GREED BEFORE FAMILY
This tale is inspired by a true story of some acquaintances of mine. I changed the names and many other things so no one can connect my story with the actual events. How the real story ends is still up in the air. I hope you agree with the ending I have given. Enjoy
Decision making must be the most important variable in anyone's life. We make little decisions every day that affect us. Of course, we make big decisions throughout our life. They change the course of our journey. We decide who our friends are, what schools we go to, what we study, where we work, who we date and who we marry. These are just some of the big decisions that determine who we are. I hope most people are happy with their decisions. I know I look back and feel most of my decisions were good for me and that the ones that weren't, well, I can live with them. The problems come when other people make decisions that affect my life and the life of my family. You can't control those decisions ahead of time. You can only deal with them the best you can after the fact.
"Jimmy, what do you think you will do after we graduate?" I asked my best friend since grade school.
" I'm not sure right now. It seems weird going our separate ways, but I don't want to work at the same software company that's been after you."
"Just because we won't be working together, doesn't mean we'll lose touch."
"You're right, we'll never lose touch. I owe a lot to you and your family. After my dad died, your family help make my childhood as good as yours. Your dad was the one who made me take an interest in math and science like you. Without him, we could never have gotten our scholarships to MIT."
"Well, getting perfect scores on the ACTs didn't hurt, but you're right again. My mom and dad gave me a great childhood and they always included you in everything. "
"Tom, without you I would've had no social life either."
"You did fine with the girls Jimmy. What are you talking about?"
"Not like you. After the cheerleaders, who only wanted to date the jocks, you had the pick of the litter. We're both considered nerds, but you were much smoother than me."
"Look, all I did was let them do the talking and show an interest in them, and I tried to please them when it came time to be romantic. Girls love a guy that thinks of them during sex rather than just worrying about themselves."
"I know, I know. It didn't take long before lots of girls wanted to go out with you, I wish I had your reputation."
After high school I went to MIT on a scholarship with my best friend Jimmy. Like me, he was a whiz at math and his computer skills were fantastic. We made a lot of money at online poker. I don't mean that I could do anything with a computer; it just came easily to both of us. We never did anything illegal, like hacking in places we shouldn't. We didn't want that kind of trouble in our young lives. What we did do was develop some new gaming techniques. We were thinking of bringing out our own games, when we were approached by two big gaming companies. They had heard about us from a marketing firm we had talked with. They were hot to buy out our patents from us, so we decided to take their money. After the bidding was over, Jimmy and I split about three million after taxes. Not bad for two college juniors who barely had any cash in their pockets.
We graduated in four years with degrees in computer science. Jimmy went to work for the government doing stuff he couldn't talk about, while I worked for a software company developing personalized software for big companies that needed specific applications. I was involved in the development part, as well as the sales and service. The service was a huge moneymaker for us. We made more for maintaining and updating our software than we did on the original sale. I loved my job. It paid well, was always changing and interesting, and I met lots of new people all the time.
"Tom Sinclair, this is your mother calling. Remember me? I am the mom that doesn't hear from you often enough."
"I'm sorry, Mom. Work keeps me busy, and I do have a social life."
"You're 33 years old. When are you going to settle down?"
"I've dated a lot of girls, Mom. I find my relationships last about a year."
"What happened?"
"I'd really like the girls, but I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."
"Well, son, you're a good-looking guy, you have a lot of money, a nice home and an easy-going personality. I don't want you to settle for just anyone, but I know you want a family. There are plenty of nice girls out there to share your life with."
"I get what you're saying mom. I promise I'll keep an open mind."
I didn't travel much anymore because I was in management, but one week I found myself out of town installing some software one of our clients needed. I just happened to be there at the same time as a turnaround company they had brought in. The company was making money, just not what they thought they should be making. They had nothing to do with me, but one of the consultants asked my opinion about the IT part of the business. We had a sit-down for about 30 minutes and I was really impressed with the female consultant. Not only was she smart and articulate but she was drop-dead gorgeous to boot.
"You said your name was Tom, right? Would you like to join my team and me for dinner tonight?"