I’m sitting in a basement bar of local restaurant/pub waiting for my friends when a young man in a black leather jacket and sunglasses sits down next to me…(wait sunglasses???…its nighttime) The man seems preoccupied as we order a beer from the bartender at the same time. When the brews arrive he raises his glass to mine in a friendly “ cheers” gesture. Before I can reply behind us coming trampling down the stairs is a group of frazzled people yelling ..”Billy ???…Billy??”..over and over as they scan the room. I hear a sigh from my new friend next to me as he takes what will be the only sip from his beer. “ Ive been found” he shrugs…”Got go”. He sighs and leaves to join the posse on the stairs. Now I found out later that a young “Piano Man” had been performing at the nearby Civic Center that night and the man next to me did have a New York accent….so..hmmmm???.

Now I have never been infatuated with famous people but I have had several memorable moments with some of them. Including but not limited to the time that I unknowingly ate a raisin pumperknicle bagel that had been specifically prepared for Stephen Spielberg’s breakfast. Or when I found a confused and lost former Notre Dame/ 49’rs player and the best quarterback in the history of football, before Tom Brady, wandering the hallways of the subbasement of the Rhode Island State house looking for the elevator. Or maybe its the time while biking thru Jamestown I stopped for a some water and a quick rest only to encounter a limo with a blonde haired gentleman in the back rolling down the window and asking if the place in front of us served ice cream. He looked suspiciously like a famous actor that may have been filming a movie nearby called “ Meet Joe Black”

Well these are just a few of some of my more memorable encounters with the famous and most celebrated of those among us ….including but not limited to , Carol Burnett, Arnold Swartezenager, my Warren Zevon and many more including the time while looking for a bathroom at the now long gone RI Auditorium, I stumbled upon the members of the famous band (ha ha ha ) Seals and Crofts in their dressing room before the show.

But my brushes with greatness started at a very young age.

My mom told me a story about me as a young child at the WJAR Channel 10 studios during the taping of this local children's show. I sat on an aisle seat and being the perfect smiling blond haired boy I was picked to be part of the next commercial to be done live with the shows host (Ted Knight). Well I was given the prop ( a loaf of white bread) and was told to hold it and look at Ted and smile. Well I guess I was to much of a ham to follow directions because my eyes never left the monitor over my head that was showing me in a close up and I never acknowledged the star of the show next to me. The bread was ripped from hands and given to the girl in pig tails next to me to complete the commercial and the rest is history....my one chance at fame gone because of vanity..but little did I know that I would soon have many other brushes with greatness in my life.