Celebrity Encounters
Itzhak Perlman: While attending Westmont College I hung out with a lot of music majors, and one of the things we did was go to concerts together. These music majors weren't always shy, and they developed a habit of sticking around after concerts to do autograph hunting. One of the celebrities whose autograph I got was Itzhak Perlman... twice.
Barry Tuckwell: Just as I obtained Perlman's autograph so I obtained Barry Tuckwell's. Tuckwell's autograph was a bigger deal for me, because he's a French Horn player.
Bob Hope: Also while at Westmont College I walked onto the Montecito Country Club (a good friend of mine lived adjacent to the course, so we just hopped across the property line) for a major Pro-Am. I got Johnny Miller's autograph, and then I found Bob Hope. I got in line for the signing, and one person cut in front of me. Being timid, I didn't argue. That person got the autograph, and Mr. Hope stopped signing when my turn came up. Sometimes nice guys really do finish last!
Lundberg Rice: While at Stanford I ate my fill of Lundberg Rice cakes, because a good friend of mine was part of that family. I visited the family while on my way home for Spring Break once, and got an aerial tour of the whole operation.
Condoleezza Rice: Speaking of rice, during my last year at Stanford I lived in one of the smaller row houses, and one evening we had a special guest speaker in our meeting area. The meeting was attended by some 20 or so residents. The speaker was Condoleezza Rice, and she demonstrated great knowledge of foreign affairs, she was personable, and all-around impressive. Regardless of what you may think of her politics or her fitness for her current job, she's smart, capable, and one of the first people I'd consider for an important post if I were President.
Mu Lan: Remember the Disney movie Mu Lan? You might laugh if I told you that I have Mu Lan's autograph. But would you laugh if I told you I had Mimi Chan's autograph? All of the action scenes for the animated film required a human model so that the animated figures could mimic real live action. For Mu Lan that model was Mimi Chan. I attended a martial arts demonstration in Cupertino one day, and we were graced by Mimi's presence, and I managed to speak with her briefly and obtain her autograph.
Huong Lan: One of the most popular of the last generation of Vietnamese singers is Huong Lan. She was one of my wife's kindergarten students, and my wife remembers how Huong Lan's father had his little girl singing quite well at a very early age. While I've never met her, I spoke briefly with her by phone and she seemed to be a most pleasant and gracious individual.