He was lured by the salary ($1 million) and a climate that beat the one enjoyed by his Boston suburb. A documentary he saw about Mustique chronicled the posh playground for the likes of Mick Jagger and Princess Margaret. He reread Herman Wouk's 'Don't Stop the Carnival,' about a publicity agent who leaves his New York job and buys an island hotel. In April of last year, he applied for the job.

　　他没得到任何反馈。于是去年五月，他又写了一封信。“我想谢谢你们为我激发出那么多的想法和乐趣。”他没有得到那份工作，不过他说，让他感到安慰的是那份工作仍空着。“这样一来，我可以继续作梦。”

　　 He heard nothing. So last May, he wrote another letter: 'I wanted to thank you for providing the impetus for so much thought and fun.' He didn't get the job but, he says, he takes comfort that the job hasn't been filled. 'So, I can still dream,' he adds.

　　我告诉他，其实那个职位已经有人了。“你告诉我这个很好，这样一来，我可以开始想像那个人最后干砸了。”

　　 I told him the job had been filled by someone -- but only after he said, "I need to know, because then I can begin to dream of his failure."