Spero Meliora (I Hope for Better Things)

Limmasol, Cyprus - As a boy growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I had few thoughts outside Field Street and Bellhaven Elementary School. Barely removed from the hard scrabble lives of my parents and grandparents, I recall not even being able to comprehend the concept of moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a mere 60 miles away when my father took a good civil service job in the federal government. How odd that I find myself now (30 years later) in the home of Lord Westbury in one of the ten nicest villas on the island of Cyprus. A blue pool and waterfall sit just outside the doors of the room overlooking the Mediterranean Sea where we are conducting the board meeting. During breaks in the meeting we admire Lord Westbury's family portraits dating back to the 18th century. Later that evening at dinner, after the board meeting, Lord Westbury produces a large Cuban cigar for my benefit. He had recalled an off-handed comment I made earlier in the day about the time I smuggled some Cuban cigars in from Amsterdam. Truly, it is incomprehensible that a shy, awkward kid from New Mexico has made it this far. It is definitely better to be lucky than good