Life Reinvented, Again and Again

As with all my stories, there is a thread of truth in this one too. I actually was involved in the largest (at the time) barter-only transaction with the DLA.

I have traveled all over the world and love the "city nation" and the people of Singapore I have met in my travels.

As always this is self-edited so I am the only one to blame, Try to ignore the errors.

*****

Our condo is off Cuscaden Walk, District 10, Singapore. My wife and kids were asleep and I had just finished working on the pricing for a new contract.

With the time difference, I often spent a few hours in the evening getting work done for London's 7-hour and New York's 12-hour lag. Being that far ahead and willing to work a little later had allowed me, with help from my friends, to build a significant export business.

I looked out the window at our pool and thought, the night is warm I'll do a few laps before bed... as I looked beyond the pool at an amazing city view, I thought... "This is so very different from my first time in Singapore. That was for R&R back in '72."

Almost everything was different, but it still had the "feel" of Singapore.

Sitting there I thought back on how this all began. It seems impossible that at my age I would find love again and be blessed with twin sons. It's a long story, but if you have a few minutes I'll do my best to condense it and explain how it all happened...

*****

I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I still loved her, but after 15 years she had accidentally fallen in love with a co-worker. I hate to admit it, but if truth be told, they had a wonderful connection and made a lovely couple. They are both beautiful and amazing in their own way, how could I blame them?

I had married out of my league, Isabell is young, beautiful, and talented, by any standard. I had had a long career, traveling around the world, probably a hundred times, and was looking forward to staying home, or at least relaxing. When she started talking about babies, I was excited and a little afraid of what the future might look like for me, but after some thought, was up for the challenge.

I was in pretty good shape for an old man, but started to get back into real shape; walking a few miles every day and lifting gradually heavier weights, but at 70, it was slow going. In case you haven't figured it out, Isabell is much younger than I am and while I tried, couldn't really keep up when we walked in the hills of Fryman Canyon or Griffith Park. I suggested, that maybe she had a friend, or co-worker, who might want to join her for her 'power walks'.

Isabell worked in post-production for a weekly TV show, as it turned out, Abigail, the Show Runner for the same show, lived close enough so they could walk together early in the morning, then drive to the studio, and still be on time for, even the earliest, call. It was great for them and, while I continued to exercise, I didn't have to try to keep up with someone half my age.

Naturally, they talked while they walked, and over a couple of weeks, they grew closer and found that, even though Abigail was a bit younger, she felt her biological clock also ticking and wanted a baby too. Isabell shared our, well really, my, limitations and her concerns.

At some point, they decided that they could better manage pregnancy by supporting each other and going through it together. What started as a casual comment, turned into a full-blown commitment to go forward.

Next came a whirlwind of doctors and fertility clinic visits, sperm donor evaluation, selection, rejection, and selection again. Ultimately they both found what they were looking for and decided to use the same anonymous donor for in vitro fertilization.

I saw the pictures and profile of the donor, he had a perfectly fit body, excellent health, personality, and a phycological evaluation that would, hopefully, mean a well-balanced child if raised right. That he looked like a male supermodel didn't hurt and they both jokingly talked of the possibility of trying 'direct' injection, just a few times.

I wasn't really involved in the process, because I didn't think I could be objective. I had the self-centered notion that it would, somehow be better if our baby looked like me. I eventually only concerned myself with the health and well-being of the four of them.

Anyway, I guess their friendship, and sharing something so intimate, was bound to become closeness, but I didn't expect that closeness would become complete and total love. I truly don't think they did either, but there it was. I was still in love with someone who had fallen madly in love with someone else and they were both pregnant.

After plenty of tears, anxious days, and sleepless nights, we settled the normal issues and decided not to waste money on lawyers, when, by then, we all knew what was best.

I "relocated" to Reno, Nevada, and found a small apartment. After six weeks, the girls joined me. I was then legally allowed to file, so Isabell and I got an uncontested, friendly really, divorce. We all stayed a few more days so 'Bell' and Abby could be married. It was just the three of us, in a lovely little church. I was the "man of honor" and ring bearer for both of them.

