SEPTEMBER 2000: GEORGE MITCHELL BRINGS the cruise SHIP INDUSTRY TO GALVESTON

Once upon a time, Galveston was the mightiest port in the entire Caribbean.  That ended with the Great Storm of 1900 that reduced Galveston to rubble.  With the city in ruins, it was unable to recover swiftly enough to advantage of the Texas oil boom of 1901.  This opened the door for Houston, Galveston's neighbor, to seize the opportunity instead.  The 1914 completion of the Houston Ship Channel rendered Galveston's magnificent port obsolete.  Talk about perfect timing.  This was the year the Panama Canal opened.  This was the year World War I began, thereby creating a huge demand for oil to fuel countless mechanized vehicles.  If life was fair, Galveston with its superior port should have been the beneficiary of the oil boom.  Instead Houston won the grand prize.  Now that Houston held the upper hand, Galveston's deepwater port remained a mere shell of its glorious past for 100 years.  Fortunately Galveston finally caught a break in 2000 when a billionaire named George Mitchell thought of a way to put the underutilized port to good use. 

Born in Galveston in 1919, Mitchell had a rough childhood.  His mother died of a stroke when he was 13 and his deadbeat father promptly packed him off to relatives who ignored him.  Forced to raise himself, Mitchell targeted education as his best hope to escape poverty.  Working odd jobs to pay his own way to Texas A&M, Mitchell graduated at the top of his class as a petroleum engineer.  From there, Mitchell used his gift for finding oil to become successful.

During the 70's, OPEC imposed a ban on petroleum exports to the United States.  This drastic cut in oil production led to long lines at the pump and rising gas prices.  With OPEC's foot on America's neck, Mitchell decided to look for a solution.  During the Eighties he invested $8 million in fracking research.  Say what you will about fracking, Mitchell's innovations singlehandedly rescued America from Arab oil dependence.

During the next stage of his rags to riches career, Mitchell created The Woodlands just north of Houston.  Known as the City of the Future, Mitchell struck an ecological balance between nature and progress by nesting his city within a Texas pine forest.  Mitchell was also known for his philanthropy.  Donating a half billion dollars to Texas A&M, Mitchell enabled many wonderful projects such as the school's astronomy program.  He remains today as the top donor in A&M history.

Mitchell's sense of philanthropy extended to his hometown.  Upset over Galveston's economic plight, Mitchell put the city on his back and did his best to return it to prosperity through a series of key investments.  Brainstorming ways to create more jobs, Mitchell envisioned Galveston as a potential cruise ship port.  He began pursuing the cruise industry in the 80's, but could not get anyone to listen.  Carnival Cruise Line was not interested and Galveston's Port Authority had given up trying to get their attention.  Frustrated, Mitchell decided to do it himself.  However, before he could approach Carnival on his own, first he needed to convince the city managers to agree to build a Cruise Ship Terminal and a Walkover Bridge.  Without a commitment to build infrastructure, what was the point of talking with Carnival?  To his dismay, he was met with a total lack of cooperation.  Fortunately, Mitchell eventually got his way, but it took considerable effort.

According to Douglas Matthews, former city manager of Galveston, over the years George Mitchell had poured a billion dollars into his many projects on Galveston Island.  One would think this generosity would get Mitchell a billion dollars worth of credibility, but apparently not.  Matthews recalled how Mitchell fought the Galveston City Council and Wharves Board over his request to build a cruise ship terminal plus a $750,000 cruise ship Walkover in the late 1980s.  Here is what Matthews said:

"Galveston badly needed a new source of revenue, so George wanted to use the cruise industry as a way to turn the island into a tourist destination.  He correctly saw the hotels as the perfect way to pump tourist dollars into our economy, but here was the problem.  It was too easy for someone from Dallas or San Antonio to get up early and drive straight to their ship.  Leave that morning, board that afternoon.  George needed a way to entice Texans to drive to Galveston a day or two early and stay in a hotel prior to their cruise departure.  Noting that the drive in from Dallas was five hours, a hotel could offer tourists a chance to rest while enjoying the beach and the fine seafood restaurants.  George came up with a unique idea to make staying at the hotels preferable.  Galveston is so narrow, people could actually walk from their hotel to the ship terminal.  However, to do so would require crossing an incredibly busy street on departure day plus a train track.  This would not work for families with kids. 

