Sunday, June 14, 1992
Modem handshake noises fill the room. Windows are open in late morning and Nick's got the classic rock 94.7 on low thanks to the TV antenna. His folks are at church.
After a modest sleeping in and a bodacious breakfast of Irene's Famous Flapjacks with bacon, Saturday started with a bike tour of Jameson which took him past the Gazetteer building which in turn reminded him they have a dialup BBS number for modems. Since he had no other immediate plans for that graduation money he figured this might be the ticket. There were rumors of other BBS-es locally and it seems the VAX at campus cold be accessed that way, not that he had much use for it at this point, but who knows.
Sometimes these whirlwind-inspiration projects are just what one needs to help turn a corner.
For that PS/2 he wasn't about to pay IBM however much they wanted for that microchannel jive, so the answer was a serial port kind. His employer, to which he'd return at full force at opening tomorrow, only had ISA boards, so it's on to see what Fred had over in the strip mall.
He had known Fred Cribb most of his life. Fred had been his dad's mentor at the plant before semi-retiring into free enterprise, sensing a gap needed filled in the small-scale computing sector. Turns out he was right.
Nick talked his dad into riding along for old times' sake, Ned says, "You really want a deal don't you?"
Pro Digital Systems is in the same lot as Nick's previous gig at Schroder's Value. They hit the door mid-afternoon, it smells similar to Radio Shack for some reason. Fred is with someone at the counter but grins wide, look and shouts "Come on in, boys, look-arounds are free of charge."
So they look around a few minutes then get Fred's undivided attention, catch up, and they look at outboard modems. He has a 4800 baud for about what Nick wanted to spend, but then those are sort of a step-child in the grand scheme and lack some features of the 9600. He only has the 14.4 in internal and those are still kinda pricey.
"Tell ya what kid, I'll be glad to give you the 9600 at cost, and, what the hell, Happy Graduation, 10% on me."
At one point Nick gets around to mentioning he works for Emmett Bain and Fred nearly loses his mind, then surmises,
"Yeah we tried to work together but it fell through, he's awfully good at what he does. Nick you always have a job here if you need it, don't forget that."
Fred also had a good ol' time trying to sell Ned on the need for his own desktop but for now one at work is plenty. Plus he as a geeky college graduate on hand who can handle anything that comes up.
Last night, Nick started to hook it up then realized it didn't come with a cable. Nick recalls how they had distracted Fred with all the bantering and none of them though of it. But then the RadShack employee discount saves the day one more time. He'd gotten the com program set up and talking to the modem, the lights would blink as it clicked and acted like it knew what to do, but at that point it seemed best to not hook in the phone line, his brother usually called on Saturday evening, evidently he can't play cards or get laid.
He switched to organizing his hard drive and dug out his book-bag floppies to see if there were any forgotten games harvested from the campus lab, then played some pinball for a while, then shut it down and headed back out on the bike for the evening watch.
With the house desolate and minimal chance of someone calling, Nick dials the Gazetteer's BBS but getting a busy signal, maybe someone else was out to christen a modem. Fred had given him a few other numbers to try, some out of local exchange but those were a last resort or during night rates. The second number in the list actually connected, at least the hissing noise stopped and he gets a menu. Cool.
A preamble message is welcoming at first but then has a dire admonishment to not just drop session and to always exit from the menu, since an abrupt drop will cause the system to hang up and be unavailable until the admin/sponsor can reset it. For those will call waiting the suggestion is to preface your dialing with *70 for most local exchanges but to contact your phone company if unsure. Evidently this BBS is privately provided courtesy of someone's basement.
Looking around the menu for a few minutes reveals a discussion area, group chat, file uploads, and the namesake bulletin board with subjects ranging from politics to lost animals to various announcements. There's a messaging system, and it asks him to choose a handle to identify. He thinks about this for a bit, too much, as would be expected, but is starting to lean toward exiting out of this for now and coming back to it, when -
He hears a click in the modem, and then realizes he is frozen on the same screen, no key will unfreze it, click-click-click...no response. He hopes his line didn't drop and cause a system failure, maybe it would have been better to disconnect and re-dial using the star, um, what was that code? Didn't think to write it down, crap, now he'd have to try to find it in the phone book.
First he disconnects the phone line from the modem, then plugs it back into his phone to see if there's still modem noises from the other end, but here's nothing, then hits the hook, -
"-ick...Nick, are you there?"
"Mom?"
"Hi Honey, did you want to meet us for lunch?"
"Umm, well, I could -"
"We thought we'd hit the buffet with some of our church friends, they’d like to congratulate you.”
"Do I ever turn down a free meal Mom?"
