Saturday, August 18, 2018

Chapter 24 - The Idea Guy (s)


I am going to throw some conversations out here. Thoughts and ideas that I have. Some, maybe many will go to one person, or they may be spread out to others to develop conversations. I have many many ideas, and I hope the SPW will help polish this product!

I want to create hats, t-shirts, etc. with the E1 logo. Also with 'That's FI!' and 'The Man, The Myth, The Legend dot com - more to follow.

Pizza U dot com is not available, but I would like to start a business where we supply a section to the grocery store that sells pizza crust, sauces, meats, cheeses, and toppings - so people can pick exactly what they want, take it home, and bake the perfect pizza. Also, the product will carry the logo of the local university, and a percentage will go back to the college. Also, maybe have a pizza shop ON campus. It could be a business class where they teach people how to run the business, while providing an important staple to the university, while teaching, and giving back to the school.

I want to create a website with only thongs. Millions of women buy them, so if they each buy ten, well, the numbers are impressive. Stylish and affordable, with the secrecy and convenience of the net (not that you need to be secret). Allthong.com and InAthong.com come to mind. I have owned these domains on occasion, and as of 8-18-2018 they are both available. This would be an easy and fun business!

A couple guys are good with cars. They buy cheap used Volvo's (or another brand), put a little sweat and money into them, and then sell them for more, all the time drinking beer and listening to rock n roll on the weekends while doing their money making project.

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Chapter 23 - Day Four and More!


Again, this is not literally day four. Just a way to try to coordinate my thoughts here on this blog. Obviously, I need an experience screenplay writer like Brian Helgeland to make this project complete AND exceptional.

I started making more and more friends the longer I was there. I became recognized as one of the best in the building, and people liked to hang with the best, for many reasons of course.

Shawn P was a very nice, dapper young man. We became friends, and I told him I was trying to acclimate to life in the big city. He reminded me of a young Robert Downey Jr., and he got that comparison a lot. One night he said he was going to take me out on the town. Scottsdale that is. We went from bar to bar, and he knew everyone. I don't think we ever paid for a drink either. We had a very good time, but I determined that I was not a Scottsdale type of guy. We did not have a second 'date'.

Another type of Scottsdale guy was Chris C. Chris and I were desk neighbors and became very good friends. Chris will also become a player in this movie project. We later in 2001 spent 911 together, drinking, watching TV, and dis-believing. We played some golf together, and became very good buds. I appreciate his friendship. He was a Scottsdale guy though, and we did not party that much together. He was a bit of a smart ass, and often said things without thinking. He may have received a black eye here and there. He also had a proclivity for Asian women. He once boasted to me of his success, but I will not mention a number here out of respect for his current spouse and daughters. He did make me laugh. I remember once when he was going through a dry spell on the sales side, he was pitching a client... and the client said he wanted to think about it. Chris almost imploded, as he heard those words again. He could not compose himself for a comeback on that one. That moment passed. Chris also got me a few other jobs after Don Lapre. The best one was PSN.net, where we sold DSL. This was the year 2000, and I made over $25,000 in August of that year. I set the record with 28 sales in one day. The previous record was like 18 deals in a WEEK. I worked 14 hours that day. The orders took awhile to put into the system, so I paid one of the guys there who was not so much into the sales effort $5 a deal to put them into the computer. I paid him $140 that day. We were both happy. In September the company went out of business due to chargebacks. The DSL was not getting installed fast enough, and the speeds were not as fast as we projected. Since we were a reseller for North Point and Covad, the LEC's would do our orders last. As the client was prepaying for an entire year, they got tired of waiting as well, and would cancel. The speeds were off as the online distances we were shown by the internet from the house to the LEC were off, and that affected the internet speeds. Also, some of the Central Offices were antiquated, and could not handle the new technology without a major overhaul of the CO. Chris' brother also worked at Don's, and his name is Jason. I once worked with another brother, and his mom worked their too briefly. A great family!

Jason M is from Louisiana. He started at Don's very young. He made some money at Don's, and invested well, and accrued a very nice portfolio. He became a good friend, and we worked together many times. On Thursdays, he would often loan me $100 to go out that night to go to Scottsdale to see Satellite play. Even though I made 2k a week, I would be broke the day before payday. I was paying $400 a week in back child support, and $250 a week for a personal trainer. Add a sports car, five nights out a week, well, you get the picture. Jason started out in Quality, and that is how he became good, by listening to all the sales tapes. Overall, I would say he was a pretty good friend, though, like any relationships, there were bumps in the road. I 'fondly' remember one night when Jason and Mark D came to my apartment after the bar, to play poker. Mark D was a complete asshole when drinking, and he accused me of cheating at cards in my own home. I opted out and let them play by themselves. Then Jason takes off and leaves me to drive Mark home at like 3 in the morning. Fun times in the big city.

Rod H was another character. He was ten years older than me. Kinda looked like Robert Duvall. Rod referred to himself as a German Jew. He was rough around the edges, and not often a happy man. His wife left him while he was almost on his death bed from cancer. He recovered, and lived awhile longer. We rented a very nice renovated house on Bishop Ave with a pool. He loved chess. He often could be an ass, but he had his good moments too. He spent all his off timed on the internet in his room. I gave him the master bedroom, as it had a private bathroom (he needed it as he lost many feet of intestines I believe it was). He got AOL free, month after month, for a few years I think. He would call up and say he was going to cancel, and they would give him a few more months of service free. You could get the free AOL trial disks everywhere in those early days. Rod was cheap. He was constantly hooking up with women, no matter how unattractive they might be. When I broke up once with a girl, he asked me if he could hit her up. I got pissed off at this and then explained to him the bro code, though I know she would never have given him the time of day. He smoked weed like mad while cerfing the net. His brother was Barry H who would run for Governor of AZ each year. They were not close. Rod had two sons whom I only met briefly. Later Rod got sick again, and died at about 56 maybe. Ironically, his ex wife, whom he hated, died unexpectedly about a week after Rod died. A funny thing I remembered about Rod was - I would always call him on the way home to see if he wanted a taco, or a burger - as I kinda felt bad bringing food home, and eating in front of him - even though he was always in his room, smoking and cerfing. I would buy like ten times in a row, then one day he would buy me something, then I would buy the next ten rounds of food, then he would buy one. I think I have often abused this way in my life. I guess I am just a sucker/nice guy. He never drank much. I did. I always had beer in the fridge. Quite often I would offer him one, just to be sociable. Sometimes he would imbibe. He never bought a six pack though. But boy, if I touched anything of his in the fridge, he would freak out. I guess the guy could not count, lol.

Introducing Dr. Dick.

Introducing Idea Man.

Introducing Mr. Domain

Introducing Dr. Tim

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Chapter 22 - More Content To Follow & The Internet


I do want you to know there is so much more content to follow. I just wanted to get this out there to find the right team to make this happen. From an agent, to a producer, whomever might help see this project to fruition. I have so much dialogue and character development to go. I have multiple notebooks of information. I will add it as time allows, and as I can sort it out in a productive manner. Thank you for your interest and patience! E1. dk.

Round One of postcards go out tomorrow, the first day LEO!
.
Round One of postcards - DONE!

Round Two - tomorrow!

So I bought my first personal computer in 1998. I will will always love Windows 98! And, I will always be fond of AOL - especially Love At Aol. The net being so new, it was so easy to talk to people live online, and to meet them in person. Trust me, 1998 was way different than it is today. Or, maybe I was just younger... I am not sure. Anyways, I met a lot of cool women online, and had some amazing times. These will be covered in the greatest love story ever, here on this blog! I purchased my computer from a Southerner named Jim. It was kind of generic I guess, and was one he rebuilt. it worked quite good for my purposes, 1 - email, and 2 - browsing the net, and of course... 3 - AOL. I believe I paid him $200.

I remember one time sitting at my computer with a friend of mine... and we were cursing the net... and all of a sudden we came to a website that was all in Chinese. I turned to Lindsay, and with a very serious face I asked her - how is your Chinese? It was a funny moment. One example here of the newness of the world wide web.

During this time period I spent a lot of time on the net. I read, and I studied, and I learned a lot. I built my first website with Front Page, and I started buying domain names. I think ExponentialOne.com, Exponential1.com, and TheManTheMythTheLegend.com were among the first. I remember walking into the office at Don's one day, and Frank M. says to me... Dave Koenig, the man, the myth, the legend... and I went home that night and bought it. Only one person can be themanthemythelegend.com, and that is me. Many say it is too long to worth anything, but I disagree. It is a brand name, that if marketed properly, could be worth something significant. Only time will tell. I would not mind selling it to fund my writing projects.

June of 1999 Napster was born. That was fun too! Building your own personal library of music for free. Not legal, but fun. People would build libraries with 1000's of songs. And it took awhile as well without the blazing high speeds we see today.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Chapter 21 - The Greatest Love Story Of All Time


I have written and re-written this a hundred times. At this point, I need someone like Brian Helgeland to come along and take down my thoughts, and then make it a masterpiece like 'A Knight's Tale'. I have admired his work for 17 years, and have owned his domain name for like 15. I have offered it to him for no charge, but have had no response up to this point. I have tried!

I have been married twice, almost a 3rd, and a few relationships beyond them. I will put my faith and history into another's hands in order to maximize the movie story line. It has in no way been boring, but only Hollywood can embellish a good love story!

OK. I think I am ready to begin the journey. God help me! I will not post every detail, every time. I also may embellish a time or two. It is not to feed my ego, but to appeal to Hollywood. I want this to be a good movie, ok? LOL.

This just in... 8-1-2018, wife number two just got married for the 7th time. I really do hope she finds happiness and more. She will be referred to as 'D'. First wife will be 'K' and shoulda been 3rd wife will be 'A'.

In high school I was a good looking young man. Very talented and active in golf, basketball, football, drama, chorus, trumpet trio, brass quartet, pep band, jazz band, concert band, marching band, National Honor Society, Annual Sports Editor, Sports Writer for the school paper, and more. I did have a tough time talking cool to the ladies. I found alcohol fixed that, so I started partying at 16. Later I think I was not really shy, there were just so many things going through my mind at one time ( I have an IQ over 140), I fumbled on what to say. I have gotten over it with practice. We won four state high school golf championships in a row. I could never get better than a five handicap. More golf stories can be found at thebestgolfstories.blogspot.com . On trumpet I could hit a double high C, which is very very impressive. I could scream on the horn for sure. Lead jazz trumpet for 8 years in h/s and college.

In college I continued to party even more. I hardly ever studied. I got my degree in four years with a B average. I took the LSAT and did pretty good, but did not go to law school. My friends had a 3.97 in college, and I beat him on the test. He got his education, but never practiced law - just golf. In college I met my first wife - K. We had a lot of fun together. Partied a lot. She had the most amazing family. My family was small, and not at all close. Her family was exactly the opposite, and I fell in love with them as much as K I think. I did try to break up with her a couple times, as I knew I was young, but she would just cry and get upset. For some reason, one day I asked her to marry me, and that was it, done. Fast forward, new house, 2 kids, new cars, and much more. I pretty much had the perfect life, but I lived with a woman that I no longer loved. There was no romance or passion of any kind. We worked opposite schedules, and that did not help. Bottom line, she became a mom, and I had no wife. And I wanted it, badly. I would pray to God to get me out of this relationship, and let me find true, hot love. Be careful what you wish for. Wow, be careful.

