Chuck

I met Chuck during my freshman year of college.  He was one a several suite-mates I had that year.   My roommate, Don, and I made it the entire year together, but we went through at least four different suite-mates.   Paul was from Jackson, Greg from Grosse Pointe, Steve from assorted bars throughout the state, and Chuck was from Clark Lake.  Chuck occupied that space by himself for several weeks.

I learned a great lesson from Chuck during our time together.  One evening, as I was preparing to go out, he noted that I shaved before I took my shower.  He asked why I groomed in such a manner and I told him, “Because I can just wash my face after I shave.”

And then he offered up, “Yes, but if you shave after you shower, your beard will be softer and you’ll get a closer shave.”

I gave it a try.  He was right, and I’ve been shaving that way ever since.

Chuck was four years older than me, had false teeth, drank coke every day but only from eight ounce glass bottles because “it tasted better”, liked Miracle Whip but not mayonnaise, and was studying accounting.  He was in the army for a year.  He became a military policeman, and I became a frat boy.

We popped in and out of each others lives throughout my four years at Western.  Once he completed his studies he took the CPA exam.  The exam had several parts.  You could pass part of the test and retake the parts you missed.  I don’t know how many sections there were.  I do know that he studied hard, but in spite of the work he put in, he had to   retake the exam several times.  Ultimately, he passed and went to work for Price-Waterhouse.

After I graduated we reconnected.  We became roommates during my second year of teaching.  That’s the same year that I purchased my first house.  It was a two unit Victorian home on Stockbridge Avenue.  The turnstile turned like crazy during that year.  I had no less than three guys live with me at various times.  Chuck was the last.

Near the end of that year, I received an invitation to go to Florida for a “free vacation” to learn more about the piece of property that I had purchased during my first year of teaching.  “All you have to do is attend an hour presentation regarding the progress that our Orlando development is making.”

Chuck was interested in the “land deal” too, so he made the trip with me.  We made several stops throughout Florida, but our primary goal was the “one hour presentation”.

My original purchase took place in New Orleans during the Thanksgiving break of my first year of teaching.  I made monthly payments on a lot near Orlando that I never saw.  It could have been a piece of swampland, but I fell for the “investment opportunity” that was presented.   Now, a year and a half later, they wanted to provide me with a progress report.

During the update we learned that the development company was “abandoning” the Orlando project.  They would return my investment, or I could roll it over to a new opportunity.  They were going to focus their attention on a development in southern Florida, near Englewood.  They called it “Rotunda West”.  They planned seven eighteen hole golf courses, spoked off a central business development, with a series of canals that ultimately led to the Gulf of Mexico.  Holy Cow!  What an opportunity!

We bought in.  Chuck became my partner in the land deal.  We made the monthly payments until the land was paid off.  We’ve been paying taxes on the property ever since.

Ruth and I visited the site about fifteen years ago.  We walked the lot, visited the golf course club house, and met with a realtor.  The lot is on one of the seven golf courses.  It’s about a hundred yards from the green on a long par five.  There may be golf balls on the lot, but it’s far enough off the fairway that no balls should hit a house if one is ever built.  It’s a quarter of an acre with several pine trees.  It’s pretty.

The planned central business district project was defunct, but  we learned that golf course lots like ours were selling for about $120,000.  Chuck and I paid $6,500.  I spoke to Chuck about selling the property.  He thought we should wait because “its value is rising daily”.  And then the bottom fell out.  Faster than you can say, “Holy Cow!  What an opportunity!” the market crashed.  We may be able to get a quarter of that now.  Time will tell.  We plan to “put it on the market” before Ruth and I head north.

As for the “abandoned project” on the Orlando property that we let go, I think they built Sea World there.