X-Message-Number: 24156 Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 01:17:02 -0700 From: Mike Perry <> Subject: Re: Robert Nelson In reply to : >Message #24153 >Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 18:44:48 -0400 >From: >Subject: RE: Robert Nelson > >In reply to: > >Message #24145 >Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 17:20:55 -0700 >Subject: Robert Nelson >From: Joesph A Zarka <> > > >1. Was Robert Nelson a person who truly was interested in making > >cryonics work for the better of humanity and failed because he made some > >poor decisions? Or.......... > > > >2. Was Robert Nelson just hoping to cash in on the possibility of > >cryonics taking off and making a lot of money? Was he being deseptive > to >his clients in the hopes that he could hold on long enough to cash in > on >the boom he thought was soon coming? > >I never met Robert Nelson and cannot speculate knowledgeably on his >specific motivations. In general, however, I want to point out that the >two choices above are not mutally exclusive. I did interview him extensively, but a question like this is a tough one to be sure about an answer to--here is my best guess however. I think Nelson started with good intentions. But, being the type of go-it-alone business person he was, and not always having good judgment on such a difficult matter as running a cryonics operation, he found himself involved in increasing difficulties, and reacted badly. His reactions involved coverup--he didn't want people to know that things weren't going well and so he instinctively tried to project an aura of "everything is fine" when it wasn't. Coverup and difficulties led to more of both, secrecy, deception, etc., and finally, what we know as the Chatsworth disaster. On the personal level, I have always found Nelson to be friendly, outgoing, and willing to discuss any matter I cared to bring up. He was a little sensitive on a few issues (particularly didn't like to be quoted using street language for instance) and was prone to some memory lapses, which might have tied in with other problems relating to his business decisions--I don't know. I don't think I've ever encountered anybody like him, though, who could sound so heroic and inspiring about something so bleak. Mike Perry Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24156