Steve
Now that Chuck was back from hiding out in the Gulf, life around home seemed to be getting back to normal. He was busy with a bunch of federal people and his prisoners were all transported to DC where they would be held or given an option to be bailed out. I told Chuck that I didn't care what happened, as long as they left me and my company alone.
Tiny told me that a major military supplier was negotiating to have us produce bodies for their equipment. That is what we wanted in the first place. We didn't necessarily want to be a sole supplier, only to augment what other vendors were supplying. If we did this right, we not only could use our entire existing workforce, but possibly expand it by hundreds.
When I had the chance, I spoke with Ben to see if he wanted to begin a search for an existing local structure that could house a very large fiberglass forming factory. Ben said he would initiate the search and have one of his young lawyers work up a presentation on it.
While I was in my office, Ruth came in and gave me the latest personnel results in Nevada. Our staff in Las Vegas and Reno had increased by almost a third with the additional customer service people, outside sales and tech support people, and the additional delivery people the additional sales required. She also reported that we had made progress in correcting the illegal alien problems in both locations.
Chance came in with his new brochures for local and state governments. The brochures displayed the vehicle we had considered as similar to a wheeled armored personnel carrier but was now displayed as a SWAT support vehicle. He said, "Abe and a couple of the mechanics have made the inside into a very comfortable transport, complete with air conditioning, and with plenty of our special transparent shields so the people riding inside are aware of what is going on outside."
I asked, "Is it cost effective for cities and states? With all of their budget problems, a vehicle like that could now be well out of reach for most communities."
Chance answered, "We're about twenty-five percent of what most vehicle manufacturers list theirs for. I'm putting together a rolling display of a couple of vehicles to take on a traveling tour of all state purchasing groups. We should be able to get the states, counties, and cities considering vehicles to see our products as well. We have a two man sales group; we have a new truck the men can stay in if necessary, and we have a new trailer that our vehicles can ride in. We may not get the military business of the vehicles, but I think we can get a major portion of the civilian demand."
I looked at Chance and asked, "Sounds like we're heavily invested in this. Who made up your budget?"
With a smile, Chance said, "Tiny and Henry figured it out with the help of the new guy, Moleson, who works with the clothing company military garment sales. Phil thinks we need to market the product person to person, and that's why he's convinced Tiny to budget as heavily as he has."
"Looks good, Chance. We're forging ahead while others are contracting. Good job on the vehicles, Chance. You have created an entire new division within the company. Good job on the brochures too."
As the morning wound down, I spent some time with Tiny, as he wanted to go over all of our various divisions' P&Ls. When he had finished showing me numbers that he was happy with, I asked, "You didn't show me anything having to do with the airpark, the charter services, or our LSA company?"
Tiny pulled a file and said, "The LSA group is actually showing a profit, but I want to wait until all of our costs are in. All of the insurance and special bonding isn't complete yet. Ben's group is working on it right now. I also don't want to try to display numbers when we have so many orders on hand but only a few deliveries. In another month, we may be in the black for the year or since start up. Let's wait and see."
I said, "Good. What about the airpark and the charter services?"
Tiny smiled, "I'll go over those with both you and Chuck. Since he's the majority owner now, he should be around to go over them with you, don't you think?"
"How did he become majority owner?" I asked, trying to remember what had transpired to make him an owner anyway.
Pulling some papers from another file, Tiny showed me, "See, when you said to make him a half-owner, you didn't consider that the S&S 401K plan was also an owner at the time. So S&S and the S&S 401K each now own 25% and Chuck became the majority owner with 50%. Did you want to buy out part of his share? I'm sure he wouldn't care. Either way, he doesn't need the money at this point."
I thought of the problem, or what I considered to be a problem, for a few moments. "You know what? This may be good for Chuck. I'm sure he doesn't realize what's happened, but I will let him know in time. Since the management structure out there is good, and the place is running smoothly, there is no reason to upset the apple cart right now. How is that group as far as cash reserve?"
Tiny dug out some more papers and said, "Their revenues are great, they have no real debt right now, and the charter companies lease costs are covered. If you had a problem out there it would be with maintenance. You only have eight mechanics out there now and could use at least four more. You are receiving a lot of helicopter maintenance work since you've taken on the Bell training school. Since Jimmy has finished the advanced Cessna Citation school, you have a waiting list for maintenance. Right now, leasing companies are getting aircraft back and want them brought up to date before selling or re-leasing them."
