Goodbye is for Strangers

By J. M. Cody

This adventure takes place in 1968. The main character, John Hutton, has just graduated from college and wants to go on a camping/fishing trip, before he joins the real world. His adventure actually starts while visiting the Runestone Museum, in Alexandria, Minnesota. While looking at a Viking battle-ax, he starts having visions of a Viking Lord. Two Viking spirits appear and guide, protect and reward him during the long and sometimes arduous journey. The adventure turns into a quest and goes from Minnesota to central Ontario, Canada, to the Canadian National Natural History Museum. Different individuals join in on John’s quest and there are jokes, humor, some pathetic humor, and occasionally, some thought-provoking theories. Since the Vikings materialize on occasion, there is some time travel. There is no sex, swearing, or graphic violence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley
• Release date: Jun 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463212806

J. M. Cody

Although this is J.M. Cody’s first novel, he has spent his life writing technical reports as an exploration geologist. Each and every explorer, no matter what field of endeavor, has certain internal attributes, which include: optimism, creativity, and vision. He was in the Marine Corps, Peace Corps, taught science in an agricultural high school in the Australian outback, and was a wildland firefighter.

Book preview

Although this is J. M. Cody’s first novel, he has spent his life writing technical reports as an exploration geologist. Each and every explorationist, no matter what field of endeavor, have certain internal attributes, which include: optimism, creativity and vision. He was in the Marine Corps, Peace Corps, taught science in an agricultural high school in the Australian outback and was a wildland firefighter.

Dedication

To the memories of loved ones lost

J. M. Cody

Goodbye is for Strangers

Copyright © J. M. Cody (2018)

The right of J. M. Cody to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781788488600 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788488617 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781788488624 (E-Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd™

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Chapter One

Goodbye is for strangers to leave in a crowd while words between friends can be heard with no sound. There is no word, written or spoken, to express the agony of lost friends. Words are not needed when friends depart—each is a part of the other. Signed, ‘Your friend, Johhny’.

John put the note in his friend’s mailbox and started his journey home.

It was only a three-hour drive home, but this drive would be a new start. He had the paper in hand, but this would only give him a chance to open a door. He fully realized that a university degree wasn’t a be all and end all. When he got a job, he would need to demonstrate that he had actually learned and remembered his trade. John always considered geologists to be educated blue collar workers. He was not full of himself, and he knew that his degree would just be the beginning.

For some reason, he kept thinking about a Field and Stream magazine that he had recently seen. The whole magazine was devoted to fishing in Minnesota. No matter where his mind wandered, it kept coming back to Minnesota. He had only been to Minnesota once in his life, and he was very young at the time. His family had gone there on a summer vacation, but he really didn’t remember much about it. It wasn’t as if it was a great memory that he wanted to relive, or a safe place that he needed. He had convinced himself that he wanted to go camping and fishing in Minnesota. This was a good time to reflect. He was by himself and the radio in his pickup was broken, so there were no distractions. The miles flew by, and there was very little to look at on his trip home.

When John arrived home, he unpacked and immediately left the house to look for work. He got a job with one of the local roofing companies. He wanted to make enough money to go on a camping/fishing trip. He just wanted to sit around a campfire, then come home and do construction until September, when he was supposed to head to Hawaii for Peace Corps training.

He worked long hours and saved every cent. The time passed quickly, and he decided that it was time to go to Minnesota. John’s mother understood his urge to travel. He had attended four different universities before he graduated. He had wanderlust in the worst way. John believed that some people move because they have a place to go and some people move because they have no reason to stay.

