At breakfast the next morning, the contractor asked if we could take his wife up to Minnesota to the Mayo clinic right away. She had agreed to get treatment.
Sue looked at me and said, "You fly, you need some time in the air. I have some things that have to get done today. If you get tired, stay over somewhere. Call me."
I went into the office and looked up a flight plan to get up there. After calling out to the air park and telling them it was a mercy flight they said they would have the plane serviced and ready, including oxygen and the potty in the back.
I filed the flight plan then called the contractor and his wife to tell them that we would leave between nine and nine thirty. We should be in the air about four and half hours. I used my truck to take us to the airport. I had an unexpected passenger. Nelda said she wanted to ride with me to keep me alert on the long flight.
I loaded the contractor, his wife, and their luggage into the plane, then did the preflight inspection, with the curious Nelda on my heels. It was almost funny to have this tiny seventy plus year old lady walking with me as I checked the various places you needed to check or inspect.
I got Nelda situated into the right seat and began the startup procedures for the turbines. It's so strange to sit in the cabin and fire up the engines when the way you learned was with a plain old gas engine. When the startup and before taxi checklist was complete, I requested permission to the active then taxied out to take off. Before advancing the throttles I opened the flight plan.
Flying this plane was becoming second nature to me. The takeoff was smooth, with a rapid rate of climb. I started the pressurization for the cabin and turned on the oxygen as we were going to be flying at twenty-three thousand feet. We were bumped around a little in the tops of some building cumulus clouds, but there was no lightning in any of them. Nelda was an excellent companion. We talked about a variety of things. She told me all about her husband and her three kids. They had all died at one time or another, leaving just her. She was a tough old bird; she didn't give up, and just kept going.
We made the trip without a stop, with all the passengers using the potty. An ambulance met us at the ops building. I told them both to let me hear from them. I told them I would fly them back, to just call.
The airport was first class. Instead of firing the engines again to move to the fuel pumps, they brought a truck out to me. Nelda and I took time to have a late lunch and bought some extra water for the flight back.
Nelda followed me around the plane on the preflight again, then we climbed into our seats and went through the cockpit preflight and startup. This time, I gave her the big flip chart and had her read off each procedure while I performed the task.
It's always exciting to fire the turbines. As the first one winds up, you check several gauges to make sure everything is the way it's supposed to be. Your ear becomes tuned to the correct sound once the engine is spinning. When the first one is stabilized you fire the next one. You could probably do both at once, but the recommended procedure is to do one at a time. When the second engine is turning correctly you call in for taxi instructions, then spin up the props.
Flying is a series of events, regardless of the type of plane you're flying. You check the plane, you check the inside, you start up the engines, you check the engines, then you move to take off. We were given a straight run to the active and immediately cleared for take off. I was already advancing the throttles as I turned onto the active runway. The plane shot down the runway and lifted off quickly. The wheels retracted and we were climbing to our return altitude of twenty-two thousand feet.
I did my checks and dialed in the return flight on the GPS to head for my first marker. As we flew along, I explained the different instruments to Nelda. She was fascinated and seemed to be retaining everything I told her.
Down near Atlanta she asked if we could land and take a break. She needed to use the restroom and didn't want to use the plane's potty. I requested landing instructions for us to come into the private aircraft terminal. They brought me in nicely then cleared me to a taxi lane to the private terminal. I asked for a cart for Nelda and asked for a fuel truck.
She was gone for a while and returned with a happy look on her face. I went into the little pilot shack and took a whiz, then came out to do the pre-flight and we went through the startup procedure. The bigger airports require pilots to request startup in order to clear ramp personnel. I had a guy right in front of me watching as I fired up. He stood beside the first engine with a fire extinguisher confirming a good ignition, then went to the second to do to the same. Like I said, it's exciting to listen to the big turbines winding up.
The patterns must have been in our favor as we were set up with only four planes in front of us. There must have been a couple of low fuel landings as the lead plane was held way back from the active runway. Finally the first plane wheeled onto the active and gunned it while the second plane in line was coming onto the active runway. The plane in front of me was crowding the runway so I tucked in behind him. The second plane took off with the third plane wheeling onto the active runway.
When the 737 began its roll, the left engine flashed really bright. I called to the tower to advise the 737 that the left engine looked like it flared. The plane was committed and had to take off. We were held in position as the plane circled and came in for a fast one engine landing. The left engine was in flames. By the time the plane had stopped the fire retardant chemicals had killed the flames. We ended up waiting for over thirty minutes before we were finally cleared to take off.
