Re-Organizing - 5. Chapter 5

After spending the day dealing with Court politics, I was happy when we finally loaded into the Escalades and headed for the hotel. We quickly changed into jeans and soon were taking off for Pittsburgh. On the flight home, I spent some time with Ted, asking about the other flight crew. I was told that they were excellent pilots but not the most personable. He then added that if I needed another crew for the small plane, he knew a mated pair that would were unemployed and might like an interview. I decided I had enough to deal with and told Ted that I would dismiss the former Baron’s crew and asked him to find a crew for the smaller plane, reserving the right to say no once I met them.

I sat at the table seats with Scott, Billy, and Jake, and we discussed what we wanted to address first. After an hour or so, we decided that Scott would handle sorting out our private wealth while the rest of the Council worked on getting a handle on the Barony. This led to a discussion of responsibilities, and Billy explained that, as Baron, I could assign them as I pleased. Jake suggested that, as my Lord Steward, we treat Billy as my Chief of Staff, having him handle my personal schedule and coordinating everything the others did while Jake handled the administrative side of everything else.

Josh, as Warden of Baronial Properties, would maintain all property owned by the Barony. He would coordinate with Jake and Trevor, providing housing for the vampires Trevor needed to house, and commercial properties for the businesses Jake managed for the Barony. Brian would be responsible for collecting, accounting for, and distributing the Barony's funds, working with the others to increase our income and prioritize those areas we decided to spend. Chris would manage our legal department, ensuring that all our actions were within the laws of Dracul, as well as handling all legal matters where they involved the human courts. He was also responsible for representing Dracul as prosecutor in my Court and for ensuring that all accused were provided with a defense counsel, either at their own expense or at the expense of the Barony.

Billy reminded me that, as Chief Marshal of the Baronial Guard, Tommy was now in charge of not only the Marshals at the castle but of every Marshal in the Barony. There were Marshals at the headquarters of every State Police office, the police departments of all major cities, most smaller cities, and several county sheriff’s departments. I asked Jonesy to join us and asked him to spend the day helping Tommy contact these and get his office organized. I asked Billy to make arrangements for me to meet with Tommy as soon as we arrived, followed by a meeting with the late Baron’s Council. As Billy was doing this, Clint told us to buckle up, as we would be landing shortly.

Of course, our plans changed minutes after we arrived at the castle. Andrew came to say that the late Baron’s personal financial advisor had arrived and wanted to speak to the Baron. I told Andrew that this gentleman could meet with Scott, Billy, and me or be shown out. Andrew bowed and left, returning a moment later with a slim vampire with bushy black eyebrows who appeared to be about thirty-five. I could sense he was a bit older and a changeling.

“William Andrews, My Lords,” Andrew introduced the man. I tried to suppress my surprise as I shook hands with a man I had read about in history books and whose portrait hid my safe. I suspected I would have many more such meetings as my life went on.

“Ambassador Mellon, to what do we owe the honor?” I asked after introducing Scott and Billy.

“Ambassador was a previous life, My Lord. I go by Bill Andrews to the humans. I am here to see Baron Gareth Evans,” Andrew Mellon said with a bow.

“Gareth Evans died Monday morning by my hand,” I said. “I am now the rightful Baron of Pittsburgh.”

Showing no reaction, Mellon opened his briefcase and pulled out an envelope. Handing it to me, he explained, “I had instructions to deliver this to you this week, My Lord. It is your acceptance letter as a member of The Duquesne Club. Baron Evans insisted that it be approved and has paid your dues for the next twenty years.

“Have you discovered his will?” When I nodded, he said, “As my last official act for Gareth Evans, I am instructed to familiarize Your Lordship with the assets covered by his will. I am at your Lordship’s disposal for the rest of today. If that is not convenient, I will make time when it is.”

“And when you have fulfilled your obligations to Baron Evans, Ambassador?” I asked.

He replied, “If you desire, I can continue to manage these assets in your name.”

“We have discussed this already, Mr. Mellon, and had decided that I would handle our personal assets,” Scott explained. “But I am not foolish enough to refuse your advice and guidance. If you would join me in the Lord Steward’s office, we can begin.”

“I would be interested in hearing your tale, Mr. Mellon. Please join us for lunch,” I said before he followed Scott out of the room.

