The drive to Oakmont is usually about 40 - 45 minutes and today was no exception as traffic was lite because many people were traveling for the holiday. Winnie had a tight pair of slacks on and an upscale and professional looking blouse. Naturally I thought she looked hot but keeping my hormones in check I told her how nice she looked. She immediately asked who the member was and I said that I was and that I have very influential friends that greased the skids, as it were. I told her many of the things that I had agreed to and that initially many members were not happy. I simply said that for the most part that had been resolved. At the Club is simply pulled up to the entrance and the Valet opened her door and I left the car running and I was handed a ticked and the valet said good evening Mr. Simmons. Winnie laughed out loud and said, hell he is older than you. I said babe, I'm the member, get used to it as it's just the beginning. She stopped and asked Mike, will be people bothering us all night like at South Hills? I smile and and said nope. Then addd well not until the coffee is served. Inside we were greeted by Clark the club manager. Clark said good evening Mr. Simmons, is there a USGA meeting I'm unaware of? I laughed and said well if there is we are both unaware. I introduced Winning as my girlfriend and Clark said, I have save you special table near the window and out of the way so people won't bother you. I said thanks and we had a view of the course but it was already getting dark.
The waiter came immediately and said Mr. Simmons, Mr. Palmer knows what you like to drink but would like to know if the young lady would like wine or something else? Winnie didn't know what to say and finally said the house white wine would be great. I looked at Winnie and said, I'm so sorry, but I have to go over and say hello, would you like to come? Mike, is that the Mr. Palmer I think it is? I said yes and she stood up and said let's go. I introduce Winnie as my date and there was a pried conversation about Cole and the fundraiser. Then AP said, we are just here to get some things and we will be going to Bay Hill tomorrow you should visit between Christmas and New Years. I said thanks and I'll see what I can do. Once we were back at the table Winnie said Mike, I'll expect to hear about all that but on the way home. The drinks were at the table when we got there cleverly looking like soft drinks. There were also menus waiting and Winnie asked, so what's good? I laughed and said everything. Winnie settled on Salmon with asparagus and a small salad and I had a tuna with rice and a salad. She laughed and said I would have bet that you would have ordered the porterhouse well done with a potato. I laughed and said too bad we didn't bet as I would have had you do something very special for me. She gave me a sweet smile and said, well it won't take me loosing a bet to do that.
We finished our drinks and the ice teas made an appearance along with the salads. The conversation was best described as probing as we were both discovering things about each other. I had to know, so I simply asked, where you going to school next year? There was a smile and she said well I have applied to 9 schools and have been accepted to 6 and haven't heard from the other 3 but I don't think it's an issue, just early. I asked about a major and her reply was, aeronautical engineering. Mike, that's why I was so fascinated to be upfront on the trip to the cabin. Mike, I hope you won't be upset as one of the schools I've been accepted to is VT. Babe, it's a big enough place that it wont matter if we break up or if we are still together it's cool. You need to go where you will be happy. I was glad as at that very moment the food came and we settled on eating and less dramatic topics. I asked about her Salmon and she said good and good job changing the subject. I knew that conversation wasn't over but it was way early in the relationship to decide anything about next year. When we were finished eating I asked if she had time for coffee or a cappuccino. I got a sweet smile and she said sure and we each had a cappuccino. The conversation turned to school and she thought I should graduate in June and to take more classes and be around more. I found that funny as I really liked the free afternoons and once there was no practice it would be awesome. Just then Congressman Doyle approached and I introduced Winnie and the congressman said congrats on the building award, I'm looking forward to seeing it on Monday. I smiled and said well all my people are looking forward to show the place off, I'll see you there. Winnie laughed and said Mike did you just dismiss a Congressman? I shrugged and said yup, he was just kissing my ass for political gain. Then the server appeared and asked if there would be anything else? I thanked him and said we are good.
