Chapter 28

Thursday

Early in the morning we left in two cars. Rita and Libra were not invited. This was mainly because we would be staying one or two nights. Mario was a fairly permissive father for this part of the century but that did not make him stupid.

Natalie drove one car with Helen, Linda and me, while Laura drove Valerie and Aron. I sat in the back seat with Helen and I was molested even before we left the city limits. I held her head as she lay on her side and started to give artificial respiration to little Alex, who was far from needing the stimulation to stay erect.

In a few more minutes she had my pants off and she was trying to get me inside her. It was too difficult, so she lay on the seat and I got between her legs. She had three orgasms before getting to Barrie.

Linda climbed in the back and Helen reluctantly climbed into the front. I kept Linda amused for the next hour. Poor Natalie was playing with her clit and bemoaning her fate. Linda and Helen had no licence to drive but both knew the rudiments. Even Mom drove but she had no licence, either.

The 400 highway had not been built and in fact hardly any highway in Canada. The Queen Elizabeth Way from Fort Erie to Toronto was just being built. This meant that we drove through every small town on the way to Toronto. The QEW was stop and go too, for there were no expensive overpasses made yet. There were a few rest stops along the way, so I asked Natalie to pass Laura in the lead and then pull into one of the shaded places to rest.

When we pulled in Laura followed. There were no other cars or people, so I pulled an unsuspecting Natalie into the back seat and worked on her for a while.

Aron was behind me when I finished and he said, "How come all the girls are like that? Valerie wanted to teach me something and I had to lick her again."

"Did you want to do it?"

"Yes..."

"Was it fun?"

"Yes... but I wanted to see where we are going too. Where I was I couldn't see at all."

"Well, you ride with Natalie now and I will take your place and Valerie can teach me."

"Well, I liked it too, you know."

"Then maybe Linda will teach you things."

We left in a few minutes with Laura, Valerie and me in the lead. Laura was lucky, for Valerie could drive and she, too, enjoyed her time in the back seat.

I was glad to get to Toronto for it gave me a chance to rest. The trip had taken five hours and we found a restaurant to eat first. We stayed away from Young Street like the plague, because I remembered that they were putting the subway in and had the entire street torn up.

Soon we were shopping for clothes. The girls wanted to find clothes for Aron and me first and then look for themselves. I in turn made sure that they got the clothes I wanted them to have along with their own choices.

I had made the call yesterday to the minister and tomorrow I was going to meet him to get the apology. I was also going to see what I could wring out of him to make the school system change.

Toronto was not nearly as big as it was in 2004 and many parts were still farmland that would one day have skyscrapers. If I had the credit, I would mortgage the land and just keep it till a developer wanted to pay me what I wanted for it. I could also see gigantic malls with my Wal-Marts, Zehr's, Home Depot and even perhaps a Starbucks at the ends. Maybe we could even have Mario's Pizza Hut in to feed the customers.

We did make it downtown and we ate supper there. As a treat we ate at a small Chinese restaurant. I couldn't order very well in the language but I did know a few phrases, which I used. None of the girls had been to a place like this. Grocery stores had chickens hung on hooks and in the back you could find the delicacies that they did not let the 'English' see.

We found a good hotel with adjoining rooms. The desk clerk again wanted to give me problems. Being thirteen made things even worse. When I raised my voice and said I was going to go elsewhere the owner came out of the back. He was polite and I told him my request.

He asked, "Are you that boy from North Bay?"

"I am but that must make you an old man from Toronto."

"I'm..." he thought then said, "I'm sorry, young man. We have some nice rooms for you."

The rooms were not bad but they didn't measure up to the Clarkson.

We had breakfast early in the morning to get the most in. We visited other areas of the city. The CN tower was not there but I could see where it one day would be. The waterfront was not a pretty sight but that too would improve in time.

Around nine thirty I started making phone calls to various businesses. The first were to some bakeries to get some quotes for some buns and for having them delivered to North Bay. They could hear my voice and I usually had to go further up the company chain of command to get my requests met. I was prepared for the delivery charges and picked one bakery to see later to get a contract signed.

While the girls shopped I rode the public transportation to the first electronics company. The manager looked disappointed to be greeting a boy but was polite. When he learned that I knew what I was talking about he started to cheer up. I bought some extra equipment and it would be delivered in the next week.

Another bus took me to Queen's Park, the seat of the Ontario government. Part of the University of Toronto and their research facility called Connaught Labs was close, too. I would love to go in but that was out of the question right now. The girls had arrived earlier and were just walking around like the tourists they were.

The minister finally came out. He was a half-hour late but I too showed some restraint and remained polite. He must have waited for the reporters to arrive and he did apologise and wanted to shake my hand. I did not put my hand out but said, "Your apology as a the Minister of Education is accepted but I am very angry at your ministry. You, first of all, let the various school boards do as they want when you need a firm hand to get all the boards the same."

He said in his defence, "Each board has their own problems and needs, so they need room to make a course that best suits them."

"That is right. They are usually poor school boards that have very little provincial tax dollars to give the same level of education as a private school would give or one in a large urban centre. Tell me, Mister Minister, where do your children go to school?"

