The Richard Jackson Saga Book 12: Escape From Siberia
Ed & Carol Nelson
The Richard Jackson Saga
Book 12: Escape From Siberia
By Ed Nelson
Other books by Ed Nelson
The Richard Jackson Saga
Book 1 The Beginning
Book 2 Schooldays.
Book 3 Hollywood!
Book 4 In the Movies
Book 5 Star to Deckhand
Book 6 Surfing Dude
Book 7 Third Time is a Charm
Book 8: Oxford University
Book 9: Cold War
Book 10: Taking Care of Business
Book 11: Interesting Times
Stand Alone Stories
Ever and Always
Dedication
This is dedicated to my wife Carol for her support and help as my first reader and editor.
Thanks to my Editors, Ernest Bywater, Lonelydad57, Old Rotorhead, Lon and Antti.
Also, the Bellefontaine High School Class of 1962, just because.
Quotation
“That’s the way it happened, give or take a lie or two.”
James Garner as Wyatt Earp describing the gunfight at the OK Corral in the movie Sunset.
Copyright © 2021
E. E. Nelson
All rights reserved.
Eastern Shore Publishing
2331 Del Webb Blvd. W.
Sun City Center, FL 33573
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage retrieval systems without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1953395-23-8
Contents
The Richard Jackson Saga
Other books by Ed Nelson
Dedication
Quotation
Copyright © 2021
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 1
I held Nina in my arms. I didn’t want to let her go. I don’t know how we will work this all out but work it out we will. I still don’t know how she could have gone with that Prince behind my back, and I would probably never understand.
It didn’t matter. Nina was back where she belonged. I had been a lifeguard and pulled some desperate people out of the water. They hadn’t clung to me like she was.
It took me a moment to realize that she was sobbing her heart out. We were standing in a room full of people, some family, some I had never seen before.
I saw Mum; I mouthed to her, get us a room. I had to give Mum credit; she didn’t take the cheap shot she could have. She just steered us to an open doorway. It was to somebody's office, but it wasn’t occupied, so she gently led us in, and left, closing the door behind us.
We stood in that office for the longest time wrapped in a hug.
She finally pulled away from me and looked up into my eyes.
“Rick, how can you ever forgive me?”
“I don’t know that I have to forgive you, all I know is that I need you in my life.”
She hugged me again and started sobbing.
I held her gently, she had lost weight and it felt like I could break her if I hugged her too tightly.
After a while, there was a knock on the door. It was Mum.
“Rick, we need you out here to talk to people and it looks like Nina needs to wash her face. I will take care of her.”
I went back out to face a crowd of well-wishers, at least that is what I thought they were. My emotions were so jangled that I had no idea what was said to me or how I answered.
My answers must not have been too bad because no one fled crying or challenged me to a duel.
There was the inevitable press conference, where I was asked intelligent questions such as, “How does it feel to be a Duke?”
“It’s too soon to tell.”
“What are your plans now?”
“Go to Disneyland? No just kidding. I have to figure out what this new title means, and I have work to do with the North and South Vietnamese governments and two golf tournaments to get ready for.”
I wasn’t about to tell them, “and sort out my relationship with Nina.”
The Empress and Queen both avoided the press. I had to learn their tricks. I was summoned, never asked, always summoned, like, “Here Rover, good boy, good doggy.”
Elizabeth started with, “Thanks for being a good sport about this. We knew if we asked in advance you would try to weasel out of this. We do need help here in the long run and when we get closer to the transition.”
Empress Ping continues, “In the shorter term, you can help Hong Kong become the window on the world for China. As our ports expand, they will help our economy, but we need to get trade moving now so the people are happy with the new government.”
“I can see that, but could you make it something like, oh I don’t know what, anything but this high-sounding title.”
“The high-sounding title will get people to listen to you that otherwise would have shrugged you off. The title shows the regard that you are held by the Empress and me. It is not the title; it is the connections.”
“That makes more sense to me. Do I have some sort of Duke Uniform I have to wear?”
“You won’t have to wear your robes until you give your maiden speech in the House of Lords, you can’t do that until you are twenty-one.”
“Do I have to do it then?”
“Some never give a speech, so they are never seated.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“You will change your mind by then.”
“We’ll see.”
After that, I spent the rest of the afternoon with the Governor of Hong Kong and his staff. They gave me an overview of the problems facing Hong Kong. I assured them that I would have little involvement if any with Hong Kong other than investing in areas that could help the colony.
From their faces, you could tell that they were skeptical, but I meant it, I wanted nothing to do with running a country, a colony, or even a township.
My takeaway from that meeting was that the sooner they could handle the cargo containers the better and that they could use help in bringing up their manufacturing to modern standards.
My company was upgrading the port, so that was just a matter of time. As far as modernization was concerned, I wanted to check on a project in Pittsburgh, and if it was going as well as I had heard then a source of help might be available.
Dinner was a formal event with the Queen and Empress. I wore my Coldstream uniform as I didn’t want to go to the bother of all the nonsense in formal dress.
Nina was my table partner. You could tell she still was uncertain of our relationship and was noticeably quiet. A dinner like this was never the place for a personal conversation. Anything said would make the tabloids within a day.
The expected comments and questions were directed at me from up and down the table. Some of them were bold, like the guy asking for a business meeting as his company would be a good investment for me. The one that took the cake was the woman who tried to set me up with her daughter, with Nina sitting beside me!
Some aide to the Governor asked the woman an innocent question.
“Oh, has she had those buck teeth fixed.”
I managed not to spew the glass of wine I had been sipping. It did shut the woman up.
Early the next morning my family and I had a private meeting with Queen Elizabeth. She assured us that the Dukedom was to be seen mostly as a reward but that any good I could do for Hong Kong would be appreciated.
My being made a Duke was an English title, not a Hong Kong one. They didn’t do that in the commonwealth or colonies.
I made a private decision to purchase land and companies in Hong Kong so that I would have a real part of it.
My interests would be vested in upgrading their manufacturing and bringing in new business. The governing would be left to the politicians. I didn’t have the stomach for it.
Empress Ping had departed for Beijing after dinner the previous night. Her hold on power was still tenuous.
We boarded my 707 for the long flight back to LA.
Nina and I spent many an hour in my office talking. There was much to say. Most of it I can’t remember. One conversation did stick in my mind.
“Why that scumbag of a Prince?”
“Rick, I think I fell into the trap that is built for all American girls. We have read stories all our lives about a nobody-American girl meeting a handsome Prince and them falling for each other and living happily ever after.”
“We have been conditioned is the best I can put it. He is good-looking and certainly a good actor. I didn’t realize how badly I was being used until you showed up and smashed your car.”
“My world came crashing down at that point. I don’t know what was going on in my head. I was so bedazzled by the Prince that you went out of my mind. If I thought about it at all it was that my romance with the Prince would soon be over and you and I would be back to normal.”
“How could I be so naïve? How can you ever trust me again?”
“Nina, you are right, you breached that trust, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t rebuild it. It will take time; maybe years, but we can rebuild it.”
I could see her eyes light up with hope. I also felt hope but was scared to death of what would happen if she failed again. It would crush both of us.
I would like to say those thoughts went through my mind immediately. It took days for me to think everything through. Also, a couple of serious conversations with my parents.
We did have a few light-hearted moments on the flight. Mum and Mary had been shopping. They came to dinner on the flight dressed as traditional Chinese coolies, funny straw hats, and all.
I had become proficient with chopsticks, the rest of the family, not so much. It was funny to see Eddie wrestle with them trying to eat rice. He did it, one grain at a time. You got to give him credit; he is very stubborn or was very hungry.
Chapter 2
It was the first of July when we landed at LAX. Traffic was terrible getting home. We talked seriously about flying in and out of Ontario airport in the future. That way we could even fly a Cessna to the Forest Service station.
We had talked about using that as our escape route if there was ever a problem at Jackson House, but we had let it slip by the wayside. We needed to revisit it even if only for convenience.
