Every Captain has a Captain



Some years ago we were invited by a function coordinator to do a dinner for a large company, and she would not say who the guest of honour was. Instead she had a code name for this important guest, but knowing the company she was working for, we were quite sure that we knew who this special guest was. However, as the name was not disclosed to her, it was not disclosed to us.

Came the great night, one car after the other drove into the private parking area of the restaurant. First was the South African police, blue lights flashing on their vehicle, followed by a series of stretch limousines, followed by more police, whilst the person who organised the dinner ran around the restaurant like the proverbial "blue-arsed fly." Then she was at the front door of Le Canard, ready to greet this guest of honour. However, prior to that, the captains of South African commerce, professional, and business industry, also arrived in their chauffer driven vehicles.....with or without body guards.

Now we had an army of body guards, the said "captains," and the unknown guest. Out of the first car stepped Bill Gates, who was shown into the room where he was going to have his dinner. All and sundry were very subdued as they waited for Bill Gates to start the proceedings of the evening, and he happens to be very plain, polite and friendly. He had a choice of food to order. He settled for a three course meal comprised of simple dishes, and the evening proceeded.

Towards the end of the event, one of these captains of the South African business industry had a fit of bravado. Picking up the menu he stood up, and appoached Bill Gates' chair. Suddenly all the other captains started rushing around. One brought a card out of his pocket, another took a serviette, and another a piece of paper, and they actually formed a queue one behind the other in front of Bill Gates. They did not ask him for his autograph, but the ring leader piped up "Would you mind signing this for my son?" The next one got one better and said "This is for my grand child," but not one of them had the guts to say "I would like to have your autograph" which in time could be worth a lot of money! So they all stood there, and Bill Gates very graciously signed whatever they asked him to sign.

That night I learned a wonderful lesson. I learned that "every captain has a captain" above him, and I am wondering who the British Queen looks up to, because she appears to be looking up to nobody! Surely there must be somebody she stands in awe of!

Freda