Chapter 7

Tom Granger phoned Jason to see how life was treating him. Jason had a device for controlling drones that he sold to the government for fifty million dollars. Tom received a twenty-five percent share of this sale, which made for a considerable and welcomed change in Tom’s financial situation. He was anxious to hear what Jason had done with his share of this money.

When Jason answered the phone call, Tom asked, “How are things going for you?”

“I can’t complain. Work is interesting, but I can’t get into the specifics to tell you what I am working on. I will say that drones, lasers, satellites, missiles, and maybe even robots are how wars in the future will be fought. You can’t imagine what these projects are that we are developing to keep our country safe.”

“I understand that, so I won’t press you. I was more interested in hearing if you spent any money you received for that project you sold.”

“I did pretty much what you did in that I bought a condo and a new hybrid SUV. Steve Casey recommended a financial advisor. This advisor has an office in Belton but also spends time in Austin. He is investing my funds and is better than me doing it. What is unique is that he invests my money in the same stocks and bonds he invests in. I thought it was a waste of time to read stock purchase recommendations made by people who at the end of the article say they don’t own any of the stocks they are recommending. Then again, if they did say they owned the stock, they could be accused of pumping and dumping. It’s a no-win-lose situation for them no matter what they say. So far, I am doing fine since my investment account is growing. Did you spend any more money besides purchasing those two condos?”

“No, but I am thinking of spending some since I do have vacation time coming. I am planning to go to Hawaii and wondering if you want to go there with me. We could stay at a resort, see the sites, and maybe do some snorkeling. We could also lie around and watch the action at the pool. What do you say about going there with me?”

Jason agreed to go to Hawaii with Tom. Reservations were made with them coordinating their flights to meet at LAX. They would be on the same flight, flying business class to Hawaii.

Tom’s flight to LAX and meeting Jason went trouble-free.

The flight to Honolulu was uneventful but interesting. To Tom, it seemed that they were getting more of the attractive flight attendant’s attention than were the other passengers. She introduced herself as Connie in giving Tom and Jason their cocktails. Tom could see by how she looked that she had some Hawaiian heritage, but he also thought she had some Caucasian blood in her. She said she was based in Hawaii and would be off work after the plane landed. When the flight started to descend, Tom took a chance and told Connie where Jason and he were staying, inviting her to stop by.

After claiming their checked baggage, they and a few people boarded the courtesy van that took them to the resort. The checking-in procedure was the usual one of filling out a form and giving a credit card for an imprint. They were informed how to get to their rooms and told their luggage would be delivered shortly.

Tom had made the resort reservation and discussed with Jason during the flight why they each had separate rooms rather than sharing one. He said that Jason could get lucky and hook up with a lady. Because of that possibility happening, Tom said he didn’t want to cramp Jason’s style. Jason laughed and told Tom it probably would be Tom doing the hooking up.

After unpacking, they decided to walk around the resort to familiarize themselves with the facilities. Jason stopped by a rack and took a number of the brochures that described the various activities and tours that were available. Jason said he wanted to do several of these tours. One tour consisted of visiting historical sites, including snorkeling. Another tour to Pearl Harbor included visiting the Arizona Memorial and the Missouri Battleship. That tour ended with a drive into the Punchbowl Cemetery before they came back to the resort. They both knew someone interned at the cemetery. Tom said he would accompany Jason on these two tours.

They walked by the outdoor pool and observed the people sunning there. Tom suggested they take in this pool’s scenery and have a drink. They couldn’t help but notice several ladies in tiny bikinis with suit bottoms similar to what the beach volleyball players wore. Tom, with a smile, said that he planned on spending time at the pool working on his tan.

Tom and Jason were among the passengers in the van the next morning that took them to Pearl Harbor. Visiting this place was a solemn experience for Tom. He remembered watching the movies of that sneak attack. He just stood there and imagined how it looked when the attack was happening with the planes bombing the ships. He could not help but think that the naval officer who decided to have eight battleships all in port at the same time when the drums of war were beating was a stupid ass. Thank God the two aircraft carriers were out to sea and not located by the enemy. If the aircraft carriers had been located and attacked, we probably would be speaking Japanese as a second language.

After the visit to the Arizona Memorial, they toured the Battleship Missouri. The large number of sailors that served on this battleship imparted to Tom the true meaning of what the word “togetherness” meant. There were so many men on this ship with so little space. The ride into and around the Punchbowl Cemetery made Tom wonder what the citizens of our country would do if something like the Pearl Harbor attack were to happen today. He would bet money that a significant part of the population would be blaming us for why it happened. There probably would not be the large patriotic outpouring there was after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and that bothered Tom.

Jason was becoming the social chairman for this vacation. He had signed them up the next day for an all-day tour that included visiting a few historic sites, lunch, and snorkeling.

It turned out that the snorkeling was the best part of this tour as they saw numerous tropical fish and turtles. When Jason said he wanted to do some deep-sea fishing the following day, Tom said to count him out. He told Jason this was turning into work, and Tom said he wanted to relax. The disappointment expressed on Jason’s face was short-lived. He perused the brochures and said he would sign up for a tour of the Waikiki beach area.

Tom planned on spending most of the next day relaxing by the pool.

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, Tom found a shaded spot giving him a view of the swimming pool. Having the warm breeze going over his body caused him to think that this is how rich people live.