The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m; I awoke to the smell of fresh
coffee brewing on Mary’s automatic coffee maker. I was anxious to
get on my way to find out what Forrest had on his mind. Mary was
still sound asleep, so I got up, showered, shaved, and poured a cup of
coffee. I drank the coffee and watched the first half-hour of the Today
Show. I poured Mary a coffee and went into the bedroom and woke
her. I reminded her that she had to work today and she threw a pillow
at me, barely missing her coffee. She complained that she was having
a good dream and that I had ruined it.

I said, “I’m sorry I spoiled your dream, but if you’re not careful
your coffee will be all over your bed. You really should get up and get
ready for work.”

She thanked me for the coffee and said, “Give my love to Forrest
and tell him I wish I could have come today.”

“I will and I’ll see you soon.” I kissed Mary goodbye and hit the
road. I had everything I needed at the lodge, so there was no need for an
overnight bag. I decided to drive through McDonald’s and have a
quick bacon and egg biscuit and another coffee on the way to the
airport. Mary had very poor eating habits; she rarely had breakfast
unless it was for lunch or dinner.

I was at the airport at 7:45, just in time to see Jack taxiing down
the runway. It was very cold this morning and the snow must have
been stacked up six feet or more on each side of the runway. I locked
the van and walked over to the apron where Jack had parked the Leer,
just in time for the door to open and the steps drop down. I entered the
plane and stuck my head in the cockpit to greet Jack.

He said, “Hi, Sam, that’s what I like about you, you’re always
early or at least on time, unlike most of my passengers. Sit up here
today, we don’t have anyone else to pick up.”

He motioned to the copilot’s seat. “You can help me keep this thing in the air.”

I crawled into the co-pilot’s seat as instructed. It was the best seat
on the plane; I had flown in it many times before. Nick has had one
airplane or another since we were in college; he also has a Leer jet
now and flies it himself. Jack and Nick taught me some emergency
flying, including some not-so-good landings I had made, all in case
anything ever happened to them while we were in the air. I always
told them that they had better stay healthy, because I never, ever,
want to try to land one of these things alone. They always just
laughed and assured me I would do just fine. I only wish I were as
confident as they were. Jack had already closed the door and was
ready to taxi. This airport had no control tower, so Jack was talking
to a controller at Boston Logan Airport. In less than five minutes we
were airborne.

When we got airborne, I said to Jack, “It’s a good thing we didn’t
have this meeting yesterday. I’m sure they didn’t get that runway
cleared until afternoon.”

“Yes, I saw on the news that you guys had eleven inches yesterday
morning. I called the office here and asked if the strip was clear
before I left Virginia.”

It was a pleasant trip and nice to visit with Jack. It’s 8:55 and Jack
has started our approach to Forrest’s airstrip. As we touched down I
said, “I enjoyed the flight and thank you for staying healthy again.”

Jack laughed and said, “You’re welcome, Sam.”

Forrest’s lodge was on the top of a mountain here in Eastern
Virginia. The landing strip we sit down on seems big enough to
handle Air Force One. It was complete, of course, with a large hanger
including a Bell seven-passenger helicopter. The hanger had room
for the helicopter and both Forrest’s and Nick’s Leer Jets at the same
time. Jack or Nick had often picked me up at Langley for weekend
visits in the helicopter when I was working there. The lodge had been
a resort before Forrest and Mom made it their home. By now I was
comfortable there; it’s my second home. The lodge itself has 66
rooms and a veranda that wraps around three sides. Inside were two
large kitchens and dining rooms, a ballroom and a grand ballroom,
numerous lounges, bedrooms, quarters for the help, and other
apartments for guests. Not to mention Forrest’s grand living quarters
and the indoor and outdoor swimming pools and tennis courts. There
was also a natural lake on the property that was great for fishing.

Forrest owned this lodge for a long time before he and my mother,
Anna, made it their permanent home. He had lived extremely modest
for many years while he was building his fortune. Forrest missed
Anna tremendously. She really was the love of his life. I, too, missed
her very much. If she were alive today I would be able to see them
both now, standing on the veranda, waving me to hurry up and come
up to the lodge. Instead, my cell phone rings. It’s Forrest welcoming
me to Anna’s Retreat. He has called it that for many years now.

On the phone he said, “Get your fanny up here, I want to see you.”

I told Jack that I would see him up at the lodge as I headed in. Jack
was putting the Leer to bed. It seems as cold here as it was in Boston.
I walked up to greet Forrest and you would have thought he hadn’t
seen me for a year or more; his hug was so strong it took my breath.

