Man of the Soil

Chapter 1

A man in a tidy suit walked down Wall Street with a kick in his step. As some New Yorkers rushed pass, he kept a confident, yet steady pace. Although he looked like every other rich business man in New York, he wasn't. He was Reuben McGrub, the richest, bestest, prettiest rutabaga farmer to ever live. Every grocery store, even Whole foods wanted his rutabagas. His crops were the most desired on the market. But even with this extraordinary life, Reuben still had to take economy class seating on planes. Reuben never believed in planes, so he wouldn't endorse their companies too much. He boarded his plane and found his seat. It was a window seat in the middle of the plane. He sat his carry on down and took a seat. For a few minutes, Reuben looked out at the airport workers loading the luggage until he heard the overhead compartment open. He turned to look at a middle aged woman. She had that mom kind of look. She wore brown glasses, had shoulder length blonde hair, and wore a casual pink business suit. After she put her stuff away she sat next to Reuben. She looked over at Reuben with an intrigued look. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked. "Maybe not personally, but I am the most famous, successful farmers to ever have lived." Reuben replied. "That's a little conceited don't you think." the lady laughed. "Well actually, it wasn't me who said that. I've been voted 'Best Business Guy of Ever' by Forbes," he said, "I'm McGrub, Reuben McGrub." "I'm Jane Malibu." She said and Reuben vigorously shook her hand. "Ok, now that we know each other, I'm going to tell you my life story." Reuben said. "Um ok I guess." said Jane.

Reuban started..

"It was February 29, 1962

A cold winters night reaching a low of 50 degrees. I shivered under my potato sack, it was all I could afford back in those days. I had saw in the news that NASA was looking for astronauts. I had always dreamed of being an astronaut. But there was one problem, it costed $10 to apply and another $75 for the space shoes. I had exactly $0.88. The due dates were due in just enough time to get a quick job on the farm, and that is exactly what I did.

I stole a news paper from the trash. It had said a rutabaga farm was hiring! They paid $0.08 an hour with long shifts. I thought that I would be rich in no time. So I sent my application in. A few weeks later, I received a letter. It was an acceptance to my new job on the farm. So I packed my sack and headed out.

It was a long and treacherous trip. You see Jane, I walked/hitch hiked/ skipped all the way from Arizona to Idaho."

"How did your family react to you leaving?" questioned Jane.

"well, I was a lone wolf. During my twenties I traveled all over America, that's probably why I was so broke. I grew up in Maine so my family was already used to me moving from place to place. Anyway, I hitch hiked all the way up to Las Vegas where my ride ditched me for an Elvis impersonator. So I walked. I walked from Las Vegas to a really small town in Idaho called Space Mountain Falls. It took me a good three months to walk this distance. I kept in touch with my employer though, he was fine with me being a little late for my first day. I walked through snow, sleet, rain, fog, sunshine, and even a little tornado. I survived though. I made it to the farm sooner or later. It was a simple place with vast fields of rutabaga that went on forever. There was a red barn, a few mills, and a couple houses. One of the houses was a very clean kept colonial. I figured this was where I was supposed to go, so I knocked on the door. I was met with a tall man with a blue plaid shirt. He had a fun mustache and glasses. "uh hello, I'm reuben mcgrub, your newest employee."

"Why hello there young man, come on in! I'm Bob Stewart."

He lead me into his fine kept house. I signed some paper work and listened to him explain the requirements of my new job. Then we discussed living conditions. There were shacks in the forest that housed the majority of the farm workers. I was obviously to stay in them. Bob sent me to my cabin. It was delapidated with two windows. It was a grayish green color with a black roof. A small chimney emerged from the tip with a little smoke coming out of it. I walked up to the cabin and opened the door. I was greeted with a cool looking dude. He had long suave hair and a stubble. His eyes were crystal blue with a few scars surrounding them. He wore a tattered beige shirt with tattoos flooding his body. He had a cocky grin on his face as I walked in and set my luggage down.

"Hi, I'm Rango Gunslinger: treausre hunter, cave spelunker, and dog trainer extraordinaire. Also a rutabaga farmer on the side. Welcome to cabin cool guys roomie."