Chapter 57

Right after we got back, I ended up with a crew of five and we were spending three days a week running to various computer stores around LA. Yes, the recession was really starting to hit hard now. For the next two weeks we were clearing out three computer stores a week. I rented the last vacant shop at the strip mall that Orbit was in to handle everything. The five techs that were brought on when not helping me strip shops were cleaning and arranging the display cases for sale in the front, as the others and myself were going over hundreds of systems and parts, sorting them and trying to make as many computers functional as we could.

And two weeks before Christmas, I had arranged for a both at the Computer Fair at the LA Fairgrounds. But this time, I had four stalls all in a corner. I even teamed up with Becky, as she was also doing the same thing and had a lot of excess stuff she wanted to sell. I ended up renting two trailers, and on Friday morning it was a caravan heading down the 10 for Pomona.

My two trucks packed to the top with computers and parts, and towing a trailer with even more stuff. And Becky towing her trailer which was full of keyboards and other MIDI devices and things related to connecting them to computers. Mike even brought along his newest DJ setup. And once we got there we unloaded the tables and started setting up.

Once again, pallets of monitors, and other things along the back wall. Everything from stripped cases and boxes of cards for $5 to $10, to complete systems ranging from Apple II to 486. Printers, even two display cabinets that were for sale. Along with all of the shelves we had parts sitting on, those were for sale also. A few rack mount racks that were excess, and other odds and ends. In short, I was choking on stock again.

The only thing not here was the XT and 286 systems. I was taking those at the end of the month to Idaho. We only broke even on those, but ultimately the profit was that they had to sign up for a year or more of service to get one. Kim had noticed that more than once somebody would let their one year subscription lapse, and a day or so later the wife or somebody else in the household would sign up for a new account, just to get the free computer. As we charged $20 for the sign-up fee, that meant even more money so I told her to keep doing it.

“Hell Kim, these computers only cost us about $50 each, and that pays for half of it right there. Plus the money we get each month. Basically, they are getting a free computer for around $400. If they want to do that instead of coming in and just buying one for $150, let them.” She laughed, and said she would suggest they just allow people to pay the $20 at the end of their contract.

The computer show was packed, and one thing I did not expect ended up happening. I sent two guys back to the shop with one of the trucks, and got another load. Four display cases, six shelves, and all the rest of the old orphan systems we had in stock. And six Gem computers, as Becky had sold all of the ones she had brought with her. On Sunday as things were about to close up, I grinned and looked at the damage. I had already sent one truck back empty, and we were getting ready to load up the last display case when a gal came up and offered me $100 for it. I laughed and told her it was a deal, I did not want to mess with taking the heavy wood and glass thing back.

We had both sold over 90% of the inventory we had brought down. And even more for her, Mike had sold a lot of audio stuff, showing how with the speakers and amplifiers he had set up a person could make a killer home sound system. I guess that most never realized that they could use most of the same equipment musicians use in their home, with just a little help in how to wire it up.

After we dropped everything off at the shops, I went to have dinner with Becky and Taylor. We were in the back having beers as Taylor grilled steaks and Becky sighed. “This might just be saving my ass, Pete. Things were getting a little tight, I might have overextended myself in that last purchase I did. The price was impossible to pass up when MusicLand folded, and I got a lot of stuff I ultimately did not need. But this weekend we sold off almost all of that. And selling those new systems is a huge help. Why did you not sell any? They’re your systems.”

“Becky, they are not mine. They are Gem, and that is Jeff in Idaho. I’m simply the official California distributor. You are the main customer for them down here. Hell, you’re my only customer here, so it’s my job to support you, not to try and take your customers. They wanted them for music, and that’s your thing.”

Taylor laughed, and said he had told her the same thing. “Babe, Pete here is just working at a different level than you are. If he sells you the computers, you both make money. If he sells them, he makes money. But your customers want things like keyboards and stuff he does not sell. He lets you sell them, and he makes money and it lets you sell other things so you make more money. If you go under, he loses all of your future business.”

