Chapter 6

The boys must have talked, too, for they replied like gentlemen. Andrew even got up when he spoke to the ladies. He was beet red and stammered, but his message got across. Rita sat across from him.

The girls, too, were nervous, but fit into the social aspects much better. Rita, with one day's more experience, started a conversation that the rest of the table followed. The tables around us were mainly silent, as they listened to what was being said.

When the bell rang we all reluctantly left for health. This was what the single periods of Phys Ed were for. We sat in a room and Mr. Richardson stood at the front, dressed in sweats and runners.

"Well, class, we are going to talk today, again, about the boring subject of personal cleanliness. It has been brought to my attention that some of you do not smell like a bed of roses." He looked directly at me when he said this. "It is necessary to get cleaner after you exercise or play sports..."

"Basically, you stink and you offend people around you, unless they, too, stink, then it is ok."

I raised my hand and Richardson said, "Yes?"

"If you have some work to do in the back of the room, I could perhaps put a different slant onto the topic that would clarify the matter."

He thought on my offer and then stared at me with one eye more than the other. "Ah... I have to check some papers. Alex, will you do your song and dance?"

"Yes sir," I said. I got up and walked to the front of the class.

The teacher took a manila folder and squeezed into a desk in the back. I said, "Well, guys, the teacher is busy now and can't hear us." The students looked at me as if I was stupid. They looked around at the teacher and saw his head down looking at his work.

"You guys are not too bright sometimes. When a teacher works hard at his work, he has to exclude all outside noise. He can't hear us now." My smile helped and only the densest could not understand. The class laughed at this.

"You guys always talk about your dick being big, or all the hair you have got so far." This shocked the boys. Nobody talked like this with a teacher around. "I am younger than you guys, and I am bald down below and probably look like your little brother." This brought a laugh when the image came to their minds. "I am not stupid, though. I know that girls like boys sometimes. One is when they do not stink so bad that they have to hang their head outside a window to get a breath of air." This brought laughter again as they saw this in their minds.

"Girls stink, too, but not as bad as you guys do. The smell turns on lots of guys, though. Young people have a lot of different hormones going through their bodies. Sometimes there is too much of one kind or another. That makes us do irrational things. It makes us have difficulty sleeping at night and hard to get up in the morning."

"If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to get clean clothes set aside at night, have a quick bath, or better, a shower. Some of you guys are too lazy to even comb your hair. Brush your teeth after eating. Nobody likes to see green stuff or meat between your teeth. Some of your breaths could stop a train better than Superman. Your pits usually stink a lot. Wash with soap and water, not just water. Use a deodorant, but keep it light. You will end up stinking like a whore otherwise. You will bitch, because you never have time. Well, get up earlier."

"Now you guys have clean clothes, clean bodies, and are wearing some deodorant. You walk down the hall and see a pretty girl you like. Do you go up to her and say hi? No, you punch her in the arm as if she is a boy. That way you actually get to touch a girl. The problem is; she thinks you are an asshole." This brought the guys up short and Mr. Richardson looked at me quickly.

"Yes, she maybe is attracted to you, but she hates the rough stuff. Keep your hands to yourself. Maybe you can hold hands if she wants, but only then. She likes to touch as much as you do, but she is shy like you manly types are. Basically, be honest and just keep your deep feelings inside till it is time to let some of them out. Girls are just as insane as you guys are. One minute you are friends, and the next you are fighting. Just remember that to get closer to her; she has to not want to hold her breath."

"Any questions?"

Joe, the class jock, said, "How can you talk to us like this. You have even less experience than we do?"

"Joe, I can dance, I can sing. I do not find it hard to get up here and talk to you guys. I am not hesitant to talk to a girl and show her that I care. I may be young and not developed like you, but I have experienced many more things than you have."

"Name one," he challenged.

"I have flown a plane in the pilot's seat. I started a company worth a lot of money. I have even parachuted. That is three. I can describe in detail how each is done. This cannot be found in a book."

"Explain one."

"I will, but now is not the time. We are talking about you guys being clean enough to come close to girls. Then being nice enough to have them want you to stay. The only other thing to learn is what to talk about. You might be surprised that girls do not care much about cars, motorcycles, or sports. Talk about movies or what is on at the show. Mention some of your favourite musicians. And, best of all, let them see that you find them very important."

"Now, any more questions before I rouse our teacher from his studies?"

When none came I played the charade and walked to Mr. Richardson and said I had finished talking.

"Took your time about it."

"Yes, I did. But jock heads are harder to get through to than regular ones."