When it was over, I knew I'd have to find my own way. I decided I needed to start working again. There wasn't much that interested me, but I had years of experience with import/export and I had been fairly successful at it.

The government has a lot of resources for people interested in exporting American-made products. So I scanned the Department of Commerce websites until I found a foreign company looking to purchase American-made goods. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just something I knew I could find in a large enough quantity that I could make a decent profit.

There really wasn't any risk, the Federal Exim Bank will guarantee payment on exported shipments of American-made products. I started small, but in no time was making enough money to live without dipping into my savings, do a little marketing and advertising, and even travel to solidify old, and new, relationships in the US and overseas.

After a year or so, something interesting came up in one of my searches... Did you know that our government keeps a variety of "strategic stockpiles"? There are different agencies with different mandates and materials. I was particularly interested in the DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) stockpile. It is under the DOD and was started in the early 1950s and is primarily industrial raw materials, specifically for manufacturing key military equipment and parts.

The DLA periodically refreshes their inventory and needed raw rubber, the catch and what I thought made it interesting, they didn't want to pay for it, at least not with cash. This time they decided they would pay with credits that could be used to purchase other stockpile materials that go on sale in monthly and quarterly competitive auctions. The monkey in the wrench was... in these auctions there would be no advantage to a buyer using credits, it was simply the highest bidder wins. A stipulation, that made it more challenging required the DLA to limit the amounts of certain commodities I would be able to purchase with my credits.

This is hard to explain, but I'll try to break it down into steps...

1. I needed to purchase grade A, raw rubber on the open market, pay for it, ship it and deliver it, to the designated DLA warehouse, while only being "paid" in credits that were only good to buy other DLA raw materials.

2. I then had to bid on, and win, one of many competitive auctions for a variety of bulk commodities. The various sales were held on a regular basis. I had to find a way to ensure that I would be able to outbid everyone. If not, I would have no way to make money.

3. I had to sell those commodities, for a profit.

Simple if you have a few million dollars lying around, not quite as easy without any real money... but after giving it careful consideration, not impossible.

After researching the previous sales of a variety of raw materials, calculating it down to the penny, and confirming all the delivery lead times, customs clearance, and any over-the-road transport costs... I checked it all again. Then I checked it on a spreadsheet I had created to track everything, one more time.

In the end, I was convinced I could do it.

My plan actually changed the way I would do business for the rest of my business life. You've heard the old adage "buy low and sell high" as a tried and true way to make money and get ahead in business.

My plan was different, I wanted to "sell high and buy". It was an interesting solution, I would use my buyer's money to finance the purchase of the rubber, making sure I allowed enough time to complete the entire transaction so everyone got what they paid for.

Here's how it went...

It started with submitting an offer to the DLA... In it, I agreed to supply the required amount of grade A natural raw rubber in several shipments, not at a discount, or even market price, but at a premium. This was my compensation for not being paid in cash.

It wasn't exactly what they were hoping for and they called off the first tender to reconsider. It seems this was the brainchild of some General at the DOD. He wanted to make it work, but the DLA was stalling for some reason, claiming it couldn't work and they needed to buy the rubber on the open market, for a lower price.

Eventually, the General said something like, "you have a bidder, tell them to make their best and final offer and make the deal". So the DLA reopened the bidding, I submitted again and won the contract.

It's funny really, later I found out there was a back story, isn't there always? It seems the DLA may have already promised the sale to someone, who already bought the rubber thinking he had the sale. Of course, I can't confirm that, but it seems that my bidding on something they thought was impossible, and the general saying "accept my deal", messed up their plans. There was more than one DLA rep that would be happy to see me stumble and they made the process as difficult as they could.

One other thing I learned... it seems, I was actually the only bidder.

So, having won the contract, I had to find a way to buy rubber. The Thai seller wanted an Irrevocable Letter of Credit. I needed to use someone else's money. Hmm?

