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Thing are moving faster.

The house is nearing completion. The work now is almost all interior finish and trim, and since there’s very little exterior landscaping (we’re going ‘natural’), once that’s done, this little place is done.

I have to admit, it’s been a blast building it, even though the timeline (no pun intended) has been tight. It’s a nice place.

Just got a call this morning from Molly, who was in an understandably strange mood, saying that Rich’s short visit is over. He ‘arrived’ exactly on time, and departed the same way. There one second, not there the next. Molly said that when she told him I almost had the house here completed, he nodded knowingly.  She said there was the least little bit of relief in his face, but at the same time, he it was clear he wasn’t surprised.

The Rich who just left San Diego was 70 years old. Molly said she’d post a quick account of the visit here in the next couple days. Then, she’s got some things to tidy up before she and Samantha make the trip here next month. She’s going to come out a few days before Rich is scheduled to arrive here, but when I asked her how long she plans on staying, she said “I’m not sure. I’m buying one-way tickets.”

Molly cleared up the question of the “thumb drive,” as well. It IS data storage, and Rich brought a small device with him that apparently will read it. Molly said that Rich told her not to ship it, but instead carry it here to give to me. She said he told her that what it’s for will be clear when I use it.

I know. A lot more loose ends to clean up. We’ll get there.

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As I finish cleaning the portable BBQ, seal up the last of the dinner scraps (raccoons have been nosing around a LOT lately) and watch the citronella torches flicker, it’s time to fire up the laptop, read a little of today’s news and blog about what’s going on here. It’s easier to do when a lot has been accomplished during day. Which it was!

I thought I would tell you a little more about this project, born when I dug up the time capsule Rich buried in 1952. He had put together complete specifications about what this house would look like, as well as the technologies that went into its design. It’s a small, compact design, but looks like it will be very comfortable and most importantly, self-sufficient and totally off the grid. Rich made it very clear in the letter to me that he sealed in the ammo box, that this house must be constructed to last, and to live off the electric and sanitation grid. As I look around the property it’s on, and think more about what I know Rich went through, I’ve come to conclusions that I thought I’d float here.

Rich traveled, bodily, from December, 2008 to 1933. According to the journals he put in the ammo box time capsule, in 1935, he traveled to August of this year. I’m building a house for him to stay in during that trip. He’ll be here for several days, and the house is so he, Molly and Samantha can have some time together. Though he won’t know it at the time (I’m assuming), he’ll be going back to the thirties and will be there, except for some side trips to other times, for the following two decades. He makes a trip in 1952 to later this month (July, 2009), and from the information in the ammo box, he uses that trip to San Diego, to convince Molly and Samantha to meet his younger self here in August. THAT’S why I need to have the house finished by then. His visit here is of longer duration, and he’s asked me to be here with them. I do know that he gets back to the early 50s for long enough to put together and bury the instructions I dug up a few weeks ago. He clearly had time to prepare the area as well, since a lot of the woods were planted about that time. I didn’t notice at first, but upon closer inspection, it became plain to see that this mini-forest was planted with fairly fast-growth hardwoods that in 50 years created an excellent source of renewable timber that would provide homesteading resources like building materials and firewood for decades.

Interesting, isn’t it?

In Rich’s notes, and earlier posts, he talks about making trips to the future, and how physically uncomfortable it is. I have a gut feeling that he’s been there quite a bit. One of the items in the ammo box, I still haven’t been able to identify. It’s about the size of a thumb drive, but completely smooth and a little warm to the touch. I have no idea at all what it is, but can tell you when I put it next to a compass, the needle goes crazy. It doesn’t react magnetically to any kind of metal, but it makes compasses go spin madly. I think Rich got it from the future, and I’m sure he put it in the ammo box for a reason.

Here’s what I think this is all about:

I think Rich is preparing to take care of his family in the difficult days that are coming. I don’t know how much time he’s going to get to spend here, but I think the house is for Molly and Samantha, because I think he knows something about the west coast that he’s not telling, and he’s building an “ark” for his family to weather some kind of storm. Not a storm of the rain and wind variety, but one of the economic / social variety. It’s not the details of this project that tell me that, however, it’s his zeal in getting it done. The letter in the ammo box is very direct and imploring. “Get this done for me,” he says.

So I will.

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Rural America rocks, and is the USA’s future! I’ve spent the vast majority of my time either in a huge city, or spots so remote there’s virtually no civilization. While I build Rich’s house, I’m for the first time, living in a place that’s somewhere in the middle. Small town America is very cool.