Tiny continued, "We need to send another man to the Citation school, and we really need a second man certified with Bombardier. Now that we have the 737, we need to consider hiring an experienced certified man or men for it. And, of course, you know we need to have at least one more person go through the Bell school and that takes a long time. We might get lucky and find someone out of work since the economy is down."
"Jimmy and Tank think we need our own coachman shop for interiors, but I think we can use our people from the RV and truck shops to do the work. The charter service can sub the coachman and both companies can make out."
With a smile, I said, "Nice to have these problems, Tiny. I guess we'll have to get Chuck in on some of these decisions. I'll find out when he has time and you can prepare."
"Good idea, Steve," Tiny said. "I do think Chuck will make a good partner out there as he has such an avid interest in flying. We'll have to see whether it is a bigger interest than his deputy's duties."
"Thanks, Tiny, I'm going to lunch. If I get a chance, I'll talk to Chuck about a time to present all this to him."
While driving home, I thought of how I might have deceived Chuck about the airpark and the charter services. I couldn't make up my mind whether it was the right thing to have done, or whether I should correct the inequity. If Chuck wanted, he could have a full time job just trying to run the airpark and charter companies. But then, why mess with something that was working. DeDe and Betty were working well together and had added another girl to work exclusively with Jimmy and Tank to keep track of maintenance records. All of the billing was going back through our central billing for S&S, and I'd bet Tiny was charging the charter and maintenance division for the service.
Well, Chuck needs to be made aware of his position and he does need to be involved in decisions.
At the patio, I ate with all of the regulars then went to the gym with my ladies. Even Juanita joined us, as her energy level seems to have increased now that her newly discovered diabetes problem is under control. When we returned from the gym, I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the sun but wanted to visit with the R&D people for a while.
When I entered the R&D shop, I was surprised at the remodeling. There was an entrance area with a reception desk. I recognized a young lady from the park who had recently finished high school. She said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Sharp. Who do you want to see today?"
"Cindy, how about I see Dennis to find out what he's working on lately?"
Cindy got up from her desk and opened the door leading into the main open area of benches where projects were put together before testing. Dennis and Mark were working on something large and bulky when Cindy hollered that they had a guest.
Mark raised his head and smiled, "Hey, Steve. Come look at this a minute. You might see something we're not."
At the bench, Mark showed me what looked like the internal windings of a generator. He said, "We've re-laid the windings so they are in groups instead of a single strand at a time. I know in my heart the generator can develop more current this way, but we've fallen off a full third. What do you see?"
It looked like a generator to me. What do I know? "Mark, I wouldn't know what to look for. I understand what generators do and how they work, but I don't know the exact manner of how windings can affect the generator."
As I was looking at the pieces, I asked, "If you have a broader field of windings to produce current wouldn't you need a broader or wider magnetic field to pick up the current?"
Mark and Dennis looked at each other. Dennis closed his eyes and smacked himself on the forehead, "Dummy, we make something fancy and don't think it through. Let's widen the pickup and see what happens."
Mark looked at me and said, "Hang around, Steve. We have a few more glitches for you to solve."
Abe walked in the door and saw me, "Hey, Steve, come look at the new diesel engine we're testing. This thing is really special. It's a design with combustion chambers that should produce more power with smaller combustion areas. It's like the domed pistons or the ported heads, just a minor tweak that could save a lot of fuel and create more power."
Abe showed me a window to a test room where an engine was running. It showed a digital clock that read three, thirty-four, twenty-three. Abe said, "That's the equivalent of operating about seventy thousand miles non-stop. We have the motor under a fifty- percent load to simulate what a farm tractor or highway tractor would work at. All of the gauges and measuring equipment says the motor is running just like new. I want to run it at least a thousand hours non-stop, then tear it down. The other unit, next door, has run about the same amount of time, but we're going to keep it running at sixty to seventy percent power with a heavier load rating until it quits, or runs for ten thousand hours, whichever comes first. That's over a year. I doubt it will last that long under the load, but we'll see."
When we came back to the central room, Mark and Dennis were high fiving each other. Dennis said, "Thanks, Uncle Steve, that was the answer. Sometimes we miss the obvious when we're too close to something."
I asked, "Where's Hans? He's usually good at common sense stuff."
Dennis frowned, "He decided he needed a long vacation and has been in Austria and northern Italy for a couple of months. He's bought one of our biplane kits and is putting it together over there so he can fly around the countryside and see it from the air. The man is nuts, as usual."
