Having thought about this all day, I want to add something.
Doug was a terrific guy, full of energy and enthusiasm. Everyone knows that by now. But there’s something more, something bigger – he was an ‘enabler’ of sorts (the good kind!). By bringing people together at Curacao, he introduced people to each other who then built upon those relationships. My wife and I were indeed fortunate to have taken the gamble and braved the long flights from the California to “see what this Curacao thing was all about” for what turned out to be his last trip, the 20th “Doug Stern Cocktail Tour”. I was skeptical about staying 10 days there (10 days is forever!), but it wasn’t long until I was trying to slow the clock down because the days were going by too quickly. My wife said that was the most fun she’d ever had on a vacation, and that was because of Doug and the wonderful cast of people he had brought together.
How many people do you really know that make a difference, that lead, like that? Not many.
Doug, I thank you for all of that, for changing the lives of so many.