10/10/6 PM
“The result was meetings of the elders of different tribes, well, not always elders, some were political players, some had gone off, got college educations and decided to come back. Some just had gotten rich off the casinos and wanted, well, they had the opportunity to do something. They had money. There was no shortage of money. And as they met more, and, now, well, don’t get me wrong, these meetings, these were like business meetings, no longhouse sweatouts, psychedelic rigamarole. They met at Ramada Inns and Community Centers. These were, they became planning sessions. The ceremonies, the initiations, all that was for recruitment.”
“Sounds kind of cynical,” I said.
“Well, maybe that’s an overstatement. They, there are different elements, you know. This isn’t a story about unification, it’s about cooperation, respecting others’ objectives, their goals and dreams, what’s important to them without losing sight of the thing that they all want.”
Those words hung in the air of Abe’s kitchen. “’The thing that they all want’?” I asked. I repeated.
“Well, yeah, it’s what we all want. It’s what Galt wants and Jake, and you, too, right?”
“Uh, what do you mean?”
“Freedom. We want to be free, to do what we want to do, to live the way we want, without paying for war and having some idiots who don’t know us tell us what laws we have to obey. We want states rights. And…” he laughed, “And, we want our own State!”
I looked at him and smiled. “It’s easy to want that,” I said ruefully, “but how do you make that happen?”
“Yes. Indeed. Amen, brother. That is the question. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
I must have looked shocked, I certainly felt a wave of inadequacy. “Dude,” I said, “I’d like to see a change as much as you, as much as everyone… Wait…who is Galt?”
Abe smiled now. “Galt is where you’re going next.”
“Galt is a place?”
“No, Galt is a force of nature. He’s an earthquake, a tornado, a storm brewing on the horizon.”
It was the most melodrama you could get from a Mormon on linoleum.
“OK. Do you want to tell me when exactly I’m supposed to go to this Galt, when I’m going to meet this tornado?”
“Tuesday. Jerry’s going to meet us in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.”
I didn’t even bother asking who Jerry was. I stared at Abe.
“You’ll get it. You’ve got a long drive with Jerry. You’ll get the whole story from Jerry.”