My long-range forecast

My long-range forecast -- chapter 50

Greetings to all of the readers in Nifty land! I hope that the week has been good to all of you and that you're getting ready for the weekend. It's hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving.

I continue to rewrite, add to and write more chapters of this story and I'm seeking any suggestions, constructive criticms or positive feedback you have about the story. Please send information to cjwilson328@aol.com. For those if you who have already reached out to me - my thanks! I'm working your ideas into future storylines.

The chamber of commerce recognizes CJ for his heroic actions in the apprehension of Jasper Jeffers. A special dinner is being held in recognition of him for his heroism.

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Thursday went by quickly for me. I believe it was due to my anticipation of the dinner with the chamber of commerce, as well as knowing I was going to surprise Randy with an extraordinary gift to his organization.

Everything went fine on the newscasts, and I headed back for the condo immediately after the noon broadcast. No one was in the condo when I walked in. I decided to get my third workout in for the week while I had the time.

I found myself alone in the exercise room again. I turned the stereo on and began my warm up routine. I decided to go light today with leg work and rode on the bicycle, ran on the treadmill and finished up my leg work on the leg press machine. I felt good that I had stuck to my plan for this week and managed to work in three workouts.

I wrapped up my workout around 3:00 pm and headed back for the condo. As I was waiting at the elevator, Wally approached me and said "hey stud, if you're not doing anything tonight, can I buy you dinner? I find you extremely handsome, and it will be my honor to show you a night on the town." I cracked up, gave him a kiss and said "can I give you a rain check? I've got to go to this damn recognition dinner with my beautiful partner tonight. At least he is the best part of my evening!" We both laughed and he said "how about a shower together instead?" I looked into his eyes, gave him another kiss and said "deal big guy!"

As usual, I cannot tell you where a shower with Wally takes me. Each experience provides so much pleasure to me. I get lost in my thoughts and worship my studly god as he takes me around the world and back. I love him so much and I know he loves me also. I cannot believe how lucky we are, and I hope the upcoming Labor Day weekend solidifies our bond together forever.

After the shower, we each put on a pair of shorts and went out on the patio to enjoy the afternoon breeze. Wally got us each a glass of ice tea to drink while we were soaking up the afternoon sunshine. Wally looked at me and said "baby, I have something important to share with you about tonight's dinner. As you know, I am a member of the chamber of commerce. I don't actively participate, but I do provide contributions and services to the chamber when I can. You're aware that they will be presenting you with a reward tonight, but the chamber is also going to present a matching reward to the charity of your choice. I'm not going to tell you the amounts, so that at least will be a surprise for you. I did not want you to be caught off guard at the dinner when the announcement is made."

I smiled at Wally and said "wow sweetheart, thank you for clueing me into this. I appreciate having advance notice of it. Are you aware of any stipulations for my reward?" Wally said "no, I am not. The chamber raised a significant amount of money for your heroics. Due to the chamber being a non-profit regulated organization, they needed to split the award for legal purposes. The thinking was that you can still receive part of the reward and feel good about the remainder going to a charity organization."

I took a drink of my ice tea and said "do you think I will piss off the chamber members if I still announce my portion is being donated to a group or someone in need?" Wally smiled at me and said "no, I think you will be held in high regard with all of the members. As far as their books are concerned, the money goes to you. What you do with it afterward is your business. What are you thinking about doing babe?" I smiled at him and said "my wheels are turning on it, Wally, and I'll let you know in a couple of hours." I took his hand, kissed it and said "thanks babe for letting me know this now. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the chamber's recognition of me. You and I talked about the lottery this week, and I agree with you. Money is nice, but it does not give us the happiness that we have now. I love you sweetheart, and I want to donate my portion to a community service organization, or families in need. I'll surprise you at dinner." Wally smiled at me and said "I agree with you babe. I love you, and I'm so damned proud of you CJ!"

Wally and I got dressed for the dinner. I must say, we looked damn fine and together we are a handsome couple. We both chose to wear light grey suits. He went with a white dress shirt, and I chose a light blue one. I'm so proud of us and I have to get Alex to take pictures of us two before we leave.

I grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. I expected Alex to be there waiting for us, but I was surprised to see Aaron, Bailey, Carl and Trev waiting with Alex. Alex came up to me and whispered in my ear "I put your rings in your file cabinet drawer. Make sure you get them sometime tonight or tomorrow morning."

