Two Brothers, One Island, and a Money Machine.

 Do you follow the "Curse of Oak Island?"

You know, the History Channel's Number One show?  The #1 reality show on cable?  And has been for 10 straight years?

Well, I am.  A rabid follower, that is.  And I keep on hoping they don't find the Treasure so that this program can go on.

And on and on.

For those who don't know about this License to Print Money, here's a part of the show opening on the History Channel each Tuesday evening:

     "...To date six men have died trying to solve the mystery.  And according to legend, one more will have to die before the treasure can be found!"

Well okey dokey, then!  A little history lesson.  Don't worry fellow "Oakers," I won't bore you.  So it seems that 212 or so years ago, and it could have been several hundred years before that, somebody or something dug a 100+ foot deep hole on Oak Island.  One of the dozens of little outer islands in the Province of Nova Scotia.  Way up there in Canada.

And the "whoever" could conceivably be either the Spanish, or the Italians, or the French, or the Dutch, or the Vikings, or maybe even the Knights Templar.  Or maybe more than one of the above working in concert, over the centuries. 

And they dug this hole in which to sock away $Millions!  Or maybe $Billions!!!

Yes, I love exclamation points.

And this hole on a tiny island in the middle of a bunch of other tiny islands might even contain the official Menorah!  The Real One!  And the Arc of the Covenant!  And even the Holy Grail, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper!

That deserves several !!!!'s, now don't it?

And $Jillions in gold and silver and jewels.  From gold stolen from the Aztecs.  Or silver taken from those on a mission to the Holy Land, way back in the 1100's and the 1200's.  Paid to the Knights Templar for protection.  An early protection racket, later employed by the Italian Mob.  They in fact became the world's first bank, collecting the wealth from travelers upon their departure on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and then paying it back when they returned.  

Minus the few percentage points of "vig," of course.  Just like Visa does today. 

They were reputed to be the Very Richest Corporation on Earth way back when.  Until France's Phillip the 6th asked them to loan him more money.  Increasing his already gargantuan debt.  A request which the Templars politely refused.  Not used to having his requests denied, Phil petitioned the Pope to have them arrested, tried, found guilty, excommunicated and burned at the stake.  Then tarred and feathered and drawn and quartered, with their pieces tossed all over France.

He was pissed. 

The Templars were attacked on the morning of Friday, the 13th of October, the infamous "Black Friday."  The day we all fear as being unlucky.  It certainly was for those Templars who hadn't gotten an early warning and ran for the hills.  And if you believe the legend, which almost everyone does, with their treasure in tow.  First to Spain, where they were welcomed.  And where they then changed their name to the "Poor Warriors for Christ."

It's not generally known, but I've studied the subject and can tell you the Knights had one of the largest navies in the world at that time.  And they either filled their fleet with treasure and sailed off to Scotland, or perhaps to...

...Oak Island.

And the Brothers Lagina, Marty and Rick, who've been digging for this treasure for 11 years, are dedicated to finding it.  And the "finding it" part is a lesson in how to make a staggering amount of money, whether you find treasure or not.

First of all, Marty Lagina is a very successful businessman.  He sold his wind energy business for $58 million before he embarked on this venture.  And he own "Mari Vineyards," in Michigan, which means he has money to throw away.  Which owning a vineyard generally means.  And he then launched this venture on Oak Island with his retired postal worker brother, Rick.  

Rick was a mailman.  Yep.  We should upgrade our perceptions of mailmen smarts in general, me thinks.

But they'd dedicated themselves since childhood to one day digging up that treasure.  Since they'd read about it in the "Readers Digest" decades ago.  And off they went.  Using Marty's money, they bought the Island.  Then brought in a bunch of partners and started digging.  And then the History Channel showed up with a reported $100,000 per episode.  Whether Marty or Rick show up or not.  Not too bad for a treasure hunt.

And that paycheck has been guaranteed for at least the last five years.  And the income from the all-day tours.  And the Museum entrance fees.  And the Interpretive Center visit fees.  And most especially, the wad of $cash they bring in from the NSFTVPIF (Nova Scotia Film and TV Production Incentive Fund).  They're receiving a reported $3.45 Million a Year from this Fund!

Rick's personal wealth has ballooned from a reported $1 Million to $10 million today!  And they haven't even found the Treasure!  

Luuuv those exclamo points!

And I'm betting the guys doing the drilling and scraping and dozing and digging aren't doing this for free, either.  I'm betting they're getting paid, and WELL, from the proceeds of this goldmine.  Key figures in reality shows like this one can expect $10,000 per episode, or even more.  You can bet on it  

Yowzer, Batman!

So like I said, I hope they don't find the treasure.  What would we do then?  There's never been a show like this and never will again.  But if they grow tired of wallowing in the cash.  In making tons of money for simply playing in a sandpile, like they did when they were kids.  But if they ever wish to dismount from this Gravy Train, here's how:

          Simply shoot somebody.  

That "...one more will have to die" thing can be defeated by simply killing somebody.  Maybe one of the cast.  Maybe a tourist who pisses them off.  Who knows?  But we know that the very next day after "offing" someone they'd find the Treasure, right?  Because that's the way the legend goes.  And legends are always true, right?  

RIGHT?