This broke the class up and even the teacher saw that he had gotten the dirty end of that conversation. We went on to talk about being physically fit and what that meant to each of us.

Mr. Creighton taught machine shop and this was the first of his classes this week. He was close to retirement and quite sharp in his knowledge. He did have his own problems, though. If you got his shop in the morning, then you had to put up with the alcohol on his breath. He was raised in Britain, and like the Germans, thought that apprentices should toe the line or get some immediate discipline. This took the form of a yardstick smacked against the head of the nefarious party.

I had not been 'kissed' by him yet, but many others had, for reasons ranging from not working like they should to goofing off in general.

We had made a tack hammer, a meat tenderizer, a mould to form a lead hammer and, at the end of the term, we had started on a small drill vice. I had not even started this project yet.

When the class split up to work, I stated to Mr. Creighton what steps were needed to complete the vice. He ran them through his head and said, "It looks like you are finally taking an interest in this shop."

"You are mistaken, sir. I have always liked this shop. I was just too shy earlier to work as I should. That has now changed. You might say that my work ethic went from high to very high."

I took the casting and ground the flashing so that it looked more like the body of a vice. I now wore safety glasses that were not mandatory. The machines I owned in the next century were much more accurate, but these could do the work within the tolerances needed. The tooling was not carbide, but tool steel. I flooded the cutting surface with coolant and ran what I would if this were a production job. By the end of the two periods I had the body completely machined. Most of the others were just a bit beyond me and they had well over a month to work on it.

Before the class ended, I put my things away and talked to Mr. Creighton. "Sir, I need some advice on a complicated project."

"What is that, Alex?"

"I have the money and resources to rebuild a highway bus for family trips. If I find a used one, it will have to be lengthened, strengthened, and get better brakes and suspension. The pusher engine is usually a 100 horsepower. A Cummins engine is one of the better ones around, and it can go into this bus with its transmission."

"That sounds like a very expensive project. Are you sure you can handle this? The cost would be in the thousands of dollars. That is not what the average student can afford."

"I am more than sure. I would like to start producing them for sale. I can afford to put half a million into this project if necessary. "

"Well, forgetting that you have that kind of money, do you really think that people can afford that kind of vehicle?"

"There are many fairly wealthy people that are going to retire and would like to see the world in comfort. What I wanted to ask you about is a business proposition."

"You want to employ me?"

"I want you to make me something that I have no time to make. A simple cash deal."

"What is it?"

"A large diesel can have a turbo charger to increase performance an even provides for more economical travel. The problem is that they do not make a good one for a small, 150 horsepower engine. I will draw up plans and, I would like you to fabricate it for me. There will be a few innovations, like a small sump and a heat exchanger. Ethylene glycol and water will go in at one side, and oil that is cooled much more than engine oil will lubricate the bearings on the exhaust side of the unit."

"Antifreeze and a heat exchanger?"

"Sure. If it works, I'll patent it, and then it gets sold to my company and to others. If you talk to the auto shop teacher you can see what I mean. Anyway, the turbo charger has to fit on the engine, and all of it must be crammed into the bus. The compressed air is now hot and I want another heat exchanger, similar to a radiator, to cool this air further."

The bell rang and Mr. Creighton said, "How much money are you talking about?"

"We will have to talk about that after you have your own talk with the auto teacher. I am a business man now, but I know that you don't get really good help by being frugal."

Mr. Smith was a tall, thin teacher of fifty. He had come out of the last war with a few peculiarities. He would bob his head and upper body and sometimes forget where he was, as he no doubt relived something from during the war.

He taught electricity. For grade nines, it was just house wiring and simple electricity. In the higher grades it changed into electronics with tubes. Transistors had not made it into consumer electronics yet. No products at all were available to the consumer market.

While the rest of the class learned about power factors, I wired a four-walled enclosure that represented a room in a house. Previous students had drilled the holes and I just had to run wire to lights, switches and outlets. Before this was done, I had to make a list of what I needed in supplies.

When I finished hammering in staples, Mr. Smith came in and looked critically at my work. The codes were rigorously followed. He took the wiring and tugged on it to see how well the staples had been seated.

"Good job, Alex."

"Thank you, sir. Did you get an invitation to a meeting after school?"

"Yea, some fool notion, no doubt. Just a waste of time."

"Not this time, I hope. I want to build some modular dwellings. Each piece is almost the same. The portions can be trucked to a site and assembled into a larger structure. This saves time and the building is easier to assemble on good concrete floors with good tools around, as opposed to a wet, muddy work site."

"You are behind all this?"