I suggested, "Perhaps you need more help. Another research assistant."
It was Mark that said, "Gerry comes in at least three days a week and helps with PMs on the test machines, and Ben comes in every afternoon after classes if he doesn't have to do too much studying. I suppose we could use some more help to work on some of our projects. We're really working extensively on wind generators. You know what I'm saying, how to make them smaller, but to be able to generate more power. The new batteries we're using seem to help with storage, but we still need to generate more power from small inexpensive units."
While we were on the subject, I asked Mark, "How are you coming on your green car? Made it perpetual motion yet?"
"You'll never have true perpetual motion, but we can do some wind generation for charging batteries while in motion. If done right, we should be able to extend the range by at least half. That would be a great improvement. We're not there yet, but it's coming."
When I said I was leaving, Dennis said, "Come back in a couple of days. We have a couple of items we're working on that should be of value for Star. She's brought us some of the tools to make to be sure they are cost effective to manufacture. We should have them ready by next week."
At home, I found Sue and asked her if she had anything she might want me to do. She didn't, so I decided to just bum around a little. I put on jeans and a T-shirt, got out the bike, and took off for Jonah's. As is typical in the late afternoon, a lot of the early workers stop in for a beer and to ogle Double D.
There were a lot of the guys that I knew, so I did enjoy chatting with them. Jonah came out from the back and glad-handed me, then went back and brought Millie out. The monster woman gave me a big hug and asked about Chuck. We chatted for a long while, until I decided it was time to wander some more.
I rode out to the airpark to see what Wes was up to, as Tiny had said he wanted to wait to see how the new orders would shake out.
There was a big surprise. In the primary hangar that Wes was using, were six of our aircoupe LSAs under construction. Wes wasn't there, so I was surprised again when I asked for him. He was across the tarmac in the one of the two new hangars that had just been built.
When I walked into the hangar on the right, there were ten high wing LSAs in various stages of being built, but still no Wes. There were two men on each aircraft, the same as in the other hangar. When I asked, one of the men said I would probably find Wes next door.
In the hangar on the left, I found Wes among four larger aircoupes that were under construction. He was measuring where fittings were supposed to go on the tail section with a micrometer. He looked up and smiled, "What do you think, Steve? This is going to be our first four and six place aircoupe. I'm getting it certified as a six place so it can hold the average family with two point three kids."
Wes grabbed my arm and dragged me toward a pile of parts. He took me to a large table with a blueprint on it, and I could instantly see what he was going to tell me. "This is a twin I'm going to experiment with. I think Abe's engines will be perfect, but I'm engineering the mounts to hold both conventional, and if need be, turbines. I want to stay with the conventional engines right now until we can get this put together and tested. It's going to be a little raw at first, but this is a learning experience. I'm going to try a few ideas I have along with some newer technology that's available. First things first, though. I'm going to make it fly with retractable gear just like the single engine aircoupes we're making. Hopefully, Tiny's cost estimates are good so we can build really nice aircraft at ridiculous prices."
I waved my hand at the hangar and asked, "Do you have enough room? Did you need more hangar and manufacturing space?"
Wes blushed and said, "I guess we did spread out fast. I didn't think it would hurt to use the available space, as long as it was empty. By this time next month, we will have most of the LSAs in progress delivered and we should also have several of the biplane kits delivered, as well. We sold our camper, so Jeff's people are molding another one for us. Tiny has been very generous as far as people have been concerned. Some of these folks are from the RV store, some are from the cart plant, a few from the truck body plant, and a couple are from the main shop. The few that I've hired from outside are quality people that were available. All of them know that everything must fit perfect. We're building quality here."
"This is amazing, Wes. I had no idea you were building so much right now. Don't try to build more than can be built with the quality and safety we want and have to have. Let's keep that foremost in our minds. I want us to build aircraft, not experimentals."
Wes laughed and said, "I agree. I want our safety record to be perfect. So far, our little experimental trainers have logged a ton of training hours without any mechanical or structural incidents. We go over the aircraft constantly to make sure they aren't developing any stress fractures and are operating at the same efficiency. So far so good, Steve, I have to brag a little. Our aircraft are really good so far."
I shook Wes' hand and made my way out of there to go back to the charter office. DeDe and Betty were discussing the coming weekend, as there were a lot of charters for Friday through Sunday. Betty said, "All of the small choppers are going to busy with lessons and two bigger Bells have charters. I'm not booked solid, but it wouldn't take much to make us that way."
