CELEBRITIES
about how we shared the same name. Then he handed me a tambourine and began to play the song “Liza Jane” — but with a twist. Instead of singing, “So why don’t you call me little Liza Jane,” he alternately sang, “Why don’t you call me (or `us’) little Vince Gill.”
With 20,000 people at the concert, the scene was slightly overwhelming for me but also very exciting. After the song, Gill picked a 6-year-old me up and we waved to the crowd.
Then my father asked a member of Gill’s stage crew whether the singer had ever done something like that before.
The crew member responded, “In all my time working with Vince, he has never brought up anyone like that.” While at Children’s Hospital in Columbus in 1978, 9-year-old David Liskany of Grove City met Clayton Moore, aka the Lone Ranger.
How times have changed.
When we were vacationing at Turks and Caicos Islands during spring break last year, my kids and their friends ran into internet sensation Cameron Dallas.
Cameron was staying at the same resort all week, so he played soccer with the kids at the beach and was an all-around cool guy to them.
Dallas, who is often featured on the cover of teen magazines, has more than 20 million followers on Instagram.
from Ohio. Do you suppose it could be the Jerry Lucas?”
Well, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to meet him if it was.
I persuaded my friend Judy Geron, who was visiting from Springfield, to come with me. I’d had a huge crush on Jerry Lucas during high school in Springfield, Ohio. His pictures decorated my locker.
The two of us arrived before his tee time, and, sure enough, he was the Jerry Lucas.
Lucas was very gracious. It was a real thrill to meet a high-school love and an Ohio State and NBA basketball great.
In 1980, I was working in downtown Detroit and needed to run an errand during my lunch hour.
Hudson’s, our major department store, was just across the street from the bank where I worked. As I entered the store, I noticed a sign indicating that Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) was signing books on the sixth floor.
My husband and I had a 2-year-old boy at the time, so Dr. Seuss was a VIP — for all of us. I abandoned my errand and proceeded to buy a copy of “The Cat in the Hat” and began waiting in a surprisingly short line. When my turn came, I told Dr. Seuss that I wasn’t sure whether he should sign the book for my son or my husband.
He laughed before inscribing the book to our son, Kevin.
Only later did I think that I should have bought two books and avoided my dilemma regarding the recipient.
But then, I wouldn’t be able to tell people about how I made Dr. Seuss laugh.