He had been working twelve to fourteen hours a day for three weeks. He worked seven days a week and only had time to eat and sleep, which was a good thing since he wouldn’t be tempted to go anyplace or spend any money. He finally felt that he had enough money for his trip and decided that it was time to go. He rounded up his clothes, neatly packed in his Marine Corps cargo bag, so his trip was taking shape. Every time that he packed his bag, things were neat and well packed, but he also knew that whatever he wanted would be on the bottom. After he had gotten into it a few times, it was as if he had taken a Mixmaster to it. His clothes would be wrinkled, his socks would have separated, and any discernible order to the bag was gone. He wasn’t concerned about his clothes because they were either hand-me-downs, or he had gotten them from the Salvation Army store for pennies on the dollar. His list had been checked, and he was confident that he had packed everything that he would need. He went back into the house to say his goodbyes. He found his mom in the kitchen and gave her a big hug. His mom had a constant smile on her face and told him how much she enjoyed having him home and to have a fantastic camping trip.

Down the road he went. The miles passed quickly, as he headed north on the interstate. He was anxious to get to Minnesota, set up camp, and wet a line. He was never bored because he always had stories to create. Some of his stories lasted for hours. There were a few times that he almost ran out of gas because he wasn’t paying attention to anything but storytelling and driving. At one point, he started laughing. Now, this was no snicker, but one of those laughs that shake your whole body. He was recalling an incident when he and a friend were in a tavern having a beer. Now, John was on the shorter side of normal height, at five feet eight and his friend was six feet six. The two were constantly giving the other trouble about their height. John asked his friend if he played basketball and his friend replied no and then asked John if he played miniature golf.

Before he had finished one of his tall tales, he realized that he had crossed the Minnesota state line. He stopped at the very next rest area to see if they had a map showing his location. Although he was in Minnesota, he thought, bah, this still looks like Iowa. He knew that he wanted to go farther north. He perused the brochures and gathered information on several towns as possible places to camp. He sat on a bench, lit his pipe, poured a cup of coffee, and read through the brochures that were fairly close to his present location. The rest area was out of state maps, so he pulled out a small notebook and wrote down the directions to a small town named Alexandria. Although he would have liked to travel up to the Lake of the Woods area, he knew that he couldn’t afford the gas to get there.

He arrived in Alexandria well after dark, and was looking for a place to camp for the night. He was tired and wasn’t planning on setting up his camp, but needed some place quiet to sleep. As he drove through town, he was very impressed with the old buildings. Now, this is a nice clean little town, he thought. He had always heard that areas inhabited by Scandinavians were usually very clean and well kept. John thought to himself, I hope that there are some nice fishing lakes close by so that I can spend some time here. When he had driven through town and had not seen any signs for state or federal parks, he looked for other options. John drove back to the highway, where he had entered town, to an all-night service station. He pulled up to the pumps and filled his tank. He walked in to pay for the gas and asked if he would be able to park his pickup and go to sleep. The young woman behind the cash register took his money and responded, No problem. Why don’t you pull around and park in back? You can park in the shadows, and it should be quieter.

He thanked the lady and returned to his pickup. He drove around to the back of the station, found some shadows and settled in for the night. The next thing John knew was that it was light and he could hear trucks flying down the highway and diesels idling. He must have been tired to have slept through all of this noise. His first thought was that of coffee and then to find a place to camp and fish. He walked around to the front of the station and went in to find the coffee pot. Two cups later, he was almost ready to face the world. He walked up to the cash register and asked where the Chamber of Commerce was located. The gentleman behind the counter told John to drive down Main Street to the end. He said that it was located in the same building as the Runestone Museum. John thanked him and back to town he went.

He had a much better view of the town in daylight, and it impressed him even more than the previous night. Right now, he needed to get some maps and directions to a good fishing spot. He was hungry, but he did not want to spend any money that he didn’t need to spend. He was a little concerned about his truck because it was acting up and he didn’t know if it would actually complete his trip, but he would handle that challenge later. He continued driving toward the chamber. A couple of blocks later, he saw the sign for the museum and the Chamber of Commerce. He found a parking spot close to the door and went into the building. It was fairly early, and there were very few people around. The chamber had just opened, and a woman behind the desk was just getting organized for the day when John walked in the door. He was welcomed by a smartly dressed, middle-aged woman. She queried him about what he was interested in seeing or doing. John explained that he was in the area to camp and fish. The woman immediately went to the rack of brochures and handpicked a few for him. Just before she handed them to him, he told her that he was tent camping and did not need any amenities. She returned most of the flyers and handed two to John. She told him that the fishing was great, but there were few places for him to camp. She returned to the brochures to check one more time.

