Chapter 30

The two weeks before the trip were hectic. The band and everyone else expected me to get everything ready. I got everyone's birth certificate as this was all that was needed to cross the border. Flashing money at a problem was not good so I just made use of the bus system one more time.

I purchased tickets ahead of time for an express coach to Toronto, followed by a short stop over and a regular bus to Fort Erie and then over the bridge to Buffalo. In Buffalo we would get onboard a flight to Charleston, West Virginia then onto Memphis, Tennessee.

I also had to find something interesting for each of the people coming to see me. They could go through what was available but something dear to their heart would get them to accept me much quicker. Like any salesman, I needed lots of samples.

Jane went to Angela's home and that of each of the boys. She told the parents how I was paying for the entire trip but I would be collecting a portion of any money made. This was just a sop, as I didn't think any sales were possible. The boys were now 'good' but not great enough to compete. The girls were good and some of my music might very well get them some record sales.

When the day arrived a good many students and teachers saw us off on the bus. I gave Tom, the bandleader, the job of making a small speech. If he couldn't speak to friends he would not be able to perform in front of thousands. The speech was poor but he spoke well which is what I wanted.

They settled down right away. Tom sat with Maggie. His brother Karl sat with Jennifer. The other Jeff sat with Angela and Stan sat with Susan.

Paige cuddled to me and it seemed that Jamie didn't mind sitting with Jane. We had to get Jamie some papers quickly so he could go with us. The Children's Aid had to be talked to quite firmly or he would have had to stay.

The trip to Toronto was not bad because the girls sang with the guys and the passengers didn't mind. At the stopover I phoned John at his work.

"Well I will have to wish you luck. A Vice President at AT&T just phoned. He offered three and a half million and said that was the best we could expect. I told him that their subsidiary here in Canada would offer more than that. He was at a loss. He thought the sum he offered would buy the patent outright. It may be a long time coming but we'll get a lot more."

"I agree with you John. Besides three and a half is hard to divide by two."

The next part of the trip was a pleasure. It was one continuous highway now. We still stopped for stoplights and trains. Cars could drive on at many points and even farmers could come on from their properties. Instead of overpasses there were large turning circles. You got on and went around until you found the exit you wanted. If you missed it you went around again and tried until you got what you wanted.

A bored American official got on the bus in Buffalo and asked where we were born and if we were Communists trying to take over their country. None of us wanted that but may want some money if we could sell something.

It was late when we arrived in Buffalo and then we had to wait four hours for our flight. Apart from me in my previous life, none of us had flown before. We had two blankets that were to be used on the bus for sleeping. Now they were used to keep curious eyes away as each of us was relieved of our anxieties in a darker section of the airport. The girls liked to make Jamie feel comfortable and he didn't seem to mind in the least.

We tried to sleep on the benches. We didn't bring musical instruments, and that assisted our movements greatly. We finally walked across the tarmac and up the steps into the venerable DC3. It was venerable because it had been in production since 1936. We tried to be first in line to board, as this was the only way we could stay together because the flight was full.

Jamie sat with Jane again and I think he got hard when he saw a the blanket used to keep them warm. Pavlov came to mind once more. The noise and the unfamiliar environment meant that we would not sleep. The girls didn't want to lose the experience so I didn't hypnotise them to help them sleep. Paige though cuddled to me and at least I got her to nap for an hour.

We both woke up for the landing at Charleston. The wait was only a little more than an hour. We got sleepily on another plane and at fifteen after six we landed in Memphis.

The group was amazed at the temperature change. It was so warm compared to home. The locals were running around dressed much too warm for the weather while we went in shirtsleeves and chuckled. We had a leisurely breakfast and talked about the trip and of course the weather.

At seven thirty we got out of our taxis at the address I had been given. I had phoned ahead to make sure everything was ready for our arrival. The house was just as good as what John owned in Toronto. With bags in hand, we trooped up to the door and I rang the bell.

A man with tanned skin and a few wrinkles opened the door for us. "Hello Mr Congdon. I am very glad to meet you and your group. My name is Mr Rouson. Won't you all come in please?"

We came in and I moved far enough that the rest had room. When we were all in I saw one other man. Mr Rouson introduced an older gentleman by the name of Mr Mourtos. He was of a Greek family with had dark hair and eyes. I introduced those with me and I noticed both men checked over the flesh of all of the members. Mr Rouson seemed to take even longer talking to Jamie.

