Marti: A Romance with an Enigma

"I think I heard about something like this in my hometown. Is there more?"

"Yes. This man would then come up with a story about another major project to be based on this land and telling investors that if the deal went through, they could triple their investment. People signed up. Again, sometime later he went back with another tale of woe and offered the investors fifty percent of their money back. Most accepted. So now, this guy owns this land and pockets the investor's money and sells the land to anyone who would pay for it, for a nice profit of course. Very little of anything was in writing and no contracts were signed, he simple stuck his hand in people's wallets and walked off with their money."

"That certainly falls into the description of a scam. But you are right; how does this this apply to our current issue?"

"As I said, I discovered this and talked with my neighbors and we all agreed to reject this offer. But six months later, we got another offer. This one fit this scam to a tee. Big promises, nothing in writing, and all of the rest. Unfortunately, my neighbors were very tempted to accept this one. They were getting old, the town had declined, and they had scaled back their farming. I told them of my concerns and offered to buy them out if this didn't work. The money was coming in from the book now and I felt that I could handle it. Six months later, the hammer dropped and he offered them a little more than half the value of their property. I offered them the full value plus a premium and they accepted it. I paid cash for the land and it was a simple closing."

"I sense that this isn't the end of this story."

"You are correct. The man came back a few months later and cussed me out royally and threatened me with court and worse. I told him that I would be pleased to see him in the courthouse. He left. It may be coincidental but for several months after that, unusual things happened like the windshield in my truck got shot out. My house there got burgled. Nothing important was taken but a number of things were trashed."

"Is there more?"

"Only if you want to hear the whole story."

"Then proceed by all means."

Jeff took a sip from a water bottle before he continued. The rest of the room was dead silent as Jeff laid out the beginnings of the community. Marti had followed each comment so far by visualizing the event and putting it the perspective she understood and it all made sense.

"At this time, I began asking myself if I really believed what I wrote in the book. Could a community be recreated today based on mutual support and trust like this country had been built on? The more I asked myself, the more I felt that someone had to try. The decision for me to be the one to try came easily. My lawyer called and told me about a couple whose land was taken by eminent domain leaving them with nothing. He wanted to know if I wanted someone to farm my new land. I got in my truck and drove to their place and just asked, "Do you want a fresh opportunity?" The wife was desperate and said 'yes'. Her husband was so depressed he didn't want to talk about it. I simply told him to load up his stuff and come with me. He did what I told him and I brought them to the town and gave them the keys to a house. Then I pointed to the field and said, "Make it productive." That seemed to trigger him and he started mowing and tilling the next day."

He stopped for another drink before continuing. "Their story got me thinking. If a con man got into the political world and convinced someone to post a property for eminent domain, it would save all of the hassle of making up all of those bogus offers. I started checking and sure enough, there had been several properties posted by the state and coincidentally, part of the claimed property had been surplused off within weeks. Someone picked it up for a song and then developed something else on the property. That is what happened to this couple. The land was claimed for a highway expansion but their property was surplused off a week after things were complete. It then became a truck stop and the highway next to their property was repaved but never widened."

"That story almost screams political involvement and possible corruption."

"You said it; I didn't."

"But you are thinking it."

"No comment. If it wasn't inappropriate, I would love to ask Ms Henderson to search the records for the past six or seven years to see how common or rare this was."

The judge's eyes narrowed and looked directly at Jeff and asked, "Have you made that request?"

"No sir. I said I would love to ask her that question but through my sister, I knew that she was totally above board and honest. Asking that would be just as bad as corrupting an official to add a property to an eminent domain proceeding."

"I detect that you are telling the truth but that this still weighed heavily on your mind."

"That is true and it weighed more heavily when a series of state inspectors showed up. They wanted to inspect the well, the septic system, and a lot of other things. I believe that they were legitimate because they were professional and had legitimate credentials. That was when I realized that I was very vulnerable and stated going through the records to make sure they were clean. They weren't and I began working with the lawyers to make us a squeaky clean as we could get."