DeDe smiled, "We've booked all of the small aircraft for lessons. Even the biplanes are booked for people wanting to fly them for fun. We even have the 737 booked, using the luxury seating, through Sunday, so that aircraft is already paying its lease costs. We're going to have to get another crew, as those two guys are going to need a day off soon. Hey, Steve, want to fly a charter in a King Air or small jet this weekend? We have plenty of work if you want to."
I shook my head and said, "I think I'll stick around home this weekend. Somehow I think it is going to be busy there too. I'll talk to Sue and Mercy to see if they might want to do something. If they do, I'll go. How about Chuck or Brandy. Brandy is rated through the little Citation now, isn't she?"
DeDe said, "She's flying right seat on a G5 with Tiani working as flight attendant. Brandy's really trying to get in hours to get her transport license. I even have Wes flying a King Air up to Atlanta this weekend. I'm going with him, so it isn't all lost. We're staying overnight Friday and coming back Saturday evening."
Betty said, "I'm glad I don't know how to fly or they would have me out there. Cindy, our new office helper, wants to begin lessons, so another pilot is born out here. It's fun here, Steve, always something happening."
I was about to leave when DeDe said, "If you see Chuck, he has to be out here at eight Monday morning for his indoctrination and check out on the Citation X. I'm sure he'll be here early. They just called and said it was arranged."
"Oh yeah, DeDe," I remembered, "Did you ask John about registration and ownership of the new Citation?"
"Funny you should ask. See this," DeDe said as she pulled a piece a paper from a file, "This is the title and ownership papers for the Citation from the former owners. The receipt says paid in full by a company out west that I've never heard of. I checked the corporate registry and they are a real company, but it doesn't show assets or anything. It's just a privately held company. Chuck sure has some strange dealings. Good dealings, but strange."
I nodded in agreement thinking that it would be nice if someone gave me a twenty million dollar aircraft. When I thought, 'Wonder who he had to kill to get that, ' I shuddered and put it out of my mind, not wanting an answer to that question.
When I pulled into the yard at home, Sue came out in her jeans and said, "Give me a ride. Take me to Jonah's and buy me a beer before supper. I need some wind in my face."
When we pulled out onto the highway, traffic was picking up so we couldn't let it out very much and remain safe. We wandered through traffic and parked amid a lot of bikes of people that had just gotten off work.
Inside, Sue and Double D squealed and hugged each other. A lot of guys just groaned seeing the two massive chests smashing together. The girls talked while I shot a game of pool until Sue came to me and said, "Well, it's time to go back home. This was a great idea. Let's go."
I had just parked the bike inside my workshop/storage shed when Chuck and some of his ladies showed up. Tiny dragged Chuck and me off to the back of the bar and said, "Get something to drink and let me show you guys some numbers."
Chuck groaned, "More business shit. I'm a lowly Deputy Marshal that you guys are trying to make into a businessman. I can tell, you're doing it again."
I laughed and said, "I didn't have a thing to do with anything."
After a healthy drink of his beer from a frosty mug, Tiny said, "I just needed for Chuck to check out the P&L from the charter service and the airpark. Chuck, I told Steve that I needed to show you both at the same time because of the dual ownership, but it's actually a tri-ownership with the 401K plan."
Tiny handed Chuck and me sheets of paper and began by pointing at the airfield section. "This is how the airfield is doing. Fees, fuel, and hangar rentals are paying for the field, upkeep, and general maintenance. The new little snack bar is making a profit for S&S cafeterias, and is paying a percentage to the airpark."
Tiny moved his pencil down, "As you can see, the charter business for fixed wing has been ridiculously good. The rotary wing charters have been as good, but the profit per hour chartered isn't as high because of the higher costs of maintenance or operation. If we use our outside maintenance profits to offset our personal aircraft costs, it makes it look a lot better and it still is very good within the industry. Helicopters are expensive to operate, so the profit isn't as high."
"That brings us back to maintenance. We're really going gangbusters here. Both fixed and rotary wing profits are way up. Now that Jimmy has finished the Citation school, we can send another mechanic for that, plus we need another mechanic to go to the Bell school. Chuck, you need to spend some time with the men and women out there to see who you should send."
Tiny moved his pencil again, "I separated out the flight training. It is a separate profit and loss center. If you look at the bottom line, it is a pure profit center right now. The helicopter training is expensive, but our birds are booked continuously. I'd say buy some more trainers, but we should hold off right now to see if the trend holds."
