Entrepreneur, Explorer, Angel.
Sometimes all at Once.
15TH August 2021
Culture - Entrepreneur - Family and Friends - Geopolitical - Legends and tales - Uncategorized
Five Fantastic Qualities of Russell Kagan
A dear friend and confident passed awhile back named Russell Kagan. I always favored calling him Russ, but one walk down the Croissette in Cannes changed all that as people on every block yelled his name, in every accent known to man… “KAGAN!” It was 1998 and the dot.com boom was in full swing. Media properties began to realize content could go multiple places…. and be sold multiple times. This was manna for Russ, a consummate deal maker/salesman in TV distribution throughout Europe and Asia. Of course everyone flocked to the south of France twice a year to shop for media content and enjoy the lifestyle, but Russ was already there waiting. And that’s where the true magic of Russ’ investment in mankind payed off. He was Kind. Russ didn’t seem to […]
14TH May 2021
Choate - Friends - Good Story - Legends and tales - Timeless - Uncategorized
Choate Football ’80 Hall of Fame Benediction
Welcome Judges. Forty years ago, we played for a warrior, poet, and coach. So with apologies to Kipling, Shelly, & Keat, here’s a verse, while you lace your cleats. Halftime had been all despair. 24 minutes left to bear. Down 14 at the break A perfect record still at stake We had not come this far For close again, but miss the bar So Forte’s tiptoes made a play Plus three more from the foot of Bray. As time ticked down the defense held We’d get the ball for one last spell 11 Young men, most in their prime Seventy yards before the final chime Long shadows revealed shortness of breath As we chewed up time, chalk and grass Until three yards and ten ticks […]
24TH January 2021
Creative problem Solving - Family and Friends - Legends and tales - Timeless - Uncategorized
The greatest risk is taking no risk at all.
You can ski in any number of safe trails to the bottom. So why would anyone choose to ski down on the difficult black diamond run instead? Most passionate skiers would ask the question differently: why wouldn’t you? The point of skiing isn’t to get to the bottom. The point is how it feels on your way there. I grew up scaring myself half to death, and was a VIP at my local ER. And this despite my upbringing which basically discouraged medical treatment and put prayer as the first choice in healing. We had nothing against doctors, mind you. We just thought that 80% of our so called “medical issues” were mostly in our heads, included the risk and the fear that came with it. In retrospect, perhaps I […]
17TH September 2020
Family and Friends - Friends - Good Story - Legends and tales - Timeless
Five Fantastic Qualities of Mark Von Kreuter
My eulogy for a friend, Mark von Kreuter
18TH April 2020
Cuba - Havana Culture - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 16 – Back to Havana
Chapter 16 – Jorge …no mas Illustration- Brech bursts into the Miami garage. Ermitas Blanco- Havana. Women often smoked cigars in Havana. Its naughty, sexy and decadent… And that suited Nina just fine. Jorge walked both Sal and Nina through the Humidor Process, omitting a few key steps that he’d already explained to Nina. This gave Sal the impression he had the full download, without really knowing that his Time Travel Tutorial lacked more than a few pages. They all lit up, the room filling with blue cigar smoke much quicker with the three of them puffing away. Jorge held a duffel bag of cash in his lap. The timer went off with a “ding.” They waited for the smoke to clear. When they looked out the window toward the […]
15TH April 2020
Cuba - Culture - Good Story - Havana Culture - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 14 – Back to Havana
Chapter 14- Some Big Fish Illustration- Pilar Boat Scene with Poppa, Brando, and the BTH Gang- Ermitas Blanco- Havana. We can talk now. No one for miles, but blue marlin. And shark. Marlins and shark. The Pilar’s owner was among the pioneers of blue marlin angling, using natural baits rigged to skip and swim, sometimes combined with an artificial lure or skirt to make “skirted baits” or “bait/lure combinations.” He found that it worked well along the eastern seaboard of the United States, and in the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Venezuela. “Welcome aboard the Pilar,” he began, “the best marlin boat in Cuba.” He extended a hand to the lady and let the rest settle in. As he cast the line to the trailing dock, he […]
10TH April 2020
Adventure - Creative problem Solving - Cuba - Legends and tales - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 12 – Back to Havana
Chapter 12- Grand Prix Build up TBD Illustration- Map/ aerial view of race course from Nacional Penthouse scene The course was a simple 2.6 mile triangle beginning outside the garage near the Nacionale. After a brief straightaway, the course travelled uphill on Calle 23 , also known as Las Rampas for the Hill to the Sea. The course passed by the sugar mansions of Vedado until arriving at Calle H where the drivers had to downshift before a tricky downhill right-bank turn onto Avenida Presidente, a split six-lane boulevard. After a brief straight downhill, there was another tricky roundabout at the half-built monument to Calixto García Iñiguez, a general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence. Although any race driver stopping to ponder this wouldn’t make […]
10TH April 2020
Adventure - Creative problem Solving - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 11 – Back to Havana
Chapter 11- The Bet Illustration – Fangio and Esteban seal the bet and shake hands amid the garage gang – Blanco. This was no ordinary garage that Jorge and Ralph were pulling into: bays of McLaren, Lotus, Ferarri and Maserati were divided by immaculate tool sets, superb lighting, and staffs of jump-suited attendants cleaning up from the day’s work. It looked like the pit of any other race on the Grand Prix circuit, but all compressed into one spot. Ralph still had not put it together that he was in late 1957, and as the Buick came to a halt he assumed he was in another classic garage of another rich patron who needed a special part for a tune up. Jorge had never seen a time-traveller be so […]
10TH April 2020
Adventure - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) Day 10- Back to Havana
Chapter 10 – Dream a Little Dream of Me TBD Illustration- Genetta and Nat singing in Club Room Genetta was wrapping up her modelling shoot as the sun set over the Malecon. The last shots were usually what the photographers waited all day for. She was modelling for a Cuban dress designer named “Salome,” who had this wonderful knack for dressing Havana’s most stylish women in the sheerest of materials while maintaining a simple iconic look. The jewelry was from an avant garde designer named “Rox,” and the pieces were big, bold statements that started conversations without being ostentatious. They went well together. As the “magic moment” approached, Genetta positioned herself on a large rock in the garden overlooking the Malecon, framed by the setting sun but nevertheless visible to […]
09TH April 2020
Cuba - Havana Culture - Legends and tales - Timeless - Timely
Shelter(ed) – Music for Back to Havana
Taking a break on the writing to add some music. I’ve tried to make this experience as immersive as possible, including its soundtrack. I wrote this with Nu Jazz, in the background, using contemporary artists to remix Jazz, Mambo, Bossa Nova and American Standards into a music bed that bridges both periods ‘57 and ‘17. The perfect group to emulate this is De-Phazz, a downtempo jazz ensemble integrating modern turntablism and elements of soul, Latin, trip hop and drum and bass into a lounge music sound. Austin Powers might have loved it. De-Phazz is led by Pit Baumgartner, a German producer who has varied the lineup of artists for every new album. Some regular members are Barbara Lahr, Karl Frierson and Pat Appleton. Back with more Chapters next week…. ~ […]
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