by Ed Nelson
We had no sooner finished up then Mark Downing, my partner in Detroit Faucet joined us, Mark was a sight for sore eyes, and I felt like I could understand what was going on in this business segment, Jackson Home Products.
After we caught up on our personal lives and he made certain to call me Sir Richard, which earned him a slug on the shoulder, we had a financial review. Things were looking good. Sales were up, profit margins were rising. Mark wanted to expand and he had the financial plan to back him up. It looked good to me, but I asked Roberta if she had a chance to review it. She had, and the numbers were sound.
At that I sort of sat there and waited for the next step. Finally, Mark asked me if it was okay to proceed. That woke me up, heck I’m a part owner and he needed my agreement to proceed.
Trying to look like I had a clue, which I didn’t really, I asked him where we would obtain the eight million dollars in financing required.
Mark told me, “Roberta found a bank in Switzerland that would loan us the money at less than market rates.”
Hmm, I wonder who owns a bank in Switzerland. I made a point of not looking at Dad.
Mark then brought up another subject.
“Anna Romanov’s line is doing wonders for our sales. She has a new partner and would like to open a new line for the smart young set. She has the over-thirty market locked, but no one has upscale products for the younger market segment. She would like to bring Sharon Bronson in to be the face of those products.”
I took a moment to think.
“Anna is actually her own company; we just sell product to her so she can do whatever she wants. Saying that, I think it is a great idea.”
Mark blushed before he told me.
“Just so you know, Anna brought Sharon to Detroit for a tour. Later Sharon and I got together for dinner.”
“What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?”
“Uh, I guess nothing but I just wanted you to know.”
“Is there any chance that this might go somewhere?”
“It’s too early to tell but I sure hope so.”
“Hope what,” asked Sharon Bronson as she and Anna entered the room.”
I just thought Mark blushed earlier. I bailed him out.
“We were discussing the price of tea in China, and Mark thinks it is looking good, very good.”
That remark got me some weird looks. Roberta was quietly choking at her end of the table. She looked at Sharon and shook her head no. Mark might hope he has a chance of catching Sharon; I don’t think he has a chance of getting away.
Boy, Popeye and my Aunt, Mark and Sharon, wonder if I will have any romantic interest today?
We then discussed Anna’s plans. She didn’t have to, but felt it was best to keep us current with her plans. Mark and I assured her that they made sense to us. I think we would both be out of our minds to disagree with the Lady so it was all moot.
One of Anna’s concerns was that she had to bring out new ideas to keep at the design front of things. She wanted to know if we had any thoughts. As she asked that, the jingle from the Spearmint ads with twins, double your fun was running through my mind.
“How about having two shower heads in a shower, one for front and back?”
“That’s a good thought Rick.”
Roberta Grimes brought up, “It would be nice to have a shower head on a flexible hose but I hate those red rubber things they use.”
Mark came back with, “In the plant we have a metal armor around the hose so it won’t get burnt or cut. You could chrome that up and make it look nice.”
Just like that Anna’s product line was freshened. She promised all of us a nice gift for the ideas.
The last business item of a long day was Jackson Entertainment. ‘Bandits of Sherwood’ was doing well at the box office and with my points in the movie lots of money was being made. Until the first payout we would not really know how much, but it would probably be several million. Payouts in the movie business were a funny thing, first the studio would want to be paid for its services. Their accountants were famous for the games they could play.
I thought I would get a fair shake because of my relationship with the studio management but I still asked Roberta to really go over the numbers they presented. Since I had points in the movie I had access to the raw data on the books and she could spot any over-charges quickly.
I had a meeting tomorrow with the producers of my next movie. Shooting would start in January but they wanted the cast together early to start the ball rolling. I had no idea of what the title would be. I had been given three different titles recently. Titles changed all the time so it was no big deal, I just thought of it as the Surfing Movie with Hot Girls. Now that was something I could get excited about!
Then there was the mail. I have three major sources of mail, business mail which was delivered to this office, fan mail to the studio and personal at home. There was only one business letter that had been set aside of me, the rest were being handled by my staff. I would really have to meet this mysterious staff.
The letter was a request from the American Shipping Association to give a presentation at their annual meeting on the future of containerized shipping. It took me almost a heart-beat to decide this wasn’t for me. I had to wonder about a group that would want the opinion of a fifteen, almost sixteen-year old kid on their industry.
“Dad, do you know if these people know how old I am?”
“Good question Rick, I will try to find out. In the mean time you probably want to take a pass on this.”
“You got that right.”
“Rick have you given any further thought of what you would like to do with your life.”
“Not really, I’m still interested in space but haven’t really defined how I could be involved.”
“You do know that right now you have enough money that you would never have to work in your life if you didn’t go crazy about it. Also what benefit will you receive from further education? You normally go to school to prepare yourself for the work world.”
“I would go crazy not doing anything and I believe you need a full education to be able to live a full life.”
“I had to present it, but I’m so glad to hear your answer. Just think how your Mum would make our lives a living hell if you decided anything different.”