I called in to amend the flight plan times and received an attaboy for notifying the tower of the 737 problem. Nelda asked about it and I explained that the 737 pilot would have heard me tell the tower of the flare and would soon feel the loss of thrust from that side. She then understood how one pilot helps another.
As we approached our airport, the weather was not very nice. Our little field said there was a thunderstorm over the far end of the runway. If I was cleared down quickly there shouldn't be any trouble. They gave me a straight in and I reversed the props to slow us down immediately. We were good on the short field landing technique and taxied toward the hangar. I spun us at the hangar then shut down, going through the after shutdown checklist. I pretty much ran out of the plane and pulled it into the hangar. The storm hit almost as soon as the plane was inside, lots of lightning, lots of thunder. I filled out the logbooks then wrote up the low fuel sheet and hung a copy in the cockpit and one on the attendant board.
Nelda and I used a big umbrella to walk to the truck and drove back home. Sue was surprised we had made it back in just over ten hours. Nelda said we would have been over an hour earlier if we didn't have to stop for her in Atlanta. Sue hugged her and told her that we would stop for her anytime. Nelda said she loved to fly and would go with us anytime. Sue promised her that we would be taking her to lots of places with us.
Mickey was very loving, while Nelda and I ate a light supper before getting ready for bed. As soon as I closed down the patio and cleaned up a little before coming to bed, Mickey was all over me, saying she was going to get me ready for Sue and Sue ready for me.
I have to say. Mickey did exactly what she said she would do. Sue and I enjoyed each other. When we were laying back Sue whispered into my ear, "Get her, show her what she can experience, make her scream."
When I began loving Mickey, she was a little apprehensive, but gradually relaxed. As I went to the south end of her, Sue began kissing her and her breasts, thoroughly turning her on. With little effort, I found her buttons and soon had her body quaking with orgasm. When Mickey pulled me up to enter her, Sue kissed us both and smiled at me for finding Mickey's pleasure switches.
Just about the time I was sliding to one side to hug Mickey while she relaxed, I realized she was asleep. Sue pulled my head around for a kiss and whispered, "Good job, Lover, good job."
We flashed through the week and weekend until it was time for Sue and me to fly up to pick up my sister, Susan, her husband Kevin, and their two kids, Dennis and Tina.
The new addition to our home had been completed for the two bedrooms and bathroom. The contractor's men did their usual first class job in no time at all. The way they opened up the wall, utilizing all the space possible, was great. The new bathroom was now directly across from the sliding glass door so this would be a help on busy mornings or evenings. The design that had been settled on was to have doors to the bathroom from each of the two bedrooms and the living room. I missed not having the outside door on that side of the living room but there was still an outside door in the addition's baby area, as well as in the office. Sue and some of the women had made an expedition to furnish and decorate the bedrooms and bathroom. We had a pretty big home before, and we had now increased it more than half again as much, by adding eleven hundred and twenty square feet. We could have divided up the new space better, but I wanted to add a couple of big bedrooms rather than several small ones.
Sue and I advised everyone that we would be in the air, bringing my family back that day. The crew was more excited than I was to meet some of my family. The person most excited was Mickey who wanted to fly with us, and then there was Nelda who insisted that she would fly with us too.
Sue wanted the left seat time, so she planned and filed the flight plan through Cincinnati. I had called my sister to make sure she was going to be there when we arrived. She was excited and assured me the whole family couldn't wait to see us.
The flight up was smooth and flawless. Sue landed perfectly and taxied up to the private plane operations building. We parked in the refueling slot and received immediate attention. While I greeted my family, Sue was monitoring the refueling of the airplane.
I couldn't believe the size of Susan's kids. Susan looked pretty good for thirty-nine. She wasn't built as full as Ruth but she still had the youthful enthusiasm that I remembered her by. She was always excited when doing something new or different. I think she was the most adventurous of us three kids.
Dennis was tall and slim, probably six two maybe a hundred and sixty, good looking with a crew cut. Tina was a budding young lady, trying to look older. She had lighter hair than her Mom, almost blonde, and was fairly tall and slim at five foot five, and maybe a hundred to a hundred ten pounds.