I sipped my beer and nodded. “And Becky, if you are running into trouble do not hesitate to ask me for help. Hell, feel free to ask Dee for help. You know we all love you, and I think Dee would agree with me that investing a little money to help keep you going if you need it is a smart move. Yeah, the economy sucks now, but that will not last forever. And strange as it may sound, get through this and I think we’re both going to be stronger at the other side. I know for a fact I am.”

“Stronger, how is that?”

“Simple, for one there is going to be less competition. This year now I think I have bought up fifteen computers stores in the LA area. That means when things improve, there are fifteen less stores to compete with. Plus, my basis is still to sell cheap. I make it on volume, not per item. I would rather sell a hundred computers at $100 than fifty computers at $200. Because I can sell the cheaper computers faster. You are more specialized than I am, I am more general. But think about it, you just made over 10 grand, selling mostly music stuff at a computer show. And you sold a lot of cables so people can hook their keyboards up to their computers. Many of which I sold as they did not need the new ones you had. That made us both money. And I want to keep that going. But trust me, in a year or two when this recession ends, we are both going to be in a great position.”

She nodded, and said I was right. “And thanks, because of this weekend I do not need a loan. But I promise, I will ask if I do need the help.”

The next week we only had one store to empty out, and by the end of the week I had the back of the truck stuffed with computers and monitors. And once again, it was driving back to Idaho. I was already starting to hate this trip.

I arrived in Vegas at 2, and was at Eileen’s by three. And by four Eileen and I were going at it in her bedroom. We made love twice, then after a joint shower we headed into town to get some dinner. She then showed me her favorite casino, the El Cortez. It was much smaller than the ones on the Strip, but was cozy. And I saw that most of the tables had a lower bet than those in the tourist areas.

“Yes, most of us here gamble for fun, not to try and make money. Oh, and by the way, this is actually one of the original Mob casinos.”

“What, really? The Mob actually owned this?”

“Sure did, sweetie. Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky bought this from the original owner. If you have seen The Godfather movies, you might recognize them as Moe Greene and Hyman Roth. Those two characters and their story in Vegas is largely based on those two. But Bugsy was shot at his girlfriend’s house in LA, not stabbed in the eye with a pair of glasses. Lansky died of cancer about eight years ago, he was not shot like in the movie.”

“So, does the mob still own this, Eileen?”

“Oh no, that ended decades ago. In the 1960’s, Howard Hughes was staying in the Desert Inn. He rented the top floor, and when they wanted him to leave so they could use the rooms for big gamblers for the holidays, he just bought it. And kept buying, deciding to rehabilitate Vegas. His legitimate money drove out the last of the Mob owned ones, and now they are all legitimate. They still love Howard here, and even named a street in his honor.”

Next we hit a club not far from where she lived called “Talk of the Town”. It was playing fast music, and as Eileen dragged me to the dance floor several people in there called out to her. And as we started dancing, I noticed something was different here. “Eileen, is it me or are we the only boy and girl couple here?”

She was shimmering her body up and down, and nodded. “Yes, this is one of the better ones that caters to men and women. You’re not uncomfortable, are you?”

I grinned and shook my head. “Naw, don’t bother me in the slightest. But I have to admit, I never expected to be in a bar seeing two cowboys dancing together.”

She laughed, and after a few more songs we moved to a booth and she got us both drinks. And other than noting that the majority of the couples of the same sex, it was not much different than any other bar I had been to. We each had a drink, then after a bit more dancing went back to her apartment.

Then I realized how big of a geek she was, as she literally drug out almost everything I had ever published. And she had me sign every single one, and I discussed how each of them had been made. But I noticed she had none of the Jenny adventures, and did not mention that those had been mine also. We were soon in bed, and after caressing each other as we kissed to make sure we were both excited we made love again.