The fireworks at a nearby lake were awesome. Met a bunch of very friendly people. Getting up early this morning, smiling at the great time I had, I’m really thinking of selling everything in Dallas and building my own house nearby. We’ll see if that feeling stays once I’ve finished Rich’s house. If so, I think I’ll do it!

Back to work today. Time is running short. Rich will be in San Diego, from 1952 in about a week and a half. He’ll show up here from 1935 in about 6 weeks. On schedule, but still need to keep the push on to get this place done and ready for his visit. How often do you get a visitor from 74 years in the past?

I know, I know. You need a timeline. So do I. The final product of this project will include one, I promise! 

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Got another section added to Chapter 9 “Angels 30″ from Molly. As you can imagine when you read, it was a particularly difficult section for Molly to edit, and quite frankly, it was when she was editing it that she almost gave this whole thing up. Fortunately, I was able to talk her off that ledge.

Molly has promised me she’d finish editing everything Rich had left in the next 3 weeks. It’ll be posted as soon as I get it. She tells me there appears to be 12 chapters to what Rich wrote about his time travel experience to his own past.

By the way, by popular demand, I’ve started Twittering. You can follow me on Twitter – DanGarmen is my Twitter username. Now that I’ve got 3G here at the construction site, things are much easier.

Thanks for reading!

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Outside of Belton, IN – Rich Girrard and I couldn’t be more dissimilar when it comes to lifestyle. Rich is all technology and gadgets, computers and iPhones, social networking and LCD screens. Me? Give me one of my Jeeps, camping gear, some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and a map and I’m in hog heaven. I’ve been “sleeping semi-rough” the past 3 weeks, building something for Rich, and having the time of my life.

The irony is, Rich is the one who apparently, found himself in 1933, in a time when a vacuum tube radio represented “high-tech.”

Molly and I have an agreement. I’ll tell her everything, except what Rich has asked me not to tell her. She’s agreed to believe me when I say that I’ve seen glimpses of the future and as far as I can tell, things may well work out so that we’ll all have happy endings. Well, almost all of us, anyway.

I’m not completely convinced, mind you, because I think the future Rich has seen isn’t necessarily the only future that exists, so I’m working hard to bring the “happy ending” future into being. Another irony in this whole thing, is that when you see what is “to be,” it makes you work hard to either make that future happen, or make it not happen. Then, looking back on the past you made, it becomes the only one possible.

I’m building a house. For a guy who died in 1962. How’s that for irony? Rich will be in San Diego in July. He’ll be there to tell Molly and Samantha to be in Indiana in August, in the house that I’m building right now. It’ll be a family vacation. Rich’s trip to San Diego will be from 1952, 10 years before he dies. I’m not going to tell him he’s got a decade to live, because I’m not sure if to someone 70 years old that would be a lot or a little. I’ll tell him “you’ve got a lot of time left,” and leave it at that. Rich will leave this time, return to 1952, put up a small concrete obelisk and bury an ammo case, that I will then dig up a few weeks ago.

Sometimes, all this makes my head hurt.

Rich’s trip here in August, however, will be from 1935. He’ll be a couple years older than the last time I saw him, and won’t have any idea about what is coming for him. The instructions written by his 70 year old self suggested I don’t tell him exactly what’s coming, but that I be positive and be supportive of his plans.

So, that’s what I intend to do. And that’s all I feel comfortable in sharing, here. It’s hard not telling the whole story as I know it right now, but I can’t, because of the agreement Molly and I have.

Rich and Molly are my best friends, but in truth, I’ve known Molly longer than Rich. Molly and I went to the University of Iowa together, and got to know each other when she dated one of my roomates. In fact, Rich and Molly named Samantha after my mother, even though they’ve only met a handful of times, more in the past 10 years than before. She dotes on her namesake from a distance, though, since I’m an only child. My mother, a healthy and active 86 has always kept the world at arm’s length, which we’ve talked about a lot, but she assures me she’s happy in that, and that she’s simply an observer of the world. That has been especially since my father died in the mid 80s.

The house, that I have unofficially named “Mobius Manor,” is very cool and taking shape quickly. The funds available to me have been more than adequate for the job, since investing when you know what’s going to happen in the world kind of makes it all a slam dunk. Everything from permits, to materials and getting sub-contractors to show up, is easier when there’s plenty of money to work with, too. The specifications for the house were in the ammo box, and it was clear that a lot of time had been put into the preparation of them. I’ve got another 7 weeks to finish the house before it’s needed. In the meantime, I’m up at dawn, working through the day and sleeping not long after the sun goes down. Except for the computer tethered to my Blackberry for internet connectivity, it’s like pioneer days.

Again, I’m having the time of my life.

More soon.