Rouson summoned a housekeeper who showed us to our rooms. I did a bit of room rearranging to keep order and we all came downstairs. A young man introduced as Donald Mittle was with Rouson and Mourtos. The man was about twenty-three or so and he too seemed to pause over Jamie.

Donald was going to take the family on a private guided tour of the city while we had our talk. They would phone later and either return for lunch or later for supper. I sent the girls up for a jacket just in case and was able to tell Jane in a whisper, "These guys are probably very polite but your guide seem to like Jamie as much as you do. Let the girls know but don't offend our hosts." She just nodded to me.

I brought down a leather folder and saw the family and friends off. I gave Jane more money and said, "Have fun."

She looked at the uncommon American money. Ours bills were colour coded so the simpler design of the American notes had to be checked. She smiled at me and said, "Oh, we will."

We sat at a large table but still close together. I said, "I assume we can start now?"

Mr Rouson said with a grin, "Be our guest."

I laid out a few sheets of papers before the man and he looked at them for about five minutes before saying, "These are interesting. What did you have proposed for this collection of circuits?"

"If you look at the top of the first sheet you will see a small drawing that was done to scale. All the circuits you see on the following sheets can fit on that particular chip with lots of room to spare."

"All of them? But it is hardly bigger than just two transistors and I don't know how many you have stipulated on the sheets."

"I'm able to cut with a light beam now. Nobody else in the world can do this. I have been very busy thinking about what is possible and made the circuits to do what is necessary. I even know how to fabricate the devices but we will have to build upon other peoples work and improve the design enough that their patent will no longer apply."

"What will these circuits do?"

"Before I answer that, I would like to say that integrated circuits have just come out. I know how to get much more on a chip and with methods that have not been patented yet. These integrated chips will grow in complexity but actually get smaller in size as the speed of light becomes a factor. One such device in conjunction with a special transistor I can make, will count electrical pulses very accurately. Another device that I am perfecting will become visible when a weak electrical current is passed through it. It will show both the letters of the alphabet and numbers. I have already achieved partial success in this venture. The finished unit will mount on your wrist and tell the time to an accuracy that very few analogue watches can match."

Mr Mourtos asked, "Analogue? What is that?"

The position of the hands indicates the time. My new watch will tell it in digits."

Mr Rouson said, "That's great if it can be produced cheaply enough."

"Without a lie gentlemen, cheap copies could be sold at the retail level in twenty years at a dollar each and that is with the band."

"How much will this cost to produce?"

"Tooling is the same as any other watch for the case and the crystal. Instead of a small winding stem there are two small buttons. I can make the first transistor that will produce the accurate electrical signals. Somebody else has to set up a plant to produce the units. As you can guess quality is important to the accuracy of the time piece."

I pulled a sheet of paper back and drew a small circle on the paper. "This is the overall size of the entire electronics except for a small lightbulb for reading the time in the dark, my digital display and a small battery. The majority of the watch case will be empty. To start though, the watch volume will be full and only after we have it on the market for a few years will it shrink."

Mr Mourtos said while holding some of the papers, "Is this the watch circuit?"

"No, that is part of something that will bring even more money."

"What does this do?"

"That is a small chip that has a few timing circuit on it. The purpose is to let you see how a simple chip can be manufactured from scratch. It is a very small portion of a much more complicated device that will revolutionise the world. The computer has been around for a few years. It uses perforated paper and some very heavy and awkward machines to read the data represented by the holes. I can make a device that fits in my hands, runs on a small battery or two, will display twelve digits and do the basic mathematical functions as well as a square root. Instead of costing one and a third million dollars and requiring a full time staff of repair people, mine can be retailed for three hundred dollars and since it is transistorised it will not need the usual maintenance."

"That is wonderful but only engineers would need that."

"I believe a great many people will want this device. As our costs go down so does the price. If we work quickly then those that copy our device will be caught with a high production cost while we have already recouped our money. Students now will want the device and we sell millions. This brings the price down and we sell even more while the competition is caught with high priced units that are difficult to sell."

"How much to get this into operation?"

"Half, to one million for the lab and a small scale production unit. Full-scale production has to be with new machinery that has to be made. The good point is that the watch chip and the calculator chip can be made with the same machines. A slightly larger watch could even be a dual function unit. The keys will need a small finger or the point of a pen."

I took out more sheets of papers with the pictures of watches I had seen. An enlarged picture was shown to present detail. Even some table model alarm clocks and wall-mounted units were included.

Mr Mourtos said, "Some mention different time zones."

"Push a button and names come up of major cities in each of the different time zones. Just select the one you want and the watch will adjust. All the watches will display the day of the week, month and date with a quick double push of a button."

