The magic alarm in my head rang and I slid out of bed to go to the bathroom. It was five fifty. I made coffee, took a shower, and put on my clothes. Today was going to be a very long day. I felt rested, so I knew I would be all right.
As I finished dressing, Mercy raised her head and asked, "Is it morning already?"
"It is, Honey, you can go back to sleep if you want."
"No, I want to get up with you this morning. I may want to go with you on your flight tonight. I'll know later."
She got up and showered, which was enough activity to wake Sue. She wanted some kisses before getting up to face the world. She got them and headed toward the bathroom.
I took a cup of coffee out to the patio, turned on the air, fans, lights and TV. The lady on the TV said we were going to have some high eighties or low nineties, but no threat of thunderstorms today.
People began arriving at six fifteen. Two of the first were Debbie and Shawna. They came to me and both wanted to sit in my lap. I let each sit on a knee and hugged them. They were disappointed their breasts didn't stay as large as they had enjoyed them the night before. Mercy told them that it was only an illusion; she made them believe they had them and made others look upon them as if they had bigger breasts.
Shawna said, "Tiny's pants hitting the ground wasn't an illusion, and Joan's panties coming out of her shorts wasn't an illusion."
Mercy said, "More than you think or know, Shawna. People see what they think they see, but then, there is magic." Mercy was giggling as she hugged the two girls.
Soon the patio was full of our people, including Samantha, the park manager and his wife, Tiny's parents, as well as Charlie and Matty. Dewey stuck his head out the door and asked, "Is that a box of sweets I see? I'll be right back; I have a lady who loves those."
Merlin came out dressed and obviously freshly showered; his hair was still wet. Missy followed in her robe. Ruth told Missy that she was a robe person in the morning too. Glenda agreed, saying it was too early to get dressed anyway.
Phil and Judy had brought a bunch of pastries and a mountain of breakfast sandwiches. Phil said the MacDonald's was ready for him in the morning now as they had about fifty mixed sandwiches ready when he came by. He even got free coffee every morning.
Merlin watched everyone and listened to the various conversations that were going on. Missy was sitting in the glider with Glenda, chatting and drinking coffee.
Soon it was time for everyone to go to the shop. Merlin began to realize that most of the people who came for breakfast and who had been there the night before worked at my business. He was wondering how having my friends as employees worked.
Merlin and Dewey both wanted to ride with me to work. Sue said that she would take Missy and Sheila with her to the plant to say good morning to her people before showing them the other side of the street.
I took Merlin and Dewey through the shops and introduced them to those they had not met yet. They were impressed at how clean and neat the shop was. The bright white floors, and the walls with our "Perfect" signs, gave them an idea how dedicated my people were.
The body building people fascinated Merlin. Dewey was intrigued by the fact that the company built frames, sheet metal, fiberglass, and motors for NASCAR. Abe showed off his shop, then accompanied us over to the super lift shop. The size of the giant lifts was staggering to those who hadn't seen them. We were treated by watching a completed bright, shiny lift drive over to a decrepit looking machine, lift it up, and carry it into the shop. The circle was complete. A lift had been rebuilt and another old broken down super lift was starting through the process.
A truck was waiting, so the rebuilt lift was driven up onto the bed and chained down. The rebuilt machine was so tall that the truck had to be a drop-center trailer so the lift would clear bridges on the interstate as it was hauled to its destination.
My new crew was polishing pieces of fresh fiberglass in preparation for putting them together. Jeff was demonstrating how he had molded metal strips into the fiberglass to bolt the body to the chassis. I tried to explain what I was doing to Merlin and Dewey, but they were a little fuzzy on the concept. I told them that perhaps they would understand when they saw the finished product.
The guys had done a great job on the chassis. The motor was complete, but far too much money had been spent on chroming components. If we kept this up, I would need to build my own chrome shop. The truck was going to be a little obnoxious looking with all chrome wheels and tanks under the new body. I guess it needed to be flashy to show it was a real trucker's truck.