I was working at MCI in Denver. A few of us were at the bar after work. And the usual talk brought up the question, who would you like to sleep with the most in the office - there were about 200 employees I think. It was easy for me. I said D. The others understood. Then one day, they had a quarterly event for the top performers. No spouses. D made it too. After a fancy dinner at the Brown Palace downtown Denver, there was an open bar, and a band. I was walking around, and I saw D sitting all by herself at a table. Well, I was not going to let this pass. We danced the night away. Went around the 16th street mall for awhile on a shuttle. Made out. I got home around five in the morning. K was not happy. I had makeup on my shirt, but I said it was just dust from the floor in the basement where the washer and dryer were. She let it go. (We saw Cindy Crawford that night from three feet - gorgeous!).
D and I had lunch together most days after that, and planned our future together. We were both married, not happy, and committed to make the move together. She was on her 2nd husband. She promptly had her husband move out, and filed for divorce. I asked for a couple weeks. I was going to break it to K while my kids were on vacation in Arkansas. However, one night before that happened, she came to bed one night, and asked me if there was someone else. I hesitated, and she says - well that answers that. She was shattered. The next morning she promptly called all family and an attorney. She went to my daughters, who were 7 and 11, and told them daddy has been lying to you. He is seeing another woman. I will never forget, or forgive for that moment. K left the relationship many years earlier. She did not even try to be a wife to me. I did on more than once occasion. She was content with being a mom. I was praying to God near the end, and he answered. And you know what they say, be careful what you pray for - you might get it. I may have found love and romance,but there was a set of luggage there that was too big for me to handle. Our relationship was doomed from the beginning. D was loco, and I will not go into much detail. Her anger. Her lack of self esteem. She was very beautiful We built a beautiful home in Highlands Ranch. We ran into some financial pressures, as I had given K more money than I could afford. My attorney was mad at me. I felt guilty and gave in. I should have held my ground. I had no problem caring for my kids, but I forgot about taking care of myself, and I was crushed by a series of events, starting with what I gave her in the divorce. In the back of my mind I knew I could always make enough money to support everyone. I was wrong. So much for all this - let's get to something more fun.

I got my own place on Mill Ave, just south of the freeway. I also got a new job at New Strategies. The first entry in this blog says I moved here by myself. I will leave it up to my screenplay writer (hopefully Brian Helgeland) to make the final draft. Other entries in this blog talk about various friends and activities. I will let the SPW fit the pieces together at his/her will. Now I will take about maybe the number two character in this film project - TO (Dr. Tim). TO is a chiropractor. He had long hair, and reminded me of Nicolas Cage. TO was older than most of the rest. He was a very free spirit, and he helped me rebuild myself with more confidence and much more of every thing. I will give TO credit for getting me into the Tempe night life, especially the local bands. I had many bands I followed. They knew me, I knew them, I knew the servers, the bartenders, the customers. They became my family, and to their credit I would say they saved my spirit. The rekindled the fire that burned deep within me, and I became happy again. I did have a go with depression, and after consulting a psychiatrist, and trying a few drugs that made me worse, I found Ativan that wiped out the clouds in my brain, and I was reborn. Single for the first time since 18, making more money than most, and ready to live the life of a rock star. I was 39. The girls thought I was 29, and I only dated women from 20 to 29, by accident I guess. I had thought about plastic surgery to slim the waistline, but TO talked me into a personal trainer. I paid Sean $250 a week for four one hour session. He would work me until I would almost collapse. The results, after a couple months, he said I had the body of a professional athlete. Man did I feel good! Wow! I highly recommend this to anyone that can afford it!

I am going to write the timeline as close to reality as possible, and I will leave it up to the SPW to squeeze it into a 111 minute movie. In addition to the night scene I played a lot on love @ aol. Met some nice ladies. Slept with most of them. It was a moment in time. One of my first relationships was with Jamie. I wrote about her in a previous chapter. Then I tried Scottsdale with Shawn and Chris. I wrote about this in a previous chapter. Then I went Long Wongs on Mill Avenue, and The Yucca Tap Room, and more. I really got to know the local scene in Tempe. I wanted to go to ASU at 17, but my Dad did not let me. Well, at 39 it was still a whole lot of fun. I got to know all the servers, bartenders, musicians, patrons, and had a blast. I would stay home on Friday and Saturday, but the other five nights I always had a plan/place to go. Stephen Ashbrook and Satellite were my faves, and they all became pretty good friends.

Next up throw in some of the destinations that I described in one chapter. Lake Pleasant. Rocky Point. Local Resorts. Scottsdale. Etc. Then I met A. At one point she asked me to marry her. I said no. Later I asked her to marry me. She said know. We were on and off for several years. We just could not get on the same page. At first, I expected her to kick her husband to the curb, and we would live together right away. That is how it worked with D. Being Polish, and tightly involved in the Polish community, she said it would take time. There were things she had to do. She and her husband were living in a house owned by her husbands parents. So they needed to find an apartment and move out. Then she had to get her youngest into daycare. It took her a year to get him to move out. We broke up numerous times during this year, but we always came back to each other. What we had was very strong. We called it - That's FI! (fucking incredible).

Chapter 20 - Celebrity Sightings


During my tenure at Don's I saw Cincy Margolis, Louis Farrakhan and Mike Tyson. Pete M. brought in Louis and Mike.

Chapter 19 - Weekend Trips and Scene Venues


Rocky Point. Puerto Penasco

Bourbon Street Circus

San Antonio Riverwalk

Grand Canyon

San Diego

Cabo San Lucas

Flagstaff

Sedona

Colorado

Las Vegas

Desert Sky Pavillion

Casinos

Resorts

The Glamis Sand Dunes

Downtown Mill

ASU Stadium

AOL

Bank One Ballpark

Suns Game

Long Songs, Bash on Ash

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Chapter 18 - Day Three - On My Way To Inbound


Sorry about getting side tracked there for a bit. Now, back to the story! Obviously this is literally not day three. But I will continue this format for continuity purposes. I am trying to get as much content here as possible, so that a major screenplay writer like Brian Helgeland can come along and help me finish this masterpiece.

It did not take long, and I started writing up multiple deals pretty much every day! I was excited! People were already paying attention to me. They knew that I would lead the pack one day, and I did. First, I had to get off the red pen. Every sale I wrote - I had to write on the cassette tape in red sharpie. That means the Service Quality Department would review every single sale. Also, it meant I could not sign up for weekend Inbound. I knew Inbound was where it was at, and I wanted it bad. It took me a few weeks. My mistakes were small, but they held me back for good reason - they wanted me to be the best of the best. Later on the Director of Service Quality would run into me, and Don W. would tell me how much he loved listening to my tapes. I was that good. Also, I had reloads tell me they loved my leads, to do their upsells on my sales, cuz they were that strong! Also, I had one of the lowest chargebacks on the floor - my clients loved me! And I loved them!

I finally got my black pen, and I signed up for as many weekend Inbound shifts that I could get. I was there on a making money mission. Week ending March 5th I wrote $12,500 - number one in Outbound (with the help of Inbound of course). Week ending March 12th I wrote about $8300, good enough for second I think among Outbound, and I had now qualified for FT Inbound - wow! I made it. I kept my Inbound chair for a year. Not too many people did that. Sometimes I would take the AM shift, but usually I stayed on the PM shift which was like noon to 8pm, or 11am to 7pm - depending upon DST. AZ does not change their clocks, but the rest of the states did, and we had to adjust to maximize our contact percentages.

Being new to Phoenix, I had no close friends. As I was 39, most of the staff were early 20's. One night after work, I asked one of my desk neighbors what he was doing after work. His name was Roy, and he was about my age. He was from St. Louis and used to own a car lot. He was the epitome of a used car sales man. We called him Redneck Roy, as his views were strong and somewhat warped. He reminded me a bit of Barney Rubble. He said a few of them were going to the Double Deuce nearby after work. I asked to tag along, and he said ok. It was a dive bar in an industrial area of University. We were joined by his current mistress Jamie, and a very dark black man name Kirk. The four of us enjoyed beverages and chatted. I was new. I have always been inquisitive. I guess I might have been a bit too straight for them, and when I asked a lot of questions (to get to know them right), they asked me if I was a narc. I said no and laughed. We later became fairly good friends, but not close. Cordial I guess you would say.

Eventually, Roy went back to his wife Carol. He told me one day, you know Dave, she is a very good woman, and I need to do right by her. I made a mistake. I understood, and left it at that. They got back together, and he died a few years later in his sleep of a heart attack. Kirk had heart problems. He later received a heart transplant I believe. He kept up his hard partying ways I understand, I died sometime later. Jamie was another story. She was a cute girl, but lacked self respect. She was also a repetitive drunk as I call them, and later I found out, a stalker. I became a regular at Old Chicago's on Broadway. She found this out, and would follow me there with Kirk. One night she gave her car keys to Kirk, and made up a story how he wanted to go cruising for a hooker or drugs, I don't remember. So, she needed a lift home. I made the mistake of getting too friendly with her that night, and she was hung up on me. I hung with her for a short time, and then dumped her. She was a drunk with no self esteem. After she dumped me, she then moved into the apartment right next to mine. OMFG! I remember seeing her in the pool one day with another guy. She swam over to me, put her arms around me, and said she was not sleeping with him, and that she wanted me. I said go away, and eventually moved. Crazy women! I can tell you some stories. And I will.

One last story about Roy. He was a red neck for sure, and his opinions were strong. Our neighbor was Dr. Tim O. Tim is a chiropractor, and we became very good friends. He will be referenced frequently in this movie project. Roy was saying negative things about chiropractors, like, you have to keep going back, over and over again. Tim's response was, yeah, just like you only have to brush your teeth once, right. Or, yeah, you only have to exercise once, right. One day when we were all on the Inbound phones, Tim went under Roy's desk while he was at break, and unplugged Roy's Inbound phone. As the day progressed, Roy caught on that everyone was getting Inbound calls, but him. He picked up the receiver, and the line was dead. WTF! He slammed down the phone and left for the day. A mean thing to do, but I think he deserved it. I don't think he ever learned who did it to him. The phone specialist fixed it for him, but no one but a few of us knew who the culprit was. Good times!

Tim became a very good friend of mine. A mentor in some ways. And not so much in other ways, lol. Much more will be written about him.