When they left us, Tommy and Leonard came in. I explained that I had asked Jonesy to help Tommy by introducing him to the various Marshals who acted as liaisons with human law enforcement and told him he had the use of the small plane for the next few days if he needed it. When Billy asked, Tommy explained that Captain Pierce would be promoted to Major and oversee these Marshals while Major Vega would supervise those assigned at the castle. He wanted to activate Jenny’s Marshal status and designate Lieutenant Riva as commander of my personal detail, with Jones, Johnny, Jenny, and two other Marshals under his command. He also explained that when I travel, Riva would coordinate with Vega, and she would temporarily assign Marshals to him for trips. I was sad to learn that Tommy wouldn’t be handling our day-to-day needs, as this meant we would see much less of him, but we all had new responsibilities.

When the rest of my Council came in, I asked Tommy to stay and to summon two Marshals in case we had problems with the late Baron’s Council. I sat at my desk, with my Council behind me, and told Andrew to escort the former Council into the office. Three men entered, but only two bowed. After a moment, I shifted my eyes and glared at him; on seeing them glow emerald green, he bowed.

“Gentlemen, I am officially informing you that Baron Evans is dead. I am Charles Gregory Fowler, by the laws of the Nation of Dracul, the rightful Baron of Pittsburgh.” They remained silent, and the one who was hesitant to bow continued to glare at me. “The Barony is more important than one man. As such, we are asking each of you to remain and assist our Council in their duties. You may remain as long as you desire, be that a few hours today, several days or weeks, or even permanently, in a suitable position assisting our Council.”

“And if we desire none of these?” the one who was glaring at me asked.

“You will address His Lordship properly,” Tommy snapped.

“And if we desire not to assist, My Lord?” he said, grudgingly adding the honorific.

“Then you will be shown to the door,” I said. Then growled, “After you identify yourself and the role you held.”

“William Carson, Adjutant to Baron Evans,” he replied. I glared until he added, “My Lord.”

“Well, Mr. Carson,” I said, my tone harsh, “we will have your vow that you will take no actions detrimental to the Barony nor to the rightful Baron thereof. If you find yourself unable to make such a vow, we will give you twenty-four hours to remove yourself from the Barony, never to return.”

“I will remove myself from the Barony, My Lord,” he spat.

“As you cannot make this vow, know this, Mr. Carson. If we find that you have taken any action against the Barony, you will join Baron Evans,” I stated. I turned to Tommy and ordered, “Assign Marshals to assist Mr. Carson with his packing, Chief Marshal.”

Once Carson left, escorted by two Marshals, I looked at the others and asked, “From your initial actions, we assume that you two don’t feel as strongly as Mr. Carson?”

They exchanged looks, and finally, the treasurer for the late Baron said, “We are happy to assist you in your transition, My Lord. I cannot speak for Merrick, but I would like to reserve judgment on how long I assist until I get to know you better, with all due respect, My Lord.” The other man nodded and murmured his agreement with this sentiment.

With this settled, Brian, Billy, and the former treasurer started going over the Barony's accounts while Chris and I talked with the former Lord Magistrate. The man, Merrick Raine, was an expert in Dracul law and was loyal to Dracul. As such, his loyalty to a Baron was tied to that Baron being in office. He was happy to accept a position as Chris’ chief counsel on Dracul affairs. He said that while he could not speak for them, he believed that all the attorneys he had on staff would feel the same. Two hours and several phone calls later, Chris had a staff with several local attorneys as well as several located in other cities in the Barony. After these calls, Chris and Merrick headed to the library to discuss legal matters.

Billy could speak for me, so rather than get involved with Brian and the Barony's finances, I went to join Scott and Mr. Mellon, er, Bill Andrews, to discuss our personal finances. As I entered, I heard Mellon explaining how, in June of ’08, he had sold off our US Steel stock, then repurchased it in February of ’09 for a net gain of $500M. When Scott looked at me, his face told it all. I then spent two hours listening to Andrew Mellon discussing which businesses he thought we should sell, which he thought worth investing in upgrading, and which areas he thought we should purchase businesses in to expand our holdings.

We were all shocked when we heard, “You should buy back all that Lowes and Home Depot stock you sold, Mr. Mellon.”