Trev said "okay, let's get some pictures everyone. We'll start with all five of you first." This continued on and Trev took couple pictures of me with everyone else in the group. I said "what's all this for Trev? You see me in a suit every day." He cracked up and said "I wanted to get some non-work pictures for you. Once these are developed, you may want to put some of them up on your wall of fame." I smiled at him and said "okay, but I want at least one of you, Carl and me together as well as couple pictures with both of you."

After the pictures were done, someone knocked at the door. It is a man I did not recognize who is dressed in a black suit and tie. He said "good evening. My name is Leonard and I'm here to take the Walter's party to the Hyatt." I looked at Wally and said "what the hell did you do?" He smiled at me and said "since you're going to surprise me later tonight, I'm surprising you now with our private limo service for the evening." I looked out to the parking lot, and sure enough there was a stretch limo waiting for us." I cracked up, went to Wally, gave him a kiss and said "thanks babe! You got me!"

The five of us got into the limo and I saw two bottles of champagne chilling for us. Bailey pulled one bottle out, popped the cork and said "who wants a glass of champagne before dinner?" Soon, all of us had a flute of champagne and Wally said "everyone, please join me in honoring the man who brings us all together tonight. I'm so happy that we're here together in friendship and love. To CJ everyone, our dear friend, the love of my life and our influencer extraordinaire." Everyone replied "to CJ!"

Leonard drove us around town as we had some time to kill before the dinner. Bailey opened the second bottle of champagne and we all partook in another glass before arriving at our destination.

The limo pulled up to the Hyatt and Wally took Leonard's business card. Leonard said "just call me Mr. Walters when you're finished with dinner. I'll take the five of you wherever you want after the dinner." Wally replied "thanks Leonard, that was an enjoyable ride around town and we look forward to another one after dinner."

The five of us entered the hotel and proceeded to the ballroom where the dinner was being held. Bailey and I were quickly surrounded by chamber members as we entered the ballroom. Several people recognized Wally and welcomed him to the event as well. I felt bad for Alex and Aaron, but they were both standing tall and proud for being included in the evening. Luckily Darrell entered the ballroom after us and joined Alex and Aaron. He smiled at both of them and said "let's go grab a drink at the bar."

The greetings continued with so many chamber of commerce members. I'll never remember everyone's name, but it's so nice to be welcomed by the various members. Ever since I have moved to St Petersburg, I have received nothing but warm welcomes wherever I go in the community. I am so proud to be part of the community, and look forward to continue planting my roots in the fine community that I now call home.

Betty made her way to me, gave me a hug and said "welcome CJ. This is an incredible turnout for the chamber of commerce and you are the reason for it. Enjoy the evening CJ, and stand proud for all of us at channel 2 tonight!"

I continued to be welcomed by a number of members of the chamber of commerce when the president of the chamber asked to everyone to find their tables. I made my way to the channel 2 table. I sat between Wally and Bailey. Randy introduced himself to those at the table whom he did not know.

The chamber president began the dinner and the invocation was led by a local clergy member. After the invocation concluded, the president said "welcome everyone to a special meeting of the St Petersburg chamber of commerce. I'm so pleased that we have such a large turnout this evening. As most of you know, we're here this evening to recognize a member of our local media. CJ Walters joined the St Petersburg community in June of this year. He's taken the airwaves of channel 2 by storm and is now serving as the co-anchor and weatherman of the morning and noon news broadcasts at channel 2. Recently CJ was involved in a disturbing event in our community. I'm happy to report that CJ came through the event fine and in good health. During this event CJ took heroic actions to apprehend a criminal that threatened our community in a grave and dangerous manner. CJ, on behalf of everyone in this room tonight, we welcome you and thank you for your heroic actions. It's our honor to recognize you tonight for your heroic actions in the apprehension of Jasper Jeffers." The room erupted with applause and I stood up and acknowledged everyone with a "thank you". The president continued on and said "tonight's dinner is a buffet style event. Please help yourself to the buffet, and we also have a bar set up for any beverages you desire. Please enjoy the dinner everyone, and we will resume with our program after everyone has had a chance to eat."

A server came to our table and asked us to proceed to the buffet line. He also asked if any of us desired a glass of wine with dinner? I requested a glass of white wine and then proceeded to the buffet line with my friends and the love of my life.