"This is impossible."

"Mr Mourtos, is AT&T currently willing to pay me a lot of money for only one of my inventions?"

" — That is what I heard."

"Is Mr Holtzman becoming very rich with some of the other patents I hold?"

"I guess so. Why are you saying this?"

"By telling me it is impossible you are calling me a fraud or yourself a person with very little imagination. Since you are already wealthy I assume you have some vision as to what is possible. My ability to produce new things has been proven time and again."

"I'm sorry. I meant that this is miraculous. You have to admit that from my shoes, what you have said would usually be taken sceptically."

"That may be true but I'm not the usual person."

"Mr Rouson, would you like to make cheap resistors that are within half of one percent in tolerance?"

"I sure would if they are cheap to make."

"I have made a device that emits coherent light. You are already aware of this. What if you made a resistor then put a current through it? My laser could fire at the piece of carbon and burn tiny holes in it until it matched exactly what the resistor was rated at. With the circuits from the calculator a small program could automate the process so no additional personnel are needed."

"That sounds very interesting. So your laser cuts and I assume the holes are very small. What else can it do?"

"This subject alone would take all day. Let me say it can weld many materials that cannot be welded now. It can also cut most materials but they have to be thin. The laser can measure the distance to the moon with an accuracy of a thousandth of an inch. It can be used as a fountain pen sized pointer by projecting a read dot. It can be mounted on hand tools to show where the tool will intersect the material being cut. The list just goes on and on and I still haven't touched all of the small uses."

"Will you sell us your laser?"

"I will sell complete units and I will sell the partial or worldwide rights to some ideas."

Mr Rouson said, "If the laser is as you say I will buy all the rights for a million dollars cash."

I didn't laugh at him but said as if to a child, "Did you know that AT&T offered us a lowball figure of three and a half million for my voice circuit? It was rejected because the figure is worth ten times that. AT&T has to expand and with current technology it cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do so. With my device they will save most of that money. If you offered me a great deal more I would consider it but then I would still be able to come up with better units that don't come under the original patents. It's a much better idea to work with me instead of competing."

"You mentioned some billion dollar ideas on the phone."

"I will get to that but I want to mention that a laser beam runs at the frequency of infrared, visible, ultraviolet and soon at what x-rays work at. At just the visible band I can take all the radio stations of all the world and carry them on one of my laser beams. What do you see this doing for AT&T?"

The man now started to sweat. He looked down and I had to believe that his mind was working feverishly. With a controlled look he said, "I assume they would save a lot of money on copper."

"That they would. Now what if I put a great many television channels on that same beam and the average household was able to receive the signal for a fixed fee each month?"

Mr Rouson smiled and said, "But I believe coaxial cable could do the same thing."

"It can but then I could use my laser for sending the picture of myself to the one I am calling and receive one from them in turn. Not a still picture but what I am calling 'real time events'.

"Cable can do that too."

"AT&T won't let cable get into that part of their business. I can still send music as if from radio stations but now I reach everybody. Movies will now go to the theatre but after a year the rights can be purchased and now they go on my laser beams. High priced shows can be paid for by the show. Boxing matches will not be televised if the promoter is relying on selling seats. The event can now go out to all the world for a fee that cannot be recouped if transmitted by television."

A servant came in and whispered, "Sir, there is an important call for you."

When Mr Rouson left, Mr Mourtos said, "What things can you do for me?"

"I believe you are in shipbuilding."

"That is one of my businesses."

"I have a few machines that can cut thick steel very accurately and very quickly. I could licence both ideas to you so you could sell the units from another company with me as an equal partner."

"Do you have some figures?"

"Sorry, but I came up with the ideas but haven't built the actual units yet. Would you risk a fifty thousand dollars of your money to find out? I, of course, get all the patents and we have to sell the units to your shipbuilding companies."

"Fifty thousand is not much."

"It is so nice dealing with Americans or in this case Greek Americans. Canadians worry about each and every penny spent. We may have to alter the deal a bit. Mr Sackman is coming and he can put some of his money in and get a small share. Besides, we get somebody to make up the documents."

Mr Rouson came back and said, "Mr Leopold is arriving soon. Did I miss anything?"

Mr Mourtos said nothing so I mentioned just simple cheap ways of cutting metal that don't use the laser directly. This was not too useful in the electronic industry. These methods do work for sheet metal and they can be sold to the automotive sector and for making metal chassis' for televisions. I happen to know an entrepreneur that may sell you some units for a reasonable price, especially if you rave about their efficiency to those that could use the units." Both men seemed happy now.

