Never know who you are going to meet

[Dave Lehnert]

I was wondering around town and thought I would stop into Half Price Books and have a look at the woodworking book section. Started talking to a guy in the same section and turns out it was David Thiel from Popular Woodworking magazine and DIY Network. Had a good conversation on tools and the magazine.

I once also got to meet Roy Underhill. He is very much different in person than on TV.

Who have you run into woodworking related or not??

[Jason Beam]

I've shaken Norm's hand and have an autographed picture from AWFS.

I've shook Scott Phillips' hand there, too.

I'm pretty chummy with William Ng through a mutually close friend.

But my biggest ace in the hole is David Marks from Woodworks. I first met him about a year and a half ago at a club meeting he was presenting at. Got his email address and we managed to coax him to the local club to present about 4 months later. At this meeting, he spilled the beans about my wife and I's engagement and gave us two of his DVD's as wedding gifts. Then he was at our local woodworking show a few months later and he remembered me. A few months after that he was at the local turner's club meeting and shot me a familliar look from across the room and later recognized me and remembered my wife's name almost instantly. THEN I saw him again at AWFS in july. It's very uncanny how about every 4-5 months we seem to cross paths. He's gonna think i'm stalking him if I don't take one of his classes soon :P

[Fred Voorhees]

I chatted with David Marks very briefly at a woodworking show last year in Edison. At least I think that was where it was. Decent guy. My Holy Grail will be meeting Norm. :p

[Nancy Laird]

Don't know if this counts, but Andrew Dan-Jumbo of "Take-Home Handyman" and "While You Were Out" from TLC was in town a couple of years ago for a home remodeling and furnishings show, and I got to talk with him for a few minutes. He's not a bad carpenter/cabinet-maker.

Don't ask me about my years in Nashville associated with the Opry. I might bore you!!

Nancy (87 days)

[Rick Williams]

In 1971 my wife was returning to our home in El Paso from a family visit to Kansas City. She was sitting in 1st class and was reading a book on the occult. Older gentleman seated next to her engaged her in conversation and she realized it was Vincent Price who was on his way to see his daughter graduate from Arizona State. He signed her book.

Her family owned an Italian restaurant in mid-town KC that was a popular spot for the entertainers booked at Starlight theater as it stayed open until 3 am. She had a guest book full of photos and signatures from Ella Fitzgerald to Danny Thomas.

[Dave Lehnert]

I just remembered I got to meet Tom Silva (SP?) from This Old House. I walked into a local lumber store here in Cincinnati and he was giving a short lesson on building a deck.

[Rick Williams]

Earlier this year I saw an interview with Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and currently on Dancing With the Stars. Fascinating intellect. During the interview it was mentioned that he responds to all his email personally and mentioned his email address so i sent him an email mentioning I had seen his interview and would enjoy sharing some good conversation over beer and pizza if he was ever in KC. Got a reply, "If you buy". We actually exchanged several emails over a period of a few days. Very interesting fella. Not pompous or arrogant at all.

[Jude Kingery]

Hi Dave, once had the pleasure of meeting Dave Hout (DYI) and took a class of his on spinning metal (pewter/aluminum/copper). And it was a great class. He was very personable and pleasant and visited with each of us individually after class long as people wanted to stay and talk. Pretty fun! Some day I'd like to try it. So far I'm only brave with wood, though, ha! Jude

[Bill Neely]

I was on watch aboard an icebreaker operating near McMurdo Station, Antarctica when Barry Goldwater, Wm F. Buckley Jr and the SecNav visited the ship. They came down to look at the motor (control) room, asked a few questions and shook my hand.

[David Cramer]

I was on a flight out of Nashville about 10 years ago in my early 20's, but I probably looked like I was 17 at most. The plane was full (or so I thought) and I had people on both sides of me.

The stewardess kept looking at me as she walked up and down the isle. I knew I was very, very nervous and I could feel my face changing colors and getting beyond nauseous. I truly felt like I was about to pass out. I DON'T like to fly. She whispered to me to stand up and follow her. She didn't have the time to keep checking on me, but they did in first class.

Well, I go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face and then follow her behind the curtain. There is one seat left in first class and she sits me down next to what I would call an "older guy". I didn't look at his face at first but I could tell everyone seem to know everyone else in first class the way the were all talking across the isles. The gentleman says, are you okay young fella. I said I'm doing better, but I just hate to fly and unfortunately I get kinda ill. He said you'll be fine, I've flown over 1000 times. Well after talking without really looking at him real good, I turned and suddenly realized that I was sitting next to Johnny Cash and the entire first class was his band/entourage.

Because of my dad, I knew at least half a dozen of his songs. It really should have been my dad sitting there, not me. Anyways, he wrote a nice little note for my dad and I had a nice flight home with less anxiety than ever. Every time I asked him something, he would ask me more questions about myself, including my family, what I do, etc. He was nice as could be, that's all I could say. Maybe he just wanted to relax me so I didn't throw up on him!!!!

Dave

p.s. Oh yeah, he bought my dinner and a huge hot fudge sunday. He literally refused my money and one of his band members said, give it up son, he's not gonna let you pay. Sadly, he died in 2003.

