Mysterious Island:10,000 Questions

Editor’s Note:  Jim Watson is the author of “Mysterious Island: Catalina,” available at Amazon, Kindle and in stores in Avalon.  All proceeds from sales on Amazon and Kindle for the month of August will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

“Where can we rent golf carts?”

That simple, common question from a pair of visitors last Monday marked a milestone in the annals of official greeters for Catalina Island.

Editor’s Note:  Jim Watson is the author of “Mysterious Island: Catalina,” available at Amazon, Kindle and in stores in Avalon.  All proceeds from sales on Amazon and Kindle for the month of August will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

“Where can we rent golf carts?”

That simple, common question from a pair of visitors last Monday marked a milestone in the annals of official greeters for Catalina Island.

As some readers know, our own Chuck Liddell from this very newspaper’s Time Capsule column also has a day job working in the employ of the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce.

Since March 10 of this year, he has been  fulfilling the time-honored tradition of acting as the “Official Greeter” for Catalina Island, following in the footsteps of such greats as Duke Fishman and Carl Bailey.  

He primarily stands out at the Cabrillo Mole, Wrigley Stage or on the Green Pier (depending on whether or not there’s a cruise ship in town) and fields questions from curious visitors, some rather humorous samples of which will follow later in this column.  Stay tuned.

Last Monday, Chuck was officially asked his 10,000th question when Kiara and Deyon McElroy of Las Vegas, Nev., walked up to him and asked him the question which starts off this column:  “Where can we rent golf carts?”

Chuck had been hoping to hit that 10,000 mark on Monday, but as his shift drew near its end, he was still five questions short.

“I actually got on my knees and said ‘Please, somebody ask me a question,’” said Chuck.  But the questions weren’t coming.

Sure enough, the final five questions slowly began to trickle in until finally the money question from the McElroys.  As a precautionary measure, Chuck had called friend Richard Huxtable to make his way out to the Mole to be on hand to take a picture, a superb example of which can be found with this column.

So how does one get the job of an official greeter in the first place?  Well, in Chuck’s case, he used some good old-fashioned Islander resourcefulness and carved himself a job where there was none. Due to health reasons, Chuck had to give up his job of many years as a Casino tour guide.  “I wasn’t able to do Casino tours anymore,” he said.  

“I was basically without a job.”

He began toying with the idea of answering questions at the Mole “for free” mostly on cruise ship days in an effort to help impress Carnival Cruise Lines management of the gratitude and seriousness with which Islanders take the company’s commercial contributions to the local economy. “I made a checklist of what would make the best greeter and I met every one of the criteria,” said Chuck.

The job of official greeter for Catalina had been open for quite some time.  “It’s something we hadn’t done in 39 years since the decommissioning of the S.S. Catalina,” Chuck told me.  “I personally knew Duke Fishman and Carl Bailey,” adding that as far back as at least 1914 the Island had official greeters, something only a man who writes “Time Capsule” would know.

Local businessman Bill Paige, seeing the value of the service to the community, offered to sponsor Chuck.  Soon after Bill’s contributions, the Chamber of Commerce got into the act as well and made the position official.

If you’re like me, you probably think one of the most fascinating aspects of this story is that Chuck has actually been diligently keeping track of the number of questions he has been asked.  I saw with my own eyes his detailed notes taken daily.  Each day is divided into 15-minute increments and hash marks tell the story of how many questions were asked during that 15-minute interval.

Another fascinating aspect of this, especially to Chuck, is how the nature of the questions asked sheds a curious light on the just exactly how visitors—regardless of where they are from in this old world—perceive Catalina.  “Islanders should be aware that we live in a very exotic environment,” said Chuck.

So what are some of the wildest questions that Chuck has been asked over the past few months?  

Before I list any of them, let me say that it’s not my intention to make fun of anyone here, particularly those who have a questionable grasp on world geography.  I myself have a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography so it wouldn’t be mete for me to criticize those globe-challenged individuals amongst us.

Nevertheless, one has to wonder when it comes to the following questions…

“Does the water go all the way around the Island?”

“Does everyone speak English here as well as I do?”

“Where is the bank so I can change my money to the local currency?”

“Do kayaks really go in the ocean?”

“What time is it here compared to the United States?”

“When do the buffalo come into town?”

One gentleman informed Chuck, quite seriously, that he was aware that Islanders had a secret tunnel from the Island to the mainland.  “He was as sure of it as I’m sitting here,” said Chuck.

Another visitor was upset that the people of Catalina Island referred to themselves as “Islanders” rather than “Californians.”  I don’t know where to go with that one.

Another common geography-challenged question occurs when people ask him where “La Bufadora” is.  “Near Ensenada,” Chuck responds wryly, referring to the iconic blow-hole on the coast of Baja.  Hopefully, this question these aren’t the ship’s navigators who ask this question. For now, Chuck is happy in his role as greeter and plans to continue fielding questions of all sorts from thousands and thousands of more visitors in the coming years.

If the Conservancy ever lets us carve a Mt. Rushmore of Official Greeters for Catalina out in the hills somewhere, it will be sure to include Duke Fishman, Carl Bailey and Chuck Liddell.