We turned to find Andrew’s nephew, Lucas, standing at the side door. Rather than reprimand him, Scott asked him to explain. As he did, I saw Scott and Mellon nodding. They asked a few questions, and then Scott asked Mellon to buy back the stock. They then spent twenty minutes asking Lucas what he thought about Apple, Google, Amazon, and several other tech companies. They asked what he thought about an upcoming offering, and Lucas said it would crash after opening and said the best upcoming opening would be a company called GoDaddy. He also told them that GoPro had peaked and was going to decline from last month’s high, saying we should sell all we had this week. Mellon felt strongly that we should invest in this Lending Club, so Scott authorized him to invest up to $500K as long as Mellon personally invested the same amount.

“Lucas,” Andrew said from the door, “I sent you to tell Their Lordships that lunch was ready, not to stick your nose in their business.” He looked at me and said, “Forgive me, My Lord. We’ll keep the boy in our quarters in the future.”

“Unless you object, Andrew, I’d like to spend a few hours with him this afternoon,” Scott said. “He just schooled the two of us and likely saved us quite a lot of money.”

“As you wish, My Lord. I will bring him to you after your lunch,” Andrew said.

“Actually, Andrew, I would like you, Amy, and Lucas to join us at the table for lunch,” I said.

I could tell he desperately didn’t like this, but I had not phrased it as a question, so he said, “I shall retrieve Amy, My Lord.”

When we got to the family dining room, the rest of my Council was already waiting for us. I shook my head and said, “You don’t have to wait for me to eat. What would you have done if we hadn’t shown up?”

“We figured you’d get hungry soon enough,” Jake snarked.

“Leave the three chairs opposite me for Andrew, Amy, and Lucas, please. Otherwise, sit where you like,” I said.

When Andrew and Amy joined us, they sat beside Lucas and began eating, not being rude but not comfortable enough to join the conversation. I decided to just come out with it. “Andrew, would you be able to continue your butler duties and act as my Lord Chamberlain?”

Andrew dropped his fork and stared at me. He stammered, “I am speechless, My Lord. I am honored, but…” he paused, seeming afraid to finish. Then he asked, “Why me?”

“Prince George reinforced my belief that you will be a great asset to me, Andrew. I can think of no one more qualified to guide me through the protocols of properly holding Court.”

Andrew was stunned. “You asked Prince George, My Lord?”

“No, Andrew, when I told him about the events that immediately followed my becoming Baron, he mentioned you by name, telling me to keep you around,” I explained. “After realizing that I needed a Chamberlain, there was only one name that came to mind.”

Amy nudged him and whispered, “Say yes, you idiot.”

I smirked at him and said, “Yeah, say yes, you idiot.”

Andrew smiled, looked around the table at my Council staring at him, and said, “Yes, My Lord, you idiot,”

When I recovered from laughing, I said, “Meet with me in my office after we eat so you can teach me what your job is. You start today, but I’ll make it official at my Court in December.”

“If I may, My Lord,” Merrick said from his seat beside Chris, “it was official the moment you said it unless you were actually giving His Lordship the option of refusing. You can accept his oath at any time and announce it at Court, but your decisions have the effect of law the moment you utter them.”

“You’ll learn that I try not to dictate the life choices of those around me, Mr. Raine, but I very much appreciate the fact that you spoke your mind.” I looked at Andrew and added, “I expect those on my Council to do that when appropriate.”

Merrick looked at Chris in confusion. “He didn’t just promote you, Mr. Raine, but when you’re at Greg’s private table, you’re expected to speak your mind.”

“No, Chris,” I corrected. “When you’re at my table, you’re required to speak your mind. If you won’t, you are taking a valuable seat from someone who might.”

“Does that mean I can talk about investing, My Lord?” Lucas asked.

“That’s between you, Mr. Mellon, and Scott,” I said. Then I had an idea. “But I will make you an offer. I will give you one hundred thousand dollars to invest. When you turn that into one million dollars, I will make you an official Financial Advisor to the Baron. How’s that sound?”

Lucas thought for a second, then asked, “I’ll need constant access to a computer, My Lord.”

I winked at Scott and said, “I think we can afford a computer just for you.” I turned to Andrew with a grin and said, “Lord Chamberlain, you will set young Lucas up in a room with a computer so he can attend to his duties. In fact, set up a room with several so Craig, Lucas, Chipper, and any other children in the castle can attend to their studies.”

“Ain’t we gonna go to the school that Daddy built, Uncle Greg?” Craig asked through a mouthful of food.

