I could tell that I was at least not back in the parking lot again.  You know how you have to get up in the middle of the night to take a whiz, well my first clue was at least that was back to normal.  After taking care of business, I went back to sleep and dream about what this all meant.Sure enough after a few more stops for the bathroom, I found myself facing the dawn.  I shaved and dressed and took stock.   I had about seven hundred in cash, a couple of changes of clothes, and my stomach felt like my throat had been cut.  What I didn’t have was a clue about what to do next.  I walked out to the Golden Tee Restaurant for a huge breakfast of Steak and eggs, Hash browns and washed it all down with some coffee.  That was the strange part.  I knew that I didn’t dring coffee, and yet here I was two cups down and ordering another.  I bought a newspaper and was catching up on history first hand. 

 

Whe I got to the last section of the Bee, I realized that I had not looked at the stock market pages as was my habit in my previous life.  I returned to the Financial section and took a look at some of the stocks I owned (used to own?).  As I looked over the situation, an inkling of an idea began to work its way into my thoughts.   I wondered if I could remember the market climate of this era well enough to make some serious monies.  The timing was perfect because I seemed to remember that there was a bit of a slump in the early eighties.  During that time I had been just getting started in developing a portfolio.  I had had a friend from work who guided me thru some of my first transactions.  I remember how proud I was of the first big coups I had accomplished.  Boeing Co.,  IBM, and some others were very kind to me in those years.  But the down side was that I needed some serious cash and pretty soon if I was going to stay in this time.  Then it all began to come back to me.

 

During that time back in the early eighties, I had studied hard and long before investing and was at that time very impressed by some of the stories of fantastic growth of fortunes during that era.  I remembered the two brothers who made so much money on silver and then lost it.  Checking the paper, I could see that it had not happened yet. There were several other stories that came to mind which seemed to fit my circumstance pretty well.  My only problem was how to take advantage of this knowledge. 

 

It would have to be something under the table of course.  I couldn’t exactly go to a brokerage house, explain my situation and have them make some investments on my behalf.  I was baffled about how I was going to get my hands on enough money to make legitimate investments.  I didn’ t even have a legitimate identity.  There was a lot of work to do.  And of course all of this planning  could go south if I were to find myself back in the parking lot again.  There were a lot of unanswered questions.  Starting with,,,,   Had I licked the Mcclellan parking lot exit strategy?  Or had I exchanged it for the Golden Tee exit strategy.  If I fell asleep and I was not in my room at the Inn, would I return there and have to go thru all this again?  Only one way to find out. 

 

With a lot of fear and trepidation, I made the decision to test my contact with reality.  I walked down Fulton Avenue to Arden Way and went into a bar I was familiar with and sat down in a booth in the back.  I ordered another cup of coffee and sat quietly as the lunch crown began to come in.  It was dark and relatively quiet and it was relatively easy for me to catch a short nap. 

 

That was fast and dirty.  I found myself back at the Golden Tee preparing to go thru my morning again.  At least, I had developed a way station that was a little more user friendly.   As long as I returned to my room, I would be able to continue up the time line towards my future.   One more thing it made available for me was the ability to amass some serious cash.  I could live the same day over and over again.  And I remembered what I had done before I napped my way back to the start.

 

Tick Tock!   All right, it was getting pretty scary.  I now have some cash, some clothing and someone looking over

 

 

And now it was getting really interesting.  I was exhausted and worried that all the work I had done today was for naught.  So far, every time I had gone to sleep, I found myself naked and alone and back to square one in the middle of the parking lot at McClelland.   I was hoping that proximity was the issue and I had it solved.  The down side was that if I was correct, I had eliminated my get out of jail free option by staying away from my point of orgin.    However there was only one way to find out.    I drove to a bar on Fulton Ave from the old days,  left the car and called a cab.  The cab took me and all my worldly posessions to a motel on Auburn Blvd.  I checked in and got a room and left a wakeup call for seven the following morning.  Fully expecting to find myself naked among the cars in the parking lot at McClelland, I fell asleep.

I began to think about some of the difficulties I might  have to deal with.  I was still in my seventies and my body seemed to be none the worse for wear.  But I was still an old man.  with a lot of previously damaged parts.  My heart, for instance required a daily regimin of drugs to forstall a heart attack.  My cholesterol required similar drug related intervention.  On the other hand, I did feel quite a lot of energy.  As a matter of fact I felt really fine.  More so than I had in years.  Nevertheless, I was anticipating troubles if I could not get my medications.  On the other hand, perhaps there was a good sign after all.  If it was really 1982,  I would not need these medications for another twenty years or so.  So enough worry about that at least for now. 

