Tonight at Ballys Park Place, I brought out a White Lincoln Town Car and an older, tall Afro-American man with a Pretty Young Thing hanging on his arm got in.
He handed me a five dollar bill 
and drove off.
It was none other than Julius “Dr. J.” Erving, legendary NBA superstar.
[screaming like a teenager]OMG! Dr. J. My hero! Oooooh - he is soooo fine[/screaming like a teenager]
That’s nothin’, I had dinner with Wilt Chamberlin once.
Shaq is the only man who I have met that makes me feel small.
I sat next to Dave Winfield at Emeril’s in N.O. Even as a straight dude, I gotta say he’s really a “handsome” man.
I saw Shaq in person, playing UK at Rupp Arena when he was at LSU. It was a rare event for me (or anyone, really) – I had seats right on the floor. Anyway, I saw Shaq and he is indeed HUGE. He dwarfed everyone around him, including Happy Chandler, who, at the time, was still alive and singing My Old Kentucky Home at UK home games. Dale Brown had every member of the team shake hands with Chandler (former Commissioner of Baseball), which I thought was very respectful.
And … cool about Dr. J!
I saw Kevin Garnett yesterday - we were headed to dinner at a place that’s right on the shore of one of the lakes around here (yep, in one of the more upper crust areas) when SpouseO said, “Is that who I think it is?” Yup, it was. He was walking out as we were walking in. I told SpouseO that we should ask him if he plays basketball (my husband’s rather tall - though still 6 inches shorter than KG - and he gets this question all the time, so I knew he’d find it funny).
My second idea (several minutes later, after we’d sat down) was that we should’ve ran screaming and yelling “Kevin Garnett!” like demented fans. Part of me thought that would’ve been funny too. KG probably wouldn’t have found it to be, so much.
Our response was probably the correct one - we noted that he was who we thought he was and then left him alone and went on our merry way into the restaurant. That’s a lotta bling in that ear, tho’, Kev.
First celebrity I’ve seen in the Minneapolis area.
A five spot ? Man, things are different in your neck of the woods .
I shook hands with Larry Nance (NBA player for Phoenix and Cleveland in the 80s-90s). His hand just about swallowed mine up.
I met and shook hands with former Florida A&M offensive lineman Kwame Kilpatrick a few years ago. He’s about 6’5" and upwards of 300 pounds. I’m 6’4 and about 200, and the man dwarfed me like a peanut. His hands were like giant hams.
That young man, you might know better as the Mayor of Detroit. I’d say it’s a safe bet that he could kick the ass of any mayor in America.
Hey, a lotta people think ONE dollar suffices, cuz, like, we make a couple hundred bucks a night.
Yeah, right.
One dollar was an okay tip about 25 years ago…2 or 3 is okay now.
What’s an okay tip in YOUR neck of the woods, Omegaman?
Dr. J?
That is totally freakin’ cool.
I’ve never even been an NBA fan, and I still think that’s totally freakin’ cool.
Color me impressed.
Dr. J.
Damn.
(Child in the 70s, you see. Wow. Hook shot.)
Pfft, amatuers.
Try working in an amusement park for 10 years.
The band “Damn Yankees” dropped in to play miniature golf.
Super Dave Osborn drops in with his kids about once every other week.
Eric Dickerson comes staggering in drunk off his ass one night wanting to drive the go karts and we wouldn’t let him.
Alan Autry was a pretty consistent regular even before he was the mayor.
Richard Keil was helping with a little league team and brought them to the batting cages several times a year.
More local celebs than you can shake a putter at, news anchors, city council, judges, etc, too numerous to count.
Meh. I’d take Julius over any of 'em.
A white Lincoln Towncar? Would have thought Dr. J would have some more bling.
How… disappointing.
How do you trick out a Towncar?
Might have been a rental, I mean, what the heck else is he going to fit in?
I thought you were going to say you had valet-ed the famous doper, DoctorJ, but I guess the NBA star thing is cool too.
No, I would have had much classier ride than a Town Car.
In the Seventies
Local basketball team, the
Virginia Squires
That ABA team
now long gone, not forgotten
what fond memories
Saw an afro’d man
Make the leap from the foul line
and still dunk the ball
He handled that ball
spinning panels; red, white, blue
amazed everyone