Chapter 34

School had changed not only for me but for everyone. The female population was not as meek. Girls had always known that they had something that the males wanted and felt secure that they could trade for it. It was just that after the trade was legitimised then it was taken for granted. Now the ladies were more socially aware and knew a lot more about what was ahead of them. This now made the boy who was malleable in more demand. In a way the boys were now being trained so they would fit better into their future role as half of a parenting group. Next year the school board promised to have boys take a partial Home Ec class while the girls had to see what it was like in the trades.

A few of the more secure girls would see me going by a washroom and they would stage whisper that I should go in there with them. I soon had to make up new sayings in reply. I ran out of the possible ones in memory.

Mrs Warren was regularly invited to parties and social events. When she fell sick and had to go to the hospital we came to see her. Luckily the illness was not that serious and she made it back to work a few weeks later. Paige knew that her future duties as a wife had to include representing me when I was not available. She was the one that had found Mrs Warren missing.

It was a touching scene in the hospital room and I could see tears in Gail's eyes when the two of us came. I brought her a nice silk robe in her size, some flowers and some of my homemade cookies. Paige gave her a pair of silk pajamas with a note attached, saying that they had to be worn next to the skin.

Gail hugged both of us but I could see she felt better. Since there was only the three of us, she said, "What about this note Paige?"

"Jeff got me a pair for Christmas a year ago. I just love the feel. The less you wear under them the better it is."

"Really?"

"They are great but I know why he got them for me."

Gail smiled and asked, "Why?"

Paige got close and whispered in the old woman's ear for a full minute. Gail's expression changed through a whole gauntlet of expressions. She was shocked at first then it progressively changed to a knowing satisfaction that most women could summon when needed.

Gail was now Mrs Warren. She said in an authorities voice, "So Mr Congdon, you bought silk pajamas for Paige so you could take advantage of her?"

"I didn't know that would happen. I just bought them because they looked so good on her. I was the one that was surprised. I was minding my own business and reading the paper on the kitchen table when I was attacked. The fight was entirely one-sided. I was too stunned by the forcefulness of it. In the end, it was me that was prevailed upon. I tell you Mrs Warren that it was not a pretty sight. Young men have to be protected from wild women."

"I somehow find that hard to believe. Now tell me how come I am getting a pair?"

"Oh, that's easy," I said. "I know you will probably try them on soon. I will have a talk to Mr Grissom about you being lonely. I just want to hide in the washroom and peek through the open door when he comes."

She looked around for something to throw and I just hid behind Paige.

My loyal girl said, "You are such a coward some times. Stand up and take what you deserve."

I said in a whiny voice, "But, but — she'll hurt me."

A Canadian company made a deal with us for the diapers and the sanitary napkins. They were now out and on the market, and test marketed in Toronto first. John and I spent nearly a hundred thousand dollars on advertising. It seemed to have worked, because our products were selling.

As the days got closer to March break the atmosphere changed around the house. They were even more nervous that last time. I was not always available and Jamie took the brunt of their feelings. He had a haunted expression sometimes and looked constantly tired. The girls looked to have a protein shake and they always wanted it fresh. Another lady would use a dildo to ensure Jamie gave all he could when it was needed. The band was no different and the girls shared the boys too. Jamie's part in any erotic acts was kept hidden.

During the cold winter the steel had begun to arrive when Stelco had excess capacity. The ground though, could still be prepped. Other construction firms dug through the rock to make trenches for the utilities and sewage. Empty conduit was put in for things that I could not justify right now like fibre optics. Everything was built big, as other areas would eventually get developed and they would just branch in.

Carlo got his limo and I got some trucks. The aggregate yard now started up again. Blasted rock was now crushed and put back in the trenches. Large rock would damage the lines and pipe more than the smaller ones would. There used to be a tower where bags of cement were stored. A man would slice bags open and dump the contents into the dry mix of sand and crushed stone. We now had a large silo for just this product. Trains could bring the cement slightly cheaper but I could use the truck now to sell cement where there were no trains.

Carlo was working on the large mixer truck but needed larger tires, which were not made yet. With a contract for thousands of tires the rubber company decided to make them. I got just five of the smaller versions of truck. They did have the long conveyor though and this arrangement would work fine.

On the first of March the first beam was bolted to the pads that had been set into the rock. Small heated sheds had been erected around each pad and the concrete kept above freezing. When all the framework was done the roof took little time.

While this was being done, my minstrels left for Memphis. I went to Toronto with them on business and they seemed sad that I was not going further. I felt that way too but some things just had to be.