"Yes sir. I started a few corporations to handle some of my ideas and separate business entities. I need proper housing, and I need it soon. This means that everybody can work as if on an assembly line making the same parts all the time. The parts are assembled in the same area, by the same people, making the units identical. This should, after a while, become very efficient. Our local economy will benefit from the jobs and I believe we can start exporting these units to the rest of North America."

"I need open-minded tradesmen and apprentices. It is the younger ones who will work best. The old hands may not do things the new way, no matter what they are told. The units will suffer from this attitude. The apprentices will do as they are told and produce a superior product that many will want to buy."

"What differences do you see?"

"Heavy polyethylene sheeting has to be used. That means the there has to be holes in it for the electrical connectors and pluming. These joints need to be taped and stapled. Old hands, who think they know enough, will just make a hole in the plastic and let the paneling hide it. There are many more instances, but all relate to quality. That is the selling point of the future."

"How can you know that?"

"The same reason I am very rich now and most people are not."

History was the last class of the day. Mr. Lockhart sprung a surprise test and the class just groaned as he smiled and handed out the mimeographed tests. As usual, I was the first person done. Some of the questions were very simplistic and I remembered how complex the subject really was, when you wanted to dig. I didn't know what Mr. Lockhart, our resident monarchist, would think when I brought up all the foibles of the various royal families throughout history.

Our history homework was given and, as a treat, we were given class time to work on it. When the bell rang, I was one of the first out the door. I dropped off all my notebooks and looked at the five pounds of gold. That would have to wait for later.

Mr. Ross was in his room waiting for me. I walked up to his desk and said, "You wanted to talk to me?

"Yes I did, Alex. Have a seat. I wanted to know when, and how, you learned to do the mathematics you showed me."

"The 'when' is simple. I learned mathematics from a young age. When others were learning to add, I was working in what you are now teaching. When others were learning to divide, I was doing differential and integral calculus. Even our library here has some advanced texts. You would be surprised what can be found in periodicals relating to astronomy and engineering. You might remember that I never asked you questions except, I admit, when I thought a better explanation was needed for your other students."

"My adoptive parents, like my real ones, have very little schooling and no real wish to gain more. I have to scan books and edit the pictures in my mind to integrate the data later. Sometimes I just do math for the joy of working on a problem, like some people do when solving crossword puzzles. You are one of the few people who can actually assist me in getting more of an education."

"Science has possibilities, but all the rest, excluding math, are like being taught at a grade one level."

Mr. Ross said, "Well, I didn't get too far with your problem, but I do see some avenues to pursue." He handed me four sheets of paper explaining each possibility. I had solved the problem long ago, but I had used a computer that was not even invented yet. Three of the ways had resulted in dead ends. These I handed back to Mr. Ross and said, "These I tried. This is something I have not thought of. I will try this tonight, if I have time. By the way, there is a meeting downstairs. It is for a business proposition I have concerning the school, and some teachers and students. Would you like to attend? You will at least know about the meeting when you gossip tomorrow during your break."

"Young man, we do not gossip."

I just smiled at him and in a few seconds he turned red. "I'll come."

The meeting was in a classroom because it had so many people. Instead of being introduced, I simply went to the front of the room and took charge. Waiting around makes a person appear weak. I needed these people to be confident in me.

I did my own introduction. This time I had to drop my many titles and positions, because the companies simply did not exist, yet. My requirements were stated in as simple a way as possible.

Mr. Clark had brought the prints and I laid them on an empty table. On the blackboard I explained some of the ways that my construction would be different from what they did. My stipulations and requirements were even more stringent than the Ontario Building Code.

My pay scale was listed on the chalkboard. Further figures showed where monies were to be spent. Some were to be paid directly to the school, while others would be paid to the teachers and students as additional incentive to work. All hours worked by the students would be notarized and could possibly be used towards an apprenticeship.

A representative of the local labour organizations said, "Is this going to be union work?"

"The first eight pieces will be. After that, they will not." This caused a stir among most of the strange adults.

I explained, "A company will be formed to manufacture these units. The public has to see our product as superior to any competition. This will also take time and effort. I cannot afford to make units that will take years to sell."

"There will be no differences between similar units. Other units will be stamped from a similar type of cookie cutter. A tradesman is not needed for this type of construction. My business will be different from any other you have ever worked for. Quality will be very important. There will be jobs for journeymen when they do inspections on each unit. My pay scale will be fair. I will not fight a union but encourage forming one, but only one union."

"I recognize the need for collective bargaining to secure good wages and working conditions. The unit protects the workers from unfair practices, but it also protects the person who should not be working with us. In addition to wages the workers will share a fixed percentage of profits. This, I hope, will keep both the company and the workers fixed on similar goals. I do not want the adversarial approach to work being done."