The mechanic reported that he had ordered new instruments for the dash. He said that the instruments were going to have both standard sweep gauges with digital readouts over each gauge. I thought that would be nice, but maybe overkill. I made myself a note to check the cost later; maybe digital would be enough, unless there was a question of reliability of the digital guages.
As we came back to the showroom, Sue was bringing Missy, Sheila, and Mercy in. Sue said she would show Merlin and Dewey the rest of the office area while I caught up on my calls.
Debbie and Deanne had everything under control. They were both excited about a dealer in Maryland that had sold three big trucks and had ordered about twenty of the new bodies we were building. Debbie said that would put that shop over three months behind. I walked out and talked to the body people, asking them if they felt they could train more people. They all said they knew of at least two people each that wanted to work for us and were hard workers. They said that if I would start them, they would make sure they produced perfect bodies.
The only problem was, we were running out of space. If we put six more people to work in the body group to catch up, that would max the frame, sheet metal, and body areas. The frame and sheet metal shops were keeping up, but the body and motor people were beginning to fall behind. I told the body guys to get with Debbie and Ruth to get their friends in to fill out apps, to remind their friends about the drug testing, and make sure they knew we only wanted perfect product out the door.
The motor shop was rowdy, as usual. They were happily working along. I wasn't too worried about being back-ordered, as eventually the market would saturate, which should slow down orders. There is a NASCAR break, and it coincided with a general racing break, so I figured we would not only catch up, but would be able to send everyone on vacations. We would have to play that as it came.
Time was flying. It was nearly time for me to leave for my overnight instrument class. I called Glenda and asked her to pack a dozen sandwiches and a couple of our biggest thermoses full of coffee. I thought I might even take one of the small coolers full of water and soda.
When I found Sue and announced that I was leaving, Mercy insisted that she come along. I had no idea why, but she wanted to come. We drove home, where I suggested she put on comfortable clothes and soft shoes, since this was not going to be a pleasure cruise. She said she understood, but wanted to experience it with me.
We ate lunch and walked up to the pool to swim for fifteen to twenty minutes then walked back home to shower and dress. I finished up my paperwork for the instructor and printed out a copy of the flight plan, then Mercy and I drove out to the air park. I parked the truck, pushed the plane out, then loaded and strapped down the cooler behind the rear seats.
I was giving the plane a detailed and thorough pre-flight inspection when the instructor showed up. I handed him the stack of paperwork and the printed-out flight plan while I finished up.
"You've already filed?"
"Yes sir, I did that last night. I thought that if there were any changes you wanted to make, I could call in and amend by either phone or radio."
"Good job. You did all the work, and who is this stowaway?" he asked observing Mercy.
"This is my dear friend, Mercy. She loves to fly and wants to come along for the adventure. She knows this is going to be a long and boring flight, but she insisted on coming along."
"Did you figure her and the extra weight into your fuel planning?" He asked.
I answered, "I didn't think I needed to, as I did all my fuel planning using the max gross weight figure, and added an extra fifteen minutes to the minimum reserve time.
"Good going, you'll never get caught short if you do that. You're smart because you have to use time, instead of distance, in case you get a headwind. Let's go see the land."
We called in to flight control to initiate the flight plan then requested permission to takeoff from the local controller. As soon as we were off the ground, I dialed in the first leg of the trip. The instructor told me to use all of my tools right now, but we would switch around during the trip.
The first touch and go was in Tallahassee. We were in and out easily, heading toward Mobile, then to Huntsville where we would refuel. From there we went in and out of Little Rock, over to Memphis, then up to St. Louis. The air traffic people put us in the holding pattern longer than I had planned. I finally had to request landing instructions instead of a touch and go, as I would otherwise be over my fuel projections. This was going to be my first big airport night landing. I had planned on refueling in Springfield, Illinois, where they had a new approach control system that I wanted to use, plus they were used to small aircraft; but St Louis it would be. I would look at my options and amend as necessary.