Almost all of the facility here in Toronto was shifted north along with most of the engineers. I stopped in to see what was happening with the remainder. This was not the reason for the visit though. Canadian National Railways or CNR wanted my device that could vastly improve their communications. It had to be altered a bit so that it used different frequencies on each of the ten bands but it would work.

A vice president by the name of Mr Keys asked, "What is it that you want for this device? Your paperwork suggests a trade instead of cash."

John was sitting beside me and he took out a large map and laid it out on the desk. An area north of the tracks and still in the southern portion of the city was highlighted. At the moment it was vacant land in a poor area of the city. It all belonged to CN from when the railway was first built. The area was close to two hundred acres and in the future would have the CN Tower and the Sky Dome and a lot of other businesses. At the moment it was an eyesore from all the dumped material there. I wanted it all not just a bit here and there.

Keys looked at the map then at the accompanying typed text. "This is very valuable land in the heart of our city. You can't expect us to trade for you this for your simple device."

John smiled and said, "Yes we can. We both know this device will save you many millions of dollars. If we get the land it will make a buffer zone for your northern neighbours that complain about the noise. The city will see buildings on the property and not unsightly abandoned land. You begin to start savings as soon as the device is installed. I might point out that AT&T offered eight million dollars for the other version. The value was much too low and it was turned down. Our offer is for thirty."

"Thirty? Then AT&T is a much larger company and can use your device in many more runs."

"True but their offer is for cash. CN is not small either. Both companies communicate across the continent. Your price is much lower even when the prosperity of both companies is compared. Land value in the area we are looking at is not that high."

"I'm sorry, but it is just too much."

I now spoke, "That's too bad. Did you know that we have a meeting in two days with Mr Collinswood?"

"The Mr Collinswood, the president of Canadian Pacific?"

"Yes, that one. I have some other deals for him too."

"What deals?"

"You just said that you find our deal too rich for your blood. I could offer a similar deal to you for a hundred and thirty acres along the lakeshore and four hundred and ten in Ajax. At the moment, some rail lines in the extreme south of the city are not in use. The companies there are making use of cheaper truck traffic. I want to set up my own business and make use of the lake. I want your rail lands as part of this deal."

"What are you offering for this land?"

"Some ideas of mine and some cash."

"What ideas?"

"That would be for the board to hear. My ideas are worth a good deal of money but this one is not patentable. The cash amount will be discussed at the same time. CP had a lot of land we are interested in too and I think they would be willing to trade."

When we left the office, John said, "What do you want with all that land. You said it would get developed some day but that is a long way off."

"It's cheap now. If I get more land by them ripping up unused lines then I can build apartments."

"That is all industrial land. You might get it re-zoned but who wants to live with factories all around them?"

"Over time I buy up the factories as they get too old to be profitable."

"I'm not that young enough to see that."

"How much do you want for your share of this deal with CN and CP?"

"You can have it Jeff. The value is not much and I'm an old man. Besides I have been feeling guilty about taking half when you are doing all the inventing."

"I need friends and a sympathetic partner. I will thank you for the land if you really don't want it. I hope you will still assist me in getting the two railways to do what they must."

"Sure. I like to see them beg."

During the week I wrote songs, used the telephone a great deal and went to see Mr Collinswood. His company was offered a similar deal but they didn't own the same kind of land. In an odd sort of meeting four days later, CN and CP sat together and I offered them my invention. The cash CP was going to pay me in lieu of some property would go to CN for their properties.

"Now what is this idea Mr Congdon?"

"I think you should upgrade the tracks to Niagra Falls and then to Ajax. This is expensive but the various levels of government will assist. You can make a passenger train car that is three levels high with the area between the wheels kept low to the tracks. The seats are close together but the short trip to and from Toronto will not be that uncomfortable. The term 'Go Train' sounds nice but you can use whatever you want. You should get more government funding because you are keeping automobiles off the roads. You might also consider using the tracks to London in a similar fashion."

We discussed this for quite a while. I showed them my drawings but they were only what I remembered them to be. The execuatives saw the benefits but didn't have the money. I promised to make something similar to the internet with TCP/IP to allow packets of data on their lines. They weren't very knowledgeable about this but in a few hours we had the basis of an agreement.

The family called me that night as they did every night to and gave me an update on what had been happening in Memphis. Sam loved all of the equipment and the special sound effects. The girls sang much better than a year ago and Mark made them sound better again. The band was the same way and Sam had them playing at local establishments already to test them out and gauge the audience's reaction. He hadn't planned on doing this before.