The DLA had placed a limit on the amount of tin I could purchase, but as it was the easiest to sell, so it was there where my plan started.

I needed to bid on and win an auction to buy tin, I would pay a slightly higher price to make sure I won. I sold the tin, I planned on buying, in the future, with terms that gave me 10-12 weeks to deliver it. Remember, sell and buy... I was selling a commodity I didn't own yet with terms for future delivery.

I know some metal traders that work within the London Metal Exchange (LME) system. One of my oldest friends was Hugh, he also happened to be one of the largest metal traders in the world. I presented my plan to him and his board over the phone.

Naturally, they had questions.

I explained that I wanted to sell them bulk tin at a 3% discount if they paid by Letter of Credit. 3% off current market pricing would be a great deal for them, even with delivery 12 weeks after the order was signed. Knowing they were getting a delivery, at a discount, meant they could use my contract to hedge their daily and near-term trades.

Their lawyer was on the call and asked what I planned to do with the letter of credit for 12 weeks. I said I was going to transfer it for the purchase of rubber, using a back-to-back transaction.

The lawyer asked "How" I said, "I will transfer your L/C to the seller of rubber in Thailand. They, of course, will only see their half of the transaction, so in their eyes, they receive a letter of credit from me paying for the rubber, collectible once it's delivered to the specified DLA warehouse."

"You can't do that."

"What do you mean?"He said something that actually sounded like "Harrumph" (I guess as a lawyer, he was obviously not used to being questioned)."A letter of credit needs to say, Transferrable, for it to be used in that way, and we can't take that risk."

"Actually... there is no risk to you and all letters of credit are transferable."

"(Harrumph, Harrumph) do you know who you are talking to? I've been practicing law for over 30 years...

"I thought, "About as long as I had been doing import/export using letters of credit."

But instead, I said...

"There's no reason to argue, this call will surely last long enough for you to look it up or check with the L/C department of your bank?"

He joined the conversation again about fifteen minutes later and didn't say anything, I knew I was right, but I left it as it was, without embarrassing him.

The order was placed, 100 metric tons of tin ingots at 3% below market price on the day of the transaction. The L/C was issued and I was at my bank the next day to transfer the L/C, back to back, to the Thai rubber supplier with terms that required the shipment to arrive, be accepted and approved, at the DLA warehouse, in 8-10 weeks. They had the rubber on hand and it shipped within a week.

Once the rubber was received, the DLA issued the credits. Using historic sales data, I knew I could win the tin auction by bidding 2 or 3% over the current market price. I won the first of several auctions and purchased 100 MT of tin.

The LME (London Metal Exchange) handles global transactions for a variety of metals. One can purchase tin, copper, aluminum, etc, at one depot and have it delivered from another to their client, all over the world. I think they have, maybe 30, LME warehouses in the states, so it was easy.

Even though I had four weeks to deliver the tin to complete the transaction. The L/C was already making its way through the banking system. I delivered the tin to the closest LME warehouse to the DLA depot, 4 weeks early, and in less than 24 hours.

Once delivered, I submitted the required documents to the bank, they paid on the L/C, so the rubber supplier was paid and I got to keep the difference as profit. As I mentioned, I had sold the rubber at a premium which allowed me to cover the higher price I needed to pay for the tin, even though I sold the tin below the market, I still made a profit.

In the end, I was actually making my profit on the purchase price of the rubber, while losing money on the sale of the tin, there were a few percentage points in the middle where I made my profit.

The limit on the amount of tin I could purchase meant I needed to retain all my earnings so I could purchase rubber with my own letter of credit to meet the ongoing delivery schedule, and then use the DLA credits to purchase other commodities.

Over the next 2 years, I did several tin transactions and raised cash. Using my profit, I purchased the rubber, delivered it, and was paid with additional credits. I then used those credits to purchase other commodities.

My first was silicon carbide and I sold it to the second-highest bidder at a price slightly less than his original bid. They used the material as an abrasive and were very happy with what turned into an ongoing business.

