24 Walton and Jr.

24.) Somewhere in my house there is an autographed card of Ken Griffey Jr. No idea where it is. It's biding it's time for the HOF induction. There's, also, a Chris Bosio/Omar Vizquel signed ball. And a Cruz signed everything. And, of course, there is the Bill Walton autographed hat. That's for you, Peter. I rocked that hat for the enjoyment of that look on your face when someone would ask whose name it was. Priceless.

How I got that autograph is an interesting story.

After eighth grade graduation, my parents fronted the money to send me to the east coast with my classmates. It was one of the best presents I could have received. Traveling for me is priceless. As it turned out, I made quite a few friends. Oddly, those friends were the parent chaperones of several of the girls, who were a grade below me at the time. Their dads loved to play pranks from the simple misdirection shoulder tap (one of my favorites at my school right now) to the slight nudge into a random girl. They took care of me, too. They bought me lobster and helped me speak out. Rather, they would speak out for me as was the case in Central Park.

As a group, we were on a Central Park tour focusing around the Beatles. One of our teacher's, Mr. G, was a huge Grateful Dead fan. HUGE. So, it seemed fitting that a well-known Grateful Dead fan would be meditating at the area named Strawberry Fields. I didn't recognize him until one of the fathers pointed out who he was. Bill Walton was quietly meditating on the ground as our guide stopped us to circulate the history of the place. He nudged me and whispered, 'Hey, that's Bill Walton. Get his autograph.' I was too shocked to move. 'Come on. Go over there.'

I blushed, 'I can't. He's meditating.' I started making excuses, 'I don't have a pen. What do I have to sign?'

The chaperone was kind enough to take matters into his own hands. He snatched the hat off my head, 'Here, give me that.' He pulled a pen out of his pocket and quietly approached the usually loquacious man. 'Do you mind signing this for the boy over there? He's a big fan.' I was shocked. But I took that hat gladly and stored it in my house until one day in college I heard Bill Walton say, 'Vladimir Radmanovic is the pinnacle of Western Civilization's physique.' Well put, Bill. ...

As for Jr's autograph, my family friend used to be his neighbor. Lucky me. I hope it's still in my closet with Bill.