John inquired about the museum, and the woman recommended it highly, as if she would say anything else. She pointed to the entrance and told him to put some money in the honor box, which John thought was very trusting. John thanked her and returned to his truck with his flyers. While he was there, he opened the back of his truck and grabbed a couple of slices of bread. Not a great breakfast, but it should satisfy me for the time being.

John finished his bread, drank the last of his coffee and lit his pipe. While John was sitting there, he noticed several people going into the museum. He locked his truck, headed into the building again, paid his entrance fee and walked into the museum. The first thing that he noticed was a large flat boulder, standing in a prominent spot, in the center of the room. He approached the rock and started reading about its origin. As he read the description, John found out why it was called the Runestone. The Viking writings were called runes. He found it so very interesting that the Vikings were in Minnesota in the thirteenth century. How did they get there and why? he thought. He decided that he would let his subconscious work on it while he looked at the other displays. There was a nice display of a Viking lodge. He had rented some rather grim apartments while in college, but they were palaces compared to this living style. His hunting camps were nicer than this. No wonder they were so tough and ill-tempered. He chuckled at that for a moment as he wandered around the room and noticed a small display case. The room was not very big, and although there were few visitors, he would need to wait until someone moved on, to read the next bit of information. He walked up to the display case and was fascinated to see battle axes and flint strikers. As his eyes moved from object to object, he couldn’t help thinking that these were items the Vikings would use on a daily basis. These were things that they needed and should have noticed that when they left one spot to move on, that they didn’t have an integral piece of equipment. These were not things that they could replace easily and would have looked after them. If people had found all of these objects, how many objects are still out there? As he looked at one battle ax, he started having visions of Vikings. It was as if there was a slide show on steroids and the pictures raced in front of him. Holy! John immediately looked around to see if anyone was looking at him. He didn’t know if he had just thought the exclamation or he had verbalized it. Whew, I must have just thought it. John started to question his sanity at that point. He focused his attention on different objects, and the slide show would cease. Every time he looked at one specific ax, the show would begin again. He tried to make sense of the photos, but they were going so fast, that he just got a glimpse and it was gone. He decided to move away from the case and see if he would still have the vision. Nothing. By then, someone else was at the case, and John decided that he would observe other people looking at the ax. He should be able to tell if anyone else was seeing the slide show, because surely they would react. Person after person looked at the case and no reaction. When a spot opened up, he went back to the display again. He looked at different items and then the one battle ax that seemed to affect him. Yep, the show started again. Why this one ax? What is so special about this item? Why didn’t other people react? He decided that he should find a place to camp, but he knew that he would return before he headed home.

Chapter Two

John closed the museum door, packed his pipe and kept thinking about his incredible experience. He thought that he had gotten a good night’s sleep, but maybe not. He lit his pipe and turned to head toward his truck. There were two Vikings standing in front of his pickup. He just stood there to see if they were real or another vision. He could see through them, but they were very visible to him. He wasn’t sure if he should approach them or not. He decided that if he was chosen to do something, he was game. He had plenty of time, and this could be better than fishing anyway. He couldn’t venture very far because he didn’t have gas money to travel any distance. He didn’t feel the slightest bit intimidated and actually felt quite at ease. He seemed more anxious and curious than anything else as he approached his truck.

When he got close to the truck, both Vikings were looking at him. John nodded at each of them, and they both nodded back. Well, it appears that we can communicate. John got in, started his engine and was ready to see what was going to happen next. Okay guys, what do you want to show me?