I tipped the valet and as soon as we pulled onto Hulton Road Winnie asked Mike, what's with you and the USGA? Winnie, there is a woman's and men's open being held at Oakmont and I'm on the committee representing the club. I had a few ideas that resulted in a lot of tickets being sold for the woman's open. Basically I just offer different thought and ways to get younger people involved. There are other issues but they need resolved in time and there are no easy answers. I brought up the college issue again and told her I thought it was too early in our relationship to have that discussion and she agreed. Mike, I just wanted a reaction and you are correct. We were still getting a feel for each other but it was early for real and deep conversations but I was liking what was going on.
At her place she was excited as Uncle Ken was there and she said Mike, you will like him. Inside I found Larry and Cheryl as well as a very fit guy I assumed was Uncle Ken. Ken was also dressed in very expensive casual clothes. Winnie got a big hug which I thought lasted a bit longer than it needed to. Once Winnie was back on her feat from the hug Ken came up to me and said Mike I'm Ken Collins, Larry's younger brother, it's a pleasure to meet you. Then he said you two are all dressed up what special thing happened tonight to warrant that? Winnie smiled and said nothing at all, just dinner at Oakmont. Then she said I met Mr. Palmer and is wife Winnie. They even bought us a drink. I noticed Ken paying more attention that that warranted, I would need to have Tim check on him, very gently.
Turned out that Cheryl and Winnie went to get snacks and Larry went for drinks and I had asked for an iced tea. As soon as we were alone Ken said Mike, I know more than a bit about you as I'm an executive with Continental Real Estate in Columbus, OH. We are aware of what you are doing and the problems you have here. We are just glad that you seem to have no interest in Homestead. I laughed and said, that's correct as I don't want to be known as the person who tore that rusting eyesore down. It needs taken down as it died in 86. Besides this is late 1991 and you will take 2 years to get the property and another 2 years to get it taken down and it will be 1999 before you entertainment, shopping and housing project partially finished. While you do that, I'll have graduated college, have 4 or 5 buildings up, increased employment and have a thriving technology company. So there will be people staying with money to enjoy the shit you and you Ohio company will build. I see it as a win win. Ken laughed and said damn, I'll have to update your profile. Hell, I'll be 27 and ready to retire. He laughed and said, you mean run for congress. Ken, it will be what it becomes.
Mike, now that we have the introductions over, congratulations on the building award, we are jealous. However, I would really like to see it, do you have any time Friday to show me around? Ken, how does 1:00 sound? Mike, that would be perfect. Just then Larry returned with the drinks and Winnie and Cheryl had cheese and crackers. I stayed about another 30 minutes as I needed to shop for breakfast. At the supermarket I got a couple of apples, butter, pancake mix, maple syrup, milk and sausage. I drove to my place dumped it all on the counter and went to the house. I found Megan in the kitchen, dad in his office and Cole nowhere to be seen. I asked Megan what time she wanted breakfast. She said well since it isn't in my kitchen, I don't care. I just looked at her and said fine, I'll ask Ashley. Megan laughed and said Mike, I'm sorry, will 8:00 work for you? I said sure and gave her a hug and said mom, just relax as I have had poorly cooked turkey a couple of times before. She laughed again and I went to see dad. Dad and I had a scotch and a brief chat and I told him about Ken. Dad laughed and said, so real competition. I shook my head indicating I agreed. With that I went to my place but the groceries away and cleaned up some. I would have time in the morning as there would be no run. That took about an hour and I was ready for bed. I set the alarm for 6:00 and jumped into bed naked with a lot of covers and was quickly asleep.
