part0017

“This is Abi Jackson of WBAL with what may be the most important story that I will ever be able to report. There has been a breakthrough in aging. Upton Pharmaceuticals announced they have FDA approval of a drug that will prevent aging. The studies have been ongoing for the last ten years.”

“It was decided to keep everything as quiet as possible because of the potential for disruption if it failed at the last testing stages. If nothing else the impact on the stock market could have been devastating.”

“The study was conducted on people whose ages ranging from twenty-five to ninety-five and it stopped aging in its tracks. Whatever physical age the person was when they started the trial they have maintained. They haven’t aged while taking their daily dose of this medication.”

“There is no way to tell how long a person will live with this drug called, ‘Live’. Only time will tell, it has been explained that people will still contract diseases, it won’t cure any health issues that are present. It just freezes the body, if you will, at its current physical age. Upton has been manufacturing and storing doses for the last year in preparation for the demand.”

“’ Live,’ works by extending the number of times telomeres may split. It has been known for some time that aging and deterioration set in when the ends of cells known as telomeres don’t divide cleanly. It has been compared to the eyelet protecting the end of a shoelace. When the eyelet is worn away the shoelace will fray and fail.”

“Tests on earthworms have been able to extend their lives over two hundred percent. Previously when this was performed in mammals, the telomeres would split so frequently they were working the same as cancer. The breakthrough that Upton has made is combining the telomere extension with a small-molecule drug known as TIC10, which activates a gene call TRAIL (tumor-necrosis-factor-related-apoptosis-inducing ligand), and yes, I did practice that before we went on the air.”

“This combination extends cells, but then tells the body to kill off the excess cells. It is a delicate balance. Each person’s dosage will have to be monitored and adjusted for them. It will be generally based on sex, age, and weight but other factors may appear later. That is why it will be a daily gel capsule with a timed release. Upton predicts with further study they can develop a once in a lifetime capsule.”

“Trading on Upton stock has been halted by the SEC. The SEC announced that it would allow trading to restart in forty-eight hours but will halt it again if the market requires it. Now on to more mundane news….”

Any worries Marsha and Rick may have had about revealing their stories were now put to rest.

They discussed the ramifications of this event. Rick based on his science fiction reading pointed out that the effect on the earth’s population could be dramatic. A quick search on the Internet revealed the earth’s population had now surpassed seven billion.

If things had stayed the same in the next ten years, it would reach seven and half billion, and UN studies actually predicted population decline, as the economies of third-world countries improved.

However, if people only died in accidents, the world’s annual death rate of one in one hundred thirteen people would result in nine billion people in ten years. With the sharp increase in population, the economies of the third world wouldn’t get ahead of this curve. Starvation and unrest would follow.

Rick realized this simple arithmetic was based on everyone receiving the ‘Live’ drug. That wouldn’t happen but would cause other problems. The wealthy of every country would receive it, but not the poor. In some countries, it would be rejected for religious reasons. It looked like some major problems were fast coming to the world.

What about the people in their own rest home? There were patients already on a regime for Alzheimer's drugs. They were starting to show signs of returning. This still left them in very poor health. Would they be eligible for the life-extending drugs? Since they were indigents, they were at the mercy of the government.

Patients in for-pay rest homes would present a dilemma for their loved ones and lord help those whose heirs were waiting on a fortune. If they had signed a ‘no special measures to extend life’ form would this prevent them from receiving the medications? The ethical questions were frightening .

He and Marsha realized the sooner they had control of their funds the better off they would be. They didn’t know where or how, but their inclination was to find a hole and crawl in it.

Again after days of conversation, they approached Clarisse with the matter. She was all for going after GHI for every dime they could get. This might have been influenced by the potential fees she would receive. Rick and Marsha informed her they had no objection to a large settlement, but they didn’t want any publicity.

Any settlement had to be out of court with everyone bound by confidentiality agreements. She couldn’t understand this requirement, but after a long conversation, they allowed her to use the threat of going public, but to yield to the inevitable insurance company request for an out-of-court settlement with no publicity.

It was now December of 2021. Rick had been working his corner every weekday for over a year. He had made over thirteen thousand dollars tax-free. There were a little over nine thousand dollars in his checking account. They had a lawyer lined up; they had Doctor’s examinations in hand. It was now time to petition the court.

The first obstacle that Clarisse ran into when the filing was that while there were many forms for declaring someone senior or a juvenile; voluntary, or involuntary not competent there was no form for declaring someone who was incompetent now competent .

The Clerk of Court, who she went to, was not trying to be an obstructionist. It just didn’t fit into any of the boxes she had to work within. She finally told Clarisse, “File the forms that people use for temporary incompetence. I know that your clients were filed as permanently incompetent but let the judge sort it out. This will at least put your people in front of the judge.”

Clarisse went along with this and filed the paperwork. A hearing was scheduled for Friday, January 18, 2022. After all their preparations and planning the hearing was anti-climactic. The judge already read the submitted Doctor's reports. He commented that he was amazed and pleased at the returnee situation. He told them how depressing these hearings usually were when he knew that he was deciding that people’s lives were over. His biggest concern was that new forms would have to be designed.