For a buffet dinner, the selections were plentiful and everything I sampled was very well prepared. I tried to eat my dinner, but people kept stopping by the table to introduce themselves to me. I did not want to appear as being rude to anyone so I welcomed their introductions with warm and inviting responses. I eventually was able to finish some chicken and fish along with some side dishes. My stomach now had enough in it to counteract any side effects of the champagne and wine. I did not want to make a fool of myself, so I slowly sipped my wine with dinner.

The hotel also had a dessert table set up with various kinds of pies, cake and cheesecake. My man picked up a piece of cheesecake for me knowing I will enjoy it to satisfy my sweet tooth. The conversation at our table never stopped and a good time is being had by all.

The chamber of commerce president returned to the stage after most people had finished their dinner. He brought the group under control and said "I hope everyone enjoyed dinner and it's time to continue on with our recognition this evening. It's my honor to introduce fellow chamber of commerce member Betty McDonald who is the Director of Community Affairs at WPHS, channel 2 in St Petersburg. Betty will be introducing our guest of honor this evening. Please welcome Betty McDonald everyone."

The crowd applauded as Betty took the stage. She began her comments with "Good evening, everyone. It's an extreme honor to be here with all of you this evening as we recognize CJ Walters. CJ joined WPHS approximately three months ago after his graduation from Maumee College. CJ came to the channel 2 family from southwestern Ohio near Cincinnati. He started his broadcasting knowledge at his high school television station. CJ took the station management and our national network management by surprise in March of this year when he auditioned live on our Saturday news shows. After he completed the audition, he was hired by WPHS to be the weekend weather anchor."

Betty continued saying "Through a number of personnel changes at WPHS, CJ is now serving as the news co-anchor and weather anchor for our morning and noon news shows. He is doing an excellent job, and is bringing refreshing changes to our morning broadcasting team and our station. I now must take everyone back five years ago now to inform you of why we are here tonight."

Betty continued with "Five years ago, a WPHS associate was being stalked by an individual named Jasper Jeffers. Jeffers committed a number of crimes in addition to the stalking of our associate. He was convicted of the crimes and spent five years in a correctional facility in northern Florida. Earlier this year, Jeffers was released and returned to the St Petersburg area. The personnel changes involved the person he stalked five years ago. When this person disappeared from our broadcasts, Jeffers blamed CJ for getting the former associate fired from our station. The former associate was not fired, but chose to leave our station for a larger broadcast market on the west coast."

Betty took a drink of water and continued the story. She said "I now bring you back to present day approximately three weeks ago. CJ and four other WPHS associates were confronted and threatened by Jeffers on a downtown St Petersburg Street. Jeffers pulled a knife on CJ and fortunately he was not injured in his struggle with Jeffers to get the knife away from him. Jeffers continued to evade the police for five days and committed a number of burglaries in the area. One burglary involved him seizing a number of illegal drugs which were laced with fentanyl. In his stalking of CJ, Jeffers tracked CJ to his condo complex. CJ was working out in the exercise facility at his condo complex when he noticed someone moving behind him in a mirror. The person that CJ noticed was Jeffers, and through smart action on CJ's part he trapped Jeffers in a weight machine."

Betty said "excuse me everyone, I get chills through my system when I think of what could have happened to CJ on that dreadful afternoon of August 14th. The police were dispatched to CJ's complex and Jeffers was apprehended. Jeffers had the drugs in a vehicle he had stolen and the police were able to recover everything. Later, Jeffers admitted that he was going to kill CJ by strangling him."

When Betty said this, there were noticeable gasps amongst the audience members. Betty continued and said "Due to CJ's quick actions, Jeffers was incapacitated and illegal narcotics with a street value of over three-million dollars were seized and destroyed before hitting the streets of St Petersburg and Pinellas County. CJ potentially saved a number of lives that day. I know he is being humble at the station and says that he is not a hero. However, we disagree. Ladies and gentlemen of the chamber, please join me in welcoming our guest of honor this evening, CJ Walters."

Everyone in the audience stood up and gave me a round of applause. I stood and went to the stage with Betty. I gave her a hug, and approached the microphone. The applause continued and I said "thank you everyone and thank you Betty for the introduction."

I took several deep breaths and began my comments. I said "Ladies and gentlemen of the chamber, I feel very fortunate and extremely honored to be here with all of you this evening. I appreciate all of your kind words this evening about my heroic actions. I don't consider myself a hero. Rather, I do know that I'm a victim of crime. The whole event that Betty described still seems surreal to me, but it did happen. Fortunately, it's the darker side of television broadcasting that you rarely hear about."

