The Mountain News – WA

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 25 – The Blue Mist

Day Seven

At breakfast, I learned that I wasn’t going to have to organize any cooking for the 200 or so people at Unity as the Army had convoyed-in two mobile home-sized structures to be a mess hall and kitchen, along with a full staff of cooks. All the Men and Women of Honor had to do was take care of themselves and pitch in as we saw fit medically, which ended up being lots of little detail stuff, especially helping patients get settled in our convalescent facilities downstairs. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 24 – By the Rivers of Babylon

Day Six – 1 pm

After lunch, Terry and I concentrated on contacting outside Unity staff to let everyone know the state of things with us and ascertain how they were. Then, we could get a staff schedule set up and get new blood in to relieve us.

Angie was our first successful contact. She was online, and even though she was only four blocks away on Pilgrim Street, it somehow felt like she was in another solar system. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 19

Day Five – Dawn

In the faint grey of Worcester’s dawn, I heard the first of many police vehicles giving instructions to the people of Union Hill:

“This is the police. Please stay indoors. Radiations levels are too high for you to spend more than twenty minutes outdoors. Local aid stations are being established in your neighborhood. Place a flag or towel on your door if you need medical attention, food or water. Officers and volunteers are going house-to-house to assist you.”

Sounds like we just got our marching orders. And towels? Did they see our flyer? I smiled with the thought. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 17 – Brownies and apple pie

Day Four – Noon

I was in the middle of eating an instant chocolate pudding when I heard the dining room go silent. Slowly I looked up, not sure what kind of shock wave had just rocked us into silence.

At the entrance to our dining room stood the only thing that can render young men mute, girls. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

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Chapter 16 – North High

Day Four – 8:30 am

By the time I got to the dining room, Deon had already spilled a pitcher of juice and tracked it all over the dining area looking for paper towels to mop it up. We called it juice, but it was a Kool-Aid-esque powder mix. Cherry was best and the lemonade sucked. Deon had spilled the cherry. I headed for more coffee.

Karen had things under control, kind of. The kitchen scene was a controlled chaos of the Rolling Thunder type: six teenage boys all trying to be helpful at the same time while insisting that they were the best cook, the smartest cook or the best-looking cook. It made my head spin.

Karen must have had more than one brother. She probably grew up with 10. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

*******************************************************************************

Chapter 15 – Trust the process

Day Four

I was told that 7:00 am treated Sgt. Jackson to two surprises. First, alarm clocks went off in every one of the guy’s room. No one wanted to be late for their workout with the sergeant.

The second was the hulking figure of a cold, shivering six-foot two, 220-pound boy outside the bay window of the Commons room. He knocked on the window and shouted through the glass when he got Karen’s attention.

“Open the door, will ya?”

“Who are you?” she asked, opening the main door, but blocking it. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

*******************************************************************************

Chapter 14 – A breath of fresh air, and smokes

Day Three – mid-morning

I went back to bed, and slept deeply until the smell of bacon awoke me. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

*******************************************************************************

Chapter 13 – Help arrives, along with romance

Day Three – pre-dawn

Day Three started a little early for me, 4:00 a.m. I was half-awake in a twilight state when I heard the south hallway door open, triggering the intruder/escape alarm. I was surprised because I was sleeping near the hallway and hadn’t heard anyone walk past me. Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

*******************************************************************************

Chapter 12 – The Code is tested

Day Two – 4:30 pm

Our discussion was broken with the sudden “Thrump!” of a body slamming against a wall, and the screaming of bloody teenage anger.

“Give me my fucking Walkman back, you fucking little freak, or I’ll kill ya. I can’t fucking believe you stole my music… you’re just fucking listening to it, right here!” Continue reading →

By Bruce A. Smith

The Men of Honor of Unity House is a novel based upon my experiences as a therapist at a residential foster care facility for young men coping with sexual assault charges. In 2001, during the Anthrax scare that followed 9-11, my agency’s director and I mapped out a plan for how we would deal with our men, aged 12-18, if we had to go into lockdown in the event of a local terrorist attack. The following pages are based upon those discussions.

The plot so far: A 2-kiloton suitcase nuke has exploded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the staff of Unity House form the Men of Honor Society for two purposes: One, to keep the seven teen-aged boys of Unity House busy and not fighting each other, and two, to act as a rescue group to the local neighborhood. Due to the destruction and radiation, the police and army can not get into this section of Worcester. The people living on Marion Avenue and Plantation Street have only the Men of Honor for assistance.

To read more of the Men of Honor:

https://themountainnewswa.net/category/the-men-of-honor-of-unity-house/

*******************************************************************************

Chapter 10 – First Steps

Day Two – 3pm

TT and I decided to take two small groups into the neighborhood. TT drove his SUV – now christened the “Nuke Mobile” by Willy – and take Trey, Willy and the two K’s along Heywood Street. I took Deon and Naleef up to Shannon and Dorchester Streets.

Terry and Bill, deciding that it was vital to check out St. Vincent’s and see what, if anything remained of that once glorious hospital, hitched a ride with TT as far as the Abbey, and organized a scouting party with Brother Mike and the Abbots.

For this process, we had to figure how to suit up. Continue reading →