Thursday Thirteen (Vol. 63)

13 Famous People I Have Seen/Met Up Close
You will probably notice that most of these are sports figures...

1. Dan Marino - In his earlier days, Dan and some teammates came to the bar I was working at, Shakers in Fort Lauderdale. I served him a "Lite beer from Miller" as he called it...I guess he was practicing for all the endorsements he would end up getting. Later on in his career, when he had 4 children, he lived close to where I lived and would be seen at Blockbuster, Publix or the gas station just like anyone. He was always nice and didn't seem big-headed. I have been especially impressed with his charitable works...The Dan Marino Center serves autistic children through research and treatment.

2. Elizabeth Edwards - I met Mrs. Edwards at an event at Quail Ridge Books where she spoke and then signed copies of her book, Saving Graces  (click here for my book review and here for my comments on the book-signing event). There is no way to convey the incredible warmth and charm of this woman. She greeted and spoke to each of those present as if she had spoken to no one else that evening. Her eyes focused on each individual and she never seemed to not have time to hear their story. She spoke about the pain of losing a child and said almost nothing about her husband's campaign. She looked like a regular Raleigh Mom...not like the perfectly coiffed and scrupulously coached political wife. This is a picture my friend Shirley took of Elizabeth Edwards at the book-signing.

3. Joe Theissman - Joe co-wrote, or at least lent his name to, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football. He was in South Florida doing a book signing the Friday before he was doing a Sunday Night Dolphins game. It was just before Christmas, so I gathered up the children and headed out to see him. I got a book signed and had this picture taken (OMG, don't I look young! this was 11 years ago!). So, on Christmas, my husband opened up the signed book and inside was this picture. He was charming and cute. He really looks like he could be my son's Dad!!!

4. Kitty Dukakis - In the early days of my blog, I reviewed Kitty Dukakis's book Shock in which she recounts her experiences with depression and the great results she achieved from ECT (ElectroConvulsive Therapy a.k.a. shock therapy, electroshock, etc.) I wrote a letter to Mrs. Dukakis telling her how much I loved the book and that I had reviewed it on my blog. A couple of months later, I received an e-mail from Kitty (she said, "Please call me Kitty") apologizing for the delay in her response, thanking me for the review and INVITING ME TO A PRIVATE BOOK-SIGNING SHE WAS DOING IN BOCA (where I then lived). She allowed me to bring my sister and my therapist (who were part of my ECT "team"). The private group was a group of older women in transition in their careers, so when I walked in (not being particularly old) she immediately knew who I was. She greeted me with the most amazing warmth and empathy. When our eyes met, I felt like she was looking at my soul. She has a wonderful talent of connecting with people. I gave her a signed copy of Tracy Thompson's amazing book, The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children and Struggling with Depression provided by Tracy with whom I had struck up an e-friendship after I reviewed her book...click here for my review. And she signed my copy of Shock. I will treasure that book forever. To read my blog about meeting Kitty, click here. To read my review of Shock, click here.

4. Jose Canseco - Jose grew up in Miami. In his early years playing professional baseball, he would come home in the off season and play softball in Miami. My husband once played on a team with him. I actually read Juiced in my pre-blog life (sorry, no review!) While his book was not a great work of literature, I was curious about the whole Baseball/steroid thing...especially because my son was playing and looking up to pro baseball players. I'm sure he doesn't remember me!

5. Leonard Marshall - Some people may prefer to picture Leonard Marshall sporting a Giants uniform and taking out quarterbacks, but I met him as a middle school PTA member in Boca Raton, FL. We were organizing a drive for school supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Marshall, a native of Louisiana, immediately stepped up with his support. He introduced us to LaFayette Middle School which Omni Middle School adopted and overwhelmed with school clothes, school supplies and the incredible kindness of distant strangers. Mr. Marshall's generosity is well-known in Boca and the PTA could always count on him to give...in his simple, kind and selfless way...without caring about personal recognition for his philanthropy.