Not that it would have worked this trip, there were too many of us for my small aircraft. Even taking a limo from Ontario would be better than this Los Angeles mess.
Nina was riding with us; we would drop her off at her house on the way home. I got out with her when we reached her home.
“Nina, the past is the past. Would you like to do lunch tomorrow?”
“I would love to.”
“Okay, meet me at the Forestry Service station. I have to practice putting on the Troon greens.”
She gave me a funny look. But didn’t question it.
The family retired early; these trans-pacific flights were exhausting. There was also the jet lag factor. We hadn’t been there long enough to get turned around, but still; it was enough to cause problems.
At breakfast, the next morning I knew I was in trouble when Mary came in wearing a “Save the People,” T-shirt.
“Good morning Ricky, how much are you paying me for infringing on my trademark?”
“Nothing, I’m not the one who made or who is selling them. Go back to China and find those people, sue the heck out of them.”
“Pooh, you are no fun at all.”
“Sorry squirt, did you want me to throw myself at the mercy of the court.”
“Oh, would you!”
“Your honor, I have most foully infringed upon the trademark held by my little sister. I will pay the penalty.”
Mary tried to put on a deep-sounding voice.
“You shall buy her ice cream every day for a month.”
“I won’t be here for the entire month I have to go to England and Scotland.”
“Then you shall buy her ice cream every day that you are with her.”
There were triumph and glee in her voice. Then another voice was heard.
“And she will ask for Mum’s permission every day that you are here. If Mum says, “No,” then it will still count as a day off Rick’s sentence.”
Dad has a very deep voice when he wants it.
Mary stomped her foot.
“Well, I tried.”
“Not a bad effort. A tear or two when you first came in might have helped.”
She got a thoughtful look, “I think you are right. I will work on that.”
This is Mary at eight, I can’t imagine her teen years. If I’m lucky I will be married and out of the house.
The movie was turning out to be a big disappointment for me. I thought I would have a better part. I was shown riding around a lot and passing messages, but I had few scenes with any meat in them. The Charles and Molly story was a side issue in the movie.
The one good thing was that I hadn’t ended up in a water trough, yet.
I rode George over to the Forestry Service station and worked on my putting. The greens at Troon were going to be murderous. I was most concerned about how the smaller ball would act on the different grass used. Two variables were two too many.
I express that to Sam, he told me to man up.
I went back and forth all morning, putting and driving. At noon I looked up to see a beautiful young lady standing there.
I did the natural thing and kissed her.
My Nina was back. I hoped and prayed it was to stay.
We had lunch together at the little FS canteen. It was only a hamburger and fries, but it was heaven. It might have been the company.
I had gotten to know some of the rangers that worked there all the time. They stopped by and wanted to know what they should call me now? Duke of Hong Kong seemed too formal.
I agreed and told them to call me, “Rick.”
That set our world back in its orbit. I was asked what it all meant. I told them it was a political maneuver and that I was a pawn in the game being played by the Queen and Empress. It probably was the truth.
Nina had driven over, and I had ridden George, so we parted company until this evening. We were going to the Hamburger Hamlet for dinner.
I was running late when I got back to the house and cleaned up to head out to the studio. I was careful not to speed. I didn’t need the publicity right now.
On the set, I had my big scene with Molly. I asked her to be my wife and she consented. After she said, “Yes!” I was to jump up and shout hurray. I did jump up.
The blankety-blank people had put a water trough behind me to fall into.
It was bad enough when I was surprised. Try drying off and changing clothes five times. The rest of the cast was enjoying this too much.
Even the real ‘Duke,’ made a point of being there to laugh at me.
I did the best acting of my career. I kept smiling and pretended it didn’t bother me, while I was thinking about using fire arrows on their houses.
Later I picked up Nina and we had dinner at the Hamburger Hamlet. It was a quiet event as we both felt like we were starting over to get to know each other.
We were open in our feelings, me wondering about trust, and she is wondering about the world I was moving in.
To me, it didn’t seem like anything special. It had crept up on me and I got used to it a bit at a time. She was seeing it all at once, and I could see where it would look scary.
I told her to remember that everyone that I was dealing with was a person just like us. Maybe they had titles and power, but in the end, they were people.
She asked me how would I help the people of Hong Kong?
“There are two things the Governor and his staff told me that I could do. Modernize the harbor, which is already in process. Then any help I could give in bringing their manufacturing techniques in line with the rest of the world would be good.”
“I have to make a phone call in the morning, but if what I have been told is true, we might be able to do better than bring their manufacturing to world standards. We might be able to set new standards.”
“How is that?”
I told her about meeting a consultant named Ed Deming in Japan. He was trying to find work there. He had some success, and after a conversation, Todd Goodson and I asked him to go to Pittsburgh and see what could be done at our plant.
“From what I have heard it has been miraculous. I’m going to confirm it with Todd. If it is true, I’m going to hire him to help Hong Kong. That is if the Governor agrees.”
“I doubt he would have the nerve to disagree with you right now.”
“You are probably right.”
“What else do you have going on?”
“Well, I have two golf tournaments coming up. After that, the movie will be finished, so I guess I will have to find something to do.”
About that time her good friend Tuesday Weld and her latest boyfriend came in the door. As expected, there were the hugs and squeals two girlfriends gave each other when they have spent more than a half-hour apart. Maybe I exaggerate a little, but not by much.
Tuesday excitedly shared that she had been asked to do a movie with Elvis which would start filming soon for a release in 1962.
I told them how I had bailed Elvis out of jail in Mexico several years ago. Since then, he has refused to go back there, no matter how much the promoters offered.
She asked how Nina and I were coping. We told her we were taking it slow but thought we could work things out.
Her boyfriend seemed like a nice guy, better than that jerk at the dance. His name was Charles Harz, and he was a new screenwriter. Have I told you I don’t like most screenwriters? They come up with scenes that end up with me in water troughs.
Tuesday and Nina spent time talking about their mothers, Nina was positive because mom was getting back together with dad. Tuesday complained that her mother thought that Tuesday owed her everything in the world.
I didn’t envy Charles, if he married Tuesday, he would have mother-in-law problems for certain.
After all that I took Nina home where we parted with a chaste kiss.
Chapter 3
After my run and work out I called Todd Goodson in Pittsburg.
“Todd, I have heard that Deming guy has been a tremendous help to our operations, is it true?”
“More than true. Just being able to recognize what is a stable process has been a big help. We have spent a lot of time trying to fix things that can’t be fixed.”
“What do you mean?”
“If a process is stable you have to improve the process to get better results. We were trying to adjust processes, rather than improve them. Using statistical control charts, we have been able to identify which processes aren’t stable. Those we can fix.”
“He also makes a point that having to inspect your work for quality is a failure. You should have a system in place to make a good product the first time.”
“Another good idea he pushes is to break down the barriers between departments.”
“What do you mean?”
“I would guess you have never sat in a meeting where the engineers have come up with a wonderful design. The only problem being that manufacturing can’t make it.”
“Wow, I would go ape, well I would have a hard time at that meeting. So, do you think his ideas would help industries in Hong Kong?”
“His ideas will work anywhere in the world. They are based on facts, not opinions.”
“Can he effectively communicate these ideas?”
“Most certainly, for example, he has what he calls his red ball experiment. It involves dropping a red ball into a large funnel. It is almost impossible to drop it dead center straight down. So, the ball rolls around the funnel until it drops down.”
“Below is a rifle target with the rings. He offers money to anyone who can achieve a better score. They can’t because it is a stable fixed process, the only way to do better is to physically change the funnel setup. No matter the language people can understand what they are seeing.”
“So, you think we could use him in Hong Kong?”
“Yes, whoever integrates his thinking will do better than anyone who doesn’t. It’s based on real science, not a consensus of how things should work.”
“Okay, I will arrange for him to give demonstrations to manufacturers in Hong Kong.”
“I’m all for it as long as we have access to him.”
“That right there tells me what I need to know.”