Chapter 17 - Hot Music of 1997/1998/1999 (per Billboard)


Looking back at the music 20 years ago, there are so many that have now become classic almost. So many we have forgotten about. That is partly why I want this movie to be a period piece. So many songs we never hear any more. And, I find it so hard to believe amongst the top 100 songs, songs that I really don't like. Of course that is normal. No one likes ALL music. Here is a look at the lists:

1997 № Title Artist(s) 1 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" Elton John 2 "Foolish Games" / "You Were Meant for Me" Jewel 3 "I'll Be Missing You" Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 4 "Un-Break My Heart" Toni Braxton 5 "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" Puff Daddy featuring Mase 6 "I Believe I Can Fly" R. Kelly 7 "Don't Let Go (Love)" En Vogue 8 "Return of the Mack" Mark Morrison 9 "How Do I Live" LeAnn Rimes 10 "Wannabe" Spice Girls 11 "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" Backstreet Boys 12 "MMMBop" Hanson 13 "For You I Will" Monica 14 "You Make Me Wanna..." Usher 15 "Bitch" Meredith Brooks 16 "Nobody" Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage 17 "Semi-Charmed Life" Third Eye Blind 18 "Barely Breathing" Duncan Sheik 19 "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" Az Yet featuring Peter Cetera 20 "Mo Money Mo Problems" The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase 21 "The Freshmen" The Verve Pipe 22 "I Want You" Savage Garden 23 "No Diggity" Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre 24 "I Belong to You (Every Time I See Your Face)" Rome 25 "Hypnotize" The Notorious B.I.G. 26 "Every Time I Close My Eyes" Babyface 27 "In My Bed" Dru Hill 28 "Say You'll Be There" Spice Girls 29 "Do You Know (What It Takes)" Robyn 30 "4 Seasons of Loneliness" Boyz II Men 31 "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T." Changing Faces 32 "Honey" Mariah Carey 33 "I Believe in You and Me" Whitney Houston 34 "Da' Dip" Freak Nasty 35 "2 Become 1" Spice Girls 36 "All for You" Sister Hazel 37 "Cupid" 112 38 "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" Paula Cole 39 "Sunny Came Home" Shawn Colvin 40 "It's Your Love" Tim McGraw and Faith Hill 41 "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" Gina G 42 "Mouth" Merril Bainbridge 43 "All Cried Out" Allure featuring 112 44 "I'm Still in Love with You" New Edition 45 "Invisible Man" 98 Degrees 46 "Not Tonight" Lil' Kim featuring Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott and Angie Martinez 47 "Look into My Eyes" Bone Thugs-n-Harmony 48 "Get It Together" 702 49 "All by Myself" Celine Dion 50 "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Celine Dion 51 "My Love Is the Shhh!" Somethin' for the People featuring Trina & Tamara 52 "Where Do You Go" No Mercy 53 "I Finally Found Someone" Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams 54 "I'll Be" Foxy Brown featuring Jay-Z 55 "If It Makes You Happy" Sheryl Crow 56 "Never Make a Promise" Dru Hill 57 "When You Love a Woman" Journey 58 "Up Jumps da Boogie" Timbaland & Magoo featuring Missy Elliott and Aaliyah 59 "I Don't Want To" / "I Love Me Some Him" Toni Braxton 60 "Everyday Is a Winding Road" Sheryl Crow 61 "Cold Rock a Party" MC Lyte 62 "Pony" Ginuwine 63 "Building a Mystery" Sarah McLachlan 64 "I Love You Always Forever" Donna Lewis 65 "Your Woman" White Town 66 "C U When U Get There" Coolio featuring 40 Thevz 67 "Change the World" Eric Clapton 68 "My Baby Daddy" B-Rock and the Bizz 69 "Tubthumping" Chumbawamba 70 "Gotham City" R. Kelly 71 "Last Night" Az Yet 72 "The Jock Jam" Various Artists 73 "Big Daddy" Heavy D 74 "What About Us" Total 75 "Smile" Scarface featuring 2Pac and Johnny P. 76 "What's on Tonight" Montell Jordan 77 "Secret Garden" Bruce Springsteen 78 "The One I Gave My Heart To" Aaliyah 79 "Fly Like an Eagle" Seal 80 "No Time" Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy 81 "Naked Eye" Luscious Jackson 82 "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" Los del Río 83 "On & On" Erykah Badu 84 "Don't Wanna Be a Player" Joe 85 "I Shot the Sheriff" Warren G 86 "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)" Brian McKnight featuring Mase 87 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" Madonna 88 "Someone" SWV and Puff Daddy 89 "Go the Distance" Michael Bolton 90 "One More Time" Real McCoy 91 "Butta Love" Next 92 "Coco Jambo" Mr. President 93 "Twisted" Keith Sweat 94 "Barbie Girl" Aqua 95 "When You're Gone" / "Free to Decide" The Cranberries 96 "Let Me Clear My Throat" DJ Kool 97 "I Like It" The Blackout All-Stars 98 "You're Makin' Me High" / "Let It Flow" Toni Braxton 99 "You Must Love Me" Madonna 100 "Let It Go" Ray J. № Title Artist(s) 1 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" Elton John 2 "Foolish Games" / "You Were Meant for Me" Jewel 3 "I'll Be Missing You" Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 4 "Un-Break My Heart" Toni Braxton 5 "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" Puff Daddy featuring Mase 6 "I Believe I Can Fly" R. Kelly 7 "Don't Let Go (Love)" En Vogue 8 "Return of the Mack" Mark Morrison 9 "How Do I Live" LeAnn Rimes 10 "Wannabe" Spice Girls 11 "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" Backstreet Boys 12 "MMMBop" Hanson 13 "For You I Will" Monica 14 "You Make Me Wanna..." Usher 15 "Bitch" Meredith Brooks 16 "Nobody" Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage 17 "Semi-Charmed Life" Third Eye Blind 18 "Barely Breathing" Duncan Sheik 19 "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" Az Yet featuring Peter Cetera 20 "Mo Money Mo Problems" The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase 21 "The Freshmen" The Verve Pipe 22 "I Want You" Savage Garden 23 "No Diggity" Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre 24 "I Belong to You (Every Time I See Your Face)" Rome 25 "Hypnotize" The Notorious B.I.G. 26 "Every Time I Close My Eyes" Babyface 27 "In My Bed" Dru Hill 28 "Say You'll Be There" Spice Girls 29 "Do You Know (What It Takes)" Robyn 30 "4 Seasons of Loneliness" Boyz II Men 31 "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T." Changing Faces 32 "Honey" Mariah Carey 33 "I Believe in You and Me" Whitney Houston 34 "Da' Dip" Freak Nasty 35 "2 Become 1" Spice Girls 36 "All for You" Sister Hazel 37 "Cupid" 112 38 "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" Paula Cole 39 "Sunny Came Home" Shawn Colvin 40 "It's Your Love" Tim McGraw and Faith Hill 41 "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" Gina G 42 "Mouth" Merril Bainbridge 43 "All Cried Out" Allure featuring 112 44 "I'm Still in Love with You" New Edition 45 "Invisible Man" 98 Degrees 46 "Not Tonight" Lil' Kim featuring Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott and Angie Martinez 47 "Look into My Eyes" Bone Thugs-n-Harmony 48 "Get It Together" 702 49 "All by Myself" Celine Dion 50 "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Celine Dion 51 "My Love Is the Shhh!" Somethin' for the People featuring Trina & Tamara 52 "Where Do You Go" No Mercy 53 "I Finally Found Someone" Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams 54 "I'll Be" Foxy Brown featuring Jay-Z 55 "If It Makes You Happy" Sheryl Crow 56 "Never Make a Promise" Dru Hill 57 "When You Love a Woman" Journey 58 "Up Jumps da Boogie" Timbaland & Magoo featuring Missy Elliott and Aaliyah 59 "I Don't Want To" / "I Love Me Some Him" Toni Braxton 60 "Everyday Is a Winding Road" Sheryl Crow 61 "Cold Rock a Party" MC Lyte 62 "Pony" Ginuwine 63 "Building a Mystery" Sarah McLachlan 64 "I Love You Always Forever" Donna Lewis 65 "Your Woman" White Town 66 "C U When U Get There" Coolio featuring 40 Thevz 67 "Change the World" Eric Clapton 68 "My Baby Daddy" B-Rock and the Bizz 69 "Tubthumping" Chumbawamba 70 "Gotham City" R. Kelly 71 "Last Night" Az Yet 72 "The Jock Jam" Various Artists 73 "Big Daddy" Heavy D 74 "What About Us" Total 75 "Smile" Scarface featuring 2Pac and Johnny P. 76 "What's on Tonight" Montell Jordan 77 "Secret Garden" Bruce Springsteen 78 "The One I Gave My Heart To" Aaliyah 79 "Fly Like an Eagle" Seal 80 "No Time" Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy 81 "Naked Eye" Luscious Jackson 82 "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" Los del Río 83 "On & On" Erykah Badu 84 "Don't Wanna Be a Player" Joe 85 "I Shot the Sheriff" Warren G 86 "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)" Brian McKnight featuring Mase 87 "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" Madonna 88 "Someone" SWV and Puff Daddy 89 "Go the Distance" Michael Bolton 90 "One More Time" Real McCoy 91 "Butta Love" Next 92 "Coco Jambo" Mr. President 93 "Twisted" Keith Sweat 94 "Barbie Girl" Aqua 95 "When You're Gone" / "Free to Decide" The Cranberries 96 "Let Me Clear My Throat" DJ Kool 97 "I Like It" The Blackout All-Stars 98 "You're Makin' Me High" / "Let It Flow" Toni Braxton 99 "You Must Love Me" Madonna 100 "Let It Go" Ray J.

. 1998 № Title Artist(s) 1 "Too Close" Next 2 "The Boy Is Mine" Brandy and Monica 3 "You're Still the One" Shania Twain 4 "Truly Madly Deeply" Savage Garden 5 "How Do I Live" LeAnn Rimes 6 "Together Again" Janet 7 "All My Life" K-Ci & JoJo 8 "Candle in the Wind 1997" Elton John 9 "Nice & Slow" Usher 10 "I Don't Want to Wait" Paula Cole 11 "How's It Going to Be" Third Eye Blind 12 "No, No, No" Destiny's Child 13 "My Heart Will Go On" Celine Dion 14 "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" Will Smith 15 "You Make Me Wanna..." Usher 16 "My Way" Usher 17 "My All" Mariah Carey 18 "The First Night" Monica 19 "Been Around the World" Puff Daddy featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase 20 "Adia" Sarah McLachlan 21 "Crush" Jennifer Paige 22 "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" Backstreet Boys 23 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Aerosmith 24 "Body Bumpin' (Yippie-Yi-Yo)" Public Announcement 25 "This Kiss" Faith Hill 26 "I Don't Ever Want to See You Again" Uncle Sam 27 "Let's Ride" Montell Jordan featuring Master P and Silkk the Shocker 28 "Sex and Candy" Marcy Playground 29 "Show Me Love" Robyn 30 "A Song for Mama" Boyz II Men 31 "What You Want" Mase featuring Total 32 "Frozen" Madonna 33 "Gone till November" Wyclef Jean 34 "My Body" LSG 35 "Tubthumping" Chumbawamba 36 "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)" Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz 37 "I Want You Back" 'N Sync 38 "When the Lights Go Out" Five 39 "They Don't Know" Jon B. 40 "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" Master P featuring Fiend, Silkk the Shocker, Mia X and Mystikal 41 "Make It Hot" Nicole featuring Missy Elliott and Mocha 42 "Never Ever" All Saints 43 "I Get Lonely" Janet Jackson featuring Blackstreet 44 "Feel So Good" Mase featuring Kelly Price 45 "Say It" Voices of Theory 46 "Kiss the Rain" Billie Myers 47 "Come with Me" Puff Daddy featuring Jimmy Page 48 "Romeo and Juliet" Sylk-E. Fyne featuring Chill 49 "It's All About Me" Mýa and Sisqo 50 "I Will Come to You" Hanson 51 "One Week" Barenaked Ladies 52 "Swing My Way" K. P. & Envyi 53 "The Arms of the One Who Loves You" Xscape 54 "My Love Is the Shhh!" Somethin' for the People featuring Trina & Tamara 55 "Daydreamin'" Tatyana Ali 56 "We're Not Making Love No More" Dru Hill 57 "Semi-Charmed Life" Third Eye Blind 58 "I Do" Lisa Loeb 59 "Lookin' at Me" Mase featuring Puff Daddy 60 "Looking Through Your Eyes" LeAnn Rimes 61 "Lately" Divine 62 "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" Backstreet Boys 63 "I Still Love You" Next 64 "Time After Time" INOJ 65 "Are You Jimmy Ray?" Jimmy Ray 66 "Cruel Summer" Ace of Base 67 "I Got the Hook Up" Master P featuring Sons of Funk 68 "Victory" Puff Daddy featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes 69 "Too Much" Spice Girls 70 "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" Pras Michel featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa 71 "How Deep Is Your Love" Dru Hill featuring Redman 72 "Friend of Mine" Kelly Price featuring R. Kelly and Ron Isley 73 "Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up" Busta Rhymes 74 "I'll Be" Edwin McCain 75 "Ray of Light" Madonna 76 "All for You" Sister Hazel 77 "Touch It" Monifah 78 "Money, Power & Respect" The LOX featuring DMX and Lil' Kim 79 "Bitter Sweet Symphony" The Verve 80 "Dangerous" Busta Rhymes 81 "Spice Up Your Life" Spice Girls 82 "Because of You" 98 Degrees 83 "The Mummers' Dance" Loreena McKennitt 84 "All Cried Out" Allure featuring 112 85 "Still Not a Player" Big Pun featuring Joe 86 "The One I Gave My Heart To" Aaliyah 87 "Foolish Games" / "You Were Meant for Me" Jewel 88 "Love You Down" INOJ 89 "Do for Love" 2Pac featuring Eric Williams 90 "Raise the Roof" Luke featuring No Good But So Good 91 "Heaven" Nu Flavor 92 "The Party Continues" Jermaine Dupri featuring Da Brat and Usher 93 "Sock It 2 Me" Missy Elliott featuring Da Brat 94 "Butta Love" Next 95 "A Rose Is Still a Rose" Aretha Franklin 96 "4 Seasons of Loneliness" Boyz II Men 97 "Father" LL Cool J 98 "Thinkin' Bout It" Gerald Levert 99 "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" Deborah Cox 100 "Westside" TQ.

