Celebrity Encounters #2: Stallone, Nielsen, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Sylvester Stallone, Bridgette Nielsen, & Zsa Zsa Gabor

Sometimes you run into celebrities right where you would expect to: a concert, the Academy Awards, the Playboy Mansion, or the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Such was the case when I had a chance encounter with Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, and Zsa Zsa Gabor at a Polo match. 

It was the Spring of 1986. My family (Mom, Dad, and youngest sister Yolanda) had gone to visit my sister, Debbie, and her family in Hollywood, which was just a short jaunt from our home in Vegas.

Celebrity Encounters #1

The evening after our arrival, Debbie invited us to go watch a polo match with her at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. She had been taking equestrian riding lessons and had gotten quite good at it. In the process, she had gained an interest in polo and acquired season ticket passes. She only had three tickets, so we did what any other normal family would do; we held an Indian leg wrestling match. Not really, but that would have been fun to watch. Actually only Yolanda and I showed any interest in going, so off we went.

Me, Justin, and Ogbar the Boxer on my sister's boat - circa 1981

I suppose by Hollywood, CA standards, my sister and her family were considered middle-class, but from my perspective they were bazzilionaires. Debbie was an executive assistant at a law firm that counted Johnny Carson, NBC executives, and other celebrities as their clients. She and her husband, Bobby, also owned and operated a respectable and well established dry cleaning business in the area. In their garage they had a Mercedes and a BMW 635SCI (sweet ride). On the ocean they had a 36’ California class cruiser (which I had the pleasure of swabbing the deck on a few times).  

I’d say they were doing alright. Nothing that I was accustomed to. 

The Light Bulb

Lightbulb by Susie Porisch

The other day I was digging through some boxes in the garage desperately trying to find some old photos when I can across a box with some very old Folio folders from my days back in high school. One particular folder caught my eye; it contained a stack of creative writing papers from my freshman year in high school. 

I started reading through the papers, getting lost in a time long ago. It was a pleasant trip back down memory lane. Some of the papers I remember writing, some not so much. I found it interesting (and also very entertaining) to read the grades and comments from my high school English teacher, Mrs. Walton. They all contained a reoccurring theme - great story, poor spelling and grammar.

One of the first papers I ever wrote in Mrs. Walton's class was entitled, The Light Bulb. At this point Mrs. Walton had very little exposure to my poor spelling and grammar, so her words were sweet, and so was my grade.

It read, "9.5/10 Good Job! Except for a couple of silly little errors."

As I continued to read through the papers, my grades got worse, and Mrs. Walton's sweet words began to wane. One of the later ones simply read in big read letters, "Get a dictionary!"

She Said, Yes: The Engagement Retreat

Relax to the max - Porch of Interlaken, Barons Creekside

With the ring securely mounted on her engagement finger, it was time to celebrate. Aside from the sneaky engagement surprise, I had also planned a little romantic get-a-way for a few days. The destination: Fredericksburg, Texas.

When many people think of Texas, they think of cowboys (both the rugged cow-rustler type and the perpetually underachieving NFL football team), the wild west, oil tycoons, cotton fields, tornadoes,  Dr. Pepper, the Alamo, hot weather, and ‘Who shot JR?’ All of these are excellent and, might I add, accurate depictions of Texas, but what many may not know is that Texas has an eclectic and rich history influenced by many different countries and cultures across the globe.

Immigration in Texas started long before Texas was a part of the United States. People from all over the world settled in Texas in hopes of becoming rich, becoming land owners, to seek jobs, or simply to gain a fresh foothold in life. After Mexico won their independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico opened up Texas (or Tejas rather) for colonization. Within just a fifty year span, immigrants from as far away as China and Taiwan settled in Texas (Houston rice fields).

Germans were also very influential in Texas history, settling and creating many towns, such as New Braunfels, Muenster, Bergheim, Boerne, Luckenbach, and currently the largest German town in Texas, Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg is nestled in the Texas Hill Country (home to a number of wineries) just West of Austin and just a few hours’ drive from where we live. Several friends had told me great things about Fredericksburg, and since neither Alisha nor I had been before, I decided it would be a nice place to retreat for awhile.

She Said, Yes

How can you not instantly fall in love with that smile?

I've been married before. As you may recall, I married my high-school-sweetheart after I got her pregnant during my senior year. We thought we were in love, and I earnestly wanted to do the right thing. It wasn't a shotgun wedding, though morality did play a factor in my decision to marry young; much too young.

After my divorce, and as the years began to pile up, I lost my desire to remarry. After I witnessed marriages of countless friends and family members tear apart, I lost my faith in the institution of marriage. After years of being alone, in a wasteland of broken hearts and broken promises, I lost any hope of finding someone to love and share my life with.

Then I fell in love with Alisha.

Celebrity Encounters #1: Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers - circa 1970s

I was sharing some stories recently with my Lady about some of the crazy celebrity encounters I've had over the years, and thought it might make for a fun blog series.

Having spent many years of my youth, and some as an adult, growing up in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Hollywood area, I've often found myself in some interesting situations with the celebrity type; some more interesting than others. Some you may not know. Others you will instantly recognize. Either way, I hope you will find them equally entertaining.

I did a quick scan of my brain the other day -didn't take long - and I came up with a list of 20 or so people I've encountered over the years that I would say fit the celebrity status, or, at least, did at some point in their careers. I’m going to attempt to lay them out in chronological order, but to be honest that function of my brain is a bit faulty, so please bear with me.

Halloween Costumes: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

"Blondie" by Rufogh

With Halloween around the corner, Alisha and I were reminiscing about our childhood days and the costumes we wore. She told me that her mother loved Halloween and would dress her up in all kinds of odd costumes. One that stuck out in her mind was when her mom dressed her up as Carmen Miranda the year she turned 8. You know, the famous Chica Chica lady from the 40’s and 50’s who wore those crazy fruit baskets on her head. Alisha had no clue who she was dressed up as, but noted that every door she went to the parents would yell, “Chica chica boom!” or “Carmen Miranda!” and give her lots of candy, so she enjoyed that.

Summer of '86

A few weeks ago, Brandy over at Momwich.net (you should check her out, she is a riot, and and great Mom with a similar story) invited me to do a guest post on her blog. Of course I was honored to do so, and shared a little event that happened in my not-so-recent past, so I'm sharing that story here as well. Thank you again, Brandy!

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Sometimes there are events that happen in our lives that remain forever etched in our minds. We can conjure up those memories so easily – the sights, smells, sounds, and emotions – as if they were a movie that can be rewound and played back again and again to our heart’s content. Occasionally these memories are ones we wished we could forget, but cannot. Others we recall with much fondness, gratitude, and joy. All help define who were are and how we respond to similar events that arise in our future. Such was the case for me 26 years ago.

It was the summer of 1986. I was a junior in high school heading into my senior year. Much promise and eager anticipation of my future hung in the balance. I had just hung up the phone with my girlfriend moments before my parents returned home from the store. My eyes immediately began to swell with tears upon seeing their faces.