In St. Louis, it took fifteen minutes just to taxi to the small aircraft area to be refueled. We had to wait for a fuel truck to come to us instead of taxing up to a pump.
After using the restroom facilities, we loaded up and taxied out to the runway, being given clearance rapidly, till we were next to go after a 737. It was kind of funny to be in between two giant airliners. I was well behind the 737, so I didn't get blown around from his jet wash. As soon as he had begun his takeoff roll, the tower advised me to enter the active. They gave me the send off and the little 172 was off the ground a short distance down the runway. I had received permission to turn onto my course before the end of the runway. I knew the plane behind me was already on his takeoff roll.
I did get to do a touch and go at Springfield, then we flew into the nightmare called O'Hare. Oh shit, it was busy. We were put into a low altitude short holding pattern, then directed to go straight in on the right active runway and turn off at the first opportunity. I was to notify ground control when I had turned off. Approach control became agitated that they had to talk a 172 into the well lit runway, but my instructor advised them I was a student and needed the experience. As soon as he identified himself, they were much more cordial.
We taxied to the small aircraft fuel pumps where an attendant filled the plane. We used the potties and took off again heading for Indianapolis. Since it was night, only major airports would have an approach control group working. After the Indiana stop, we went all the way to Atlanta, where the sun was coming up as we landed.
The instructor asked me how I was doing and I said I felt fresh, if he wanted to continue we could, and would get home earlier. I asked Mercy how she was doing and she said she was fine and wide awake. After refueling, we took off and did a touch and go in Greensboro, then headed toward Orlando, using nothing but the basic instruments and radio with the hood pulled over me. The touch and go at Orlando was smooth, but I never did get to see the airport; I was kept blind. I had one more quick touch and go at Tampa, then a landing at home. Everything was smooth at Tampa where he pushed the hood off me so I could do the touch and go myself. We turned out to go home where I called in, requesting permission to land. We touched down and taxied to the hangar.
I filled out the plane's logbook after checking the time meter, then reached back to get my logbook. Mercy smiled and handed it to me. She had logged all of my time and my landings at each point of reference for the class. The instructor smiled, saying that he had given her the job; she needed something to keep her busy.
I handed the plane over to the attendant, asking him to clean up the interior, since we had been eating in the plane. I loaded the leftovers into the truck. The instructor told me to come Monday, prepared to fly till around eleven. We would use the twin so I would also get checked out in multi-engine as I practiced instrument flying in it. He gave me an itinerary that looked too long, but then I remembered the new plane was very fast. I asked if it was a 1PM take-off and he said it would be.
Mercy and I were fairly tired, but I was still wired from the experience of flying the distance we had in such a short period of time. It was just a little after two on a Saturday afternoon, so Sue said for us to take a nap; she had a big night planned for us.
I awoke to Sue kissing me awake. After I was awake, she kissed Mercy awake as gently as she had me. While I watched her, I realized not only how much Sue enjoys someone of her own sex, but how much she really likes Mercy.
Out on the patio, Merlin was holding court, doing amateur tricks with cards and other items. Missy was trying to hide her face from the rank performance Merlin was giving. All of my friends were fascinated by his ability, but then we were a bunch of bubba's just waiting to be fascinated.
Ben and Beth showed up for supper on the patio. They knew how we did it, so they found a seat to enjoy having a family style dinner put in front of them. The drink of the night was some mild, almost red, wine that was tasty but not strong or bitter. Sue even enjoyed a glass.
Betty and Joan began serving a really nice supper. We had pulled roast pork with black beans and yellow rice. For those that wanted something else, we had some other Cuban dishes that gave the meal a real Latin flavor.
After supper, before Merlin could develop a group to watch his musings, Ben and Beth had them pack up and come with them to their house on the bay. Merlin, ever the yuppie, followed the path that Sue had set for him so we could be without his influence for a while.
The plan for the night was that everyone on two wheels (in my case three) would gather and go hopping around the area, enjoying wind in their face, as well as beer and some tasty treats along the way.