I did the same with industrial diamonds, they were stored in a basement vault in New York City. When I was there I met several of the other bidders. After I won the auction I sold the diamonds to a group out of Brussels, again they were very happy with the discount I offered.

There were other materials and other contracts. Always at a price slightly higher than the market or the historical price for a winning bid plus a little extra. In every case, my competitors, in that particular auction, became my best, and often the only customer.

It made sense, they wanted the commodity and were, through me, able to buy the exact same material at a discounted price... win, win.

In the end, the entire transaction was worth about twenty-five million dollars, including the sale of rubber and the various commodities. At the time it was the largest barter transaction in government history, and I managed to make 6%.

I had handled all the transactions from a tiny office in the Valley. I traveled to NY now and then to meet with the bankers but had done all the LME business from the states. So when it was over, I was off to London to thank Hugh and his team in person.

*****

Did you ever find yourself in a place and moment that seems like everything has conspired to bring you there? When I think back on that day, it surely seems that way to me...

Instead of setting an alarm for seven in the morning, I had set the alarm for seven hours of sleep, who does that? I don't even know how I did it? But I was up an hour early and decided to start my day. Breakfast went fast, I don't know how 'eggs over easy' becomes broken hard yokes on cold toast, or how Jasmine tea turns out to be green tea, needless to say, I had no interest in what I had been served at the hotel breakfast cafe. So I paid and was out of there without taking a second bite.

The Kings Head Hotel is usually great in every way. It's on the Vale and a short trip to my meeting near Marble Arch, but I was hungry and a little pissed. I saw the McDonalds just across the road, a couple of blocks away... I know, I know, but it was food and one knows what to expect...

I got a Happy Meal, ate it in a booth, and as there were no children around, but the silly toy in my shirt pocket.

Out on the street, I called "Taxi" and waved one down.

English taxis are large, easy for me to get in and out of, I like that. I hadn't realized that some of them have 'suicide' back doors, I liked that even better as I climbed in on the passenger side.

The trip would be 20 minutes, a half-hour at most. The Vale becomes Uxbridge Road and continues straight until the "Themes Water Tower Roundabout" where it becomes Holland Park Avenue. A little farther along is Notting Hill, where the road divides and is referred to as Notting Hill Gate, and there, while the traffic normally gets slower, it seemed impossibly slow, going east (my way) anyway. We were sitting in the traffic and I was considering taking the "underground" when I saw the flash of cameras. It explained why the traffic was even slower than normal, obviously, something was going on at the Czech Embassy.

Of course, I looked, being a little curious, but didn't really care, or expect to see anything memorable... that's when everything seemed to slow down...

A driver coming west must have been distracted because he had to quickly adjust left to avoid hitting the center island in the middle of that section of road. In doing so his car crashed into, and then jammed under, the front side of the right wheel of a double-decker bus. That pushed both front wheels hard to the left.

I don't know how, but I could clearly see what was going to happen. The bus was going to continue forward and to its left and would surely hit the back of a town car stopped in the turning lane in front of the embassy. I saw the heads of the family waiting to get in the back seat and then I saw little feet, coming around the back of the car as the trunk opened...

I was the closest, and the only person who could see what was happing. I reacted without thinking, the taxi was moving slowly, but I opened the door, left in a crouch, and was running diagonally across the oncoming traffic. I reached the back of the town car in seconds. The boy, and now a tallish Asian woman was there too. She was watching the boy put two small bags into the trunk. The boy was closer to me and standing, the woman was bent over the side of the trunk with one foot on the curb. Somehow I knew what I had to do; I grabbed the boy and as the woman looked up, I yelled "watch out" I pushed her shoulder so she started to fall backward. I wrapped the boy into my arms and turned away. It was only an instant and the bus hit me, I had turned enough of my back while wrapping my arms around the boy, that I took the full force of impact. I dropped to my knees and then lay, fell really, as flat as I could. The bus continued over us and into the back of the car and pushed forward another 20 feet or so.