Hamm kept gazing at the picture of the boat. He had absolutely no intention of accepting it, but it was a beautiful boat, and for someone who had never made more than sixty-five dollars a week and could never hope to afford anything like this, it was tempting. He pushed the picture back across the desk. "Tell him thanks but I better not."
Rodney shrugged and said, "All right, I was just thinking how much fun it might be for your boys down the line. You do what you want to… but if it were me, I wouldn't be so quick to look a gift horse in the mouth like that. What's the point of being governor if you can't have fun?"
He walked out and left the picture lying on Hamm's desk. For a week Hamm kept taking that picture out of his desk drawer and looking at it.
The second week he called Wendell Hewitt, the attorney general, into his office and said, "Listen, as governor would it be illegal for me to borrow a boat from somebody?"
Wendell said, "No, why?"
"I just wondered." On the fourth week Hamm decided it would not hurt to go down and just take a look at it. The friend of a friend had so hoped he would accept the gift, he had even gone so far as to have a name painted on the side for him. The moment Hamm saw The Betty Raye he was in love.
When Wendell, who had driven down with them that day, saw the name written on the side of the boat, he said, being no fool, "Don't tell me a thing, boys. I don't want to know. I'm just here for a boat ride."
Hamm did not know it but the friend of a friend was a Mr. Anthony Leo from St. Louis, and when the governor commuted his brother's scheduled execution to a life sentence he was grateful. All Hamm knew was that Rodney had come into the office that day and seemed very nervous until he had finished signing all his pardons. Wendell, who advised Hamm, agreed with Hamm's decision; after all, the man had not killed an innocent person; he had just shot some other mob hood.
Hamm said, "He probably did the state a favor."
They both had done Rodney a favor and did not know it; Rodney had a rather large gambling debt that had just been crossed off the books. But Hamm was no fool either. He never intended to accept a gift from anyone, never told anyone about The Betty Raye except a few people he could trust. But he did use it every chance he got.
One afternoon when he and Rodney were out cruising around the Missouri River, having a few drinks and smoking a few cigars, Hamm said, "You know, Rodney, I've been thinking, when my term is up, it sure would be nice if Betty Raye and the kids and I were to have a nice house we could move into right away and not have to wait. Sort of like a loan, and then, when I get settled and get a good job down the line, I can pay for it. What do you think?"
Rodney said, "Oh, I think that could be arranged."
"I don't think it would look too good for the ex-governor to have to go back to some little rented place, do you?"
"No, I agree with you there. What kind of a house do you think an ex-governor should live in?"
Hamm leaned back and thought about it. "I suppose it should be in a good neighborhood, for the kids, maybe something with a lot of red brick and a big porch, something along that line. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right. Let me do a little nosing around and see what I can come up with."
"And a car. Maybe one of those new DeSotos."
"No sweat," Rodney said. "What color?"
"Blue."
Blue was his favorite color. And after all, as Rodney had said, what is the point of being governor if you can't have a good time.
Dorothy was very happy these days. Both her children were married to wonderful people, she already had three beautiful granddaughters, and Anna Lee had just called and told her she was expecting another baby. So she was particularly cheerful today.
"Good morning, everybody… I hope all of you out there are raring to go this morning, because you know what today is? Cakes, cakes, and more cakes is the rally cry of the Annual Golden Flake Cake Baking Contest and in its honor today Mother Smith is going to play a special song, "If I Knew You "Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake." So ladies, and any of you men out there, make sure you have all your supplies at hand. Every second counts. Get ready. Get set… start your ovens! Let the bake off begin! Now, while all of you are waiting for your ovens to preheat, let me run the rules by you once more. Only one cake per contestant.
As soon as you have your cake finished and frosted, get it over to the VFW hall as soon as possible for the judging.
"Good luck to one and all and for all you cake eaters out there, remember they all will go on sale after the judging, at around two this afternoon. All the proceeds are going to aid our policemen and firemen all over the state of Missouri. They do such a fine job all year round, so come over and buy a cake, and let them know how much we appreciate every one of them. We are so lucky this year to have such fine judges. All the way from Poplar Bluff, we have Mr. Jack Mann, president of Golden Flake Flour Company, also Mrs. Edith Cagle Pool, who is the author of the Edith Cagle Pool Cakes for Every Occasion cookbook and is listed in the Who's Who in Home Economics, and last but not least, yours truly, so come on by and see us… it's going to be a lot of fun. Wrens, robins, bluebirds, redbirds, hummingbirds, bobolinks, and finches have all been spotted so far this year by our bird-watcher, Emma Henson over in Walnut Shade, and Mrs. Joanne Ault of Woodlawn, Missouri, writes in and says:
"Dear Neighbor Dorothy,
"I read a good book and I would like to pass it on to your reading listeners. If they want to have a good laugh read Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, Jr." and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
"All right… thank you for that. I only like to recommend books that are happy and cheerful…. I know there are sad things out in the world… but I just don't want to dwell on them. I guess I'm just like one of those ostriches; I just stick my head in the sand. I don't want to face the facts. All the scientists are determined to tell us what the moon is made of and what the stars are… and why there are rainbows… but I just don't want to know. When I wish on a star, I don't need to know what it's made out of let the men figure it out as for me, when a thing is beautiful, what does it matter why. I never get tired of looking at the moon. One night it is small and round as a shiny, ice-cold, white marble and the next it's a big soft yellow moon. How can we be bored when nature gives us so many wonders to look at. Which brings me to my next letter… it comes to us from Mrs. Anne Carter of Repton, Missouri. She writes:
"Dear Neighbor Dorothy,
"Have you ever wondered what is at the end of the rainbow? Well, I want to share with you what happened to us. Yesterday my family and I were driving out in the country and when a small rainstorm cleared, my son called our attention to a huge rainbow that had suddenly formed across the sky. The end of it seemed to be in the road up ahead of us.