“As usual Todd, I have jumped right to business. How is your family doing?”
“Thanks for asking, everyone is doing fine. I just wish Mary wouldn’t keep coming out with new collections. My daughters buy every new release. I think I’m working for Mary, not you!”
“That’s funny, I will tell Mary that. How old are your girls?”
“The oldest is ten, the youngest seven going on thirty.”
“That sounds like Mary.”
“People think it is the job giving me gray hairs, it is those two girls. I don’t know what I will do when they start dating.”
“Buy a shotgun and be sure to be cleaning it when the boy shows up for the first date.”
“Yeah, my father-in-law is part Cherokee, he was sharpening his tomahawk on my first date.”
“That would do it! I have to go; I need to practice for the upcoming golf tournament.”
“We wish you the best. When you are playing, we announce how you did on each hole on the plant PA system. You should hear the cheers when you do well. Jackson Enterprises employees are proud of you.”
“When your Dukedom was announced T-Shirts saying, ‘I work for the Duke,’ started showing up.”
“Wow, well I got to go.”
“Later Your Grace.”
I gave a “Bah,” as I hung up.
From there I rode George over to the golf course. The new tennis courts were in, and several baseball diamonds in place. You could see where a walking trail went off into the woods.
When completed this would be considered a luxury resort, at least by Forest Service standards.
I spent my time on the practice green setup for Troon. I was looking forward to playing the course.
I had lunch at the canteen on the grounds and then went back to alternating between the driving range and the putting green. I wasn’t going to lose the upcoming match due to lack of effort.
John had been over in Scotland scoping out the course. He told me that the course was deceptively simple-looking if you viewed the course map.
The first six holes on the old course went almost due south, running parallel to the Firth of Clyde. They were the easiest holes on the course and where you would have to go for it to break par.
Holes 7 on moved inland with hillier dunes and deeper bunkers, this is where those birdies made on the six holes went home to roost. To make it even more fun the rough was covered in gorse. This grass was about six inches tall and overlaps each blade so much that you could lose a ball a foot off the fairway.
They had spent generations fine-tuning this course starting in 1878 to make it one of the best in the world. Read best in the world as being as difficult as possible while still being playable.
He told me from records it would take about ten under par maybe an eleven, to win the tournament. It was doable but involved some luck. Like no wind to knock the ball down at the wrong time.
Later I returned home to clean up to go to the wrap party for the movie. As I had told John Wayne and Mr. Monroe this was my last B-movie, especially westerns. I was afraid one more western would have me typecast forever.
I would consider taking a part in a spy movie, they still sounded like fun, but it had to be in a leading role. I still thought my movie career was about over. I was doing movies for the fun of it and the comradery on the set. This movie had been a disappointment in all departments.
I had dinner with my family before going to the party. I asked Mary if she was going to let Nina model again.
“No, I haven’t forgiven her for what she did to you.”
“I’m working on forgiving her, so you should too.”
“I will as soon as I see that she treats you right. I saw a picture of her ‘Prince McDreamy,’ he looks like a jerk. How she could pick him over you I will never know.”
I related how Nina had been raised on stories of the Prince showing up and sweeping the commoner off her feet to live happily ever after.
Mary thought that was nonsense. That was when I remembered that this eight-year-old had been raised on stories of the common girl rescuing the dumb prince, then meeting a real man and living happily ever after.
Mum’s stories had a different slant. I think they were based on her real life. I wonder who the Prince was? Maybe one from Morocco? I still wanted to find out what went on there during the war.
Looking back and forth between Mum and Dad I could tell there was something there, but no one was talking.
Denny proudly announced that the third franchised studio had been opened. Both he and Sam Nielsen his former boss and now partner were doing well. This was good to hear.
After dinner, I headed over to the Beverly Hills Hotel where the wrap party was being held.
At the party, there were the usual gag gifts. They had a photographer there so everyone that wanted could have their picture taken with the two Dukes.
They had outtakes to show, and they had to highlight me ending up in the water trough. If nothing else, I wasn’t making any more of these movies and ending up as a joke in the outtakes.
When did I become such a crotchety old man?
There came a point where the alcohol level had risen in the room so that inhibitions were being discarded. I had nursed a beer all evening and decided it was time for me to leave.
I mentioned to the guys I was standing with that I needed a restroom. They just nodded and one pointed to a doorway. Now if it had been a group of women, they would have accompanied me.
Thankfully, guys don’t do that. When I got to the restroom, I kept on moving and retrieved my T-Bird from the valet. I considered going over to Nina’s as it was only nine o’clock but thought better of it and went home.
At home, I called Government House in Hong Kong. I had been given the name of the Governor's chief aide as my contact. I caught him just as he was heading out to lunch.
I told him that Jackson Enterprises was making marked improvements following the advice of a consultant by the name of W. Edwards Deming.
If they were interested, I would sponsor a trip to Hong Kong where Deming could share his ideas with any industry leaders that would care to come.
He thought that was a great idea but had one reservation.
“They won’t want to come to hear a consultant they have never heard of, but if the Duke of Hong Kong were present…”
I sighed, as I started to realize what I had started.
“I will plan to attend. Keep my LA office Manager Jim Williamson informed of the dates.”
That did make me think that it was time to give Jim a new title, vice president of something, and a large raise.
Chapter 4
Even if you own the company some formalities must be followed. I wrote a letter to my Board of Directors recommending that Jim Williamson be elevated to the title of Executive Vice President of Operations Jackson Enterprises, with a commensurate salary. It would be approved but done this way there could be no legal repercussions.
They would vote on it at our quarterly meeting. There is no doubt it would be approved. Since the meeting was the next day, I sent Jim a copy as he would be attending the meeting and I didn’t want to blindside him.
On second thought I also called him and told him how much his work was appreciated and what promotion I was putting him in for. There was strong emotion in his voice as he thanked me.
In the morning after my normal workout, I donned a suit and tie and made one of my rare appearances at my office. Mum, Dad, Mr. Wingate, Jim, Todd, and Don were all present. Mark Downing couldn’t make it, something about Sharon having a baby.
I would have to ask Mum what an appropriate gift would be, but that would wait until after the meeting.
Popeye was among the missing. He was in South Vietnam right now settling some dispute on the docks.
Thinking of Popeye reminded me of something. When it came to new business, I had an item.
“I have scheduled the Pride of Liberia, to be at the intersection of the International Dateline and the Equator on September 23 at midnight.”
That got some raised eyebrows. I explained about the Order of the Purple Porpoise and that it was the one sailor's honor that Popeye didn’t have. That made sense to them. Popeye had done so much for the company we owed him. Besides everyone present, even Mr. Wingate wanted to go on the trip.
There were two more items that I brought up on the new business agenda.
“As some of you know I made an extremely lot of money off the people attacking Jackson Enterprises. More than half that money is being invested in a new bank in China. It is the Bank of Guangzhou.”
“I have done this to try to keep the region stable as their government transitions. It is a commercial venture that I expect will make a profit. I’m also underwriting bonds to upgrade their infrastructure with the same goal in mind, the long-term stability of China.”
Dad joked, “China seems to have followed you home, are you going to keep it?”
I didn’t reply to that, it was too dumb to consider.
I continued.
“Our freight forwarding business is extremely profitable. We created it to even out the cash flow when container demand was down.”
“Maybe I have been sitting on an airplane for too many hours, but what if we created an airline system for Freight forwarding. I call it a system because it won’t be your typical, pick up at point A and deliver to point B. I’m thinking bulk delivery of many small packages.”
“It can be done by creating a series of hubs. For example, if we started here in the US, I would have a major hub around Memphis, as it is centrally based on population distribution.”
“Any package going from California to Florida would be picked up at a local airport by a light plane and flown to Ontario where the packages from all California airports would be accumulated during the day.”
“That night they would be flown on a 707 or other large aircraft to Memphis. From Memphis, the package would be flown to Orlando, where it would be broken down and delivered to its hub airport. From there we would need a fleet of trucks to deliver it to the final address.”
