The Queen Mary - Ingenuity and Elbow Grease

26^th July 2021

Dear Mayor Garcia,

I was chewing the problems facing The Queen Mary over in my mind when an idea came up. Have we considered using the open parking lots of the ship’s complex for a swap meet? It would bring in some money in the short term and get people used to going to the ship.

The first problem with The Queen Mary is that she is expensive to maintain, but the second problem she has is that there is nothing to do around her. A swap meet with oddities and inexpensive food would give more of the citizens a reason to frequent the attraction. With more people there would be more popularity and more interest.

Once you have a good attendance going more expensive attractions can be added that upgrade the draw. This would give you the flexibility to add one attraction at a time, and attendance at amusement parks tend to rise with the addition of attractions. 

There are already a group of buildings associated with the ship that I believe were some kind of shopping district. Those shops and attractions would be the least expensive to reopen and they could focus on oddities like Japanese products hard to find in America. The Queen Mary could be the only place in Long Beach where you can get a Mango Kit Kat or a Salted Caramel Pepsi. Both of these are real products and people pay out the nose for them in the United States.

The truth is that you need a long term plan to save The Queen Mary and a short term project to get her moving in the right direction. In one year, we want the ship back open and seeing to guests, in ten years we want to see her fully restored and making money, if fifty we want to see her as the heart of a group of attractions that brings pride to the city and tourists from all over the world.  

The Queen Mary has become a mark of greatness for the state of California, and we need to hold her up high. This is as much a matter of ingenuity as it is elbow grease and a measure not just of our economy but of our spirit.

Stay strong,

 

Richard Leland Neal