I was at a cocktail party on Sunset Strip in February of 2014. I found myself next to George Whitesides., CEO of Virgin Galactic. We were not introduced. George is most perceptive. He looked over to me and said “You have something to say to me.” George was at a low point in his life. Spaceship One had crashed. He did not act like a beaten man facing defeat. I said to George: “One of my most beloved films of all time is Rocketship XM-1 from 1950. In the film a group of astronauts landed on Mars. Three survived and began the return to earth. When they reentered the earth’s atmosphere, they ran out of fuel. The rocket crashed. The three astronauts died. The president of the private space company ended the movie with these words::’Tomorrow morning we will start building the Rocketship XM-2.'” George was touched. We talked for 30 minutes. He made a wonderful impression on me. I bought the share when it went IPO. I made $26,000 in cash on one trade and am in the share big time.
jacksmars 