I received a hug from Susan, and handshakes from the rest. The kids really didn't know me. After the girls that had flown up with me had headed to the bathroom with Sue, I introduced everyone. Susan fell in love with Nelda, who acted like our mom used to with her spunky upbeat attitude. Susan's kids needed a grandmother and Nelda sure would be a good one. Dennis and Tina were fascinated that Mickey was a crime scene specialist with the sheriff's department.
We loaded up everyone and got them all buckled in. I gave our little safety talk while Sue and Nelda were giving the plane its outside pre-flight. Sue thought it was cute that Nelda liked being a part of everything.
The traffic was light, so we were cued up for take off quickly. I had switched on the speakers in the cabin so they could hear the chatter between the controllers and the airplanes. Sue was flying left seat so it was her voice they heard confirming active runway access while we turned onto the long runway. A minute later we were climbing to our cruising altitude. I switched the speakers back to a tape of light jazz and then helped Sue set up the GPS for the first leg of our flight plan.
A couple of hours later we were landing at the Aero Park. Sue taxied up to the operations building and parked. An attendant came out to help unload the luggage and to take the plane for refueling and then to the hangar. We did receive first class treatment at the Aero Park.
Sue had driven her car too, so I loaded the visitors into my gaudy truck and Sue was going to take Nelda and Mickey with her. The kids wanted to ride with Sue in the convertible, so there was a scramble to switch the kids with Nelda. I think Nelda was disappointed because she really liked the convertible as well.
We arrived at the park around two. Glenda was ready for us with a hot lunch. Sue took Susan, Kevin, and Tina on a tour of the house, while Dennis was instantly moving balls around on the pool table. Glenda had the big TV on so she could get some news of a big tropical storm out in the Atlantic. It was hurricane season and so far everything had pretty much veered off to the north Atlantic. Hurricane Dennis had just hit in North Carolina, causing a lot of damage and a demand for big generators. This one, named Emily, looked to be coming our way. A really bad one named Cindy had slammed into Mexico, causing a lot of damage and injuries.
There didn't seem to be any reason to worry. We seemed to just get some rain from the storms, but no bad winds. I did know that if a storm were to come, we would have to leave the park. Trailers and mobile homes are easily damaged from hurricane strength winds, even when they are heavily anchored.
After eating and getting their clothes unpacked, Dennis and Tina wanted to go to the pool. Sue said Mickey, Glenda, and she would go up with them and make sure they didn't get too much sun right away. Nelda said she needed to get a swimsuit. She didn't want to be left out of anything. Sue promised to take her to get one. Nelda did go put on some long shorts and a sleeveless blouse to go with them.
Susan and Kevin stayed on the patio, while I gave them a brief history of how I came to live here in the monster manufactured home. I loaded them into the truck and we went to the shop. When I parked in the lot, I made sure to point out the big S&S on the sign. Kevin loved the showroom with the frames of cars and motorcycles hanging from the ceiling. The car made him drool; he was a big NASCAR fan. I introduced them to Debbie and Deanne who were in my office, then took them upstairs to meet Ruth, Tiny, Phil, and Judy. Phil was all bubbly because Tiny had just given him the numbers for the week so far. Every Friday, Phil puffs up his chest and struts around, enjoying the adulation of everyone for his job well done.
I took them down the stairs through the little lunch room, telling them that this was the original building and the rest had all been added on as we rapidly grew. The motor room is always a remarkable experience. The place is ridiculously clean for an oily, greasy, motor building shop. Each station was neatly arranged with parts being weighed, shaped, and put back together. The teams were all being nice, with only some lighthearted banter going on. Shawna was busy with two high school part-timers, putting a custom bike together.
The sheet metal area had stacks of completed panels ready for the paint shop and stacks of painted panels ready to ship. The frame area is always busy looking. There were frames on rolling paint racks and a couple nearing completion on stands. A couple of bike frames were being made too. The body guys were finishing up a boom body. It was painted and only needed the finishing touches for the drawers and doors. I tried to explain how the body stuff came into existence, but it's all pretty unbelievable.
The rebuild shop was humming away. The men were concentrating on generators, as the hurricane season had created a bunch of orders. Kevin kept commenting how clean everything was. I told him we would come in Saturday so he could see how it looked when everyone had cleaned up for the day. Susan loved the logos on the floor and the "perfect" signs everywhere.
Kevin asked what the "perfect" signs meant. I took him over to Tom who was working on the boom body and asked, "Tom could you tell Kevin what is meant by the "perfect" signs?"