"My children go to a public school in Hamilton. The school board does get more money but there are higher costs, too."

"That is true but the scales are still not anywhere near being balanced. We need more resources put at the disposal of smaller and less affluent school boards or you will lose many future leaders of industry."

"Like you, Alex," he said.

"I am an exception and most people would find this. There are many others who are not being encouraged to do their best because the boards are under funded. How can new products be developed, when we have under-trained teachers and text books that don't keep up with current trends." The minister was getting embarrassed. I said, "I will make a deal with you."

"What is that?" He asked.

"We shake hands so you get a picture that keeps you from being lynched and I get a half-hour to tell you in private what we can do about fixing things."

"We?"

"You certainly can't do it alone."

We shook hands and the man did take us to a place to talk. He had shook hands with the girls and Aron to ensure that he was seen to be friendly with everybody. When we all had seats I started to tell him how I saw Ontario in the next few years.

North America was currently going through a polio epidemic. When I said that a cure was coming very soon he really sat up. He said incredulously, "Somebody has a cure?"

"We are very close. By September there will be an announcement. My company will be doing its part. For political and monetary reasons the announcement will come from Chicago."

The man sat back and thought and finally he said, "You got me, Alex. I almost believed you there. I don't like what you did," he said angrily.

"Keep your temper in check sir. Call me a liar after September, not now. There is too much at stake. Didn't my company just invent a new artificial hip joint?"

He pulled himself together. "There is a lot of difference between a hip that may not turn out to be better than others that have been made and a cure for polio that very many highly skilled people are looking for."

"Then you will have to discount the new group of anaesthetics we invented. After all, there was only a very few highly skilled people involved in their creation."

"I never heard about them."

That was easy for him to say, for their fabrication was still in my mind and nothing had been done to make them yet. "The chemicals were made in crude conditions and now I have to build an entirely new building in what I want to be my technological park. The Americans give millions of dollars of taxpayers' money for research. I have asked for nothing till now. I want Hydro to supply me with the power I need. I also want tax dollars flowing to the North Bay school board to make a school that meets the demands of industry. Science and Technology has to be stressed in the lower grades or the students are not ready to do what I require them to do."

He said, "You should train them if you want them."

"Maybe I should move my operations to the United States. Canada is well known for ignoring the obvious and letting other countries buy our ideas."

"That is not true."

"What country did Bell invent the phone in and then what country was he forced to immigrate to?"

The light came on and he knew he was trapped. Bell had come to Canada and invented many things including the telephone here. His laboratory is in Nova Scotia. Recently he had been making hydrofoils with American assistance in the form of money and material. For the telephone he had to go to the United States because Canadians were more near-sighted than most. There were more examples and I gave all of them to him. It was always a pet peeve of mine and he was the first of this century to get it.

I had really overstayed my time and the shaken minister showed me out. He even invited us to his home.

"Thank you sir but I did want to get moving. In a month, though, there will be a fair in my city. I believe it would be quite fascinating for you and your family."

We didn't go home, though. When we left I was given a great many pieces of peoples minds about how I picked on a man that just apologized to me.

"He wouldn't have apologized if he wasn't forced to. He just did what he had to do and I made sure he remembers our conversation when he next goes for his budget. I want trained people and I want some to come from the north."

I was able to see two more businesses before they closed. We got rooms downtown and went to see a musical, then had a good dinner later. The girls saw why I wanted them to have nice clothes, now.

We stayed till noon on Saturday and then headed back. I was tired but the girls were 'frisky', so I got little rest.

We just had time and I made it to the bakery I had talked to and signed a contract for the products I wanted delivered to Grandpa. I warned them that more orders might come in with some people finally coming to the conclusion that they would not be able to cope.

The next three weeks were busy and enjoyable. The new equipment had come in and we were making many different kinds of transistors. Even though I knew the correct procedures, the lack or pure materials and the necessity of making new tools stymied us. The laser was started on but this time they didn't know what I was making. We found and converted some small RF transmitters by throwing out all the circuits devoted to modulation. The stripped-down units would be more than enough to do what we needed.

More and more of my time had to be devoted to the fair. Both Helens were very busy with the bookkeeping. They not only had to keep track of every penny spent but had to do payroll and other tasks. Derrick's wife had to hire more help on a temporary basis. Helen was taken under the older woman's wing and shown some of the more arcane facts of bookkeeping.

People going to Toronto for supplies took the information for my ads and the money to pay for them. This would absorb a lot of profit but was necessary. Not all were paid for, though. Lass was shown walking with a small limp but seemed to be in much less pain than before. She was to appear each day at the fair so people could see her.

I had my own trip planned.

John Stoner had purchased another truck for me, just after the first one. This one had four-ton capacity as well and was in good shape for an old vehicle. At the same time I had Derrick do some searching for me.

From an Illinois warehouse he bought for me fifty war-surplus Indian Motorcycles and an equal number of Harleys. These were brand new. They were disassembled and packed in heavy wood boxes surrounded by grease by the manufacturer for the war effort. He had negotiated and we got them for less than twenty dollars each. Twenty dollars, though, was a week's wages. The entire lot was sent to a warehouse in Buffalo, New York.