1999 № Title Artist(s) 1 "Believe" Cher 2 "No Scrubs" TLC 3 "Angel of Mine" Monica 4 "Heartbreak Hotel" Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price 5 "...Baby One More Time" Britney Spears 6 "Kiss Me" Sixpence None the Richer 7 "Genie in a Bottle" Christina Aguilera 8 "Every Morning" Sugar Ray 9 "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" Deborah Cox 10 "Livin' la Vida Loca" Ricky Martin 11 "Where My Girls At?" 702 12 "If You Had My Love" Jennifer Lopez 13 "Slide" Goo Goo Dolls 14 "Have You Ever?" Brandy 15 "I Want It That Way" Backstreet Boys 16 "I'm Your Angel" R. Kelly and Celine Dion 17 "All Star" Smash Mouth 18 "Angel" Sarah McLachlan 19 "Smooth" Santana featuring Rob Thomas 20 "Unpretty" TLC 21 "Bills, Bills, Bills" Destiny's Child 22 "Save Tonight" Eagle-Eye Cherry 23 "Last Kiss" Pearl Jam 24 "Fortunate" Maxwell 25 "All I Have to Give" Backstreet Boys 26 "Bailamos" Enrique Iglesias 27 "What's It Gonna Be?!" Busta Rhymes featuring Janet 28 "What It's Like" Everlast 29 "Fly Away" Lenny Kravitz 30 "Someday" Sugar Ray 31 "Lately" Divine 32 "That Don't Impress Me Much" Shania Twain 33 "Wild Wild West" Will Smith featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee 34 "Scar Tissue" Red Hot Chili Peppers 35 "Heartbreaker" Mariah Carey featuring Jay-Z 36 "I Still Believe" Mariah Carey 37 "The Hardest Thing" 98 Degrees 38 "Summer Girls" LFO 39 "Can I Get A..." Jay-Z featuring Amil and Ja Rule 40 "Jumper" Third Eye Blind 41 "Doo Wop (That Thing)" Lauryn Hill 42 "Mambo No. 5" Lou Bega 43 "Sweet Lady" Tyrese 44 "It's Not Right but It's Okay" Whitney Houston 45 "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You" 'N Sync 46 "Lullaby" Shawn Mullins 47 "Anywhere" 112 featuring Lil Zane 48 "Tell Me It's Real" K-Ci & JoJo 49 "Back 2 Good" Matchbox 20 50 "808" Blaque 51 "She's So High" Tal Bachman 52 "She's All I Ever Had" Ricky Martin 53 "Miami" Will Smith 54 "Hands" Jewel 55 "Who Dat" JT Money featuring Solé 56 "Please Remember Me" Tim McGraw 57 "From This Moment On" Shania Twain 58 "Love Like This" Faith Evans 59 "You" Jesse Powell 60 "Trippin'" Total featuring Missy Elliott 61 "If You" Silk 62 "Ex-Factor" Lauryn Hill 63 "Give It to You" Jordan Knight 64 "Black Balloon" Goo Goo Dolls 65 "Spend My Life with You" Eric Benét featuring Tamia 66 "These Are the Times" Dru Hill 67 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Mark Chesnutt 68 "I Do (Cherish You)" 98 Degrees 69 "Because of You" 98 Degrees 70 "I Will Remember You" Sarah McLachlan 71 "Chanté's Got a Man" Chanté Moore 72 "Happily Ever After" Case 73 "My Love Is Your Love" Whitney Houston 74 "All Night Long" Faith Evans featuring Puff Daddy 75 "Back That Azz Up" Juvenile featuring Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne 76 "Almost Doesn't Count" Brandy 77 "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" Shania Twain 78 "Steal My Sunshine" Len 79 "I Need to Know" Marc Anthony 80 "So Anxious" Ginuwine 81 "Faded Pictures" Case featuring Joe 82 "Back at One" Brian McKnight 83 "When a Woman's Fed Up" R. Kelly 84 "How Forever Feels" Kenny Chesney 85 "Amazed" Lonestar 86 "Sometimes" Britney Spears 87 "Ghetto Cowboy" Mo Thugs 88 "Out of My Head" Fastball 89 "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" Jay-Z 90 "Jamboree" Naughty by Nature featuring Zhané 91 "Take Me There" Blackstreet featuring Mýa, Mase and Blinky Blink 92 "Stay the Same" Joey McIntyre 93 "A Lesson in Leavin'" Jo Dee Messina 94 "Iris" Goo Goo Dolls 95 "Satisfy You" Puff Daddy featuring R. Kelly 96 "Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)" Citizen King 97 "Music of My Heart" 'N Sync and Gloria Estefan 98 "Write This Down" George Strait 99 "When You Believe" Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey 100 "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You" Alabama and 'N Sync.

Chapter 16 - 1998 Hot News Articles, TV, Movies and MORE!

World Events World Statistics Population: 4.378 billion population by decade Nobel Peace Prize: John Hume and David Trimble (Northern Ireland) More World Statistics... Serbs battle ethnic Albanians in Kosovo (March 5 et seq.). Serbs renew attack on Kosovo rebels (June 1). NATO, on verge of air strikes, reaches settlement with Milosevic on Kosovo (Oct. 12). Good Friday Accord is reached in Northern Ireland (April 10). Irish Parliament backs peace agreement (April 22). Background: N. Ireland Peace Negotiations Europeans agree on single currency, the euro (May 3). India conducts three atomic tests despite worldwide disapproval (May 11, 13). Pakistan stages five nuclear tests in response (May 29, 30). Indonesian dictator Suharto steps down after 32 years in power (May 21). US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed (Aug. 7). US cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (Aug. 20). Russia fights to avert financial collapse (Aug. 17). Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested in London (Oct. 16). Wye Mills Agreement between Netanyahu and Arafat moves Middle East peace talks forward (Oct. 23). Background: Middle East Peace Negotiations Iraq ends cooperation with UN arms inspectors (Aug. 5). Clinton orders air strikes (Dec. 16–19). U.S. Events U.S. Statistics President: William J. Clinton Vice President: Albert Gore, Jr. Population: 270,298,524 More U.S. Statistics... President accused in White House sex scandal; denies allegations of affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky (Jan. 21 et seq.). President outlines first balanced budget in 30 years (Feb. 3). US Supreme Court rules line-item veto unconstitutional (Feb. 12). Unabomber sentenced to four life terms (May 4). Life sentence meted out to Terry Nichols, convicted in Oklahoma City bombing fatal to 168 (June 4). Starr Report by independent counsel outlines case for impeachment proceedings against President (Sept. 11). Matthew Shepard, gay Wyoming student, fatally beaten in hate crime; two arrested (Oct. 6 et seq.). House impeaches President Clinton along party lines on two charges, perjury and obstruction of justice. (Dec. 19). Economics Federal spending: $1675.88 billion Federal debt $5750.4 billion Consumer Price Index: $163 Unemployment: 4.5% Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.32 More Economics... Sports Sports Links Pro Football Summary Pro Basketball Summary Pro Baseball Summary Super Bowl Denver d. Green Bay World Series New York Yankees d. San Diego NBA Championship Chicago d. Utah Stanley Cup Detroit d. Washington Wimbledon Women: Jana Novotna d. N. Tauziat (6-4 7-6) Men: Pete Sampras d. G. Ivanisevic (6-7 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-2) Kentucky Derby Champion Real Quiet NCAA Basketball Championship Kentucky d. Utah World Cup France d. Brazil Entertainment Entertainment Awards Pulitzer Prizes Fiction: American Pastoral, Philip Roth Music: String Quartet No. 2, Musica Instrumentalis, Aaron Jay Kernis Drama: How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel Academy Award, Best Picture: Titanic, James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers (Paramount and 20th Century Fox) Nobel Prize for Literature: José Saramago (Portugal) Album of the Year: Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan (Columbia Records) Song of the Year: "Sunny Came Home," Shawn Colvin Song of the Year: "Sunny Came Home," Shawn Colvin and John Leventhal, songwriters Miss America: Katherine Shindle (IL) More Entertainment Awards... Events Titanic becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically. An estimated 76 million viewers watch the last episode of Seinfeld. Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82. NBC agrees to fork over $13 million an episode for the next three years for broadcast rights to the top-rated series ER. The total dollar figure, $850 million, eclipses any price ever paid for a television show. Titanic captures a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and Best Director (James Cameron). The American Film Institute announces its list of the top 100 films of all time. Citizen Kane tops the list. Tina Brown, editor of The New Yorker sends shockwaves through the publishing world with her resignation from the venerable weekly. David Remnick is hired to replace her. Movies Affliction, American History X, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, There's Something about Mary Books Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter Michael Cunningham, The Hours Donald Hall, Without Alice McDermott, Charming Billy Gerald Stern, This Time: New and Selected Poems Science Nobel Prizes in Science Chemistry: Walter Kohn (US) and John A. Pople (UK), for their developments in the study of the properties of molecules and the chemical processes in which they are involved Physics: Robert B. Laughlin (US), Horst L. Störmer (Germany), and Daniel C. Tsui (US), for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations Physiology or Medicine: Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, and Ferid Murad (all US), for discovering that nitric oxide acts as a signal in the cardiovascular system More Nobel Prizes in 1998... The Athena probe finds frozen water on moon. Scientists say ice crystals mixed with soil could provide fuel for rockets exploring solar system (Mar. 5). Background: US Unstaffed Planetary and Lunar Programs The FDA approves the male impotence drug Viagra (Mar. 27). Background: New Medicines Astronomers detect giant explosion, second in force only to the "Big Bang," in deep space (May 6). Background: Astronomy Dow Corning Corporation agrees on $3.2 billion settlement for tens of thousands of women claiming injury from manufacturer's silicone breast implants (July 8). Background: Health & Nutrition 77-year-old Senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, returns to orbit in the space shuttle Discovery (Oct. 29). Background: US Staffed Space Flights The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour connects first two modules of the international space station (Dec. 6). Background: Space Exploration Death Gene Autry Sonny Bono Florence Griffith Joyner Akira Kurosawa Octavio Paz Frank Sinatra Junior Wells The Philosopher's Stone (1997) The Chamber of Secrets (1998) The Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) The Goblet of Fire (2000) The Order of the Phoenix (2003) The Half-Blood Prince (2005) The Deathly Hallows (2007) 3.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) 3.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 3.3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) 3.4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 3.5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) 3.6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 3.7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) 3.8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011 There were a total of 7 Horcruxes in the whole series, Tom Riddle's diary. Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Salazar Slytherin's locket. Helga Hufflepuff's cup. Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. Nagini, the snake. Harry Potter himself.