What I thought was a wonderful idea got shot down unanimously by my board. It would cost too much to set up and there was no guarantee of success.
I still thought it was a good idea and I would figure out a way to do it, even if I had to set up a new company with a different board of directors. Unlike my early days in business, I was now a known commodity and was of age.
Maybe I should have started with a local version in California and expanded from there. That is what I should have pitched in the first place. Oh well, too late now for that meeting.
Dad reported for Dennis Lawson and his business reporting. It was in the black and picking up stations weekly.
The financial report showed us making a ton of money as usual. I hope I wasn’t pouting because no one went along with my idea, but I was bummed out when the meeting ended.
I did remember to ask Mum about a gift for the Downing’s and their new child. She said she would take care of it from the family. It would be something like a paid-up college fund.
That sounded good to me. From my days in Bellefontaine, I thought you gave things like an outfit for three or four-month-olds, knowing full well they would outgrow it in weeks.
I went out to the practice green for one last round before heading to Scotland for the real thing. John and Sam were all packed and ready to go. John had finally talked Sam into leaving his beloved greens for a week to see the tournament.
Several of the rangers had volunteered to make certain the water came on when it was supposed to, which was what kept Sam awake at night.
What was keeping me awake was the fact that I hadn’t got in any early practice rounds at Troon. I would only have three days, Monday through Wednesday to practice on the course.
The whole family was going, but not on the same planes. Dad and the boys would be on one airline. Mum and Mary on another. I would be on my own.
We had started doing this, so if a disaster happened the whole family wouldn’t be lost.
After golf, I drove over to Nina’s house where I had been invited for dinner. Her parents had finally reconciled and gotten married. It was by a Justice of the Peace with Nina the only other person plus the hired witnesses. They had talked of having a “small ceremony of only a couple of hundred people.” But had given that up as too much work.
The dinner was low-key. I think Nina’s parents were tiptoeing around our recent breakup. I could see why; I still was trying to sort out things in my mind.
Mr. Monroe asked me. “What are your duties as the Duke of Hong Kong?”
I told him I was making it up as I was going. That I felt I shouldn’t have any direct involvement but provide opportunities for improvement.
I went on to tell him what I was hiring Dr. Deming to do. I would lead them to water but not attempt to make them drink.
“Rick, ever since you helped us restructure our studio's business flow, I have known you have a good feel for these things. Now you are doing it for what is essentially a country.”
“Oh, I’m also working with the government of South Vietnam to eliminate the corruption in their government.”
“How are you doing that?”
I went on to explain how the new South Vietnamese President, Trần Văn Hương was contacting the groups I had recommended around the world, like MI5 to set up their FBI equivalent.”
“Why not the actual FBI.”
“I’m trying to spread the different agencies around the world. Also, I have heard some disturbing things about J. Edgar Hoover. Not corruption in the money sense, but how he tracks people he considers enemies.”
“We in Hollywood know about that full well.”
“Anyway, I am doing this hands-off. Trần asks for contacts for whatever agency he wants to work on. I give him a list of groups that could do the job. I don’t begin to know all the various groups and their records, but I do know people who do.”
“In doing so you are increasing your contacts and influence around the world.”
“I never looked at it that way, but I think you are right.”
“What is the downside of what you are doing?”
“That one is easy. It’s about time for the Soviets to try to kill me again.”
I was being flippant, but it didn’t come across that way. I could see two parents re-evaluating their daughter being around me.
I tried to backtrack, but the damage had been done. Nothing was said right then, but there would be fallout.
Nina walked to my car with me, where we smooched a little before saying goodnight. She didn’t say anything about my Soviet comment, but you could see the wheels turning.
The next morning, Saturday, it was wheels up for John, Sam, the ever-present Harold, and me for Glasgow, Scotland. This was the nearest to Troon, the landing pattern crossed the south end of the golf course. It would be two rented limos for the rest of the trip. One for John, Sam, and me. The other for Harold and my clothes, hey this was Harold’s idea.
The trip was okay as far as trips go. We played hearts for most of the trip. As usually the stewardess’s won the most money. I think they are all card sharks.
I did go up front and get another two hours in my logbook. At this rate, I might have a hundred hours on 707s in twenty or thirty years. The aircraft might even be obsolete by then!
Mum had taken care of our housing arrangements. I think what she did was call Grand Mum, who in turn brought in the Queen Mum who told some lackey to find us a nice place.
It was nice, I’m not sure we needed forty bedrooms for the week, but in case people dropped in we were ready.
Chapter 5
We arrived in Glasgow on Saturday morning. The time change wasn’t as bad as going to China or Vietnam, but it still was prudent to adjust before a major effort like this tournament.
Mum and Dad had arrived the previous day, so the family was standing out front as we arrived in front of Mum’s small rental. The castle even had a moat and drawbridge!
This castle was a private residence and was not open to the public. The roads in the area were left in mild disrepair to discourage visitors and tour buses.
It was a Royal family getaway. Kept low-key, Castle Firth was one of the better-kept secret Royal residences. This is where alcoholic Royals were sent for recovery, or mad ones locked up.
Our limo driver was aware of the turn-off road but had never been down it. His comment when he saw the castle was, “Och!”
We were shown our rooms which thankfully had been modernized, well they were in 1930. At least there was electricity to light the 20watt bulbs.
I think candlelight would have done as well. Still, it was a nice place to spend the week. There would be no problem with the paparazzi taking pictures through the window.
If any of them made it behind the castle walls, there was a dungeon. We were shown this on a group tour by the staff. They didn’t get that many visitors, so they were glad to show off their castle.
I think it was more the staff's castle than the Royals. The staff lived on-site; the Royals came rarely. We all agreed it was a cool place to visit but we wouldn’t want to live here.
Not only was it out of the way, but according to the staff, it was cold, wet, and dark in the winter. They stated this as though that was normal. I think I know where that thousand-year-old richest vampire in the world lives. One of the graves in the crypt we were shown probably houses him.
I wisely kept my mouth shut; Mary would have had us awake all night.
Monday John and I were at the golf course at our appointed tee time. We had arrived early, as usual, to get the gear settled, signed in for the tournament, and spend some time on the practice greens after loosening up on the driving range. For an eleven o’clock tee time we had to be there at eight o’clock. This golfing is hard work.
I was given a warmer welcome at the sign-in tent than I had received in America. The Scots loved amateurs. They rooted for the underdog even if I was an Englishman or Sassenach.
Sassenach translates to Saxon. This shows how far back their memories went. The Saxons lost power in England in 1047 when the French Normans invaded. The Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s were beginners at this feuding stuff.
The first six holes on the course made me think this would be a walk in the park. I was five under, going up to hole number 8, the Postage Stamp a par 3 123 yards. I loved the way every hole had a name.
The Postage Stamp was named for its small putting green. The tee shot was from the high ground over a gully onto a green set into a sandhill. There were five deep bunkers, hills, and gorse protecting the green.
There was a wind blowing and I selected a nine iron, I should have chosen an eight or even a seven as I came up short. I felt lucky to get away with a double bogey.
I managed to par the next two holes. Then came the tenth hole, Sandhills.
Sandhills is a par 4, 451 yards. It is dead into the prevailing wind. It starts with a blind tee shot. You must aim for the side of a hill on the left side of the fairway. Gorse in the rough gets any drift balls. If this happens say goodbye to par., I said goodbye. My five-under had turned into two under.
Next was the 11th hole a 482-yard, Par 5, The Railway's name is because it runs next to railway tracks, with a four-foot stone path, hit those and you were out of bounds. I didn’t go out of bounds. I hit a safe 3 wood leaving a 200-yard shot to a tight landing area. I went to the left into a bunker and felt good about getting a bogey, leaving me one under.
Hole 12 The Fox is a par 4, 430 yards I hit a driver down the right side and then a wedge to the green. This resulted in a par.