I introduced Dewey to the shovel. He loved it and instantly tried it out. It was a little more powerful than he thought it would be, but enjoyed riding it up and down the highway to get the feel of it. He thought that since he and Sheila had not been on a bike lately they should use the helmets. Sheila loved the paintings and the helmets, but told everyone to take it easy on her, as she was not necessarily comfortable with riding.
Charlie had called Hap and told him I had some special guests with me. Hap assured Charlie we would be treated well.
Our group was Charlie with Shawna, Jim with Hanna, Hank with Debbie, Sandy and Mandy riding solo without their men, Dewey with Sheila on my shovel, and Sue and Mercy riding with me. The seven bikes took off and were welcomed at the gate of the clubhouse. We were greeted and given beers as soon as we were in the social area of the yard. The cook came, with prospects carrying dishes of his famous Saturday chili. We ate and drank for a while, then Hap sent us off with his silent member, Stormy, to pay for our adventure. I couldn't argue him out of it.
We went to Big Jim's and had fun with Double D. Sheila was astounded that Sue and D were such great buddies. Double D said, "If I hadn't found my guy, Steve would have been it for me. But then, I was distracted and Sue got her man. Why shouldn't we be buddies, we both love the same guy."
We rode the interstate down to the St. Pete clubhouse bar. They were effusive about their praise for our latest episode of helping their club out. You would think we were something special they way they hung onto us.
We took the tour up to the Crab Shack where we had some of their famous onion rings. They were so good when soaked in beer or eaten with a beer chaser. We ended up at the park, putting away the rolling stock and then discussing whether we wanted to go to the tub.
Tiny and Ruth came over in robes, asking if we were going. That settled it. I told Dewey and Sheila that the tub adventure may be more than expected. They said they would go, but wouldn't participate if they didn't want to.
This was also going to be the first time that Mercy was there with the whole group. I hoped it didn't freak her out as well.
When we got to the tub, Charlie tested the water and said it should be cool enough for Sue, so he turned on the bubbles and robes vanished. It was very cozy with fifteen people in the tub. Mercy and Sue surrounded me, with Sandy and Mandy next to Sue. Shawna was instantly trying to impale herself on Charlie and Debbie was doing the same with Hank.
Sheila got the idea and followed suit by mounting a surprised Dewey. The couplings remained monogamous until we finally went home to get a decent night's sleep.
This was a nice Sunday. After breakfast, Sue said we were to all go to the Bay Shore house for dinner. I warned Dewey that Ben was a little egotistical and would attempt to impress him with himself and his worth. Dewey laughed as he said that often people who were left money acted as if they were responsible for getting it.
Merlin and Missy were in hog heaven. Beth was making sure they were having the time of their life. Ben and Beth had an entire week of hobnobbing with the goober smootchers planned. Merlin had already contacted his agent to book him and some of his troupe into a local club so he could make Tampa a regular visit to entertain.
Ben was so receptive to Merlin and Missy that they both had him believing he was a totally changed man. Poor Beth, she had to try to keep him grounded. Mercy was very sharp with her dad, trying to get him to let up on Ben a little.
Playing pool with Merlin wasn't much fun as he kept trying to manipulate my mind while I was playing. I realized that he couldn't create the illusions if I was focused. I was learning.
Mercy and Missy mentally congratulated me as I discovered this tactic. They whispered to me mentally that most people never realize they have been manipulated or how to prevent it.
Merlin didn't understand why I wasn't responding. I'm sure Missy would tell him later.
Back home, Dewey said he wanted to rent a car and go wandering. Perhaps they would go to Busch Gardens, perhaps to Disney in Orlando, maybe to Sea World.
We drove to Tampa airport where he rented a red Mustang convertible. He said it fit his mood.
We were in bed early this Sunday night. I was able to love both of my ladies before conking out.
