be alone. This is not a life. It is a hell that I never thought could occur.....especially to me. We are put on this earth for a relatively short time. Too short a time. I know now what prisoners endured in solitary confinement. Being away from people....is a misery that can't be adequately explained.

10:46PM
Dear Diary

It is bitterly cold outside and in this stuffy hotel room on the 1st floor. I have all kinds of blankets piled on me. But, I feel cold to my bones. The thought the Blackness is nearby makes for an uneasy night despite my lack of fear of “it” now. I lay here in this huge hotel and I think about the people who worked here, who stayed here for a night or two. I wonder what their lives were like. What did they do, where were they going? I feel as if I am in a huge coffin. I feel embalmed by this world in which I now live. I am not human any longer. I am just an existence that wakes up each day and goes to bed each night. I have no hopes, no dreams and no one to share my existence with, diary. I am just here.....in flesh, but not spirit. It is not a life worth living. But, I am too much of a coward to end my life....at least for now. So, I will go out west in the faint hope of finding someone. It is a goal and one that I must prepare for the rest of this week. I believe in about four days, I will be ready to go, diary. I don't know what awaits me out west. I both fear and look with anticipation this journey to uncharted territory of this new world. You know, if only I could see a couple of birds, a bee, a butterfly or even a roach, I would be thrilled beyond words. But, this world is barren.....except for me. And, if I go out west and still find nothing.....then this world may not even have me left to look down upon. If only my buddy Ralph would come home, I would have hope. But, for whatever reason, God just teases me with the idea Ralph is still around. Or it may even be the Blackness playing tricks on me. Whoever is to blame, I'm tired of being a pawn in this game. It's time for this game to end.....one way or another.