In the morning we fooled around a bit longer in the shower, then after making me breakfast we kissed again as I caressed her bottom before I left and continued the trip. I made a stop just after lunch at Salt Lake to offload a pallet of HP systems I had gotten from a corporate purchase, and then I was pulling into the back of the shop. Harry had the door open when I backed the truck up, and already had them unloading the pallets when I went inside. I handed him the invoices showing what all was in this batch, and he grinned. “Good timing, we were running out of 286 systems again. I think Dee wants you to stop buying the XT systems, and concentrate only on the 286 from now on.”

I said that was a good thing, as the XT was getting harder to find. I was going over the backroom with Jeff, and I saw the first of the new Cheyenne cases already boxed and ready for shipping. He told me that was the first production models, and all five hundred were going to Boise-Cascade. I whistled, and he grinned. “They were actually on the fence, until they saw the new case. That I think is what tipped them over the edge. Come on upstairs, we got some things to show you.”

I went up, and was surprised that a quarter of the large open area had been walled off. With a button combination lock on a metal door. Jeff told me the combination, and I laughed as it was Kim’s birthday. I then opened the door and went inside with Jeff and Harry. Morgan was already inside, and what was in there, wow!

Morgan grinned, and they watched as I went over to look at what was on the benches. The monitor was as I had imagined. Gem Blue, with two speakers mounted under it in a single mount. I looked at the base, and there was a single plug that went from that into a plug under the monitor. I disconnected it, and it was long, like a MOLEX. But had five wires. “Right and Left sound, power, power and sound ground.” Morgan said. And at the back, a combination video and sound cable that led to the back of the computer.

Next to it, a keyboard and mouse. “Now both of these are hybrids at the moment. The guts of both come from another company, but the plastic is all ours. Made from the same plastic that we use for the computers, so it’s a perfect match.” And next to that, the speakers. Once again, nothing special, but matching in color to the rest of the system. I told them all that they looked outstanding.

“How did you get this all done so fast?”

Morgan laughed. “Simple, you are half owner of the company after all. Oh, the monitor is the same one you looked at last time, I just had them make a new shell for it. But ViewSonic loves the concept, we already have George doing the work for the patent, and they might even license it from us. We are still shopping suppliers for a lot of this, Rod and I just gutted some stuff laying around and he recased it into things he made for us. But this is now our ‘Skunk Works’. Only a few of us have access to this room, and all of our R&D will be done in here from now on. One thing about those idiots stealing our ideas, it made us all realize that we can’t have that happen again. And we are now working with George, he is doing up patents and trademarks to protect us from that happening again.”

I told them all I was impressed, and we spent the next two hours going over other things they had been working on. Harry left part way through, then returned with two large pizzas and the meeting continued. Among the things they were working on were new computer cases. One was a desktop case, but the speakers were built inside of it, and stereo. And it also would have a locking door, but like the rack mount case it could be easily removed and they even included matching pins in the back to mount it on so it would not get lost.

I asked when that would be ready, and they said they were hoping to have the first run at the end of January. “We only have five of them now, the others are downstairs.”

“OK, I’m taking three of them. Along with three of the rack mount server systems. I think Becky can use them, a lot of musicians still prefer desktop cases because it lets the monitor sit higher. With the speakers inside, they would probably love this. And Becky is still using desktops for her rack mount and lighting applications. I want to provide her with a professional line of systems made just for that.”

They all thought that was a great idea, and I suggested to Jeff that he send Harry down to LA for two weeks. Both of them looked at me funny, and I said it was for a new line of business we can look into. “Look, she does a good business in professional audio and lighting. I already have a guy in LA I helped set up a professional multimedia system in a large conference room. One of our services can be doing that. We hear Boise-Cascade or Morrison-Knudsen want a new conference room set up. No problem. We tell them ‘Hey, we can do that too!’ We come in, put in lights, sound, and a projector that displays what is on a computer into the room. And best of all, we tie it all in to the rest of their computers, easy-peasy.’ I bet we can get some of them no sweat. Give Harry two weeks with Mike, and I bet he will be able to run with it.”

“But where would I stay?”