I continued on and said "a hero by definition is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. I know that a number of you will challenge me when I say that I'm not a hero. You will point to my courage which allowed me to capture Jeffers in an exercise machine on the afternoon of August 14th. I'm standing here tonight to tell you that it was my self-preservation instincts which kicked in to give me the strength to fight the man and get away from him as quickly as I could. I won't deny that my self-preservation instincts led to outstanding accomplishments from our local police force in seizing the illegal drugs which could have devastated our community."

I took a drink of water and continued on with "During the past two weeks, I have done quite a bit of reflection on the events I have gone through as a crime victim. The one outstanding theme that I keep coming back to is that each crime victim needs a solid support system to help them through processing their ordeal. I have been very fortunate to have a solid support system in my friends, family, coworkers and the St Petersburg community. I've also realized that a number of individuals in our community do not have a solid support system in place and lack the help they need to recover from their ordeals. This self-realization has given me the strength to want to become a better person in my community and pay it forward with my services to other victims of crime who are not as fortunate as me."

I paused for a few seconds and continued on saying "I want to introduce six special members of my support system to all of you now. I could not bring everyone with me as we would have had to add five or more tables to this event tonight and my speech to all of you would have impacted our bedtimes this evening." Laughter spread amongst the crowd and I said "first, I'd like to introduce Bailey Stauffer to all of you." I motioned for Bailey to stand and said "Many of you know Bailey, but for those of you who have not had the pleasure to meet him Bailey is the General Manager of WPHS, channel 2. Bailey was dealing with a personal emergency on the day that Jasper Jeffers entered my life. When Bailey heard that I was being threatened, he dropped everything and came to the station to ensure the safety of myself and my fellow coworkers. He did not leave our sides until he knew the event had been turned over to the authorities and felt that we were as safe as we could be. Over the next few days, he watched us like a hawk and continued to make sure our well-being was attended to. Bailey is teaching me so much about the television industry and he is also teaching me how to become a better individual with gestures of caring, compassion and sharing his life-experiences with me. Bailey, it's an honor to serve under you at WPHS and please know that wherever our journeys take us in this industry, you will always hold a special place in my heart dear friend. Thank you for all that you do for everyone at WPHS, and thank you for being part of my support system." The crowd erupted in applause and the chamber members gave Bailey a standing ovation.

I continued on and said "Later in the morning I was introduced to Detective Darrell Fullinger of the St Petersburg Police Department." I motioned for Darrell to stand, and again the crowd gave Darrell a round of applause. "Darrell has quickly become a friend of mine as he has helped me tremendously through my experience with crime. I feel very safe knowing that Darrell and the other fine individuals of the St Petersburg Police Department protect us with their courage every day. I've been amazed at how Darrell treats every victim of crime as a person, and not just another case number on his list of crimes to solve. Throughout my five-day ordeal Darrell reassured me numerous times that Jeffers will be caught and kept me well informed of items I needed to pay particular attention to. I felt so relieved when I saw Darrell running to me on August 14th as I knew that he was going to take charge of the crime scene and that my ordeal will be resolved. After everything was over, Darrell followed up with me and offered advice to me on how to get over feelings I was experiencing after my run in with Jasper Jeffers. Darrell, thank you and all of the police officers in the St Petersburg Police Department who assisted me during my time of need. I want to also thank you personally for being part of my support system." After I finished my comments on Darrell, everyone in the ball room gave Darrell a standing ovation and a number of individuals around him gave him a handshake and thanked him for his service.

While the crowd was applauding Darrell, I took the opportunity to take another drink of water as my throat was very dry from all of the talking I was doing. I said "Next, I'd like to introduce Alex Turner to all of you." Alex rose to his feet and the crowd gave him a round of applause. "I met Alex in June when I moved to St Pete Beach. He and I have become very good friends and after this incident I now know that Alex is the chief of my security detail. There is no one I'd rather have in my corner fighting for me other than Alex. Throughout my ordeal, Alex stuck next to me like glue! Some people may find this annoying, but I did not. I felt so reassured with Alex following me home from work, or going with me to any store I needed to go to. I was afraid for Jeffers if Alex met him on the street first as I knew that Alex was serious about kicking his ass for me." Laughter erupted throughout the crowd and I looked at the chief and gave him a wink. I continued on and said "Alex gave me a whistle to use in case I needed to draw attention to a serious matter. On that afternoon of August 14th, once I had incapacitated Jeffers, I used that whistle to summon help and Alex was the first one running to me in my time of need. I will never forget the look on his face as he reached me and assisted me in sitting down to calm my nerves. Alex my friend, you and I will be friends for life and I'm so proud to have you in my support system." Again, the crowd gave Alex a standing ovation and Alex blushed, waived to the crowd and looked at me with his puppy dog eyes. I knew he was saying "thank you CJ for everything you do for me."