I was up with the alarm and put the coffee on and finished cleaning. Then it was a quick shower, jeans and a sweatshirt. I finally poured a cup of coffee and started the sausage and mixed the pancakes mix with milk. Then I pealed and cut 2 apples into cubes, added cinnamon and dumped that into the batter and put it in the refrigerator. I had a second cup of coffee and filled a carafe and made more. Cole was the first one to show and we had coffee and chatted. I asked about his ball and chain. He laughed and said MJ, it isn't like that and we are good and understand each other. I laughed and said Cole, you don't have to convince me. With that dad and Megan appeared and dad had a chair for Ashley. At the start I was busy cooking the pancakes but I made quick work of it and was surprised to see Cole feed Ashley. Once every was eating I quickly made myself 3 pancakes an added the remaining sausage links. The time together was great and I was amazed that there wasn't an ugly word exchanged. It was a great start of the day. Dad, Megan and Ashley left and Cole stayed to help clean up the breakfast dishes. Cole hung around for about an hour and as he was leaving he said Mike, the rents want you in the house around 1:00.
Once I was alone I called Winnie. We talked for a while and she said that she really enjoyed the dinner at Oakmont. I asked about the game and she said student section and that it would be fun. I asked if she wanted in the suite and she replied, God no. Then she said Mike, I hear you took Uncle Ken to Pittsburgh Real Estate School. Winnie, he and his gang don't get that Western PA is different and they will be looked at as outsiders. Mike, I understand Uncle Ken is getting a private building tour, would it be ok if I tagged along? Winnie, that's fine but I think we will have business to discuss how about I give you private tour next week. Mike I want to see Uncle Ken's reaction, I have seen the building as I've been to most of your events there. Winnie, trust me he won't see everything and I would like to show you the building, just you and me. She agreed saying that she doesn't get to spend much time with her Uncle. I promised not to keep him long. With that I said Happy Thanksgiving and we hung up.
I poured another cup of coffee and grabbed my Walkman and put in a lite classical tape and before I hit play my phone rang and it was JJ. I answered by saying Happy Turkey Day, what's up? MJ, I just called to say hi, as it is a total day with the rents and is 11:00 and breakfast was great and we haven't had a fight yet. I laughed and said same here. We just finished breakfast and I cooked and need to be at the house before 1:00. With Megan, dad is happier and it is great having Cole as a brother. MJ, all I can say is I wish I had a brother and Cole doesn't appear to be a pain in the ass. I laughed and said, well he has that ability at times. With that we switched to football and JJ was starting to get nervous. I told him that once someone kicked off it was a regular game until it was close in the 4th quarter. Then it would get tense, hell last year I didn't know we won until coach delivered the metal to me in the hospital. JJ said MJ, you scored the winning TD. I laughed and said, so I was told. Neither of us were concerned about Wyatt and it was very obvious that it would be his game as he had taken the vast majority of the snaps. Having decided that Saturday would just another day at the office we hung up. Next I sent individual holiday greetings to the executive staff. I thought about sending one to coach Weston and then simply changed clothes, grabbed a couple bottles of wine and joined the family.
In the house dad and Cole were already watching NFL football and Megan was in the kitchen. I set the Merlo on the counter and gave her a hug. She thanked me for taking pressure of breakfast off her agenda. Then she asked me to get out of kitchen and she would join us shortly. I grabbed an iced tea and joined dad and Cole in the game room. It wasn't long and Megan joined us with a glass of wine. The football game was on but I don't think any of us had any idea what was going on or who won. We talk, laughed, kidded each other. Megan would on occasion go in the kitchen, Ashley ate and filled her diaper, dad simply tended to that and Cole fed her and we took turns playing with her. Around 4:30 Megan asked Cole and I to set the table and said that dinner would be in 40 minutes. Cole pretended to be outraged at the request. He even said, he'll Mike didn't need help with the dishes this morning. I just laughed and pulled him into the dining room. I filled glasses with ice and water and Cole filled the wine glasses. I don't know how she did it but we all sat down and ate a salad. With that done she looked at dad and said Mike I need you in the kitchen, please. While dad was in the kitchen Megan brought the gravy, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Then dad appeared with a giant plate of turkey. I had no idea how well he carved it but I didn't care as it was white and dark meat all sliced and nicely arranged. There was even a specials thing for Ashley, a baby cookie which looked awful. Ashley seemed to love it. Dinner was great and I can't remember when I ate so much. This was everything I had hoped for and more. Then I was totally surprised as desert was either pumpkin or apple pie, which Megan had made last night and there was an option to add ice cream. There was no way we could eat more and we suggested that we clean up and then have desert.