Tom smiled sincerely and said, "When I started, I didn't know whether I could do perfect work. Steve taught me I could. He does not allow anything but a perfect product out of the door. See that sign, "Is it Perfect?" over the door. It's over every door so every one of us can ask themselves that question before we take it out the door."
Kevin was a skeptic, "How can you be sure that everything is perfect? That's impossible."
Al was standing right there and said, "We all try to outperform each other. We never try to out-produce, but we try to make what we do better than the other guy. Steve taught us all to make it right. When you try to do perfect work, speed takes care of itself."
Susan told Kevin, "Steve was always a perfectionist. He had an old motorcycle that ran perfectly. He didn't have enough money to make it pretty, but it always ran. That's just the way he is."
I walked them over to the big building to show them the super lift rebuild shop. Neither Kevin nor Susan had ever seen lifts this big. We looked into the fiberglass shop to see Jeff and his men already cleaning up. They were so messy that it was a wonder they could get the place clean every night.
The last place was the truck body shop. There was a completed truck sitting outside and a body being completed inside. Kevin said the shape was a little strange, so I had to explain why. When he discovered that our body was responsible for three to four miles a gallon savings, he went nuts asking why he had not heard of that. His job was to be responsible for a small fleet of delivery trucks, so he had some genuine interest. I told him it was new technology but a coming thing. He asked if we did bodies for day haulers, which of course we did. I told him I would get him some literature.
Susan asked, "How many people are in business with you here? How many partners do you have?"
I kind of ignored the question as we walked back across the span between the buildings, watching a flatbed trailer backing up to the big dock with a load of used generators to be rebuilt.
"Jesus, Steve, you are busy," Kevin said looking at all of the activity. He was looking at the three signs along the fence. One had "Truck" in big letters, the next had "Busch," and the end one had "Winston Cup" on it. "What are those for?" he asked, pointing to the signs.
I explained, "Those are for our race day trucks. They go to the races to sell parts to the racing teams when they have wrecks, or just need them."
"Are those the fancy painted trucks they show on TV that sell everything from motors to T-shirts?"
"Those are the ones. Come on let me get you some race day event shirts. I think they are really neat."
I went up to Debbie and asked her to get me four extra large, four large, four medium and four small T-shirts for me in different events or different styles. I explained that we usually sold out of the event shirts at every race. They had become a desired item by the racing people as well as the fans that came to the races. Debbie came back with four sets of two event shirts for the coming events, and two of our S&S shirts. I told Debbie that I would see her later, and we carried them out to the truck.
I pointed across the street and said, "That is Sue's main factory for the clothes she sells. I'll let her give you a tour this weekend. I think she has people working two shifts now and six days. She has a lot of part-timers now that work evenings and on the weekends."
On the way back to the house, Susan asked, "How long has it been since you were down in Belize? Didn't you just come here this year? Was this business already going when you got here?"
I ignored her because I didn't even believe what had happened so fast.
"Tonight is going to get crowded. Every Friday, most of the employees from the shop and lots of people from Sue's factory come. Just hang around and watch. You'll love the excitement all of these people have."
When we arrived at the house, I parked behind a small Chevy SUV that I didn't recognize. When we went around the house to the patio, I was surprised to find the big tent up and the caterer busily putting out food. Sue and Nelda were enjoying some tea, while Mickey was playing pool with Dennis and Tina.
Susan asked, "What's all this? A party for us?"
Sue laughed, "No, Tiny or Phil must have some big announcements and always use the Friday gatherings as a chance to talk to both sides of the street. It used to be just the shop people, but now my factory people come too. It gets a little crowded with the wives and kids. Parking is a real problem, but we get people from the park to help."
Susan asked Sue, "I can't get a straight answer out of Steve about his shop, as he calls it. There has to be over a hundred people working there. Can you tell me more about it? Who are his partners, how did he get started, all of that stuff?"
Sue glanced at me and smiled, then began her story with, "When Steve came to this park he had just gone on vacation. He had a duffle bag, along with a pickup truck and beat up motorcycle that he bought in Miami. He was going to take a long vacation. He rented a little trailer for three months and instantly began making friends here. He rode his motorcycle to a bar and found some guys that needed some welding help. He did a job for them, then did a job for a motorcycle shop down the road. In the mean time he had bought a bunch of equipment at an auction and found out you could make money doing these custom jobs."
