What was the most surprising aspect of this for Tom was the amount of pure unadulterated success of those companies. It was something he was going to keep his eyes on. He scratched the number down on an index card and slid it into his desk drawer for another time. Back to the Middle East accounts and Iran's in particular.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lori did not want to make a statement so she just put on her everyday clothes and waited patiently for Oliver. He pulled up right on the minute, he was a man that did what he said when he said, Lori had figured out. Maybe a little control issue, maybe just organized too though. Lori climbed into the older but well maintained truck and noticed that Oliver must use this as an office of some sort as well. He had a set up sort of like the police cars did for a few electronic gadgets and a mobile Ham radio to boot. This guy was prepared for anything it looked like to her, it was then that she noticed a few magnetic signs on the inside of the doors, bright yellow with the words Search and Rescue. That made a lot of sense now, but this truck was something else.
They made small talk about how it was going to be at the dinner and who was going to be there and do what. Billy McEntyre will talk about Bigfoot and ask if we had all seen or heard him too... That was Billy though, and Kevin will goad him along sometimes going along with it just for entertainment. Susan and Tammy will make the dinner and don't you dare go near the kitchen, they have it all under control and will take it personally if you see something you think you could help with. There will be a Pinochle game going on in the corner and a few other cliques but that's about it. Ronny Hunt will get up and read from the agenda and run the meeting part, it's his turn this year. Oliver explaining that it's just good to be safe around here and knowing who your neighbors are helps out a bunch if Lori is going to spend any time up here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On January 28th 1986 the same day as the Challenger Shuttle explosion a name appeared on the list of billionaires, Robert Newman. A veritable gold standard in picking the right companies was behind this new billionaires wealth and rise. Yet there were limited dips into that money for investments, there was seemingly no pattern or really any telling when Mr. Newman was going to spend again. The last time was four years ago, and that was to a computer memory chip maker Intel, who knows what he meant with that investment, secure, but not overflowing. The case of Mr. Newman was beginning to get out and around a bit. There was also the curious bit about who the heck this guy was as well, because nobody has ever heard of the guy or met him. Some were thinking fraud, but attorneys handling the matter proved otherwise with no information released to the public.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lori walked into the meeting room, a bustling of noise and clatter. A few people turned around to stare for a moment and the rest pretty much just ignored her. A few of the younger gentlemen gave her a double look, she just followed behind Oliver as he walked her up to the table of coffee and refreshments. Coffee? Oliver asked her as she nodded her head and looked at the big room and the atmosphere. It reminded her of another time altogether and she had a moment where she actually forgot that she had her phone with her. Hers was a notorious addiction, these smart items just followed her around without thought it seemed. She really wanted to just check out some news or see what has been going on, then it hit her that it hasn't been more than 24 hours yet and she has got to get some help with this. Reaching into her coat pocket, she deftly removed the back of the phone and the battery again. She was there to relax and this was getting out of hand, breathe Lori, breathe she reminded herself as she took the coffee and thanked the new friend she had met.
Ronny Hunt was passing out agendas to the folks and their eyes immediately scanned them and scowled and whispered. This was good she thought, a blood bath one of the first things she gets to see. It didn't turn out that way, but there was plenty of drama.
She watched the interactions of the cliques and families, the friends and frienemies. This was people at their finest, everyone knew everyone else's business and for the most part they knew their lives better than the people living it. So when the generations and mindsets of a group like this get together, a new and yet not uncivilized interaction takes place. As a writer Lori loved this sort of thing, yet she found herself working and wanting to Twitter her friends immediately about it. A little caught between what she left and where she was now frustrated her a bit and she got down to eating the euphorically delicious calories she did not want to try to place a number on. After the dinner there was plenty of time for small talk and chit chat. George let her know before though he doesn't spend too much time at these things. People putting on airs and a lot of just plain fibbing going on. George was the type to tell people that was BS to their face and his character was not necessarily attuned to these things. He did bring her over to a small group of quiet folks mostly, the ones that spent their time just watching others mostly, Lori guessed they had their reasons.