Then came the 18th hole, Craigend, a par 4 at 458 yards. All it took was a long shot up the middle right, easily clearing a bunker at 307 yards. The pin was set in the back. I was told to stay short of pin high as anything long is out of bounds. The clubhouse is set close to the back of the green. I was long and ended up with one over for the practice round.
That evening John and I had a long talk about the day's play. I had to treat this course with more respect than I had today if I were to win.
Day two was better. I managed a Par on the Postage Stamp. Sandhills had a bogy, the Fox another par. This time on Craigend, I stayed below the pin for a par. I had a three-under for the day.
If I did that every round, I would be on the leader board, but probably not the winner.
On the third day of practice, I managed a four-under so felt like I had a chance in the tournament.
My partners in the practice round were all amateurs like me. No disrespect intended but this wasn’t my competition. We were polite with each other, but we were from different worlds, I was a bloody Duke!
That evening I spent as I had before every tournament. Quietly at home. Not that the castle was homey. It felt more like a combination of museum and mausoleum. No parties had been planned while we were in residence.
I noticed my brothers and sister were sticking close to our parents tonight. This place was spooky. The staff had retired for the evening to their little cottages behind the castle. We had the tremendous pile of stone to ourselves.
There was no radio or television. There was an old windup Victrola with a selection of pre-world war II records. They were so thick you could use them as clay pigeons. The only problem being that a direct hit wouldn’t break them.
We would take turns winding the machine just to have some noise. When it was time to go to bed no one argued when Mary went with Mum and Dad, while Denny and Eddie shared a huge bed.
That left me. There was no way that I would say that I was scared but I did sleep with the low wattage light bulbs on.
I lay there for the longest time waiting for things to go bump in the night, but they didn’t. Suddenly, my portable alarm was going off.
A fog had settled in overnight, so I put off my run. No way was I going to run in the strange countryside when I couldn’t see more than twenty or thirty feet in front of me. No, I wasn’t scared that something would jump out and get me. Really!
Despite all that I felt rested from a good night's sleep. John told me that he felt silly, but he left his light on all night. I replied that the place didn’t inspire confidence. I didn’t see a need to tell him I also had left my light on.
At breakfast, Harold looked tired like he had no sleep. I asked him how he felt. He told me that he was good until going to bed. It was only then that he realized he was staying in the castle that was the center of all the ghost stories of his childhood.
I teased him a bit, “You were scared of a few ghosts?”
“No, I was scared of all the unexplained deaths that have occurred in this castle.”
“You mean the ghost got them?”
“No, people have been shot, stabbed, and hanged here, with no explanation of how it happened.”
Mum and Dad looked at each other across the table. I thought they would be looking for another place to stay.
This was confirmed when Mum instructed Harold to make certain everything was packed, we wouldn’t be returning.
As we were driving through the main gate to leave, I noticed that the stone had words engraved above the exit.
You have left the Hous…f…. sher.
I wondered what the missing letters were. All of us were extremely glad to be leaving that gloomy place. As we were going back to town we were stopped by the police. They had been looking for us all night as we hadn’t turned up at the royal residence.
The limo that John and I were in continued to the Troon golf course, while the rest of the family followed the police to the correct residence. I wondered where we had stayed last night.
Chapter 6
After last night's strangeness, I was glad to be in the real world. The golf course seemed like a safe haven to me.
My tee time was in the middle of the pack. It appears that my chances of winning have moved up, at least according to the pairings committee.
I was paired with two other amateurs. They took their golf seriously. They concentrated on each shot. Not that it helped them. They fell victim to every nasty this course had available.
It was a good thing I was playing against myself. Their dismal showings would do nothing to make me play better.
I ended up the first round, one stroke behind Keith MacDonald who was three under.
I would have tied him, but I left myself too long of a putt on the Fox and took a bogey.
Our driver now had directions to the correct house, so we went straight there after I filled in my scorecard. I pored over it as I had read tales in Golfweek about players who were disqualified for filling out their cards incorrectly.
The other two players in my threesome were gracious in their loss and wished me luck in the tournament. They both had done so poorly they wouldn’t make the cut.
The correct place was more of what I called a mansion rather than a castle. It was brilliantly lit up and was warm and cozy inside.
I expressed the thought to Mum that this was a much better place to stay than that pile of stone from last night.
She told me that she had asked the staff about the place, but no one seemed to know of it. One incredibly old staff member crossed herself when I mentioned it but wouldn’t respond when Mum asked about it.
She just mumbled about tales from her youth and left the room. We never saw her again. That night we all slept in separate bedrooms with no night fears.
At breakfast, John again cautioned me about trying to beat the course, just play it as it was meant to be played. The first six holes are where I could hit the ball long and straight and try for birdies. After that respect, the course because certainly, it wouldn’t respect me.
Dad had been keeping track of the International news. Last year the Cubans in Miami had talked about nothing but taking Cuba back from Castro. They had funded a paramilitary group called Brigade 2056. They had thought they could gain US support through the CIA.
Ike had allowed the project to start but JFK was reluctant to continue with it. It was just as well because when I was in Miami last year everyone on the street knew when and where the invasion was to take place.
The CIA wanted to go ahead but JFK wouldn’t let them. Now it appears that the invasion was only delayed. The additional year or so had given the Cuban freedom fighters time to train their pilots for air support rather than depend on the US.
This time with the element of surprise a beachhead had been established and the Brigade was moving towards Havana. Their success would depend on them being joined by locals.
They had a large supply of weapons and ammunition to hand out but no tanks or heavy artillery like the Cuban army. Not that the army had much, but any could make a difference.
I cleared my head of this news as we drove to the Troon course. The last thing I needed to be thinking of was an invasion. I had my own invading to do today.
Round two went better for me than round one. I went on a streak and made four birdies in a row on the first four holes. I parred out the rest of the holes to end the day in the lead at six-under. Arnold Palmer had moved up to four under, so I didn’t dare to let up.
That evening we learned that the Cuban tanks and artillery had been taken out by the insurgent's air. The Cuban air force was almost nonexistent. They had plenty of MIGs, but the Russian support group spent more time drinking rum and Coca-Cola as the MIGs weren’t safe to fly.
The few that flew by poorly trained Cuban pilots were easily knocked out of the sky by prop-driven Mitchel bombers. That was sad, well at least sad for Castro and his Soviet backers.
By the time I went to bed the Cuban freedom fighters were within ten miles of downtown Havana. The army resistance was stiffening as their interior lines shortened.
Dad explained what interior lines were to us kids as we listened on the radio. Live reports were coming in on the short wave. This was exciting hearing a war live, as it were.
It was also scary because a lot of people were dying, and we didn’t know how it would end.
Mum put Mary to bed early as she was getting upset by the reporting. She didn’t like people shooting at each other. Someone might get hurt. Why didn’t they fight with their fists?
No one even tried to answer her.
In the morning, the fighting had advanced into Havana and the TV and Radio stations in town had been seized. Word was that Fidel and Raul Castro had fled the country taking a boat in the night to Venezuela. I wondered how that would work out with Romulo Betancourt in power.
It appeared that the Freedom fighters had taken back Cuba. The next question was who would run the country.
While the fate of Cuba was being decided John and I headed to Troon to decide the fate of the British Open, or the Open Championship as they called it. They didn’t deign to recognize that the colonies had an Open of their own.
This was Saturday and we had two rounds today. I was glad to be in the lead because this meant I got to tee off in the last group. This gave the morning breezes time to calm down.
What the Scots called a morning breeze would be called a Force 7 near gale on the Beaufort scale. The 28 to 33 mile an hour wind would send the ball back to you if hit directly into the wind.
I managed to have a run of six birdies on the first six holes but had one bogey after that on the Railroad. This made me five-under for the round and eleven under for the tournament. Arnold Palmer was in second at nine-under.
We had a short break before teeing up for the final round. Arnold and I were in the last group. He was a gentleman as ever and told me that he was going to make a run at me. I agreed that was his right, but he wouldn’t mind if I did the same.