 

Next on the agenda was a plan to get me out of here.  I needed a place to live, some money and real clothes.  I also needed to figure how to break the cycle of going to sleep and starting all over again.  My first thought was that perhaps if I finally fell asleep and I was far enough away from my starting place, maybe I could change things a bit.  I figured that I was very close to some real money a la the Credit Union.  After all, if I got caught I could just go to sleep and get another chance when I woke up.  First things first, I located some tools in the janitors closet  I figured that as soon as the evening clean up crews left the building, I could use the Fire Axe to break thru the wall between Franks office and the Credit Union.  Surely once I got into the Credit union, I would be able to get to some cash.  I realized that I could not hide in plain site anywhere in the offices while the cleanup crew was there, so I slipped out the back and waited in the parking lot for the crew to come and go.  Thanks goodness they did so in the next hour or so.

 

So I was back in Franks office with the biggest Fire Axe I had ever seen and as I had expected, it only took me a few swipes to knock my way thru the wall into the Credit Union managers office.  It became immediately apparant that there was no way I was going to be able to get into the safe, however there was another little thing I had forgotten about.  I noticed a common closet door facing the front of the building and upon smashing thru the lock with the fire axe, I realized I was looking at a  very primitive ATM machine.  So primitive that I could see the stacks of envelopes and cash in the hoppers waiting to be dispensed.  It was only a matter of helping myself to a few hundred dollars worth of twenties.  I left several in the machine so that it wouild not be noticed for a while and put everything back together as best I could.  From there I left the building in search of a new hiding place to wait the dawn.  I walked over the Maintenance hangar and climbed into an empty dumpster.  Now for the toughest part of the evening,  Trying not to go to sleep. 

 

Just after sun up, I crawled out of the dumpster and wandered over to the parking where I hoped I would find my own car from 1982.  I had a bit of a time remembering what I was driving in those days, because I had a poor habit of trading cars very often.  Nevertheless, I was able to remember where I normally parked.  I had been an engineering supervisor in those days and I got a preferred parking spot very near the building.  Sure enough, there was an old VW bus parked in my old parking spot.  Hunting around inside the rear bumper I found what I was looking for, an extra set of keys to the house and car.  I still did not have a watch but it seemed to be the start of a working day so I just climbed into the driver seat started her up and drove away.  I drove to my home in Folsom and pulled up into the driveway.  The old garage door was down and it was in fact one piece.  But it opened as if it were new, which come to think of it, it nearly was new.  I parked inside and got out and closed the door.  I remembered that at that time I/we had two old dogs.  I began to worry how they would deal with an older me coming home to see them.  I needn’t have worried because they slept thru my visit as if I wasn’t even there.  I went through the house as if I were a burgular and opened things and tipped over furniture and so forth.  Then I located my old stash of Christmas cash and  made myself comfortable with some clothes and shoes that fit.  Then leaving the back door open so it would look as if the burgulars had nearly gotten discovered, I left the house.

Once more, I stood up, looked around and realized that somehow, I was back where I started.   It is funny how we accept the most bizzare things as just the new rules of the game.   What was I to do?  Of course,  Exactly the same think I did in my earlier encounter.  Only this time, I went straight into the building and into the janitors closet and sat down with the intention of NOT falling asleep!  I mean what else could it be.  If I fell asleep, I would end up back in the parking lot as I had started.  It did not occur to me that one would think it would be obvious that if one fell asleep, one might actually wake up back in your own time and place.  No, I didn’t even think that was a possibility, I just sat down on the old clothes and gave it my best effort to stay awake. 

Sure enough, in a while the noises coming from the front of the building soon became diminished and after a little while, it was quiet.  I gave it another bit of time and then opened the door and peeked out.  No body was there.  I ventured out into the office area and discovered that the doors to the outside were locked and it appeared that I was alone for the moment.  I knew from experience that sometime later in the evening, the janitors would be by to empty the trash and clean up a bit.  How much time I had,  I did not know.   Again, however,  First things first. 

I wandered through the office for a bit, taking in the flavor of time gone by.  On each desk was a nameplate with names I didn’t recognize, a calendar  turned to todays date but in the year 1982,  and of course assortments of file folders and paperwork which meant nothing to me.  What I was after was a newspaper, and soon found one in the managers office.  I knew it was the managers office because it was the largest  office and it was situated behind a smaller gatekeeper kind of office.   My next surprise came when I saw the name on the desk was Frank Banner.   I knew that name,  I had worked with him during my tenure at McClellan all those years ago.  My next surprise was not that big a surprise at all considering that I had already seen the desk calendars showing the date was September 1982, the newspaper, a Sacramento Bee confirmed that somehow confirmed that was indeed the date.  So here I was.  Standing in the office of one of my old cohorts from the eighties.  I was naked and I did not know how I got there or what to do about it. 

