22 march 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2683: attack of the wobbles

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

“You can always tell when it's time for a nap, Cousin Harry, because you can be minding your own business and then your head gets an attack of the wobbles … but you were standing up and so your whole body went through it, so you need to come with me and Cousin Maggie and get your nap.”

Seven-year-old Amanda Ludlow, future Lofton Trust trustee, was talking with present Lofton Trust trustee Col. H.F. Lee her big cousin, and, as ever, saving lives …

“She and Maggie are basically the same person,” the colonel had said to his big cousin, Major Ironwood Hamilton. “They simply will not live in a non-peaceful environment, and so I have to become the man of peace I need to be because they are not permitting me to be less than that.”

Col. Lee's attack of the wobbles had come on because of one of the county supervisors talking about the beautiful neighborhood he had built in his district and how meddling from the Lofton Trust was not going to get his constituents out of their houses … never mind the sinkhole that had already cut off the road that was the only easy escape route, the growing of that sinkhole daily, and the reason why as a whole underground creek was shifting back into its old path and was going to wash and slide them all halfway into the next county. The Army Corps of Engineers was doing its best to buy time, but even they were saying that two weeks was as much as could be asked because there was only so much that could be done with that much water coming out of the Blue Ridge right there.

Col. Lee was literally staggered, because he knew said supervisor had seen all this information in detail. The Lofton Trust was doing voluntary evacuations of where the Veteran's Lodge continued on, having lost one lot along with the road already, and had paid for all the work being done to buy everybody time. The colonel's other cousin, Capt. R.E. Ludlow, had turned over his father's architectural notes about the danger, written 68 years earlier, and Col. Lee had duly forwarded those to all powers that be.

But why was this county supervisor digging in his heels? Pride, and …

“It's about time some people at the Lofton Trust realize they aren't going to run things like they are running Big Loft.”

That was a direct stab at Col. H.F. Lee, who had pretty much run corruption and big-time crime out of Big Loft, VA.

“But if you know that, what makes you think that you – just foolishness,” Mrs. Thalia Ludlow said as she shook her head and turned the computer off.

Col. Lee was staggered – he had his own sets of ego issues and triggers and knew what they were, but it had never occurred to him to potentially wipe out hundreds of people who trusted in him over a personal vendetta. He had been the victim once on a mission called Five Bright Nine of a few bigwigs who were willing to give up nine men to kill him … he had survived and addressed that with them … but he truly did not understand this one. His brain froze up in the attempt … and his wife Maggie and little cousin Amanda grabbed him and were leading him to the sofa.

“It's nap time for me, so I'm just going to hang out and share my nap time and snugglecouragement!” Amanda said, and snuggled up and, being Amanda, was almost instantly asleep.

Mrs. Lee waited with her commentary until Amanda was asleep.

“That was some real bull, Harry,” she said as she cut off the computer. “How is being mad at you because his cousin was a corrupt police officer who got caught going to solve anything?”

“What I'm coming to realize about today's life and times,” Col. Lee said, “is that a whole lot of people don't care about solving anyone else' problems if it does not vindicate and validate them in the process. Most of his constituents aren't in that neighborhood, and most of those who are don't realize the danger they are in. There's an election coming up. He doesn't want to upset them, and he's mad because I have more industry in my little finger than he has in his whole body. I kept him from getting to play hero. He would have wanted to get the engineers in. He would have wanted to go photograph it getting shored up. He would have wanted to be seen convincing his constituents to evacuate, and maybe incentivizing them to do that. He would have wanted to be the one convincing his fellow supervisors next week that they needed to vote on this and that. In his mind, I robbed him.”

“That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard,” Mrs. Lee said, “but I remember P.G.T. Beauregard helped the South lose the Civil War because he was still mad that another Col. Lee made colonel while he stayed at captain, all of 17 years later.”

“And even madder because he was the idol of the Confederacy in 1861 and was displaced in 1862 by that same Col. Lee made general, and is the idol yet,” the modern Lee said. “It's about who gets worshiped with these types, and they don't care what happens to you, me, or anyone else if we are not instantly bowing down and worshiping them. That man is willing to play out the whole string so long as his constituents think he is the hero, and he thinks he has time to pull off something to steal back the thunder. That's all he's thinking about. I would be waiting for him and other people to figure out that the only reason anybody even knows the name of Lee is because they don't get stuff done consistently enough and let us Lees outwork them, but I have things to do, so, I can't wait.”

“164 years since 1846 is about long enough to wait for anything, Col. Lee,” Mrs. Lee said.

“Yeah, Maggie. It is.”

“I know you have another emergency trustee meeting tonight, but, you do have time for a nap.”

“I'll try, Maggie … maybe it will help me clear my head. Please set my phone alarm for an hour, though.”

Mrs. Lee did so, and then sat down again by her husband.

“Dinner will be a bit late if I sit with you, but … .”

“Maggie, you know I'd rather have you right here.”

Capt. Ludlow came to get Amanda half an hour later, but tiptoed right back out when he saw the situation.

“Amanda is taking her nap, doing what Amanda does,” he said to also his cousin, Major Hamilton. “Keeping people safe is her specialty, and she just knew to go over there while we were hearing this clap trap from that fool on the county board so Harry wouldn't flip his whole wig.”

“Yeah,” Major Hamilton said. “Aggie had a whole New Yorker rant and came as close to cussing at the screen as I have ever heard in our entire marriage – that was super bad, Robert.”

“And, the clock is ticking,” Capt. Ludlow said.

“Yep,” Major Hamilton said. “But you know, in Tinyville, we believe in creative public safety solutions.”

“I bet – the way y'all took down 120 corrupt officers doing that arson and attempted murder last year!” Capt. Ludlow said.

“Harry has to make his trustee board meeting this evening and see what the Lofton Trust is planning,” the major said, “but, we have a plan, too.”

Capt. R.E. Ludlow chuckled.

“Got any room for an old Army captain to join up?” he said.

“Oh, I was supposed to invite you anyway, cousin, and I need to call Sgt., Mrs. and their son Melvin Trent next.”