“No, Your Grace, go for it.”
It took a moment to realize he was talking to me. This Duke stuff was new to me. I didn’t know if I liked it yet. It certainly got me a good table at the restaurants, so it wasn’t all bad.
Arnold Palmer made good on his promise at making a run at me. He made birdies on the first six-holes to my four. This tied us at fifteen under, going into the heart of the old course.
We both parred the seventh hole known at Tel-el-Kebir. I never did learn what that stood for. The next hole the Postage Stamp took back two strokes from both of us, so we were even at thirteen-under.
The Monk and Sandhills yielded pars, and then we came to the Railway. Arnold pushed his ball left into a bunker. This cost him a stroke as he had a bogey. I managed par making a fifteen-foot putt by having it hang upon the lip then dropping after hanging on for an eternity. Well, maybe a split second but it seemed an eternity.
I now had the lead by one stroke.
Palmer came back on the Fox with a par but so did I.
On the thirteen-hole Brumah, I came a cropper. What should have been a respectable par turned into a double bogey. Now Arnold Palmer had the lead at twelve under while I was at eleven under.
We both managed par on all the holes up to eighteen. I had to make a birdie to tie if Arnold parred and or he would have to mess up. I didn’t think he would mess up.
I hit my longest drive of the day up the middle. I was in a particularly good position to hit a wedge onto the green just below the hole.
Mr. Palmer must have been feeling the pressure because while twenty yards short of me, his wedge hit the green and didn’t stick, it ran up the green and over the edge going out of bounds.
The penalty cost him the tournament as I was able to land just shy of the pin and put it in for a birdie.
I won, while Arnold got the prize money all fourteen hundred pounds or a little over three thousand American dollars.
Chapter 7
The PGA Championship was the next week, so we flew to Philadelphia immediately after the closing ceremony at Troon. I did have to give a press conference before I left.
The tone was completely different from all the others I had on golf. Before it was, do you think an amateur like yourself is a serious golf player?
Now I was Bobby Jones reincarnated. That didn’t make the questions any better. I got the normal, are you turning pro now, or waiting until winning the PGA?
As I was leaving the course, I was handed a stack of congratulatory telegrams.
The Queen, the Empress, and the US President along with the leaders from Germany, Hong Kong, South Vietnam, and surprisingly North Vietnam. There were a host of other countries which sent telegrams but they were the important ones.
Then there were the personal ones like Nina, Popeye and Sybil, John Wayne, and all my corporate executives.
One was puzzling, it stated, “I told you it is a gentleman's game, and there is still no money in it. Carlo.”
I knew who it was from but why?
On the flight over I felt a little tired from the last week. I went to bed on the plane and slept almost the whole flight. I was feeling better when we arrived.
I wondered what shape my competition like Arnold Palmer would be in, sleeping in first class was nothing like sleeping flat in a real bed.
By the time I was settled into the rented house in Radnor it was Saturday afternoon. I did the intelligent thing and took another nap until dinner time.
The whole family had caught up from our different flights, so we boarded a train on the Main Line and went into Philadelphia for dinner at the Old Original Bookbinder's Restaurant.
During dinner, we talked about how the PGA had almost shot itself in the foot over its Caucasian-only clause. This championship was scheduled to be played at the Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles, but the California attorney general threatened to shut down the PGA in California until the clause was removed.
The PGA moved the Championship here to Newtown Square but had second thoughts on its policy and changed its position late in 1961. By this time, it was too late to move back to California and the commitment had been made in Pennsylvania. The winds of change were blowing throughout the country.
Mary and Eddie both wanted to know what a Caucasian was. When told it was white people, they both were shocked. They had friends around the world of every color, race, and creed.
Through Mary's modeling, she had many girls of different races to model her collections. She couldn’t understand why the PGA would cut out most of its potential audience. Didn’t they know there were more red, brown, and yellow people in the world than white?
She seriously recommended that I not turn professional in such a self-limiting organization. The PGA would never be a success. I agreed with her but pointed out that they had relented. Now it was to be seen if anyone of color would ever become a member and win tournaments. That would be the true test.
Sunday afternoon I went out to the course to register for the tournament. My name was on the list as entered. Previously my showing up was ho-hum at the best. This time the club and PGA officials all wanted to meet me. Reporters were hanging around, but they were kept at a distance.
The club people were considered old money, incredibly old money. I was nouveau riche by their standards. I was nouveau riche by my standards.
But and this is a big but, I’m also British nobility, the Duke of Hong Kong. That wiped out the sin of making my money in this generation.
Several of the people who introduced themselves seemed nice. Most were snobs of the first water.
I loved the guy who told me to give the Queen his best the next time I saw her. Somehow, I don’t Elizabeth would know him, or even know of him.
The PGA officials told me that even though I wasn’t a pro or even considering turning pro that I had raised the profile of the game. Their TV ratings for last week went through the roof as compared to previous tournaments.
The TV people were even talking about helping to raise the tournament's prize money and their payout if the rating stayed at this level.
They did ask me if I would be kind enough to be interviewed by Jim McKay. I agreed, McKay had always come across as level-headed to me.
The first question was, “Rick, may I call you Rick, or should it be Your Grace?”
“We are in America so let’s go with Rick.”
“Rick, what made you take up golf?”
“When I was going into High School, I wanted to play a sport. I went out for football. During tryouts, I proved to be too slow of a runner for any position. Coach Crowley, was very upfront with me and told me that I could make the team but would never get any playing time.”
“He didn’t send me away, but he told me that there were other sports, I could run track cross country as I did have good endurance, or I could try something like golf.”
“I had never touched a golf club but thought it might be worth a shot. It turns out I’m a human lever, and my height gives me an advantage. I also have a lot of upper body strength which I work to keep. Those made my first attempts successful. We won't talk about my first putts.”
“My golf coach, Mr. Stone, always encouraged me to take my game as far as it could go. This week is the culmination of this journey. I owe both of those men a lot.”
“Win or lose this week you have made a mark in the game. Where do you go from here?”
“I will continue to play golf, for fun. I have no intentions of turning pro.”
“I have heard you say that you couldn’t take the cut in pay, how true is that?”
“Last week Mr. Arnold Palmer won 3360 dollars at the British Open. My business income was more than one million dollars. I must pay attention to my business interest. On top of that, I have had Hong Kong dropped on me, the British and Chinese both are holding me responsible for improving the lives of the citizens and preparing the colony for its handover in 1997.”
“You are what, eighteen years old?”
“I will be eighteen in October.”
“It is incredible that you have accomplished what you have at such a young age.”
“I wonder myself, it has been a lot of hard work, and a huge amount of luck, time, and place.”
“Maybe not as much luck as you imply, your fortune has come from your inventions, which has nothing to do with luck.”
“It was luck that my Mum made me work my way across the Atlantic as a deckhand. That is where I got the cargo container idea. Shift enough of them and you will invent something to make it easier.”
“What sort of mother makes her son work his way across the ocean on a freighter? I understand the rest of the family flew first class.”
“The sort of Mum who wants her children prepared for the real world.”
“We know that your sister Mary has her clothing collection and charities she supports. Your brother Denny has franchised a chain of photography studios. What about Eddie?”
“Eddie is concentrating on Eagle Scout now. His turn will come.”
“Speaking of your mother, she has quite a mysterious past. Parts of Countess Jackson’s career are well known. But several years during the war are blacked out.”
“When you find out about those years, please let me know.”
“I see our time is up, thank you and I wish you the best for this week.”
“Thank you, Jim, and no you do not have to kiss my ring.”
It is a good thing his mike was turned off as he invited me to kiss a nether part of him.
We shook hands and he thanked me for the interview. If all reporters were like him, I would do more press conferences.
The PGA people were happy with my interview. They thought it was a good start to the viewing week.
John Jacobs had been waiting patiently for me to finish up so we could get on with the real work of the week. All play had been suspended until after the tournament, so we were able to walk the course.
