The firm, Miller & Sons, was established in San Francisco in 1884 to fill an ever enlarging gap in supply and services to the shipping trade; a trade that was rapidly  expanding along the waterfront of the city.  Many, many, passenger ships and merchants vessels tied to the increasing number of piers on the Embarcadero.  They loaded and unloaded their cargo, took on new passengers and crew, and left after two or three days.

After a long, often rough voyage, furnishings had to be replenished, and damaged or lost mattresses had to be replaced.  So did blankets and chairs, lamps, tables, as well as pots, pans, and dishes.

The Miller family had originally owned a furniture store in North Beach, but now, since they had to carry a large and varied inventory, they built a huge warehouse and employed quick, experienced help.  The minute a boat landed, they took inventory, and soon replaced the necessary items.  Their service was proficient, rapid, and profitable. The name Miller & Sons became the standard of perfection in this trade.

The firm grew and prospered over many years.  Their warehouse carried a large amount of furniture, and since they bought direct from the manufacturers, they attracted furniture dealers and home decorators who wanted to take possession of the desired items directly from stock.

As the years passed, however, the younger generations of the Miller family did not remain in the firm.  Some partners came in, and in the 1930s, after the Crash of 1929, there was talk of liquidating the business.  When their old accountant quit, they sought a replacement.  Felix Coleman not only took on the job, but he also became a junior partner. His new eyes saw things differently.

As he saw it, there was no need to give up on this old firm.  The warehouse was still full of furnishings.  Some people still bought their products.  The real trouble was that too many people owed money, and no one made an attempt to collect the outstanding bills.  Statements were seldom mailed out!

Felix Coleman decided to change all this.  He wrote to all debtors, called on the larger ones, and made arrangement to receive small amounts every month as installments.  This financial restructuring eventually led him to the Jo Ann Mueller Furniture and Decorating Company in Marin County.

Felix was impressed with the showrooms, the drapery department, the upholstery shop, and mostly with Mrs. Mueller.  She was a no nonsense woman.  She was large, strong, and precise.  She was well aware that she owed Miller & Sons a very large sum of money, but given that times were hard, she placed her own business needs first.  She promised that when the situation improved, she would begin to pay her debts.

Felix knew that she was stalling - that her own store was in fine shape.  He also noticed that behind this strong exterior was a fragile woman who wanted attention.  On a hunch, he told her that he was on his way to the horse races at Bay Meadows, as he liked to relax occasionally with this exciting diversion.  Had she, Mrs. Mueller, ever seen a horse race? No, she had not. Would she like to join him?

"Yes," she answered. It would be a new experience for her.

He drove her down the Peninsula, and bought tickets for the Club House, where you can sit at a table with white tablecloths, have a leisurely lunch, and a few drinks, and through large windows watch the horses on the field and the big board of changing betting odds.  He showed the lady the Bible of racing, The Racing Form, which described the contenders, their parenting, their last racing results, and their deemed chances in this present encounter with the rest of the pack.

It was a civilized way to gamble.  They did not have to mill about on the grounds and be pushed around as part of the crowd.  They did not even have to stay in line to place a bet.  There was sufficient racetrack staff to come to your table to take your money and purchase the betting tickets for you, while you sipped your drinks in a comfortable chair.

Oh, she loved this, and thanked him many times. She even bet on a few races and won a few dollars.

On the way home along the old Bayshore Highway (there was no freeway yet), they passed many small motels with blinking signs--"Vacancy" or "No Vacancy".

"I wonder what goes on in those No Vacancies, rooms with their shades down so early in the afternoon."

"Oh, people probably are having sex or making love," Felix explained.

"What's the difference?" Jo Ann inquired. "I have heard these expressions, and have always wondered about the difference in meaning."

Felix told her that having sex is just that:

"In-and-out, bang, bang, thank you ma'am,"

but making love is just the opposite.  It is exploring each other's bodies, to give and receive the utmost pleasure, to please your partner as you wanted to be pleased, for two people to become one, even if only for a short time.

Jo Ann put her hands on his lap.

"I never had the feeling of making love by your definition. Will you show me, and teach me how?"