In the meantime, he ordered the Clerk of Courts to prepare a letter of competency. Mr. Richard King and Mrs. Marsha King nee Wren had been examined by the Court and deemed competent. He also requested a copy to be sent to Burns and Burns their court-appointed trustees with instructions to dissolve the trusts and return the proceeds immediately.

Clarisse set up an appointment the following Friday with Burns and Burns. Again, it was cut and dried. Burns and Burns had been waiting to receive death certificates for Marsha and Rick, so they could turn their trust over to the State of Maryland. While they received a fee for handling the trust, it was not large enough to cause any thoughts of corruption.

Their pensions and social security had been going into the trusts, and their mutual funds and Ricks 401k had appreciated. The cash portion of their income along with the proceeds from the sales of their respective houses was placed in Maryland tax-free bonds. The income wasn’t great, but since they were about to take a large tax hit every little bit helped.

Clarisse brought a tax attorney from her church on board. Since this was a one-time deal with him, they had agreed upon a straight fee of two thousand dollars. After inquires they found this to be a great deal.

It was set up for the funds to be dispersed on April 10th . It would be like closing on a house except, there would be representatives from the IRS and Maryland Comptroller’s office present. It took so long because it was the middle of tax season and difficult to get everyone together.

Again, it was anti-climactic. The conference room at Burns and Burns was small, but comfortable, very much like a real estate office. There were pens scattered for signing everywhere. Marsha’s session went first, after signing her name what felt like fifty times, but was only twenty-three times, she was ready to be done. After an hour a half, the last paper signed was for a wire transfer into her newly opened checking account for two million three hundred forty-seven thousand dollars and fifty-seven cents. Separate checks, to the state and feds, were written for the taxes owed.

Rick’s session lasted the same amount of time, but his gross was only one million nine hundred fifty-five thousand dollars and thirty-two cents. Rick thought about joking that he now could marry Marsha for her money.

Fortunately, he thought before he spoke and came out with, “Honey now you can make me happy by marrying me.” These were the right words as he got a quick hug and a kiss from his bride to be.

They had discussions about their wedding. Well, Marsha had discussions with Silvia, Ruth, and Clarisse. Rick was informed that they would be getting married at city hall. They would be inviting; Silvia, Ruth, Clarisse, Charles, Emily, and Peggy and their respective spouses or significant other. They did not know if Peggy could make it up from South Carolina, but the others were local and should be there.

Rick and Marsha decided to rent an apartment in Delaney Valley. They could now afford it. They also purchased two vehicles, Rick a Toyota 4Runner, and Marsha a Camry.

After renting the apartment it had to be furnished. It was a three-bedroom, two and a half bath, kitchen with an attached dining area, a family room with a fireplace and a living room. It also had a two-car garage attached .

Though it was expensive, they could now afford it. Rick dreaded the thought of furniture and decoration shopping. They were currently living in a Hilton Garden Inn suite near the White Marsh Mall, but while nice for a short stay it was not set up for long term living.

Rick was very surprised when he got into the shopping. Since he had to participate, he decided to put a good face on it, this quickly turned to enjoyment. It turned out that his sense of what colors would match was a little better than Marsha’s. She would defer to him, which enhanced his enjoyment and insured his participation.

It only took several weeks to pick out everything and have it delivered. Rick hung the drapes and pictures. They had their first home.

The wedding took place on January 24, 2022. Everyone invited was present, including Peggy Tapp; she had driven up from South Carolina and would spend the weekend with a sister who still lived in Baltimore. After the brief ceremony in the judge’s chambers, they went back to the William Donald Schafer rest home for their reception.

After the cake cutting, and not jamming it in each other’s faces they received the usual wedding gifts. Most were in the form of small appliances like toasters or sets of linens. There were no duplicates or any items that they already had. It was like someone had coordinated the gift-giving. Silvia was quite pleased with herself .

Marsha and Rick shared that they had no honeymoon plans at this time. They would be retiring for their first night at their new apartment. The conversation centered on old times at the rest home.

Silvia delighted in telling how she kept the cabinets locked and frustrated Marsha. Charles told how Rick got his start on the street corner and also wondered if he was going to keep it up.

With a serious look, Rick replied, “I think I am going to franchise it out.” This brought the house down. For once one of Rick’s jokes worked.

Since not everyone knew about the pending lawsuit this wasn’t brought up. Everyone present assumed Rick, and Marsha would now enjoy a quiet life waiting for their time to come. Of course with the exciting new medication, ‘Live’ who could tell how long that would be?

The reception broke up shortly after the last good old day’s story had been shared. This diverse group didn’t actually have much in common other than their acquaintance with Rick and Marsha. Rick and Marsha went home to their apartment for their first wedded night. They proved very quickly their health had improved. Even though they still looked their ages, they now felt and acted like their late sixties.