It was an eye-opener. Looking at maps of a course was one thing, seeing it from ground level was another. The trick to this course like almost any other was not to look for the obstacles where your ball might end up but look for where the ball should go.
Those traps, hills, tall grass in the rough were all distracters that wouldn’t come into play if you hit the ball where the course architect designed it to land.
Chapter 8
Monday, we played our first practice round. Instead of being put in a group of amateurs that wouldn’t make the cut, it was Player, Palmer, and I.
They were all business, polite as all get out but they were here to win, not make friends.
I started badly, after a good drive on the first hole I came up short on the two-tier green and took a bogey.
I parred the next three holes and got a bird on Comanche, the sixth hole. I was beginning to think this course wasn’t so bad after all. That was reinforced by a birdie on the seventh hole, called Shawnee.
Coming up to number eight, Sitting Bull a long par 3 I could taste another bird. Instead, I ended up on the wrong side of the mound in the middle of the green and took a double bogey.
Nine was a par, then came ten with another bogey. My game was falling apart.
On eleven, named Kiowa, my approach shot was short, and it rolled back off the green for another bogey.
I managed to settle down and collect pars on each hole up to 18, named aptly enough Aronimink. I did well until the green. My approach shot left me with a challenge which I failed. I took another bogey.
Playing like this would not win the tournament.
While everyone else in the Jackson family was out on social visits I sat in my room. I had to get my act together if I didn’t want to disgrace myself.
Tuesday it sprinkled rain on and off, not enough to stop play but enough to make the greens unreliable. I managed to get around with a 72 on the par 70 golf course.
At dinner, I heard about everyone's evening on Monday. Mum and Dad had attended a party given by the governor. Denny had been invited to a teen party at a member's house. Eddie attended a local scout function with the son of another member.
Even Mary had her evening out, she was asked to be a judge at a local beauty pageant for preteens. She was pleased because the first and second place winners were wearing outfits from Mary’s Princess collection, but the other judge's opinions outweighed hers, so she thought it was a fair contest.
Mary was a surprise judge so no one could say the girls wore her dresses to influence the judge.
Wednesday was bright and sunny with a dried-out course. I had got my act together and was hitting the ball consistently where I wanted it. I posted a 67 for the day. If I could do that four days in a row I would be in good shape.
On Thursday there were some clouds but no threat of rain. I had moved up significantly in the eyes of the tournament directors. I was in the third from the last group to tee off. I was used to an early tee time in my other matches.
I started with a par on hole one, Apache. I kept to the right on the fairway. Normally I would have used a nine-iron to get on the green. This time I up clubbed to an eight to ensure that I ended up on the higher tier.
After that I went on a tear, obtaining birdies on Pueblo, Navajo, Seminole, Mohawk, and Comanche to be five under.
I pushed the ball on Shawnee and felt lucky to walk away with a par.
The eight-hole, Sitting Bull a long par three did me in. I landed on the wrong side of a large mound bisecting the green. I ended up with a bogey. Now I was four under.
Nine, Kickapoo, which made me think of Lil Abner, was an easy par.
Then there was the tenth hole, Cherokee. It was trouble, with a capital T as the song goes. I put the ball in the water. This gave me a double bogey. Now I was two-under.
Eleven through fifteen were pars. I got a bird on 16 to move to three-under. Then I parred out for the rest of the holes to end the day at three-under.
John Barnum at four-under led the day, I was second at three-under with George Bayer in third with two-under. None of the big names were in the first ten places.
Round two was better for me, much better. I had five birdies, one bogey, and the rest pars to lead the pack at seven-under and a score of 133. Doug Ford was right behind me at a 134.
Round 3 on Saturday was a different kettle of fish. Gary Player came alive making par for the round. This gave him a 208. I hit a rough patch by having multiple bogeys. This brought me in at 208. Gary and I were tied going into the final round on Sunday.
Saturday night was another quiet night for me. After a catered meal, the family was out and about again. At least they were out and not having a party at the house. They did seem to remember why we were here.
Sunday morning, I was up and got my run in followed by my exercises. I found it best if I kept to my routine every day. After getting cleaned up I dressed in the clothes Harold had laid out.
The pants were a light grey flannel. A white shirt and tie, with a dark grey sweater. It was a very conservative look. Later I was to learn it was remarkably like what the great Bobby Jones wore.
After breakfast, John and I headed out to the course. There I loosened up. No one talked to me. This was bothersome at first. Not that I wanted to talk but people usually insisted on it. Wanting money or just being able to say they had a conversation.
It dawned on me that I was like a pitcher who had a no-hitter going. No one wanted to jinx it.
Gary Player and I were the last two of the day to tee off. Our gallery was huge. The people were there to see history in the making if I won, they would also see history if I lost.
It was a quiet respectful crowd not like what they did to Jack Nicklaus in Pennsylvania.
As we went to the tee box the South African commented that this was the largest group that ever followed him. I agreed that I had seen nothing like it before. After that, we both ignored our followers.
We both had good drives keeping to the right on the first hole. I outdrove him by ten yards. It didn’t matter as we both ended up on the higher tier on our second shot. We were both over twenty feet from the pin so settled for pars.
Pueblo the next hole was a dogleg left and we both parred.
On the third hole, Navajo, Gary faded the ball correctly and ended up rolling off the mound to end up near the pin. I was left short. Gary parred and I had a bogey.
We both parred the next hole, so I was still one down.
I caught back up on the fifth hole by landing in the middle of the green and putting it in for a Birdie. Mr. Player was not in the middle and had to settle for a par.
You could tell the pressure was building on both of us as we went for it on Comanche the sixth hole and both had Birdies. We were still tied at one under.
The next hole, Shawnee a dogleg left us both at par.
On number 8, we both used one irons. All the other holes were named after tribes this one differed as Sitting Bull. No one knew why. One irons are perhaps the hardest club to use. For me anyway. Gary ended up exactly where he wanted to be for an easy par.
I ended up exactly where I didn’t want to be. I was in the little strip of the fairway that separated the eighth and tenth greens. I had to do a pitch and run to save a bogey. Gary Player was now at par and I was one over.
We both had pars on the ninth hole, a par 5.
The next hole was the toughest on the course. Gary made it look easy as he placed his shots precisely. He had a textbook par. I had to scramble for an ugly bogey. I was now two-over-par and in a bit of trouble.
The golf gods smiled on me, or they frowned on Gary. He bogeyed on 11 while I birdied. That put me in a little better position. We weren’t the only players on the course.
Neither of us was the leader. Mr. Player and I exchanged looks and without a word we got serious about our golf. Not that we weren’t serious before but now there was an urgency in both our plays.
Despite that urgency, we both parred the 12th hole.
I had a birdie on 13 to tie up Gary.
Gary used a three-iron on Iroquois, while I hit a 3 wood on this long par three. My choice was better as it left me an easy putt for a birdie while he two-putted for par. I was now even for the day and he was one over.
Lenape, a par 4, is the longest par 4 on the course. My longer drives paid off as I hit a boomer out to 330 yards after its roll. Gary was a respectable 305 yards, but it would take him two shots to get on.
Knowing this and the fact I was not the leader I went for it. Using a three wood I hit 185 yards to land almost next to the pin. It was an easy tap-in for a bird. Now I was one-under and the new leader. Gary Player made a bird and was even for the day.
We both had birds on 16 so I was now two under and he was one under.
17 Seneca we both parred.
There was no drama on the last hole, Number 18 named appropriately, Aronimink. We both parred the hole. This left me at two-under and Gary one-under. I had won the Grand Slam of golf as an amateur and Gary Player had won 13,000 dollars.
Chapter 9
There was a great commotion. I saw the replay of the last hole on TV later. I couldn’t believe my reaction, or I should say lack of reaction. After making the final putt I calmly handed my putting iron to John and walked off the course like it was any other round of golf.
After carefully filling out my scorecard and triple-checking it before I signed it along with a countersignature from Gary Player. I signed his in return after checking it. I then emerged to the waiting pandemonium.
