The Big Gamble

There is joy in madness which only the madman knows, had never been truer than when Ken Truberry abandoned his well-paying job in the city, to relocate to the countryside to pursue his dreams of owning and running a farm.

Many of his friends advised him against this seemingly reckless move, others who did not think it was a good idea but did not want to be regarded as obstructive or nosey for the unsolicited advice, thought the move was equivalent to committing a career suicide. How could any rational individual leave a lucrative career in the marketing sector, and decide to follow a dream, an unsure one for that matter and travel hundreds of miles away from friends made over the years?

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But Ken Truberry was a man set in his ways, his quiet wife Lucy knows that there was no talking him out of any plans once he set his mind on it.

And Ken Truberry's thoughts had been on that dream of running his own farm for the past seven years. That is a long time for even a fickle-minded person to generate a sense of purpose and carry out an assignment.

First, he handed in his letter of resignation to his boss Mr. Schodesberg was said to see him go

"Hi Ken, I really wish there is something I could do to help you stay or make you happier."

Ken replied, "Oh sure there is something you could do."

"Really?" A faint glimmer of hope that one of the backbones of his firm may just change his mind and stay could be seen in Mr. Schodesberg's eye.

"Yeah, about making me happy, I wouldn't mind you making my severance salary double as it could help pay for one or two things at the farm," Ken said and smiled broadly.

"Oh, you got me there! That was a good one," He gave a short tragic laugh. Now Mr. Schodesberg would start looking a replacement even though Ken had told him of his intention to leave months ago. He never really wants to believe it, but deep down he had an idea that he was serious, but he was thinking if he did not start seeking a replacement maybe Ken may change his mind. But today he had been proven wrong, Ken Truberry had finally left his post as Sales Manager in Mikeh & Schodesberg Farm Tools Inc.

The next week three big trucks came to pack all their belongings, it took a better part of one day to pack all farmhouse. The over 600mile long trip was scheduled the next day. Very early the family of Ken; Lucy with their two kids aged 3 and 1 set off for the journey. But before they could go, their neighbor, woken up by the noise from their last minute check, Mr. Lany's hurried out to bid them farewell. It had been a quiet amicable four years having them as neighbors.

It was an emotional goodbye, Ken stuck out his head from the car's window and shouted, "Hey Lany, it is just a move to another place, I will call regularly, this is not us going to prison!" That remark drew a wry smile from Lany. A good man but known to mask his feelings.

Eight hours later, a tired Lucy with two kids steeped foot to the tiny community of Hapsrit. Lucy was tired but Ken was even more excited than he was on the road about the great prospect to be had in Hapsrit. Lucy noticed one thing that was different here, the people. Two or three were already helping them unpack without being asked to or offered any money!

There was some adjustment to be made in terms of schooling for the kids. That was sorted pretty quick as there was a school nearby, though short staffed but the teachers are dedicated and hardworking.

Getting the farm working was not as Ken had planned it. There were a lot of factors to be dealt with. One was the location of the farm, it was some an hour away journey from residential part of the countryside. The distance was not the major problem. The problem was that the hyenas keep breaking into the farmhouse to kill the lambs. The farmhouse was fenced, but the farmland due to its vastness could be fenced as he had invested most of the money in setting up the farmhouse and the livestock shed. But some predatory carnivorous birds were coming in in the evening when everyone had left to prey on the livestock too. The young farm was incurring loses more than profits. But Ken was not deterred.

Lucy, a city lady had difficulty adjusting to the small town life she suddenly found herself in.

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When she quit her job to go with the husband, one of her outspoken friend, Bunny, a single mother of two, even advised her then to leave her husband as that was a suicide mission they were about to embark on. She never listened. She had an idea it would be tough, but she had no idea it would be that tough. Now, getting another job was out of the question as there was no such job opportunity in the small farm town. But she has undying trust in the husband's ability to sell an ice to an Eskimo, that she continued hoping for that break.

The husband has been putting so much effort into making the farm work that he was hardly at home. But on the farm barely broke even, he had sold some of the properties that he came back with and invested it on the farm. All efforts seemed to came to null.

Meanwhile, the wife, a physical health instructor at the city gym, started coaching the local school for free to pass the time and take her mind away from the gloomy future that now seemed inevitable. She was the head instructor for Hapsrit Tigress BasketBall Team. That was the community school's all-female basketball team. Three years after doing this pro bono work, the community school in fifty years of its existence qualified for the regional championship. This seemed to be the only silver lining in their bleak sky. Her name appeared in the paper as the local sports hero. Two years later, the inevitable happened. The farm was declared bankrupt and foreclosed by bankers. It was not for lack of trying as Ken would give his blood to make the farm work.

On the other hand, Lucy was having some major success coaching the Tigress Basketball team. They came second on the regional championship. Twenty years later. Lucy went ahead to become the first coach to ever win the National Championship seven consecutive time. She was the stuff of legends, a woman from Hapsrit, the obscure farm town making it to that zenith was not something you see every day. The husband could be seen beside her in every win. He supported her and acts as her manager.

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Deep down Ken still nursed the dream of owning a successful farm. But that can wait, they still have a lot of matches to win!

Authored by @greenrun