One nice February morning, while I was up early having coffee, Glenda walked over and sat with me.
"Congratulations, Steve," she said simply.
When I looked at her quizzically she said, "It was a year ago today that you rented that little trailer from Abe."
She patted my hand and said, "You have come a long, long way in a year. It seems like it has been a lifetime since you first came. We may need to have a celebration."
"You know, Glenda, that little patio became too small for us pretty fast. This big patio has become too small for us now. I've been trying to figure out how to enlarge the space without taking away the big yard we have. I need to work on it, since the maximum of twenty people that I thought we could be has grown until we have well over thirty every morning and evening. And now we're adding kids. We could use almost double the space we have right now. I would like to have more space for the big rockers and perhaps a couple of love seats or couches. The table needs to be doubled, in two rows, or maybe even three. I'll think on it and come up with something."
As the people began coming in, Charlie, Tiny's Dad, gave me the answer. "The two homes on the other side of your carport are leaving for some land they bought. I'm going to have the spaces on the other side of Charlie for Hank and Debbie's new place and a space on the other side of them for Mickey and Samantha. They've already made a deal on homes, they are just waiting for the space to open. I'm telling you all this because I've been seeing how busy this place is. Why don't you have a custom place built, say with sixteen-foot sections, and keep the seventy-two feet. That would give you a place forty-eight by seventy-two. I'm sure you could design it to be more efficient than your space is right now. Anyway, move the house over a space, then double the size of the patio. That should take care of the space requirement. If it doesn't, then you're going to have to build some kind of huge central open-air building and surround it with homes. When you build the expanded patio, put some commercial type bathrooms in it so the house doesn't have to be used for the restroom facilities.
"Good idea, Charlie, I'll talk to Sue about it. Don't rent those lots yet," I said, then remembered something I had been thinking about. "We need to clear the brush from the property on the whole back side. We could have a street the entire length of the park. Our sewer lines will handle it, as we have some of the largest sewer lines around. We will need more power, and perhaps increase our water main size. Now that you had me install all of the fire hydrants, we're not getting anymore flak from the fire marshal. The park could grow a little, don't you think?"
"You're right, Steve, I was looking at those survey stakes and didn't realize how deep the property was over there. It's not really wooded, it's mostly trashy brush. If we clear it and put a nice eight foot fence over there, the residents will feel like they have a private area."
"Put one of those new ten foot plastic fences in. That would provide even more privacy. The other thing I was thinking, Charlie," I said continuing, "was to make those lots a little larger so they could all be used for double-wides."
"Thanks for increasing my income, Steve. I'll get that started right away. Hell, another sixty to seventy doublewides will bring my salary way up. Great!"
Sue and I talked about the possibility of designing our own place. She wanted to maintain an office for clothing design here, even though the new plant would be so close. Sue also wanted to make sure there was some kind of small private parlor area just for us. That included Stevie and Mercy, of course. Sue wanted Stevie's bedroom to remain close to ours for now, and to possibly have the shower and bathroom just a little bit larger. She felt our closet space was fine, but would like to put more drawers in the closet.
The kitchen and family room needed to remain large and on the same side of the house. The thought was to make the kitchen longer, instead of a larger square. The new kitchen would have a long counter and stools between the family room with the pool table, and the stove and sink. The kitchen would be narrow, only twelve-foot deep, but would extend perhaps twenty to twenty-four feet in total length. The idea was to have a huge commercial stove and a couple of big refrigerators. Considering the amount of people we fed on a daily basis, a huge kitchen would be good. If the room were extended and became a large living room area, part of it could also be cordoned off for babies to play in. We could also end up with a door on the other side of the house. The plan would be to put in a sixteen by twenty-four foot office and design room on the street end of the house, with a bathroom and entrances to the outside and hallway. There would be a large sixteen by sixteen space for a bedroom and bath at that end as well.
We would end up with four big guest bedrooms, a kids' bedroom and a master bedroom. The master bedroom would be big enough for a sitting area with a couch and reading chair.
