Chapter 4

In checking his e-mail Dan noticed that he had one from Stacy Majors, the woman he had met the first night he camped. In the e-mail she said she had planned on coming to see him but now her plans had changed. She had just received orders for her next assignment which was to be Korea. After that she said she has no idea where she will be assigned. She told him to take care and keep in touch.

He answered her e-mail by sending her a response saying among other things that he recommends she avoid eating Kimchi and for her to be careful.

Dan received a phone call from Connie Stonier one of the teachers he had examined at Lake Lancer. She said when she woke up this morning it was like there was a yellow light on the side of one eye. She asked Dan what she should do.

He told her this could be a very serious situation. Looking at the list of ophthalmologists Roger Clay had e-mailed him he gave her the names and phone numbers of two of them and told her to call and insist that they see her today.

Two days later Connie called and thanked Dan for the advice. She said she made the call and was told to come in immediately. They did a procedure using a laser which solved what they said was a serious problem. Dan felt good about giving her this advice but that was what he was trained to do.

In thinking about how his now profitable business was going he started flirting with an idea that was running through his mind. He knew one of the reasons for the profitability of what he was now doing was due to the low costs he paid for the examination equipment and the trailer and truck. Maybe what he was doing could be expanded and because of that he placed a phone call to Jerry Casey his old boss.

After some how are you and what are you doing conversation Dan asked Jerry if there was more examination equipment that was considered to be overage that Dan could purchase.

“You know you practically stole that equipment” said Jerry.

“Let’s just say that I got a good deal. I will say it has enabled me to have a profitable business which is not in any way in competition with you nor will I ever want compete head to head with your company.”

“I am not aware of any excess equipment now but I will keep my eyes open and if I come across some I will let you know.”

The conversation ended with each of them wishing the other good luck in the future.

Dan continued to do what he was doing in visiting the schools and seeing other patients from those areas on Saturdays.

One of the patients was a two year law student who after a little conversation suggested that Dan set up a corporation for this business. He offered to help Dan to do that which he did and Dan waived his charge for the eye examination.

This student also broke the news that Dan needed to file quarterly with the IRS and the State in regard to income tax. Dan hadn’t thought of that and he reluctantly started doing that.

Dan in looking at his buzzing phone saw there was a call from Tessa Crawford of the Wilkinsing Foundation. She asked him how things were going and he gave her the straight scoop.

“Things are going good for me and it is turning out to be a profitable venture to be doing this. As to asking the State Board to approve opticians being able to issue eyeglass prescriptions I have changed my position on that. I would be against doing that and the reason I say that is that people need to have periodic eye exams by someone who is trained to look at and into the eye and see if there are any problems. Just going and getting a prescription for eyeglasses can result in not having an eye exam and not finding a problem. The training necessary to that is the four years it took me and not a one year course that would be developed for opticians.”

“I am a little disappointed to hear you say that as it sort of kills the idea of us having a mobile eye clinic like you have,” said Tessa.

Tessa thanked him for the information and wished him well.

About four months later Dan received a phone call from Jerry Casey saying they were closing a store and the equipment there was declared to be excess. The equipment could be purchased for close to double of what Dan had paid for his original equipment.

“Jerry, I appreciate the call but in being honest with you I have been looking at the internet as to what these items cost. The price you are asking for this equipment is close to what I can purchase refurbished equipment that come with a warranty. I don’t want to haggle with you about price because that could affect our friendship and I want to be friends with you. I would only be interested in this equipment if the price was much lower.”

Jerry was silent for a moment but then he reduced the price to almost what it had cost Dan for his original set of equipment. Dan said it was a deal.

Jerry had asked him what he was going to do with it and Dan said that he wasn’t quite sure but he would keep his promise that he made to him and would never be in competition with Jerry’s company in a given area. Dan told Jerry that “area” to him was defined as twenty five miles away. Dan also mentioned that if other equipment became available to keep him in mind.

Dan phoned his father and asked for a favor. He asked his Dad to send someone to pick this equipment up and store this equipment at the shop. Dan had given Jerry his credit card information for the payment.

With the schools now closed for the summer Dan contacted the various Principals he had come in contact with and gave them the dates he planned on being in their area. Dan asked them for permission to park his trailer at the school to do eye exams for the residents of the area. None of the Principals objected to him doing this.

Using the addresses he had of the people he had previously examined he sent out e-mails to them indicating where and when he was going to be in the different areas and would appreciate it if they would spread the word to their neighbors and friends. The same prior registration via the internet would be required.

The appointments that posted for the week he was going to be at Lake Lancer were quickly filled. He added a half day on Saturday and that also quickly filled up. The patients he was now examining were mainly adults. Besides renewing prescriptions he was finding problems in doing the exams. A few of his patients required that he refer them to ophthalmologists. Cataracts were at the top of the list but there were other problems as well.

He didn’t see Judy which he had hoped would happen. When he mentioned her name to one of the younger patients he was told Judy had gone back to college for the summer to get her masters degree which would increase her salary.

Dan had just seen his last patient on Saturday at Lake Lancer and opened the sliding doors to his kitchen area. He was going to make himself a drink when he heard a knock on his door. Wondering who that could be he opened the door seeing Pam Driscoll standing there and invited her in. Dan asked her if she wanted to join him in a cold drink and she said she did. He made them each a vodka and tonic.