FAMOUS PEOPLE I'D LIKE TO MEET

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:” (I Corinthians 1:26)

Sometimes my mind takes me to strange and unusual places! As I was shaving and showering this morning, my mind began wandering all over the place and somehow I began thinking about famous people I’d like to meet. My thoughts ended up being so interesting (at least to ME!) that I decided to write a blog posting about it! If this ends up being very boring to you (like watching some family’s home movies from 1964) I hope you’ll forgive me; but to use the title of an ABBA song, I hope you’ll, “Take a Chance on Me” and read it anyway!

A few weeks ago I wrote that I’d like to meet John McCain and have lunch with him sometime. I really would. And, I’d like to meet Sarah Palin, too. I guess this may SEEM shallow of me, but I am one of those who does become drawn to certain celebrities. One of the greatest thrills of my life was to meet a local Boston area celebrity. That was David Brudnoy who did the evening talk show on WBZ 1030 A.M. for many years. I was privileged to be an in-studio guest of David Brudnoy’s in February of 1989. I was scheduled to be on for one hour, but things went so well that David invited me to spend another hour with him. At that time, David was doing a “Religions in America” series, and I got permission from my District Superintendent (like a Bishop) to go on and represent the Assemblies of God. During the top of the hour news break, David took me out in the hall and bought me a coke from the the vending machine. He was very friendly and personable, and after the second hour, he walked me to the front door of the building. It was at this time of year, early December in 2004, when David Brudnoy was dying of cancer at Mass. General Hospital. I went to the hospital at that time and tried to see him. I did meet David’s cousin in the lobby who assured me he could get me in to see David. But twenty minutes later, the security person in the lobby phoned up to his room and I was told I would not be allowed in. David Brudnoy died less than twenty-four hours later.

There’s another former WBZ broadcaster that I’d like to meet in person, and that’s Larry Glick. Mr. Glick hosted a captivating show that was a mixture of comedy and bizarre information, but once in awhile, he’d have a serious guest. My late Uncle was a personal friend of Larry Glick’s. I’ve spoken to Larry Glick on the phone two or three times, but I have never met him in person. He is now retired and living in south Florida.

There are several 90-year-olds I’d like to meet before they die. One is Andy Rooney. I know he’s a crusty old guy and I understand he’s an atheist, but he’s a great writer and has seen SO much of life from writing for “Stars and Stripes” in the army during World War 2 to being a reporter on virtually all of the big news stories of the past sixty years. Another is his former colleague Mike Wallace. My understanding is that Mike Wallace lives on Martha’s Vineyard, as does Walter Cronkite, and I wouldn’t mind meeting him, either. Another 90-year-old I would love to meet and spend a few hours with is Billy Graham. He lives in western North Carolina and I don’t think he is in the best of health, but in my very early days of being a born-again Christian when I was just a kid in the early 1970s, no one’s writings and teachings had more of an impact on me than Billy Graham’s did. I really wish I could speak to him in person and thank him.

I know this will get some laughs but I’d like to meet Oprah Winfrey. There’s a female minister named Ellen who used to pastor in Framingham. Ellen has a grown daughter who works for Oprah’s “Harpo Productions” fairly high up. I used to wish Ellen would get me some sort of “in” with Oprah, but I never asked her as it would have felt very foolish to do so.

This will sound even more foolish, but I enjoy watching the sitcom “The Office” and I’d love to meet the show’s cast sometime. I know television acting is mostly a “seedy” business full of shallow and superficial people who use the “F” word more often than most sailors do. I know I’d never want to be in that atmosphere all the time, but a fantasy of mine is to have a one time walk-on role on “The Office”. I know that just to walk in and say three or four lines would probably involve a few hours of shooting and I just think it would be a blast!

Many Patriots fans would like to meet Tom Brady, and that would be nice, but I’d rather meet Matt Cassel. He’s become an inspiration to me this year. I felt so bad for him when so many people predicted he’d do a terrible job as the Pats’ Quarterback while Brady is out for the season. No, Matt is not Tom Brady, and he readily admits it, but Matt Cassel has really “stepped up” and I think overall that he has done a great job.

I would like to meet Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. I know he’s a liberal’s liberal, and I disagree with him politically about 80% of the time, but I also think he’s a nice guy with a great personality, and if I got to meet him, maybe I could have just some teeny-tiny bit of influence and impact upon him.

I’ve exchanged e-mails with three current radio talk show hosts on WTKK and I’ve shaken hands with one (Michael Graham) at a couple of his personal appearances, but I’ve never met these people one-on-one in person, and I’d really enjoy that. I think the one I’d most like to meet is Michelle McPhee. I cannot give the details, but there is someone I know of who is a potentially dangerous person who was (unknown to Michelle) essentially beginning to stalk her. I e-mailed her and warned her about this. Since Michelle McPhee is a big advocate of police officers and firefighters, I mentioned a little about my father and his career in law enforcement. Michelle McPhee sent me back a very nice and appreciative e-mail, and wrote one of the most special lines anyone has ever written to me. She wrote, “You’re a hero, just like your Dad”. I got really choked up right there in front of the computer. No one had EVER called me a hero before, and certainly not a hero like my father. My father truly was a very macho hero type...the type that would have run into the World Trade Center to get people out. I really DON’T think I’m a hero like my father, but that was one of the most meaningful things anyone ever wrote to me.

I’d like to meet singer Vonda Shepard. She was the one who played the club singer on “Ally McBeal”. She has such a pleasant and yet soulful voice and sings with such heart. I have a number of her songs loaded on my iTunes on the computer. Yes, I’d truly ike to meet her. And although Avril Lavigne is my kids’ age, I’d like to meet her, too. Her songs appeal to teenagers and twenty-somethings, but I guess I’m just a big kid because I like a lot of her music.

I watch “Greater Boston” each weeknight that I’m HOME. It has been my privilege to exchange e-mails with Dan Kennedy who is on their Friday “Beat the Press” segment. I would really love to meet Emily Rooney, the main host of “Greater Boston”, who happens to be the daughter of Andy Rooney. I’d also LOVE to be a guest on “Greater Boston” but first I’d have to DO some great, famous thing, myself, and I haven’t managed to do any great, famous things yet!

At the beginning of this piece, I wrote about trying to get into David Brudnoy’s hospital room to see him. In closing, I want to tell about a visit to a sick patient in a nursing home about five years ago. That was Mr. Dean MacIntyre who was NOT a famous person, but who deserved to be. My wife knew Dean from the time she was a little girl, and later he was a Board Member at the old Christian Life Center church in Walpole where I was an Assistant Pastor in the 1980s. Dean was a WONDERFUL person, one of the finest people I’ve ever known. He was on his death bed at a nursing home in Medway. We had a wonderful visit. I’ve never said anything like this before, but as I was about to leave, I said to Dean, “Dean, you’re going to be in Heaven seeing the Lord very shortly. Will you tell Him I was asking for Him?!” With a chuckle and a smile, Dean told me, “I’ll do that!” Dean died just a few days later. This may sound foolish, but I honestly believe Dean DID do that for me! And it’s pretty cool!

When all is said and done, the one famous person you definitely want to be in a right relationship with is the Lord Jesus Christ!