Little Victories

Day 289

It's been a rather hectic day of maneuvering and negotiating. Trying to get all my ducks in a row. And to top it off, an unexpected windfall albeit a small one. Most satisfying. It's going to be five weeks between paydays, so every little bit of income helps.

There's also the satisfaction that comes with working to accomplish something that finally pays off. I have tried to find a way to make money as an entrepreneur for a number of years. The idea of working for someone else was never appealing to me. I have always wanted to work alone. Even the idea of owning a business with a partner made me uncomfortable.

Then I met Irene, and in her I found the same desires as me to work alone or at least own the business so I wouldn't have to follow someone else's directions (this was reinforced by my time in the Navy).

I was already trying to make enough money to get by selling at flea markets. Irene joined me and we were successful except we couldn't generate enough profit. So we started an office cleaning business.
She was out of work and so she made calls offering a free estimate for cleaning services to companies around the Clawson and Royal Oak areas. I was working two part time jobs and in between I would go with her to generate the estimates.

It was pretty easy. We would walk around the space they wanted cleaned, then when we had a few notes, I would casually ask how much they were currently paying and set our price accordingly. Sometimes a little higher but more often I would lower the price just a little and then sell them some extras.

We did this for about six years, cleaning up after other people who took for granted someone else would clean up their messes. The money was OK but I yearned for more money and less work. We decided to try real estate.

We bought our first house subject to the existing mortgage (we took over making payments), the owner signed a Quit Claim Deed for a thousand dollars. We were in business.

We spent a year fixing up that house. After twelve months of mortgage payments, heating and electrical bills, taxes and repair costs, we barely broke even. We learned a lot from that one. I dove back in with enthusiasm, convinced we would make the big bucks off each house we would resell. Calls came poring in and soon we found ourselves dividing our time between three houses once.

A half a dozen houses later we were no richer but wiser. The trick to real estate is buy low and turn over quickly. The easiest way to make money investing in real estate is find a distressed property that needs mostly cosmetic work, with a motivated seller. Get it under contract, then sell the contract to another investor. It's called wholesaling. You can earn $2000-$10,000 per house. More if you go into commercial properties. And never break a sweat or get your hands dirty. This is how Trump made his money.

Then tragedy hit. Irene was diagnosed with cancer. It was terminal. They gave her six months with treatment, three months without. I wasn't there when she found out. I had been out all night working the cleaning jobs by myself. We had kept the cleaning business going until we got the real estate off the ground. By the time I was up and made it to the hospital, it was 10 am and the Oncologist was discussing treatment. Irene's sister was with her when she was given the prognosis. And she stopped the Dr. long enough to tell me the bad news.

I looked straight into Irene's beautiful hazel eyes as her sister told me about the two brain tumors. My eyes welled up with tears, but I wouldn't, I couldn't, let Irene see me cry. I turned to the doctor and asked, "Will she be able to move things with her mind?"

The doctor was totally bewildered, until Irene, with a small smile on her lips, said, "It was a movie we once watched with John Travolta."

I looked at Irene again and said, "You're going to be smarter than me."

"I already am."

I apologized to the doctor and asked her to continue. I often make jokes at times of stress. My tears had temporarily subsided.

Irene lasted seven a half weeks before succumbing to that vile disease. At her funeral my tears flowed freely. It's been fifteen years and sometimes when I am alone drinking some wine and I hear a certain song, the tears start again. I learned long ago, tears are not the enemy, so I let them come.

The movie was called Phenomenon, about a man who get's extraordinary powers because of a brain tumor. I have not watched that movie again.

Irene's passing prompted me to move to Houghton Lake. I find the slower lifestyle soothing though I may never be completely healed. On days with little victories, like today, I believe she is here, still helping me. And I think to myself, this would make a great story, if only I could tell it.

Until tomorrow,

Ken