Chapter 1
As the Chevrolet Silverado turned onto I-81 South, Roger found that the salt crews had done a masterful job and the roads were clear and starting to dry. The asphalt had thin coating of salt making the road look a dirty gray. He began to think of his adventure of the past few days. He had made some friends in Utica and had changed a few lives, hopefully for the better. He began to feel a bit sad when a vision of Pooh came to him. He really wished that he could stay; it would have been interesting to see if he and Pooh could have built a lasting relationship. But... he said to himself, he had to get this out of his system. If he didn't continue on his tour of the country he would regret it for the rest of his life.
The ride through the New York countryside was beautiful. The fields had the fresh coating of snow and he quite often saw deer coming out of the woods trying to find something to eat. By early evening he approached Binghamton, New York and he decided to stop and get something to eat. He watched the road signs that indicated the places to eat that were close to the Interstate and finally picked a higher-end franchise that he knew usually had respectable food. The franchise specialized in seafood and steaks. After pulling off of the Interstate he saw the restaurant about two thousand feet ahead of him. He saw with a bit of dismay that the parking lot was almost full. He finally found a parking spot close to the rear of the building and pulled in and shut the engine off.
Just as he was about to get out of the truck his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw on the caller ID that it was his lawyer. He debated whether to answer it or not. He had had enough excitement for a while and he was sure that the call wasn't because of any great calamity that had just come up. Reluctantly he answered the phone.
"Roger, how are things going?" Hal Iverson shouted into the phone, "Are you ready for this? You know that warehouse that you bought in Syracuse at the bankruptcy auction? A commercial Realtor has a client that wants to buy it. They want a quick settlement and since you haven't done anything with it yet I thought that you might want to get rid of it. It's a cash deal; the outfit has tons of cash. I figure that you'll clear about one point one million on the deal, maybe a little less. Are you interested?"
This was a "no-brainer" for Roger. He had bought the warehouse dirt cheap because of the bankruptcy of the company that had owned it and he had intended to let it set for a while until he figured out what he wanted to do with it. He knew that that wasn't wise because of the deterioration that would quickly occur to the structure since it wasn't being used. He had figured that, if nothing else, he would eventually tear it down and build something else on the property. Most potential bidders had passed on the deal because of the rumors of hazardous waste problems. Roger had a hazardous waste remediation contractor inspect the property and they hadn't found any problems. He figured that it was worth about five times what he paid for it.
"Hal go ahead and take care of it for me. I really don't have any concrete plans for it right now plus it will be one problem that I don't have to deal with when I get back. You have my power of attorney so go ahead and take care of it. Let me know if you have any problems. I can fly back there if you really need me."
"I don't think that I'll have to have you back here. I'm sure that I can handle everything for you. Damn I like making money off of you man."
Roger smiled to himself. He and Hal Iverson had been friends since college and Roger had even introduced Hal's wife to him. Hal and Roger went beyond the normal lawyer-client relationship and Hal watched out for Roger's interests as well as Roger did, sometimes even better.
Roger's mind began to wander as Hal continued to talk, "Wait a minute Hal. Maybe the company does have a lot of cash but every company wants to keep their cash if possible. Approach them and see if they would like me to finance the deal for them; maybe even a lease purchase. Ask for twenty-five percent down and I'll finance the balance. The building is paid for so it will be a clean deal. It might be a good deal for all of us."
It was a second before Hal answered, "They asked if it was possible to get financing but I didn't think that you would go for it. I'm sure that if you want to finance it that they'll snap it up. Damn man, you know how to make money. You'll be able to live off of the mortgage payments."
"You have my OK to do whatever it takes to wrap up the deal. Just make sure that I'm protected if they walk away from the building in a few years. I don't want to have to go to court to get my property back."
"I'll take care of it for you. Anything else you need?"
Roger told him no and they exchanged a few pleasantries and then hung up. He sat for a minute to collect his thoughts. With twenty-five percent down the mortgage rate would probably at least twelve percent on an industrial property. The mortgage payments would be a bit more than twenty-seven thousand dollars a month. He smiled to himself as he got out of the truck.
Roger walked into the restaurant and found that there would be a wait of about a half an hour. He gave his name to the hostess and saw that she was wondering what to do with him as singles rarely came into the restaurant. If she sat him at a table by himself it would mean that there were three seats that would be unavailable for other customers.
