"127! Bob, You could have been an officer."

"I know."

"But if you were an officer, you could have retired more than a decade ago. You wouldn't have had to put on this 'dumb redneck' routine either."

Bob sighed. "Kathy, I don't know if I should be mad or happy. Mad, that even you have fallen for the deception they have put out. Or happy that my tracks have been hidden so well."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kathy, Do you have any idea what a redneck really is? A redneck is someone that is close to the earth. Not in a tree-hugging way, but someone who respects the earth, and The God who made it. They don't just go out and kill anything that has fur and moves. Yes, they do kill animals, but only to eat. They don't just go out and slash and burn the land. The land and the animals are what keep them alive, and they know it.

The idea that we are people that are some kind of inbred racist morons whose' greatest hope is to graduate the fifth grade is absolutely wrong. You've known me for over ten years. Have you ever heard me say anything that could be called racist?"

"Well, no."

"Do you think I've got an education that is beyond the fifth grade?"

"Obviously you do. Bob, what is your point?"

"Simply this. By your own admission, I'm not what you would call a redneck, and by mine, I am a redneck. Who do you think is right?"

"Bob that's not fair."

"It's perfectly fair. I'm challenging your prejudices. I'm not saying that there are no redneck racists, there are. But I've met racists in everything from uniforms to three piece suits. Hollywood had promoted the idea that they are all out there in the countryside, barefoot and drunk. And you bought into it."

Bob shook his head. "I've used that prejudice to conceal what I am really all about and what I will do. Most people think that rednecks would be the first to charge heavily armed men in body armor with both air and artillery support with nothing more than shotguns and pick up trucks. Nobody expected that someone like me would have the brains to evade the forces that have been sent against us.

I told you. Misdirection is a very powerful friend. You thought one thing, but when you learn the truth, it turns out to be something very different. You think rednecks were basically stupid. A redneck pulled your family out of your house. A redneck kept you alive when the gang bangers came back. A redneck has been feeding your family since we left home. Does that sound like an inbred moron to you?"

Kathy bowed her head, and shook it.

"Do you begin to see it? I've used peoples' preconceptions to cover my actions. I'm bright enough to do about anything I want. I choose to live simply. If you mistake that for something else, that is your problem, not mine."

"Bob." Tim spoke softly. "You've always said you knew this time was coming. How?"

"When I was a boy, my parents sent me to a school that was run by our church. One day in the fall of 1966, our pastor was teaching the Bible study. We were in the book of Revelation. Someone asked if he thought he would see the end times. He said no, because not all of the prophecies had been fulfilled yet. Such as Israel regaining their land. As you know, Israel regained their land in the six day war in June of '67. That made an impression on me. From that day to this, I've studied Biblical prophecy. That's how I know."

"I never knew you went to a church school." Kathy said.

Bob smiled. "Misdirection is a powerful friend, and 'playing dumb' can be a great help at times. People underestimate you. That means they never see the surprise coming."


BW, Vietnam Vet