One afternoon I sat across from John Stoner. "John, I need a secret compartment in the second truck." I trusted him enough to not insult his intelligence. "The Canadian and American governments don't like gold just shipped around. I need a way to get some into the United States without being found, then removed without outside help."

He thought for a moment then said, "Tell me how big it has to be."

"It has to be strong to carry gold along a rough road, the weight may be up to a ton. The volume has to be around four cubic feet and a minimum height of eight inches."

"Alex, you usually come with your own ideas. Tell me about them."

The plans were put in front of him. He looked it over and simply said, "When do you want it?"

Four days before the fair began, dad, Helen and I took a trip to Buffalo. It was a seven-hour trip and very bothersome. Dad knew of our load and was worried about every bump for fear of losing the precious cargo. He hadn't even started to worry about getting past customs.

Even before we started dad was angry. Helen was dressed in what he thought of as provocative clothing. It was a bit daring for the time but still enough to distract a man's eye without bringing down many thoughts of impropriety.

"Why won't those crazy Americans take our gold?"

" Dad, they have laws that say they can only own gold if it is in coins or nuggets. They have more laws that say we can't just ship gold around any way we like. That is also why we will get so much more for the Goldilocks Group."

Our goal was the suspension bridge in Queenstown. In later years it would be taken down and a new one put up further upriver.

Dad took a sip from his bottle just before we got there and this seemed to help. We waited in line for two minutes and dad had to have another nip then we were at the barrier. He was very relieved to just pay a toll. I said nothing till he found that he had to go through the inspection at the other side.

Dad gave out his papers after he said who he was and who we were. Then the McCarthyism came out and we were asked if we were ever members of the Communist Party or any other subversive group. Dad said that he was mostly a farmer and wondered if that was against the rules, too. The man didn't quite think so for he let us through.

It was forty minutes to Buffalo but we took over an hour. On a side road we pulled off for a bit to eat from our lunch we packed. When everything was clear, I went into a box of equipment and took out four lengths of threaded rod. These went through the wooden bed and into a frame around the hidden shipment. With nuts now attached to the rods the bolts to a fake gas tank were removed. The nuts on the wooden bed were backed off and the heavy tank was lowered to the ground. A nearby tree supported the heavy gas tank with a chain fall while dad backed the truck under it and it went into an empty, weathered, wooden box. Two chains and two chain binders held the load securely to the truck bed.

Dad was very happy and wanted to take a drink to celebrate but both Helen and I got him to wait.

At one trucking firm we stopped and a lift truck took our load after signing some papers. It would now be on its way to Chicago and await our arrival in a week. Dad was very worried about the box and I had to get him out before he drew too much attention to it. It would be safe simply because of its anonymity.

Another firm had part of our shipment of motorcycles. It was easy coming through with ten of the heavy bikes. We had to pay the duty and taxes at the border. Dad said, "Why did you want these things anyway?"

"I see that in the future they will be worth fifty times what they are now."

"A thousand dollars?"

"Well, the money is not worth as much in the future but the average man has to work for a year to pay for one of those crates in the back and that doesn't count the taxes he has to pay on his income or on the bike we sell."

"Damn government. They always want money then just spend it foolishly."

"That never changes, dad."

When we got home late that night, we left the truck in the barn and just slept.

Martin came through with my request. His men came to town and provided security for us. The local police were miffed but did cooperate. The bank then put a photograph in the Toronto paper with some gold bricks. They said this would be on display with other gold to show how closely the bank was working with this area.

Dad and the rest of the family did come up with another half ton of gold dust and flakes. This went into the vaults. Mr Jackson was still speechless when the money came in. This time we had heavy canvas sacks which to me sounded much more sensible.

The city started to fill early. Good clean rooms were available and I made sure that nobody got gouged. Everybody offering a 'bed and breakfast' had to display their prices out front. The warehouses were used for all kinds of storage. One was set aside for emergency housing. The camping grounds were featured in the newspapers and many people came with this in mind.

We had scoured much of southern Ontario to get enough large tents. Laura set up a mini hospital and we even had a few doctors and nurses come to assist us.

Natalie and Libra had a very large area with lots of toys to watch the infants. Many of the high school girls not employed elsewhere were there to help. Natalie had worked hard to perfect what each person had to know. Some of it was to direct people to where they could get help. She even came up with the idea of large maps painted on plywood showing the various booths, first aid, security, washrooms, lost and found and the babysitting services.

The students making the cube were given different duties when I found we needed everybody we could find.

Aron was very happy when he worked with our security. He did help a bit but mostly I saw that the detachment liked to have him and some of his friends around.

There were one hundred and six booths of various kinds. My inflatable canvas bag was a hit with everybody. The smaller children had to be given their own times, or they would never have gotten on. This was even before the fair opened.

Rita was just about coming undone. She tried to be everywhere and do her singing too. She was irritable and short with people but she still did what had to be done. Part of the reason was that her period had come around again.

Her father was wearing a smile now even though he was working much harder than usual. I figured it had something to do with his wife's new set of unmentionables.