"What else do you have for us Mr Congdon?" Mr Rouson asked as he pulled out a gold container for a cigarette. I took a plastic lighter out of my pocket and slid it across the table and he stopped what he was doing to pick the colourful plastic lighter up to investigate it.

In a moment he flicked it and the light came up about a half inch. "There is a small leaver. Push it more to the plus sign and try again."

The flame shot up and as the flame was still burning he manoeuvred the leaver to see it get almost three inches long to one that was very short.

"Quite ingenious. One of yours?"

"Yes, they come in a wide range of colours and designs. We're starting to sell them in Canada but it cost a lot to ship them over the border. I would like to manufacture them here."

"You have anything more in your pockets?"

I just brought out two pairs of eyeglasses and passed them over. "These have no magnifying power. Wear them then walk outside in the sunlight. Think of being on the golf course ready to drive a ball or on the deck or your yacht."

We all trooped out and in a few minutes we came back in. This time Mr Mourtos said, "They work so quickly. How is it done?"

"Some silver compounds are mixed with the molten glass of one pair of glasses while the pair with the plastic lenses are simply imbedded with a solution. Foster Grants are popular now and expensive. I can go to them with this idea or I could sell it to someone that will compete."

I took out a smoke alarm, even though the material was not supposed to leave the university.

"You are sleeping in a house or a hotel at night. This device is in the hallway and down the hall. Please blow some smoke at it."

They both got ready but it was Mr Mourtos that was first. The loud alarm frightened each of them but they stayed sitting.

"Quite a device. I was told about it but had not heard further."

"There is a minute amount of a weakly radioactive substance in it. There are currently some regulations that have to be satisfied before we can get the substance. I need somebody on this side of the border to help speed up the talks. A partner will do this out of self interest."

I opened my pouch and took out more drawings. These all related to the simple baby products but were not really patentable. No diapers or car seats were listed though. "These are of limited value for once they are made others will mimic the design. If one logo or company name is used then a mother will know the product is the best and will not purchase a substitute."

Mr Mourtos read the papers and said, "Wipes? Spoons? Training pants and sleepers? Is this a joke?"

"That is two times Mr Mourtos. I said they are of limited value. Disposable incomes will raise and mothers will join the work force. They need quick solutions and they need safety for their children. Wipes will be beside the baby whenever they are changed. A container of a hundred sheets is only a few dollars but there will be millions made. A simple spoon can sell for three times the price or given away as a promotion from a caring company. Our soother will not choke a child so it will be popular. A quality bag for a mother to carry with our logo on it will tell the world that the mother likes our products."

Mr Rouson said soothingly to me, "Those products can make some money but not a lot."

"Precisely, and then we sell the products that I have patented to a busy family." The next sheet came out with various sized disposable diapers. The next sheet was the patented braking device on a high quality stroller and the a similar device on a power lawnmower. Next came the baby bottle with the disposable liners. Childproof bottles and caps came after that. Then the magnetic strip for the fridge door.

"Gentlemen, the sheets are for some of the products we make money at. We cover a wide enough spectrum and we will have little competition. We sell some units cheaply and give some things away. A mother trusts our products and will buy them over a competitors."

Mr Rouson said, "There is something wrong here. The figure for your disposable diapers is much too high."

"Mr Rouson, these are not just my figures. Before you come to some rash decisions, I suggest you call some knowledgeable people in and ask them."

He said nothing but both men went over the sheets very thoroughly. I heard the doorbell and in a moment Mr Sackman came in with a tall thin man of thirty-five or so. I had seen a picture of him in the paper. I stood and nodded to both men until my host got up to do what he must.

I shook hands with the man and I saw that he had piercing blue eyes that seemed to go right through a person. I had met people like that before. Sometimes it was just the look that came naturally but other times it was one that was learned in front of a mirror.

Mr Leopold said, "I see you gentlemen have already begun."

Mr Rouson said, "A preliminary look at what is available. Some of the figures are — very high. All of them will make money though."

I said, "If those figures are high then you will not believe the rest."

"There is more?"

"Only the watch, calculator and my method of communicating on a light beam are completely new and difficult to grasp. The disposable diapers can be explained if any of you gentlemen wish to take the time to listen."

It was Leopold that said, "I for one would be very grateful to learn anything you have to teach."

"Thank you Sir, you are very kind." When everybody was seated I said, "Does anybody here know of my mathematical abilities? I'm not claiming mastery, only to being good in the field."

