(FYI, this is a long and involved FANTASY story.)
Looking back, I guess that comment should have sent up a red flag for me, but I was pretty used to Ron saying some weird things. He's just one of those guys that is very open and genuine, there is nothing about himself he won't tell you if you ask or he feels like it, but on that occasion I failed to ask.
Ron is one of those guys that has 'made it', and done it on his own wits and will, and at his own risk. When I bought my house and met Ron and Kori it was an instant, natural friendship. They are both just so down to earth and caring that we clicked, as they do with many people, but when it became evident that Ron and I were to become good friends, I became comfortable enough to ask him what he does for a living.
It was obvious that he had done well, his home is easily twice the size of my 3,400 sq.ft. place and much more opulent with pool and poolhouse, beautiful landscaping, 4 car garage, the works. It looked like our homes should be in two different neighborhoods.
When I asked him about his work, he said "Well, I guess some people would describe me as a professional vulture. I prefer to think of myself as a 'distressed merchandise trader'."
I had no clue what that meant, so I asked for an explanation.
"I'm the guy that shows up, cash in hand, when somebody gets in trouble and has to part with some of their belongings to avoid bank repos, pay legal bills, settle a divorce, whatever. If they have something that I can pick up low and sell high, we do business. It helps them out, and makes me gobs of money."
I had a hunch that some of his clients didn't feel so blessed, but then again Ron can turn salt into sugar or sell sand to an Arab, so he probably left them feeling pretty good about their deal.
It turns out he had started doing this in a small way in college, bailing out friends, acting as, more or less, their personal pawn shop. As it began to grow and he recognized the potential he moved beyond buying stereos, computers, bikes, and musical instruments, and as he accumulated more cash he continued to reinvest it and move up-market, to cars, motorcycles, and larger items.
Along the way he cultivated a cadre of loan officers, car dealers, lawyers, etc that fed him tips, and he in turn directed a little cash or a favor their way. When I met him he had graduated to big ticket items: private planes, exotic cars, the occasional helicopter, boats, fine jewelry, art works - anything he could turn for a fast profit, and he was now a millionaire several times over. He took a lot of risk, but he knew his stuff and rarely guessed wrong.
Recently I had travelled with him to Bellingham, WA to look at a yacht that had become available there due to someone's personal financial reversal. He bought it, cash on the barrelhead, spent $25,000 getting it repaired and detailed and having a crew sail it to Marina Del Rey in California, and in less than a month sold it for almost $140,000 more than he had invested in it. A tidy profit for a little research and a few phone calls.
I know it's not that easy, but he made it seem so. The point to all this is that he never let success go to his head. There was no pretense to him, and he would still rather slam a few beers on a houseboat with his best friends than sip champagne at some posh resort, and Kori was just like him. They completely doted on each other.
I was thrilled when Kristi hit it off so well with them, and they were very happy for me when they saw how perfect she and I were together. Of course, that didn't stop Ron from hitting on her at every opportunity, but she took it with grace and humor, and I knew he was only half serious. Or less.
The bond between Kristi and them, as well as between Kristi and the other couple, John and Wendy, was really cemented when we all took that trip to Lake Mead last year.
I do pretty well in my line of work, but John and Wendy were a little concerned about the expense. We looked at all the websites and settled on a 54 foot boat that rented for around $6,000 for the week. Split 3 ways that wasn't too bad.
Ron, of course, wouldn't hear of it. He had to have the big luxury 70 footer that sleeps 12 (for the 6 of us) and has all the amenities, including a hot tub/spa on deck. Of course, it cost well over $10,000 for the week. Much as we objected, he insisted on paying for well over half the cost, and wound up buying most of the food and booze as well. As he told all of us, in order to shut us up, "If I can't blow a little money having fun with the most important people in my life, what the hell is it good for?"
We knew he really meant every word, and were very touched. No more was ever said, and we went and had a blast. The bigger boat was great, and the hot tub was much appreciated. He had reserved a very similar boat at Lake Powell for this year, and we were all looking forward to the trip.
I was back up at my jobsite, just a little over 3 weeks before we were to join John and Wendy and head down to Lake Powell to meet up with Ron and Kori. They had rented the boat at Wahweap for 10 days this time, and were going to tool around by themselves for a couple days and then come to the marina at Bullfrog and pick up the rest of us for the remainder of the time. They only rented the bigger boats at Wahweap, but Bullfrog is about 2 or 3 less hours drive from Denver, so this was our plan.
When I got a personal call at the site, I knew it couldn't be anything good. I didn't know that it would be the beginning of the slide into a personal hell.
