Three days later, no Magic, no shouting. Three weeks later, no Magic, no shouting. Two months...NO MAGIC, NO SHOUTING!! Earvin really was "magic," he just disappeared. Well, we had been through the "disappearing act" before with other notable athlete/businessmen, but this was different. WAY DIFFERENT! This was Magic Johnson!! We were guests in his home!!! IN HIS HOME!!!! WHERE HIS WIFE SLEEPS AND HIS CHILDREN PLAY WITH THEIR TOYS...IN HIS HOME. [Sorry, took a little "Godfather II" detour.] Imagine Magic Johnson coming down the court, shooters on the wings ready for an "assist" and all of a sudden, he just dribbles out of bounds and out of the arena. Ridiculous, huh? Well, in the business sense of things, that's EXACTLY what he did.

Well, if you read my background, then you see how I've been trained and how I think...NEVER SAY DIE! To that end (or "non-end"), I faxed an "S.O.S" letter to Magic in November 1997. Why an S.O.S? Well (to make a long story short), launching my company in 1991, I needed at least $100,000, but couldn't raise nearly that amount. RackIt™ was in high enough demand for sales to carry the company. But by 1997, the company needed a million dollars to grow to the next level. However, the "Information Superhighway" was the buzz word of the day, and "simple plastic" wasn't sexy enough for investors. The ship was on the verge of going under. That's what made Magic's handshake so importantly valuable! It was a "hand up" from the water to the dry ground of a multi-million dollar deal!! It was the best handshake of my life!!! It was destiny!!!!

The S.O.S. didn't work. Magic never responded. I was shocked! Shocked that as a businessman, he was not adhering to basic business "fundamentals." Shocked that he didn't give us the courtesy of a letter, phone call, fax or any follow-up as promised. Shocked that Magic would treat guests in his home with such disrespect. Like Tom Cruise said as Jerry McGuire, "I'm sorry, but it's a fact, there is such a thing as manners. A way of treating people."

So I waited. I didn't bombared him with phone calls. I didn't flood his fax machine with more letters. I didn't show up at Magic Johnson Enterprises. I just waited. I waited three years to see Magic eyeball-to-eyeball again. And in September of 1999, while Magic was in Seattle for the Gary Payton All-Star Classic, the wait was over. I had the opportunity to speak with him for about two minutes before he took the court. I told him that every since the meeting in his home, I've been looking forward to a follow up meeting. He took my card and said we could talk on the cruise later that evening. The cruise was fun, but Magic wasn't on it. So I faxed him.