| 3.2-2 My First Day in Puerto Rico Wednesday Afternoon until Thursday Morning March 20th - 21st, 1991 |
During my previous phone conversation with Kirk the secretary whose phone I was
using had packed up and gone home for the day. I used her phone to call Kirk,
again using my MCI calling card, dialing what seemed like an endless string of
numbers to complete the call. Just as the phone was ringing through to Kirk,
someone from behind me grabs the telephone handset, yanks it out of my hand, and
places the instrument to his ear. He listens for a couple of seconds and then slams
it down on the receiver.
Surprised and now infuriated, I tell him that he just hung up on a long distance call to
California on my calling card. I ask him if an answering machine had come on
because normally I would hang up after the third ring so that if nobody answered I
wouldn't be charged for the call. He tells me no answering machine came on and
then asks me what I was doing using the phone. I inform him that I had the front
counter clerk's permission to use the phone and I had just used it a few minutes
earlier. He said, "Well, at that time the secretary was here to watch you." I replied,
"She was hardly watching me." I asked him if he minded me using the phone again
while reassuring him that I was paying for the call using my calling card. He agreed
to let me use the phone again but under his supervision.
I recalled Kirk under a watchful eye, and this time Kirk answered. He had attempted
to pick up messages on his answering machine at home but he was unsuccessful.
He told me he would have to read the answering machine instructions once he
arrived home tonight. I could call him back then for the instructions. I said, "No
problem, talk to you tonight", and hung up.
I headed out to my waiting rental car saying good-bye to Rosa at the front counter
as I passed by. A fellow opens the passenger door, lets me in the car, and I drive on
down the road, following the course mapped out to Palmas del Mar, somewhere
outside the town of Humacao.
By now I was starved. I hadn't eaten since the small breakfast on the plane and I
was told Palmas del Mar was more than an hours drive away. As I drove out of the
airport I spotted a familiarly American fast food restaurant...Burger King. The drive-
through is backed up with a few cars so I park and walk inside.
There is only one man in front of me in the only open cashier line waiting to place his
order. I waited behind him for several minutes before I was helped. Unfortunately
for me and for Burger King, the fellow behind the cashier was a trainee. The
manager was aiding him at all times. After a few teeth clenching minutes he finally
got my order of a burger, fries, and a drink. Then I waited. And I waited. And I
waited. At least ten minutes now had gone by. What’s up - this is Burger King - a
fast food place - the food is supposed to come fast isn’t it?
In the mean time a beautiful young couple had entered the restaurant and they were
waiting to place their order. The scantily dressed young lady was very patient but
her boyfriend was not so. The fellow who was in front of me when I entered the
restaurant still had not received his order nor I. After quite some time I decided I was
more in a hurry to get to Palmas del Mar to meet up with Marsha and her parents
than I was hungry. While waiting a bit impatiently to ask for my money back and
most likely grumbling about the speed of the service, the young lady waiting to place
her order asked me with her smooth Puerto Rican accent, "And where are you
from?", to which I kindly replied with a smile, "San Diego, California." Apparently
having noticed my impatience, she quipped back at me with her head moving from
side to side, "Well, maybe in San Diego service is a faster. Here in Puerto Rico it's
not that way. If you want fast service, maybe you should just go back home to San
Diego."
Stunned at the harshness of her words, I turned away a bit taken aback. With a
glance toward her boyfriend standing away from her, I see him shaking his head no
and gritting his teeth with a smile at what she just said to me as if he doesn’t know
her or more importantly, that he doesn’t control her. I too smile with a small laugh,
finally receive my money back, and rush on out to the car. I suppose it is possible
that I should have heeded her words, returned the car to the airport, got on the next
flight to Miami and head back home. But I didn’t. Instead, I pushed on and headed
off to the resort of Palmas del Mar.