I next turned my comments to Aaron and informed everyone in attendance of the same experiences that Aaron and I have shared in our early lives. I said "I remember the day I told all of my friends about my first encounter with Jeffers, and Aaron telling me he will find someone else to perform his father's eulogy as he wanted me to be safe. We both made it through the day of his father's funeral and I still vividly see Aaron running behind Alex that afternoon to make sure I was okay. He didn't think about his own safety as he entered the exercise room to ensure that Jeffers was trapped. He took the initial charge of the scene and made sure paramedics, police officers and other first responders got to where they needed to be. Aaron my friend, you and I have shared similar unforgettable incidents in our first 22 years of life. I'm so proud to call you a dear friend in my life and thank you for being part of my support system." Aaron received the same treatment from the audience as the others did.

I continued on and said "This past week I attended an introduction meeting at the Pinellas Partners in Action organization. At this meeting I met the director, Randy Olsen." Randy stood up for me and the crowd gave him another round of applause. "When I met Randy this week, I informed him of three items I want to obtain from his organization. He is working with me and I'm now realizing that the three items I identified to him are in progress for me. I'm very impressed with Randy, his staff and how they help crime victims obtain services they need after their ordeals. I am so impressed with everything that I decided to join his organization and offer my services that I can provide to help pay it forward to my community. I met a father and son who are down on their luck, and even though it's early in my experiences with the group I can tell you that working with the Pinellas Partners in Action will be one of the most rewarding experiences I will have in my life. To everyone in the audience, if you are searching to pay it forward like me, I suggest you check into the Pinellas Partners in Action group as an outlet for your community service desires. Randy, my thanks to you and your staff for all that you do for our fine community. I thank you also for being there for me and becoming part of my support system." Randy received the same accolades as my other friends did with a standing ovation from the crowd.

I looked at my man and said "Finally, I'd be remiss tonight if I don't introduce you all to Anthony Walters who is the owner of Walters Construction and a member of this chamber of commerce." I made a gesture to Wally to stand, and I can tell by the new shade of crimson on his face that I'm taking him by surprise. "I met Wally on my first day in St Pete Beach. After spending one night with him at dinner, I knew I had met a friend for life. Wally has assisted me in so many ways through my transition to living in Florida versus Ohio. When my ordeal with Jeffers began, Wally was beside me in every way that I needed. I remember the first morning after the incident, I went to work with him following me in at 2:15 am ensuring my safety. He handed me a crow bar and said `keep this where you can reach it CJ. Don't crush his skull, but if that evil person catches you on the street hit him in the arm or leg to stop his advance on you.' He was also there on both days of my encounters with Jeffers and took care of me with compassion, his caring action and filling me with a sense of protection. I now see him helping so many people in our community with the same qualities. A competitor of his recently filed for bankruptcy unexpectedly. He is now assisting the families who are left high and dry on a pro-bono basis in order to get them back into their residences. Wally, I admire you so much for all of the upstanding qualities you display on a daily basis. I hope that I aspire to achieve all of the same qualities I see in you. Thank you for always being there for me and thank you for being my support system." I purposely did not say "part of my support system" and wondered how many of the attendees caught it? Again, after I completed my comments, the crowd gave Wally a standing ovation. I saw Alex giving him a hug at the table and a smile came to my face.

I took another sip of water and said "I want to thank everyone in attendance for your warm welcome and the recognition that you are bestowing upon me. This is just another example of the beautiful community that St Petersburg has to offer, and I am so happy to call this fine community my home. I am extremely honored to be here with all of you tonight, and it's my extreme pleasure to pay my services forward to St Petersburg in any way that I am able to."

After I finished my comments, there was one final standing ovation given to me. I waved at the crowd and continued to say "thank you" in various directions throughout the audience. Betty came up to me and gave me a hug. She whispered in my ear "so well done, CJ. I am so proud of you and I hope you recognize what you did for yourself, channel 2 and the community this evening."