The contractor was back with us now. His wife's sickness was in remission, so he was now working for me, directing and teaching Terrell, handling the whole scope of construction. He was expanding the construction business by bidding on other outside projects.
As we completed our buildings, we wanted the construction people to continue to be employed so S&S Enterprises Construction Company was born. Tiny thought he understood some ways to get business, so he hired some go-getter young men to prospect for any possible new construction jobs within our local geographic area.
We began working with architects in the area as well as other general contractors. If they wanted to be the general and we just built the project, we were good with that. It was soon common to see one or more of our pickup trucks at most construction sites.
We specialized in rapid construction, repair of shoddy construction, and General Steel buildings. We managed to keep even more men busy.
When I talked to the contractor about what I wanted, he said that doubling the width of the patio would not be a problem. He said that instead of having a mobile home manufactured, why not just build a house?
That sounded reasonable, but if we wanted to change the way we lived, the house would be too fixed, where if it were a manufactured home, we could just have another built to a new plan.
The contractor was saying that in the event of a hurricane, we would have to abandon a mobile home but a house could be a refuge. I said that we had that covered as we were going to have a very large area in the new plant for a cafeteria, a meeting room, and a huge daycare center. We felt that area in the center of the four plant buildings should be large enough to accommodate nearly all of the people from the park in case of a storm.
Sue and I decided we would have a forty-eight by seventy two foot sturdy shell built, and have our construction company build it out. Sue and I would temporarily stay in Abe's little trailer for the week or so it would take to build-out the house. Actually we were going to take a vacation during that time.
Sue and I had considered vacations and had made a plan. Tiny had made arrangements for the company to own four condos on one of the gulf resort islands. People put their name in a hat to be drawn for a week in the condo. We picked up the housekeeping only. We now owned a condo in a Hawaiian resort as well. Each month four people were selected from non-management positions and sent to Hawaii for a week. We picked up the airfare plus the housekeeping and dining in the resort restaurant. The employee was supplied with some cash for nightlife, so it was a great vacation for fifty-two employees a year.
The two condos in Key West was Tiny's idea also, because it was the vacation that Ruth and Tiny had dreamed of for years. They spent the first two weeks that we owned them there, along with Shawna and Charlie in the other one. These condos were treated like the Hawaiian condos, so people could be rewarded for production and quality goals.
The company also now owned two giant Coachmen RVs. Those that wanted to take an RV vacation could put their name in for a drawing. The RV trips were for twelve days at a time for a two-week vacation. There was a two-day difference for something unexpected and for cleanup and maintenance.
The big RVs was a treat to Martin and Glenda. They were able to take a month-long trip to enjoy wandering around until they became homesick and returned home to be welcomed by all of us who loved the two dearly.
We needed more things like that for all of the people from both companies, but you can only do so much.
Ruth worked hard getting the company a discount for the Busch Gardens group of parks. We didn't have much luck with Disney. It became a joke that we didn't have a deal with Disney because they didn't sell beer. We had weekly trips to NASCAR events, all expenses paid, for a family of up to four people to go to the track the day before the races and race day. They would have VIP seating, pit passes, a handshake with some drivers, (Gene's of course) and a couple of T-shirts from the race day trucks for the event. There were Truck, Busch Series, and Winston Cup tickets for every week they raced. This was handled a little differently.
Good work is appreciated, so the team leaders would give attaboys to those that were putting that little extra effort, or to someone who came up with a new idea. The leader would put the employees name on a card and put the card into our drawing barrel. We would draw on Friday of one week for the next week's races. You were only allowed to win one race trip a season so more people could get a chance to go.
Mike, the original gofer from Sue's plant, had progressed in his ability to make good decisions and inspire his people to produce quality, so he was promoted that first year to plant manager. Since the plant and the sister plant behind his main building employed so many people, Mike was responsible for many, many jobs. He had done a great job and deserved the recognition.