There was Jester Tate, yes that's his real name, he introduced her to Jimmy Nolen and Berta, just Berta. Lori's eyes looked at each one as they were introduced, she tried to shake hands but the pace and unaccustomed gesture here made it look like she was in a job interview and blowing it. They talked to George and Berta was glad that there wasn't any trouble at the Hudson's place, such nice folk and all. She mentioned her and Mike's long past relationship and how they are still friends, how she adores his new wife and wishes them the best. Jimmy was noticing a dust-up starting to happen across the room, excusing himself to put himself in the middle of a few large men calmly saying knock it off or I will hit you both! Apparently that worked and George was getting antsy, giving Lori the old look at the watch routine. Berta, never missing a thing for her age said her farewells and drifted off to get some more tea. Just a couple of hundred feet from the hall Georges truck was parked and the difference in noise and peace returned within that short amount of time. Something that she noted in her mind that she just doesn't get at home, a noise relief of that immensity.
The drive home was peaceful and not a lot of talking went on. Lori was pondering things and George just let her have her time. He let her know after a bit that they were all good folks really, just caught up in their own worlds half the time. Lori nodded and laughed at the own world line, she was off in her own world after all of that, she disliked large groups of people, but this was different somehow. She thanked George again and he helped her with her boxes from Beau's, they didn't use bags a lot and this was their way of giving back. The real reason is Beau was just too cheap to give away anything let alone a bag, so he keeps all the shipping boxes and reuses them.
As she shuffled the last box inside with her foot so she could close the door she was struck again by the circumstances she found herself in now. Looking at the quaint and at the same time remarkable little box in the woods and noting she had to start a fire soon she was just awed by the diversity of what she just was a part of and the one she was in just last week. The lifestyles and people were so vastly different, much the same, and at the same time under one, much larger and arguably existential roof. She put away the supplies and grabbed a flashlight to get some more kindling from the woodshed/pile outside. It was a ten foot walk and she completely forgot where she was when she started only to realize that she was out here in the night with nobody around. She got a little spooked and grabbed the kindling a little faster and bolted the door as soon as she got inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lori did not want to make a statement so she just put on her everyday clothes and waited patiently for Oliver. He pulled up right on the minute, he was a man that did what he said when he said, Lori had figured out. Maybe a little control issue, maybe just organized too though. Lori climbed into the older but well maintained truck and noticed that Oliver must use this as an office of some sort as well. He had a set up sort of like the police cars did for a few electronic gadgets and a mobile Ham radio to boot. This guy was prepared for anything it looked like to her, it was then that she noticed a few magnetic signs on the inside of the doors, bright yellow with the words Search and Rescue. That made a lot of sense now, but this truck was something else.
They made small talk about how it was going to be at the dinner and who was going to be there and do what. Billy McEntyre will talk about Bigfoot and ask if we had all seen or heard him too... That was Billy though, and Kevin will goad him along sometimes going along with it just for entertainment. Susan and Tammy will make the dinner and don't you dare go near the kitchen, they have it all under control and will take it personally if you see something you think you could help with. There will be a Pinochle game going on in the corner and a few other cliques but that's about it. Ronny Hunt will get up and read from the agenda and run the meeting part, it's his turn this year. Oliver explaining that it's just good to be safe around here and knowing who your neighbors are helps out a bunch if Lori is going to spend any time up here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On January 28th 1986 the same day as the Challenger Shuttle explosion a name appeared on the list of billionaires, Robert Newman. A veritable gold standard in picking the right companies was behind this new billionaires wealth and rise. Yet there were limited dips into that money for investments, there was seemingly no pattern or really any telling when Mr. Newman was going to spend again. The last time was four years ago, and that was to a computer memory chip maker Intel, who knows what he meant with that investment, secure, but not overflowing. The case of Mr. Newman was beginning to get out and around a bit. There was also the curious bit about who the heck this guy was as well, because nobody has ever heard of the guy or met him. Some were thinking fraud, but attorneys handling the matter proved otherwise with no information released to the public.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lori walked into the meeting room, a bustling of noise and clatter. A few people turned around to stare for a moment and the rest pretty much just ignored her. A few of the younger gentlemen gave her a double look, she just followed behind Oliver as he walked her up to the table of coffee and refreshments. Coffee? Oliver asked her as she nodded her head and looked at the big room and the atmosphere. It reminded her of another time altogether and she had a moment where she actually forgot that she had her phone with her. Hers was a notorious addiction, these smart items just followed her around without thought it seemed. She really wanted to just check out some news or see what has been going on, then it hit her that it hasn't been more than 24 hours yet and she has got to get some help with this. Reaching into her coat pocket, she deftly removed the back of the phone and the battery again. She was there to relax and this was getting out of hand, breathe Lori, breathe she reminded herself as she took the coffee and thanked the new friend she had met.