Chuck said, "It's good that we are training so many new pilots. The more we train, the more we have a chance of selling one of the new LSAs you're building, Steve. I've even heard you're building a conventional four to six place machine."
I said, "I saw it today and it looks like they will be ready to test fly one soon. I'm looking forward to it."
Tiny wanted to continue, "Now look at this net profit down here. Pretty impressive, isn't it? These numbers here are the breakout by the division of ownership."
Chuck said, "How come I get twice as much as Steve or the S&S 401K plan?"
Tiny didn't look up, but just said, "Easy, you own half of everything out there. Since Steve sold half of what he owns to the plan, he only owns twenty-five percent, and you own fifty."
Chuck looked at me with a squint then looked at Tiny. "What're you two trying to get over on me. Did I really pay you for half of everything out there, not half of what Steve owned?"
Tiny said, "I was told to sell you half, so I sold you half of everything S&S owned out there. I took it to mean all of S&S, including the 401K plan, so that's how I had Ben process it. You own half of the whole thing."
Chuck sat back mumbling to himself. He closed his eyes and then opened them. "Christ, how do you two keep doing this stuff to me. I can't operate that place. I don't know enough about that business to keep it profitable. Man, that takes someone with knowledge, someone with experience, not a Deputy Marshal trying to do it part time."
I told Chuck, "Don't worry, Chuck. You have good management out there and we have Tiny and his group as watchdogs. They guard the till and know our position every day. They are double-checked by each other and then triple checked by our accounting firm. Tiny used to have them audit him constantly to make sure he was doing everything right. I'm sure he still does, just not as flagrantly as he used to."
Chuck protested, "You can't make employees make decisions out there for everything. They need someone to go to when they have problems or when there's a special decision to be made."
I said, "Not to worry. I'm still a part of it and I'll help you with the decisions. You have DeDe, Star, Betty, John, Jimmy, and Tank to give you advice, and they probably already have the answer. They just need the confirmation. Ask all of them when something comes up, and I'm sure you'll get the right answer from them. That's what I've always done. Trust your people to know what to do, and ask them for their advice often when you have a question."
Chuck was shaking his head, "I'm getting deeper and deeper in this. I'm starting to have too much property, in too many locations, with too many people depending on me. Stick with me, Steve, Tiny, I need your help and advice more than ever. One of these days I'm going to have to consider what my day job is."
I thought I could make Chuck happy by relating, "As a bit of good news, you are scheduled for your training and checkout on the new Citation Monday morning."
"Out of sight. I'm dying to fly that bird."
I said, "Another bit of good news is that you received a paid in full receipt for the Citation X, along with the registration papers in your name personally. You now own a remarkable aircraft."
Chuck looked shocked as he looked up at me without raising his head. He did the eyes closed thing again, then raised his head while looking at me, "I didn't think they would just give it to me. I really thought they would make me a special lease or something. That is something, isn't it?"
Tiny looked back and forth between us, but I warned him off about saying anything.
DeDe came into the patio and came back to us. "Steve, Chuck, guess what?"
Chuck and I looked at her.
"We just received waivers for all of our Learjets for single pilot operation when carrying less than seventy-five percent of capacity. Isn't that great? We can legally fly most of our Learjet charters with just one pilot. That's a great cost savings."
Chuck said, "When we have people who need hours or new jockeys trying to get hours, be sure to offer them rides. It's good that we can fly with a single pilot, but let's use the flights for our benefit as well. We need to get a lot of people certified transport and there's only one way to do it."
DeDe said, "I know. I'll do it that way, but that we can do it for quick charters that pop up at the last minute is great. A lot of people ask for a Lear so we can give it to them now if one is available."
Chuck had gotten down from his stool, pulled a beer for DeDe, then filled all of our mugs. When he sat back down, he looked up at DeDe and asked, "What's this about being booked solid this weekend and having to take a charter yourself?"
DeDe actually blushed, "Actually, I'm just going as right seat on an overnight to Atlanta in a King Air with Wes. It's kind of a freebie getaway for me, not really work."
Chuck said, "Make sure you're on payroll, the same with Wes. It's neat you can have a night in Atlanta, but you're still earning for the company."
DeDe said, "I know, Chuck. You've told me before, no working off the clock. You're a good boss."