The meeting lasted an hour and I offered to put up ten thousand dollars before this could get off the ground. This equated to almost twenty troy pounds of gold. I took out my chequebook and said that this sum was easily covered, though I did not make out the check yet. I could see dad giving me a lot of grief over this, even if our agreement said that the mine was my property.

After the meeting, I picked up my pack with the pill bottle I had left in my clean towel. It was only ten minutes to doctor Smiles' office. His long-time secretary pulled extra duty as his wife. The office, in my opinion, was run even better because of this. The doctor healed people and his wife, Janice, made sure everything went smoothly.

When I walked through the frosted glass door, Janice looked up and said, "Hello, Alex. How are you doing?"

"Bad from your point of view. I am very healthy, thank you."

"I am glad to hear that. What can I do for you?"

"When the doc has three free minutes, I want to talk to both of you."

"Both of us... ?" She asked.

"Yes, the boss and the doc," I replied.

There were three adult patients in the room and all of them tittered at the joke. They too knew that the office here was run as a partnership.

The only child was about four and looked to have been crying. She hung to her mother tightly as if afraid. Being in a strange place sometimes did this. I got up and pulled the coffee table with old periodicals away from the mother and child. I sat on the table so I was far enough away to not be a threat.

"Hi Sweetie, My name is Alex. What is yours?"

She just hid her face behind her mother's arm and said nothing. I said, "My little brother comes here sometimes, but he is brave. He gets yucky medicine and swallows it quick. When he was cut once, they had to give him three stitches and a lot of white cloth. We used the cloth afterwards to make the tail for a kite. Maybe we can get the doctor to give you a tail, too."

The mother said, "Nora is always shy with strangers, then won't shut up after."

"Inoculations... ?"

"Yes, and she feels what is coming."

Measles was the usual shot at her age and the amount was small enough that it was not that uncomfortable. Since she did not stop crying I wanted to help all of us from the sound she was producing.

"Janice, may I have your stethoscope for a few moments?" She just looked at me and reached into her second drawer and pulled out the old pair.

I put the device on and said to the woman, "May I check your pulse at your wrist and neck?" She gave me a funny look and nodded. Nora had quieted as I put the device to my ears and listened to the artery. It was strong and regular but that was what I expected. I looked at the mother again and said, "My nurse has to listen too. May she do so?"

The mother was perplexed but nodded. I took the stethoscope off and put it around the startled child's neck. "I am going to put it in your ears and you can listen to your mother." She did not resist and soon I placed the metal end on her mother's wrist. Her face changed as she listened to the strange noises.

"Let's listen to yours." The girl did not resist as the now warmer piece of metal touched her wrist. Her eyes got large as she listened. I moved her long dark hair and placed the metal over her artery. "You are listening to your heart push blood all through your body. Want to listen to mine?"

I got a much more eager nod. "Doctor Nora, do I have blood moving?" I said in a worried child's voice. She got off her chair and placed the metal end all over me. "Will I live, doctor?"

She smiled and nodded her pretty head.

I opened my shirt and took her hand and placed the metal so she could hear my lungs. "Can you hear my breathing?"

This time I got a "Yes." She moved the stethoscope around for a minute. I took her hand again and placed the metal over my larynx. I hummed low and she could feel the vibrations as well as hear them.

"Do me now," the girl said.

"Ok, but you have to be the patient now." I placed the head at her larynx and she dutifully hummed for me. Her pulse was regular now that she had calmed down. I checked her lungs through her back and found a little congestion in her left lung. Before I could find out more, Janice said that Nora could go in.

The girl got up with a smile and said, "Thank you, doctor."

"You are welcome, Nora. Give Doctor Smiles a hug when you are done. He likes that."

When the child and mother went into the back room I walked over to Janice's desk and said, "Thanks for the stethoscope. Would you please have the doc check for congestion in her left lung? My mail order medical certificate has not come in yet."

Again, she gave me an odd look, but decided to tell her husband. Five minutes later Janice came out with the same look again. "You were right, Alex. How did you know?"

"Because a kind lady gave me the use of her stethoscope. You haven't forgotten that I have a great memory, Mrs. Smiles. Well, in this case, the wind through the bronchial tubes and the gurgling were easy to spot."

"Well, the old doc in there wants to see you."

I walked back to the table and put it back where it was and retrieved my pack. There was a hallway with examination rooms on each side. There was an alternate entrance at the end of the hallway. The voices were coming from the second office on the right. I was not a doctor in these people's eyes, so I paused and called, "Doctor Smiles?"

