| Rob Ferguson | |
| Fictional Character | |
| Supervolcano POD: Set in the future | |
| Appearance(s): | Eruption; All Fall Down; Things Fall Apart |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct POV |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Date of Birth: | 20th century |
| Occupation: | Musician, Engineer, Hunter |
| Parents: | Colin Ferguson, Louise Ferguson |
| Spouse: | Lindsey Kincaid |
| Children: | Colin Marshall Ferguson |
| Relatives: | Vanessa Ferguson (sister) Marshall Ferguson (brother) |
| Professional Affiliations: | Squirt Frog and the Evolving Tadpoles |
Rob Ferguson was the eldest child of Colin and Louise Ferguson. He graduated with a degree in engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara but made a living playing bass and touring with Squirt Frog and the Evolving Tadpoles, a band that he helped form while in school.[1]
Rob believed smoking weed let him play better. Time slowed when he was loaded, giving him the opportunity to nail each note, one by one. And he could hear, almost see, how they fit together.[2] However, enough of his education as an engineer rubbed off so that he designed an experiment. He made recordings of himself playing, wasted and straight, and then listened to them. So far there wasn't much difference but he preferred to get loaded so he did.[3]
Rob and the rest of Squirt Frog continued to tour and went on a cross country road trip about a year and a half before the eruption. They headed north along the west coast to Spokane, Washington where they had an especially good night at a club called "Harvey Wallbanger".[4] They then head east to Missoula, Montana[5] and then further though the northern border states, through Madison, Wisconsin[6] to New York City.[7]
The next part of Squirt Frog's tour was northeast into New England. They were on I-95 on their way to Portland, Maine when they heard the boom from the Yellowstone Supervolcano. This was not a surprise since they had been following the progress of the enormous sound wave on NPR. Being as far from the eruption while still in the U.S., they were safe enough and so continued their tour.[8]
Ferguson and the rest of the band were driving slowly, due to a snowstorm, north to Greenville for a concert when their route on State Highway 6 was blocked by a flipped transport truck near Guilford.[9] The accident prevented them from proceeding and they took up residence in the Trebor Mansion Inn in Guilford for the winter.[10] Biff Thorvald, the rhythm guitarist, took up with Cindy a waitress at Caleb's Kitchen and refused to leave town when the roads became passable in spring. Rather than break up the band, the rest of the members, including Ferguson, chose to remain in Guilford.[11]
After leaving a town meeting during the second winter after the eruption, Ferguson accidentally stepped on someone's foot in the dark. It turned out to be Lindsey Kincaid, a chemistry teacher at Piscataquis Community Secondary School, the local high school. She was a fan of the concerts the band had put on in the park during the previous summer. She agreed to having Ferguson walk her home[12] and a romance developed from there.[13]
During the third winter after the eruption, Ferguson went hunting moose with a rifle he had borrowed from Dick Barber, the Inn's proprietor. As he aimed at a moose, he was accidentally shot in the leg by Ralph O'Brian, another local. The wound was a grazed grove in Ferguson's calf which he packed with a handkerchief. Then O'Brian and another hunter helped Ferguson back to the town's medical clinic where he was treated by Dr. Bhattacharya. The doctor gave him a local, then cleaned and sutured the wound. He prescribed antibiotics and painkillers and lent Ferguson a pair of crutches. Kincaid arrived at the clinic just as Ferguson was leaving and insisted he stay at her place while he healed rather than try to use the ladder in the Inn.[14]
Lindsey and Rob were married the fourth winter after the eruption. Lindsey's school principal was her matron of honor with a couple of teachers as bridesmaids. Rob had Justin Nachman as his best man with Charlie Storer and Biff Thorvald as his groomsmen. Rob's father was in California so Dick Barber stood in for him. Lindsey's parents were divorced but both came with her father bringing his new girlfriend, a women about Lindsey's age, along. Although held in the Episcopalian church, it was a civil ceremony presided over by Jim Farrell. The reception afterwards was a feast with moose meat, roasted goose, stewed squirrel and a home-smoked ham. Music for dancing was provided by Squirt Frog with a local kid filling in for Rob on bass. It was the local social event of the winter, well attended and the two felt very much married afterward.[15]
References[]
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