Monday morning was different. Mercy woke me in a way only Sue had before. She kept it up until I gave in and released my passion to her. When I asked what had prompted her actions she laid forward on me and said, "It was time I let you know that I'm here to stay."
Sue was having a hard time waking in the morning now. Her body was not cooperating with her mind. She was using a lot of energy to manufacture the critter inside her.
At the breakfast table, the new day was planned. Mercy was going to be spending more time with Sue in order to help her during the day. I still had to finish my instrument rating and Sue had to begin planning how she was going to finish hers.
My morning was spent watching Jeff work with the two coachmen as they assembled the molded pieces onto the chassis. The measurements had been accurate and the body mounted easily. The front went on easily as well, with a tilt up nose they had created for working on the engine compartment.
Their next step would be cab build out, then the work on the sleeper.
I got Jeff off to the side and asked him to build out at least five sets of the materials unless he saw something that could be improved on. He felt the design was definitely sellable and said he would get the fiberglass bodies ready.
By one, I was at the airpark, with the Beechcraft outside the hangar. I was using the instruction manual to do the pre-flight inspection. It wasn't that much different, but these were turbo prop engines that would fly over three hundred knots. I wanted to be sure the plane was in good operating condition.
When the instructor arrived, we went back over the pre-flight. He was surprised that I had done so thorough an inspection. We pulled the wheel chocks and climbed into the craft, where he spent a half hour going over how to work a twin engine airplane.
I fired the first engine and watched the gauges as it came up to speed, then fired the second engine and again watched the gauges. Once everything was where it was supposed to be, I advanced the both throttles to move away from the hangar.
The instructor had me stop and showed me how I could use one engine to turn the aircraft on the ground. I turned to the right then to the left, then he said, "Let's fly."
Once granted permission for the active runway, I advanced the throttles and watched the airspeed indicator. About the time the speed was where it was supposed to be the plane was taking off by itself, nice.
We climbed out, then he had me level off at cruising altitude and speed. Wow! We were doing three hundred knots at twelve thousand feet. We did a big loop over the gulf and headed toward Sarasota-Bradenton for my first touch and go. Instead of going on he had me completely land, do a taxi back, then takeoff again.
Flying this plane was almost easier than the 172. It was comfortable, easy to handle, and fast. In no time at all I was requesting instructions for Jacksonville, then Gainsville, then Tallahassee. We were back in front of the hangar by six. The attendant took the plane for refueling and servicing while I filled in the log books.
The instructor told me we were going on an extended flight tomorrow that would end with my check ride. He congratulated me on working hard to fly safely. I asked him if he was free to work with Sue, and he said he would talk to John to find out where she was in her training.
The next afternoon, we flew close to the same route we had the previous weekend except in reverse. This time however, we were flying at over three hundred knots with enough fuel to damn near fly the route without refueling.
We did refuel in Chicago, then did touch and go's all the way home. When we landed at the air park at five in the morning, the instructor shook my hand while we taxied to the hangar saying, "You did great, you are instrument qualified. You're going to have fun with this plane, I can tell."
As I shut down and prepared to store the plane, I thought of how I had gone from the little 140 I had learned in, to the 150 and the 152 tricycle gear, all the way to this junior rocket ship. The only thing more I could do was to become jet qualified. To an extent, I was jet qualified, as the turbines on the 200b were jets that spun propellers.
After logging the plane and my book, the instructor made a notation in it and said he would file the papers later today. Before going home, I left a note for the attendant to refuel the plane, and make sure it was ready to fly.
I fell into bed, only to have to wake up and get going for a new day.
My tractor building crew was ready for a test. The cab was mostly complete. The old air seat had been rebuilt and recovered. The interior of the cab looked nice, but the sleeper was still a shell.
The engine was the same as the race day trucks so we could use their load weights to test the truck. I rented a trailer and we filled it with a couple of fork lifts to get the weight, then took off with full fuel tanks. I had the drivers drive two hundred miles or as close as possible to two hundred and then fill up, noting the exact distance and amount of fuel.