We had a big party on the nearest Friday of the original incorporation date. Abe wanted to use the date that I went to the first auction and bought all the welding gear. It didn't make a difference, it was a good excuse for a party, and it would be timely to celebrate all of that, plus my having met Sue. Everyone that wanted to come from both companies attended the party, and we invited all of our customers as well. This became the largest party we had ever had. The caterer was prepared for four hundred, but ran out of food by eight. He was responsive enough to be able to find and bring enough food to feed people all the way through till midnight. For some reason, people stayed and stayed.
When everyone finally went home, and only a few of the die-hard park crew remaining, Tiny asked, "I thought you would make some kind of wild announcement tonight for your first anniversary."
"The deal isn't done yet, Tiny, so I couldn't make the announcement I wanted to make yet. As soon as my surprise is done, I'll make it. We'll have to have another party to make it, but then, everyone loves a party."
Tiny looked at me warily, "Is this announcement something that I should worry about?"
"No, Tiny, don't worry at all," I said. "This will be a big deal for all of the S&S people. Sue's working on her group, but can't do with her people what we can do with ours. This will have to be just all S&S."
Once again he looked at me strangely, "The company has really become huge, how can you split things up more?"
"Tiny, the size of the company will make the announcement that much bigger of a deal. Just be patient and I'll let you in on it."
Tiny got up and smiled, "I'm going to bed. This is the latest we've ever been here after a party. The caterer is going to be another hour before he's cleaned up. I don't think you have to stay up with him."
"Goodnight, Tiny."
About one when the caterer was finishing up, Sue came out of the house carrying Stevie. She said, "Today was too exciting for him and he didn't eat as much as he usually does. I'm going to sit out here with you while I nurse him. He'll go right back to sleep. You should think about going to bed too, as you've had a long day."
I watched Sue nurse our son, giving me the warmest feeling a man can have. If you've ever felt protective, sit with your wife as she nurses your baby. It is an amazing feeling.
Stevie sucked and slurped for ten minutes, working on both breasts, then fell sound asleep. Sue smiled at me and I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and patted his back gently until he let out a very grownup belch. It was loud enough that Sue and I both chuckled. I carried Stevie into the house and put him to bed.
Sue was shutting down the patio when I came back out. The caterer was done and leaving, so we went to bed.
In bed, Mercy was waiting up for us. Sue said, "It's too bad you weren't able to announce what you are going to do with the company. When Tiny hears your plan, he's going to have a fit. Do you think everyone will go along with your idea?"
"We'll find out. As soon as all the numbers are in, we will know better. You will have to figure out what you will be doing with your plants. When the new plant is built, will you still need your original manufacturer?"
Sue said thoughtfully, "I don't know yet. So far our orders continue to increase, so during the ramp-up of the new facility, we will need all the facilities we can find. When we're completely open out here, we may decrease some of the subcontractors we have now. If they will continue to produce quality, we'll have to consider making and selling more products."
We three slept till seven the next morning. When I went out to the patio, Glenda gave me a big hug, saying it had been a great year, and thanked me for helping Martin and her enjoy themselves so much. This must have been a sleepy Saturday, as most everyone slept late. Jim had to rush to get to work and only had time for a quick sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Phil got me off to the side and asked, "What do you have up your sleeve? You act like something is about to pop out of your head, so I know you're up to something. What in the world is it?"
"Phil, you're as bad as Tiny. Hang on a couple of days and I'll have something for you that should make the wait worthwhile."
I had an appointment today with Ben and a few of the community leaders within the Tampa area. Ben had invited them all to his lush office in his downtown office building. Saturday was an excellent day for what I wanted to do, but it is always strange to see how deserted the downtown streets and buildings are on the weekends.
The group of people we were meeting with was made up of the Mayor of Tampa, Sandy Friedman, two city councilors who were of Latin heritage, a black community leader, and a minister who is instrumental in helping the homeless.
