(Photo Credit: Yassine Khalfalli on Unsplash)
A lighthearted, silly literary tale where one man’s odd inheritance sets off a chain of unexpected adventures and discoveries.
Many decades ago, a man named Sam Davis received news that his rich great-uncle had passed away. He had never really known him, but Sam knew he was his uncle's only close relative. Which meant his great uncle’s money would go to him. Sam was an ordinary man in his forties, but he was broke. He had been trying to get a job with no luck. This would be exactly what he needed.
Unfortunately, Sam’s great-uncle was rather stingy. He didn’t just let his money go immediately to his grandnephew. Instead, he instructed in his will that only $150 would go to Sam each week.
Now, that wasn’t altogether bad, but Sam couldn’t get a job to compensate for it, and he was used to living comfortably. He wasn’t sure what to do. Sam realized there weren’t many other jobs he could get either.
As he was walking around the town, money in his pocket, he approached the local airport. Sam had always loved airplanes and decided to walk around the field to examine them. He’d always had the dream to become a pilot and own a small plane.
Passengers were starting to board the airplane nearest to him, and Sam stood close by watching. As he walked to the side of the passenger plane, he heard an odd noise.
TICK TICK TICK
Sam wondered what it was. As he stepped closer to the plane, the noise grew louder. Was that something attached to the sleek body below the cockpit? Sam peered closer. It looked like a…bomb!!! Although it was carefully concealed, Sam could identify it from where he was standing.
He yelled for all the passengers to stay back. Everyone curiously looked his way, murmuring questions to themselves. Sam furiously worked to detach the bomb, finally succeeding.
Sam dashed for the open field, bomb in hand. Once in the open, he lunged it as far as he could before sprinting back to the plane. Just as he reached safety, a huge explosion racketed the air.
The crowd around the plane applauded enthusiastically, and someone informed the airline manager. He immediately brought Sam into his office, amid cheers from the grateful passengers.
“Thank you!” The manager expressed continuously, shaking Sam’s hand. “You saved the passengers, the plane, and my job!”
Sam smiled and explained how he’d discovered it.
The manager smiled back. “The airline owners informed me that since some of the planes have had trouble, if one plane doesn’t get where it’s supposed to, I’m through. Thanks to you, that’s not going to happen. I am so grateful; here’s a little something I want to give you.”
Sam opened the envelope that was handed to him and pulled out a ticket.
“That is a lifetime airline ticket. You can use that on any of our planes anywhere in the U.S. No charge.”
“Really?” Sam was surprised. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
Sam left the office in a happy mood, along with his $150 and the lifetime airline ticket in his pocket.
He wandered around town again, unsure what to do. Suddenly he noticed a brochure on the sidewalk. He picked it up and saw it was for a vacation home. $100 for four nights in a city only a few hours away.
Slowly an idea came to him. I only have $150, but if I rented this house, I’ll still have some money for food, and I have the airplane ticket to get me there. If I stayed at the vacation home, it would be wonderful. Complete with electricity, water, furniture, outdoor swimming pool… everything. I’d never be able to afford all of that!
But he was still thinking. With the money I have, and the ticket, I can get to the vacation home and stay there for a few days.
Sam headed back to the airport, along with his meager belongings. It didn’t take long to fly to the city. In that town, he found the house and paid for the four nights. He had already bought the food he would need.
Once inside, Sam was astounded. Modern furniture decorated both floors, huge soft beds were in every bedroom, a large kitchen, and of course, the large swimming pool.
He stayed there for four days. Afterwards, he wasn’t sure what to do. He only had a little money left, and it was still a few days until he received his uncle’s money for the next week.
That’s when he noticed on the back of the brochure there was another advertisement for a different vacation home. It was seven hours away and looked even more comfortable than the one before.
Sam went to the airport and stuck with the plane for a couple of days, seeing places and letting the time pass. When he arrived at the town, he received his money. Just in time.
The whole thing became a routine. Get that week's money, buy some food, stay at a vacation home, and board an airplane for a few days until the next week.
It worked out very well. Sam enjoyed seeing the country, and while he couldn’t pilot his own plane—as was his dream—he relished being in the air.
The years passed. Sam eventually bought a few enjoyable things for himself with the money he was able to put aside.
By this time it had been twenty-five years or so. Sam was in a vacation ranch home in California. No one had stayed there for a while, and the price had been lowered, so he stayed there a week. As he was leaving that house, he saw a newspaper clipping for a nice little cabin in Maine. It was beside a mountain, with a small stream nearby in the woods.
Sam thought that looked awesome and decided to go there. He arrived at the airport and stopped at the desk with the other passengers to check their tickets.
