Dream Team Autographs

       Every Year Rollins College holds a lecture series with invited guests which most of the time is invited to all. Tonight ROGER MCQUINN who was one of the founding members of the Rock Group of the sixties the Legendary BYRDS.  With members David Crosby , Chris Hillman to name a couple they mixed folk and rock together making a truly unique sound.        Using a slide show and narrating through  out he put on a show that EVERYONE who knows anything about music should had been there in attendance and learn from someone who brought nostalgia to the whole audience.He talked about his start before he even graduated high School to the time he help begin his journey with the Byrds. He should clips of the group signing hits Mr. Tambourine Man and TURN TURN TURN intermingled with clips and musicians such as Pete Seeger, Paul Simon and even the Beatles. The hour he spoke went to fast. I believe the audience could have listened for another hour at least and not one lost their attention

      Though Most of our Adventures are fun and enjoyable one out of 50 can be very sour. In the case of Musician DELBERT MCCLINTON it truly was and I will not write to much as I will not have anything to do with him again. He played at a local venue with a VERY VERY small crowd and now I know why.     After the show he ran on the bus and standing waiting for him were 3 of us with albums and photos( 2 each). We could see him looking at us and I was assured that he would sign after the show. When one of his band members told us that he was not coming out, we were stunned. I politely asked "could you give him our items and take them on the bus". She said " OK only one each so pick the one you like best". THERE WERE ONLY 3 OF US THERE WITH A TOTAL OF 5 ITEMS' .       When she came back she said " Here You Go Darling" and something I usually never do,went a bit off on her. I told her people payed good money and it would take 2 minutes to acknowledge

     If You pay attention to movies  over the years Actor DAN AYKROYD is everywhere and has played some memorable roles that are some ones favorites no matter who You talk to. I have met Dan a few times , once when he co hosted a United Cerebral Palsy Fundraiser and when he was signing bottles of his Vodka at different times over the years. As he gets older( ca not believe he is 62) he has truly shown his appreciation of his fans and his fans have shown their loyalty to him. the latest opportunity was supposed to be a 2 hour signing at a Walgreens where they had 600 bottles to sell and Dan to autograph.     As always Dan will sign other items but true to form of the autograph business ,some will always take advantage of a celebrity kindness and in the long run ruin it for others. Though You were supposed to but a bottle many did not but Dan did sign anyway. All stood outside patiently in line getting there as early as 8:30 am and the average wait was 4 hours in a very HOT day.

         Every year the ARNOLD PALMER Invitational is held in Orlando and attracts some of the young and rising stars in Golf. Though I am not a golfer ( If You do not count WI GOLF) I believe it is a true sport of skill with luck involved and is truly a Professional Game. I watch it on TV the chances I get and have not missed this golf tournament in over 15 years and have been attending it since 1977.       This year they had some of the Young Phenoms that will be the future of Golf and will have new followings as the did with Arnies Army. Though there are so many I can reflect on the ones I had the chance to meet this week and observe with the fans that pay good money to watch this classy demonstration by many of these golfers. JASON DAY who presently is ranked 5th in the world  walked a line posing for pictures, sharing stories with the fans and posing for pictures. When I asked " Why are You not on the Ryder Cup" he smiled with his great accent ' They can't us

I have 2 Brothers and the 3 of us are as different as Day or Night except our love for Music. One Brother Met singer ELVIS COSTELLO after his show in Chicago and the other backstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London all in the past Year. I was still hoping for the opportunity as he was on my bucket list and when I learned of him playing at a venue in Orlando ,I had to give it a try. After the show I wandered back to where his buses were to an area that is built like a fortress and totally unapproachable for meeting any stars or getting an autograph. As I walked up ,security asked if I was going to the meet and greet and with out any hesitation I responded " Sure". I was escorted to an area with about 50 people who waited for Elvis to appear. Entering a side door, he came out smiling,dressed warm even though it was quite muggy and wearing his trademark hat. When it was my turn I bragged about my brothers meeting him before and chatted about his music and life