“Not with table manners like that,” Josh admonished.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Craig said with his mouth still stuffed.

“As much as I’d like to let you go to our school, I don’t think my Marshals would like it,” I said, getting nods of agreement from Jenny and Tony.

“Forgive me, My Lord, er, Greg, but if Andrew is Lord Chamberlain, does that make me Lady Amy?” I nodded. She looked sad and asked, “So I have to stop cooking for you?”

“You can do as you please, Lady Amy,” I replied, smiling. “I’ve enjoyed everything you’ve fed us so far. If you enjoy cooking, you’re welcome to continue supervising the kitchens. You’ll have to apply with my Lord Chamberlain for the job,” I added with a smirk.

Andrew grinned. “I’ll have to consider all applicants, My Lord, to be fair.” Amy smacked his shoulder. Then he looked at me and asked, “You said all other children in the castle, My Lord, when you talked about studies. Did you mean to include those children of staff?”

“I want to support our school, Andrew, but I also want to keep my staff together, so yes. The children of the staff and those Marshals assigned to the castle will study here with my children and those of my Council. We will need to arrange for a tutor.”

Paddy, the footman, entered and said, “Excuse me, My Lord, but Baronet Warnick is at the gate, accompanied by Baron Zell.”

“Thank you, Paddy. Please tell the gate to let them pass and show them in here when they arrive,” I said. Then I added, “Also, pass on to the Marshals at the gate that my parents and grandfather do not need my permission to enter.”

“Yes, My Lord,” he said, then quickly retreated to do as I asked. Several minutes later, he returned with James and a very recently renewed Erich Zell. When he moved away, I thought Mr. Z was almost ninety. The last time I saw this man, his hair was white and quite sparse, his skin was paper thin and wrinkled, and he shuffled rather than walked. Now, he looked like he could be Scott’s older brother. When he smiled, I jumped from my chair and ran to him, embracing him like a long-lost brother.

“Nice to see you too, My Lord,” he said as he returned my embrace.

I broke the hug and held him at arm’s length as I said, “Don’t you start, Mr. Z. I will never be anything but Greg to you. If anything, I should be calling you ‘My Lord.’ You were a Baron before I was born.”

“I will make you a deal,” he said, laughing at me. “I will call you Greg if you can call me Opa as Scotty does.”

I smirked. “I don’t know if I can call you Opa; you don’t look much older than me.” I glanced around. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. Have you had lunch?”

“We ate before we left, Greg, but we will sit and have a drink with you while you finish. And until you’re comfortable with Opa, at least call me Erich,” Mr. Z, er, Baron Zell said.

Scott had waited and finally got his chance to give his Opa a hug. He then introduced him to Chipper, Charlie, and the rest of the table. After all the adults had said, ‘Nice to meet you, My Lord,’ Erich reminded them all that he was no longer a Baron. After this, our conversation returned to the school.

After listening to us discussing the need for a tutor, Opa offered, “Actually, Greg, I have an old friend who has been tutoring vampires in Switzerland since he was changed in 1827. With your permission, I’ll contact him for you,”

“I would appreciate that, Opa,” I said, getting a smile from my grandfather, who looked like he was twenty. “I was about to ask Andrew to give us a tour of our new home. Would you and Dad like to join us?”

Not only did Opa and James want to join us, but our entire Council followed along as Andrew took us through the castle. He started with my office, Billy’s office, and the other office used by the previous Council, then showed us the large library. After this, we moved to the formal dining room, the main hall, and a large formal living room for entertaining guests. In the family section of the main floor, he took us back to the family dining room, then the game room, which was a large room with a pool table, foosball table, and poker table, along with a television set up with video game systems in one section, with two sofas, several chairs, and another television set up in another area for relaxing. We finished the main floor by showing Opa our bedroom and the nursery, which everyone else had seen.

From there, we headed up to the second floor where there were bedroom suites for family and guests. There were four large suites comprised of a sitting room, two bedrooms, and attached bathrooms, two lager suites with three bedrooms, and six single bedrooms, each with an attached bath. The third floor had twenty single bedrooms, each paired with a shared bathroom. When he hesitated at the stairs to the fourth floor, I asked him why.

“The fourth floor is the servant’s housing, My Lord,” he replied.

“And are you hesitant to take me into this because it’s private?”

