Years ago my wife (who taught and coached for 35 + years) and her sister would always go to Austin, TX for girls state champion. She could get tickets though the school. When George Bush was Governor he would always present the metals to winners of each Class.

My wife and her sister were sitting with Pete Lanny's (Speaker of House) wife. Pete had come with the Governor so between he had come over to talk with his wife. My wife ask if they could meet the governor so Pete said sure. He asked Mr. Bush and he made the introductions. Gov. Bush asked my wife what she did and when she said she was a teacher he said, "Oh, I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers....You know Laura is a teacher." They talked for few a minutes then took a couple of pictures.

After they left a 6'+ guy in suit came up (the head of the governor's security). He gave them his card and told them if they would get the picture blown up to 8 x 10 and send it to them he would get Gov. Bush to sign it and return it to them. It now sets on top of my gun safe.

Kentucky Senator John Sherman Cooper was my grandma's 1st cousin.

I got Pete Rose's autograph his rookie season on a River Downs racing program.

I've met and hung out with rburg.

Let's see...

I walked under the runway at O'Hare Airport to another concourse with Jesse Jackson--very cordial and friendly. Big guy!

I stopped Broderick Crawford for speeding. No, I did not give him a ticket.

Shook hands with Nelson Rockefeller.

My across-the-street neighbor, who lived to be 105 years old, dumped a pail of water on Madame Curie, thinking she was his college roommate.

I attended the first Boxing Hall of Fame dinner and had drinks with Jake LaMotta, Floyd Patterson, Bob Foster, Alexis Aguello,Sandy Saddler, and many more champs. I won the door prize--a large boxing glove signed by all the attendees and was presented it by Muhammad Ali. He shook my hand and wouldn't let go, fooling around! Great time.
Ate dinner with George Chuvalo's driver/bodyguard Marvin, who grabbed his prime rib with both hands and chowed it down, after which he upended the bread basket into his mouth and ate the whole loaf.
Years before, in college at Lemoyne, I sparred with Carmen Basilio who was our assistant athletic director. Scary.
Good times!

Tim

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BlackAgnes,

I met Robin Olds at a flying conference in 2004, about 3 years before he passed away. I'm kicking myself now for not 'interviewing' him over his WWII and Vietnam service. He was, perhaps, the greatest leader in the USAF's entire history. Also, in all probability, he was likely the first American ace of the Vietnam war. According to many vets I've spoken with, and based on his official USAF Oral History interviews, he shot down more planes than his "Official" four kills (he never outright declared he shot more down, but he HEAVILY implied it - to his dying day, he would never make claims for kills the USAF didn't recognize). Had he gotten that fifth kill, they would have sent him home (so an American ace would not be killed or captured by the enemy). It was more important to him to lead his men in combat than to chase after glory and fame.

This also puts me 4 degrees of separation from Adolf Hitler, Adolf Galland, Erich Hartmann, etc. Olds met Charles Lindbergh, who met Hermann Goering, who of course worked with Hitler, Adolf Galland, and every other prominent German leader of the era.


I got my photo with W Bush in 2008 or so; I was part of a cherry-picked crowd to meet him as he made a campaign stop in Arizona. The coolest part was seeing the VC-25 (presidential 747) up close (SAM 29000, IIRC) and the presidential limo.

I saw Dr Ben Carson in the DC airport this past February. I wish I had spoken with him; I wasn't sure it was him until a bodyguard escorted him down the jetway. . .

1. For many years, as a volunteer for the Commemorative Air Force I got to meet a ton of WWII veteran men and women. Every one of them check the box for greatness.

2. In '91 I met Weird Al Yankovic and his wife on the catwalk inside the Duomo (Florence Cathedral) in Florence, Italy. Odd meeting in an unusual place. Only later did I learn he was an Architecture student prior to his success. (I was on my own Architecture student's tour of Europe at the time).

3. Around 2002 I ended up being interviewed on the Today show - related to a 'new' thing called online dating.

I have played in a number of celebrity golf tournaments over the years including the Montana Governors Cup where I got to meet 5 Montana Governors. I've met and visited with a number of professional baseball, football and basketball players in the time I played in these events. Some included Johnny Unitas, Ray Nitschke, Red Cashion, Jerry Seeman, Jim and Gaylord Perry, Tom Sneeva and so on. Most were pretty good guys who traveled the 'circuit' playing golf in nice places on somebody elses dime.

I was with my daughter at the mall when we met one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My daugher got a picture.

