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My Brush with Greatness
Years ago I was a
waiter at a new and very popular restaurant called the Casa Grill.
Tex-Mex Nouveau was the rage in St. Louis, and Casa Grill was a more
upscale version
of Casa Gallardo. They were owned by the same conglomerate.
One of my favorite and off-beat things to do as a waiter: On
Valentine's Day, I would buy a kids'
set of Valentines at Walgreens' and sign each of them, handing them out
to customers as a charming
sort of joke. I'd say something like: "Hey, did you get a Valentine
today? No? Here you go!"
People loved it; they still do. I never
missed an opportunity to slip one or more to a table of attractive
women, but I had to make damn sure I had enough in my pocket for ALL of
them before I pulled
them out. It always brought a smile to people's faces. Even in a
restaurant when they probably should
be going out for the holiday, it's surprising how many people either
don't get Valentines on Valentines'
Day, or just think it's a kid's game for school.
On Valentine's Day in '92 at Casa Grill, I saw Brett Hull sitting in
the bar with a couple of his
male buddies. All the wait staff were abuzz; some thought about
approaching him for an autograph,
while others were worried he'd get mad, and tell the boss, and they'd
get in trouble. And the current
urban gossip said that Brett had just broken up with his girlfriend
that week. He certainly looked a little
despondent; his buddies were joking around, but he just slouched in his
barstool staring off into space.
So everybody was too nervous to approach him except me. But I wasn't
interested in an autograph.
I went into the bar and pulled out one of my Valentines. I said, "I
heard you could use this.
Happy Valentine's Day, Brett," and handed him the little folded over
Valentine--probably a Barbie
or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or a Tinkerbell (my favorite--she's
blonde, beautiful, short and HOT).
He didn't look up, but a smile crept across his face as he opened it.
His toady jock-ish buddies
snickered like a couple of jackals--it was hard to tell if they were
laughing at me, or at Brett for taking it.
But he just said, "Thanks." I walked off before I could get into any
more trouble...
Whenever I encounter a celebrity, I prefer to try to think of some way
to DISTINGUISH
myself from the hustling crowd. It's more fun and more memorable--for
both of us.
Later, Daddy-O!