As Betty and I finished our hug, the chamber president returned to the podium and said "Thank you CJ for that inspiring speech. We appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts and views you have shared with us this evening. I believe that I speak for all of the chamber members here that you are a beacon of shining light for our proud community of St Petersburg." The chamber members shared a round of applause after those comments.

The president continued and said "CJ, even though you have made it clear that you don't consider yourself a hero, we do. Our goal here tonight is not to embarrass you, but rather show you how much we appreciate your self-preservation instincts and the noble qualities you possess. On behalf of the members of the St Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the residents of St Petersburg, it is my pleasure to present you with this reward of $50,000 dollars." I looked at Betty and another woman who removed a cover from a large check which held my name and the amount of $50,000. I was in shock, and I knew I was showing my shock to the entire audience."

The president continued on and said "In addition to this reward CJ, we also want to present a matching check to the charity of your choice in the amount of $50,000." Betty and the other woman removed a second cover and I was stunned that I was being presented with a total of $100,000 to be distributed as I see fit.

I gathered my thoughts and returned to the podium. I stumbled with my words at first and then finally said "thank you everyone for this generous reward. I'm shocked, feel blessed, touched and again so proud to be part of this outstanding community. It's truly an honor to be in front of all of you receiving this reward. I am very appreciative of what you are doing for me, and in turn I want to do as I said earlier and pay it forward to the community."

I choked up and said "For the charity of my choice, I'd like to present the $50,000 to Randy Olsen and the Pinellas Partners in Action. The work that they do for the community often goes unnoticed and I want to assist the organization in any way that I possibly can in the future." The president resumed speaking and said "Randy, will you join us on the stage." I know I took Randy by surprise, but I was serious with my comments. I truly feel he has changed my life by introducing me to Fred, Jimmy and hopefully many other individuals I can help in the future.

Randy joined us on the stage, shook my hand and gave me a hug. He approached the podium and said "thank you CJ, and thank you to all of the chamber of commerce members. This gift will help Pinellas Partners in Action tremendously as we continue to serve crime victims in our community with services they are going without. I'm shocked and just want to share with you what I witnessed in CJ earlier this week. After attending one meeting with our group, he volunteered his services immediately. When he says he wants to pay it forward to our community, he genuinely means it. He is working with children in our organization and he has promised me that he plans to become an active part of our volunteer services in our community. We need more people like CJ Walters, and I thank him for this wonderful gift and for being the high-quality individual that he is." The crowd applauded Randy and I stepped back up to the podium.

I looked at my partner, took a deep breath and said "I don't want to insult the chamber members, but I want to take my generous reward and return it to the community as well. I'm truly appreciative of your reward to me, however I mean what I say when I want to pay it forward to the community. In working with Randy, I have run across a father and his young son, Fred and Jimmy Peterson. An arsonist destroyed their home, and Fred has recently lost his job. I plan to donate half of my reward to them in order to help them get back on track. I know that Fred desires to get Jimmy and him back into permanent housing. I hope that my donation to them will assist in the down payment of a new home for the two of them. In addition, I want to help out a hero of mine. I told you earlier about Anthony Walters helping community members pro-bono on finishing their houses due to a business competitor of his declaring sudden bankruptcy. I don't want to see Wally incur the cost alone, and I will be donating the remainder of my reward to his company in an attempt to ease the financial burden. I appreciate what he is doing for ten families in the community and it's my intent to help him out as much as I can. I'm not sure that $25,000 will complete all ten houses, but I know that when Wally and I put our minds to something, we give it our all to get it done."

I took a few breaths and said "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been an extreme pleasure to be here with all of you tonight. I want to thank each and every one of you for your generosity and allowing me to pay it forward to the community. If you ever see me on the streets doing a news report, please stop by and say hello. I love this community, and plan to make it my permanent home for a long time. Good night and God Bless you all." The entire assembly all stood up and gave me a final thunderous standing ovation. I shook the president's hand and exited the stage. I was mobbed by people on the way back to my table giving me handshakes, hugs and wishing me well.

The president of the chamber made a few closing comments, and the event came to a close. Everyone at my table was swarmed by more well-wishers. Wally received numerous business cards of people wanting to help him out with further donations for the families in need. Randy also received a significant number of business cards from people wanting to help him and the Pinellas Partners in Action.