“Where the hell is Mary?” he asks.

“She had to work and was not happy that she couldn’t come. She
sends you her love.”

“I really enjoy her when she visits. How is her mother doing since
Bill was killed?”

“Sara is doing as well as could be expected. I’m sure she is quite
lonely now, but you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, I sure would, son.”

Mary’s father, Bill, was killed in the plane that crashed into the
field in Pennsylvania on 9/11. This was devastating not only to Mary,
her sister Phyllis, and Sara, but also to all the families who lost
someone in the crash. The whole nation mourns their loss.

Forrest says. “The next time you come, why don’t you bring them
both? It does get lonesome living in this huge lodge with only the
help.”

“That’s a done deal. I’ll do it, Forrest.”

It was really showing just how lonesome Forrest was. You
couldn’t help but love this man; you would love him even if he were
flat broke.

“I see Nick hasn’t arrived yet,” I said.

“I see you had to call Nick to see what was up. You two sure don’t
give me a chance to sneak anything up on you.”

“You have to remember that we couldn’t be any closer if we were
true blood brothers, even though we are Indian blood brothers.”

“Yes, I remember well when you two became Indian blood
brothers. Anna almost had a stroke when she was stopping the
bleeding on your arms; and she got mad as hell at me when I laughed
about it. Nick will be here by lunchtime. He left Silicon Valley at
5:00 a.m. his time, about the same time you left Boston, but he only
took on enough fuel to get to Houston. You know how cheap Nick is.
He knows fuel is cheaper in Houston, so he will fill up there, then
come on in.”

Forrest asks me to come up to the den for a chat. “You want a cup
of coffee?” he asks.

I said, “Sure,” as he got on the intercom to the kitchen and
requested a pot of coffee and some rolls.

After some idle chitchat, Sheila, the general manager of the
lodge, delivered his order and said, “Hi, Sam, good to see you.” We
hugged.

“It’s good to be here, Sheila.” She left and Forrest locked the door
with a remote.

Forrest says, “Sam, the time is finally here for the revolution.”

I was a bit in shock, but tried not to let Forrest notice.
After a short silence, I responded, “What makes this the time?”

“Ah, come on, I know you talk to Nick. You guys never could
keep secrets from each other.”

“Yes, I talk to Nick, but he was having a party and just said he
would see me here and he hung up on me the same as you did.”

“You mean he didn’t tell you about the company we just
purchased?”

“Well, yes, he only said that it was a toy company that made toy
weapons and that I would have to see it to believe it.”

“Well, I’ll be damned; he can keep his mouth shut when he’s on
the telephone, even to you.”

I will try to explain Forrest’s political views a little more, and
Nick’s are the same, as are most of the people we associate with.
Forrest has been a lifelong registered Republican. Maybe, really, a
lifelong Independent. You could label us all Conservatives. In
Forrest’s lifetime he voted republican in all presidential elections,
with the exception of voting three times for Independents and once
for a Democrat that won the popular vote and lost the election.
Occasionally, he has voted for Democrats for House, Senate and
local offices.

He believes the political system has gotten about as corrupt as it
can get; run by a bunch of out-of-control Senate and House members,
who are for the most part lawyers and politicians that only care about
getting re-elected and stuffing their pockets. We have this two-party
system that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have any
desire to change. He has all due respect for those who get elected, go
to Washington to make changes, and find they haven’t got a fighting
chance to change anything. After one term they quit and go back
home. His greatest respect goes to those who continue to try in the
face of unrelenting odds. It is the efforts of these few that have kept
the system in check as well as they could under despicable
circumstances. He has total disrespect and absolute contempt for
those new and old members who join the mob with business as usual
on Capitol Hill.

Forrest is infuriated that a multi-millionaire would spend 20
million dollars of his own money to get a Senate seat that won’t even
pay him one million dollars in the six-year term. There is something
wrong with this picture, and it has everything to do with corruption.
He is absolutely not doing it out of the generosity of his heart, Forrest
would say.

To Forrest, everyone is entitled to a difference of opinion about
what is best for the country, but he believes it must be true
differences of opinion and not a bought and paid for opinion of some
lobbyist, corporation, or special interest group. Foreign interests
should never be able to influence our representatives under any
circumstances. And certainly a Senator or Congressman should not
be allowed to buy their next election by bringing unnecessary pork
money into their state for unneeded and unnecessary projects.
Forrest believes that the taxpayers should pay for our elections.
After all, how can you expect them to not be corrupt when we force
them to raise campaign funds from the most corrupt people on earth
such as lobbyist’s, big business and special interest groups? Forrest
has many favorite quotes and this is one by Theodore Roosevelt:

“Let individuals contribute as they desire, but let us prohibit in
effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any
political purpose, directly or indirectly."