Chapter 15 - The Death of a Salesman - Playboy Magazine - September 2012


114 DEATH OF A SALESMAN Don. Lapre was television's infomercial king, a self-made millionaire living and selling the American dream. His best qualities, however, would end up killing him. NEAL GABLER chronicles Lapre's meteoric rise and tragic fall.

More to follow on that article.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Chapter 14 - Phoenix New Times - 1-13-2000

Don Wan LEIGH FARR | JANUARY 13, 2000 | 4:00AM Seated at a booth in an upscale Phoenix eatery, TV pitchman Don Lapre is arranging packets of Equal on the table to demonstrate a new wealth-building company hes preparing to launch. Each packet of the sugar substitute is a stock market share, and Lapre a boyish 35-year-old wearing jeans and a short-sleeved Adidas jersey is the investor. Youve heard of day trading, says Lapre, who is armed with two cell phones. Well, Im creating a way to play the stock market at night. You know, for people who work all day and dont have time during normal business hours. Its called night trading. Youll see me on TV with this in eight months. The spiel is convincing, because Lapre is a good salesman. He has reaped millions over the past decade hawking get-rich schemes on late-night cable TV infomercials. Lapre, whose earnest pitch once was parodied by David Spade on Saturday Night Live, has peddled everything from money-making secrets to 900 numbers to Web site services. Now he's even figured out a way for the average cretin to net $4,000 daily by night-trading on the stock market. Lapre is a money-making machine. There's just one glitch. Last summer Lapre's empire went bankrupt when he rolled out a new ad campaign and it "bombed like an Edsel," as one consultant put it. Lapre was Icarus incarnate. A speculative real estate deal in Puerto Vallarta went south. Profits, once a reported $60 million per annum, took a nose dive. On June 29, the get-rich guru filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and began to reorganize his five-company realm. His filing listed assets of $9 million and liabilities of $12.5 million. A tearful Lapre addressed his staff, telling them that he was tempted to shoot himself. Six months later, Lapre's on the Better Business Bureau's bad apple list and a frequent target of consumer-advocacy columns in newspapers nationwide. Customers allege Lapre himself is the primary beneficiary of his money-making schemes. Some have spent thousands on Lapre's programs, and they want their money back. Former employees are clamoring to get paid. Creditors are frothing at the mouth. None of these details bothers Lapre, however, who's focusing his energies on yet another wealth-building concept. "I just want to have fun creating ideas and selling them," Lapre says. "I wish I had a big ego, but I really don't give a rat's ass about what people think about me." Don Lapre (pronounced la-PREE) grew up poor in Sunnyslope. His mother worked at a U-Totem, and his father, who was laid up for two years with back trouble, owned a house-painting business. One of five kids, Lapre is proud of the times he helped make ends meet by gathering cast-off furniture in alleys and selling it down at the Park 'N' Swap. "I've seen the pain and the suffering and the poor side of the world," he says. A credit shy of graduating from Sunnyslope High School -- a full-time job pulled him away from his studies -- Lapre hired on with his father's company in 1988. He soon launched his own enterprise, a dating service called the 1828 Club. Around that time, Lapre met Sally Redondo, who would become his partner in business and marriage and mother of their two children. With $110 in their pockets, and no money for wedding rings, Sally and Don drove to Las Vegas to get married. When they returned to Phoenix, Don told his bride he was $35,000 in debt. Just two months after the dating service opened, Lapre declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Lapre says he rebounded with a successful business, painting houses. "Any normal guy would have been crippled by a lack of confidence," Lapre says. "But I was too naive to be negative." Capitalizing on their own experience as debtors, the Lapres in 1990 opened a credit repair business called Unknown Concepts, offering credit cards, cash loans and discount vacations. Their ad read: "Visas/Mastercards/Erase bad credit/Cash loans to anyone!!" The 148 customers who paid $37 for the package learned that the Lapres did not issue credit cards but only provided names, addresses and information about companies that offered credit cards. The discount vacation information contained in the package merely suggested the consumer check with a travel agent for last-minute discounts. The Arizona attorney general sued the couple for violating the state Consumer Fraud Act. The Lapres were barred from participating in any credit services organization and were ordered to pay civil penalties and more than $5,000 in restitution to complainants. That didn't stop Lapre. His next venture involved writing and selling a 36-page manual explaining how to recoup a Federal Home Association insurance refund after paying off a home mortgage. The manual cost 60 cents to make and sold for $85. Lapre placed an ad in the Tribune and claims he was soon making more than $1,000 a day. A friend set up Lapre with a 900 number. Over the course of a year, Lapre placed 1,100 ads in newspapers across the country advertising $2.99-per-minute 900 lines. He says he began raking in $50,000 per week. Don Lapre was white hot. In 1992, Lapre stepped into the bright lights of television infomercials, an industry that generates more than $500 million a year in product sales. Alongside exquisite models endorsing miracle diets and exercise equipment that requires no effort, celebrities plugging anti-baldness remedies and psychic healing and chefs raving about must-have kitchen aids, Lapre preached the gospel of prosperity on The Making Money Show With Don Lapre. He told viewers how anyone could easily earn $50,000 a month with a 900-number business. For several years, the half-hour spectacle maintained top-10 status at Jordan Whitney Incorporated, a California-based outfit that ranks infomercial companies according to media budgets and frequency of broadcast. Lapre's wee-hour special markets his Money Making Secrets package, a stack of business how-to manuals crammed with common-sense tips on how to get filthy rich -- fast. Buying and Selling divulges golden nuggets such as "decide on what you're going to buy and sell" and "don't quit your day job." The Secrets to Don Lapre's Most Successful Campaigns!!! offers exclusive tips for operating a 900 number, including, "check your [900] line often to make sure it's working properly." In the Custom Internet Web Site Set-Up Guide, Lapre reveals how to establish profitable Web sites without a computer. The real showstopper is a 36-minute video titled Lapre's 11 Secrets to Success. Persistent and whiney, like an adolescent making a case for the car keys, Lapre exhorts viewers to surround themselves with winners ("Get rid of your ugly friends!") and maintain a solid constitution ("Your health is worth a billion dollars!"). More than nine million U.S. adults buy at least one item from a TV offer per year, and Lapre's special brand of sincerity guaranteed him a substantial share of the pie. "He's fairly unique in terms of his own kind of rags-to-riches persona," says John Kogler, publisher for Jordan Whitney. "With the exception of Carleton Sheets [another infomercial guru], he's probably the longest-running show." In spite of their efficacy, infomercials are deservedly viewed as lowbrow, and Lapre is often singled out as the butt of jokes. In June, a columnist for TheStreet.com opened a piece on a completely unrelated topic with a reference to a TV appearance by "some animated Don Lapre-lookin' wing nut. . . ." Don Lapre sells Money Making Secrets through New Strategies, whose parent company is Tropical Beaches. He also sells a host of programs under four other monikers, all operating as one enterprise, making it difficult to keep the books straight. During an emergency bankruptcy hearing, Alisa Lacey, a Lapre lawyer, said, "One of the problems with this company is that the accounting controls were not as diligent as they should be, so to be quite honest with you, the company is on a daily basis determining what its payables are." Once viewers buy the first program for $39.95, they are contacted within days by a cheerful sales rep who offers additional psychic, sports, dating and chat 900 lines, plus free Web sites. Marketers call this the "back end," and it involves repeatedly capitalizing on willing prospects. "I would say if we did not have a 900 service on the back end, we couldn't survive just selling the packages," Lapre told a reporter in 1995. While a 900 line costs $100, some customers have spent thousands to launch their new business. Lapre insists that a handful of viewers have made millions. Others crashed and burned. And they blame it on Lapre. Consider Andre Schweizer, a transplant from France. The Las Vegas resident spent approximately $8,000 in December 1998 on the Money Making Secrets package and other Lapre products. "I saw it advertised on TV, and they made it look like you could make a couple thousand dollars in the first few months," says Schweizer, who at the time feared losing his job at a casino. After making an initial purchase, Schweizer and his wife, Ree, were bombarded with sales calls. They were told that as distributors for Lapre, they would sell dating, sports and psychic 900 numbers via Web sites set up by New Strategies. But after they paid for the services, Schweizer says, the Web sites were never established. Schweizer says he couldn't get through to Lapre's customer service representatives. Jeff Penn, a Lapre assistant, says the Web sites were set up. "We looked up their info in the computer and apparently they had nine Web sites with us, seven of which were already set up and two of them we're waiting on them to give us the information." Penn adds that New Strategies' records show the couple spent $5,200. "The rest of the stuff was free," he says. "We gave them some free Web sites." Theresa and Lindsay Nelson of Everett, Washington, had an experience similar to Schweizer's. They purchased the Money Making Secrets package, plus additional services for $1,190.95, but say they never received catalogues as promised. When they called Lapre's 800 numbers, most of the time they couldn't get through or would be disconnected. When they finally spoke to a customer service representative, they were told Lapre didn't like the style of the catalogues so he was revamping them. After contacting the Phoenix Better Business Bureau (BBB), they were refunded most of their initial expenditure. Elliot Storch, a former salesman for Lapre, remembers hearing about a customer who placed ads for 900 lines in classified sections of various newspapers and made $3,500. "So it can happen and it does happen," Storch says. "You can get struck by lightning, too." But Storch doesn't believe Lapre's programs work for a lot of people. "Most people buying the product don't apply themselves. They're looking for a quick way to make money, and you really have to work hard at it." Besides, he says, "Most of the crap in there isn't information on how to run a business. It's basically for giving you a number to call Don so he can sell you something else." Just ask Texas resident Willard McMillen, whose customer service nightmare cost him upward of $3,700. Along with the Money Making Secrets package, McMillen purchased eight 900 lines, several search engines and Web sites and 100 catalogues. The Web sites were never set up, McMillen says, and he didn't receive the catalogues. Whenever he called customer service to complain, someone would refer him to another number, which inevitably would be a message machine. Storch says even he couldn't get through on Lapre's customer service lines. "Toward the end, I didn't think anyone handled customer service," he says. Despite the complaints, Storch says Lapre is conscientious about training his sales force not to make false claims. He remembers each sales representative had a piece of plate glass on his desk with a script beneath it. A quality-assurance staff would record their conversations and review them each day. A telemarketer who was caught saying something mildly misleading would receive a white slip. A yellow slip meant they'd veered off the script. And a pink slip meant they didn't get paid for the sale. Lapre's enterprises have drawn their share of attention from the Phoenix Better Business Bureau. Though the Money Making Secrets package offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, the bureau has received complaints alleging delays in product delivery and refunds. Others have expressed dissatisfaction, stating that Lapre's program was misrepresented and that earnings opportunities were exaggerated. Although New Strategies responded to complaints by issuing refunds, the BBB advises "extreme caution when dealing with this company." Lapre counters that the BBB doesn't consider the ratio of customers to complaints. "The only thing you'll ever hear in the news is the two people who are upset 'cause they didn't make money," Lapre says. "We only have one Better Business complaint for every 3,000 customers we sell. The BBB never releases the ratio of complaints versus the number of customers, and we have three and a half million customers." By 1994, Lapre purportedly was earning $40 million with the Money Making Secrets package. That year, his business caught the eye of an industry watchdog, the National Infomercial Trade Association (now known as the Electronic Retailing Association, or ERA). The group asked the advertising-regulation division of the council of the BBB to investigate Lapre. Jeff Knowles, general counsel for ERA, which investigates six to 12 infomercials a year, says the organization was concerned that Lapre wasn't using the appropriate disclaimer in his sales pitch for the Money Making Secrets program. "Under the Federal Trade Commission's testimonial guides, you must have support that the average person who would buy the program would make the money that's represented in the infomercial," says Knowles. After reviewing the infomercial, the BBB told Lapre he should use a disclaimer that said, "As with any business opportunity program, you make more or less money." Knowles says ERA deemed this disclaimer inadequate, but dropped the case. No matter. Lapre was on a roll. Investing $350,000 to launch a chain of retail outlets called the Incredible Products Stores, his