I didn’t even want to think of what Mum would do. All of a sudden I couldn’t wait to get my tenth grade started.
“When I’m at the studio tomorrow I will check on how my tenth grade can be handled. I would still like to get it done by the New Year.”
“Sounds like a plan. This has been a busy day, let’s head out.”
I looked at my watch; it was 6:00, so much for a day at the beach.
Later at dinner I decided to have a little fun with Mum.
“Mum, after the business review today I realized that I could quit all work today, and that I really don’t even have to graduate from high school.”
Some jokes don’t work.
Afterword, Mary looked at me and shook her head.
“Stupid boy.”
I couldn’t disagree, who knew that Mum could out swear Popeye.
I retreated to my room to read for the rest of the evening. Denny and Eddie wanted to play pool but I had some thinking to do. Not about my education, that was a given, but what did I want to do with my life.
After going in circles for several hours I gave up. All I knew was that making money was good, that I enjoyed acting and that I was interested in obtaining an Engineering degree. Along the way I would acquire skills such as a pilot’s license. I wondered if I should take some real acting lessons.
So far I had played Rick Jackson with a very small range of emotion. Should I try to expand? There were also the skills that most actors tried to acquire such as dancing. I had the fighting skills under control, and could ride a horse. There was still high speed driving, jumping off buildings in a single bound and all that other superman stuff.
&nbs
p; The biggest worry I had was would I ever have a normal girlfriend, boyfriend relationship. I wanted more of what I had seen in Argentina, not what I had experienced in England.
Chapter 6
I did remember that I hadn’t checked for mail. Our mail at home was put in a basket in the library for us to pick up. Even Mary had hers from her friends in Ohio. Actually all the other kids got more mail at home than I did. I received thousands of fan letters but they were all opened at the studio and it was very rare that I even saw one of those.
In my basket was a small stack of letters, some of them had been laying there since the beginning of summer. They were from Judy King, Cheryl Hawthorne, BSA and the White House and my studio.
I opened Judy’s first as it was the oldest. I had met her at a golf tournament in Ohio, and seen her several times. We were fond of each other but never seemed to be in the right time or place for each other. The last I heard she had a boyfriend.
She started out with the usual and told me how her school life was going, Friendship and social great, learning boring. Then she got to the meat of the letter, she told me she currently didn’t have a boyfriend. Her last one was too foreign for her. He had Roman hands and Russian fingers. I felt an urge to break those fingers. She went on to tell me that she missed our short time together and if I was ever in Columbus to look her up. Hmm, maybe I would have to buy a company or open a plant in Columbus.
The second letter was from Cheryl who had gone to school in Bellefontaine with me and whom I had considered my girlfriend. Her Dad had received a promotion in the Air Force to Brigadier General and they were transferred to Washington DC, ending that relationship. He may have received another star since then.
Cheryl said she had been thinking of me for a while. Earlier in the summer she and her parents had been at a Schaefer’s Canal House restaurant on the Delaware Canal. A ship had gone through and she swore she saw me standing on the flying wing. Her Dad had teased her about her Cowboy, but she really did wonder how I was doing and would I please write.
Would I write! It had been me on that ship.
The next letter was from the Boy Scouts of America. I would be receiving another award for heroism for knocking down that IRA gunman who was going to shoot Queen Elizabeth. The presentation would be in the Rose Garden at the White House on Friday, October 9th, 1959. There was an RSVP enclosed.
That explained the next letter which was an invitation for Mum, Dad and I to have dinner with the President and First Lady on the evening of Thursday, October 8th. There was also an RSVP enclosed with this letter.
I sat the RSVP cards aside to discuss with my parents. Besides I had a thought I wanted to bounce off them.
The last letter was from the studio, earlier on the plane ride home as I was falling asleep I had been thinking I didn’t have a movie commitment. Actually I did, Sharon Bronson and I were going to do a California surfing movie. The only problem I had no idea when. The letter was very timely. They wanted me at the studio nine o’clock tomorrow morning to talk about the movie and my role.
I went downstairs to talk to Mum and Dad about the RSVP to the BSA and White House. They had already retired to their suite for the evening so I would catch them at breakfast.
I went down to watch my brothers play pool but could not get into playing so returned to my room and soon had my lights off for the night.
I was up early as usual to get in my morning run and exercises. After cleaning up I went down for breakfast. Both Mum and Dad were at the table so I brought up the White House invitation. They both agreed we three should go. I asked if it would be okay to see if Cheryl Hawthorne and her parents could join us. They didn’t see why not. They knew Cheryl and I had been close in Bellefontaine.
Of course I didn’t bring up that I wanted her Dad to see the Cowboy having dinner with the President. I don’t think they would have approved of my motive.
I immediately returned to my room and penned a reply with my request back to the White House. I also did one for the BSA. I dropped them off in the outgoing mail basket on my way out to the studio.