"All right, you have one farmer. What happened next?"

"As I said, I didn't have a clear plan but things just began to appear. A farmer nearby lost his land to foreclosure. I brought him and his wife over and set them up. My cousin got fired as a school nurse, I brought her in. With each of them I simple told them to work together and build a community. They worked out the details on their own. So now, we have 26 people involved in a growing community. I will take this opportunity right now to point out that this prospective company is offering 25 jobs within five years. Right now, we have 26 people earning a living on this property with more to come. They aren't employees per se, but they are self-employed people earning their living again rather than being in the unemployment lines."

That point seemed to register with the judge and he spent several moments writing some notes."

"I have one more question and hopefully that might bring this to a close. You have brought 26 people, families actually, to your community and put them to work but they don't own the land they live and work on. In fact, it would appear that you would benefit handsomely from their efforts if you decided to sell the property. How would you respond to that?"

"I am very aware that people might look at it this way. But I have my reasons for keeping it this way before I release parcels of the land to the people involved."

"I think that you better spell out the reasons for this. It may be the difference in how this case is decided."

Jeff looked at his lawyer who nodded. He briefly looked at Marti and gave her quick smile. Her heart beat rapidly at that simple gesture.

"All right, here it is in all of its glory. This potential threat about eminent domain didn't go away. So, I started searching to see if there were any companies interested in a 1000 acres of remote farmland. I knew that it would take something on this scale to get the corrupt wheels flowing. I actually found seven possible candidates but six of them wanted land near a city or a port or a rail terminal. But there was one who is actively looking for a property like mine. They are one of the reputable waste management companies who is looking for a place to import trash from across the country to process it."

There were gasps in the audience and even the judge raised his bushy eyebrow at that comment.

"That could be good or bad, I guess. Landfill space is at a premium all over."

"That is true but this is a little more unique. They are looking for a place to process industrial and medical waste. It would turn 1000 acres of pristine farm land into a toxic waste dump for years to come." There were more gasps. "So the simple truth is, I have offered the people at the community an opportunity without risk. If this hearing goes against us, they can go somewhere else and start over. I will be the only one to get hurt. If this hearing goes in our favor, I have a plan to slowly sell pieces of property to the community members over time in a way that will not straddle them with a mortgage. At this time, my only goal is to make the community successful. If it fails, I am the only loser. If it is successful, then everyone will win."

Jeff stood up and said, "Excuse me for a moment. Nature calls." The judge called for a brief recess before Jeff walked out of the door. People heard a muffled but angry voice and then two shots rang out followed a moment later by three more. Marti along with Marge and Sarah ran out the door following Megan, while everyone else sat frozen and stunned.

A moment later, a security guard entered with his gun drawn and asked, "Is everyone alright?"

The judge replied, "Yes, but what happened?"

The guard replied, "This guy showed up after the start this afternoon. He sat in the back. A little while ago, he came out into the hallway and seemed really upset. Then the younger guy came out and the guy went up to him and said 'You have fucked me out of millions of dollars.' Then he pulled a gun and shot the young man twice. Then the guy shouted, 'Where is the fucking governor? He said this was taken care of.' My partner shot him before he could take as step. The ambulance is on the way. One of the women who came out is a nurse and she is tending to the young guy. All of you might want to stick around so the police can get your statements but we witnessed everything that happened out there and there are security cameras too."

It was two weeks later before the doctors reduced the sedative and Jeff began to come around. When she heard him moan for the first time, Marti called Marge and simply said, "He might be coming out of it." Then she hung up.

It took another hour before he opened his eyes and was obviously trying to focus. All he saw was two shapes standing next to the bed. "Momma?" He muttered through his thick and heavy lips.

Marge answered, "No, baby. Momma will be here in the morning. I am here with Marti."