Greatness being relative but here it goes. I went to law school with Steve Young. While in law school, I was the host for Justice White when he came to BYU to swear in Monroe McKay as the chief judge of the 10th Circuit. Desert Shield/Storm was in full swing so he showed up with a phalanx of security that really wasn’t worried about anything at BYU. As an undergrad, I did an internship in DC during George H.W. Bush’s first election campaign. Our national director really liked me so he took me around to several victory parties election night in DC and ultimately the Republican National Parties’ victory party at the downtown DC Marriott. I got to meet multiple members of Reagan and Bush’s cabinets. Later, I also got to meet Governor Kelly of the Federal Reserve Board and William Bennet when he was Drug Czar. I’m also friends with a gentleman that several MLB teams have on retainer to come down during spring training to coach players on technique. He is a super unassuming person but highly respected by MLB.

I was on a USS swim team with Ronda Rousey when her family lived in ND. She was the littlest kid on the team.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I have met more than 3 dozen SIGforum members.

I am a fortunate son.



Suck it, Fogerty.

I have met a few, including Cliff and Jim Shugart,



when in retail,

Bobby Allison would stop by my store when he was in town,
my Cake Decorator's (RIP) sons competed with Davey in gocarts long ago,

he is a helluva nice guy,


got to meet a handful of NASCAR drivers while working a charity event, basically got to stand behind them, at the table, and remind folks one item only when they wanted signatures,

there were 6 or 7 present, some I cannot remember who they were,

I can say Michael Waltrip is a dick, and quite tall for a driver

Kyle Petty is also tall, and a nice guy,



got to meet Night Ranger in a hospitality/VIP booth,



met Chip Ganassi at an IRL event,



wife and I went to a local somewhat big name winery for a lunch, tasting and tour, courtesy some wine connections I used to have,

we figured the tour would be done with a group of people and a person hired to do such,

instead we met the guy that runs the place, as in manager/wine maker (Barboursville, owned by the Italian Zonin family, and damn good wine and food)
Luca is a helluva guy, and we got to see a lot of behind the scenes type stuff,

I've bought and sold stuff to a Reynold's heir (think aluminum foil) and Mr, Gottwald (Ethyl corp years ago,


none of which, is a really big deal (except meeting Cliff and Jim!)

I had several brief encounters in the 80s and 90s. No long term relationships but they qualify as "brushes".

Early 80s (Music Related):

Brad Delp...Lead Singer of the band "Boston". Worked with him for a couple of days on a promotion for a local company.

Steve Tyler..."Aerosmith". At a local performance in a small club. Was doing audio/sound system work and asked me to record a couple of cuts though the sound board.

Bono and a few members of U2...He was a friend of a friend and they dropped by her condo unannounced while I was visiting her.

Early/Late 80s(Boxing related):

Mohammad Ali...Met him at the 81 Kentucky Derby. I literally stumbled through his entourage and bumped into him. Said "Hey Mohammrd", shook his hand and moved along.

Larry Holmes...Ran into him at the Ft Lauderdale Airport. We spoke briefly and moved on.

"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler...I worked with his girlfrind/mistress and he showed up at an after work party.

Joe Frazier (actually late 90s)...I sold him some replacement components for his Custom Home Theater System in Las Vegas.

Early 90s (Athletes and Musicians) I ran a Cellular Phone rental program on Oahu would bring them equipment mostly for special events and promotions.

Mark Tuinei (Dallas Cowboys)
Jim Everett (LA Rams)
Ron Woodson
Sid Fernandez (NY Mets) A Local boy.
Pavarotti
Bonnie Rait
Jackson Brown
Eddie Van Halen
Ray Charles

And quite a few others who don't come to mind as I type this.

I was invited to a conference call with Barack Obama during the initial rollout of Obamacare. But I declined the call, so that doesn't count.

I was at a resort in NC and met Rod Laver and actually hit some tennis balls with him. For you young guys who don't know Laver, he was the best tennis player in history before Federer came along...

I also literally ran into Willis Reed in the Atlanta airport. It would have been a charging foul on me...

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:

My friend Johnny was his(Fred Rogers) mail carrier in Oakland PA.[/QUOTE]

I use to work with Johnny, if it’s the same one that has a last name like “Latrine”. His words not mine. Lol. I worked in Oakland about 17yrs ago. She lived in upscale apartment complex. I’d pick up mail addressed to Mrs. George Bush.

Yes, that is him.