"The whole thing steamrolled. He began rebuilding big generators and compressors, which are big-ticket items. The man he rented his trailer from liked to tinker on motors, and had been the main mechanic for Onan for many years. He was the one to really make the rebuilt generators worthy. The products were being rebuilt so well there was a big demand. He began making race car frames, then sheet metal for the race car people, and his products became in big demand. He hired some people to help him and taught them how to work his way."
"Steve had so much business that he needed more space for more people to work. He made a deal on the first building and kept hiring and training people. He hired a neighbor, who is an accountant, to help with the money stuff, and he hired a salesman who had been let go from Onan for selling too much. Sounds nuts, doesn't it? Between all of the things Steve was doing, he was able to pay for the building. Meanwhile he started a motor shop, because he felt he could do better than most of the other motor shops. That sort of got out of hand and he ended up with multiple mechanic teams building motors. He's always backordered. Racing teams all over ask for his motors, frames, sheet metal, and now, fiberglass parts.
The place just grew and grew. He's added onto the building twice, ran out of room and made a great deal on the building next door and has now grown out of that."
Susan looked skeptical, "In just a few months?"
"Very, very, busy few months. Steve packed in more in those seven months than most people pack into seven years. The sales of new product put him over. It was those sales that brought in big money, but he made all of his road people commit to giving the customers great service. That's where the sales come from. Steve even has three international salesmen now, one South American, one Middle East, and one European."
"It's just really hard to believe. The guy that probably didn't say ten words throughout high school, now seems to have hundreds of followers. Is this some kind of cult?" Susan asked.
Mickey began laughing. "You sound like my dad. He talks about Steve as if he's some kind of gift to mankind. That's why I'm hanging around. Steve and Sue are just so magnetic that everyone wants to be around them. I know I do and that old lady over there, Nelda, would adopt Steve in a minute. Sue says there's a rich old man that's already offered to adopt him."
Susan just sat and thought, "Steve never did anything bad. He never did anything outstanding either. He had good grades, he always helped out at home, and worked at jobs throughout high school. His brother and I were so into ourselves that we were not ever great friends with him. I do remember how he would help me and everyone else in the neighborhood all the time. Steve was always a non-entity, always in the background."
Sue said, "He still tries to stay in the background, but every time something needs to be done, he's right there doing it, making something happen, thinking up another way to do something to make the company more successful. He has even come up with some fashion suggestions that we have used in one of my clothing lines. Steve has lots of good ideas, now he has the opportunity and the means to make things happen."
"Where did he get his money?" Susan asked.
Sue said, "I wondered about that too but then I talked to one of his bosses that he had on the oil rigs out in Oklahoma. Steve was always working. He didn't spend his money on booze and wild nights with the cowboys and roughnecks. He worked and saved his money. He did that up in Alaska, he did that in Oklahoma, and he did that down in Belize. He apparently did the same while he was in the service. He still pinches two nickels together and out pops a quarter."
That made everyone listening laugh.
The curious Susan then said, "So tell me about you, about your business."
"The easiest way to tell you about my business is to say that Steve has been my good luck charm. Since we've gotten together, my business has taken off so fast that I can't keep up. When I met Steve it was growing, but since then I've hired office and fashion help, and then bought a factory that has now been doubled in size. The original company I bought was just about out of business from poor quality, but Steve instilled a policy where workers don't try to make a lot of garments. They make perfect garments. The profit from no mistakes and no seconds is more than we would make if were slave drivers. I have happier workers who produce quality."
"Where did you get your money?" Susan was still doubtful.
"Mostly the same way Steve did, through cash flow," Sue said proudly. "The more I sold, the more money I had to grow with. I did borrow some money from an estate, but it's being paid back fast. It seems that every time either of us spends a dollar, it comes back to us double or triple."
Sue added as she concluded, "You are going to hear all kinds of stories. Just listen, enjoy, store them up to think about, but just enjoy being here. Steve is very happy to have you here. He enjoys having a big family."
I didn't hear all of that, as Kevin and I were too busy with having a beer, and talking about the fuel savings the truck bodies had. People were beginning to show up. Tiny and Phil came in with Ruth and Judy, instantly getting the newly installed bartender to make drinks.