Bailey pulled me over to the bar and said "how about a bourbon ice tea before we leave here?" I smiled and nodded my head yes. He ordered, then handed me my glass. He said "congratulations CJ. I am so damn proud of you, and look what you have done tonight! Your partner is receiving additional donations to help those families out, and Randy soon will have more volunteers for his organization. You did good tonight, and I'm so happy to have you in my life support system. Cheers to you stud!"

The president of the chamber came up to Bailey and I. He looked at me and said "CJ, I don't believe we have ever been formally introduced. I'm Cecil Gebhardt, and I run Gebhardt's Business Machines in the Pinellas County area. I'm impressed as hell with what I just witnessed out of you tonight son. Your generosity, sincerity and desire to assist the community are admirable qualities. If I ever can be of assistance to you or your friends, please call me and I'll be happy to be at your service." I smiled and said "thank you Cecil. I hope I did not tick off you or any chamber members tonight with what I said or did." He looked at me and said "no CJ, you are fine. Your comments, thoughts and views expressed are a welcome, refreshing breath of fresh air for all of us. We all need to learn from you and each of us can do so much more for our community than what we're doing. Thank you CJ for reminding us of what the definition of community service is. You take care young man, and call me sometime for lunch or dinner."

Bailey and I made it back to our table and the activity from the crowd was decreasing. Everyone at the table gave me a hug along with their appreciation of what I either said or did for them this evening. Wally was the last to give me a hug. He looked deep into my eyes and said "how can I ever thank you for this tonight, as well as being the love of my life?" I smiled back at him and said "no thanks needed for tonight, and I'm the one who is thankful for your love in my life. We're partners and I plan to be hand in hand with you for the rest of our life together."

Alex said "damn, it's only 7:15 pm and so early. CJ, do you feel like going out on the town or do you want to go back to the condo and crash for the evening?" I smiled and asked Wally "how long do we have the limo for tonight?" He cracked up at me and said "we're good until midnight." I then turned back to Alex and the group and said "okay everyone, I'll probably regret this in the morning, but let's head to Mel's for some karaoke. Darrell and Randy, we have a limo service for the evening. If you want to come with us, we'll have the limo drop you off back here or wherever you want tonight?" Darrell and Randy both agreed to come out with us as it sounded like fun to both of them. Alex texted Ronny to inform him that we were coming and to sign us up for Level 42's song "Something about you". Darrell texted Lucas asking him to save us a table and chairs if he can.

We rolled into Mel's parking lot, and it did not appear to be as big of crowd as normal for a Thursday night. Once we all got out of the limo, Wally said "come on Leonard, you're included in this event as well tonight." Leonard said "no Mr. Walters, you all go ahead and have a great time Sir." Wally smiled and said "nonsense Leonard. Your part of our group tonight, and drop the Mr. Walters crap! It's Wally, CJ, Alex, Bailey, Aaron, Darrell and Randy. Come on in and enjoy some karaoke with us." Leonard smiled and said "okay, if you're sure Wally, I'd like to join all of you as it sounds like fun."

We entered and Lucas had been busy getting us a table set up near Ronny, Trev, Carl, Nick and Zach. Introductions went around, and we placed a drink order for the table. I was still hungry, so I ordered some shrimp and grouper tacos. Several others joined me also ordering some of Mel's delicious tacos. Ronny came over to our table and said "hey guys, glad to see all of you tonight. Alex, your song request is in and CJ, how did the evening go for you?" I smiled at Ronny, put my arms around Randy and Wally's shoulders and said "it went very well Ronny. I was able to help out these two special people in my life, and I feel absolutely wonderful about who I am!" Ronny cracked up and said "that's great brother, I'm so happy that you're all here now. Let's enjoy ourselves and win some money for happy hour tomorrow!"

Our drinks and food came. Alex said "okay everyone, I had Ronny sign us up for a song `Something about you' by Level 42. If you know the words, sing out with me. We'll form a big triangle, and follow me on the shifting of left, and right. When I come up to you, sing out the chorus with me." I cracked up and said "yo chief, let's just have some fun when we get up there!" Alex smiled at me and said "okay, everyone just have fun."

I ate my tacos before the contest started. I noticed that Randy and Leonard were chatting and seemed to be hitting it off well. I thought to myself "oh my God, I must possess a secret body odor that causes people around me to fall in love with each other. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but will they become the next two members of the circle?" Wally nudged me and whispered in my ear "are you watching Randy and Leonard?" I nodded my head yes and he said "think we should invite them to happy hour tomorrow?" I took a drink and said "let's see if it continues. If they are still chummy at the end of the night, we'll make the invite together."

