Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 9 

Hail, The Conquering Hero

As Mr. Nixon was getting ready to resume the board meeting, Greg arrived with Jack Kennedy.  Jack announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we're ready to begin the Groundbreaking Ceremony.  The press and television await your presence.”

When the board members and I arrived at the site of what was going to be the library, there were cameras all around.  Mr. Rob Nixon went to the podium and started to speak, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed a great day for Harwood Junior College.  We are embarking into an exciting period.  We’re adding on to the facility so that we have and will be able to offer the young people of this community, and surrounding communities, educational opportunities that they might not have been able to partake of before.”

“It is with great pleasure that I introduce, Dr. Douglas Christiansen who was elected to be the new president of the college.  Dr. Christiansen, would you please do the initial groundbreaking, since you and your sons have had so much to do with what is going to happen here at Harwood Junior College.”

I felt a little awkward being the first, but that was what the Board wanted.  I turned the first shovel of dirt, and lo and behold, the sun started to glisten off of something in the soil.  Mr. Nixon went to investigate and there were ten gold coins.  He laughed, “Okay, let’s see the rest of you board members beat the new president’s findings.”

Each of the board members only found one coin, but that meant we had twenty five more gold coins to auction off.  We would find out later what a mess having the live news coverage of the ground breaking ceremony would create.

After we returned to the building, Rob Nixon turned to me, “President Christiansen, I believe that you have some action items that you wish to bring before the board.”

“Thank you, Mr. Nixon. In the interest of time, I’m going to lump the personnel actions together.  I would like the Board to appoint Dr. Clark Lewis as the Vice President and Athletic Director, as well as our head basketball coach.”

Before I could continue, Mr. Patterson asked, “Why do we need an Athletic Director when we don’t have any sports teams or facilities as of yet?”

I looked at Clark and grinned, “We’ll be discussing that matter in more detail, later.”

Mayor Langdon asked, “Dr. Christiansen, what do you envision Dr. Lewis’ responsibilities as Vice President will be?”

I nodded, “His first and primary responsibility would be to keep me out of trouble, and secondly, he would be the college’s point of contact for monitoring the construction activities of the new facilities.”

Clark was hired and I invited Derek and Austin into the room, “Board members, I would like to introduce Dr. Austin Summers and Dr. Derek Mitchell.  I propose that the Board authorize the appointment of Dr. Summers to be the Dean of Student Affairs and that Dr. Mitchell be the Dean of Admissions.”

A gentlemen I had not previously met asked, “Dr. Christiansen, how is that you know these two young men and why are you recommending that we appoint them to these positions.”

“Mr. Folsom, I knew these two gentlemen while I was working on my doctorate at Georgia Tech.  I have subsequently come to know them quite well, since Austin was my late wife’s brother.  Derek, just received his doctorate last month from Georgia Tech.  What would be more fitting than to have Mr. Robert Nixon the Second’s oldest grandson be the Dean of Admissions?”

The motion was accepted unanimously and as the guys were being congratulated, I went to get Craig Schumacher.”

After everyone was seated, I started, “Mr. Nixon, I have asked Mr. Craig Schumacher to join us to answer any questions the Board members might have.  Mr. Schumacher approached me and offered to provide the Harwood Community College the funds to provide ten young men with basketball scholarships for two years, if we would accept his son provisionally and make him work his butt off so he can attend a major University.”

Mrs. Richardson asked, “Dr. Christiansen, where do you propose to find nine other young men that would be willing to play basketball here at Harwood?”

“Ma’am, we started the process to admit seven young men already who would be recipients of the Scholarships.  You’ve seen the Biggest Giant, as my sons call him, this morning.  The young man who keeps bringing coffee and juice is going to be the nucleus of the team.” 

Mr. Patterson looked up, “Dr. Christiansen, are you talking about my nephew, Greg?  There is no way that he can afford to go to college without financial assistance.”

“Mr. Patterson, Greg will be working full time in my office this summer, and if the scholarships are approved, he should be able to make a go of it.  He’s a very proud but humble young man.”

Mr. Folsom commented, “One big man doesn’t make a basketball team.  Who are the other young men involved?”

I grinned, “Well, for starters, a second of the young men is also somewhat related to Mr. Patterson in that he is an uncle of Mr. Patterson’s two grandsons, Jimmy and Johnny, Mr. Dan Coburn.  As we speak, he and his brother Dave are taking care of Summerhill.”