After introductions and serving everyone coffee and water, I introduced myself, telling them that the intent of this meeting was to help me devote some time and resources to help the community. My biggest priority was to establish a school or schools to help single parents within the area. One of our companies was going to need many skilled workers in the near future and we had found that we are more successful by thoroughly teaching and training people in our methods before they were hired. We provided transportation to and from the training facility as well as day care for pre-school children. Our intent was to employ these people and help them to become independent. So far we were retaining eighty-six percent of everyone we hired. Additionally, over sixty percent of the other fourteen-percent are employed, but had moved from the area.
I continued my presentation, "After training, we hire those who successfully complete our training at near double minimum wage and provide benefits that exceed the norm to our workers.
"We want to be able to enroll a minimum of four hundred people a year and desire future referrals from all of the people present.
"An important part of our training and hiring is our desire to hire the handicapped. We have jobs for those people with limb impairment, those who are wheelchair bound, the deaf, and we are trying hard to place some blind people. Each case is handled individually, but the intent is to help these people become self-sufficient too.
"Please know we hire people of all ethnic groups, who may speak any language found on our continent. We do offer and encourage English classes to all non-English speaking employees. Most of our management and floor supervisors are multi-lingual, so employees are comfortable from the beginning. We do not hire undocumented aliens, but have a staff that will assist them to obtain work permits."
I folded over the bullet list for our training program to show a picture of some small homes in the community.
"Another goal we have is to assist single parent families and families that are either homeless or living in substandard conditions. With both the company's money and my personal resources, we wish to purchase property that we can build homes on with assistance from Habitat for Humanity. We felt we could probably complete a minimum of one home every two months, and perhaps more."
At this point Ben took over. "My family has purchased the old Florida Hotel here in Tampa. We have begun renovation of the hotel to become a hostel for the homeless. The first floor will become administration, kitchen facilities, and a large dining hall. The second and third floors will become a group of apartments for homeless families. The fourth floor will be a training and counseling center to help the homeless to re-enter society. The fifth through tenth floors will be for individual homeless people. We will maintain and fund this establishment, but will need the local ministries to administer and minister to these people. This will be a large task and will probably require the co-operation of several homeless support groups."
I took over again, "We have made arrangements with the University of South Florida Medical School to establish and run a clinic for the indigent on the outskirts of downtown Tampa. Mrs. Friedman, we will need your help to find an appropriate building we can convert for this use."
"This clinic will be multi-lingual and operate seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. If there are cases that cannot be handled by the staff, patients will be referred to one of the area hospitals. This is a big deal, the first of its kind in Florida, and perhaps the nation. We will need all of your help to get the word out to those that we need to help."
I began my closing, "Now the part that will be all of your responsibility. For all of the charitable activities, we ask that you do not disclose that we are the benefactors. We do not want any publicity or public knowledge that we are doing these things. We wish to give these gifts for a long time to come."
The mayor spoke first, "Why are you doing all of this?"
It was my turn again, "Not long ago, I came to Tampa for a vacation that turned out very different. Through a series of unusually lucky events, I was able to start a business that has become very successful and very profitable. Sure, I could just keep the money and ignore those that I see in need, but I would rather make an effort to help people help themselves."
"But why not let people know you are giving back to the community?" Sandy asked.
"I personally hate publicity. It is much more enjoyable to help people without having to say "you're welcome" all day. Each person we help, each family we make healthy again, every smile we produce, are all the reward we could ever ask for." I looked around at the various people in the room, trying to get that point across.
All of them said they would help. The two city councilors said they would work with some of the immigrant groups they were associated with to spread my offer of training and employment. The black minority leader said he wanted to check out our training facilities to make sure we were truly an equal opportunity work place.
When Ben rose to say something to him, I raised my hand. "Please come out or call me on my personal cell phone. I will come for you and we will tour our plant facilities. You can ask employees at random whether they feel they are equal or not."
His reply was, "Give it to me, I'll see for myself."
The homeless minister said he would organize the other homeless ministries in town to get an administration staff going. He was obviously excited by our offer to give shelter to so many.
