the long awaited Memoirs of a Cap'n was released
this earlier month;

and although greeted with mixed reviews from the
critics, this revealing autobiography quickly rose to
#1 on the New York Times Best Seller list

despite the book's splashy illustrations and its ener-
getic, almost flamboyant prose, there is a sadness
that pervades its pages

in fact, one wonders whether it would have been
more aptly titled -

What If? -The Regrets of Cap'n Crunch

it seems that the good Cap'n harbored an ocean
of regret; this despite a career highlighted by the
launch of a wildly successful breakfast cereal and
a charisma that had made him a beloved 1960s icon

chapter after chapter of presents a Cap'n whose
successes are offset by indecision, hesitation and
missed opportunities



consider the never before published photo above;
it shows Cap'n Horatio Magellan Crunch with his
would be co-stars Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelly

would be co-stars because he turned down the role
of the Enterprise's Cap'n just days before Star Trek
was to go into production -

he had doubts about the American Public's willing-
ness to accept him as a spacefaring adventurer
pitted against Klingons and Romulans -

doubts that in hindsight seem groundless, given
that his seafaring pursuit of the arch-villain
Jean LaFoote' had catapulted him to TV stardom

and on the matter of the epic Lafoote vs. Crunch
confrontations, consider the movie trailer below;
it is a trailer for the movie that never was

despite investing nearly half his fortune in the
production of Cap'n Crunch: the Movie, the film
was never completed

the Cap'n abandoned the ill-fated project when hit
with a second wave of cost overruns and lukewarm
reactions to test screenings

he began to doubt whether the Crunch-Lafoote
magic would translate from the TV screen to the
silver screen



one is reminded of Captain James Cook's oft-quoted

doubt and indecision will surely sink the greatest
of seamen