I motioned to Mayor Langdon, “Would you care to identify the third victim?”

Mayor Langdon smirked, “Sure, put an old lady on the hot seat.  Okay, victim number three is my grandson, Chad, and victims four, five and six are friends of Chad.  Chad called and informed me how Dr. Christiansen laid the requirements on the line to the six guys.  Doug, sure didn’t give them much leeway for mistakes.  Chad and his friend are excited about someone even giving them a chance to make up for past mistakes.”

I added, “The seventh young man is Dr. Lewis’ nephew.

Mr. Folsom spoke up, “Heck, this seems as if it is a win, win situation for all parties concerned.  I make a motion that we accept Mr. Schumacher’s generous offer.”

After Mr. Schumacher’s motion was approved, I looked at Mr. Nixon, “President Nixon, I have one other issue to address before we get to the other Agenda items.”

“Go ahead, President Christiansen.”

I started by handing out a report of money that had been received from supporters to date, a second listing showed the other pledges that had been made but not received as of yet, and the third was a statement from Mr. Morgan that announced the value of the first coins that the boys had found after the tornado.  While everyone was reading the last set of figures, it was as if they stopped breathing.”

When everyone was focused on me, “Members of the Board, I’m sharing these figures with you because of a meeting I have in Atlanta tomorrow.  Governor Perdue called and said he was looking at having a state supported school here in this area and suggested that the state take over the operation of the Harwood Community Junior College.”

“I expressed that I was concerned that it was a ploy by the state to gain access to the monies that we would have at our disposal if and when all pledges had been received.  He assured me that was not what he had in mind when he broached the subject, but he did concede that some of the legislators might be so inclined to try to get their hands on the monies to help cover the state’s large financial shortfall.”

I will be meeting with the Governor tomorrow, to discuss this matter.  President Nixon, I think it would be advisable if you were to accompany me as a representative of the Board of Trustees and I suggest that we ask Mr. Willingham to accompany us as our legal counsel.”

Rob Nixon looked at me. “Do you really think that the state would be so brazen as to try to take away the college’s funds?”

“President Nixon, the legislators are out of control.  They’re trying to pass a ten per cent pay raise for themselves even in light of the huge budget deficit.  I’m not sure if I would trust them any further than I could throw them.  Members of the Board, I would ask that you please return the copies of the financial reports that I shared with you,  It‘s not that I don‘t trust you, but they could be used against the college, if they were to fall into the wrong hands.  We’ll shred the reports, saving only the master copy in a secure place.”

Mrs. Richardson looked around, “Dr. Christiansen, at first, I thought you were blowing smoke.  But the more I think about it, the more what you said makes sense.  I’ve known enough legislators in my time to realize they are a devious group even considering that my deceased husband was one of them.”

After lunch, I was sitting in my office taking care of things getting ready so I could go home after a grueling day, when Greg came to the door.  “Dr. C., there’s a Senator Natalie Baumgartner on the phone.  She says it’s urgent that she talk to you.”

I picked up the phone, “This Doug Christiansen; what can I do for you, Senator Baumgartner?”

A lady’s voice started, “Dr. Christiansen, you probably don’t know who I am.”

I interrupted her, “Senator Baumgartner, I know who you are.  You’re the state senator who represents the Harwood area.  How may I help you?”

“Dr. Christiansen, I inadvertently overheard a conversation between the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Head of the Revenue Committee this afternoon.  Senator Leggett was commenting, ‘We need to get our hands on the funds that Harwood Community College has generated to help us pay for the shortfall and revenue and use them to fund educational institutions that are already in the state system.  Senator Hodges commented, ‘We need to take action to get those coins that the impertinent Christiansen dug up today before he uses them for his personal use.’”

I took a deep breath, “Thanks for the heads up, Senator Baumgartner.  This is exactly what I was afraid of.  Do you have a number where I can reach you?  I need to make some phone calls.”

Senator Baumgartner gave me her cell phone number and I was dialing Rob Nixon when Karen appeared, “Dr. C., the Governor’s office is on the line.”

I picked up the phone, “This is Doug Christiansen.”