next scheme involved showcasing gadgets and new inventions. The idea flopped. That didn't prevent Lapre from rolling out the National Lifetime Reminder Service. The concept was simple. For $390, clients would purchase 100 membership kits that they would then sell at $39 apiece to recruit new members. The service would provide customers with a reminder call on every major date they wanted to remember, along with optional gift baskets. Lapre says the company generated $80,000 a day. The BBB caught wind of the service via customer complaints alleging "misrepresentation of the program, poor customer service and difficulty obtaining a refund." Lapre ran into more difficulties. He was forced to pay state unemployment and withholding taxes totaling $45,000, which he'd neglected to file in '93 and '94. To top that off, the Michigan attorney general took action against Lapre when the entrepreneur began selling in the state without properly notifying state officials. Since infomercials began popping up in the mid-'80s, the FTC has successfully sued or settled complaints with more than 150 producers of infomercials for deceptive advertising. "The concern five or 10 years ago was consumers weren't aware what they were watching was an ad," says Lesley Anne Fair, an attorney for the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices. "Now we think companies are better educated about the format. Now we're concerned that the promises are unsubstantiated. Whether it's a diet product or a money-making system, they've got to back up their products." Jeff Knowles of ERA says it's not uncommon for get-rich-quick sermonizers like Lapre, who've scored tremendous success with one product, to run into financial trouble later on. An infomercial can cost $600,000 to produce -- not to mention the cost required for a half-hour block of air time averaging $800 -- so it's no wonder TV pitchmen develop cash-flow problems. "It's not unusual for marketers who've made a lot of money with one product to later fall on hard times and wind up in bankruptcy," says Knowles. "The better established infomercial companies are concerned about the long term and relationships with customers. They sell a range of products and establish a good relationship with customers, honor refund requests and stay out of regulatory problems." For all his questionable business dealings, Lapre insists he's first and foremost a family man. "The most important thing to me is my family and my health," he says. He drives a Lincoln Navigator, and he's spent lavishly on relatives. Unfortunately, his generosity often has been at others' expense. In 1997, Lapre bought a $269,000 home for his mother in Prescott, then signed a contract for more than $130,000 to have a Disneyesque water feature constructed on the property. He subsequently was sued for breach of the contract and wound up paying upward of $40,000 to the contractor. In June, just before filing for bankruptcy, he invested more than $10,000 to have a pool tiled at a home near Cave Creek, where, according to the contractor, his brother was living. Lapre paid seven months later. "I have a small company, and $10,000 is two months of operating expenses," says the contractor, who requested anonymity. "Two days before Christmas, I told [a Lapre assistant] I didn't know if my daughter would have Christmas or not. Two hours later, they said the check's ready." The interior of Lapre's 36,000-square-foot Tempe headquarters looks like an Anthony Robbins wet dream. Motivational billboards flank 19-foot-high bleach-white walls, flaunting images of scantily clad models on tropical beaches and sweating athletes flashing brilliant white smiles. More than 200 telemarketers yammer into headsets against a background of soothing music. There are no walls, just endless rows of white computers on gray desks. Lapre transferred his business to this building, 3255 East Elwood, after vacating his office in the Bank One Building in November 1993. In addition to moving expenses, the shift cost him $35,000, which he owed his former landlord for jumping ship without notice, according to court records. The Elwood building is Lapre's kingdom, home of five entities: Tropical Beaches, New Strategies, Dolphin Media, Don's Making Money and National Lifetime Reminder Service -- all of which are bankrupt but still bringing in about $100,000 per day, according to attorney Alisa Lacey. You'd never know that just six months ago, business came to a grinding halt. Mychale Solimine hasn't forgotten. As network administration assistant, Solimine worked for Lapre for more than three years. A DeVry grad with experience in computer networks and data entry, he was responsible for processing all credit card transactions brought in by the sales force and sending the lump sum to the bank. Things were great when Solimine joined New Strategies in August 1996. The company raked in between $1.2 million and $1.6 million a week. Lapre was spending a minimum of $600,000 per week on air time. But then Lapre took a good thing too far. "Don was always trying something," recalls Solimine. "At first, he used to test things like crazy. For instance, when he launched the Reminder Service, he threw 100 salespeople on the floor. They would be given a base script and the lawyers would crawl through it. Once it started showing it could turn a profit, he would hire more people." Optimism reigned. There were bowls of fresh fruit around the office. Employees were given a $20 meal card each week to use in a lunchroom that served catered meals. Lapre says he even had plans to send 60 employees on a company cruise to celebrate the turn of the millennium. Then Lapre began dabbling with the Internet. He conceived the idea that would bring New Strategies to its knees: the Three Ways Campaign, which allowed clients to sell a package of three Web sites, a merchant account and a Net-based people locator service. Distributors would give away brochures and reap 25 percent of every Web site they set up. If they set up a merchant account, Lapre would pay them $500. Lapre tested the program using 12 telemarketers, then moved half of the sales force over to the program when it looked like a money maker. He spent lavishly to develop and market the product, then switched out the old Making Money infomercial. The leads rolled in, but according to Lapre, they were worthless because New Strategies didn't charge anything up front. Within two months, the cash supply dried up and the company was losing $500,000 a week. To make matters worse, Lapre had lost millions in a Mexican land deal that went sour. Three years ago, Lapre funneled $4 million from Tropical Beaches to bankroll a property investment just outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Lapre forsook his natural constituency, the hoi polloi, and tried his luck at selling to fellow millionaires, with disastrous results. The beachfront acreage, called La Playa Estates, is located in an exclusive area on the northern tip of the Bay of Banderas. "I wanted to buy a little piece of land in Mexico on the beach for me and my wife," Lapre recalls. "We knew a guy named Pedro. In order to buy a piece of land we wanted, we had to buy nine acres. He said we could build homes on all the property." Lapre's partner, Pedro Fernandez, with whom he formed a corporation called Hidden Paradise, says the homes ranged in price from $400,000 to $1.4 million, and the condos, $288,000 to $650,000. Fernandez says Lapre stopped sending money in April 1999. "I kept thinking next month it will sell and I'll get my money back," Lapre says. "After $4 million into it, I couldn't go any further." Brock Squire, broker manager for Coldwell Banker La Costa Realty in Puerto Vallarta, whose company listed the homes early on, says the partners had plans to build and sell 18 detached villas fronting the beach, plus 56 condominiums. Only a beach clubhouse and two of the villas were completed, says Squire. Although Squire says La Playa Estates was a well-conceived project, Lapre and Fernandez changed the configuration several times, creating concern among potential buyers. "It seemed the development plan was changing every other month," says Squire. "That was one reason it didn't succeed as well as it could have. There didn't seem to be a clear-cut marketing effort put forth by the developers." Squire adds that Fernandez was young and inexperienced. "He's a young fellow who was involved in sod growing and other similar projects," says Squire. "He has very strong family connections but he never did any development work." Sylvia Elias, a real estate broker and president of the real estate board in Puerto Vallarta, advised Lapre in the planning stages of the project. She says the project bombed because Lapre and Fernandez wanted to pre-sell both the homes and the condominiums in an area that was largely inaccessible. "To have a small gated community in the middle of nowhere is a very difficult project," Elias says. "People buying condos want to be close to Puerto Vallarta, not isolated 50 minutes from downtown. They changed the plan several times because the condo pre-sales didn't work." Fernandez says Lapre no longer has control over the property and that until he and his new partners start selling the homes and condos, Lapre won't recoup his investment. "You can't give it back if you don't sell," he says. "We haven't finished paying for the land so we can continue [developing], but if we don't pay, there's a clause in the contract that the owners of the land keep everything we've done." Without Lapre's bankroll, Fernandez says he can't guarantee the development will succeed. "We tried to get more investors and loans from the bank," he says. "Everything takes time." Lapre says the loss had no bearing on his subsequent bankruptcy. "But it would've helped to have the money in the company," he concedes. The $4 million might have been enough to keep a sinking ship from going under. Solimine says there was talk around the building that Lapre had dumped $600,000 of his own money in the Three Ways Campaign to revive it, then poured in another $300,000. Lapre, who says he's never depressed for more than one day a year, was clearly in a tailspin. Solimine remembers the day the lights went off. "It all went down June 28 [1999]. It was 5:05 on a Monday and we had only made $120,000, which was pretty low for a Monday. Don called a big meeting. He said we were going to have a big company meeting in the morning, so everybody go home, have a good night's rest and get ready to come tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. to a brand-new company." For Solimine, whose wife was five months pregnant, there would be no brand-new company. He was laid off and was forced to live on food stamps. He says Lapre still owes him $3,700 in back wages. For a week, the doors to New Strategies were sealed shut. "It came so fast," says Lapre, who expects to spend $1 million on legal fees this year. "For one week, we didn't know what to do, and we were talking to six different attorneys, asking them, 'What do you do in this state?' We had to get approval from our attorneys on how to reorganize. For exactly one week, we didn't do anything." Although many of the employees were called back to work, Solimine says other people shared his experience. "I have friends who are strapped for money, and they went back to work. They still haven't gotten the full pay." Solimine was surprised by Lapre's actions. "I stood behind what he did. Lapre honors what he does. But when he lost his shirt and stabbed his employees in the back, that's when I got a bitter taste in my mouth." Onetime salesman Elliot Storch says Lapre owes him more than $800 for two bounced paychecks and his last week's salary. Storch says he doesn't know Lapre well, but thinks he has good intentions. "From what I've seen of Don, he doesn't appear to be a bad person," says Storch. "He has done everything he possibly can within his power to get where he is today, even if he has to convince himself he's helping people out. I genuinely believe he was distraught when he told us the company was going bankrupt. He got up and cried in front of everybody. He said, 'If I had a gun right now, I'd shoot myself.'" Today, Lapre is on the rebound. With a new management team in place, he says, his enterprise is once again solvent. A team of consultants has slashed operating expenses and reduced Lapre's annual salary to a mere half-million, according to a court testimony by Vern Schweigert of the financial management firm Biltmore Associates. Schweigert acted as chief operating officer during the early throes of the bankruptcy. Plans for reorganization of Lapre's companies have included discussions on how to repay his creditors, which include Phoenix-based computer, telecommunications and printing companies, the U.S. Postal Service and the Salt River Project. His largest national creditors are Paxson Communications (owed approximately $900,000) and MCI (owed more than $700,000). The company's bank-card processing merchant for more than nine years, Electronic Clearing House (ECHO), has lent New Strategies $1 million to get back on its feet. And now the two companies are considering a merger. "The company could just explode," says Lapre. "I spread myself too thin operations-wise, but now I brought in a chief operating officer and a chief executive officer. We're still in bankruptcy mode, but it looks like New Strategies will be back on its feet and will do phenomenally in January." ECHO is interested in promoting its banking services on Lapre's infomercials. "There's only one major motivation for a merger, and that's to make money," says ECHO chief executive officer Joel Barry. "And Don's organization definitely makes money. Secondly, his heavy money in media television, which runs from a million to a million and a half a month, is an effort we could piggyback to offer other products to merchants that Don could easily incorporate into his infomercials. It's a cross-marketing effort." IF YOU LIKE THIS STORY, CONSIDER SIGNING UP FOR OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS. SHOW ME HOW Barry says he has no trepidation about working with a bankrupt company. "Don's an amazing motivator and he's an amazing creator. The challenge that faces those types of people is getting into the details of day-to-day management, and that's the primary issue here. He's now put together a team that I think is able to handle the day-to-day and allow him to focus on the creative aspects." As for Lapre, going bankrupt is just another day in paradise. "I fail at more things than anyone I've ever met," he says. "But I try more things than anyone I've ever met. I'm a good loser."