Ben concluded, "You have been invited because you are the most instrumental in getting some things done in this city. Bring those people on board that you think can help. Get excited about this, but introduce Steve and me as volunteers willing to work with them to accomplish our goals."
As everyone left, the Mayor stayed behind a minute. "Mr. Sharp, I've heard a great deal about you, but didn't have any idea you would offer this kind of community support. I thank you for initiating all of your activities. I hope it brings you the happiness you seem to think it will. I'm sorry about our minority leader. I think he's disappointed your gift isn't in the form of a cash grant. He'll come around, especially if you can hire him as a consultant to assist in bringing people into your training program."
"Thank you, ma'am. Finding good employees is an ongoing effort. I want to try to employ everyone that really wants to work. We don't hire everyone who starts our program, and we don't keep everyone who starts work with us. We keep those who want to produce quality. That is our goal."
Ben and I talked about all of this a little, then he said, "I have a young attorney that has joined the firm that will handle all of this for us. My other attorney is going to be the watchdog on the other family investments. Beth and I are going to Costa Rica for a month. If you want, why don't you, Sue, and little Steve come down for a weekend or so. You'll love our condo down there. It is very nice. You two might even be surprised at how much you like it."
Back home, Sue said that Dewey had called, asking us to get our butts up there so he and Sheila could get married before she gives birth. Sue said she was pretty much packed and she thought Stevie would fly okay. Sue said the plane was prepared and ready to go. Mercy was visiting with us at the time, so she elected to come with us as an additional nanny.
I called Dewey and asked him if tomorrow would be too late. He said Sheila wasn't due for two months, but they had finally decided to get the deed done. I told him we would stay over somewhere on the way up and arrive somewhere around noon. He said he would have a driver at the airport to bring us to his new home.
Traveling with a baby makes luggage totally different. Steve could go though several clothes changes a day, along with all of the diapers and goodies it takes to keep him clean and comfortable. All I needed was some jeans, some slacks, a few shirts, socks, and underwear and I'm done. But a baby needs a bunch.
By the time we reached the airport, it was nearly two in the afternoon. We loaded up and Sue elected to sit in the back with Mercy and Stevie. I had checked the weather all the way through and we were going to be in good flying skies all the way. The Seattle area had a low ceiling and intermittent rain, but what else is new?
My plan was to make Kansas City or maybe even Salt Lake City where there is a hotel right at the airfield. If we hit a headwind we would refuel in St. Louis or Kansas City, but if there was no headwind, we would fly straight through.
Glenda had packed us some sandwiches, water, and coffee, and Sue had brought plenty of supplies along for Stevie. They were planning to let him lie on the floor and roll around a little to let him stretch his legs so he wouldn't get fussy. They didn't want him to sleep all day as he wouldn't sleep at night.
Sue didn't want to try to take over flying as we neared St. Louis and I needed to pee bad. They were stacked up because of an emergency, so I called Columbia, Missouri, to see if they had commercial fuel facilities. They did and gave me a heading to come straight in, thinking I was diverting from St. Louis because of low fuel. I advised them that I was not in a fuel emergency, so we didn't get into any trouble.
A down home voice said, "Twin Beech 6278, that's fine, we're not busy at all. Just come on down and we'll fill you up. You're cleared to land runway 090. We are clear and fifteen miles, winds are variable at five from 270 at this time with a surface temperature of forty-four degrees and the altimeter is 29.64."
Sue said, "I'll have to put some clothes on Stevie. It's colder than I thought it would be. We'll have to pull some coats out of the luggage."
Everyone was strapped down for the landing which went smooth as silk. I asked for directions to the fuel dock and was told to taxi to operations at the south end of the terminal, since it was reserved for private aircraft. A fuel truck would come to us.
As we approached the terminal a follow-me truck took us right up to the building and a guy with wands directed us so our door was near the building.
The girls began scrambling around getting some coats out and putting something heavier on Stevie. I opened the door and let the stairs down, to be met by two guys asking what all we needed. When I said I needed a bathroom first, they pointed at a near door with a male symbol on it.