“Mr. Christiansen, this is Governor Perdue.  I called to see if we could make it a working lunch tomorrow.  I took the liberty of reserving a private space at a restaurant, The White House, which is near the State House. I’m scheduled to meet with the Senate Finance and Revenue Committees tomorrow morning and the afternoon is filled with meeting.  Could you meet with us at 11:30?”

“Governor, I’ll be glad to meet with you and your party then, but I request the right to bring some guests with me to assist me since I’m so new on the job.”

“Bring as many people as you want.  Just so you know it’s a pay for yourself affair, since the state is almost broke.”

I called Uncle Howie and Rob Nixon and told them the latest.  I called Senator Baumgartner and invited her to lunch, but more importantly, I called Mr. Caster, my favorite television personality, and invited him to come tape the luncheon engagement.

Greg came and sat down on my desk, “Dr. Christiansen, you didn’t tell me that working for you was going to be this hard.  It’s time to go home.  Jordan is sitting in the office, salivating.”

“Well, why don’t the two of you go home and salivate together?”

Greg had a silly grin, “Dr. Christiansen, we were hoping that we might be able to spend the night at Summerhill to see what it was like to be a couple.  We sure can’t find out at my home and Jordan isn’t ready to out himself to his parents.”

I shook my head, “Greg, if you and Jordan would like to spend the night together at Summerhill, I have no problem with it, but please make sure that you really care for each other before you go too far.”

Greg nodded, “That’s exactly what we want to find out.  I mean there is a matter of skin color, but you are not the person to be talking to me about that.  What I’m saying is we figure if you and Cole can make a go of it, we can too.  We just need to make a name for ourselves, like you and Cole did, so no one will think about the color of our skin.”

I stood, “Greg, you’re too sensitive about the color of your skin.  When Benji called you The Biggest Giant, he didn’t refer to you as The Biggest Black Giant, did he?”

Greg threw up his hands, “Dr. C., you don’t understand that when you grow up as a sharecropper's son, there aren’t many people who will give you much credit.  My family has always struggled to even subsist.  Collie’s father, on the other hand, discarded her when she got pregnant with Denny’s child.  It wasn’t until Jimmy and Johnny were born that he and his wife finally came to their senses when they realized that they would be the only two grandchildren they would ever have.”

I looked at the clock, “Let’s close up shop.  I need to get my act together for tomorrow.

 

When I arrived at Summerhill, it was after 6:30 and Cole lit into me, “I don’t suppose that you would care to explain why you’re so late.  You not only missed the call from the boys, who reported that they are going to take it easy tomorrow because they’re concerned that Grandmother McBride is trying to do too much.  They’re going to take a leisurely boat ride though Water World.”

“Your Mother called and reported that Dad is driving everyone in the hospital bananas because he wants to go home.  Mom said they would probably be releasing him tomorrow, but that he was going to need to go to physical therapy probably three times a week, and that his diet was going to be restricted.  They aren’t going to be eating may fried foods soon.”

Cole switched gears, “Doug, when was the last time you had a good physical?  The boys and I can’t afford to have something happen to you.”

I was eating my warmed up dinner when Greg and Jordan arrived with hanging bags.  Cole brought the two guys to where I was eating.  “These two gentlemen said that you have agreed that they could spend the night here at Summerhill.”

“Yes, Mr. Weaver, I did agree to allow them to spend the night here on the condition that they not disturb the other occupants of the house.  We need to advise Karen and Patty that they need to put their earplugs in.  I hope you will be able to provide them with the sanitary equipment that they will need.  Please inform our guests that they will need to make sure that they clean up any mess that they make and make sure the bedroom is ready for the next occupants.”

When Cole and I were in our room, I took a shower and was lying on the bed.  Cole lay down beside me, “Doug, what’s bothering you?”

I hugged Cole, “It’s as if the vultures of the Georgia state government are trying to take Harwood College down before we can start to move forward.  Cole, maybe I need to resign, because I’m so emotionally involved.”

Cole pushed me on my back, “Douggie, you need to release some pent up steam.  Let’s take care of that so we can get a good night’s sleep.”

I did and we did.

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  It looks tah me as if'n them there guv-mint critters done be gonna try tah git thar hanz on that there munnee and them there koynz that the younginz found.  They's badd peeple, ain't they?  We augntn't tu let um git away with that.

Maybe in the next chapter things will work out better.  I hope so.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 02/19/10