Di, at Pensitivity101, is our host for Share Your World each week. Here are her questions for this week.
1. Have you ever wanted to be famous?
Sure. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a movie star and/or a professional baseball player. When I had an opportunity to be a radio disk jockey one summer, I had hoped it might lead to one day becoming a well-known DJ. I tried my hand at writing a novel, imagining myself as a best-selling author. Or maybe I could be a journalist with my own byline. Of course, these days with all of the social media sites and 24×7 “news” coverage, I take comfort in being a private citizen.
2. Have you met any celebrities?
Back in 1985, I was in Los Angeles on business and after my meeting ended, I went to the parking garage to get my car and to head to the airport for my flight back to Boston. There was a man standing in front of me waiting for his car and he looked very familiar. I must have been staring at him and was about to ask him if he was OJ Simpson, who, at the time, was well known for being a college and professional football star and for running through airports in Hertz rental car commercials. But before I could get the words out, he looked at me, smiled, and said, “Yes, I’m OJ. Do you want my autograph?”
“Sure,” I said. I opened up my briefcase, pulled out a notebook and handed it to him. He asked me my name and then he wrote a personalized note to me and signed it.
Wow, what a great guy OJ Simpson is, I thought. Then his Bentley pulled up and he stepped inside and was about to take off. “Wait, OJ!” I shouted. He lowered the window and looked at me. It was a few weeks before the Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears and I asked him who he thought would win. He said, “Bet on the Patriots,” and then raised his window and pulled away.
I did bet on the Patriots. The Bears won big! Thanks a lot, OJ. Thanks for nothing.
Nine years later this incredibly nice man stabbed his wife to death.
3. Has anyone ever asked you for your autograph?
All the time. When I write a check to someone they often ask for my autograph. When I make a large purchase, like a house or a car, I am required to put my autograph on it. Legal documents, like my living will or revocable trust on my home or my medical DNR have to have my autograph. So it’s a relatively frequent request.
4. Is there a celebrity you wish to have met/meet?
Not really. I’m beyond the stage in life where spending time with a celebrity is important to me. I’d rather be with my grandkids.