Even though the crowd was smaller tonight, Mel got them rowdy when the contest started. Everyone at our table was getting into the action and singing along with the individuals or groups who were on stage. Ronny, Trev, Carl, Zach and Nick all got called up for single songs. Each one of them did fine, but my favorite of the five was when Ronny took the stage and belted out 'What goes around' by Justin Timberlake. The crowd went nuts and he had them singing and waving their phone flashlights along with him. I looked over at Alex and said "hey chief, I think your partner is going to win the single for us tonight." Alex grinned and said "that's my man, and I've taught him everything he knows about karaoke!" Wally heard what Alex said and we both went into an uncontrollable laugh attack.

The evening continued and I forgot how much I enjoyed the karaoke competition. It's amazing to me how I can get lost in songs and go to my happy place because of special lyrics which hold hidden meanings for me. The other table of five were called up for a performance of One Direction's 'Night Changes'. They really got into it and had the boy band moves down. I think some women were ready to rip off their underwear and throw them at the stage. Carl took the high part of the song and I thought to myself "oh, that's going to hurt him tomorrow after the performance tonight!" After they finished up, the crowd gave a standing ovation to them. They're going to be tough to beat tonight.

Two songs later, our table of eight was called up to perform. The music kicked in and Alex lead it off. He was soon joined by Wally and Bailey on either side of him. The three of them made for an excellent blend of voices and did a great job on the chorus. For the next chorus set, we broke off into two groups of four. Our pitches surprisingly all blended well together, and the crowd started singing right along with us. By the end of the song, we had them won over and also received a standing ovation when we finished. Our group went around the stage giving some hugs, fist bumps and high-fives to each other. A good time was had by all, and I must say we did a fine job for such a large group.

Mel got up on stage and said "Okay ladies and gentlemen, once again we're about to wrap up another captivating Thursday evening of Mel's karaoke. Our last singer tonight has come out of his karaoke retirement and is back with us tonight. Let's get CJ back up here for his rendition of 'Piano Man' by the one and only Billy Joel.

For the second time tonight, I had a shocked look on my face! Ronny signed me up for a song that I was not expecting to sing but have performed so many times before with positive results. I went over to his table, gave him a choke hold hug and said in his ear "challenge accepted brother!" I jumped up on stage, took the microphone from Mel and started belting the song out. I had the crowd eating out of the palm of my hand, and every person in the audience was signing right along with me. I had a great time singing the song and finished off with a stellar ending.

Mel announced the winners about 10 minutes after I finished my song. To all of our surprise, Ronny and I tied for our single performances, and both of our groups were announced as the winner for the group competitions. We ended up winning $400. Carl and Trev came over to our table after everything was over and said "gentlemen, prepare yourself for a blowout of a Friday Happy Hour tomorrow." All of us got a good laugh out of his comment. I explained to Randy and Leonard about our Friday routine. I invited them both to it, and they both gladly accepted the invite.

Our group decided to call it an evening after the winners were announced. Darrell said "I'm going to wait for Lucas everyone. He will take me home and to work tomorrow. Everyone have a great evening." The remainder of us exited to the limo. Randy decided to ride up front with Leonard as he did not want Leonard to be alone for the rest of the excursion.

Leonard got us back to the condo. Everyone got out and gave farewell wishes to Randy and Leonard. Leonard said "it's been a pleasure, gentlemen, I hope you all enjoyed your evening." Wally smiled, gave Leonard an envelope with a generous tip and said "the evening was very nice Leonard. Thank you for everything you did for us tonight, and I hope you enjoyed the evening as well." Leonard smiled, looked at Randy and said "I did everyone, and please call me Leo as all my friends do. I thank you for the fun karaoke, the introduction of Randy to me and the invite to the happy hour invite tomorrow. I've never been treated so nice by clients and look forward to getting to know all of you better tomorrow."

The limo disappeared onto Gulf Boulevard and the five of us headed for the elevator. Bailey and Aaron said their good night wishes to us and exited for their condo. On the way to our condo, Alex looked at me and said "well CJ, how does it feel to earn $100,000 and spend it in one night?" I looked at Alex, cracked up and said "it feels great chief! I was recognized very nicely; I was able to help out multiple people tonight and I'm in love with the most handsome man in the world." Wally gave me a kiss and said "let's go make some love baby. You're worth more to me than any amount of money life throws our way."