It is almost shocking when so many show up so fast. Ladies from the factory were swarming over Sue, while shop personnel were coming up to me to tell me of some success they had at work. The crazy motor shop people were setting up three horse shoe areas in the yard, challenging all comers. Martin was right with them, pacing off the distances and driving in the stakes. More people were arranging chairs to view the contests, getting drinks from the outside bar. In thirty minutes there was probably close to two hundred fifty people milling around. The four porta-potties were busy as the beer flowed through the drinkers.
Phil had a new guy with him. The man was about forty, nice looking, in a white shirt and open collar. He probably had a tie on earlier, but like Tiny, it was off now. The man had a nice looking lady with him. She was good looking, a little over dressed, but seemed overwhelmed by all the people. Sue had noticed and I saw her begin talking to the lady.
Everyone was eating and drinking, enjoying themselves. Dennis and Tina were busy with several other teens who were there with their folks. I was pleased that my sister could see the company spirit displayed so openly.
About seven thirty, Tiny began calling everyone to come closer to the patio so they could hear. He even had one of those portable microphones with a couple of speakers outside.
"Okay folks, this is a little bigger than our normal Friday night party, but I have a few announcements that affect both sides of the street."
"First, Phil has been his usual busy self, and once again his sales have officially gone through the roof. Since he's in charge of all lines now, his sales, or rather S&S' gross sales, for the week are so big that I almost don't want to tell anyone. The big deal was a huge contract with Germany. Mercedes could not supply the size generator requested, and would not consider manufacturing one specifically to the specs. Onan agreed to not only manufacture the product, but is adding the product to the line along with factory space to produce it in quantities. Oh yeah, that reminds me, Onan has granted us a national distributorship, which goes along with a Canadian national distributorship. Our next step will be an exclusive in Europe. That may take some time."
"But anyway, give a hand to Phil and all of his salesmen and Abe's techs for producing more this week than ever before. The company sold five hundred and twelve million dollars worth of product from all divisions."
From the other side of the patio, I heard Ben's voice exclaim, "Holy shit." Beth's voice came directly after, "Hush." I didn't know the two had been invited or were with us.
Tiny continued, "We'll probably never ever do that again, or at least I hope not. The paperwork is too much. If we can just merrily go along with ten, fifteen, twenty a week, I'd be happy." Phil and I laughed, as that was a ton of production. Not many companies did a million a week much less well over five a week.
"Enough bragging. I'd like to announce that we have just performed something that I didn't know whether we could accomplish. We have bought two distributorships. These two facilities have some of the same functions we do as far as power equipment. We are going to begin rebuilding product there as well as selling to surrounding dealers. We will duplicate the sales teams in each of these locations in order to make them productive and profitable.
"One location is full of good people who have been led by a good man that is retiring. He's agreed to sell to us as he's familiar with our 'perfect' motto. "Since Onan wrote about us in their journal, we've had several distributorships come to visit us. Some think we are unrealistic, others think we know what we're doing. The other location is going to be a shell. If anyone remains from that place, they have been hiding. We are going to stock the place with people who will become perfectionists just like here.
"I want to now introduce some new leaders. Jeff, stand up. Jeff is going to be in charge of not only the local fiberglass shop, but will be in charge of managing the new fiberglass shop that will be under construction within the month at our new facility. You will all hear more about the new place soon.
"Jeb, stand up. Jeb will be traveling to the two new places to set up rebuild shops just like ours. He will be in charge of cleaning and painting the places so the shops will look just like ours. He has hired two assistants to help, plus he has some in house staff to help co-ordinate.
"Now a big shot. Please meet Ryan House. Ryan recently left Caterpillar manufacturing. He wasn't pleased that he could not increase the quality of the product because of the bureaucracy within the company. Phil heard of him and we have captured him and his wife, Michelle. Ryan is going to be in charge of developing the two new distributorships, as well as looking to adopt or buy the other seven national distributorships. I knew Ryan was the right man when he asked if he could work in our shop for at least a month to learn our techniques and get the spirit of our perfect work. For the next month we're going to teach him everything we can about building motors, welding, painting, sheet metal, hydraulics, generators, and fiberglass. He may need more than a month. But then he's going to teach that perspective to the new people at the new locations. Welcome Ryan. Glad to have you."
There was a lot of applause.
"One last little thing. You know that Sue and Steve are going to be parents. In the process they felt like the area out here needed a restaurant so they are building and opening a Perkins right down the road to take care of Sue's cravings."
Lot of laughter and applause.
"They have a lot of out of town visitors, as we've noticed of late. Well, they are building a Holiday Inn Express too."