Back through town they went. When he was nearing the end of Main Street, he looked in his rearview mirror, smiled, waved, and said, I’ll be back.

When he got to the highway, his guides showed him the way. In the back of his mind, he had this gnawing thought that if they were taking him very far, he would have to abandon this adventure. The miles went by, and he started to get concerned. About that time, he decided that he couldn’t continue. He saw a dirt road coming up, and the Vikings got off of the highway and headed up the road. He had only driven about a hundred yards and saw the Vikings heading into the woods, so John followed. When he caught up to the two warriors, they were pointing at a huge rock. John noticed what appeared to be a canvas bag in a small opening at the base of the rock. He walked over to take a better look. There were two bags. He picked up the first one and untied the strap. It was full of money, more than he could imagine. The two Vikings smiled and walked back to the road and John’s truck. They waited. As he picked up the second bag, it twisted, and he saw a logo on it. He turned the first bag around, and it had the same logo. Both bags were stamped Alexandria State Bank.

John did not hesitate. He did not think about it. He immediately knew that he would need to return to town and turn these in to the police. John threw the bags on the floorboard of his truck and headed back to Alexandria. He stopped at a gas station to ask directions to the police department and proceeded into town. He covered the bags with his jacket and went in to report what he had found. A patrolman greeted John and John explained that he needed to speak with the chief.

Chief, someone wants to report something that they found, and they would like to speak with you. The chief was sitting behind his desk, going through his morning paperwork. Since Alexandria was a small town, most of the things that crossed his desk were of little interest, but he still had to wade through them.

John walked into the chief’s office and told him that he had found two bags with the Alexandria State Bank logo on them. He explained that he had only opened one of them and that it was full of money.

The chief looked startled when he heard that announcement. The two of them went out to John’s pickup. John opened the door, moved his jacket and retrieved the bags. The police chief was taken aback by the find. These are from a bank robbery that took place here about two months ago! The robbers were caught trying to rob a bank in Brainerd, shortly after our heist, and the money was never recovered.

They returned to the office. John sat in the front office with the patrolman, while the police chief went into his office to make a call. Five minutes later, a smartly dressed older man and a security guard came through the front door. They went into the chief’s office briefly, and then all three came out together. John explained the story to the older man. The gentleman asked John if he would accompany him back to the bank. John, the bank president, and the security guard all walked down Main Street to the bank. When they entered the bank, the president motioned for one of the tellers to come over. He asked her to accompany him to his office, so she could count the money and give him a tally. John was seated and waited. When she finished and turned in her count, the president asked another teller to come in and do the same thing. When he had both slips of paper, he looked at them and shook his head. It’s all here. He immediately got on the phone and called the insurance company to explain the situation. When he got off of the phone, he looked at John and said that a finder’s fee was in order. John was all smiles. Although he did it because it was the right thing to do, a small finder’s fee would surely help him financially! The bank president briefly left the room. John was conjuring up an amount in his mind. Fifty dollars would be great, but any amount would be appreciated.

The older gentleman returned with a check in hand. He looked at the check and mentioned to John that he should think about getting a brand new 1968 pickup, or at least get his old one checked out.

He handed the check to John. I don’t know what to say, except thank you. John then looked at the amount and almost fainted. Sir, I didn’t expect anything. This is way too much.

This is standard. Ten percent is the finder’s fee.

John kept looking at the check. He was a planner, and his plans never envisioned a time that he would have so much money. He politely asked the gentleman if he knew of a good mechanic. John got directions to the auto repair shop and returned to his pickup. His Viking friends led the way. He pulled into the lot, and there was an open bay. He stopped and was about ready to turn off the engine when a man motioned for him to drive in. John obliged, turned off the engine and got out.

One of the men headed John’s way. You John?

Yes, sir.

Mr. Andrews called and said that you were coming. I had my mechanics drop everything so that we could get you fixed up and on your way. That was an honest thing that you did.

I know that word gets around rapidly in a small town, but I didn’t realize that it would be this fast.

