Once upon a time there was a Venture Capitalist named Otto Cantu. Otto looked after quadrillions of dollars of other people's money but he always had his own skin in the game. Otto handed out money to those who would perform for him by jumping over the bar he set.

     What Otto liked to do most was to have parties for his friends. They came up to his house on Skyline Drive. Jesus, Otto's manservant ushered guests out to the deck with its view down into Silicon Valley and the concrete bunkers where engineers worked all hours, watched by MBAs, in companies that Otto funded.

      The highlight of Otto's parties was the game. Each game was different. Sometimes everyone failed, and sometimes only one person failed, or won. The winners received a prize - a little gewgaw - perhaps a Lexus or a Rolex.

     At one party Jesus laid a cotton sheet on the floor of the deck. He then placed a tower of flour on top of the sheet. It loomed above everyone 20 feet high. The tower was made by hard packing flour into a mould, which was then turned out. On top of the flour tower was perched a little model aeroplane. The guests sat in a circle around the tower.

       Otto liked to have fun. He would shout and joke as his guests took turns at the game. The time I remember it was a select group - there was Kevin the hungry entrepreneur, Susan the slick MBA, Dung the shy Engineer and Freddie a snobby Stanford grad. .

       When the guests first assembled Otto pulled out a razor sharp machete with a foot long blade and brandished it playfully. The blade of the machete glinted in the rays of the setting sun.

     The rules of the game were announced by Otto. Each guest would take it in turns to shave a piece off the flour tower with the machete. If the aeroplane toppled and fell from the crumbling edifice then the guest who had last shaved a slice failed.

     Kevin knelt and took out the first slice of the tower, it was a big fat slice.
     "Bravo!" Otto shouted.

     Next Susan delicately shaved a sliver off the tower. "ÒSusan where is your sense of adventure?" Otto asked

     Dung carefully sliced off one corner of the tower. Cracks appeared. Freddie gazed intently at the flour tower his lips moving silently.

     Otto berated Freddie. "Get a move on Freddie. Make your move now. "

     Freddie slowly sliced a piece off. The aeroplane moved slightly.

     "One of you is going to fly," Otto said

     Next Kevin sliced under the flour edifice. He leered at Susan. Otto said, ," Kevin youÕve left Susan a real doozy.,"

     Susan coolly slithered off another slice. The aeroplane did not move. Dung stepped forward and knelt. He carved a slice off the other side. The tower crumbled and the aeroplane tumbled down and fell to the side.

     " Jesus put his nose in it. " Otto said

     Jesus stepped up and pushed DungÕs face into the pile of flour.

     Otto said, " Eat it Dung. "

     Dung took a mouthful of dry flour and spluttered. The other guests laughed. The flour mixture stuck to DungÕs face and his shirt.

     The aeroplane had landed pointing to Susan.

     Otto said, ÓSusan here are the keys to your new Cessna parked at Palo Alto Airport. Happy flying. Ò Â Â Â Â Â Susan could not pilot a plane but she would learn. The other guests except Dung received silver plated ipads for their trouble and went home. Dung quietly disappeared.      A year later Susan crashed the plane somewhere in the Pacific and was never seen again. Freddie became a monk. Kevin opened a successful Burger King franchise. While Dung bought a house in old Palo Alto.      Otto lived happily ever after É at least until the NASDAQ crashed, again.


 

      
                                      

 © Keith David Cooley 2010