More laughter and applause.
"Now the big news. In order to build all this stuff, you need land. Land for the new truck body shop, land for the new truck dealership."
There was a gasp.
"Land for the new RV dealership that Abe has been out test driving models to choose from."
More gasps mixed with laughter.
"Land for the chrome shop, the machine shops, and the big chassis shop."
Lots of "Wows" and "Ahs."
"And, of course, land for the largest clothing plant in the southeast."
Lots of applause from Sue's people.
"In the middle of all of this land is going to be a park to be enjoyed by all. If this group keeps growing, which it will, we will have our parties out there.
"You may ask how big this place is. Well let's see, the first deal was supposed to be for two hundred acres. That turned out to be double, so the first plat became four hundred acres. We found out there was a six hundred acre farm that was going to be lost because of back taxes. Steve went to the owner to see what was up. He ended up helping her correct the tax problem and helped her move in next door. Many of you have met Nelda, I hope the rest of you will say hello. Anyway, Nelda sold Steve her property too, so we now have one big piece of land, over a thousand acres, that includes a restaurant across the street. Ladies and Gentlemen, this company is growing."
There was some crazy cheering and applause.
Tiny held up his hand, "Every time we grow, so do your 401Ks. Every time we ship another perfect product your 401K gets even bigger. Thank you all for making it happen."
"Steve, do you want to say anything?"
I took the microphone and said, "I'm overwhelmed by the news tonight. Some of it I just heard for the first time. I can't believe we're buying other distributorships. Phil will go nuts with all the sales. It sure is fun to work with you all, and just like Tiny said, thanks, you guys are the company. Have a good time tonight and be careful. Let the drivers take you home if you even think you might have had too much. Have a good time."
I went to the bar and asked for a big Dewars on the rocks. Tiny brought over Ryan and Michelle. Sue was still with Michelle. We shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Ryan said that he had contacted Phil because Phil had sold to Caterpillar when he had worked for Onan. Ryan had seen write ups of S&S and was curious because we were growing so fast.
I had to admit to Ryan that the company was outgrowing my capacity to keep up with it. People like Tiny, Phil, and him were going to have to take over the broad management and let me concentrate on opportunities for us to expand or produce. I asked if he and his wife had found a comfortable place to stay and he said, "I rented a mobile home across the street from Tiny. Michelle and I are now your neighbors. Tiny said that there is a morning gathering as well."
"Good man. Glad you decided to stay with us while you are learning how the company works," I said with a genuine smile on my face.
Ryan smiled back at me, "Michelle and I lived in a trailer park for the first five years we were married, then we became yuppies and moved to a nice house, then another fancy house later. We lost track of having a home. In the one day we've been in the place across from Tiny, we've met more people who want to be our friends than we have all the years in our fancy houses. I think we need to reevaluate who we are friends with and where we live."
I happily said, "Enjoy yourself here and with us over here. Enjoy yourself with the company too, this place is fun."
Sue pulled Michelle over to me, "Michelle wants to work with the girls, designing clothes. She says she has tons of ideas for sportswear, especially for big girls. She used to be big like me but as you can see, she's a looker now."
"I'll bet you were a looker even before you lost all of your weight, Michelle. I'd even bet Ryan misses some of that padding," I said elbowing Ryan.
"He says that, but I'm glad I lost the weight. He used to be big too and lost a lot. We both exercise every day now."
Sue said, "Michelle, we'll all go to the gym together. We also swim everyday. I'm going to get even bigger soon, so I have to keep exercising. It's exciting to have a new friend and helper with the company."
I mingled with everyone, coming back to Phil, "What in the world will you do for an encore? Do you know there probably aren't ten corporations in the world that did the volume you did this week?"
Phil was getting a little drunk, "I know. It's all luck. Since I came on board with you, luck seems to hunt me down and sit in my lap. I'm not kidding, all I have to do is ask for the order and people just start throwing money. It's unbelievable. You keep giving me tools to use. This new guy is going to be good for the company too. I have to get on the ball and develop some killer sales managers to develop teams."
"You have the right idea, Phil, develop them." I said making sure I didn't get on my soap box. "Find good men and teach them, develop them to be good salesmen, then to be good sales managers. Raise them yourself so they can be as good as you are. Do like I do, encourage them to exceed what I can do."
