When the developer and founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona – Robert McCulloch – wanted to draw attention to the project in 1968, he made an outrageous purchase. He bought the London Bridge – dismantled it and hauled it to the fledgling Arizona community, where it stands today.
It wasn’t as if we needed a bridge back then. Sure, Lake Havasu City is located on a lake, but the island where the bridge takes visitors, was once a peninsula, with a perfectly good road, leading on and off the mainland. McCulloch had to dredge around the peninsula, to transform it into an island. After all, if you are going to haul a hundred and thirty plus years old bridge across several oceans and through the Panama Canal, the bridge would look pretty silly sitting in the middle of the desert leading nowhere.
That bridge thing seems to have worked out for McCulloch. While it didn’t get my family to Havasu (we came pre-bridge) – I know of many Havasu residents who were originally lured to the area after hearing of the bridge.
Now we come to Jeff Bezos. Personally, I’m fine with Amazon’s continued success. After all, my primary source of income comes from Amazon book sales under my McIntyre pen name. Although, I find it hard to believe drones are going to be playing a significant role in delivering those books in the future.
Aviation regulations, public outcry, safety concerns – not to mention this mode of delivery is just for those within a ten mile radius – makes one wonder if this news is not so much about a revolutionary new delivery system, destined to put FedEx and UPS outa business – but a clever marketing ploy.
Notice it was unveiled the day before Cyber Monday. Bezons’ announcement, every bit as outrageous as McCullouch’s bridge purchase, has certainly driven attention Amazon’s way.