Monday, May 21, 2018

Chapter 13 - Day Two


Started the day at ACE at 8am. Journeyed upstairs at noon for Round Two of New Strategies. I was surprised and quite excited when I found that I had my own desk now - loaded with everything that I would need. I felt quite VIP like. The new people that made it from my class all met in the conference room with Ray V and Tim W, where we were congratulated. They then delivered an update on what happened yesterday, explaining how some made it, and some did not. Then they fielded questions.

We were then given red Sharpies and some fresh recycled purple leads. We were not yet ready for the freshy fresh leads. They would come later. The red pen meant two things. One - every sale was reviewed by Quality Services. Two - we could not sign up for weekend Inbound until we graduated to a black Sharpie. The Sharpies were also used to write on the white cassette sales tapes, where we would write our name, customer name, dollar amount, date and side A or B.

Our schedule was from noon to 8pm, though the Morning Inbound people arrived around 6am. I sat there for a bit, soaking up the aura of my new home, and listening to those around me pitch the 900 Line Business. It was very exciting!

Finally, I picked up the phone, and called my first lead - no one there. I flew through all my leads without getting a live body on the phone. At that point I took a break, as I did not want to call them all back 20 minutes later. Then I listened to some more of my neighbors pitch, and I could see then writing up sales, and getting their numbers on the board. I watched Al F go to the board over and over and over. He was on Morning Inbound, and I wanted to by like Al. That was my goal, to one day beat Al F. He constantly put up 3 to 4000 on the board each day. This meant a pretty good size paycheck I soon learned.

I did manage a couple of pitches that day, and though I knew they were not hot to trot - I used the opportunity to practice my pitch, so to become more fluent with the sales script. At the end of the day, Tim W came up to me and said that I sounded pretty good, and not to be concerned about no sales that day. He said I was on the right track, and that he was confident I could become one of the best he has ever hired. I smiled and said thank you... I appreciate that. I will be back tomorrow!

Chapter 12 - Celebrating at Alexi's Grill


At the end of the day, a few of us went to Alexi's Grill on the first floor to celebrate.

Chapter 11 - Making The Cut


While I was busy making my very first sale, here is what was going on around me.

Chapter 10 - The Upsell


Again I would like to congratulate you Ron for coming on board! You SHOULD be excited! Now that you have a business to promote, let's talk about advertising it. Now when it come to advertising, the average persons sees hundreds of ads every single day. Advertising is EVERYWHERE! TV, radio, billboards, bus benches, bumper stickers, newspapers, magazines, mailers, pens, pencils, key chains, match books - EVERYWHERE!!!

Chapter 9 - The Close


OK Ron - did you catch all that?

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Chapter 8 - The Players


I sat down the other day and wrote down over 100 names of people that I remember from this time period. I am gonna list them here. I am gonna use their names in writing this, so that I can keep this somewhat real. If there is anyone here whom objects, please let me know - thank you! dk
Don Lapre Wendell Craig Tim Wilson Michael Hoffman Forrest Webb Mary Susan Dean Kawasaki Tylene M. Teisha M. (and husband Corey M.) Rod H. Matt C Joe David D Julian F Jason Manger Chris C Jason C Adrien P Ricky S Sandy D Scott M Jamie P Jamie B Mike Z. David W Rob F Lance V Nikki M Tera C Ric Ray P Rob S Michael D Charles M Rosie G Roy B Steve G Don Wood (Mr. Quality) Dan H Tylene's Dad Ray V Frank M The Friday Van Man - to cash checks for 1% Shawn P. Ken E. Rick Tracey The Bands The Bartenders The Servers David K. David S. Denise H. Summer - Lynn's Friend Lynn - Bubba's Friend and mine Amanda - waitress Agnieszka LaTonda Mahtab Natasha Ryan S Dave H Brian D Hameet Bill E Bubba Bob R Paul P Jack E - The Joker Tim O Robby B Steve G Rod H Wes F Tina Richard D Glen Rob S Al F Cliff M Lindsay Jim - PC Guy Robert F Michelle S Rebecca A Ric C Denise K Ralph M Andrew C Bill T Kirk W. Kristal Tara C Olivia Kelly Ha Ha Ha Brandi - Yucca Big Al Ed L Kristi Amber Heather Mike H Miah Chris M Sean M April S Doc Sweet Michael Sane Dustin Heath Sage Kilo Sheila

Chapter 7 - The Music


I am going to take a break right now to list songs that will make the soundtrack to Tempe 1998.

I do believe it will be a hit soundtrack just as American Graffiti was.

The songs will be from local bands, as well as what was on the radio back in 1998. There maybe be one or two songs that are 1999, but we will see. I do want to be as accurate as possible!

Stephe Ashbrook and sometimes Satellite (The Satellite CD was recorded in the summer of 1995, and released Nov 11th that same year. The band, Satellite, consisted of Stephen Ashbrook (vocals and guitar), Paul Cardone (PC) (Bass guitar), Mike Kellems (drums), and Chris Whitehouse (Whitey) (Lead Guitar). The band lived in Tempe Arizona. The band blended heavy handed rock -n- roll with pop sensibility, creating a sound that bathed itself in Southwestern jangle. Satellite toured all over the western US for years. These guys were like my family. I watched Stephen five nights a week. They and I pretty much took Friday and Saturday off - amateur nights!

The Refreshments, aka, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.

Ghetto Cowgirl (Mark Norman)
\
Stone Bogart, The Pistoleros, Dead Hot Workshop, Naked Chollas, and more!

CD 1-1 That's Rock N Roll - Satellite CD 2-1 Fastest Car - Satellite CD 3-1 Drive - Satellite
1-2 Venus - Satellite 2-2 Summer of '76 - Satellite 3-2 Clove Cigarette - Satellite
1-3 Down Together - The Refreshments 2-3 Banditos - The Refreshments 3-3 Mexico - The Refreshments
1-4 Girly - The Refreshments 2-4 The Refreshments 3-4 The Refreshments
1-5 Excuses For Loser - Ghetto Cowgirl 2-5 To The Point - Ghetto Cowgirl 3-5 Breathe - Ghetto Cowgirl
1-6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia 2-6 Crush - Jennifer Paige 3-6 Believe - Cher
1-7 Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger 2-7 Got You Where I Want You - The Flys 3-7 Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry
1-8 Brick - Ben Folds Five 2-8 Kiss the Rain - Billie Myers 3-8 Tell Me - Billie Myers 1-9 Last Kiss - Pearl Jam 2-9 Athenaeum - What I Didn't Know. 3-9 Butterfly - Crazy Town
1-10 What It's Like - Everlast 2-10 Money (Dollar Bill) - Everlast 3-10 Ends - Everlast
1-11 Freak Of The Week - Marvelous 3 2-11 You're So Yesterday - Marvelous 3 3-11 Without Warning - Ghetto Cowgirl
1-12 Semi-Charmed Life - 3rd Eye Blind. 2-12 How's It Going To Be - 3rd Eye Blind 3-12 Jumper - 3rd Eye Blind
1-13 Every Morning - Sugar Ray 2-13 Someday - Sugar Ray 3-13 Falls Apart - Sugar Ray
1-14 My Name Is my - Eminem 2-14 The Real Slim Shady - Eminem 3-14 Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers
1-15 I Want You - Savage Garden 2-15 To The Moon And Back - Savage Garden 3-15 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
1-16 Californication - Red Hot Chili P. 2-16 Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili P. 3-16 Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili P.
1-17 Butthole Surfers - Pepper 2-17 Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch 3-17 In The End - Linking Park
1-18 All The Small Things - Blink 182 2-18 What's My Age Again? - Blink 182 3-18 Adam's Song - Blink 182
1-19 Papercut - Linkin Park 2-19 One Step Closer - Linkin 3-19 Crawling - Linking Park
1-20 Pretty Fly - The Offspring 2-20 Why Don't You Get A Job? - Offspring 3-20 She's Got Issues - The Offspring
1-21 The Kids Aren't Alright - Offspring 2-21 Scotch and a Handgun - Satellite 3-21 Some of the Things - Satellite Ricky martin and enrique iglesias to be added soon
So much for 3 CD's with 13 songs each. Either less songs, or more CD's. The Producer will decide pretty much anyways, right?

A dream of mine - after the release of this major motion picture, a tour will be built to feature, Stephen Ashbrook, Satellite, The Refreshments, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, and Marc Norman and Ghetto Cowgirl. These 3 bands will put together the most amazing show, and... I would very much like to use the other Tempe 1998 CD Artists to have multiple guest appearances! A show for the ages! E1

Chapter 6 - The Let's Rock 14 Minute Audio Cassette (1998)


Here is the 14 minute Let's Rock Tape pretty much verbatim. I hope to get a live audio file soon.

LET'S ROCK!!!

============================.

Hello I'm Don Lapre, I'm so excited, I wanna tell you, thank you so much... for giving me just a few minutes to be able to explain my story of how I got started in the 900 business. I think after you hear it you're gonna be so excited, but I wanna tell you it would be absolutely insane if you were to go to another service bureau tomorrow, and get set up with your own 900 line if they told you that you had to pay a monthly fee, no matter what your volume was, you were committed or you were stuck to paying that service bureau a monthly fee uh, to keep your line activated.

It would absolutely be in in insane , let me explain why. When I first got started in the 1 900 business, I didn't even want to get started, here I was in my apartment just a few months prior to that I stumbled onto placing ads in the newspaper. So I went from making hardly anything, to making thousands of dollars a week, in placing tiny classified ads in the newspaper. So I'm sitting in my one bedroom apartment, I'm thinking I'm the richest guy in the world, there is nothing in the world that I want to do that's gonna to distract me, from doing uh my placing ads. So. My friend Bob Salerno calls me up and he says, Don, you gotta get a 900 line. Well I said, Bob, you're crazy. I'm making a a fortune placing my tiny classified ads, I don't know anything about the 900 business, I don't know anything about computers, I don't wanna have computer equipment, I don't wanna have to answer 900 calls, leave me alone, let me place my ads, let me make my fortune in peace, just leave me alone. So he hangs up the phone, he calls me up a few weeks later, and he says, Don, you gotta get a 900 line. Well he kept bugging me and bugging me and bugging me. Finally I said, OK, I will bring up one line, to see what would happen, but before I brought that line up I said, I said to him, I said Bob, how does a 900 line work. Well he said Don, that's the greatest part. He tells me, he says Don, the only thing you have to do is pay to get a line brought up, there are service bureaus all over the country. This is what he's telling me. He says Don, there are service bureaus all over the country. They'll set your line up, they have the computer equipment, they'll answer the calls for you. They already have programs like date lines and sports lines, and whatever you want, it's completely set up. So I said to him, I said to him, well wait a minute. If they are already set up, what'll I do? He said well they make their money by charging you per minute. They'll charge you like ten cents a minute, to take all your calls. I said ok, so what do I do?

