Met him the same year. Couldn't agree more.

It's a long read, but an entertaining one. I now present to you the story behind this Kareem photo.

It begins in 1981, the day I got my driver's license at the DMV in Culver City, CA. I was so excited that I passed the driving test, and ran inside to get my picture taken. I had the first appointment of the day on the Friday before Easter, so the place was empty except for a few employees and me. And the one person ahead of me in line -- Kareem. With a huge smile on my face I said to him, "I just got my driver's license! Would you please sign my learner's permit to commemorate the occasion?" He looked at me as though I was dirt under his feet and said in the coldest, most biting way possible, "Not now, man."

A couple years later, I was going to UCLA. An early-morning class got canceled, so I killed time by walking around the streets of Westwood. Whom should I see walking towards me, but none other than Kareem. Again, there was nobody else in the vicinity. I reached into my backpack and took out a UCLA notebook, and said very politely, "Kareem, would you sign a notebook for a fellow Bruin?" Same death stare, same, "Not now, man."

A few years after that, my first job after college was managing a store in the Westside Pavilion (a now-defunct mall in LA) that sold sports merchandise, such as replica jerseys and team Starter jackets. We had a Lakers jersey hung on the wall that many of the players signed when they shopped in the store or we saw them in the mall. One very slow night shortly before closing, Kareem walked by. Again, not a soul nearby except for me and my employee. I pointed to the jersey and explained that many of his teammates had signed it (including Magic), and it was for display only and would not be sold, and would he be kind enough to add his name. You guessed it. Death stare and, "Not now, man."

I understand that everybody has a bad day, but three times of the exact same thing is a pattern. I actually sat down and timed signing his name versus saying, "Not now, man," and it takes less time to be a nice person than to be a jerk, especially when there was nobody else around. Anyway, a couple of years after the last incident, I read that he would be signing at a card show. To show you how much things have changed since the late-'80s, it was $8 per autograph. So I bought two tickets and stood in a long line. I finally got to the front and presented my first ticket. I brought an old magazine with him on the cover, and put it on the table in front of him. Just as pen was about to hit paper, I pulled it away, gave him my best death stare, and said, "Now now, man." I then went back through the line and used my second ticket ticket to actually get the autograph on the magazine. He didn't say a word, but I have to say that it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.

And I thought the story ended there. And it did, until about 20 years later. It was Father's Day, and my family went to a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, CA down the street from my dad's. It was John Wooden's favorite restaurant where he ate every day. We had seen him there a few times previously, and he had a private side room where he dined with his family. But on this particular evening, the restaurant was packed. We had reservations and the owners knew us as regulars and didn't want to turn us away or have us wait, so they sat us in Coach Wooden's private room! He had his entire family there, kids and their spouses, grandkids, great-grandkids (maybe even great-great-grandkids). On the TV was a championship game between the Lakers and Celtics. To my great surprise, the Wooden Family was rooting for the Celtics. I was so curious I asked why. Coach's daughter said, "My dad hates so-and-so, so we root against the Lakers" (she said the name of a Laker player that I don't wish to repeat). I blurted out, "Well, I can't stand Kareem, but I always rooted for the Lakers when he was playing."

And that's when it happened. Coach Wooden motioned for me to come over. He said, "Tell me son, why do you hate Kareem?" I told him the entire sordid tale I related above. He said, "Listen, I know that Kareem can be a handful. Believe me, I know. But let me tell you a story about him...." He then told me about a game they played in Arizona. Kareem was standing outside the bus signing autographs. Everybody else was on the bus waiting for him to get in so they could leave. So finally Coach told him that he had to get in now. As he walked away, one of the people who didn't get an autograph yelled at him, "You big dumb N-word!" Coach said that he felt guilty about that since, that it was his fault that it happened because he pulled Kareem away. He said that that's an example of what Kareem faced growing up, and hopefully I can understand how that would have made him distrusting and jaded. He then told me a quote from Mother Teresa about forgiveness and asked my name. I told him, and he said, "Very nice to meet you, Steve," and shook my hand. You have no idea how much that meant, having grown up idolizing him and Bill Walton and later going to UCLA myself and being there on Father's Day with my dad who was also a Bruin. To me, it was bigger than if I had met Babe Ruth.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm sure I've just written way more about this one. But if you've read all of them, I guess the moral of the story is that even the worst experience can have a rainbow at the end.