“I’m hesitant because I feel I’ve come to know you a bit, and you won’t like it,” he explained.

“If it’s that bad, I won’t like it, but we can change it. Let’s see,” I said, pointing at the stairs.

We followed Andrew up the stairs, and he was right; I didn’t like what I found. Scott’s face mirrored those of my Council as we were shown bedrooms smaller than our closet, containing ancient metal bedframes, wardrobe cabinets, and little more. There were shared bathroom facilities with locker room-style gang showers, open toilets, and a line of sinks. Before I could share my thoughts, Josh spoke up.

“I will find housing for your staff before next weekend, Greg,” he said, looking around. “Those without families can be housed in a local hotel while we remodel this.”

“Coordinate that with Andrew, Josh. And both of you meet with me so we can decide what to do up here,” Billy said. He then asked, “Where are the children of staff, Andrew?”

“There are only three, My Lord,” Andrew replied. “Well, four now that we have Lucas. They’re in the servant’s hall in the basement.”

“Lead the way, My Lord,” Billy said to Andrew, emphasizing the honorific, hoping he’d get the point.

“Sorry, Billy, it’s habit,” Andrew said with a grin as he led us down the stairs. “While you were in Los Angeles, I spoke with the staff, and none plan on leaving. Most were wondering what they would do during the free time that was mentioned, and a few were concerned that they wouldn’t be sharing a room. While the rooms are cramped, those who share have become quite close.”

“As far as sharing housing, that’s up to them, Andrew,” I said. “You and Josh can work with them, and those who want to share a house or apartment are welcome to do so. I just don’t want them to feel like they have to. I’ll leave it up to you and Josh to work out the details, but if possible, I imagine the in-house quarters for servants to be primarily for Marshals and those of the staff who might be needed on short notice.”

“As per your implied instructions, Greg, I have plans to hire an additional ten footmen, and Molly is seeking eight more maids. This will allow us to keep the same number on duty while giving them three days off per week rather than the one they’ve had in the past,” Andrew said.

“Not questioning how you manage the staff,” Billy said, “but would you explain the scheduling?”

“Based on how Greg seems to prioritize things, I first asked the current staff how they would prefer to rotate their shifts,” Andrew said. He then explained, “I gave them several options, and the majority of them said they would prefer a seventy-two-hour shift with the same time period off. In order to have fifteen on duty at a time, in the past, I needed twenty footmen. Now, I’ll have two sets of fifteen footmen. One set works for three days, and then the other set works for three.”

“And their days off will vary, week to week,” Chris observed. “I don’t know if I’d like that. I couldn’t enjoy things like a softball league or something, not having a regular day off.”

“Three days off out of seven is a major change for vampires used to working six of seven, Chris,” Andrew said. “We may have to make changes as the staff adjusts to actually having a life outside of work, but for now, they’re ecstatic.”

Our conversation had taken us to the basement, which is a misleading term for the castle. There is an actual subterranean basement level, but this would be more properly called the ground floor, with the floor being two to six feet below the ground outside, depending on where you were. Anyway, the basement was the workings of the house, containing a smaller commercial kitchen for daily meal preparation and a much larger one to be fired up for large events. Along with the kitchens were offices for Andrew, the head housekeeper Molly, and the head cook Amy, where they kept the various records they needed to manage their part of the house. The basement also had several storage rooms that contained several sets of dishes and flatware, decorations for holidays or events, and stacks of extra furniture, so the various public rooms could be reconfigured depending on need.

There was also the room that brought us down here, the servant’s hall. As Scott had said the other day, it held two large dining tables where the staff took their meals, as well as a sitting area with a television where they could relax while on breaks. In this sitting area were three children watching a cartoon I didn’t recognize. Andrew introduced us to his son, Andy, Molly’s daughter, Tina, and the daughter of a maid I hadn’t met, who was named Lisa. Lisa looked about Chipper’s age, while Andy and Tina looked to be between two and three years old. I wasn’t thrilled when I realized that this one television was the entirety of the staff’s entertainment.

I turned to Craig and said, “Would you take these kids up to play in the family game room? And take Lucas and Chipper with you. Send word and see if Tommy will let Mandy join you.”

“Okay, Uncle Greg,” he said and tried to get the others to follow. They wouldn’t go until Andrew finally stepped in and told them it was okay.