There was the PGA committee to whom I handed my card. It only took them a few minutes to confirm I had filled it out correctly. I was officially declared the winner.
I was given a replica of the Wanamaker Trophy. Gary Player was given the actual trophy for one year, and a replica to keep for life.
It was a little weird that I the winner didn’t get the big trophy, but the tournament was really for professional golfers. The only way I was able to get in was by winning a major. Since I won three majors this year, they were almost forced to let me play.
It was just as well I didn’t get the trophy; Mary might hock it for the money. Maybe not hock it but she could stain it by serving tea.
After the official presentation, I had to do interviews. Jim MacKay was first up. He had a surprise for me. His network had flown in Coach Crowley and Coach Stone.
We had a brief reunion. You could boil the interview down to one phrase, “Who would have thought.”
I asked them how the athletic programs were doing at BHS. It was strange to think I would have just graduated last June. All was fine with the school. Golf was now an immensely popular sport at the high school and even at the junior high level.
I was asked if I would give a talk if I was ever in the area. I said I would, but the chances were slim.
Coach Crowley presented me with a BHS football autographed by the players from the class of 1962. Written on it was thanks for not playing football and best of luck in golf. Smartasses.
Coach Stone had brought a new box of golf balls and asked me to autograph them, he would hand them out to the golf team and any supporters who deserved one. I thought it was over the top but signed them.
After that, it was the reporter wolfpack. Now that I had a grand slam and proved myself to be the best golfer in the world what were my plans?
“I need to fly to China and check on port construction, followed by a trip to Vietnam for the same reason. After that to Australia to buy a station, then to England to rob some dogs for the Queen.”
The last had them talking to each other. I used the slight silence to thank them and ducked out.
Back at the rental house confusion reigned, and a celebration had started. There was a slew of telegrams from world leaders.
I loved the one from North Korea, their leader for life told me if I came there, he would beat my ass in golf. I didn’t doubt it, he would win even if he had to have my legs cut off. Think I will pass on that match.
People who none of us knew were coming in the door. Dad finally let out one of his piercing whistles which I had never been able to do. It got everyone's attention.
“Everyone out right now. I’ve called the cops.”
That worked. The only people left were our group and a young couple. Dad asked them why they stayed. They explained they were the Bacons, and it was their house which they had rented to us.
They were staying with friends across the street and were scared to death the house would be destroyed. They had come over to see what was happening.
Now they knew it was under control they would go back across the street. Their baby Kevin needed his parents.
There were all sorts of phone calls and more telegrams. I was asked to do the complete round of TV shows but didn’t accept any of them. I needed some quiet time to decompress and remind myself that I wasn’t the best golfer in the world.
The best golfer was one of those professionals who would do this day in and day out for years. I truly was an amateur.
The next morning, we took separate limos to the airport. We had a hard time getting out of the neighborhood. The police had blocked off access to the street we were on, but there was a line of TV trucks and reporters from all over the world waiting for us.
There had been one telephone call I couldn’t ignore. JFK wanted me to stop by the White House.
I took a limo down to DC. My 707 would be flown to Baltimore to pick me up for my trip to LA. The ride down took the better part of three hours. This gave me plenty of time to worry about my future.
My immediate future was in DC, I was certain the Kennedys just wanted to congratulate me in person and have a photo op.
My concern was what I was getting into on the world stage. So far, I had been acting on impulse and had been lucky. As much as I hated to admit it John Kennedy had been correct when he said I wasn’t devious, but the Chinese were.
This could be true of every world leader and their staff that I dealt with. Each leader owed their allegiance to their country and should try to get the best for the country. If Rick Jackson got caught in the middle, oh well.
This included those I have trusted the most. Namely Queen Elizabeth. Now Empress Ping was on the list of those that I trusted but had a country to take care of. I knew the Empress could be ruthless.
Then there were those that I owed my best. My family of course, but also the Jackson Enterprise employees.
Now I was the Duke of Hong Kong, I had been told to take care of those people. Did I owe it to them?
Through my businesses, I was helping England, China, Germany, and the United States. What if it became a choice of my business or a friendly country? Should I go with my feelings or the cold calculations of accounting? What if there is no happy medium?
I had Recently had to play hardball with the Kennedys, and it came out okay. Did I have it in me to do this regularly? Would I lose my soul in the process?
Faking it in the movies is one thing, real-life another. Thinking of my recent school days they were a permanent holiday compared to what I was now facing.
On reaching the White House I found that I was half right. There were congratulations and a photo op. There was also a more serious discussion.
JFK started with, “Rick, you have proved adept at dealing with world leaders. For someone, your age amazingly so. I would like you to continue what you are doing but with a limited ambassador's portfolio.”
“Your primary mission would be to gather information.”
“What sort of information?”
Thoughts of James Bond went through my head. When it had been a daydream or movie part it sounded fun. This was scary.
“In your conversation with leaders, you will be told what they want, not only from you but the United States. I would like you to report what you are told directly to me. Then the State Department can match that information up with what we are trying to achieve and come up with a win-win situation.”
“When we try to gather this information through formal channels there are so many filters that the message doesn’t always get through.”
“I can see that. If it is not breaking a confidence, I will do that. But I can see conflicts arising if I’m given information that would benefit the US or England, but not both.”
“If I get a reputation as being a tool for others, I will not be able to see to my business interests. I have to decline your request Mr. President, but I will freely pass on any information which is not in conflict with my goals or something that could harm America.”
The President was gracious, but I could tell I hadn’t won any points today. This was exactly the sort of thing I was worried about on the trip down. Was I up to this?
It was a funny flight from Baltimore to LA. Everyone was up about my golf win. Suddenly, the Grand Slam looked like a childish game. I was playing with the possible fates of millions of people. I sat in my office with the door closed and brooded while John and the flight crew whooped it up.
Chapter 10
By the time we landed in Los Angeles, I had made several decisions. First, if I was going to do a lot of business in China, I had to learn to speak Mandarin. It was the most widely used.
I had to spend serious time in Asia and the various countries I had committed to help. On top of that, I needed to pay more attention to my business operations on a routine basis.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have good people taking care of things, it might be that they were too good and insulated me from the problems that came up.
Not the minor stuff, but I thought some large issues had been handled without my knowledge or input. Not that I would have been able to help, but I would have been able to learn.
When I got home the first thing, I did was to call Jim Williamson and asked him to consider how to set up a daily brief for me of large issues that faced the company and what was being done.
He told me that he already had that in place for himself and all the other company-level managers to keep them apprised of the business in general.
I told him that I wanted to be included in the distribution as part of my business education. They were doing a great job of running the company and I would be a fool to think I could do better at this stage of my life.
He replied that I might surprise myself, but in general, he agreed. The truth of the matter was that things had grown so quickly that every member of the management team was stretched in their growth.
I asked him if he knew of any Chinese immersion courses in the area. I shouldn’t have been surprised when I found out that our company already had a contract with one for our engineers going to China and other points in the Orient.
There also was a group that taught our engineers Spanish. That I didn’t need. There weren’t any schools that taught Russian. I asked him to have a look around for one. It also was on my list. That and German.
From wondering how I would spend my time, now I didn’t have enough.
Dr. Deming’s trip to Hong Kong had been set up five weeks from then and I had agreed to go so I had time to spend one month in the immersion course. There was a side benefit to taking the course. I would disappear from the public eye for a month. That would allow time for my current notoriety to settle down.
I did take the time to drive over to the Forestry Service station, sorry George, to thank Sam for all his good work.
He told me he was happy that I had won and that I was paying to keep the practice range up for the Forestry Service. He and the head ranger were talking about setting up a nine-hole course with the goal of having eighteen in the future. Some hardship post this would be!
That evening Nina and I went out to dinner at the Brown Derby. We both knew the result would be our pictures in the tabloids with lurid headlines. So be it.
We had a nice time talking together. Things had changed between us, there was no groping in the backseat at a drive-in now, and we were more serious about getting to know each other.