Noting the proximity of the hotels to the ship terminal, George suggested building a bridge to connect the nearby hotels to the cruise ship.  Let's say someone drives in from Houston on the day of the trip.  First they have to fight traffic to drop off their luggage and family.  Then someone has to drive the car to a parking lot and take a shuttle back.  This can take up to an hour.  Then they stand in long lines to register.  By the time they make it to the ship, they're exhausted.  Staying in a hotel can beat the traffic.  A bridge would eliminate the need for passengers to dodge cars on the busy street below while rolling their luggage to the ship.  By walking to their destination, the guests could leave their cars safe in the hotel parking lot and save taxi fare.

As George explained it to me, the convenience of this arrangement would give people a valid reason to drive in early as opposed to arriving the day of departure.  No one saw this but George.  The critics labeled George's bridge idea as 'the Walkway to Nowhere.'  They just couldn't see it as anything but a huge waste of money.  In defense of the obstinate officials, this cruise project was a huge, costly gamble.  Not just the Walkover, but Galveston would also need to build an expensive cruise terminal without any guarantee the cruise ships would come.  No city official had the courage to do it.  It was beyond their imagination, far too risky.  For one thing, there was absolutely no demand, no existing cruise market.  No one in Texas was banging down the doors begging to take a cruise out of Galveston.  This lack of interest explains why the Port Authority officials said no. 

George blew his top, but fortunately had the sense to wait till we were alone.  Speaking out of earshot, George said, 'Damn it, Doug, if they're not going to do it, then I'm going to do it myself!"  Thank God George had the vision to persist."

The boost given to Galveston's economy by the cruise industry was unbelievable.  Practically overnight Galveston's tourist industry began to compete with the popular San Antonio Riverwalk for the almighty tourist dollar in the State of Texas.  With new jobs being created right and left, Tourism was floating Galveston's boat.  In retrospect, it seems so obvious.  How could anyone have possibly overlooked the cruise potential of Galveston?  I guess that is why George Mitchell was called a 'Visionary'.  He saw things other people didn't. 

Following Carnival's successful launch in 2000, within the space of three years, Galveston became America's fourth busiest cruise port behind three previously established locations in Florida.  As Mitchell hoped, a flood of cruise-bound Texans drove down early.  Not only did the hotels thrive, all sorts of new tourist-related attractions popped up.  Galveston had a water park, Moody Gardens, an amusement park, plus island tours to see the magnificent Victorian homes.  And let us not forget the beautiful warm water beach within walking distance of the hotels.  Once families discovered what a great spot Galveston was for kids, they had plenty of reasons to come back. 

"But George, where will the tourists come from?"

Until George spoke up, the Florida-based executives had been hopelessly locked into the mind-set that Florida was sufficient. The image of flabbergasted George Mitchell staring in shock at those dumbfounded Carnival executives tickles me no end.  I mean, seriously, it is one thing for someone to not know where Kazakhstan is located.  But these were college-educated men who claimed to be the sharpest knives in the drawer. 

As I said, within three years Galveston was the fourth largest cruise port in the country.  Not Boston.  Not New York.  Not Baltimore.  Not New Orleans.  Not San Diego.  Not Los Angeles.  Not San Francisco.  Not Seattle.  Well, duh, has anyone in this room ever heard of Houston?  Houston moved in front of all those cruise ports, but no could see it but George.

It staggers the mind that Mitchell had to explain Texas has the second largest population in America.  Not just that, Texas was an untapped market.  It was true that Eastern USA residents were used to cruising the Caribbean.  But what about that mysterious body of water known as the Gulf of Mexico? 

Why should Texans fly to Florida when they can just drive down to Galveston?  

This story explains why George Mitchell came to be known as the man who saved Galveston.

FEBRUARY 2001

RICK HAS AN IDEA

With my life in crisis, I caught a lucky break from Tom Easley.  Being around Tom and my friends from yesteryear helped me get back in touch with the person I used to be.  On the plane trip home from my ski trip to Lake Tahoe, I asked myself if there was a way I could instill the special spirit of the Eighties into the current Millennium generation at the studio.  Although the modern version of SSQQ was packed with students, the studio lacked any sense of community.  The Salsa people had no interest in the Swing people who had no interest in the Country-Western people who... well, you get the point. 

If I could not be happy in love, at least I could start enjoying my studio again.  The best way to regain my pride would be to stop feeling sorry for myself and get to know the current generation of students better.   Now that I was single again, maybe there was something I could do to stir the Magic Carpet Ride back to life.  What the studio needed was an adventure.  That is how Tom Easley's ski group had formed back in the Eighties.  Unfortunately, a ski trip would have to wait till next year.  I needed something sooner.  What else? 