   For so many years I have listened to many songs of KOOL AND THE GANG and every time I thought I may have a chance to meet them something came up. So this past weekend I was enjoying my birthday and they were playing at Seaworld on a Sunday and I thought I would give it the "college" try!       After only a few minutes I ran into what was their Tour Manager who was friendly and one of the nicer Managers  I have met in a long time. He told me a proximate  time they all would be coming down and would be happy to sign an autograph. Soon one member after the other came down but still no Kool whose real name is Robert. DT one of the founding members joked around with me and shortly after, Kool came down and called him over to meet and sign my albums. Kool  was true class and as nice as anyone could imagine, When they were about to leave I asked could I get a picture but was told they had to go by a managing member, BUT Kool said Sure and he and DT jumped in as if they had

       Over the years I have seen many acts and in the case of the Gatlin Brothers 3 times. They were performing about an hour away at a small venue so My wife and I decided to take a drive and see them. Now for all purposes My wife is the bigger fan and she was very anxious to meet them after the show.     They put on a good show and were to sign any items in the lobby of the venue which is unusual as all the acts usually sign inside where people get on an orderly line and patiently wait. I did not thin  much of it before as they did the same thing last year but even comments from the people waiting thought it was odd. Now I was more interested in having Steve ( one of the 3 Gatlin Boys) to sign my photos as they were incomplete from last year as he was quite ill and could not sign. A dear friend who was with us last year even asked Larry last year " Could we just pass the photos to him on the Bus" and Larry snapped at her" HE is Sick.What do you want me to do abou

      We all can remember seeing JOEY CHESTNUT eating Hotdog after Hotdog at Coney Island at the NATHANS HOTDOG EATING CONTEST. Pushing one dog after the other into what seems a bottomless pit. He has won the contest 8 straight years and continues to devour all the competition that is thrown his way. He was in Orlando this week to defend his CHILI EATING TITLE and as always did not disappoint his fans and the onlookers that can not believe someone who can eat 2 gallons of chili in 12 minutes.    When I met him , I was amazed on his size (only 6 foot) and really is a very likeable guy who even after finishing( He held it all done) smiled took pictures and signed autographs to all that came up to him.  He is truly a Professional Competitive Eater and maybe is not human but a machine with a heart for his fans.

       There are many actors that we see in so many films and say I know that actor, he starred in that movie but I am trying to remember his or her name. Well RONNY COX is one of those actors that have starred in many great movies and has had memorable roles. His first was in the 1972 DELIVERANCE with Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Burt Reynolds where he plays dueling banjos with one of the mountain people. Other rolls were as Dick Jones in ROBOCOP, Vilos Cohaagen in TOTAL RECALL with Arnold Schwartznegger as Captain Bogomil, the police chief in BEVERLY HILLS COP with Eddie Murphy. Recently he played the serial killer Walter Kenney known as the Tooth Fairy in DEXTER with Michael C. Hall. Last year I had the opportunity to see him play his guitar in a small club which by his account he is a music writer and musician first. So when the opportunity to see him again in Florida a couple of friends jumped at the chance.       He with another 2 gifted musicians that he plays with around

      Some times You will attend an event and though You got information from one source it is not always factual. We Heard BUTCH PATRICK famous forever as his role as Little Eddie Munster on the TV show THE MUNSTERS was a trip away signing autographs, Now Butch is till capitalizing on that fame that has  labeled him forever in that character was signing at a Car Dealership in Daytona about 60 miles away. Butch attends many of the shows where he charges for him signing pieces of memorabilia for usually 20 dollars on various items and the larger the item the price will rise. When I called to get details if he was charging , I was told by 2 sources that he was not and You would think that do the promotional value for the dealership and hopefully they were paying him a fee also.  As we approached him, he was sitting at a table with what appeared to be his wife and both smiled as we came forward with no else around. She said it was 20 dollars a photo but after I spoke about that he was

             A few years back the NBA ALLSTAR BASKETBALL GAME was played in Orlando and many of the the basketball greats showed up for many of the festivities. I had the pleasure of meeting two of the stars that sadly passed away on consecutive days, First EARL LLOYD who passed away at the age of 83 and is most notable distinction was that he was the first African American to play in the NBA in 1947. He was a quiet and reserve man who seemed to enjoy the attention but did not want to hog the limelight. He was being escorted from one venue to another but still had time to take a few minutes to sign some autographs and take a few pictures. He was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame as a contributor and an honor that is so richly deserved.        Also on that same night I enjoyed meeting and chatting with at length ANTHONY MASON who has left us to soon at the age of 48. Most as I have the fond memories of watching him play as a New York Knick, as one of the strongest to ever play