He is my banker, and he quite often sends business our way. When he told me what you did, I was amazed. I told him that you deserve our respect and that we would drop everything and fix you up. John smiled and nodded. At that point, John noticed a Marine Corps flag on the far wall. He looked at Jim, the owner, and said, Semper Fi!

The man smiled, from ear to ear. You in the Corps?

One thing about Marines, whether reservists or lifers, they are all proud and bond with every other Marine. I rode the bench. I was in the reserves.

Jim pointed to the other two mechanics. Bill, Steve, and I were all in the Marines. Where did you go to boot camp?

All four of the men in the shop were smiling as if it were a high school reunion. John proudly responded, Parris Island.

Those words immediately set Jim off. Hey, guys, Parris Island.

Both men immediately came over to meet John. They both stuck out their hands to shake John’s and without hesitation, exclaimed Semper Fi. John shook their hands and responded in kind. Jim looked at the two and then at John. He smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, Hollywood Marines.

John knew immediately where this conversation was going. Is it true that they were issued sunglasses, suntan lotion and Bermuda shorts?

Jim laughed and said, They were also given surfing lessons while we had to wade through the swamps with the snakes and alligators. All four stood and laughed. This competition will never end, but it is a great topic of conversation. John looked at the group and commented that he was just in the reserves, and their unit was never activated. It is nice to be in the presence of real Marines.

John, anyone who goes through Marine boot is a real Marine. Jim went on to say that he was in for eight years and saw no action. We have a truck to reincarnate. What all do you need done?

John listed everything that he knew that needed replacing.

Jim smiled, You have thought about this. Come back about two.

Are you sure? John questioned because he had turned in a long list of things that needed to be done and two o’clock only gave them about three hours to accomplish the task.

I told you that we were good, and we will make it happen.

John headed off, and the men forged ahead. His first stop was going to be breakfast. As he walked along at his usual leisurely pace, he noticed his two semi-visible friends stop in front of a stationery store. He stopped and peered through the window. I really should start documenting this adventure, John thought. He walked in and asked the clerk where small notebooks were located and headed to that section. He picked up two notebooks and a couple of pens, paid for the notebooks and continued toward the café. While he was sitting in the restaurant, he was retracing the day’s events. He started the day with no money, his pickup is in bad shape and now he has more money than he could imagine. His old pickup would be as good as new in a few hours, and it was still morning. As he sat, a two-watt light bulb went off in his brain. Can these Vikings sense my concerns? My truck needing repair, no money for food or gas, and all of a sudden, these things were taken care of. Maybe they were testing me, to see if I was honest and trustworthy. Can something from one dimension affect or control something in a different dimension? Now, this is what I would call a conundrum! Don’t over analyze things. There could be another explanation—dumb luck! Within moments, the waitress showed up with his meal.

Although he had had two pieces of bread earlier, he was hungry. As he sat, enjoying his brunch, he kept pondering the morning’s events. As John ate, the waitress returned.

Everything okay?

Yes, ma’am. Please thank the cook. It is excellent.

That’s nice. They never get the credit that they deserve and they really work hard. I’ll go back and thank them right now.

John finished, left a nice tip and continued on his way. Left or right on Main Street? It didn’t take him long to find himself headed for the museum. This time, I hope that I’m not shocked. Maybe I will be able to concentrate on the slides if they appear. He immediately walked over to the display of battle axes. If the slides appear, maybe I’ll be able to figure out what they are telling me. He knew which ax produced the pictures. He then squinted to channel his vision and stared at the one ax. Here we go again. By squinting and concentrating, the pictures seemed to slow down. Before, he had convinced himself that he was watching a slide show of Vikings, but this didn’t seem to be the case at all. There appeared to be only one Viking. He could see translucent figures, but only one person appeared to be highlighted.

He looked at his watch, and it was about time to check on his truck. He left the museum and slowly walked back to the garage. He was prepared to be