Chapter 2

I woke up and I was no longer in the hospital bed but a large round bed that must be 10 feet in diameter. I had never seen such luxury. I looked around the room. There was a huge picture window across the room that was at least 30 feet away.

I hopped out of bed and went to the window. I was in Memphis, Tn. I had gone through Memphis a thousand times. There was the Mississippi River below me. The view was breathtaking! I could see miles and miles.

I was interrupted by the doorbell. What a doorbell it was ... just like in the movies. It took five seconds for it to stop.

I walked out of the bedroom into a living room that was even bigger. I answered the door and saw a gray haired man about 60 years old. He said, "Mr. Ted, come quickly. I can't get your uncle to open his door. I am afraid something has happened to him."

I looked down at myself and realized I was naked. "Let me put on some clothes."

I went to my closet and it took me a while to comprehend. There must have been 100 sets of clothes from which to choose. I grabbed some white shorts and a white shirt that must have cost $200 each. There was a pair of white shoes to match. My mind told me to get the set of keys that would open my new uncle's door.

I followed him down the wide hall to the other end of the building. I rang the doorbell. When there was no answer, I used the key to open the door. We walked through to the bedroom. We found my uncle lying in the bed. I could tell immediately he was dead. The ones that put me here provided me with the ability to grieve his death.

The government was like the U.S. on steroids. The amendments were similar, but the politics were not allowed. All politicians were only allowed ten years in office. They were given a salary of what they were making before they took office. If it was more than fifty thousand dollars it was capped at fifty thousand. Once they announced they were running and reported their income, they were paid their traveling expenses to politick.

No one was allowed to give them money while they were in office. The President was not allowed to do an executive order except in case of an emergency. It was only good for 60 days until it passed all three branches of government. After that, it was null and void.

There was no sales tax allowed. Tax was 10% of the income and could be filled out on a postcard. It was distributed equally at 5% to the federal government and 5% to the states depending on the amount their taxpayers paid. If a state wanted more money, they would have to build their infrastructure up. If they could not manage with that, they shut down their government until it balanced. It only took once for them to learn the lesson. This lesson was passed on from state to state.

When a jury found someone guilty, the sentence was carried out within a week with only one appeal to be heard by the supreme court of that state. They were only allowed to look at the laws covering that trial.

Two weeks has passed since my uncle was buried. An employee of mine, Wilber Armstrong from Santa Fe, New Mexico called and said, "Ted, sorry to hear about your uncle."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

"I'm having a little problem down here. Pick Your Lumber is sending me second grade lumber and is giving me a ration of shit about it. He says if I don't like it I can go somewhere else. The problem is that the next location is about 500 miles away."

"I will be there before noon tomorrow."

I informed my chauffeur that I would be going to my airplane tomorrow. He is also my pilot. His wife is my secretary. They each make $100,000 a year. I know everything there is to know about my new business adventure. Whoever it was that put me here gave me the ability to know every aspect.

My car is a 1950 Packard built as a limousine. Jets have not been invented yet, so I have a big four engine prop. It sits at the end of the taxiway of Memphis airport. Anyone coming into Memphis can see my plane. It has giant letters on both sides that say KNIGHT INDUSTRIES.

I have my own bodyguards. They go with me everywhere I go. I guess the Ted I took the place of must have slipped away from them. Seems he must have done it once too often. It resulted in his death. I was informed to not do it now or my life would be in danger.