Of course I had to choose the wrong car. I had two identical T-Birds. Well almost identical. One had a studio sticker and the other didn’t. When I got to the studio a new guard was on duty and you would have thought I was trying to get into Fort Knox or something. After getting that straight I was fifteen minutes late for my meeting.
There was a pretty large group there, our Director and Producer were people that I had not met before, the Director Mr. Levine seemed okay but the Producer Tom Jensen came across as a little weird.
I wondered if he was on drugs. I had of course heard of drugs, and they told us how marijuana would drive you crazy in our seventh grade health class while we watched the movie Reefer Madness, but I had never met anyone on them before. I was going to watch him carefully. I would be ready for him if he tried to hurt anyone.
Of course Sharon was there and she gave me a cheerful wave over to the seat she had apparently been saving next to her.
Mr. Levine didn’t mess around, he started with, “Now Mr. Jackson has graced us with his presence we can get started.”
It didn’t come across as mean, but I also felt like it was Mr. Hurley getting ready to issue a detention. They can’t do that on a movie set can they?
“We are going to be shooting the outdoor scenes in Hawaii starting in January. You will be called in for some blocking shots individually and maybe sound checks but most of the work will start in January. The studio will contact you in the next month with your travel arrangements.”
Mr. Levine continued to explain that Hawaii had been chosen because of better weather and a lot better surfing.”
“Rick, you and Fred Madison will be taking surfing lessons in the meantime. We have arranged for that down at Huntington Beach. You and Fred stay behind and we will discuss the particulars.”
I looked around to see who Fred Madison was. He looked about sixteen but I bet he was older. He looked like the guy next door. Good looking but also a little goofiness about him. I bet he would be my side kick in the movie for a little comedy relief. Can’t have the star looking stupid you know!
Sharon who would be my opposite was sitting next to a girl that looked about Fred’s age. That is she looked sixteen but was probably older. She would be Sharon’s girlfriend and foil for Fred. Hmm, I wondered who the rich bully would be?
Oh that guy over there. He looked more like twenty something, well built and could pose as a snob easily. Later as I got to know Phil Sampson I would realize he was the nicest guy you could meet and never a snob, but he sure could act like one!
Of course this was all guessing on my part, but so far I hadn’t seen any depth in the plots of the various movies I had worked in.
“It is too early to hand out scripts as the writers haven’t finished, they are having some plot issues.”
Maybe there is some hope for this movie after all.
Mr. Levine then asked if there were any questions.
I asked, “What about our schooling.”
“Well Rick, you are the only one that is still in school so we will discuss that later.”
At least my guess on ages wasn’t too far off.
Mr. Levine droned on a bit how excited he was to make this movie. Looking around I realized that most of the cast and others present felt the same way I did. This was a B-movie if we did it right and a joke if we didn’t. It could be a stepping stone to better things but it was a job, a job every one of us liked, but still a job.
When Mr. Levine finally wound down he asked Tom Jensen if he had anything to say. He shook his head no, his mouth was full. He had been eating potato chips the whole time he was here. I wondered what could make him so hungry.
All but Fred and I were dismissed. Our session wasn’t very long. We were told the address of a surf shop at Huntington Beach. It had just opened and Mr. Levine knew the owner so was trying to give them a leg up. The name was Katin Surf Shop.
> We would be going for lessons starting Monday, for three weeks or more depending on our advancement. Fred didn’t think it would be hard for him as he had been surfing since he was eight years old. I would have some catching up to do.
Fred knew where it was. I agreed to drive, so he gave me directions to his apartment. It was close to my old one so it wouldn’t be a problem finding it. I agreed to pick him up at six as were expected by seven on Monday. I guess the waves were better early in the morning. He called it the Dawn Patrol.
I think I would enjoy being with Fred, he had a ready smile but wasn’t a smart mouth.
That didn’t take long and Fred headed out. That left me and Mr. Levine to discuss school. It was easy, I was to stop by the studio school on Monday afternoon and set up a schedule. He did ask me what year I was in. When I told him tenth grade he shook his head.
“Looking at you Rick I would have thought you were in college. You have definitely rounded the corner from puberty. As a matter of fact you have no signs of childhood in your face. If you keep this look you can play young adult parts for many a year.”
Well, I could see what his interests were. I thanked him and left.
I did wander out to the back lot before I left, and said Hi to the guys in the stunt area. They all bowed to me and call me Sir Richard. That started an impromptu brawl. It’s my fault that Don Palmer ended up in a water trough. He wasn’t paying attention and it cost him. It was his fault for not looking. That was my story and I was sticking to it!
Of course it didn’t get me very far with Mr. Monroe who walked up. I tried to explain how it was Mr. Palmers fault but he didn’t buy it. I would have been more worried if he didn’t give a small laugh every time he looked at Don. As for Don he didn’t seem upset which gave me concern. I remembered his comments about not going into a fight angry and that revenge was a dish best served cold.
In the end Mr. Monroe welcomed me back and asked me to stop by his office sometime next week when I had some free time. This left me with Mr. Palmer who was now taking ribbing from his friends. I knew this was going to hurt sometime in the near future.