Every family has its own set of unusual, interesting and unique events and experiences, and my family is no exception. Here are a few tidbits of family trivia that doesn't really amount to much, but they do make conversation pieces to pass the time away! I have hyperlinked the names of the rich and famous, in case they are unfamiliar to anyone reading this.1. During a few years of his time working at the 36th district court, Arthur worked with Judge Mathis.
2. My mother was a secretary for the Teamster’s Union back in the late 1950's, and at one time was secretary for Bill Bufalino, who was Jimmy Hoffa’s attorney. She took messages from Jimmy Hoffa on several occasions. (But she never knew a thing that went on behind the scenes... the women were never privy to that stuff.)
3. Aunt Kathy met Stevie Wonder in an
elevator one day at Montgomery Wards in Detroit.4. My brother Doug received a beautiful handwritten letter from Lillian Gish in reply to a note he sent.
5. John is now the owner of a baseball that belonged to my dad... One day in 1956 my grandpa took my dad to a Tiger’s game. Since Grandpa was friends with some of the players, he and my dad were allowed in the locker room after the game, and the entire team signed a baseball for my dad. Two signatures of note on the ball: Al Kaline and (now infamous Senator) Jim Bunning. Both of those players are now in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
6. How Grandpa first met those players is he played minor league baseball with some of them in the Toledo Mudhens. Sadly, he didn’t quite make the cut to the Majors.
7. During his service in the military band, Jimmy met and shook hands with President George H.W. Bush.
8. This will seem unremarkable to my Michigan friends, but may be of interest to the rest of you: I used to see Bob Seger in concert for a dollar at our local teen dances. A couple times I sat on the edge of the stage while he and his band (The Seger System and The Last Heard played. :)
So... what famous people have you met?
5 comments:
I met Grace Slick and Alice Cooper, briefly, in separate incidents. That's about it, really...
Uncle Terry had lunch with Governor Henry while he was stationed in Iraq. He also met Oprah while he was stationed in New Orleans.
I have a Photo of Terry and Governor Henry if you would like to post it here.
Grace Slick and Alice Cooper? No way! That is reaally cool to this aging hippie! :)
Sure, Kathy... I would love to share it! I suppose I should stop being lazy and snap a photo of that baseball and post it too. :)
Hoo boy, I do have a list. First off, figure I've met just about every Indycar, NASCAR, Can-Am, IMSA, and Trans-Am driver that finished in the top 10 at any track in northern California or Long Beach between 1982 and 1991. I was one of the timing and scoring people, and frequently dealt with drivers and their teams, including Paul Neuman (he was very short - barely 5'7"!) and Joanne Woodward.
My dad designed the remote automatic gates for Sylvester Stallone's Malibu house.
I also worked at Shoreline Amphitheater between 1989 and 2001, which is a major outdoor venue for the San Francisco bay area, and met, in nodding passing, many of the musicians that played there. I've talked with John Mayer several times, even back when he wasn't the headliner. Also Chris Isaak.
Ken and I were out at a local Indian restaurant once back about 2000 and Steve Jobs was a couple tables over with his family, including his obviously over-tired daughter (about 7 or so).
And I think I may have been at some of those teen dances too, since I do remember seeing Bob Seger up close.
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