Amazingly, I managed to follow all of the directions out of the airport, through the
tunnel to the next turn off then north through San Juan, find the proper highway
which led me west to Humacao* (footnote: observant Puerto Ricans will notice that it
is actually south through San Juan and then east to Humacao. But for me it was all
the other way - for me things were turned around upon my arrival to Puerto Rico -
directions for example as well as the airline ticket). During this time I became
familiarized with the driving idiosyncrasies of Puerto Ricans. Having lived the past
ten years of my life in San Diego, I was well acquainted with the driving habits of
Southern Californians. Furthermore, I am well acquainted with the driving habits of
the residents of Tijuana, Mexico. I survived many trips into and around Tijuana
where there are no lines in the highways and the drivers feel free to use any free
space on the road. The drivers in San Juan were similar in some ways, yet somehow
different.
Here I am driving down a basic US mainland four-lane freeway or expressway, all
properly lined and with nice shoulders and all. Only one thing wasn’t quite right…the
shoulders, both right and left, were filled with speeding cars. Might as well have
been a lane instead of a shoulder, no? Anyway, I make it safely out of San Juan
following the map from Dollar. I missed only one turn-off to Humacao and was quite
a ways past the town of Caguas (I now realize I had even passed the next town of
Cayey because no one told me when they handed me the huge map showing the
entire island that the island was only 35 miles wide) and heading down the
mountains before I realized my mistake (I saw the ocean so I knew I was on the other
side of the island already). But it was worth it because I had the chance to catch the
smell of burning fresh cut grass which a team of road men were lighting in piles
along side the freeway. The practice of open-fires was outlawed in Seattle since I
was a kid so it brought back youthful memories. I turned around in a cut-off in the
median and made it to Humacao well after sunset.
Upon reaching Humacao I stopped at a gas station at the bottom of the freeway exit
ramp to ask for directions. A woman standing with a fellow outside gave me some
arcane directions in broken English to Palmas del Mar. I headed off in the general
direction she indicated, turning at points I thought might be the right place to turn. I
ended up on narrower and narrower streets, which finally led me to a dirt road which
I believe was actually part of the instructions she had given me. Against my better
judgment, I decided to follow the dirt road, which seemed to be at the top of a
riverbank. The dirt road amazingly led to a main road, which led me out of town. I
continue driving on the road out of town until I began to climb a hill and realized that I
am now heading away from the water. So I turned around and headed back to a
small store I just passed and stopped to ask them how to get to Palmes del Mar.
The nice lady behind the counter pointed to a road heading off down the hill and told
me that was the entrance to Palmes del Mar. Perfect. I hopped back in the car and
headed the way she pointed.
At the top of the entrance to the resort there was a security post which was manned
at the time. The guard asked me if I am a guest and I replied, "No, I am here to visit
Mr. and Mrs. Jerrings. He called the hotel to verify they were indeed guests and
then he let me pass. I parked in a guest parking lot just outside a second security
post. The guard at this post pointed me toward the hotel.
On my way into the hotel I took the video camera out of the pack in preparation to
catch Marsha on tape as she came down to meet me. I called her Mom and Dad's
room to inform her of my arrival and waited in the lobby with the video camera
running so I could catch her bubbly warm welcoming.
We greet each other with a big hug and head down the steps to sit in the palm-line
open-air lobby of the Palmas del Mar resort. I give her the details of my trip thus far
and how it is that I have come to Puerto Rico. After a few minutes of chatting she
calls her parents room to see if they are ready for dinner. They're ready and we
head out to the parking lot. Marsha has planned for us to eat at a small restaurant
in the town of Humacao. She has also planned for us to go to a championship
basketball game in town after eating. Her parents, not wishing to see the game,
decide to take their own car and Marsha and I take my rental car.
On the way to the restaurant I explain to Marsha my grand concert plans. She, as
would be expected, is very positive and excited for me about my new plans. Once at
the restaurant we all order our dinners and I ask Marsha if she thought it would be all
right for me to ask to use the restaurant phone to try and reach Carlos while we wait
for our dinners to arrive. She said it would be fine. The restaurant manager
graciously permitted me to use the phone.