They stopped at the first vacant motel. She quickly undressed herself and then undressed him, showing her splendid well-proportioned body, a perfect Ruebenesque form.  It was good, pleasant, and very satisfying.  Felix drove her back to her store, and shook her hand politely.

The next day Felix got a telephone call.

"Mr. Coleman, if you are in the vicinity; please come by. I have a little check for you. I’m starting to pay off my debt to Miller & Sons Company."

When Felix arrived the following day, Jo Ann received him in her office.  The minute they were alone, they were at each other, clothing unbuttoned, zippers unzipped, flesh touching flesh.   She told him that this was very dangerous, her husband, a very possessive man, told her that if he ever found her cheating, he would kill her on the spot.  And just like in the movies, they heard a car drive up, and then the front door being unlocked!  Quick repairs were hastily made, and, yes, the husband did come in.  He was introduced as Herman Rhine-Mueller, a small man with a Hitler-style mustache.  He was very pleasant.  He saw the check that his wife made out, and looked respectfully at Felix, at his blond hair and blue eyes.

Mr. Herman Rhine-Mueller had his own machine shop, and for relaxation he made handguns.  If Mr. Coleman would like, he would give him one of his creations.

They shook hands warmly, and Felix was relieved to be in his car and on his way.

The next day Felix had a pleasant phone call.  Everything was fine.  Jo Ann had friend in the city.  She lived alone and was at work all day.  They could use her place any time.

He soon met Jo Ann at the very pleasant, orderly and private apartment.  The bed was comfortable.  They made love again, and again.  They met in this apartment about twice a week thereafter.  Jo Ann usually brought sandwiches, and Felix brought a bottle of wine.  It was a relaxing, satisfying way to spend a lunch hour.  They parted with kisses, and each went on his or her way.

This ideal arrangement went on for about eighteen months until one afternoon in 1939.  After very intensive lovemaking, they lay naked as usual in bed and rested.  This time, however, Jo Ann turned on the radio and listened intently to a German Bund speaker, who poured out his venom on the Jews, the Communists, the bankers, and the press.  He branded them as the very same people who wanted to destroy the emerging new Germany, and pledged to rid the world of all these undesirables.

"You listen to all this trash?" Felix was astonished.

"Of course, it's all true."

Jo Ann began to explain all about the Protocols of Zion, the Jewish capitalists who are striving to take over the world, how we must be strong and pure, and fight off all this evil.

Stunned, Felix could not believe that this woman with whom he had made love so often could be so brainwashed.  But she did not stop there.  She confided that her husband, who was big in the Bund, took her to special meetings.  Indeed, only a few nights earlier at a large gathering were some very important delegates, someone associated with the Vatican, who explained the great conspiracy that the Jews were planning right now to take over and rule the world. 

"Yes, yes, they had been working on this scheme for thousands of years; they even sacrificed their own people.  Their goal is to rule the world!"

"And they have almost succeeded", Jo Ann exclaimed.

"Little by little they are taking over the Vatican!  There are Jews promoting the image of Jesus! And when most of the world will be Christian, the Jews will proclaim that they are the real Christians, and take over.  They sold the idea of a Son of God, a pale, uneducated Jew, who was born in Palestine and taught the ignorant to be soft, turn the other cheek, love their enemy, forgive, and even submit to death without a fight, or even a curse.  Oh, yes, he promised an eternal life in an imagined heaven; a place that nobody every saw, or came back from!"

Thanks to the informed people in the new, great Germany, all of this would soon be taken care of.

"We know what to do with the Jews."

"What's wrong?" she screamed.

"Why are you dressing?"

"I am saving you a terrible fate," Felix smiled.

"You see, for the last 18 months you have been screwed by a Jew. My name isn't really Coleman.  It was originally Cohen, and I am a good Jew from Poland!"

Jo Ann screamed. She got out of bed and started throwing nearby objects at him - dishes, the clock, the radio.

"You will never get any more money from me!"

Felix left first, and when the distraught woman finally got back to her office, there was a special hand-delivered letter:

Next day a check for the remaining amount was delivered to the firm, and a few days later World War II started.