Sunday, December 15, 2002 Maintaining an icon is a matter of attitude   "The Queen Mary epic" (Dec. 8) was a well-balanced perspective. I'd like to add a few of my own observations. The Queen Mary has not generated controversy, only those charged with operating the attraction. It can be argued that the original conversion was wasted expense, robbing the structure of its historic integrity and revenue-generating potential. It is reported that Disney spent $26 million while operating the Queen Mary. However, most of this was advertisement for the entire venture, including promotionals for the Anaheim amusement park. Disney removed all the after- docking equipment from this ship's stern with the intention of installing a pool in the steering gear trunk. This idea was aborted when it was discovered the cruiser-type stern would not bear the additional load. Lack of forethought has beset each operator of the vessel since 1967. As for the "romantics" who kept the ship in Long Beach in 1995 -- it was not romantic for some of us. The independent Queen Mary Foundation (not affiliated with ship operator Joe Prevratil's group) received a misdirected e-mail from a Japanese firm saying they were sorry to see the ship leave California. As president of the Queen Mary Foundation, I called Linda Howell DiMario, then president of the CVB. She stated that of all of Prevratil's ideas, he thought it was the most likely to be misunderstood. Mayor Beverly O'Neill and several council members denied that Prevratil had secretly negotiated with Japanese officials to relocate Long Beach's public asset. After the Queen Mary Foundation blew the whistle, the press immediately printed the story and soon Hankla was taking credit for calling a halt to the move. Last Saturday, I attended the Queen Mary fundraiser -- more as a demonstration of patriotism than support of the current operator. Prevratil proudly announced to those in attendance that all artifacts on board had been cataloged. I wanted to ask him why it was so laudable that this job had just been completed when it was a qualification to acquire his original lease in 1992 and was undertaken only after he had held at least four auctions of original Queen Mary tableware, furniture and fixtures. In regard to the cost of maintaining an icon, it depends on attitude more than on finances. When visiting Paris in 1997, I discussed the maintenance of the 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower. Originally made of brittle iron, the lofty tower will eventually be replaced by steel. The docent I spoke with was matter- of-fact. He said it would be impossible to calculate the cost of restoration but the "soul of France," he declared, brought joy to millions of people. I spent most of my travel time in Scotland where the Queen Mary was constructed on the banks of the Clyde River. Not far away is Stirling Castle, reclaimed from English forces in 1314 by Robert the Bruce. The castle is age-worn but it is being restored, stone by stone. The artisan I spoke with was meticulously re-creating part of a stone corbel, explaining that most of the work would have to be done by hand, with chisel and hammer, to make it as similar to the original as possible. "It winna' be finished in ma lifetime, I'm sure," he said, "but it's rewarding work." Along the coastline of Britain plies the world's last seagoing paddle steamer, the Waverley. The Waverley resembles a hybrid between the Queen Mary and the Staten Island Ferry. The vice president of the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society that runs the vessel, quoted one of his mentors: "To destroy, you only have to win once; To preserve, you have to win every time." There was no doubt in his mind, for the Waverley's sake, he was going to win every time. At the 59th Queen Mary Launch Anniversary in Long Beach, 75-year-old George Kean, a Queen Mary shipwright, showed me how the teak decks were originally laid down and caulked. I asked him if all the decking could be restored. "When do we start?" was his answer. Don't count on Carnival Cruise or any other big name to bail us out. This is work for people who believe in it. So, when DO we start? Diane Rush Anaheim