“And pass the word to the staff,” Scott said. “They are welcome to use the family game room during their time off. If they won’t do it based on your word, I’ll call another staff meeting.”

“Josh, as the crews finish at the school, tell them to plan on working on the grounds here for the rest of the winter. And I want to meet with Alan as soon as possible,” I said. Then, realizing that might be too much, I added, “Make that as soon as he can without interfering with his work on the school.”

“I already have him coming this evening, Greg. We’ll meet with you after he and I go over the issues at the school,” Josh replied.

“Andrew, I’d like you in that meeting, please,” I said. “And get word to Tommy to join us as well.”

“The only things we haven’t seen are the attic and basement storage rooms, Greg,” Andrew said. “Would you like to see those?”

“While we’re down here, I’d like to see the lower basement,” Josh said. “I might want to do something with some of that space.”

Chris, Merrick, Brian, Mr. Mellon, and Trevor had no interest in seeing storage areas and chose to head upstairs to continue their work from earlier. As Amy had left us when we started the tour, saying she knew the house and had things to do, that left Scott, Josh, Billy, Andrew, and I to tour what Andrew referred to as the sub-basement.

The first thing Josh wanted to explore was, of course, what he called the mechanicals: the heating, air conditioning, plumbing systems, and electrical service. When he saw these, his expression told me we were in for more than superficial changes. Rather than going into details, he said he would discuss it with Alan before we met later. That done, we explored several storage areas, most filled with antique furniture. When I asked if this was for rotating the décor, Andrew explained that the late Baron always said that was the plan, but when it came time to redecorate, the old always got stored and replaced with new. By looking at what was stored, you could see time capsules of each decade of the twentieth century spelled out in furniture.

Josh pushed past the stored items wherever he could to inspect the foundations. When we had seen everything, he looked around, seeming lost in thought. I assumed he would share his concerns with me at our meeting. Having seen all of the sub-basement, we returned to the main level where Andrew followed Opa, Dad, Scott, Billy, and me to my office, and once there, we discussed how his new title would affect his responsibilities.

“For a Baron, Greg, the changes are mostly ceremonial,” Andrew said. He went on to explain, “I will appoint two of the footmen as chamberlains, and they will be designated to escort guests into your presence. As for me, my day-to-day responsibilities don’t change. I will supervise the staff, order supplies, ensure that Amy and Molly are managing their duties properly, oversee your wine and blood cellars, and maintain the dignity of your household, as I have done.”

“And who will handle things when you’re off?” Billy asked.

“I will work a five-day schedule, taking weekends off unless His Lordship has an event that requires my ceremonial attendance,” Andrew replied. “I will sleep on Wednesday nights.”

“I won’t argue with how you manage the schedules,” I said, “but if you’re not taking enough time off, you’ll accept a higher salary. Have you considered who you’ll assign as chamberlains?”

“Paddy and Randal are the prime candidates, as they have never needed their appearance corrected,” Andrew replied. “They will alternate shifts and be posted at the main entrance and escort guests to your presence. Have you given any thought to your livery, Greg?”

Confused, I asked what he meant, so Andrew explained that the uniforms of the household staff traditionally were designed in colors that matched or complimented the coat of arms of the noble. He used the House of Winsor as an example, noting that the coat of arms was predominantly red, with white, gold, and blue, and the British Royal household wore uniforms that reflected this. Their coats were red or blue, with their trousers and vests being white or blue, and everything was decorated with gold braid, denoting their position on the staff.

“I don’t have a coat of arms, Andrew. Just continue to use what you have until I figure that out,” I said.

Opa said, “If I may suggest, the heraldic artist who designed mine is in Zurich, Greg. I will contact him and have him create a few designs for your review if you don’t mind.”

“That would be great, Opa,” I said.

James said he needed to return to his duties, so Andrew showed him out. After Opa made two calls to Switzerland, he said that both the educator and the heraldic artist were interested in meeting with me, so Billy made arrangements for both to visit me tomorrow evening. When I asked Opa for advice, his reply stunned me.

“From what I’ve seen, you don’t need my help, Greg. You’ve taken control, you’re evaluating your Barony, and you’re adjusting things to match your personal beliefs. I don’t know what I can teach you,” he said. Then grinned and added, “But I’m happy to stick around and visit with my son, grandsons, and great-grandsons.”