I’ve always had a fondness for vets. I have always had a WWII vet or two on my routes. I always checked on them daily. Sadly, I no longer have any. And I lost a Korean War vet last year. I still have some Vietnam and Post 9/11 vets though.[/QUOTE]

Dinner with Gaston Glock
Meeting and having dinner with Jeff Cooper
Dinner with Karl Ludvigson (Porsche Fame)
Meeting two D-Day Survivors, probably more when I was very young and had no interest in peoples history
Living through the Alaska Pipeline turmoil as a law enforcement officer.
Knowing Governor and then Former Governor Jay Hammond (WW II pilot) well enough for him to recognize and know my name even years later. He was a great man.
Associating with SFOD Delta on an official basis before and after 9-11.
Although I did not fully know it at the time (they are now deceased), my father-in-law and step-father.
Working with my co-workers who built and rebuilt our agency after 9-11.

My one regret is that I have never met a Medal of Honor Recipient. Even if I did meet one I would not want to bother him; he has already done his duty to the nation.

Nothing like that ever happens to me.

Closest I have come is knowing the woman who occasionally babysat for Sidney Crosby when he was a kid.

Even tho he’s not great, yet, he could be someday. Kareem Hunt, the Browns RB, stayed at my house on NY Eve when he was about 13. Seen him at family functions too. Nice quiet kid. He was so quiet, I thought something was wrong with him. I didn’t know who he was until he started playing HS ball. He’s best friends and grew up with my nephew. I told my nephew I wanted an autograph and I would make it easy on him. Just sign a blank check and I’d fill it in. Still waiting on that one.

I went on a pheasant hunt with General Doolittle and his son John. The General and i had a Coors together and talked about nuclear weapon delivery systems. He was pissed about Carter cancelling the original B-1 program. I was 12, and almost as tall as he was.

OZ

I was waiting for a flight at O'Hare about 25 years ago. Monday night football on TV and I was just standing there minding my own business watching the game when I big guy (6'4" or so) walked up next to me and asked the score. "0-0, just getting started". And that was the night I gave Chris Berman a sports update!

I've met a lot of celebrities over the years, a few presidents, senators, astronauts, atheletes, actors, rodeo stars, musicians, authors, and so on. My heroes are all dead.

Those I'd consider great were all unsung, unknown. A teacher, a doctor, a woman running an orphanage, and a pet shelter.

I flew a PB4Y2, and one summer in Minnesota, a man drove his father to see us. He'd made numerous attempts, but we'd always just left to go somewhere. He finally caught up with us at Warroad. He was driving his father, a WWII vet, who was too old to drive.

Most people wouldn't recognize a PB4Y2, or know what it is. There are four left, one flying, now. this man did. He crewed on one. I invited him inside. He said it seemed much smaller, so many years later. Like most vets who got inside the airplane, he cried. Not so much for the memories of youth, but the memories of his friends, associates, who didn't come back.

He had a shoe box of pictures and momentos, ribbons, medals. He had a picture taken from the rear turret of a german U boat exploding with a depth charge, taken somewhere off Nova Scotia, I think. He told me about crashing in a B24 in The Netherlands, near a polder, the aircraft buried so deep in the mud that they were able to step onto the ground directly outside the cockpit. He shared his experiences all afternoon, and still shedding a tear here and there, left with his son, who was immensely grateful for the last chance his father would have to revisit the turning point in his life.

I don't know the man's name. I'm sure he didn't remember mine. I'm sure he remembered that day, however, and I will never forget.

During my years in that metal, I met an endless stream of those men, for whom I have nothing but reverence and respect. I grew with the call to respect elders, yet there are some I'll stand and salute, and applaud.

That man, and the men like him, are the flag. Their blood is in the stripes, Their loyalty among the stars in the field of blue, and they, in rapidly dwindling numbers are the living history. I flew a relic, but they lived it.

I didn't brush greatness, but I did listen, captivated, to their words, and I am fortunate for the chance.

I've met a couple of celebrities and a number of federal and state politicians over the years. About 40 years ago, I even met, shook the hand of, and had a picture taken with my U.S. Representative, Al Gore, Jr. Even then, I knew he was going places and sure enough, he did: senator, VP, climate change, man-bear-pig, and downhill.

Nope, no greatness there.

My real "brush" was when Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant stepped off of the Alabama team bus and walked past me in the tunnel on his way into our stadium when I was a freshman in college. Of course, we lost but I still remember him passing right by me.