I took care of business and washed my hands and returned to find a half dozen people fawning over the two ladies and baby. The girls and Stevie went inside and were talked into having a little supper before we took off. I stayed with the plane while we were filled up and had the ground guy flush the potty and holding tank for me. This place was friendly, efficient, and convenient. I would remember this stopping point in the future.
We had some soup and a nice fish sandwich before saying goodbye to the people who were in the little restaurant within the airport. Since this was Saturday night, there was no traffic and none of the tarmac people had anything to do. The result was that the girls and Stevie received all of their attention.
We loaded up after changing Stevie and taking care of the airport fees. Once the engines were started I checked ATIS for an altimeter setting and weather, then called Unicom for permission to access the taxiway. We were given clearance all the way to the active and told to follow the truck to the active runway. When we were given the final clearance to take-off the controller finished by saying, "You-all come back now and bring that little one with you. Good flying."
I noticed that the pressure had fallen quite a bit which usually indicated that we could run into some weather or possibly heavy wind. I told Sue that they might wish to stay strapped in as it could get bumpy.
After finishing up my flight plan modification into Salt Lake City, I radioed the weather center in Kansas City to see if there was any information on winds aloft. They were giving me a headwind of about thirty knots, but had not heard of any brewing weather. It was clear all the way through.
We were about a hundred miles out of Salt Lake City when I called in telling the FAA weather central that according to my GPS I was in a headwind of near ninety. They said that they had heard that but didn't have any reason for it. Our three hundred mile an hour plane was barely doing two, so it was a half hour before we began our descent into Salt Lake City.
It was a good thing everyone was strapped down as we were bumped around pretty good before we seemed to be gliding at about five thousand feet. After setting down and taxiing to the overnight area of the private aircraft section, I gave a big sigh. When I turned to look at Sue and Mercy, I could see they were happy to be on the ground as well.
We had a hotel car come out to pick us up and I had the ground crew there service the plane. We were happy to be someplace other than in the plane for the night.
At the hotel, while we waited for a room service meal, I called the weather people to see what was up. Apparently the jet stream had dropped down right into our flight path, encompassing our assigned altitude. Sue said that next time I should request to go lower.
The airport maintenance people called the room and told me they had discovered the air conditioning compressor for cabin pressure had burnt out bearings. What did I want to do? I told them I would be right there. Since the hotel is about two hundred yards from the private aircraft area, I walked quickly to the plane. As soon as I approached the hatch where the compressor was, I could smell it.
The mechanic on duty said, "We have a couple of these in the parts room if you want us to change it. It isn't that expensive and we should be able to have it changed and tested in a couple of hours. Do you want to change it?"
I signed the work order and thanked them for doing a thorough ground check. That little goodie was going to be over five hundred bucks. These fancy airplanes are expensive.
We ate, played with Stevie until he was put into the portable crib and sleeping, then we all crashed, sleeping through till seven our time, five Mountain Time. When I went out to see if the plane had been taken care of, I found out that Salt Lake City this time of year is cold. There was snow in various places where it had not melted yet. I asked the ground guys to plug in the plane and get the heaters going so it wouldn't be so cold for the girls and baby.
We needed some heavier coats.
When I told Sue how cold it was, she pulled out a snowsuit for little Steve but said she and Mercy would put on some layers. She hoped Seattle wasn't this cold.
The rest of the trip was much better. As soon as we crossed the last of the high mountains, I requested to get down to about twenty thousand feet where it was more comfortable to fly. As planned, we touched down right at noon at Friday Harbor. We taxied to the side of the ops building and had an attendant help me tie the plane down. The airport had started carrying all types of fuel, so while I refueled the plane and did the post flight inspections, Sue and Mercy transferred the luggage to the waiting car.