"Who ever said that? We thought this should be your treat."
Nick sighs.
"Just put on a button-up shirt and look decent, your father and I are going to go for a drive."
"I'll try to find some pants too. Have fun guys, see you there."
He was starting to wonder when it would ever be a good time to use the modem, but then, for only half an hour at a time should be fine. At this point he's definitely glad he didn't choose an identity on that one board yet, yeesh.
Thankfully the phone book mentions the *70 trick if you don't want interrupted, and so he braves up and gets that worked into the connection params for the newspaper's BBS. This errors out at first then he digs out the little manual for the com program and that does the trick. For once he gets an answer and finds a very similar menu but with a slightly more professional feel, similar options, wonder if there's anything interesting on here, but sometimes it's more about the trip than the destination.
Gazing at him from a nearby corkboard, next to Paps' legendary radio QSL card, is a 5x7 picture of a female, an adult female, who'd defied all physics by giving him this photo as she would to a peer. She's slightly more tan than he's used to, in a hazy sun and with a beach behind her, plus, according to what she'd written on the back, the gulf waters from last summer with her extended family. There's more freckles than he remembers but those may have gone the way of last summer's tan. Naturally the water affects her eye coloring in ways he tries to ignore. She appears content, at least for the moment, but lacking the ardor, the spark, the joie de vivre he's come to know.
It's a hell of a pic tho, he'd never seen her in still form, she's a highly kinetic phenomenon, but it does her justice. His mom thought it was beautiful and Ned just added "at's muh boy." The card was from a store this time, depicting a scroll and mortarboard, and sans printing inside, just her phone number. Same area code as his but wasn't sure the town, and the exchange wasn't in their local directory.
Lunch is great, and a modest card from the church office, which is nice. The buffet has those breaded okra, Irene always says she'll make some but then forgets. Nick takes a drive after they settle up.
He's been feeling a bit of urgency to put his hat in the ring for the lab tech position. It would be an honor, Nick admired Brian in many ways, getting to be there but in a super-role of sorts, you get to set the rules instead of follow them, and if you know when to keep your mouth shut people respect you. Ned had already weighed in, his mom was just being her supportive self. It didn't sound like anyone else had been considered yet but no one knows for sure. For a bunch of reasons, some obvious, some not, it just seemed right to stay connected with campus, at least for now.
Nick gets home and reaches for that card on his shelf. He had already talked to his mom about calling long distance, he'd be doing mostly night rates and will cover it when the bill comes.
"Nick, we'll work it out, don't worry, that's what the phone is for after all."
It's the middle of the afternoon on a nice day. He grabs the cordless and heads onto the porch with the number on a piece of scrap, waits a second then starts dialing, then hits the hook. It feels silly to have to mentally rehearse what he'll say if he gets a machine or has to leave a message with someone. He has to push back the the thought of what to say (or think) if a male voice answers.
Nick takes a deep breath and dials. After a couple clicks it rings, but doesn't sound like he's used to, and then,
"Hello you are the lucky seventh caller on the WYOJ contest line what's your name and are you ready to PLAY to-DAY?"
It's a male voice in a rather convincing fully wired DJ mode.
"Um, Nick."
"Well um Nick this is your LUCKY day if you can answer our -"
Then the sound of scuffling, and Noreen's voice in the background,
"You motherf-" then muffled voices and more scuffling, "Nick? are you there?"
"Hey, what did I win?"
"Well you get to talk to me, but my dickhead brother just won a trip through the door - hang on." Followed by about twenty seconds of more hand-muffling.
"Okay, hi, sorry, he comes over here to hide from my sister in law when he's supposed to be doing whatever."
"Oh no worries. So do they live nearby?"
"Too close, another, yeah another long story, I keep saying that but we'll get there. So what's up? Glad to hear your voice, Nick."
"Love the picture."
"Thanks, but you're always too kind."
"No my folks do too, my dad practically congratulated me."
"Well then, I guess I'll take that. But then they don't really know me."
"That will change in time."
"I hope so. Have you been resting?"
"Yea, rode the bike...got a modem, and had lunch with some grandparents, still burping in fact."
"Thanks for that detail. What will you do with a modem?"
"Still figuring that out, just seemed like something to try, got into a couple boards already."
"Yeah I don't think we have any close by here."
"Just where is here? Is it a long story?"
"Not really, I'm about 20 minutes on the other side of campus from Jameson, address is Woho but I'm out in the boonies."
"Woho Warriors. I remember hearing games on the radio, all those snow delays."
"WOOHOOOOO Warriors, our battle cry. So what made you think of me this afternoon?"