These thoughts wandered around in my head while I wandered about the office complex looking  for,,, I don’t know what.  Clothes was my next acquisition.  No big deal you say?  Very big deal say I.  I am not your average bear.  I stand roughly six feet five inches and two hundred fifty pounds.  And thats not exactly all muscle any more.  I am in my seventies and am in about as good a shape as most seventy year old men.  Those still standing that is.  Nevertheless, I found some overalls in the janitors closet that more or less fit me.  And I found some old sealing crews booties in a cabinet in another part of the complex.  For the time being, I was covered and comfortable.   Now for a plan. 

I figured that I would need some help and there was a phone right in front of me and that phone sat on top of a base phone directory.  Of course, it was after five in the evening and there would probably not be any body in at that time of day.  But going thru the directory helped bring back my days at the office.  I recognized some names and tried the numbers,  with no luck.  I had not given it much thought regarding what I would say when and if I managed to contact someone.  I just stumbled thru the literature and the phone lists for a while until it occurered to me that this was a futile exercise

I thought about trying to contact someone from my own time and I realiszed that if it was true that somehow I was trapped in 1982, there was no way I was going to be able to do that.  Nevertheless, I foolishly tried to dial my own home phone number and was told it was not in service.  I tried my own office number on base and got a response from, believe it or not, my old secretary.  Suzie answered politely and responded that everyone had already gone home and that she was just finishing up some later evening chores before she went home.  She didn’t even recognize my voice.  I suppose that was appropriate, considering that all I needed was to get her involved in this dilemma.

Try to imagine waking from a little snooze, to find you are sitting in the shade of an automobile in a huge parking lot.  You stretch a bit and as you attempt to stand, you find that you are stark naked.  It is very hot and you are in the middle of hundreds, maybe thousands of cars.  The scene is somehow familiar, but appears all wrong.  First things first, you glance at your arm and realize you are not wearing a watch anymore.  Remembering that I had given up the watch when I began carrying a cell phone, wherever I went.  OK no phone,  where am I.  I crouch down between the cars and begin to really look around.

The first thing is that this is McClellan AFB.  I worked there back in the sixties, seventies and eighties.  In front of me was the manufacturing facility, a quarter mile square building where I had an office for a number of years.  behind me was a smaller complex of buildings where there was a cafeteria, credit union and a number of offices.  The strangest thing was that there were so many vehicles there.  After all, the base had been closed for years now.  Finally, I realized what was so strange about all the cars around me.  They were, like vintage.  The newest of them had to be over twenty years old.  And yet they were in remarkable condition,  almost as if,,,,  almost as if they were new.   This was ridiculous.

All right, now this whole thing was getting to me a little bit.  On the one hand, I was standing in the middle of the parking lot at a place where I worked many years ago.  I had not gotten any younger, and yet the whole scene was juat as it might have been way back when,,,,.  Well, First things first.  I was more than a little uncomfortable, barefoot on the hot asphalt.  I worked my way towards the smaller cafeteria building which was closer.  I wondered how I could get some clothes and some attention to help me solve this dilemma.   As I neared the building, I remembered the back door, I used to used to get in and out of the old travel office.  Behold the door was unlocked and I opened it and stepped in very carefully.   There was a coffee room in front of me and a pair of bathroom doors on either side.  On thru the break room was the office complex and I could hear voices coming from there.  So far so good.  I heard someone coming down the hall and I ducked into the mens room on my left and went into a stall.    I stood there in the stall and waited quietly while a young man came in and used the facilities in front of me.  He washed his hands and left without a word.  I looked him over from the crack in the door and was unable to recognize him.

What I needed was a plan.  I figured that due to the heat, it had to be afternoon and in a few hours the workers here would leave for the day.  Then I would have the run of the building to ry and find some clothes and maybe use the phone to get some help.  Who I was going to call, was a problem I figured I would deal with later.  Meantime, I would just find a place to hide out until later in the evening.  I scouted back out into the hall and found some closets probably used by janitors or something.   I suspected that I would be safer hiding there in the dark.  So I slipped inside and closed the door and cuddled up to the old rags and things in the back of the closet.  Next thing I know I am back outside in the parking lot waking up from a nap in precisely the same place where I started.  De ja vu, my ass!

Spent the day working with the Sirs organization.  It is a group the I joined last year and we play golf and organize outings to play golf.  You must be 65 and retired to be a member of this group.  Today we had our monthly luncheon where we collect entry fees for the following months outings.  Can you imagine that we collected over eight thousand dollars for the next months golf?  Anyway we are on ouyr way to a new season.  Hoping that the stink I made with the greens committee over at Teal Bend made a bit of a difference.  There were pin placements there that made no sense at all for the seniors who are going to play on Wednesday. 

 

Hoping that some of the attempts I have made to adjust and modify this webblog work as well.  Only one way to find out.  Here goes

B1onder’s Weblog

Sorry fans it has not been fun.  It is too tough for me.  Maybe later when I can get some help.