6. Dave Righetti - So many of my "almost famous" encounters happened at the bar I worked at in Ft. Lauderdale just after college. My then-boyfriend was a Yankees fan, so naturally I became one as well. The Yankees had their spring training in Ft. Lauderdale at that time and the players frequented Shakers, where I was a cocktail waitress. I remember waiting on Dave and teammate Mike Pagliarulo (they were "Rags" and "Pags") and mentally preparing how I was going to tell my boyfriend about this momentous occasion!

7. Ricky Henderson - I think Ricky Henderson might be up there in my top 5 favorite baseball players of all time. His career was long and exciting. His speed was legendary. I met him at Shakers and served him and his date in the "champagne room" (there really wasn't a requirement that one drinks champage, but it was less crowded and more comfortable than the rest of the club. I may not be able to remember geometry in order to help my daughter, but I do remember that Ricky Henderson drank Gin & Grapefruit juice...a combination I hadn't seen before and haven't heard of since.

8. Andy Van Slyke - I don't know if this counts, because I knew Andy before he became famous...when he looked more like this.

I was a cheerleader in high school and Andy was a year ahead of me and a star on the basketball team as well as the baseball team. After games, a group of parents would go out for pizza and beer, so we were often thrust into a booth with pizza and 7-up. When he was very young, he lived near us and my mother rememers the moms getting together on Friday afternoons for "wine parties" and the kids all playing. And one time, Andy got the great idea to pour some kind of soap or detergent on the hard wood floors so that the kids could slide better! It was a mess!

Andy was originally drafted by the Cardinals and signed my yearbook, "Love you like I love the Cards!" I actually had someone contact me asking if I had any original stuff from Andy, but I didn't respond. We do have his rookie card in our safe deposit box. And whenever my parents would go to a Spring Training game, they would call out to Andy and no matter how big a star he was, he would wave and say, "Hi Mr. & Mrs. Miller!"

9. Phil Burkart - Known to the world as an NHRA Funny Car driver, Phil is also my "baby cousin" on my Dad's side. As the oldest children of the oldest siblings on both sides, my sister and I had lots of "baby cousins". Phil and his sisters, Donna & Karen, were our closest cousins because they lived nearby. It's hard for me to see him with his shaved head and goatee and believe that's the same person as the toddler walking around in diapers!

10. Mark Bode - Mark is my cousin, the son of my Mom's sister Barbara who passed away earlier this year. Mark was my closest cousin age-wise and when we were growing up, I thought of him as my too-cool cousin from California. His father, Vaughn, was the artist and author of one of the first underground comics in the 60's. We knew Mark inherited his father's talent when our annual Christmas card and all of our birthday cards included drawings done by Mark. Mark and I became closer this past year when he had to be the one to let me know about his Mom's death. He's still an incredible artist (and still my too-cool cousin from California) working both in cartoons and tattoos!

11. Bucky Dent - Another brush with fame at Shakers. Bucky Dent was playing for the Yankees. He was a regular at Joey's bar, but I served him a few times as a waitress. I don't know how much truth there is to this, but one of the other people I worked with told me that he knew how Dent got his nickname, "He'll sit at your bar all night and then just leave you a buck!!!"

12. Boys Like Girls - I would have had no idea that I was having a brush with fame if my daughter had not been with me. The band Boys Like Girls was on an airport shuttle with us in L.A. Any of Haley's friends who thought she was making this up should look at this blog to confirm!

13. Lacie -  Believe it or not, this gorgeous Miami Dolphins Cheerleader was my husband's assistant for about a year. In addition to making jaws drop wherever she went, she is a sweet and intelligent young woman. She sings beautifully, often performing in the KISS County tent at the Dolphins games. She was kind and sweet to my kids and their friends. When people would ask me, "How can you let your husband have an assistant who looks like her?" I would say, "Look at her...do you think my husband is the best she can do?" I didn't feel threatened.

Di

Comments

[Marylin]

I am sorry to say, I have no idea who any of these people are! :O
Maybe something to do with being from the UK though... will you let me off?
thanks for the comment on my TT, just what I needed to cheer up a bit ;)

[Rory Neer]

im that totally awesome reall sexy baby with joe theisman
its not my fault i steal all the attention

[TeaMouse]

What a collection of famous people - I can barely think of one...lucky you!

[Daniela]

This site is fantastic! Who is pot this site?

[Daniela]

This site is fantastic! Who is post this site?