Forrest also believes that the media should donate equal time to
candidates in any election and if the winner gets less than 50% of the
vote, it mandates a run-off election against the two leading
candidates.

Forrest would say, think about this, did you ever want to vote for
an Independent and chose not to in fear that your second choice
candidate might lose the election? This fear would go away if we had
instant run-off voting, or if you knew that you could vote again if the
winner had less than 50% of the vote. In any close election even a
weak Independent would take enough votes to keep the winner from
having 50% of the vote.

You can see why these things are never going to happen, since
lobbyists, big business and special interest groups would lose all
leverage unless they resort to under-the-table bribery, which would
allow us to put them on trial for treason. TV, radio and newsprint
would lose hundreds of millions in revenue each election. The
politicians would have no way to cover bribery money they may take.
For instance, keeping their campaign coffers when they retire, which
in many cases is in the millions of dollars, doesn’t that alone make
the present system nothing but legalized bribery? The most damning
evidence against these tyrants can be found in their campaign
donation records. The corporations are buying access and favors. It
is that simple. The sad part is, they donate to both the Republican and
the Democrat running for the same office. They can’t lose.

Back to the den with Forrest’s startling announcement to start a
revolution. Since I still wasn’t in the loop with this new acquisition,
Forrest wanted me to see a demonstration first.

Forrest said, “I don’t expect an answer now, but I want you to be
in charge of the revolution. I feel confident we can accomplish it with
less than twenty participants and with less than fifty casualties on the
national level.”

“That must be some other kind of toy. I can’t even imagine a
revolution with less than fifty casualties,” I said.

“Don’t worry, it will be clear when you see the demonstration and
hear my ideas. I flew out to California and witnessed it. I’ll only tell
you this right now. It’s not a toy and it will hit a target the size of a
silver dollar from as far away as ten miles with consistent accuracy.
Don’t tell Nick I told you, I don’t want to steal his thunder.”

This certainly was a lot to digest in a very short time; my head was
spinning trying to absorb it all so quickly.

“There’s Nick,” I said. He always buzzes the lodge before landing.

Forrest said, “Yes, lets go down and greet him.”

As we walked past the lounge, Jack came with us. He said, “I’ll
put the baby to bed while you guys catch up on the latest news. The
baby, of course, was Nick’s Leer.

We all got in a golf cart and were at the hanger when Nick touched
down. He taxied up to the hanger and no more than stopped and the
door was open and the steps were down. Out bounced Nick and
behind him, a seedy-looking character with reddish gray hair, a ball
cap, T-shirt and jeans. He was a gentleman probably about Nick’s
and my age, and he was carrying a laptop computer and an overnight
bag. It was 11:30 a.m and about 45 degrees in Virginia. What was he
thinking? Nick hugged his dad, Jack and me. Then he introduced
Richard Thomas to Jack and I. His English accent was profound.
Jack quickly shook hands with Richard and left to put the Leer to bed.

Nick said, “Rich is the designer and expert on the new toy. The
toy company we purchased made military-looking toy weapons and
Rich came up with this. It is true genius.”

“I want to see this new toy,” I said.

“Not now, I’m starved. Have you got anything to eat here, Dad?”

Forrest asks, “Do you ever go hungry while you’re here, son?”

“You know what I mean. I want two hamburgers like Anna used
to make.”

“You know damn well that Anna taught Jim how she made them
for you and Sam years ago, so don’t push the panic button. You won’t
go hungry here.”

Jim is Forrest’s head chef. Forrest took Rich in the golf cart and
Nick and I walked up to the lodge. Nick promised to bring me up to
date as soon as he ate. I did have to needle him on the buzz over the
lodge though.

So I asked, “How much did you save on fuel in Houston?”

“Brother, I saved about forty bucks, how about that?”

“Not too bad, since you probably used fifty bucks extra fuel
taking off from Houston and doing the buzz over here. That was fun
when we were in college in the Piper Cub, but do you realize the fuel
cost for you to come from California in the Leer today is more than
you paid for that Cub when we were in college?”

Laughing, Nick says, “Ah, hell, brother, you’re starting to sound
like Dad.”

“Maybe that’s why he has the big bucks,” I said as I laughed.