Cole and I "volunteered" to clean up and while the kitchen was a mess it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. When we finished I just laughed as dad had nodded off and Megan, who had done all the work, was playing with Ashley. As glad as I was to have Cole around I bet Megan was just as happy to have a daughter. Cole put a movie in the VCR "MY GIRL" it was a movie about a young girl growing up and meeting an unlikely friend. When that was over we had pie and I had a small piece of both which were very good. Around 10:30 I said good night as I had an early practice then an appointment at the office. I hugged Megan and thanked everyone for one of the best days ever. At my place i set the alarm for 7:00 and was quickly naked in bed with multiple covers and instantly asleep.
Friday morning brought very cold but sunny weather and it was a hot shower and stop for coffee on the way to school. When coach said films he was serious as there was a film of our earlier victory then one of another close game they had won earlier in the year and finally one of a playoff loss last year. Then coach said for those of you still awake you should have noticed that in the past two years not much has changed. Win, lose, close or blowout they do it the same way. This coach has a program and some very good players and his kids buy in or are out. So what you see here is what we will get tomorrow. I know there are hard feelings with you and them that goes back to being blowed out 3 seasons ago. Just understand that was a long time ago and the best revenge would be a win and the margin doesn't matter. Then he said tomorrow we leave here at 5:00. There is no food and we should be in good shape time wise. Once at the stadium simply star together and half way threw the 3rd quarter get your asses to the locker room. Have a great day and don't do anything stupid.
JJ and I walking to our vehicles talking JJ was pissed as he felt that coach stressed that the other team won because their coach had a program and he implied that he didn't. JJ, he doesn't and Chuck is a nice guy the other coach is a mean nasty mother fucker. He wins games and his team loses games. It's all about him but he can coach and they win. JJ, I really don't know what to expect tomorrow but all we can do is work hard and play our game. MJ, I have never been anywhere near this level of success in football, my team was awful. I laughed and asked if he was free tonight? He smiled and said sure, as coach forgot about a grounding us tonight. I headed home and dressed in black jeans and a grey crew neck and my letterman's jacket and drove to the library. I managed to get some information on Ken Collins and he was a Vice President of Continental Real Estate and in charge of their design department. His degree was in architectural design from Ohio State.
Once I had all I was going to get at the library I started for the office and made a stop for coffee. At the office I parked and noticed that the lot was almost empty. Inside I cooperated with security and told them about the 1:00 meeting and that they should contact me directly when Mr. Collins arrived. Upstairs I hung my jacked on the back of my chair and went outside and just looked at the view. It was a bright sunny day and with the sun behind me still a bit in the East it reflected on the buildings and although cold and with bare trees it was still awesome. I looked at the vacant land beside the building and wondered who would build there and what it would become. Then I thought about the fast approaching holidays and hoped that they would be almost as good as yesterday but most of all I wanted football over and that's the first time I ever felt that way. Something about that made me realize that I was very cold and I went inside and sat in a club chair and mentally drifted off and slowly started to relax. I just sat there looking out the window at the river and the city trying not to think. That must have really worked as when my office phone rang I was startled back to reality. It was security and Ken was there and I asked that he be given a visitors pass and said I would be right down.