Again Mr Leopold said, "We have been informed. I for one have never heard of anybody your age even coming close. My company did some research on Mr Einstein when he was young and you are far superior."

"Thank you for the very kind comparison to that great man but I only mentioned it as a logical step to what I'm about to say next."

"Please go right ahead."

"There has been a tremendous increase in the number of children born during and after the war. Demographics is the gathering and use of statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it. I happen to be fairly knowledgeable in stats. As with all booms, this one of population will end. This 'baby boom' will disrupt society as it moves and ages. As a banker, I imagine that Mr Leopold has seen graphs of this and other graphs of what a family's disposable income should be."

"I have seen such data. It will increase very quickly I'm told."

"Thank you Sir. I'm emphasising that women are going to be entering the work force in great numbers and making a lot of money for their effort. They will not have the time that a housewife has in any given day. The husband is a product of our culture and will do little to assist in the family besides sit in front of a television and drink beer. The wife and mother will be hard pressed to do all the work"

Mr Mourtos said, "What is all this leading up to? I don't want to listen about babies and hard working mothers."

"Well perhaps I will conclude gentlemen. Thank you for your time and patients. I will get my family's property and find a hotel."

It was when I started to gather my papers that Mr Rouson said, "Please don't go. Some may not see some relevance but others do."

I continued to gather papers and now Mr Sackman said, "Mr Mourtos is just a busy man Jeff. He is very direct."

"We can carry this conversation on at a hotel. I should not have imposed on a stranger. I have no idea of how most of you think and you have no idea of what I consider proper and what is not."

Mr Leopold said, "Please Mr Congdon. Don't be swayed by one dissenting voice. I would like you to continue and I don't think we will have another outburst from Mr Mourtos."

Mr Mourtos said, "I am sorry Mr Congdon. As Mr Sackman said I am not good at meetings."

"I will continue then if you all agree." It looked like they did. "Well I was talking about a hard pressed woman that works for a living. She is in a bind. She can't get her no-good husband off his ass to help nor can she find better ways of doing what she must. I can't imagine any of you gentlemen ever changing diapers but I have. To lessen the torture, a disposable diaper is a godsend. There is no cleaning or a plastic pail with soaking and dirty diapers. A good fitting diaper is much better than a rectangular one and mine is patented. Plastic coatings keep in liquids and I hold that patent. It is really the tape that allows the diaper to be opened then closed if it is a false alarm that is worth a lot of money.

"A child will go through many diaper changes in his life and that adds up to a staggering amount of money. Families will be smaller but still there are a great many children born. Ask a hundred mothers how often they change their babies and then multiply the figure by the population growth figures and finally by the cost per diaper and you will see that my figures on the sheet of paper is very low. Very few mothers will use a cloth diaper when my product is made available."

Nobody spoke but Mr Leopold picked up the paper and looked at the figures. "I think you are right. If a comfortable replacement for a cloth diaper is found then it will be used. You have a figure of thirty percent using cloth and I think this figure is too high. What is your real figure?"

"Much closer to seven percent but most people would not believe this so I stayed with very conservative figures."

"This looks very interesting. The diaper's construction is simple. How much are you asking for the rights to manufacture this in the United States?"

"Fifty percent of the gross profits until the patents run out."

"That is a sizable amount Mr Congdon. What about copycat products?"

"As a test, give the print to a group of people and see if they can come up with a product that doesn't infringe on any of my patents. I would sell other similar products that will nearly double the profits."

"This I would like to hear."

"If any of you have aged relatives you will know or should know that many of them need adult diapers. It is a simple fact of life. The market is not as large as for babies but it will grow as the median age of our population shifts upward."

"The other product is similar. A woman from puberty to menopause has the need for small sanitary pads every month. I have made a variety of the pads that fit different ages and sizes. Again it is the adhesive and other features that will keep this pad in place while others shift. Again ask a hundred women at random what they think and what they would pay for a product like mine."

Mr Leopold said, "Yes, I can see that this may well indeed double the market. Is your share still the same?"

I didn't answer the question but said, "I am trying to make a new company that makes baby products. The napkins and diapers will bring in the most money but the other products need to be made and sold. When we cover the entire gauntlet of baby products then nobody will be able to compete with me."

I brought out more sheets dealing with the stroller and the brake it used, the car seat and the plastic baby basket and handed them to Mr Leopold. After he saw what was on the sheets I said, "If you look at the number of people killed when they do not have a seat belt as compared to those that do then you will see that there are a lot of needless deaths. A mother may not think of herself but she will buckle her baby in a special seat if it will save his life."