Chuck rolled his eyes, "I'm not a boss. Just someone that can tell you to do the right thing."
DeDe grinned, "Same thing, same as Steve and Tiny. You guys know the right way to do stuff and keep us straight. That's what you're for. Thanks."
Charlie saw us huddled up at the far side of the bar and came up, "Hey, what's this I hear? The boss is out running around, hauling ass on his bike, during the day. Going to Jonah's twice and once with his ole' lady?"
"Needed some air, Charlie, and when I came back, Sue wanted some too."
Charlie said, "Good thing Kathy didn't see that or you would have had to drag out the garbage truck and haul her too."
Kathy had come up, "I knew Sue wanted to ride. Mercy and I were doing some stuff with the kids, so it was fine that she went. The old man will just have to give us a ride later. How about we take a ride after supper? I think the St. Pete clubhouse needs a visit. How about it, Chuck, want to go for a ride?"
Chuck said, "I'll have to check to see how many want to ride and how many empty back seats there will be. I'll have to get a trike with one of those barrel seats that hold about five. That should just about do it."
Charlie said, "You know what? I just saw one of those barrel seat setups at a swap meet. I'll bet it's still for sale. I'll ask around to see what they want for it. You can see what you think and how many it might hold. We can build a trike without much effort."
"Okay, check on it, but no promises. Just what I need, more toys for all of the ladies."
Charlie laughed, "You'll learn. With more than one, you'll be busy anyway. You might as well try to make more than one happy at a time."
Our group had migrated to the front of the bar where others were joining us. It was soon agreed that we were riding after supper. Mickey, Sandy, and Mandy were going to ride Tina, Big Tina, and Brandy, while Chuck took Lisa. I was riding Kathy and Mercy as Sue wanted to stay home. Mark was coming, and Caroline was riding with him. Of course, Hap was coming, as were Jim and Hank with their women.
Supper became loud and happy with the anticipation of a group ride. As soon as supper was over, we all disappeared to get changed and to bring our bikes out.
To give us some practice riding as a group, we rode to Jonah's for a quick beer and to glad hand everyone. After disrupting that place, we headed across the Howard Franklin Bridge on the way to St. Petersburg. When we pulled in, several prospects ran out to tell us, "Do you guys mind waiting a few minutes? There's a meeting going on, but it should be over in a few minutes. Stay here and we'll have some beer brought out. Please stay, as you guys are always welcome."
We stayed and parked out from the bar in the middle of the parking lot. They did bring a lot of beer that we had just finished when a bunch of patch holders came out to welcome us all into their bar. It wasn't long before "Shorty," the VP, got me off to the side. "Steve, you've always been a friend, a true brother. I just wanted to let you know, if you hear any bullshit that any of our guys are dealing, it isn't so. We just advised all of our brothers that dealing was a sure way to find them on the outside looking up, if you know what I mean. We've been working hard to keep this bunch clean and don't need any bullshit. I'm telling you this, since if any of your folks are holding, they need to leave or ditch it. The law is watching and we are going to be a hundred percent clean, period."
"Good deal, Shorty. I don't think anyone is holding, but I'll pass the word. You might want to clue Hap, he's still a brother, you know."
"Done did it, Steve. It was my job to let him know earlier today. He knows. I wanted to tell you cause you're kinda like the leader of your bunch. Have a good time, enjoy us." Shorty gave me a slap on the back then went back into the bar.
The bar can only hold about a hundred, so there is always a large spill over outside. They had begun serving some of the food that used to be served at the Crab Shack that had recently closed, so a lot of independents were now coming here for a snack and beer.
While standing with Kathy and Mercy, observing the gathering, a smiling creature came up grabbed me in a hug. It was Stormy, the mute biker that had been part of Hap's group. He began signing rapidly, making me feel pretty stupid. Mercy said, "He's saying he's missed you, Steve. He wants to live where Hap does. He's not sure how to do it."
I was confused and asked, "What do you mean he wants to live where Hap does?"
Sandy and Mandy, two girls who used signing daily, walked over and began signing with Stormy. While they carried on their hand conversation, Sandy gave a running commentary of what was being talked about. "Stormy says he wants to live with other people like Hap does, but doesn't know how to earn a living. He's always been a wrench (mechanic) for the club, but he doesn't have a lot of formal training. He says he has money saved up to go to a school, but he can't find one that can teach with signing. He says other groups that can sign know that he isn't stupid or retarded, he just can't speak."