His parched lips tried to move but they could hear him say, "Yes Marti. I want to take her to dinner when this is over."

Marti was blushing but Marge answered, "And she will go out with you but save your energy. You won't be going out to dinner for some time yet."

"What..." His chin dropped and he was out of it again.

Marge said the Marti, "Well, that is a good sign. Maybe tomorrow he will be more alert and responsive."

"God, I have worried about him. He lost a lot of blood but was so lucky that the bullet missed his heart."

"Look, tomorrow, don't let him try to do something he isn't ready to do. He will want to get up and go home. Just tell him firmly 'No!' That is the only way to get his attention. He's always been stubborn like that."

"Don't tell her that." His voice was clearer that time. "Water."

Marti poured a glass that was mainly ice and held it to his lips. He lapped at the water and ice before looking up and saying, "You look very beautiful tonight." She turned red a second time. "What happened? The hearing..."

Marti replied, "Not tonight; maybe tomorrow. The eminent domain was cancelled. Go back to sleep." Jeff closed his eyes and followed her instruction but he now had a crooked smile on his face.

The next morning, Marti fretted about what time to go to the hospital. Jeff's mother would be there and she felt that she should give her some alone time with her son. On the other hand, she had been talking with the doctors and could answer more of her questions than anyone. She had spent most of the time since the hearing sitting by his bedside as he struggled to heal. She had spent her time re-reading "Yesterday is the New Tomorrow". This time, she read it with new eyes as she had experienced part of the new paradigm that he had so eloquently described in the book. One difference was now, she didn't read or look at Jeff in awe. She now saw him as a very capable man but who was also very vulnerable. His testimony at the hearing had shown her that the façade that she had seen in person carefully covered a wide variety of concerns and fears; most of which had proven to be justified.

She finally decided to go on in. His mother would undoubtedly have questions that she could answer. She drove the five miles to the Medical Center quickly and was waved into Jeff's room with a smile by the security guard. She found Jeff half sitting up in the bed with a very nice woman in her sixties talking quietly with him.

"Oh, hi, Marti. Mom, this is Marti, the woman I was telling you about."

The woman stood with a smile and came to greet Marti warmly. "I am so pleased to meet you, Marti. Marge and Megan have told me a lot about you. Call me, Mom or Jeanne, whichever you feel most comfortable with."

"Thank you. It is a pleasure to meet you too. I hope I am not intruding but I thought that you might have some questions. I have been talking to the doctors and understand most of what is going on."

"Thank you; I appreciate that but honestly, the only question I really have is if you can keep this boy under control from now on."

Marti turned bright pink and stammered, "I...I'm not sure that he..."

"Nonsense. He told me three weeks ago that he had found the woman he wanted as his wife."

"Momma! You didn't need to tell her that."

"Hush. Both Megan and Marge have assured me that she is the right one too. Now if you will just cooperate and heal, maybe you can actually take her on a date and let her get to know you better."

Still red in the face, Marti had a big grin on her face as she replied, "Yes. You promised me a dinner and we will see what happens after that."

"Ok, how about tonight?"

"Tonight is fine but I would prefer to eat something other than hospital food on our first date." He started to say something but she interrupted him. "And the answer is no; you aren't going home today. Maybe next Monday if the doctor says so."

"Monday? What day is this? I kind of lost track of time."

"It is Wednesday."

"Have I been here a week? The hearing was on a Thursday."

"No Mr. Perfect; you have been here two weeks! Get this through your thick skull, you were critically wounded. If it weren't for Megan and the emergency team, you might have died."

"No kidding."

Marti looked at his mother and asked, "Is he always like this?"

"He's just like his father; stubborn like a man."

"I've heard that once before but now I believe it."

Jeff said, "Don't listen to her; she just does her mother thing like I am ten or something. Tell me what has happened."

Jeanne responded with, "I'll have you know that when you were ten, I was sitting in the hospital with you for the third time because you thought that you could fly from a tree three times taller than you were." She turned to Marti and said, "Don't let him around sharp objects either; he bleeds a lot."