Roger looked over the restaurant he saw that all of the tables were occupied and most of the people were just starting their meal. His gaze fell on an elderly couple that were just being handed a menu by their waitress. The waitress walked away and Roger walked by the hostess and headed toward the couple.
The couple looked up at him as he approached them, "Hello, I'm traveling and I'd like to get back on the road. The restaurant is full and I wonder if you would allow me to join you at your table. In return for your generosity I'll pay for your dinner. Whatever you want will be on me."
The elderly man looked at his wife and she smiled at him, "There's no need for you to pay. We'd love to have the company. We're celebrating our forty-fifth wedding anniversary today. Please sit down."
Roger smiled and introduced himself and the couple introduced themselves as Aaron and Ethyl Hamm from Binghamton, New York. The waitress came over when he sat down and Roger told her that there would be one more in the party. She left and returned with a menu.
"I insist on paying for this meal," Roger said.
When couple started to protest he stopped them, "No, I insist. I just sold a property that I wasn't even looking to sell and I'm celebrating a bit myself. Please allow me to make your anniversary one of the best that you've ever had. I'm going to be hurt if you don't order the best thing on the menu."
Aaron looked at his wife and smiled. Ethyl patted Roger's hand and smiled at him. They all began to look at the menu and Roger prodded them to order the best on the menu. When they seemed to hesitate, the cost of the surf and turf was very high for their budget, Roger suggested that they each get the surf and turf and they both nodded and smiled.
After the waitress took the order Roger tried to get them to open up, "Do you live in Binghamton?"
Ethyl grinned, "We live in the house that I was raised in. It's in an older section of town but the houses in the area are well maintained. It's become the place for the younger generation to raise families now. Many of the houses are being rehabbed by the younger people. I can't believe the money that they're putting into those houses."
Aaron's face clouded a bit, "It's getting harder and harder to keep the old house up though. The furnace needs major repairs. Luckily we have a wood stove insert to keep the house warm."
Ethyl looked at Aaron with a caring look, "I worry about you carrying that wood though Aaron and it seems that the fire wood is just as expensive as using the furnace."
Aaron gave her a look, telling her that they really shouldn't be discussing this in front of a stranger. Ethyl asked Roger where he was from and Roger told them about the company that he had just sold and his plans for traveling the country for a while.
"You said that you just sold a property?" ethyl asked.
Roger laughed, "Well, it's a bit more than a property. I bought a large warehouse for a lot less than it's worth and a large company wants to buy it. I'm talking to them about me holding the financing, that way I'll have a very healthy income every month."
Ethyl and Aaron both became quiet and Roger knew that they were a bit uncomfortable talking about money. Roger strongly suspected that they had to watch every penny to make ends meet so he decided to change the subject.
"Do you have any family around Binghamton?"
Ethyl's face took on a glow, "Not in Binghamton, but our son has a fine job in Arizona and our daughter lives in Canada. We have four grandchildren now."
The waitress came with their dinners and both of them looked at the food and beamed. They continued the conversation while they ate and Roger found out that they had been thinking about selling their house and moving into an apartment because the house needed a new furnace and windows and it was just too much for them to afford. He also found out that it had been a while since their children had been to visit them because of their job concerns and the cost of travel.
After they had eaten as much as they could Roger asked the waitress to bring boxes for them to put the rest of their dinners in. He saw that there was enough left for them to have their lunch tomorrow out of the leftovers. He ordered coffee for the three of them and they sat and relaxed.
After the waitress brought their leftovers back Aaron said that they ought to be getting back home.
"Let me walk you out to your car," Roger said.
"We're just going to call a cab," Aaron said, " I've got cataracts starting and I don't want to risk driving for a while."
"Nonsense, my pickup is outside and I'd be pleased to take you home," Roger said.
Ethyl put her hand on his, "You've done enough buying us dinner. Thank you very much. I know that you want to get on your way."
Roger stood up, "I won't hear of it. Let me settle up for the bill and I'll take you home. My pickup has a crew cab and there's plenty of room."
He walked to the cashier and paid for the dinner with his credit
card and met them at the front door. Ethyl protested all of the way
that they were making him go out of his way and that she knew that he
wanted to get back to his travels.