First, I called Carlos’ cell phone number. It was still not working. I then tried his
family’s number several times. Still, the line was busy each time. I finally decided to
talk with a Puerto Rico Telephone Company operator to see if he could put me
through. At this point, I was becoming desperate, so I asked if he could break into
the line and put me through. He tried the number and told me that the problem was
not that someone was talking on the line but that the lines were not working in the
area I was trying to call. I would have to try later. Next, I made a call to MCI to check
on how the connection of the toll free 800 numbers to my cell phones was going.
They had no new status, so they asked me to call back later.
I headed back to the table and by now everybody was more than half-finished with
their meals and mine was still sitting there untouched. I began to explain to Marsha's
parents about the concert because I thought Aunt Lori might be able to help out
accounting wise, for I thought she had worked for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic
Committee in such a capacity. I was wrong. I had piqued their interest though, so I
had to explain the concert plans to them anyway.
After I finished explaining the concert plans to Aunt Lori and her husband Joe, Joe
says to me, "I like the old Kory better. The Kory who was an engineer at General
Dynamics." I just smiled. And now they were completely done with their dinners.
Since I had talked so much, I still hadn’t touched much of my dinner, so the waiter
packed it up and we all headed out.
Marsha and I headed off to the basketball game while her parents headed back to
Palmas del Mar. When we arrived at the arena, it was a tied game in the fourth
quarter. The small arena was jammed packed and the crowd was filled with
excitement as the game neared its end. The end finally came with Yabucoa (I may
not have the right town - someone in PR please correct me on who was the 1991
champ), the out of town rivals, gaining the victory. I managed to catch some of the
game and crowd on video as well. We made a quick escape to the car and slowly
wound our way out of the parking lot through a maze of people. The crowd was
interspersed with groups of people gathered around young men involved in fist
fights. Marsha explained the fights as “the natural outlet of a people who are
oppressed”. She also apologized for the "negativeness" of her father, the California
Highway Patrolman, and his guarded statements about my new venture in life.
Marsha said, "He's always that way but you have to listen to your heart."
Marsha takes me to the center of Humacao to the "Hotel Palace" View Large Map, an
inexpensive place she has in mind for me to stay the night. She wants me to go in
and check it out first though, to make certain that I approve of its condition. So I get
out of the car and climb the steps to the second floor where the entrance of the hotel
is located. I arrive at a huge gridiron gate locked with an enormous padlock. The
gate blocks the entire entrance to the hotel lobby/caretaker living area. I ring the
bell and a minute later an overweight man dress only in his nightshirt and shorts
comes to the gate. He fumbles through a ringlet of a hundred keys and he unlocks
the padlock to let me in without saying a word. He locks the gate behind me as I
enter and he takes me to the room he has available. I found the room clean and
adequate, so I check in for the night. I asked him if a phone was available to which
he replied, "there are none here in the hotel but there are plenty of pay phones on
the street." After I check in, he unlocks the gate to let me out and I head down the
steps to the car to take Marsha home.
Marsha lived on the east side of town and funny enough we took the same gravel
road along the river bank to get there. A good marker for me to remember where
she lived was a K-Mart only a few blocks from her house. I dropped her off and
headed back to the hotel winding my way through the town without too much of a
problem and I decided before retiring for the night that I would make a few more
phone calls. So, I pulled the car up to a pay phone. And when I say pulled up, I
mean literally pulled up. As usual it was a stand up phone. I again knew I would be
on the phone for a long time, so I wished to be seated. I had pulled the car’s front
end right up to the pay phone so I could sit on the hood of the car while talking on
the phone. It worked splendidly.
My first calls were to Carlos’ cell phone and then to his family’s phone. Still no
Carlos.
Next I called the hostel in Miami to talk to René. René was in now and indeed he had
returned the car without a hitch to the agency in Ft. Lauderdale. He had dropped
Robert and Nurettim off at the bike shop and they were on their way to Key West. I
thanked him for his great help and wished him well on his trip to California and
Hawaii.
