Chapter 1

The Setting:

Abilene, Kansas

The Players:

Jeffrey M. Seeberger (Narrator) B: 01/12/1999

Laura C. Seeberger (Mother) B: D: 08/25/2016

Michael C. Seeberger (Father) B: D: 08/25/2016

Lawrence ‘Larry’ Jackson (Jeff’s BFF) B: 05/04/1999

Dianne ‘Princess Di’ Jackson (Larry’s sis) B: 03/01/2002

Susan J. Jackson (Larry’s Mom) B: D: 08/25/2016

Gerald ‘Gerry’ Jackson (Larry’s Dad) B: D: 08/25/2016

Others to be mentioned...

Earth Date 01/07/2017

My name is Jeff Seeberger!

Susan and Gerry Jackson, along with my parents, Laura and Michael went to the Rio Olympics from August 5^th to August 21^st, 2016 calling us kids every other day. They talked for hours about the Opening Ceremonies, even though Larry, Diane and I had watched it live ourselves on the Jackson’s big screen TV. I think its 72 inches on the diagonal.

We all stood up when the United States Team entered the stadium. None of us wanted to go, but that moment was quite patriotic to the three of us.

Larry was in between his sister and me, both physically and paternally. More about that coming up!

Two days later, they called and talked about the Beach Volleyball. Only Dianne was interested, having played volleyball in high school. I was interested, especially in the women’s game, even saying that out loud.

Di asked her brother to hit me for saying that, which he did with glee. He had been noticing how I had been looking at her as of late, but he didn’t say anything to me about it. Sometimes, I saw her looking back at me with an upturned smile.

Whenever Larry got up to go to the kitchen, he made me go with him. This was a new thing. Diane was known as ‘Princess Di, ‘ growing up, because of her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes.

Over the immediate last year, she was getting a very girlish figure, which drew my attention. I had been something of a professional student, intending to go back to Kansas State University for my second Masters, this time in Family Studies. My other two are in Software Engineering and Public Administration. Did I mention I’m a genius with an eidetic memory?

Our moms and dads kept up with their every other day call-in, until the twenty-sixth, when they would be landing at Miami International Airport.

When their call was late, I called my folks, as did Larry -- both calls went to voicemail.

“What’s going on?” Dianne asked us both.

A buddy named Stephen called me to tell me to turn on the news. On every channel was the story about a plane from Rio de Janeiro that crashed on landing.

I suggested we catch a plane to a nearby airport, as Larry was looking it up on his phone and told us to pack. He got us on a flight to Fort Lauderdale International Airport while I got us some rooms at the nearby Hampton Inn.

All the way on the plane, Dianne was very nervous at what may be happening. She put her hand in mine and leaned against my shoulder.

We got there, with only a quickly packed carry-on and got on a shuttle to Miami Airport, only a forty-minute drive. Now, I was getting nervous as we got near where something happened.

It was now Sunday, early morning, as the airport herded us into a room with other relatives of people on the plane. There was an announcement from an airport official, saying, “All the passengers, along with the entire crew, are dead. We are sorry for your loss.”

Many in the room burst into tears, as did Dianne. I gripped her by the hand as she asked, “What do we do next?”

Knowing my parents had complete plans in place for when this happened, I said to her, “We take them home, bury them and do all we can to move forward.”

Less than 48 hours later, we did just that with our parents in the belly of the plane we were on.

Having made plans while still in Miami, two days later; we had side-by-side funeral services for the four of them. The results of the crash had been attributed to ‘Pilot error.’

Two days after that, we walked into an attorney’s office, our parents had the same lawyer and were told they had wills in place. Apparently, this surprised Larry and Di.

“Who wants to go first?” Mr. Hatcher asked.

Dianne’s reaction to that was to start crying again, so I raised my hand, and said, “These are my best friends. Can we do it all together? I don’t mind if they don’t?”

He looked at them, and Larry nodded his head in agreement.

“Do you want to hear the entire will, or are you only interested in the details?” Mr. Hatcher asked.

“I would like a copy of it to read at a later time if you don’t mind. I knew we were rich, but Dad never gave me any details. He was funny that way,” I said with a light chuckle.

“Two things contributed to his wealth, Mr. Seeberger. Your great grandfather Charles Festus Seeberger, back in 1916, was part of the team of men who developed the first radio tuners. He was one of the men, who instead of taking a flat fee, worked out to get a percentage from each tuner built. He is still earning money every day.”