“Simple, with me. I got a four bedroom house, and two spare rooms. Work with Mike and Becky all day, crash with me at night.”

Harry looked a bit troubled. “But you don’t like me, Pete.”

“Harry, make that past tense. We always got along great as kids, but at least to me you became a bit of an ass in Junior High. And you were a bit of an ass until you offered to sell me your store. Since then, as far as I’m concerned you have proven yourself to me. You are no longer an arrogant ass, but a key member of the Gem team. I meant what I said when you came on, work behind our back, and I will fuck you in the ass.” Jeff jerked upright as I said that, and chuckled. “But you have not, you’ve done nothing but good, and you should know I recognize that. Almost every week when Jeff and I have our conference calls, he tells me of something you did that was great. So next year sometime I would like to have you there for a few weeks. Get to know this new Harry better. This one I actually like, and used to play with when we were kids. Not the arrogant ass from High School that thought he was hot shit because he was the baseball star, and I only skied.”

He laughed, and Jeff agreed. “Harry, you just got a new job title. Let’s call it ‘Vice President, Multimedia Operations’. You’ll like Mike. He’s a bit of a geek but he loves music and computers. Go down there, take two weeks with Pete. You might even see more things we can use that he does not see. By then, I will have Kim finished with the first proposal sheets, and we can get to work. But I think Pete’s right, this is a growth area that nobody up here is tapping into yet. And will set us apart from all the other companies in the industry.”

The meeting broke up, and I was surprised it was almost 10. Jeff drove us to his house, and I went in and hugged Kim, and we talked for a bit before I headed off to my house. I walked in, and saw that there were still some embers in the stove. I added some more logs, and after pulling out a frozen dinner poured myself a drink and sat at the table.

And as always, I was amazed that whenever I came up here my house was ready for me. Fire going in the winter, fresh milk in the fridge, even bananas and other fruit and veggies in their place. Kim had told me that the day before they knew I was going to arrive, her mom came over and made sure everything was ready for me. And she also went over everything once I left to remove anything that was perishable and did some cleaning.

The year before I had even gone up to her and gave her a big hug, and told her she did not have to do that. “Aunt Darla, you are not my maid. Heck, you’re my CFO. You can hire somebody to do that if you think it needs to be done.”

“Oh nonsense, Pete. It’s not a big deal, and I enjoy doing it. I bring anything perishable you do not use to Kim’s, and they use them. At most it takes me maybe an hour before you get here, and an hour after you leave. The only thing I do not do is the fire, I have Dave bring in the wood and start that if needed. You do so much already for us, if I can do this little bit for you it is my pleasure.”

I did the only thing I could do then, I hugged her tight, kissed her cheek and softly said “Thanks, mom.”

And as I ate and had my drink, I considered what I wanted to do next year. 1991 was almost done, and 1992 was looking to be more of the same. Still single, just occasional lovers to break up my life. Maybe I should look into just moving up here. The call center was moving up here next year, maybe I should move with it. Put Blake and Sing in charge of LA, and work out of here.

But then came the issue of inventory. Nobody else could do what I could when it came to acquiring things from stores going out of business and the big companies in the LA area. Nobody else would dare make $10,000 purchases. But maybe I could split time more and more. And I grinned, and decided I might at least try that during ski season.

The next day I got up early, and found Dave as he was getting ready to ride the fence line. He grinned when I joined him, and after checking over the other three wheel we headed off together. That took about two hours, and as we were finishing I asked him about the property across the river. He grinned at me, and said to follow him.

We drove across the bridge, then around the corner until we got to the access road. We pulled up to the top of the small bluff, and walked up onto the ancient lava flow. A little below me I could see the dirt runway, and then the potato fields and farmhouse behind that. “OK, the MacClure place. You find out anything about it? Will they have a problem with us being here?”