(Next I called a number unknown to me as yet in Guaynabo, the same number I
dialed earlier from the restaurant – can’t figure out what these numbers might have
been??? - could be either the rental car company or Cellular One or PRT)
Next I called my uncle Arnold in Seattle, Washington. Arnold is a partner in a large
Seattle accounting firm and has been a CPA for over 30 years. I had many
questions to ask him about setting up a company, especially if I chose to follow
through on setting up a cellular phone system in Jamaica (did I talk about this
yet???). We came to an understanding that it would be best if I set up a parent
corporation with two operating companies. The concert production company "Who's
on First" would be one operating company, whereas the cellular phone system
company as yet unnamed would be the other. The parent company would be named
"Lovred", my believed ancestral name. He informed me that each company must
have a president, vice-president, and a secretary, all of which could be myself if so
chosen. And, it would be no problem if I chose not to create the Cellular Phone
Company.
I then had questions about financing. We talked about private stock plans and how
to handle partnerships. He explained to me the need to limit the number of persons
in a partnership. I also asked about attracting personnel with stock and he issued
the warning about setting the stock up so that I would retained over 80% of the
corporation.
I also asked about obtaining employees from my old work place, since I worried that I
could be held liable for ‘stealing’ employees from them. He answered that it is not a
concern as long as I publicly announce the job offers. Whew, things were going well
now.
He then mentioned that I needed a business plan, which I already knew. I informed
him that I had a friend Tami in Malibu, California who helps construct business
plans. I told him she in fact was next on my list of persons to call.
One other thing I needed was financing. I believed that in order to get financing I
would need some graphics art to help describe my ideas to potential investors. My
cousin Reba is a graphics artist. Reba is another person I haven’t talked to in years
but I knew my uncle would know about her. So I asked him for her phone number
which he gladly gave me.
Finally I asked him in which state it was best to incorporate. We decided that since I
had a business license in California already and I had a lawyer in San Diego, it would
be best to set the company up there. So that was the plan. I gave my uncle my
lawyer's name and phone number in San Diego so he could get in touch with him
tomorrow. They would decide the best way to set up the corporation and
partnership. This ended our nearly hour-long conversation. Throughout our
conversation I had written down my questions and his responses and formulated
questions I would need to ask my lawyer tomorrow.
It was now nearing midnight in Puerto Rico but it was only nearing 8 p.m. on the
West Coast of the U.S.* (Footnote: Puerto Rico is on Atlantica Standard Time so
during standard time there is one hour time difference between Puerto Rico and
Eastern Standard Time and four hours time difference between Puerto Rico and
Pacific Standard Time. Puerto Rico does not observe Daylight Savings Time so
during daylight savings time there is no time difference between Puerto Rico and
Eastern Daylight Savings Time and only three hours difference between Puerto Rico
and Pacific Daylight Savings Time). So I could continue to do business with my
friends on the West Coast of the U.S. without worrying about calling them too late at
night. So next I attempted to call my friend Tami in Malibu but she didn’t answer. I
hung up and headed to an open bar just up the street to quench a burning thirst
caused by all my phone talk.
As I neared the bar the men inside would burst into roars of shouting every once in a
while. I became very curious to see what they were shouting about. To my surprise,
they were watching the end of the basketball championship game I had seen earlier
that evening live. Apparently, it was delayed for television. So I bought a beer, sat
down and watched the end of the game -- again. It was just as exciting now as it was
the first time, especially with all of the men getting so involved in the outcome.
After finishing the beer I headed back to the pay phone. I called MCI and talked to
them for a while to determine how the 800 service connection was coming along.
After a while of waiting it was determined that I would need to call a 700 phone
number to see if the connection was made. I called this number but they were also
unsure as of yet. They asked me to call back in the morning.
Next, I decided it was time to call Kirk at home to see if he figured out how I can
remotely receive messages from his answering machine from a touch-tone phone in
Puerto Rico. Kirk answered and explained how to use his answering machine. I also
talked to him about the possibility of setting up a cellular phone system on Jamaica.