It was great to see Dewey and Sheila. Sheila had a big belly and a bigger smile. Dewey was strutting around, very happy in anticipation of becoming a dad. Their new house was spectacular inside. From the outside it didn't look like all that much, but inside it was pure luxury. Dewey had done everything he could to make the place warm and friendly but kept the outside as a minimalist would. The front looked out into a small inlet near the main harbor. Within the small inlet was Dewey's big sloop.
We had lunch then played with Stevie a while. When he was fed, he quickly fell asleep for his nap, so it gave us all a chance to visit. Steve said that John was coming and several of his friends from the island. Mercy was happy that John was coming, happy to find out how he was doing.
I asked Dewey privately what the deal was with John, since I understood now that he was his brother. Dewey explained he really wasn't his brother, but a boy his grandparents had taken in when John had been only seven. John had been raised as a sibling, but when he was sixteen, John had run off to Alaska. It had been after his grandparents had passed away that Dewey and John had gotten back together. Dewey said that if John had stayed, he would have probably inherited as much as Dewey did. Dewey said he would always make sure John was taken care of, as John did have some special needs.
The wedding was planned for Tuesday evening. I thought it a strange time for a wedding but Dewey explained, "All of the people from the bar can be here Tuesday evening, so that's when it will be. Everyone else can mess with their personal schedules, but some cannot."
After supper, Dewey and I went to the bar/restaurant to have a couple of drinks with his friends. They remembered me and asked where the luscious lady was that had been with me before. Dewey assured them they would see her out at the house.
Monday Sue, Mercy, and Sheila went into town to buy some warmer clothes. I went in later to get a wet weather parka and that should be all I would need. Dewey and I had several long talks, with me explaining some of the things I had been up to, and what I had planned for the business. He said I was being overly generous to both the community and to my employees. I wondered about that myself, but thought that since I've made so much money, why not spread the wealth?
John arrived Monday afternoon in a great mood. He was happy to see Mercy. They went off by themselves for a while, then returned with big smiles. Mercy got me off by myself to tell me that she would definitely and happily be returning to Tampa with us, as John was still into men. They were happy to be great friends.
The wedding was a good party. A local minister performed the ceremony as Sue and I stood up for the two being married. The audience was very pleased to see the happiness and contentment on the faces of the newlyweds.
Thursday had John leaving in the morning, with Dewey and Sheila getting ready for a Hawaiian honeymoon. Sheila said she wanted to go before she had the baby, since she would be busy for a long while after she gave birth.
Friday morning, Dewey and Sheila came to the airport with us. We were going to take them into Seattle where they would take off from there. The weather was typical, low ceiling, intermittent rain, and total instrument flying. I filed a plan to Seattle and prepared to leave.
We flew into Seattle easy enough and were able to taxi up near Dewey's Gulfstream. Our plane looked like a toy up next to the big Gulfstream. While we transferred luggage, I had the fuel topped off and called in the flight plan and got an update on the weather. I was advised that the jet stream was a little wild and bumpy, so we opted to stay below it.
I told Sue that I wanted to see if we could make it back in one long day. If she, Mercy, or Stevie became too tired of flying we would stop, but I thought we could easily make it in about nine hours with one stop.
The flight back was smooth with a nice tailwind. We were near the jet stream, but not in it, thank goodness. I heard some airline chatter that told me I didn't want to be there.
The Columbia, Missouri, airport was a perfect place for us to refuel and stretch our legs. We spent forty-five minutes on the ground having a sandwich and coffee, then we were off.
We touched down right at eleven Eastern Time. The attendants at the Aero Park were getting ready to go home, so I made it in time to get help putting the plane away. I thought I might investigate renting the plane out a little more than we had been to pay for some of the maintenance. I'm sure the guy that had taught me instruments would enjoy the extra hours and money.
At home, the patio was dark, but as soon as we went into the house and turned on the lights, several people came over to see how we were doing. We visited a minute, then the girls got ready for bed. Mercy watched Stevie while Sue and I walked up to the now heated pool and swam hard for twenty minutes and walked back to the house. We were happy to be home.
Fifteen minutes later, we were asleep.