I found Nelda having a great time with some of the seamstresses from Sue's factory. Glenda and Nelda had become fast friends as well. She was glad I gave her a little attention, but went right back to chatting with the women.
About nine, the crowd began to thin. By ten the caterer's people were cleaning up. By ten thirty, Tiny and Phil had taken Ryan and the wives home. Sue walked Nelda home and came back to the patio where Susan, Kevin, and the kids were talking. The kids were telling us they couldn't stay in the same room. I took Dennis inside and showed him the empty bedroom in the hall by the work room. He got his suitcase and put it in there. I showed him another bathroom, but told him he would be sharing with Deanne.
Hmm, wonder where Deanne was.
I asked Sue about Deanne and she said she had not seen her all evening. Mickey said she had seen her just a little after five, and that she had come home, dressed up, and left. Hope she was okay. Mickey said she was going to bed. It had been a long day, plus she was on duty tomorrow.
Susan drew two beers and came over to sit by me. "You've been busy, brother. I've heard so many stories about you tonight it sounds like a life time, not just a few months worth. Did you really have a couple of gun battles right here? Did you really save a couple of policemen? I guess you did, because even Mickey swears it's all true. This business you have is not real. Any sane person would say that you couldn't build a business that fast. And if you did, one burp, and you would be broke. You're buying property so you can't ever go broke. This is all amazing."
She continued, "Kevin and I have watched our money, saved as much as we can, and made good decisions, but it's like you won the lottery. You just leaped past the rest of the world. I don't know whether to be jealous or proud of you. I think I'll just be proud and let you show us a good time."
Kevin had heard some of the conversation and came over with a beer in hand, "You know, Susan, all of that success and where does he live? He lives in a trailer park, among his friends and some of his employees. He's not showing off or trying to one up anyone. He's got a big trailer, or mobile home, or manufactured home, but even with the big patio, he's sharing it."
"The good thing about sharing the patio is that I have friends here with me all the time. What could be better," I asked?
You could hear bikes coming. Charlie rode in with Shawna, then came Jim and Hanna, followed by Hank and Debbie. They put their bikes away then came to the patio. They were all introduced and began pouring drinks. Shawna, Debbie, and Hanna settled for Cokes grumbling that having a baby took too long.
Susan asked, "Is it in the water here? I'd better watch out."
Shawna said, "We couldn't let Sue be the only new mommy around here. Kids need playmates. We are just providing playmates."
Hanna exclaimed, "I have wanted a baby since Jim got his good job at the dealership, but when we got our own place, it was all over. I have a job that I love and a great excuse to have a kid. I'm going to be a great mommy."
Mickey asked, "Do you guys let a lady ride with you, I mean, would you let me ride my bike with you guys?"
Charlie looked at her and said, "Sure, as long as it's not a ricer. Sandy and Mandy ride with us some times. If you want, though, you can ride with Steve in his sidecar. He's got a garbage truck in there that's a real harem mobile."
"I have a Heritage that I've customized some. I'd prefer to ride myself," Mickey said.
"Bring it over, we'll go out tomorrow evening after the heat goes down a little. We'll have to watch to see what Emily is going to do though. It could get a little wet if she comes up here."
With a smile Mickey said, "Thanks Charlie, I will. Now I really do have to get to bed. Goodnight."
Glenda said goodnight and walked across the yard. I noticed the spikes for the horseshoe games had been pulled up so no one would trip over them. The caterer was getting ready to leave, thanking us for our business. He said the keg out in the tent was empty, but the one in the fridge had just been changed. The other empty was by the shed.
Over two kegs in one night is a lot of beer. What a bunch of lushes.
The kids had gone to bed, and I could tell Kevin and Susan were tired. I thought to get them in bed so I just said, "Good night, guys, let's get up early and go to Busch Gardens tomorrow. How about it?"
Susan smiled at the thought, "We can do that. Come on, Kevin, let's go to bed."
I had begun shutting down the patio when Deanne glided onto the patio. "I've just had a date with my finance class graduate assistant teacher. He is so dreamy and so much a gentleman. He was on the basketball team a couple of years ago, and now is working toward his doctorate in finance. I think he really wants to teach. He's tall, he's smart, and he's good looking. Wait till I get him to come out. You'll like him."
Deanne gave Sue, then me, a kiss and vanished inside the house. Sue and I looked at each other smiling. We locked up and went to bed, with me in the middle, trying not to disturb the sleeping Mickey.