Mercy had disappeared and came back with Shawna. She told Shawna, "Stormy wants a regular job. You know what he can do, so do you have enough work to keep him busy?"
Shawna said, "Hey, Stormy, come work with me and see if you like it. Charlie might even be able to use you out at Jan's and Del's. I'll bet we can find a place for you. You do know you can't wear your colors at work, don't you?"
Stormy was nodding his head vigorously, since Shawna was an old friend and understood that Stormy could hear well and understood, but just couldn't speak.
Charlie had wandered up to the group and said, "Stormy, if you want to move out to the park with Hap, Steve's old trailer is available right now. The guy who had been renting it bought a trailer that had come available closer to where his girlfriend lives."
Stormy grinned and signed to all of us. Sandy interpreted, "He's asking if he can move tonight or should he wait until tomorrow."
Stormy's eagerness got a laugh from all of us. I leaned toward Stormy and asked softly in his ear, "Are you having trouble here? Are you in trouble?"
He stood back and smiled shaking his head to indicate no. He signed and Sandy said, "He just wants the same happiness that Hap has and he thinks he can have it if he lives and works with us."
Mercy said, "If he wants to come home with us, he can stay with us until he has the chance to get the little trailer from Abe. If Abe's already rented his, Star and DeDe may have their little one available. There's always one of the small trailers available."
Mark and Caroline had joined our group and Mark said, "Betty's little trailer where I used to live is available. That has a hell of a workshop with it, too. It might be something for him. His problem will be Betty and Shirley mothering him to death."
I said, "Perhaps Stormy needs some mothering to get back involved with regular society."
Stormy was grinning and signed to Sandy. She interpreted, "He says he's going to get his bedroll. It's probably all of his clothes and the few personal possessions he has."
Stormy had left on his bike and was back within ten minutes with the front and back of his bike loaded like a packhorse. He obviously had a lot more than a simple bedroll.
We had planned on taking a longer ride, but considering we were going to bring Stormy home with us, we decided that a ride back home would be the right thing to do. Stormy spent a few minutes going around to some of his fellow bikers. He came back to me with Shorty. Shorty said, "So you're gonna take Stormy in, huh? He's wanted to go live with Hap, but didn't know how to ask. We're going to miss him. Besides his ability to fix bikes, the man is solid, always doing the right thing and always trying to keep the guys in line. Enjoy, Stormy, come see us soon. Remember, you're forever a brother."
Stormy was just grinning and nodding his head in agreement.
We loaded up and headed back to Tampa, but not running more than sixty in deference to Stormy hauling all of his stuff. When we got to the house, Mercy showed him a room to take his stuff into and told him to come out to have a beer with everyone.
A few minutes later, Stormy came out without his vest/colors, wearing an S&S T-shirt. He had a big grin on his face and began shaking hands with everyone. Sandy sort of hung with him to translate for a while. Bob came to the patio and had a hand conversation with Stormy. Sandy said that Bob was surprised that Stormy could hear but not talk. The two men seemed to hit it off and Stormy sat next to Bob for the rest of the evening.
Sue asked me, "So I'm not the only person that brings strays home, huh?"
I told her how Stormy came to come home with us. She just smiled and hugged me to her side. She said, "I hope we never change. Helping people progress in life is really a good thing."
As it got late, everyone began leaving for their homes. Sue, Mercy, Kathy, Juanita, and I began picking up and straightening up the patio for the next morning. Stormy was right there with us washing the tables and straightening chairs. He even took the broom from Juanita and quickly finished the floors.
I had Stormy put his bike in my big shed. He was very pleased to have it secure. When the big coffeepot was ready for tomorrow, we went inside and headed for bed. Stormy took a magazine from a living room coffee table and headed to his room.
When we were all in bed, Mercy said, "That was nice of you to let him come home with us. He really seemed eager to begin living here. Hap was happy to have him as well."
Sue said, "Did you see how Bob and Stormy got along? They seemed to enjoy each other."
It was Kathy that probably made the most sense, "Stormy has had to be a loner with his only friends, fellow bikers. In all the years I've known him, he's never had a steady girlfriend, or even any really close friends. He's always just done what anyone told him to do. This is a breakaway moment for him. This is his way of really declaring his independence."
There was some gentle kissing and hugging, but we quickly fell asleep, enjoying our closeness.
Editing: Primary Pepere'
Continuity Sagacious
Helicopter and Legal "Rotorhead"
Special last time through: Deenara2000