"In here, Alex."

The two adults were on each side of the examining table and Nora was sitting with her shirt off. "Hello, Doctor Smiles." Then I turned to the girl, "Hello again, Nora. Did you teach the doctor how to use the stethoscope yet?"

She smiled widely but only shook her head no.

"Alex, how did you recognize this problem?"

"Doctor Smiles, you of all people have not forgotten that I have a great memory. You have let me listen to my own heart and lungs and of others. Nora's was just a bit different. There was a gurgling in one lung and it was not in my own. So she must have some congestion."

"That is very good, Alex. You might have a future in medicine."

"Thank you, doctor. That was one of the reasons I was coming to you today to discuss. I will let you continue with your examination and wait my turn in your waiting room."

"Thank you, Alex. I would like to talk to you next, though."

One patient who was waiting said, "Did you really find out what was wrong with that child?"

"No ma'am. I just found some odd noises and reported them. Doctor Smiles has to check and see if I was right and make his own diagnosis. I always wanted to be a doctor. It would be great if I was right."

I looked through an old National Geographic till Janice called me in. She followed me to a small room and Doctor Smiles asked, "What was it that you wanted to talk to us about?"

"This is confidential, for at least a few days." I waited for each to nod or accept my condition. "I found some gold. There is much more and I have staked a claim and my family has begun to extract some of the metal. I am now quite wealthy. I have looked at my last hospital bill and found that you did not put in for any money. This may have gone on at other times, too, but I have no records to find out. I want to correct this situation, now, with my own prescription."

They both looked at me strangely and I reached into the pack and handed the doctor a heavy medicine bottle that he had given to Helen a few years ago. He almost dropped the bottle because of the unaccustomed weight. He looked at it carefully and juggled the weight. "Is this gold?"

"Yes, it is, sir. It is my way of saying thanks for some of the things you have done for my family."

"Does your father know you are giving us this?"

"Sir, the claim is mine, and so is the company. The gold is my property. I did inform dad of my intentions, though. You should have found the gold, I think, when you panned for it. I think this represents years of going into the bush for your vacations."

"I understand the condition this is given, but I think this is still too much, Alex."

"No, it isn't. You deserve all of that, if not more. I just wish I could use more of my money to purchase a library similar to the one you have. Would it be possible to have you order some of the books for me?"

"Nonsense, Alex. You can use my library. I hardly ever need to dig into all those books. Just look on it as our library."

"Thank you, sir. That will make my training that much easier. I want to be a doctor like you."

"That is very good for these old ears to hear. If you run into any problem, just ask me. I don't know if I can give the best answer, but I can try."

"That is great. You don't happen to need an apprentice do you? I can tote haemoglobin and sharpen lancets."

Both adults laughed at the image that was brought to their minds. "I will see what I can do. But it cannot happen soon. Janice and I are going on a vacation. We have been planning on this for two years now. With our newfound wealth, the time away might even be more enjoyable."

We parted a bit more than just friends. With Doctor Smiles' help, my medical training would be much easier to explain. He also might give his endorsement to me, enabling me to enter the medical school much sooner than I had before.

The banks closed at a much earlier time than they did in the latter half of the century, and it was sometimes very difficult for a working man to make it to the wicket. There were no automatic tellers, and the only substitute was the credit unions, but they were not that much better.

I wanted to get some money from the line of credit and move it to the account for the new manufacturing concern. Lumber, shingles, siding, insulation, plastics and all the other things that a home needed, were on the list to acquire. I just wished I could get a simple shower put in at the house.

The Bell Telephone office was along the way. It took a while to get a manager to see me. Even with cash, it was difficult to get them to give us a service. Derrick MacNeil had to be called, and this time, at least, he did not have to come down. The phone service was expensive because I did not want the usual party line. They would have to run more lines. I did my best to get more lines brought to the house for further expansion, but they refused to believe that a residential dwelling would need more than one phone.

The house would be lonely with the family gone for two more days. There was no hot meal waiting for me and my stomach was starting to protest. Many years in the future, I had patronized a small restaurant that became very popular. As the city grew, the restaurant did, too. I decided to see if it had opened for business by this time frame.

Mario's was not on my way, but the city itself was not that big. I also needed some exercise. I pedalled over to the establishment and locked my bike to a street sign. The restaurant was fairly dark from my being in the bright sunlight. A waiter came to me with a questioning look, probably wondering what a boy wanted with this establishment.

I said in my best Toscana dialect, "A table for one by the window, please."