"Mother! Stop telling Marti lies. I have only had to be stitched up twice and neither of those involved a sharp object."

Jeanne smiled at Marti and replied, "That is why I bought stock in the company that makes Band-Aids."

Just then, the doctor came bustling in with his chart in hand. "Good morning, Jeff. I see that you have come out of the sedatives fairly nicely. Before you ask, if you do what you are told, you can leave on Monday but not before. We have to make sure that the wounds are healing properly. We had to open you up twice. Right now, everything looks good; so just rest and do as you are told. If I have to open you up again, I will charge you triple. Marti, he is really doing well. Thanks for alerting us about that leakage. There was a vessel that we thought had been sealed but it was leaking. I am off on my other rounds." And he was gone.

Jeanne took Marti's arm and led her to the bed. "Sit down and tell this bad boy what has happened. He is about to wet his pants not knowing. I'll go get us some coffee; he can have his juice."

As his mother headed for the door, Jeff said, "Marti likes her's black with a sugar substitute and I like mine with cream and sugar." His mother laughed as she left. "I hope that you haven't been embarrassed too much. Mom is...well Mom is Mom."

"Marge warned me and that is just fine. How are you really feeling?"

"I feel like I have lost part of my life. I don't know what happened or what has been going on and it is making me crazy."

"Ok, here is the short version. I saved all of the newspapers for you to read when you are ready. First, when you left the hearing room, you were confronted by the guy who shot you. It turns out that he was the same guy who took Anna's farm and was behind this whole eminent domain thing. After he shot you, the security guards shot him and he is dead. Before he died however, he implicated the Governor in this too. So right now, the state government is virtually shut down while the Governor tries to wiggle out of this mess. So far, my former boss has been arrested and is talking to try to get off. The advisor Blaylock has disappeared. A dozen other underlings have been terminated or quit. It appears that this mess is just the tip of the iceberg."

"But the eminent domain was rescinded?"

"Yes, totally. If a fit of moral outrage, the governor announced that he was shocked that anyone would threaten a wonderful grass roots program like you started. That was before they uncovered his involvement. Such is politics, I guess."

"I sort of figured that out myself. How are Megan, Marge, and Sarah?"

"They stayed over the weekend until we were sure that you were going to survive. Then we talked it over and Megan and Sarah went home to tell people there what happened and to keep things going. I talk to them every night and things are fine but everyone is concerned about you. The shit hit the fan for Marge when people started quitting and being terminated. She and her staff are busy taking care of paperwork and trying to find people to fill critical positions. She will be by later."

"Ok, now what about you? It sounds like you have been here the whole time." He took her hand and held it even with the myriad of tubes attached to the needles in his arm.

"I am sort of in limbo at the moment."

"Why is that?"

"Well, with my boss gone and them trying to find a replacement, Marge suggested that I take the rest of my accumulated leave since they weren't going to pay me for it when I leave. So, I am on leave until next week."

"Until you leave? Are you leaving your job?"

"That kind of depends on you but you aren't ready to talk about it yet."

"Like hell I'm not. What?"

Marti struggled to find the words to start. "Jeff, all I have told you is basically little things. The truth is that the story about this and the community and everything has been all over the newspapers and television nationally. There are people standing in line to interview you and more importantly, there are dozens of people who want to talk to you about starting a community like Crossroads in their area. You are now a very famous person whether you want to be or not. The four of us have talked and..."

"Go on. Don't stop now."

"Dammit, Jeff. I was impressed with you before all of this came up and I loved the feeling at the community. Now with all of this new attention, I want to be part of it too. So, the four of us talked and unless you say 'no', I want to move to the community, live with Sarah, and take care of all of this new stuff coming in. You won't have the strength to deal with it for a long time." She dropped her eyes from him, afraid of how he might respond.