He had to pause to not just say something stupid. "Well, I don't think I told you yet, but Goody offered me, well, or told me about the position opening up on campus, for the lab tech."
"Nick! I would hug you, that's awesome. Are you gonna take it?"
"Pretty sure I am. I want to call in and at least leave a message tomorrow, I mean, he told me about it the week before last but I don't want to, you know -"
"Right, if you're pretty certain then might as well, there's probably time to back out if things were to change, right?"
"It wouldn't probably start till August, I'd just keep working for Bain - um, RadShack - till then. Dad says nothing solid has turned up where he works. Dunno, it just seems like this is the thing at the moment."
"Well then it probably is. Happy for you, we'd both be on campus - shit, I...I let that slip, but that would mean a lot to me, this is about you."
"You're sweet."
"If you say so."
"There's something more."
"Uh oh. You're not pregnant are you?"
"Doctor hasn't called yet."
"Well I know it's not mine, so -"
"Goody says they might want me to teach a lower level course or two next year."
"NICK!!" and then what could only be described as an adrenaline-fueled version of the Roscoe P. Coltrane laugh from Dukes of Hazzard. "Oh I could just jump in your arms, that is..."
"Yeah haven't really thought about it yet."
She's still elated, then comes around, "Well...I hope you at least try it, but I think you'd be good at it, better than you might think."
"I'm sure I'd get plenty of good advice."
"We'd all be pulling for you. I can say this, or, even if I shouldn't - well, screw it...I got the impression that Al thinks the world of you, and by offering the lab geek - I mean, *ahem* -"
"Flattery will get you somewhere, dear."
"*PPPTTTTT* bite me", then laughs, "Anyway, you know, if he wants to keep you around for that then he must see it in you, I know I do, others must too. The world needs leaders Nicky, don't cut yourself short."
"Thanks Noreen. Yeah that campus has really become home."
"I totally get that, it's where I started before I transferred away - but that's (he joins) another long story."
They laugh, and Nick speaks up, "Glad it doesn't sound insane to you."
"Well, you know, there will be some days, but after a while you'll know if it fits your calling." Calling was a word Kevin had used a while back in the context of ministry, wonder if he ever found his, they had completely lost touch.
"I think you've found your calling recently too."
"Well it's definitely gotten a kick in the ass. The spring went well, wore me out but it was a good burn, felt right. Had some good students, we laughed, they challenged me - not in a bad way, but things I'd never thought of before, you know."
"Yeah, seems it has to work both ways."
"Absolutely. You know if you're around you could maybe audit my class sometime."
"You'd bust my balls."
"Nick you know that audits are just for exposure, there's no grade."
"Still."
"Yeah you'd be at my mercy, get all the tough questions, MWAHHHH haa haa haa haaaaaa."
"That's the stuff.
"So...have you thought about me?"
"Kinda hard not too with that picture."
"How about with the lights out?" This brought to mind when a sitcom studio audience reacts to a juicy line, WOOOOOOOOOO.
"Hmmmm."
"Before you get lost in fantasy land, I hope we can do something soon, maybe make a full day of it before real life kicks back in."
"Wanna hear something crazy?"
"I like where this is going. I think..."
"Last night, falling asleep -"
"Wait, hold on, is this preview for all ages?"
"Oh just listen. For whatever reason I just imagined we were sitting somewhere, no one else around, in the back seat of a jeep."
"A jeep?"
"Yeah, just the basic, a CJ or whatever, with the top off -"
"So I'm topless?"
"Well not at first - AHEM, no, the jeep of course, the vinyl - Oh, I give up."
She's laughing quietly.
"I can hear you laughing lady."
"Oh Nick, not sure if I'll ever qualify as a lady the way I mess with you. But that sounds really romantic. Hey..."
"That's for horses."
"Quiet, you. Are you free this Thursday?"
"I can be, haven't seen the schedule this week but there's always someone else more hungry for the hours."
"Excellent, lemme pull some things - do you have swimming trunks?"
"If I can find 'em."
"Find 'em, if we can shoot for Thursday I'll get you details. That is if you plan to call me again."
"Oh I might. Want my number?"
"Yes I do, I don't want you to have to shoulder all the phone bill, lemme grab a pen -"
After they finish up Nick looks around outside for a few and decides on another bike tour. He parks the phone on the charger, whistling conspicuously.
Irene asks gleefully, "We're you talking to your gal pal?"
"Put it on my tab," as he pecks her on the forehead and heads to the garage.
"At's muh boy," Ned adds.
He takes a bit more turns than the usual route, comes back and makes sure no one needs the phone, then sees where all the *70 trick can get him as the sun lowers outside the window screen.
Star 70 would make a great band name, he muses.