I grabbed my jacket and went down to the lobby and found a casually dress Ken and we shook hands and he said Mike, the outside is fantastic. I smiled and said well let's go outside and talk about that. Once we were outside I started towards the river and was asked if I was worried about flooding. As we got closer to the river he noticed we were going slightly down hill and he laughed and said never mind, I get it now and this green space serves a purpose. I laughed and said please don't tell that to the environmentalists. Then I asked Ken, do you know the address of the two buildings? He shrugged and said, nope. Well Ken they are 100 & 101 Phoenix Alley. That grew out of the regions past and on a location of a former J & L steel mill. The steel, glass and aluminum exterior reflects that past. It reflects the influences of Carnegie, Ford, Pitcaren and others who made this region what it was. The problem is that the past is so engrained in our people they resist change. Then the politicians need those votes to get elect and it goes on and on and on. Steel in Western PA is dead, it isn't dying but coal is dying and will hang on for years. Ken the Homestead Works that you are interested in, even as rusting eyesore is significant to us. It is significant to the Unions as there was a bloody strike and a devastating victory for Carnegie. He built a library that became a library system and moved on. That union movement eventually thrived and was one of mainly nails in the coffin of the steel industry as we see it today. No matter what you do there you need to leave something as a reminder of who we were and what we have become. Hell, I couldn't do that here as when it was torn down they took it all. I simply built and publicized a reminder. With that mini lecture we started back to go inside.
Back inside there was another security check and Ken shook his head. I shrugged and said Ken if I turned around right now and went to my car they would do the check again when I came in and there are no exceptions. Ken, in here it is different we have the latest furniture and a very open environment. Only the conference room has a door, it is all glass with remote shades and a sound masking system. I have had very few meetings in the conference room and the shades were never down. We are very open here. Mike, how did this happen? Ken it was my need to have a very open team environment, two very young architects and a lot of help from Herman Miller and their local dealership. Oh this project was 100% union constructed and completed 3 months ahead of schedule and under budget. We moved to the second floor and the work areas were different and still very open and he was amazed at the workout area and all the equipment. There were a couple of guys working out and they waved and shouted "hi, Mike" and I waved back. Back on the elevator and when I pushed the button for the 4th floor Ken asked, so what's on 3 that I can't see? Ken, it's our government contract area and you need a security clearance to go there.
Up on 4 one side of the building was dedicated to accounting and Human Resources. There were 2 private offices, all glass. Moving to my side of the building Ken said a bit more traditional but still very open and glass. At my office Ken just stood at the door and looked around. Then he said ok, why the only wall in the building. I laughed and said when dad took the office next to mine, I needed a wall so he didn't know what I was doing and for this and I launched into an explanation of the wall and the pictures and some of the items. Ken pointed to the model of the Cessna jet and asked why that? Oh, I'm certified to fly that and there in one one order for delivery in early February, I love flying. When we went outside he was stunned by the size and the view. Then he said that's a lot of square footage for a view. I shrugged and said, well I'm not special as there are 4 of these but I have the best view. We sat in the club seating and he asked Mike, who designed your office? I said I did it all from the desk, the metal cabinets and there chairs and that table. Mike that coffee table a very special design. Ken, I know it's a Noguchi table from Herman Miller. He laughed when I told him I saw it at the factory. Mike, I haven't seen you many situations but you seem very comfortable in your office. I smiled and said well it is still a work in progress. He smiled and said well at 18 you are a work in progress as well.
Then as I knew he would, he asked about Winnie and how long I have known her and I said Junior High, I asked her out when she moved here and she said no. It wasn't until this year in science class that we were lab partners that I asked her out again and again she said no. We were flirting with each other so much that a teacher told us if we didn't go out on a date he would change lab partner. We elected to go on a date. So where was that first date? Well Ken, those are questions to ask your niece. Mike she said to ask you. Well Ken, I guess by now you realize you won't be getting any answers. With that I stood up, indicating that it was time to move on. Getting the message Ken stood and we walked to the elevator. Back in the lobby Ken returned his visitor's pass and we shook hands and he said thanks for the tour and the education, I thing we will be seeing more of each other. I simply got back in the elevator collected my things and headed to my place. I thought Kew was interesting but wondered about his family and his relationship with Winnie and Larry.