My mind wandered back to Alan Fox and the cruise trip suggestion he had made in January.  One reason I had dismissed the idea was my dissatisfaction with our previous cruise trip.  The 1998 Jamaica trip had been Alan's idea.  I suppose the trip was mildly successful.  30 people had joined.  I knew for a fact the total of guests would have been larger if New Orleans was not the departure point.  People balked at the added time and expense of traveling so far.  Who wants to drive six hours to New Orleans and six hours back?  Who wants to drive to Houston Intercontinental, pay to leave your car at the airport, pay a taxi to get to a New Orleans hotel, then another taxi to the cruise ship.  Expensive.  It all adds up. 

And guess who they complained to?  Already in a bad mood, I did not handle the grumbling very well.  I did not enjoy the cruise trip either.  Due to my acute burn-out, the Jamaica trip felt too much like work.  I stayed in my cabin most of the time reading books and playing computer chess.  I could not wait for the trip to end. 

Fortunately I did manage to pay at least some attention.  I noticed how much fun our guests had dancing every night.  They also enjoyed the dance lessons I taught on sea days.  Indeed, the cruise trip had been so much fun our guests, they wanted to do it again.  However, due to my lousy attitude, I said forget it.  That was 1998.  This was 2001.  Now that I was single again, the Seesaw Effect kicked in.  My unhappiness combined with my ski trip realization gave me a compelling reason to try a second cruise trip. 

One thing in particular stuck in my mind.  Alan said the cruise industry had just come to Galveston.  That change made all the difference in the world.  One hour to Galveston, leave the car in a nearby parking lot.  Not only was this far more convenient, the price tag was cut nearly in half. 

I hoped promoting a cruise would help me regain my mojo.  What would happen if I opened up a little and stopped avoiding people?  It wouldn't hurt to be more sociable.  Anything to deal with this constant loneliness.  Alan was happy to arrange our 2001 Trip.  Assigning a lady named Ann Adams to be my travel agent, let the bold new experiment begin.  Step One was to create a flyer complete with pricing and itinerary.  I placed copies in every room at the studio.  Step Two, I announced the August cruise to the classes I taught.  Step Three, I asked my instructors to do the same in their classes. 

Step Four was the personal touch.  In addition to general announcements, I began to pull students aside and tell them how much fun the trip was going to be.  I knew from experience that personal contact worked better than just spreading flyers around the studio.  Sure enough, the personal touch worked.  Not only did people respond with interest, I was starting to make their acquaintance.  Slowly but surely I began coming out of my shell.

I saved my best trick for last.  It was time for Step Five.  My 1998 decision to create an Email Newsletter had coincided with the studio's upcoming Jamaica trip.  Before we departed, my computer friend Gary Richardson had given me some good advice.  

"If you intend to write a Newsletter story about Jamaica, be sure to take lots of photographs.  The best way to endear yourself to the guests will be to post their pictures on your website.  Those pictures will let their friends see them having fun.  The more pictures you post, the more those who stayed behind will be envious.  Who knows, maybe some of your Newsletter readers will want to go on your next trip."

"Gary, I don't own a camera."

"Let me sell you a Mavica digital camera.  That will allow you to transfer your photographs directly to your computer.  That way you can skip the lengthy process of scanning camera images into your computer."

SYNCHRONICITY

A major reason for writing this book is to share my reasons for believing 'Predestination' may exist.  Here is my favorite quote about Predestination.  It was made by the eminent physicist Stephen Hawking. 

"I have noticed people who claim everything is predestined.  They say we can do nothing to change our Fate, yet they have the curious habit to look first before they cross the road." 

I have mixed feelings about that statement.  Before I offer my opinion, let me admit that while I believe in Fate, I have no idea as to what extent it plays in our lives.  Do we have Free Will most of the time or just some of the time?  Do we have any Free Will at all?  Who knows.  The extent to which Fate plays in our daily existence is one of Life's Great Mysteries.  Or at least it is a mystery to me.

Even though I firmly believe in Fate, nevertheless I approach every decision as if I am in charge of my own Destiny.  I may be wrong about that, but it doesn't matter.  For me to enjoy life, I always assume I am steering my own ship.  Not only do I look both ways before crossing the street, I put on my seat belt, watch my diet, exercise regularly and have yearly checkups.  In other words, I live by the Rules of Reality every moment of my life.  Where do these Rules come from?  Experience.  Through experience I have developed a sense of probability and likelihood that helps me make decisions.  If I cross the street without looking, in all likelihood I will be hit by a car. 