Dave just grinned, and shook his head. “It ain’t the MacClure place anymore, it’s part of the Culver place. We bought it last week. Oh, they’ll still be here until next spring, part of the agreement is that this harvest is all theirs and they live rent free until they move. But we own all of it now, and it’s larger than any of us thought. Pete, this was over 300 acres, it goes all the way down to the sand and gravel pit. None of us realized how big their parcel was, as they leased out the southern portion to JR.”

I asked him how much it cost us, and when he told me I whistled. And when I asked him how far in debt that put us, he laughed. “None, really. You see, the campground is it’s own LLC, owned by our LLC. We put a mortgage on the campground, and used that. Plus a nominal amount of cash for the down payment. This is all Dee’s work, don’t ask me how it all works. But in essence we owe ourselves most of that, but also over doubled the size. I already have two contractors looking into how to make a bridge to link the two sides, that is a long term project though. We are also going to install a cement ford at the edge, so we can drive across the river there. I want to disassemble the sheds there and move them over there though. Turn that area into more spaces, and put all the maintenance into this area once the ford is in. That little spur to the swimming hole at the Scout Camp, that’s ours also. I plan on dredging that out, and by then replacing the in-flow dam should be done. The last few years we have been so busy on the trail and other things we just never got around to it. That will increase the water level from the ford most of the way down to the freeway by about 3 feet. And along with the MacClure plot we get another pump. Once they end farming, I want to move it up to the north-east corner, and run it into the scout pond. That will reverse the flow of water, and also make it better flowing. Right now it’s largely stagnant, no real flow at all. That will mean less bugs, better for them and us both. I figure we can run that one on a timer, maybe for or five hours on, then twelve hours off. Enough to replace the water, but not screw up the plants and animals living in it. I bet if we sink the inlet to it down a few feet some fish will start to move up it as well.”

I looked over the area, and I liked what he was thinking. “And what about this area until then?

“Well, we just rent it out as is. We can rent it our for events, rough camping, things like that. In fact, I have another idea I want to run past you about that.” And his idea was killer. In short, to turn this new side into more of a small resort. Buy up some old buildings in the area and make a small replica “ghost town”, complete with a saloon, jail, and town hall. And on the edge put in a large campfire area, complete with a chuck wagon and logs for sitting. Some of the ranch hands in the evening tell stories and sing songs, then set up a projector to show old silent movies like “The Great Train Robbery” on the side wall of say the jail. And I admitted, it sounded like a great idea. They would have on weekends hot dog and bean dinners, and allow people to wander through the town. And even sometimes do “cattle drives”, from the upper pastures down to the southern area once the lease with JR expired. Setting up a cowboy camp down there, even though the cows would only have to traverse about a mile, it would be fun for the tourists to see.

I nodded, it was indeed a grand idea. I asked him if he was going to increase his herd again, and he nodded. “Only by about another hundred head. Plus it would do the lazy beasts some good to do a little walking for their dinner every month or so. Most of that pasture will be shared with them and the horses, we already have to spend more than I like on feed for them as there is not enough for them to graze over there. We will rotate them out every other week or so, let some rest and graze as the others work. I’m sure I can think of other uses but that’s my thought so far.”

“Well, I approve of it. And tell that to everybody when you all vote on it. In fact, I love the idea. Where were you going to build this town?”

“Right there where the potato field is. It’s already a large rectangle, with trees on the south side. We put taller buildings on the north side, to hide the ranch and other buildings I want to put there. And from where I plan on putting the bridge, it will let out at the west side of the street. The east end, that is where the eating and entertainment area will be.” I looked, and it was an area about three times larger than a football field. But that would go nice.

We drove back home, and we then walked the ranch area up there. There were now ten slabs for hands, although only six were in use at the moment. This was the period after auction, when a lot who were more transitory would move on to things like working the ski area or traveling before returning in the spring for the next year.