Ronny Hunt was passing out agendas to the folks and their eyes immediately scanned them and scowled and whispered. This was good she thought, a blood bath one of the first things she gets to see. It didn't turn out that way, but there was plenty of drama.
She watched the interactions of the cliques and families, the friends and frienemies. This was people at their finest, everyone knew everyone else's business and for the most part they knew their lives better than the people living it. So when the generations and mindsets of a group like this get together, a new and yet not uncivilized interaction takes place. As a writer Lori loved this sort of thing, yet she found herself working and wanting to Twitter her friends immediately about it. A little caught between what she left and where she was now frustrated her a bit and she got down to eating the euphorically delicious calories she did not want to try to place a number on. After the dinner there was plenty of time for small talk and chit chat. George let her know before though he doesn't spend too much time at these things. People putting on airs and a lot of just plain fibbing going on. George was the type to tell people that was BS to their face and his character was not necessarily attuned to these things. He did bring her over to a small group of quiet folks mostly, the ones that spent their time just watching others mostly, Lori guessed they had their reasons.
There was Jester Tate, yes that's his real name, he introduced her to Jimmy Nolen and Berta, just Berta. Lori's eyes looked at each one as they were introduced, she tried to shake hands but the pace and unaccustomed gesture here made it look like she was in a job interview and blowing it. They talked to George and Berta was glad that there wasn't any trouble at the Hudson's place, such nice folk and all. She mentioned her and Mike's long past relationship and how they are still friends, how she adores his new wife and wishes them the best. Jimmy was noticing a dust-up starting to happen across the room, excusing himself to put himself in the middle of a few large men calmly saying knock it off or I will hit you both! Apparently that worked and George was getting antsy, giving Lori the old look at the watch routine. Berta, never missing a thing for her age said her farewells and drifted off to get some more tea. Just a couple of hundred feet from the hall Georges truck was parked and the difference in noise and peace returned within that short amount of time. Something that she noted in her mind that she just doesn't get at home, a noise relief of that immensity.
The drive home was peaceful and not a lot of talking went on. Lori was pondering things and George just let her have her time. He let her know after a bit that they were all good folks really, just caught up in their own worlds half the time. Lori nodded and laughed at the own world line, she was off in her own world after all of that, she disliked large groups of people, but this was different somehow. She thanked George again and he helped her with her boxes from Beau's, they didn't use bags a lot and this was their way of giving back. The real reason is Beau was just too cheap to give away anything let alone a bag, so he keeps all the shipping boxes and reuses them.
As she shuffled the last box inside with her foot so she could close the door she was struck again by the circumstances she found herself in now. Looking at the quaint and at the same time remarkable little box in the woods and noting she had to start a fire soon she was just awed by the diversity of what she just was a part of and the one she was in just last week. The lifestyles and people were so vastly different, much the same, and at the same time under one, much larger and arguably existential roof. She put away the supplies and grabbed a flashlight to get some more kindling from the woodshed/pile outside. It was a ten foot walk and she completely forgot where she was when she started only to realize that she was out here in the night with nobody around. She got a little spooked and grabbed the kindling a little faster and bolted the door as soon as she got inside.
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