Chapter 1

After about 100 changes and edits I decided that the ‘problems’ in this story could stay; it is only a story after-all. Problems like how a 6’ 9’’ guy fits into a modern day car, or the crime in South-Central LA is more than I want to consider writing about. My real life experience dates back to the mid 60’s. In my day, Geogia owned the Rams. Much of my previous stories are based on some facts, many of the players in them are somewhat real, the salaries back then were a might lower than today.

This story is not all true, will not even mostly true some is though.

I wish that I could say that LA is a beautiful city. Yeah; wish it was true, but actually, nope, not true. Things have changed a bit over the years. There still is that water and the beaches, true. There is some pretty nice weather usually, true too. Also that water restriction, wind, smog, traffic, taxes, crime, slums; make it not a great place. I think you get the picture. On a positive note, let’s not forget those ‘California Girls’ who are still around, at some places anyhow; they can make things tolerable.

I guess one thing that sold me to try here was that new stadium. It was built in Inglewood, CA, by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. I remember he had spent a few bucks on that place.(5 plus Billion, true)

Another was the fact the LA Rams won the Super Bowl, had a ton of players not returning, so maybe some open slots; with a wee-bit more cash lying around than most teams and a few more things gave me the incentive to sign on the dotted-line if offered the right deal. Of course a sign-on bonus, good salary, milestone payment features and a few perks would help a might too.

There were some negatives too(Prices for one thing) in addtion to the smog, fires, floods and crime to consider but not too many more negatives than there were in Chicagoland where my former team played.

All-in-all this certainly beat the time I had to spend in Chicago. My 6’ 9” and 345 lbs now made me the biggest center in the league. The Rams or any other team would have to be paying me for it now and I was not planning to disappoint my new team.

I had arranged for a car and driver to be right there at LAX Airport to pick me up, good start in my book. Best thing though, one of those California Girls was to be the driver. I picked Sandi, E-mail and streaming video is a wonderful thing. Our first stop was for me to check-in at the Hilton almost right next door to LAX. Easy enough to do, and when I met her, confirmed to me that I would be keeping this girl if I could, no matter where I signed; she was a keeper.

Our next stop was to pay a courtesy visit to my potential new boss at the SoFi Complex. I say complex because the Rams, Chargers and about every other thing one would want are there also. To be honest, there are a lot of things in LA that no one wants either. This was a concern but, with enough money, good guards and being a stay-at-home kind of guy should make things OK; I survived in Chicago; right?

My six foot tall tour guide, Sandi, bless her heart had nothing to say when I asked about a good place to live. She was not real forthcoming about good places to eat either. I knew there were no safe, good places in this part of LA, most of LA either IMHO. Talk about being nervous, she was the poster-child for it. I was her first job although I don’t think that was why. This job for her was a possible salvation, maybe; the girl looked more than nice, we shall see.

The internet also had more good uses for me. Dinner reservation were made before I left Chicago as well as an appointment at Sea View Villas to view a few of the larger apartments available for lease.

My next request to Sandi: “Let’s head out to 17325 CASTELLAMMARE DRIVE in PACIFIC PALISADES, CA, 90272 for your GPS my dear. We need to find us a place to live.”

When we finally got there, I guess this area was a might new to her, I thought it took a long time to get there. She tried very hard to keep hiding by the car with a look that better fit a guard at Buckingham Palace.(Stiff in other words) Taking her hand in mine, I said: “Come! We only have four or five of these pigeon holes to pick from so I need a woman’s input.”

Darla was ‘our’ sales rep; of course her snazy official title was something else. From a base price of $14,995 a month(true) it was her job to not only have a contract signed but to ensure ‘WE/I’ took advantage of the premier build and all the optional amenities.

There were a few she could talk us into, like: Expansive Terrace Spanning Living Room and Master Bedroom Chef’s Kitchen with Luxury Appliances Built-In Stainless Steel Wolf Range White Oak Flooring and Cabinets Travertine Countertops and Vanities In-home Washer and Dryer Walk-in Closets with Custom Organizers Beach Access Enclosed Three Car Garage Single Story buildout Ocean View location Sub-Zero Refrigerator Private 3-Car Garage Spa-like Bathrooms with Jacuzzi Tub Built-in Lynx BBQ on the Terrace Smart Home Technology Large Double Door Entryway Weekly Tidy-up service of Home

I kept nodding my head as she kept on-and-on with available features. Each extra came with the warning that it ‘may’ delay construction time. At last she stopped, it was my turn I guess. “That all sounds good, which ones do you think we should get DEAR”. I turned to my little mouse now.

She sat down on a huge, white leather chair, squirmed a bit on it, then said: “I think this one ‘Dear’!” Of course she liked the model.

Darla turned pink, then red, then more a light purple as she tried to talk. “This is like $30,000 a month(True), it is the ‘Capri’ plus, it is our model, we it have decorated as...”

“Great, ‘we’ will move right in then. Is there a gym nearby? We will need keys and the remotes for the garages.” We both nodded. By the look on her face, Sandi was now fully engaged and loving the over-sized leather chair she was now twirling around on.

Sandi looked up at me, stuck out her tongue and sweetly smiled. ‘We were going to be a good team’ I thought.

“I expect to have a three to five-year contract but with some extentions so make the lease up that way and you can do an auto-pay, our account is at Wells-Fargo, tell me how much you need to close and where the money should go to when you want to accept my offer.”

Not bad I was thinking, the RAMs were going to pay for twelve months lodging at least just in my signing bonus. Sandi was now laughing and Darla was still looking at us, not knowing for certain what had happened.

“Well I’m glad that’s over with; this home-finding sure is hard work. We have a reservation at Ruth Chris’s at 5:00 if you care to join us for dinner Darla?”

Dinner was great. Sandi was not a big meat-eater, I was; in-fact I had two large filets. Lobster, prawns, crab and a fish swiming in butter was hard for either of us to pass-up. She did like the sea-food though, you could see it in her face and by the empty plates before us. Yes we were going to make a great team. Not certain that she understood everything about her new job, but the “We should stop at your place and get anything you need or hit a Nordstom’s” should have given her a hint. My: “From now on you’ll live with me at the hotel until I sign with a team and we have to move to ‘our’ new home. OK?” Should have been even a clearer hint.

Was it premature on my part? Maybe! The fact was she looked tall, I mean really tall, trim, with long white hair and a face none would forget; like I might find better somewhere else; I don’t think so. Sandi was best described as a tall version of that white-haired chick on ‘Game of Thrones’. I knew LA was not making that many movies these days and model jobs now had a dozen hopefuls for any openings, so now was the time to strike, and strike I did. I was going to ‘BUY’ Sandi.