Recently while flipping channels I found and
oldie but goodie. Omega Man stars Charlton
Heston in all of his man sweating, gun toting
glory. Post his avid endorsement of the NRA
(and subsequent diagnosis of Alzheimers) he
lost some of his luster. But God... he was sexy.
However I digress - back to the saga at hand.
Omega Man is about a post apocalyptic world
where bio-warfare plague turns most survivors
into zombies. Charlton battles said creatures of
the dark while he develops anti-zombie serum.
Post sharing a vial of it with fellow survivors
he is betrayed and killed by zombies. The end.
During the seventies a plethora of similar
tales poured out of Hollywood. Many of
said science fiction extravaganzas starring
Mr. Heston. Since then several have been
remade one if not two times. Some have
a fascination about who might survive the
adverse destruction of an atomic conflict.
What once seemed fantasy might end up
with us battling evil apes or zombies in the
near future. Sadly our world is perched on
the edge of destruction due to the school
yard antics of a pair of megalomaniacs who
are hell bent on winning no matter the cost.
As of yet my basement is not filled with a year
supply of beef jerky and bottled water. Yet I do
find myself thinking about what I would do if
suddenly the world as we know it was gone. In
theory the chances of Montana being the target
seem slim. Yet in truth, the prairies surrounding
Lewistown are dotted with armed Minuteman
missiles ready to be pointed at any adversary.
If some over combed idiot pushed the button -
and the enemy targets said incendiary devices -
they'll be destroyed mid air over anyplace but
here. Leaving Central Montana all alone and
by itself. Which is actually quite normal for us.
Theres no doubt that Manhattan would be the
prime target. Given our apartment is but three
blocks from Trump Tower - it's highly likely
that should we be in town - we'd go down in
a blaze of glory. However being vaporized is
the least of my worries. Rather I often wonder
what would happen to our home back here in
Lewistown. You see, what I worry most about
is an invasion of the living dead. A stumbling
gaggle of rotting former friends and neighbors.
What kind of mischief will they be up to? Will
they break in and raid my great wall of china?
Or worse, rearrange the furniture?!
I'm assuming that somehow Frank and I can
survive as will Lewistown. Next some local
smarties will figure out how to generate power
from Big Spring Creek. They'll reopen nearby
mines and dig up coal to turn up the heat. And
given almost everyone in town already owns
at least one gun - we'll be more than capable
of protecting our isolated oasis from marauding
mercenaries. Everyone will have a garden and
we'll learn how to can. In my imagination little
will change given honestly, we're already quite
self-sufficient. You see, we locals are used to
living on our own in the middle of no where.
In my fantasy my kids and their families
escape destruction, pack their cars, and
travel to Montana a la Mad Max. Finally
our nuclear family is reunited as a whole.
And post surviving Armageddon we will
all figure out how to forgive and forget.
Together we'll rebuild the world as we
knew it into something much better. And
like the pioneers and homesteaders who
made Lewistown great - we'll have the
freedom to start anew. Ultimately good
comes out of bad. So why worry about
the worst when the best is yet to come?