He closely watched everyone. Busy people, they were. Coffee cups balanced in one hand, suitcases by their sides, along with paperwork, laptops, or other stressful things. Every one of them looked stressed and impatient. All because of their jobs.
Sam smiled to himself. His life was stress-free. No one would ever know about his plan. Although sometimes he didn’t enjoy being lonely, traveling around the county was still fun—even at 67.
When it was Sam’s turn at the counter, the man frowned at his ticket.
“Umm, you can’t use this ticket anymore.”
“What?!?”
“It’s invalid.”
“But…” Sam started.
“I’m sorry. You’ll have to take it to the manager. Sorry you’ll miss this flight; we take off in a few minutes.”
Sam hurriedly walked toward the office he was directed to. He explained the situation and showed the man his ticket.
“Yes, you can’t use this ticket anymore.”
“But it’s a lifetime ticket!” Sam protested. He mentioned the man who had given him the ticket some twenty-five years before. “He said it couldn’t expire.”
“Well, I’m sorry. The company changed owners, and any valid tickets previously have been canceled.” The man returned to his paperwork.
“How am I supposed to get home?” Sam questioned.
“Buy another ticket for the next plane.”
“I can’t. Not enough money.”
“How were you going to get home then?”
“With this,” Sam held up the ticket.
“Sorry, sir.”
Sam shrugged. “Thanks anyway.”
He went out and wandered the airfield to study the beautiful airplanes. It reminded him of his longtime dream of owning his own plane. Sam walked up to a huge jet and went around it.
Suddenly he heard an odd noise.
TICK TICK TICK
Sam wasn’t sure what he was hearing. It couldn’t be…could it? He looked under the plane hesitantly. Sure enough, a bomb similar to the one from twenty-five years ago was attached under the cockpit.
Sam yelled for all the passengers to stay back. No one was boarding at the moment, he realized. He shrugged; that’s what had happened the last time.
A couple of men rushed out of the airport to see what the yelling was about. Sam detached the bomb and ran for the open field. He flung the bomb far out and dashed back to the airport. At least, he tried to dash. At his age, he was slower than he wanted to admit.
Just as he reached safety, a huge explosion racketed the air.
Several men cheered and brought out the overjoyed manager.
Sam fidgeted; he might have guessed what would happen.
The manager thanked Sam profusely. “There are several wealthy customers that have to be on this plane. If that didn’t happen, I’d lose their business, and a lot of money. Thanks to you though, that won’t be the case. Here’s a little thank you.”
Sam opened the envelope. It was a 30-year airline ticket. Sam did the math. He was 67; add 30 years, he’d be 97. Not bad; it should last him. “Thank you so much!”
He took the ticket, and when one of the planes took off, he was on it; headed to the little cabin in Maine. It was a great place, wildlife all around, an awesome fishing spot, and plenty of areas to hike in the surrounding mountains.
A couple of years passed, and Sam was again at the cabin in Maine. It was his favorite place out of all the ones he had been in. He went to the bank that morning to get that week’s money. At the bank, which was a chain all across the country, he told the teller he needed his weekly $250.
“Umm,” the teller looked nervous. “Several accounts were robbed, and yours was one of them. At least it didn’t have a whole lot…only about $2000 left.”
Sam stared back at him wordlessly. $2,000 would last quite a while the way he was using it.
“The police are trying to catch the thieves. Don’t worry! Oh, and please don’t spread the news around; it’d be bad publicity.”
Sam shook his head and went back to the cabin. He would go hiking and not think of money and problems for a while. He wasn’t sure what he would do after that.
As Sam was hiking, he found a small cave. He entered and looked around, suddenly tripping over a large pile of rocks hidden in the dark. He was amazed by what he had found. Gold coins! It was in a disintegrating old bag partially buried beneath the rocks he had fallen over.
Sam was ecstatic. He wasn’t going to tell anyone how they’d been found; instead, he rushed to town and cashed them in. It was a total of $1,000,000!
He was so happy! He bought the little cabin in Maine for his very own. He made friends for the first time with the people in the area. They came over often for bonfires and parties.
Sam got a horse, a dog, some chickens, and he even planted a garden in the little plot beside the cabin. Most exciting of all, he got his pilot’s license and bought a beautiful little silver plane for himself. Finally, his long-time dream had come true.
Sam had thought he was content flying all over the country, staying here and there. But he realized he wasn’t truly happy until then, and it wasn’t because of the money he’d found. It was the friends he’d finally made. Which, he learned, was what he most treasured.
Silly moral of the story: Airline tickets may come and go, gold coins might be coincidentally discovered in caves, but if you ever hear a ticking noise, check under a plane—just in case. And remember, true happiness is found in friends, a simple life, and finally learning to fly, even if it takes a couple of explosions and a lifetime of improbable luck!