[richard poitras]

I went to one of the wood working shows in Detroit and they had Wayne Barton doing chip carving nobody seemed interested in it as he sat there doing his thing explaining it to who ever would listen, so I sat there and talked to him for about 30 minutes very informative and a very nice guy…

[Jim Kountz]

I would like to someday meet someone of woodworking fame if nothing else just to say I did. Now the music business is another story. Having played and toured for most of my adult life in some form or another I have met some very interesting folks through the years. Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Kathy Mattea, George Jones, Porter Wagoner, many many bluegrass giants and legends of the genre. I bet Nancy and I could swap some stories over some of these characters!! Most are all really nice folks although I found Ricky Skaggs to be somewhat of a prick to be honest. My favorite meeting however was the late and very GREAT Kieth Whitley. He is my favorite singer and left us way too soon. Sadly missed be me and millions....

Jim

[Chuck Saunders]

Well, I almost clocked Porter Wagoner with the door when I was coming out of the Live Entertainment office when I worked at Opryland my senior year in high school.

[Jim Kountz]

Well, I almost clocked Porter Wagoner with the door when I was coming out of the Live Entertainment office when I worked at Opryland my senior year in high school.

Probably wouldnt have hurt him much if that hair of his cushioned the impact!! LOL

[Larry Fox]

Well - I won't say that I just "ran into them" but I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting both Jeff Jewitt and Mario Rodriguez in classes at Alan Turner's PFW.

I was waiting in line for a train out of NY and Rick Ocasek (singer from the Cars) was in line a few back.

I was standing in the lobby of the Hotel Del Coronado about 9 years ago and standing behind me were the actors who played The Professor, Gilligan and Mary Ann on Giligan's Island. They were having some type of G Island - themed party there.

[John Thompson]

In the late 70's before the internet craze, Highland Hardware (recently changed to Highland Woodworking) had opened it's doors in the old location across the street from the current one. They had a scheduled seminar with some unknown European WW unknown to me. The Highland folks said his name was Tage Frid or something like that and he was well versed on WW.

The information highway was very limited in those days. We had to dig, scratch and get information anywhere we could find it. So.. I signed up to see this Tage Frid fella and we sat in the basement class of the old building with a bleacher carved in the Georgia red clay wall on one side.

Before Mr. Frid entered the old seminar room, one of the guys waiting with us introduced himself as Jimmy Carter... Since then, I have run into President Carter twice on Saturday afternoons at Highland on "sand-paper" runs with the gracious Miss Rosalyn.

I also bumped into him once on a local Atlanta Habitat for Humanity project and he swings as mean a hammer as the next guy. Very nice and generous person which is a trademark of the way we were brought up by our parents in the "Old South"...

Sarge...

[Lincoln Myers]

...suddenly realized that I was sitting next to Johnny Cash and the entire first class was his band/entourage....

Neat story, thanks for sharing.

-Linc

[Bill Arnold]

Being a hobbiest turned more serious woodworker, I was encouraged to enter a few of my pieces in exhibitions. One of those exhibits was the WoodWorks Events show in Tampa in November, 2005. My main entry was the compass table many of you have seen in a previous post. The judging panel included Lee Grindinger, Don Weber, Harry Memelink, Geoffrey Noden and one other person whose name I cannot remember (too many Buds over the gums!).

As they were judging my table, I hung back until they asked who had done it. When I stepped forward, they asked several pointed questions about the processes I used. When the prizes were awarded, I won First Place for my entry. To have such a distinguished panel with which to discuss my work was a great experience. While these and others at the show were well-known in woodworking circles, it was amazing to me to see just how down-to-earth all of them were.

During my years as an engineering manager in cable television, I met many people at upper levels of the business as well as entertainment personalities. I held a position in Houston and had the privilege of meeting George Foreman personally -- talk about some BIG hands! Also during that time my wife and I attended a private dinner party where the guest of honor was Charlton Heston. My wife and I had the opportunity to enjoy a conversation with each of these men. Both were surprisingly cordial considering their fame.

[Art Mulder]

To have such an extinguished panel

extinquished? :eek: :D:D (Sorry, Bill)


As far as the woodworking/diy area... I have met several of the editors/contributors at Canadian Home Workshop magazine, who are all fine craftspeople. But they're not very well known in the States, which is most of you folks.

As far as the entertainment world... well about 10 years ago I was at a computer conference in Orlando and got into a hospitality suite hosted by one company who brought in Jonathan Frakes (Riker on Star Trek:TNG) to meet + greet. He was one of their hired spokesmen. He was a very congenial and pleasant guy to chat with.

[Earl Reid]

I met Colin Powell when he landed on the USS Midway. I was on a tiger cruise with my son. I had a chat with Sam Maloof in Washington DC in 2001. He was interested in what kind of woodworking I did, very nice gentleman.
I flew from LA to Dallas with the cast of "Dallas"

And many members of SMC.
Earl:)

[Gary Keedwell]

My brother wanted to take his daughter to the county fair in Marshfield, Ma., it was a beautiful late summer day so my wife and I accompanied them. (around 6 yrs. ago). We were standing in line and noticed a guy a few people ahead of us was getting alot of attention. Well, I pointed my wife's attention to him and she blurted out ( uncharacteristically for her because she is normally rather low-keyed) "hey, look at the Mick Jagger wanna be!" Well, it turned out that it was Steven Tyler, lead singer for Aerosmith.
Well, by the time we figured out who it was, he was gone. There was a buzz all through the fair with everybody looking for him. To this day, we still kid LOML about the "wanna be" incident.:eek: :D
Gary K.