“You know, I have an idea, Uncle Dave. How about across the river, we put up an actual bunkhouse? As in for any hands or workers who want to can live inside. No, don’t look at me like that. We make it real nice inside, like barracks or a motel. Private rooms and bathroom. Cement block structure, but we clad it outside with old wood, with a long porch running across it. We make it look like a real old fashioned bunkhouse on the outside, but in reality it is all new. And across from it we put up a real reproduction that people can go into. Wood bunks, tables, things like that. And during your drives, some can actually sleep in it, add to the illusion it really is a working bunkhouse.”

He actually grinned and said that would be a good idea. “In fact, I can also clad that modern ranch in old wood also. It’s only about fifteen years old, but I can make it look a hundred. OK, I’ll add that to the plan, good thinking Pete. Behind the street we make another street, with two bunkhouses and the ranch. Make them like an L, working bunkhouse to the south, fake one on the street in front of it. I think the drawing I made had that as about where the jail is.”

That night we again all got together for dinner, and they asked me my plans for the next day. When I told them I was planning on going skiing, Kim stuck her tongue out at me. I invited her along, but she laughed and shook her head. “Oh yeah, a baby whale on skis, that would be a sight. Thanks, Pete. I’ll pass though. Have fun.”

That night I pulled up the AdultNet IRC, and was chatting with Amber when I got a message from Eileen. I smiled and invited her to join us in the room. After introducing her to everybody, she got into the game. And it was rather arousing watching her spending about five minutes sucking on Amber’s toes. Then she picked me and I took a truth. And when she asked me about my most daring sexual encounter in the last year, I told everybody about how it was an amazingly sexy redhead who blew me at a convention the month prior. One of the players asked me when I tried to end it about more details, and I admitted that I tried to blow her head off when I came, and she swallowed it all and left me drained.

Eileen told me in private she was surprised that was my it, and I told her I was serious that I did not go around looking for partners all the time, and rarely did things like that. She also told me it was very sexy hearing my side of our encounter, and that she had enjoyed it also.

It was getting late, but before I logged off we did leave the room and we spent about 45 minutes indulged in self-pleasure and pleasing each other as we played out a fantasy of hers. Involving her seducing me at a convention and fully taking me inside her in one of the meeting rooms.

The next morning it was cold and crisp, and I loaded up Scout and drove up to the ski area. It was a perfect day for skiing, and I was returning to my old form by the end of the day. But finally I loaded everything back up and headed back to the ranch.

I spent the next day with the gals as they started preparations for our Christmas Eve feast. This year it was an elk roast, and a wild turkey that Jeff had bagged the month before. And after dinner we once again congregated in the living room and chatted and sang songs.

The next day I woke up early, and snuck into the Big House and loaded up the tree. I had gotten a lot of gifts that I had left inside the truck, and the area under the tree was spilling out everywhere when I went back and had my coffee. And an hour later I heard a pounding on the door before it opened. I looked up from the book I was reading, and Kim stormed in.

“You bastard! Did you think we would not know?” I grinned and asked her if she wanted some juice, and she shook her head and walked right over to me. She then sat in my lap and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight. Then after a kiss, she smiled. “You just made Grace’s year though. We came downstairs, and she saw gifts everywhere and knew for a fact Santa had been there. We were both surprised also, let me tell you.” I laughed, and told her to shush when she said they had not gotten me anything special.

“Kim, this holiday is about giving. And it’s not like I could not afford it. I just wanted to do something special, to show my family how much they mean to me.” She kissed me again, then she had me get up and go across to join the rest of them.

I saw George run down the hill when he saw us, and after giving him a big hug I waved at dad and Dee and we waited for them to catch up to us. Then together we walked into the house. And they had the same response, with my having to put down a squirming George as he went to join Grace looking at all the packages around the tree. And he screamed when he looked at the tags on the two items that were not wrapped.

Matching Yamaha PSR-500m keyboards I had bought from Becky. With stands and benches, inside of which were books for learning how to play. Dee looked at me, and I said that George needed his own keyboard, and it was not fair that he get one and not Grace. She hugged me, and we all sat back as George took charge and started to pass out gifts. Since he could read he would say the name on the tag, and hand it to Grace who brought them to us.