Circa 1988 show pics. I mailed these in and asked to sign to my #1 fan. In my defense this was 6 years before "Misery"Attachment 479711

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milkit1, it's great to see which ones actually did it!

Great story Steve, and great photos Sean.

Thank you, scmavl!

Me with Ozzy
 

Signing my Sabotage LP

Cool photo , Saw Ozzy with Randy Rhoads and Motorhead as opening band in July of 1981 in a small venue in Montreal , my hearing has not been the same since.

Keep these coming! Love to see them, especially the Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams photos - and, really, any from the pre-digital camera era.

When I got into my 20s, I started going for photos before autographs. And, since working for most of my career in politics, I have been blessed to be able to get photos with hundreds of baseball, football, and basketball players - as well as politicians.

C'mon, robbieg. You can't say that without posting some of them! To go along with my Ali above, here I am with George Foreman at a release event when his first grill came out. Really nice guy. I asked if he would pretend to box with me, and he did. He should have knocked my a** out for sporting that George Clooney Caesar haircut that was popular at the time.

During the 1990s, I worked for an entertainment publication, and had the great opportunity to interview many celebrities and athletes. One of my favorites was Adam Sandler, who was just as entertaining in person doing a 1-1 sit-down with me as he is in any of his movies or standup routines.

This pic is from 1993 - it's not a pic of him signing, but here's the back of my notebook that he signed at the end of the interview..

scooter729, that is really cool to hear that he's such a nice guy. He comes across that way, so I'm glad it's not just an act.

This 1995 pic of me with Jenny McCarthy wasn't a signing either, as I was a writer on the show and take full credit for making her famous.

So you were the one who paid for her boob job?

Ha! She told me they cost $3,000 by a doctor in Arizona. So he's the silent hero in the story. But I should add, she really is a tremendous person.

Before I got bored of it, I was watching Wahlburgers and it seemed like Donnie and Jenny were very genuine, fun people. It could still be the TV show showing us the celebrity side. It's probably always more fun when you are doing fun activities and being the center of attention.

I have enjoyed both Mark and Donnie's acting gigs for the most part too. Didn't care for their singing though, that is for sure!

Robin Yount Cooperstown 1999
 

Here is a picture of my friend Tom, Robin Yount and me (on the right) on the 19th hole on The Leatherstocking GC on Lake Otesaga in Cooperstown the day before Robin got inducted into the HOF in 1999. :cool:

We played in the foursome right behind Robin and his brother Larry.
Robin is quite an outstanding golfer. Believe it or not, he almost quit the Brewers in the 1970's to join the PGA!
Lucky for baseball fans everywhere that he did not! ;)

Robin had just signed a Leatherstocking golf ball for me that looks like a baseball. Note the blue Sharpie in my left hand.
Great memory & a very nice guy in person.
I just stumbled across the photo and thought I would post it.

Great golf course if you've never played it....

Curt, I knew her before she married Donnie, so I never met him. But I can assure you that what you see with her on TV is exactly what she is like in person.

Scott, that definitely is a great memory, and I'm glad to hear that he is a nice guy, as I remember as a kid hearing about his exploits at Taft High in Woodland Hills.

When my son was going to ASU, one night he went to the movies with his friend. He called me and said there were ;police outside the movies and they wouldn't let anyone in and there was a celebrity there. I drove over with a camera. Out came Muhammad Ali. Noah ask if he could pose and his wife OKed it. No autograph but neat
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Earlier this summer, my son and I had the chance to spend a good chunk of time with Jim Rice. Jim was great in talking with my son (who absolutely loves playing baseball), and gave him tons of advice about baseball.

Some of the advice was a bit questionable though (but it was all in Jim's joking way):
Jim: What position do you play?
My son Xander: I really like to pitch.
Jim: Don't be a pitcher, you're not a real athlete if you're not playing every day!
Xander: Well I play shortstop if I'm not pitching.
Jim: Left field is the place to be!
Xander: But I like shortstop, you don't see enough action in left field.
Jim: Believe me, you'll see a lot of action in left field! In between pitches, you're scanning the crowd for beautiful girls, you send someone over to connect with them, and you'll see plenty of action!

ME: Uhhh, Jim - HE'S NINE!!!

It was awesome!

Great stuff, everyone!