Once calculated back at the shop, the new body had experienced almost four miles to the gallon better than the regular body. This was far too much just for wind resistance, so we re-weighed the trailers, to find the test trailer was actually heavier than the race day trailer.
I had the race day tractor for the Winston cup races tuned perfectly, then had it run two hundred miles under the same conditions. We then took the new tractor and ran it two hundred miles with the same trailer and were now just over four miles per gallon. The result was amazing.
That may not sound like much, but most trucks were on the open road thousands of miles a week. If they were to get three or four miles to a gallon more, the body would pay for itself in weeks.
The only thing to do was more testing. I told the guys to build out the sleeper with the help of the other drivers. They did that in two days.
While the buildout was being done, I had Shawna and Hank do their painting magic on the cab for a NASCAR event. They chose the Daytona 500 as a theme and had a series of scenes with all the famous drivers, past and present, in various situations. It was informative, but funny all at the same time.
When the Winston Cup race day drivers showed up to leave, I asked them to use the new tractor. They were hot to do it because they thought it was brand new. I told them to fold out the front when they were at the track to show off the chassis and engine.
This week they were at Pocono speedway, way up in Pennsylvania, so they had a long haul and were getting a late start. Their wives loved the interior and said it would make it nice to ride in.
Friday, I asked Sue if she wanted to fly up to Pocono speedway to see the races. I said I wanted to see the truck and we could take Dewey and Sheila with us if they wanted. It was a go, we were flying.
Friday morning at the shop, Deanne was at the shop with an overnight bag. Sue had asked her to come along. We were taking Dewey and Sheila, along with Tiny and Ruth, as well as Mercy and Deanne.
Out at the air park, I calculated the weight and figured the fuel requirements. I called the airport up there to make sure that fuel and tie downs were available. When I told them the plane type, they offered hangar space, which I took. Sue had secured a car, as well as hotel rooms.
I was able to show off my new instrument rating. We took off smoothly, with Sue complimenting me on flying her new plane. I let the GPS alert me for each direction change as we headed from position to position.
Four hours later, we were on the ground being refueled and pushed into a hangar. We had a big Ford Expedition for transportation, and we took that to the racetrack.
The first thing we saw was our race day trailer. The next thing that caught my attention was the crowd around the tilted up front of the tractor. There were lots of people looking at the chromed engine and chassis.
As we walked up to the truck, Gene came up to me, "Now what are you selling out here? What's with the strange looking truck?"
The salesman in me came out, "Gene, if you could get another three miles per gallon on your tractors, what would it be worth to you."
"For what diesel is selling for right now, a lot. Is that what that truck is all about?" He asked.
"My people made it a show piece to get attention, but the design is what will get you the mileage. It's all about wind resistance. We might even do better than three miles per gallon soon."
"Do one for me and I'll try it out. Do I buy the whole tractor or do you use one of my own?" He wondered.
"Either way. If you have an old one you want rebuilt to good as new, let us do that, and put a body on it that will help with the mileage. You'll have a good as new truck and a body that is less wind resistant," I said smiling my best salesman smile.
"If I didn't know you better, I would think you're selling snake oil. Go over to my shop and pick up one of my old tractors and do your worst. Damn, you kill me with all of your strange ideas."
My guys working the trucks with their wives were ecstatic with the attention they were getting. They were asking when they could start taking orders for the bodies. I told them to hold their horses, as I wanted to have at least one other person test them.
We all enjoyed the races. Deanne was able to get autographs from just about every driver and every team owner. She wore her S&S employee T-shirt and drove the little pickup golf cart around looking important. She was in hog heaven. Dewey was amazed that we had come up with the idea of our race day stores on wheels. Everyone had to have one of the event T-shirts the trucks had for sale.
The flight home Sunday evening was smooth, uneventful, and fast. Sue was impressed with my flying, saying she was excited that I had finished my instrument rating and wanted to finish as well.
We were home, relaxing by ten. All of us were ready for bed after the hectic weekend.