I have a confession. I am not a celebrity. I don't even know any celebrities. But I once pretended to be one. . .not like an imposter or impersonator:
(I'm not really the Pope. Or Abe Lincoln. I might be Sammy Davis, Jr., however.)
And maybe "pretend" isn't even the right word. It's more like I was treated so well I could have been a celebrity. Yeah, that's it.
Today, my peeps, it's all about Curtain Bluff, a small and elegant resort located in Antigua (pronounced "Ann-tee-Gah." Just a little pet peeve of mine. Like "ex-presso" instead of "ess-presso."). And although I usually write about my virtual travels, this is a place I've actually been to.
The story goes that this man (shown here with his hot wife, Chelle),
Howard Hulford, was flying over the island and fell in love with a piece of land. At the time the Antiguan government, hoping to bring in tourist dollars, would only sell large pieces of land to developers who would build resorts. So, rather than give up his dream, Howard built Curtain Bluff and made it into one the premier resorts in the world. It's consistently mentioned in Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List.
We certainly can't afford it.
And that is where this man comes in:
"This man" is Sam's grandfather, the man in the center of the picture, holding the Antigua poster. I think he might have liked being the center of attention. His lovely wife Mary is in the red dress (he used to go out and buy her Pucci dresses...just because. A gene that was not passed down to his grandson.), and their good friends, Roy and Dottie, are on either side of him.
Back in the 1960s the Caribbean was undeveloped and just opening up to vacation travel. Actually, I think vacation travel was just becoming a possibility. This foursome decided to travel to Antigua, and with reservations already made, arrived at their resort. Only to find that the resort had no record of them. Remember, there weren't that many choices back then. So they were directed to the newly opened Curtain Bluff. It was so new that they had rooms to spare. And a friendship between the travellers and Howard was formed that lasted for many, many years. Sam's grandfather invested in Howard's resort, an opportunity that is no longer available, and because of that decision made almost 50 years ago, we got to spend a week at this world class resort.
Sam is wearing one of his grandfather's old blazers in this photo. It has golf bags on it.
Sam's grandparents would head to Antigua and Curtain Bluff once a year. One year a movie was being filmed on the island and members of the cast were staying at the resort.
Yes, that's who you think it is. Jimmie Rice was thrilled with this picture, so I'm told, and had it hanging in his cottage. I'm glad he wasn't around to find out O.J.'s true character. There's something about ignorance being bliss.
When we got to Curtain Bluff, Sam turned into a person that I didn't know: he was almost giddy, he wasn't crabby, and the weight of the world wasn't sucking the life out of him. It took me three days to get used to this side of him.
I realize as I write this that Sam's grandfather, whom I have never met, has still had a profound effect on my life. Family will do that to you. His decision allowed us to create memories that we will forever have. I was pregnant with Anna while at Curtain Bluff, but didn't realize it. Which may explain why I ordered kidneys for dinner one night. And our son is named for this man who went by "Jimmie" (yes, with an "i-e") until his dying day. I wonder what decisions that I make will affect my family fifty years from now. Here's to hoping the effects are positive. I can guarantee that they won't involve a white Bronco.
--A
