In the summer of 2007, I bought a sailboat and sought out the least expensive marina on the West Coast to move to. Not finding anything near my longtime home in Los Angeles, I decided to sail, single-handedly, to Astoria, Oregon. After a life-changing journey, I arrived in Astoria at the beginning of what became the worst winter in a hundred years. My intention was to live and build Web sites aboard my boat, but after a series of storms and even surviving a hurricane, I began to look for office space Downtown. What I found was a magical place, one block from the Columbia River, in a building built in the '20s that would literally change my life. With innexpensive rent, and much more space than needed for simply working on the computer, the dream took shape, and work began on an art gallery and music venue.

I ran into a few snags along the the way, the biggest of which was getting the permits and building the stage, lighting, and sound system. I needed at least $25,000 to do it the way I wanted to. After exhausting every possible loan source, my friend, the late great Jack Hogan introduced me to Larry, who after hearing what I planned to do, wrote me a check for the entire amount!