However the presence of Fate changes everything.  I have observed moments where the Rules of Reality appear to go out the window.  When that happens, I blame Fate.  Fate is the wild card, the joker so to speak.  Not very often, but periodically I will witness a coincidence so weird and so totally unlikely that it violates my sense of Reality.  When that happens, I assume the Force of Fate has superseded the Rules of Reality.  The only way to explain what I am talking about is to offer some examples.  Why not start with the event that changed my life?

With seven children in attendance, Maria Ballantyne was a daily fixture at my school.  Not a day passed when I did not catch a glance.  If I saw Mrs. Ballantyne talking to someone such as her children, the Headmaster or other mothers, I would stop to watch her in action.  At least once a week I passed right by her in the hallway. 

Over the course of nine years, there were probably 1,000 times when we could have met.  But that never happened.  Not once did we connect even though St. John's was a very small school.  Let me add two things.  Despite my hero worship, not once did I approach her.  I had too much respect for her privacy to say a word.  Nor was there anyone else in the school under my scrutiny.  Just Maria Ballantyne.  One would think by rules of random physics I would have at least caught her eye.  Nope, never happened. 

Don't you think it is odd that we never ran into each other ONCE in nine years?  To me, it was like I was hiding in plain sight.  I was invisible to Maria Ballantyne.  I was her secret admirer.

Hoping to save money for college, I worked after school at my grocery four to five days a week.  Over the course of three years, I was at the store roughly 700 times.  Not once did Maria Ballantyne come into my store.  WITH ONE EXCEPTION.  In the midst of the worst crisis of my life, the woman I had secretly selected as the world's finest mother not only walked into my store, she took an immediate interest in me, a total stranger.  Can you imagine how weird it felt to have my 'Hero' appear out of thin air?  Can you imagine how overwhelmed I felt when she decided to tell me her own rags to riches life story as a way to cheer me up and motivate me? 

As I listened, I was fully aware that her visit defied the odds.  I do not know how to properly calculate the odds, so let's keep it simple.  Zero times in nine years at the school, one time in three years at the grocery store.  Long odds, yes?  Personally, it felt like one in a million.  Sure, her visit could have been a random fluke.  But I don't believe that.  I think a more likely explanation for Mrs. Ballantyne's shocking visit was that God guided her to me as answer to my prayer for help.  That is what I mean about bending the Rules of Reality.   This moment felt so much like a powerful demonstration of Divine Intervention, I believed I had just witnessed a Miracle.

Ultra-Serious

Here is another strange story along similar lines.  It is Christmas Day, 1973.  My girlfriend Vanessa has just left town.  Her checkered past has forced her to move to Oregon to make a fresh start.  Of course I did not know that was the real reason.  I had to find out the truth of her betrayal the hard way.  When I called long distance to ask if I could visit her over the Holidays, Vanessa revealed her old boyfriend was at her house.  She claimed he had missed her so much that he showed up out of desperation, but this was such an obvious lie, I finally caught on that she had been seeing him all along.

On my desk there was a letter from the Psychology Department informing me I had just been terminated from the program. 

This is my Darkest Hour.  I was a failure in every possible way I could think of.  My depression knew no limit.  I was alone in my apartment, friendless and sinking fast.  I was badly out of control with rage, feelings of helplessness, despair.  There was no one to turn to.  Well aware that I was in serious trouble, I thought to myself that I could really use Mrs. Ballantyne's help again.  Fat chance of that.  At that exact moment, the idea to turn on the TV crossed my mind.  A movie titled Ben Hur had just come on, so I watched. 

Ben Hur is sentenced to spend the rest of his life as a slave in the Roman galleys for a crime he did not commit.  The man has nothing to live for.  There is no such thing as escape from the captivity of the Roman galleys.  More likely he will die before he even reaches his destination.  Crossing the hot sands of the Judean desert in chains, Ben Hur is cruelly denied water by the Roman guards.  Dying of thirst in the extreme heat, Ben Hur collapses.  On the ground near death, Ben Hur whispers, "God, please help me..."

Seconds later, a stranger comes up to give him water.  A nearby Roman soldier stares in disbelief at this bold act of defiance.  Just when the man is prepared to use his whip, Ben Hur is shocked to see the guard suddenly cower and move away.  Of course Ben Hur has no idea who this man is, but he is inspired nonetheless because he recognizes the divinity of Jesus.  What an amazing scene.  Jesus has appeared out of nowhere to offer a bowl of water to a suffering man full of despair.  This compassionate act of kindness gives Ben Hur the courage he needs to continue on despite an absolutely hopeless situation. 