I drove as fast as I could to the spot and when we all got out of the car and looked at each other our skin seemed to glow with iridescent colors of pink and blue and green. We could not believe our eyes. We were literally standing in the rainbow. If that is not a miracle, I don't know what is. God truly blessed my family and me that day and we will never forget it."
Mother Smith played a little of "Somewhere over the Rainbow". "Thank you for sharing that beautiful story with us, Mrs. Carter… Now every time I see a rainbow I'll think of you and your family standing in the rainbow!
"Now I ask you. Isn't life wonderful?"
After Bobby graduated, he immediately got a teaching job at Franklin Pierce, a small college in Rindge, New Hampshire, and he and Lois were provided with a nice house on a lake. Although he made very little money, life was good for a while. They loved the college and the town but both of them, because they were from southern Missouri, were not used to the cold winters and the first year they nearly froze to death.
Also, after his time in Korea, months of snow depressed him, and so Bobby started looking around for a warmer place. He had applied for jobs in Arizona and California but so far nothing had come through and in the meantime he and Lois were expecting their first child. As soon as they could, they came back to Missouri to visit. They spent a week with her parents and a week with Doc and Dorothy.
While they were in Elmwood Springs their old friend Mr. Charlie Fowler, the poultry inspector, called and said he wanted to stop by for dinner while they were there. It had been a few years and Bobby was glad to see him again. He had been at their wedding and had sent them a lovely gift. That night Dorothy made him his favorite, smothered pork chops and mashed potatoes, and after the first bite Fowler said the same thing he always did. "Dorothy, I'm not sure but I think these may be the best pork chops you ever made." After dinner, when the men headed out for a smoke, Fowler asked Bobby if he would take a little walk with him.
"Sure," said Bobby. They walked out in the backyard and sat down in the lawn chairs by the Sweetheart Swing and enjoyed the view. The sun was still pretty high in the sky. It had been an early spring that year and the apple tree was already full of pink-and-white flowers and the morning glories were already blooming and hanging off the old wooden fence and the garage. Ruby Robinson stuck her head out the window next door and said, "Tell your mother we have plenty of extra tomatoes over here if she needs any."
"Yes, ma'am, I sure will," he said.
Bobby sat there with Mr. Fowler and wondered why but figured he would find out sooner or later. After a while Fowler said, "That's a mighty fine little wife you have in there."
"Thank you, sir."
"I've been knowing you and your family for a long time now. Watched you and your sister grow up."
"Yes, sir."
Fowler cleared his throat. "You know, if I had married and had a son such as yourself just starting out in life, this is what I would say to him but since I don't have one I'm going to tell it to you instead.
"Young Robert," he said, "we… you and I… have to stop pecking around in the barnyard of mediocrity and dare to fly with the eagles out into the world of big business. That's why a few years back I started buying up an interest in as many chicken farms as I could. I looked up and saw the handwriting on the wall, so to speak, and this is what it said. It said, Charlie… the poultry business is changing. It's no longer just an egg world out there. It's a fried-chicken-in-a-bucket-to-go world and you better jump in while the jumping's good." He leaned closer. "Now, son, this is strictly between you and me, but I just signed an exclusive contract with this fellow over in Kentucky for me to supply him with all his chickens. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not making money yet, but I've got my eye on this fellow and the way business is booming I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't open up another place real soon."
"Really?" said Bobby.
"Yep… and it all pans out with my theory about the future."
"What's your theory?"
"Quantity," he said emphatically. "Not quality. Fast, not friendly. That's the secret of making money nowadays, boy. This is the jet age. People want to eat on the move. How fast, how cheap, and how much do we get for our dollar, that's what folks are interested in today."
Bobby nodded and thought about it.
"Anyhow, young Robert, what I'm saying is this. I'm looking for a good man to work for me, somebody with personality, good PR. skills such as my own, and I think that you fit that bill to a tee. Say the word and the job is yours."