If I decided to follow through on such a venture I would wish for his help as well as his
best friend Steve and our friend Janet, the one I visited in Detroit. Amongst us, I
believed there was enough technical competence to pull such a venture off. Kirk,
however, was a bit taken back at the idea. I told him I'd talk with him tomorrow about
his concerns and completed our call.
Next I tried to call Tami in Malibu again. It was now quarter after nine in Southern
California and this time she was home. Having not talked to her since we worked
together in 1987 she was quite surprised to hear my voice on the other end of the
line. I began our conversation by telling her about my plans to form a company
which would produce concerts. I told her a little bit about the concept of the first
concert and of my desire to hold it at UCSD in June. I also told her I would need to
put together a business plan to form the company and to gain some financing
through a partnership offering. I told her I was at this time in Puerto Rico and that
she could come to Puerto Rico if she wished to help me formulate the plan.
Although the offer was very attractive to her since she apparently loves the
Caribbean Islands, as it turned out she had prior business engagements and she
wouldn't be free to help me out until mid-April. She did however reminded me that
her husband Danny is also a business consultant and that he would be available to
help me write up a business plan next week. I told her that would be fine with me. I
then told her about the possibility of setting up a second operating company to
investigate constructing a cellular phone system on Jamaica and following through
with the construction if the system was economically feasible.
Tami then says with a slight laugh in her voice, "Well, Kory. You know that sounds
like a good idea. But you're probably not going to believe this. My husband Danny
and I, we like Jamaica very much and we vacation there quite often. In fact, Danny
just completed a market survey of cellular phone systems on Jamaica. I'm not sure
what his results were but it would be best if you talked to him about what he found
out."
She went on to say, "And Kory, you know it's really funny and I'm sure you won't
believe this either but Danny and his son just boarded a plane here in Los Angeles
and they are on their way to Miami. From Miami they fly on to San Juan, Puerto Rico
where they will have a short layover and then they fly on to Martinique where they
will transfer to a plane to take them to the French isle of Dominica where they'll be
vacationing for a week."
I'm standing at the other end of the phone with a dumbfounded look on my face in
awe at her latest revelation and the coincidence of timing.
She continued, "And I don't think you know that Danny was the president of a multi-
million dollar telephone company in Florida before he came out here to Los Angeles
and started consulting."
She then said, "Kory, I think you need to meet Danny tomorrow during his layover in
San Juan and find out what he learned from his market survey and discuss with him
your desire to put a cellular phone system on Jamaica."
I said, "That sounds like a great idea!" I think we both were awed by the number of
coincidences that had led us up to this point.
I asked Tami if she knew the time Danny was scheduled to arrive in San Juan but
she didn't have his flight itinerary. She said however that he was supposed to call
her tonight and she would ask him then. Since I had no way for her to get back to
me, I gave her Kirk's phone number so she could leave a message on his answering
machine with Danny's flight itinerary which I could retrieve later. We ended the
conversation just as the bar was closing and the last of the men inside were heading
out to the street.
A young fellow staggers out of the bar, heads toward me, unzips, dangles his long
tube out of his pants and then relieves himself on the sidewalk. He looks up and
notices me watching him rather intently. So, after he finishes he comes over to talk
with me in his best English. He eventually asks me for a ride home. When we got
near where he lived we parked and it happened to be right across from the K-Mart
near Marsha’s house. We parked right across from a lively group of guys still
enjoying the night in front of another closing bar. So I let him out and I head on back
to "Hotel Palace" awaking the hotel keeper to let me in behind the security bars. I
shower and hit the sheets no earlier than 2:30 a.m. ending my first very, very long
day on ‘la Isla de Puerto Rico’. And I’m certain tomorrow won’t be any shorter.
K-Mart similar to one Humacao circa 1991
Typical shoulder driving in Puerto Rico (in 1991)
World Turned Upside Down
Music - Lluvia by Eddie Santiago
LLoraras by Oscar D´Leon
Tengo Ganas by Victor Manuel
LLoraras by Oscar D´Leon
Tengo Ganas by Victor Manuel