Deeply touched by this powerful scene, I broke down in a torrent of tears.  It took quite a while, but when I recovered, I discovered my own sense of hope had been restored.  Fully aware how Mrs. Ballantyne had once done something similar for me, I was struck by the power of an unexpected act of Kindness to make a profound difference in the life of a crippled person. 

I won't say I was healed.  I was still in a great deal of pain.  What I will say is the coincidence of seeing that dramatic scene restored my will to carry on.  Was it an accident that I turned on the TV to the exact channel at the exact moment necessary to catch this movie?  Or did an invisible being put the idea to watch TV in my mind at the perfect moment? 

Suspicious

So why exactly have I told these two stories?  By my count, I have hit Rock Bottom six times during my life.  What strikes me as odd is that each time, I was rescued from my misery by a very strange, totally unexpected circumstance.  To me, it was as if my Fate included a fair amount of suffering, and yet the Universe had deliberately provided a safety net.  Now following my Christmas Eve decision to divorce, this curious safety net phenomenon took place again.  Wallowing in depression, alienated from my beloved dance studio and deeply cynical about love, Tom Easley's ski trip phone call turned out to be a very lucky break indeed.

Suspicious

Lucky Break
Coincidence

So here is my point.  Was Tom's timely phone call an act of Fate or just one of those things?  Was Mrs. Ballantyne's appearance at my store an act of Fate or did she just happen to need groceries as she was driving by?  It is Christmas Day, so naturally a movie such as Ben Hur will be playing.  Were any of these three events an act of Divine Intervention?  Or was Rick Archer a deluded, gullible fool? 

The answer is that I will never know.  'Fate' is so easily disguised that we may be undergoing a Fated Event and never know it.  That is why I consider every one of my Supernatural Events to be 'Suspected'.  There will always be room for doubt.  That said, depending on the Probability, Timing, Impact, plus an X-Factor I refer to as 'Weirdness', some events are far more Suspicious than others.  Mrs. Ballantyne's visit was a serious coincidence while Tom's phone call was only slightly out of the ordinary.  That is why I listed Mrs. Ballantyne's visit as 'Serious' while Tom's phone call was labeled as 'Suspicious'.

Nevertheless, the Timing of Tom's phone call was so important I did not dismiss it.  Years later when I looked back on the events that led me to Marla and to the Love Boat Era, Tom's phone call was a significant moment in what I call a 'Path', a Countdown to Destiny.  "Synchronicity" is a term coined by Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung.  Dr. Jung was a lifelong student of paranormal events such as Lucky Breaks, Bad Breaks, Meaningful Coincidences, Omens, Weird situations, Dreams and Premonitions.  Jung noticed that certain seemingly unrelated events occasionally turned out to be connected in very unusual ways.  Given how perfectly certain events unfolded in clockwork fashion, Jung suspected the Hidden Hand of God was involved in coordinating this Path.  Situations such as a Path did not happen very often, but when they did, Jung believed these events were 'Synchronized' by the Force of Fate.

Synchronicity is an interesting theory, but certainly not something I can prove.  What I can say is that I have noticed times in my life where various events took place that seemed too well-coordinated to be random.  One of those moments was the Dance Path that led me to my career.  I would one day conclude I was walking a Path to Marla and the Love Boat Era at this very moment.  In my opinion, the 2001 Trip was the beneficiary of a series of seemingly unconnected events that unfolded with exquisite Timing. 

Let me point out I did not reach this 'Synchronicity' conclusion as it took place, but rather well afterwards.  Soren Kierkegaard once said that Life must be lived forwards, but it can only be understood backwards.  One way Fate conceals itself is by delaying the Impact of an event.  Rarely do we know the meaning of an event until we see its future Impact, so the danger is that we forget.  When it comes to 'Cause and Effect', the longer the Effect is delayed, the more likely it is to overlook the connection.  That is why it helps to keep track of curious events so we can retrace them backwards.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

My 1998 SSQQ Cruise Trip to Jamaica was largely a flop.  My 2001 SSQQ Cruise Trip would turn out to be sensational.  What was the difference? 

Timing. 

Was there a cruise ship in Galveston in 1998?  No.  We had to go to New Orleans instead.  Was there a cruise ship in Galveston in 2001?  Yes.   Given the proximity of Galveston to Houston, an hour's drive, this became a major reason why my 2001 trip caught on so fast.  And WHY was there a cruise ship in Galveston?  George Mitchell. 

"In Sync" is a term that describes what happens when all the moving parts fit together perfectly.  Things just seem to click without lifting a finger.  George Mitchell was responsible for adding the finishing touch to my trip.