don walker:  

I'm sitting here, waking up, looking at the ocean from our new condo on Maui. Life has is twists and turns, that's for sure. Having paid my way thru college by making burl clocks and decoupage it also also afforded me a Hawaii vacation in 1974. Loved the warmth in the middle of winter! I also worked on several concerts thru CSUC and Cheny Productions. After stints in Santa Cruz (Bill Kingsley still lives there with Jennifer!). I mover to Hawaii. I got a job diving with the LinWa glass bottom boat, then was hired to run the first Jet ski business there. Was given 10% of the business. That lasted a little over a year as the two main partners fought and eventually closed it (it was making big $, but one owner was a multi-millionaire and the other was on the lam for running porn films in the states...really! So, I went back to Chico, learned bar tending and went up to Idaho where a good friend lived. After several stints at local bars, I got hired to run the Fire Water Saloon at Bogus Basen Ski Resort. Ski'n and bar tending, closing down the bar at the top of the mountain and night skiing back to my car at midnight, awesome! One winter was enough. Back to Chico where I took up bartending and got a job being a property manager for Clay Selzer. He was a wild man. Was making tons of money in realestate and pretty much out of control. But, we had some fun! Drove to Puerto Vallerta and opened up a dive shop with him...Chico's Dive Shop. Many adventures and stories from that! The owner (Don DiBono do Cabo's) let me put in a video game in the bar. It paid for itself in one month! Bingo, went out and bought $50,000 of them. Opened a arcade downtown, but games all over butte and surrounding areas (oh, minor fact...during that time I met and married my wife of 33 years). Like was good and hectic, but with everyone jumping in on the game, it was time to find something else after a year. Saw a photo engraving machine in Pier 39 at San Francisco. It was crowded with tourists. Another bingo. It was expensive ($55,000), but we bought one (of only 23 made) and went back to Lahaina. Not knowing much about displays, marketing etc., out first few months were living hand to mouth. Trying to run a shop that was open 12 hours a day 7 days a week...and still running the business in Chico...well, life was not so good. Put the Chico shop up for sale at the right time and found a buyer...now back to Maui. October 31, 1982. Another life changing event...and I'll be quick about it. Richard Prior came in. He really liked it and asked if we'd like him as a partner (I had told him about our struggles getting it off the ground there). So, after being flown to LA to meet with his business managers, lawyers and other Hollywood mucki-mucks, he became a p...Expand for more