The local newspaper had put their picturers in print. I knew that Sam had something to do with this but he probably did do it for all the groups he represented. I was still hoping that he would make some records and send them off to some radio stations as a further test. The material the group had was mine and completely new, and that alone may get them noticed.

I knew the plans could be changed and now Paige, Jamie and Maggie may have to come home while the group continued to tour. In three more months they could catch up though and stay for the summer. I was hoping that if this happened then Nora would stay with Jane.

Just before school started, John and I signed a deal with the two railways. They thought they got the better deal but I knew the value of the land would grow. I just had to find something more to sell them so I could get more of the lakeshore. After it and the lake were cleaned up then the land would be very valuable.

When I got back to North Bay, the roof was on and sealed from the rains that would were surely coming. Plastic tarps were readied to keep out wind blown moisture and the steel reinforcing rods and mesh were laid in some areas. A cold front was coming in and this made us stop for three days. After that the cement trucks poured cement without stop. This lasted four and a half days and the power trowels got a lot of use. It was good that Carlo had sent up an experienced operator or we would have been in a lot of trouble.

Paige, Maggie and Jamie came home very excited and had lots to tell me. Jack was with us so he heard just as quickly as I did. They found they had groupies already. Usually it was young girls but boys too wanted to touch someone important. They had cut six records with the 'A' side the new song and the 'B' side one I had already put out. They had new clothing that were really costumes.

They met important people and many performers. Publicity photos were shot and went to the cities they were to go to next. Young people wanted autographs. Jamie found they wanted some of his clothing, his hair or even his baby if he would stay still long enough.

The talk went on for hours and I said to Jack, "Let's combine households until the girls get back? We all cook but you have to do your share and do the washing too."

"I guess I could do that if somebody shows me."

Jamie groaned and said, "I guess I have to teach you how to cook. Beans, steak and potatoes are all you need to know."

Now the girls groaned.

Things changed very little except that Jack had to be educated and sometimes chivvied into doing his chores. Things went easier with less people but it was still hard to realise they would be gone for a long time and then the youngsters around me would go too. Music lessons had to resume, especially now that the three found they had a very good chance at the brass ring.

My public affiliation with NADI was well known and the staff and students asked me about the buildings. The information was in the newspaper but they just wanted it from somebody's lips. The chance for employment inspired many to try to find more information.

Payroll was difficult, not in funds but in personnel. The girls had done part of this and the new hires had to learn the ropes.

When the floor of the second building was finished the first building was ready for siding. This had allowed the concrete to dry out more. Lots of this construction had to be learnt as we went along and lots of photos were taken. I had patented different kinds of fasteners and these were all tried in different sections.

The idea was to put up ninety percent of the siding then start the second building. Again this was to let the concrete dry. We were not giving it too long though for we had four hundred and thirty seven people on the payroll trying to get the job done.

My duties made me rethink my wish to go to school. I could graduate if I wanted but I still liked being with the younger generation. I think I was a positive influence and leaving now would look like a dropped out. I was afraid if I did leave, my link to my family would diminish. Work would swallow up all the time I had. The only solution was to find people I could rely on to manage things for me.

In my previous life I tried to promote from within. This allowed me to see what a person was made of. Sometimes the new duties broke the person and it was hard to go back to an old job. Testing a person for only two months with the knowledge that they were going back was much nicer and had no stigma of failure attached to it.

Carm was one success. He worked with Mr Sackman to find one mid-sized electronics business that was willing, capable and reliable in making the tape recorder. Mr Sackman signed for me but I didn't know how many units it could get out in time for our ads. The majority of the photos would be shot in July and they would go on the air in mid August. Other shots of young people looking out over a snow covered landscape had to be shot much sooner.

Jamie didn't know it yet but he would be in many of the ads and his beauty would help me sell the machines. His friends in the photos would just happen to be my family. Sam would have to schedule them to be at the seacoast and I could show them as fun-loving teens. Other scenes with them around a pool or just enjoying a party in the house would sell the machines. If things worked out we could do a shoot in British Columbia with them using my snowboards or on a parking lot using my newly invented inline skates or a skateboard. The last had been made but just a few units were produced.

All three types of tape units contained an amplifiers, as well as AM/FM radios in addition to their tape recording and playing abilities. With my forty years in the business, the units would be good. A great many patents had to be written to protect me.

The mechanical engineers were underemployed and instead of letting them go, I had half of them work on two cycle engines that fit the tools better than chainsaw engines. They saw how the leaf blower worked and now did some tinkering with new engines. Eventually I would farm the production out or make them myself.

The men had done very well with the snow blower improvements and then the pressure washer though more improvements could be made.