AUTOGRAPHING 101 & 102 ARE NOT ALWAYS EASY ANYMORE

      Many years ago when you were a COLLECTOR of autographs it truly was not difficult and 99 percent of the personalities were approachable and gracious about giving a piece of their DNA and posing for a picture. Plays, Movie Premieres. Promotional Stops , Charity Events and just seeing someone on the street were so accessible that people who try today would never believe it. But I have been collecting for over 50 years( yikes that is a long time) since I was 10, and lately I have noticed a disturbing trend that is getting worst and worst.  Some blame it on 911, others on EBAY , greed that some approach celebrities they no not know just as a dollar sign.  Graphers with some many items that they will have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome just looking at them and Shows were Celebrities SELL their autograph and a picture with and even paranoia due to some stalkers and crazed individuals.
   My concern and evidence was just seen this past 2 weeks. We were waiting for BILLY JOEL and as we looked around there were kids with baseballs who could not name 3 songs no less 2 . In the past you could approach the so called Road manager and ask if the celeb might be able to sign. I did and this Rude and pompous jerk first remarks " Your going to sell on EBay" and even giving my word that it was Paying it Forward giving him a letter showing I was a friend of Billy's. Two hours patiently I politely ask " Any luck" he came back and said " You guys are annoying and I will rip the letter up" . Billy probably will never hear of this moment but it reflects on him. HENRY ROLLINS did a show and Always signs for fans after his SPOKEN WIRD show but not now . He charges a fee for a MEET AND GREET and then runs onto his bus. I mentioned in the last Blog on KENNY ROGERS what he did ignoring a single fan who waited 4 hours just for a single autograph. His was more " I am better than everyone else" and nothing else. Another incident, WARREN MOON the HOF quarterback was scheduled for a promotional gig were he was scheduled to sign autographs for FREE at Microsoft store. First they limited to only 100 and the You could not bring your own item. They turned people away who had a football or one personal item not by Warrens choice but by someone who knows nothing about collecting. Yes I agreed it stopped the box full of 16x20s that would be on EBAY the next hour but it affected the true fan who may not have been as persistent or charming to get theirs done.
  Now it's greed that is a big problem as witnessed at a recent golf tournament where JOSH DONALDSON signed for 6 year olds who were being supplied by a dealer who was pimping his kids. That is the worst of the worst. Only JOHN LACKEY called them out when he looked at them and said " who You kids working for" and walked away . Bravo but it did not allow the true fans to get their item signed.
    I could go on with other horror stories but today autographing is not simple. A lot of it is tracking stars on their airplane flights( it is very easy to do) or those dressed as if they never saw the show or just plain sloppy in appearance. Many stars are not able to determine in a few seconds who are the true fans and those who look at them as a dollar sign and what was once an easy as pie adventure, is now like climbing a mountain every day.