He said the only thing you do is advertise to get people to call your 1 900 line. And then you call up every day to check and see how many calls you got. Then I said so that's all I have to do? He said yes. I said OK, if you bring up a 900 line, I'll place an ad, we'll see how it does, and if it does good, I'll give you ten cents a minute, as like a royalty. And we can both make money. He said you got it. Well, I ended up having to pay the guy over $250,000 cuz he made me rich in the 900 business.
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But here's how it started. I got started with a 1 900 date line. I placed some ads out there, they worked so good, I ended up calling the service bureau 4 times in a row to make sure, that the numbers that they told me, were indeed correct. And indeed they were. I I I just flipped out! I was so excited! I placed my ads everywhere. I generated just an incredible amount of money. But here's the difference. When I got setup with my own line, I was already making a fortune, so to me, I didn't care about committing to $500 a month. They told me Don, we'll set your line up, but you got to generate enough calls to to charge enough ten cent fees - or we're gonna charge you $500 a month, no matter what. And I said, that's no problem, because if it works, I'm gonna crank it out - and indeed it did! Then I generated $80,000 a week in 900 calls, but that's totally different from somebody like you who may have a current job, and you say well, wait a minute, I wanna get a 900 line.

But I only wanna spend like 20 to 30 bucks a week. Playing around, testing some ads, until I know what I'm doing. Well, that's exactly what I think you should do. But to go to any other service bureau in the world, that's gonna charge you 5 to 600 dollars a month, no matter what - that would be insane, when you have no idea what your advertising budget is even gonna turn into, and it would be stupid. Well what did we do, when I put the show together, when I put the making money show... I was committed to showing people how I made money.

These 3 ways, buying, selling, placing my tiny classified ads in newspapers, which by the way, if you're not doing that, I think you're crazy. And then the third way which was getting set up with your own 900 line - well I said to the people at my company, I said, the only way our clients, our making money clients are going to be able to put their foot into the 900 business - and have fun with it - and not be stressed out over a $500 a month fee is... if we could create a service bureau that would allow people to pay a one time setup fee, and then they could have any advertising budget they want. If you had a ten dollar a week advertising budget, you could get set up with a 900 line, and then you could say, ok, I'm gonna commit to ten, fifteen bucks a week placing different types of ads, having fun with it, like it should be until you find an ad that works. And then the secret Isi to capitalize on that ad. And to return it, to replay it, over and over, and then to crank it out in more and more places

and to benefit from finding that great ad - well we created, I created the number one service bureau in the entire world - if you wanted to, today... you could get , listen to this, you could get setup with your very own 1 900 date line program, or you could get set up with your very own 1 900 chat line - this is where people would call in to talk to other people on the other end of the phone... you never have to answer any of the calls... you don't have to have any computer equipment... you don't have monthly fees... it is absolutely incredible!

I also have a 1 900 psychic line... this is where people could call and get a psychic reading by a live psychic, and again... you don't have to worry about hiring anybody... you don't have to worry about doing anything... and then the fourth line is a 1 900 sports/entertainment line... let me explain how it works... if you said ok, I wanna get set up with one of the lines... the way it works is... I would send you a contract with four, with a... it would have a 900 number, and then it would have four exclusive extension numbers - these extension numbers are what you would use in your advertising... and then as you place an ad out here, and you place an ad out there - with each one of your ads - you put a different extension number in, and then everyday you can call our call count machine - 24 hours a day - and you can find out exactly how many calls and how many minutes were generated the day before from your advertising.

It is absolutely one of the funnest things that you could ever do - we'll even help you along with the advertising, as much as we can - we are the largest 900 service bureau in the entire world - let me just tell you this - Saturday night live spoofed me two times - over the 1 900 business, and then the MTV; music awards asked me to do a video - and they put me on the MTV music awards promoting their own 1-900 number - it was absolutely exciting! - here's the secret - once you get set up with a 1 900 line - you get excited - you figure out which lines you want to get setup with - and then you play and you test one tiny ad or one type of advertising after another after another... as soon as you find something that works... the secret is to take that, and then multiply it and to rerun it, and to make it go over and over and over again... to capitalize on finding that one tiny ad that makes you money.

ok, let me explain how the 1 900 date line works - since i... I use this as an example only... it's one of the first lines that I ever brought up.... the 1 900 date line is simply a line where guys or girls can call, punch in their area code, and then can listen to other singles in their area... and then if they want to, they can create their own voice mail box, and have singles call them and leave messages for them... so its a really exciting line for people to call... now if you create an ad and you put it out there, in your ad, let's say you put it, and it says - meet singles in your area... your gonna have a 900 number, and then right next to that, or right below that... you're gonna have your four digit exclusive extension number - and then right below that you're gonna put $2.99 per minute - and then next to that you're gonna put - must be 18 years of age - you don't have to worry about that - we're gonna check everything your ads must have - we're even gonna give you 32 different sample ads that you can use - or - you can create your won advertising - you just gotta submit it to our office for approval first, and before you start advertising, whatever ad you want to put out there - but whenever you place any out there - make sure that you take one of the four digit extension numbers and you put that in the ad - because somebody else may have the same 900 line - but they're gonna be using different extension lines - and we wanna make sure that you get paid for every single call that you generate because of your advertising - so just remember - if you creat an ad -0 just submit it to our office for approval first before you start advertising - and everything will be great!

now let me just tell you... out of the $2.99 a minute that you're gonna charge the caller... for every minute that caller stays on the line - you are gonna pocket $1.40 a minute for every single minute that your caller stays on the line because of your advertising - about 15 cents a minute goes to our office for handling all the calls, and then the rest gets eaten up in the phone company - with the phone company = because they bill for you, and they charge you for that... they collect for you, and they charge you for that... and then there's gonna be a degree of chargebacks, but these chargebacks are already implemented... so the $1.40 a minute that you get, is net to you... you never have to worry about getting a check, and then a statement from our office, and then 4 or 5 days later us calling you back saying, hey bill... tom... Susan... we went... we paid you too much... and then we have these chargebacks... those chargebacks are already implemented into the percentage factor... so you will pocket $1.40 a minute for every single minute that that person stays on the line... it is absolutely incredible! - if you got set up you're gonna get a contract thats good for one year - and then you can automatically renew it for an entire additional year at no charge to you whatsoever... you pay a one time setup fee...
and there are no monthly fees whatsoever... which allows you to start out really slow... have fun with it, unless u wanna go crazy... but it allows you to spend a little bit on advertising each and every week... start out slow, because whenever you spend money on advertising, you are running the risk of that ad not working... or not working as well as you thought... so it is a whole lot more fun when you can start out slow... test one ad over here... test another ad over here... call your call count machine every day - it's a whole lot more fun when you don't have the pressure - of having to create so many calls - to pay for your $500 a month fee... that you would be paying if you went through a normal service bureau... so its absolutely one of the most incredible service bureaus, but I haven't even got to the fun part...

if you got setup with a 900 date line, it's a $2.99 a minute line... you will pocket $1.40 a minute... if you got setup with a sports slash entertainment line you would also charge people $2.99 a minute, u would pocket $1.40 a minute as well... these two lines are automated... they're completely automated... the computer takes the call from the beginning to the end... now if u got setup with a 900 chat line, you're gonna charge the caller $3.99 a minute, and out of that you will pocket $1.50 a minute, because it costs us a lot of money to staff up live people... to be there to answer the calls 24 hours a day... so you'll charge the caller $3.99 a minute, out of which you will pocket a dollar fifty a minute... if you were to get setup with a 1 900 psychic line, the same exact thing... you'll charge the call three ninety nine a minute... and you will pocket dollar fifty for every single minute that that person stays on the phone...

getting their psychic reading, it's absolutely incredible, and listen to this... you can call our call count machine 24 hours a day , anytime you want... you can call our call count machine and find out exactly how many calls... and how many minutes... and where they came from... from our call count machine for the day before... so every day... you can keep track of all of your advertising... its just incredible... and then after 30 days... of you generating your very first 1 900 call... you will receive a check along with a statement, each and every week...for all the calls you generated... and the only other fee besides your one time setup fee, the only other fee our company is every gonna charge you, is a three dollar check processing fee, for each week that we have to issue u a check... because you generated 900 calls...
but I do wanna talk about our one restriction... which will probably never ever affect u... but I do want to tell u... that if your weekly checks were 2 generate or to grow to $10,000 a week, at that time... if they exceed $10,000 a week... we have the right to tell you... please slow down your advertising a little bit... because we have to prepay you... we're actually paying you... prior to getting paid from the phone company... so again... that'll probably never happen 2 u... it'll probably never be a problem... but if it was to happen... we have the right to say... hey, slow down your advertising, or, move your lines, or move your 900 business to another service bureau... and work with that just because you'd be capping out our cash flow if you were to do that... again, I don't think that will b a problem... we just wanna say it, so we have the right at that time... if it was to happen... to say hey, thats about as much as we can afford to prepay you... because you're gonna get a check... after 30 days, you're gonna get a check on a weekly basis... from us... and we could be 30 days away from getting paid from the phone company.... so we don't want to extend ourselves too far... the other thing I want to tell you, is you can join the advertising network... it's a division of our company that will help u through all of your advertising... this department is designed to help you... if you have any advertising questions... when u get started advertising your 900 lines... they are there to help you... again, I told u we'd create 32 different ads... u can be rest assured, that if u create another ad, u create your own ad, and we approve them, we will never ever give out information of how many calls your generating... or which extensions u own... out of the 100's and 100's of checks that we send out every week, you can be rest assured that we are totally... we keep all of your information totally private... nobody is allowed any information from another client... and that is out of 100's and 100's of checks, nobody is allowed information about another client... so it allows you to do your advertising, without worrying about somebody finding out what type of advertising you r doing... and where u r doing it at... so, we keep that really private... and unless we have your permission, we will not give that information out to anybody... every our employees are not allowed to get set up withy their own 900 business as long as they work for our company... and I'm gonna connect you bak to the account executive, but I wanna tell u, that you can now thru our company, we will, if u get setup with your own 900 line, not only can u join the advertising network... and they'll help you through any questions that you have with your advertising, you can get your own television commercials customized with your 900 number, and your own exclusive extension number for whatever type of line that you want... or all four...

if you get excited and u said, I want all four different 900 line programs... u can get a different tv commercial for each 1 of your 900 programs... it is absolutely incredible... and then listen to this... the internet world is just exploding... we can create your own page with your own Internet address... promoting your 900 extensions... so u r now on the internet promoting your own 900 business... if u wanna do that... so we made it just about as easy as it could possibly b to get setup with your own 1 900 business... and a couple of days from today, you could be in the 1 900 business... I think that I've talked to you long enough... I'm gonna give u back to the account executive, I wanna say thank you once again so much for giving me the time to let me explain my story to you... I hope it got you excited, I hope u get setup... I'm gonna give u back to the account executive right now...
(did u catch all that? :-)