WHEN THE FAMOUS DISAPPOINT

Warning !! This is a two part story but NOT a cliff hanger


The table sat 12 and Jerry and I claimed two empties near the head. At the head sat one of the richest men in America at that time, John D. MacArthur. It was obviously his court. Directly across from me sat the "Great One", Jackie Gleason with his long time companion. At her side sat a household familiar golfer who for this account shall be nameless. He is still living and I wouldn't want to paint a dark picture of someone who may have changed mightily with age. The rest of the guests at that table besides the golfer and myself are deceased. The table was rounded out with lesser name golfers.


We were at a country club in Palm Beach Gardens which had just become the headquarters of the PGA and the early round of a four ball tournament had just concluded. And what do you ask was I doing there? Just darn lucky. I was working at the bank at that time so I was on a first name basis with a lot of the local business giants. Somehow, my short stature and incessant grin made me adoptable to a lot of people. Jerry was not my date, but a friend. and he was high up in the MacArthur organization.


Though I was personally a poor golfer , at that point in my life I followed the game closely, especially with the national headquarters so close to home. Jerry got me passes for the tournament when he heard of my interest. Guess it was pay back time for all the extra things I did for him as a customer at the bank. The main person I wanted to meet(tomorrow's post) was not at the table but I was content and awed by who was.


I was never a fan of the Honeymooners but had enjoyed Jackie Gleason in the Hustler. He was a decent golfer and was one of the celebrity participants. Here I was eye to eye with a comedic legend. How cool was that? Not very, it turned out. I foolishly expected lunch to be one laugh after another with the famous comic present. I have since learned that often performers are the quietest people "off stage." Jackie, who was equally famous for his alcohol consumption,did not disappoint. His only conversation between drinks were few word zingers, often cruelly directed towards his companion Honey who suffered in embarrassed silence. His eyes narrowed with each drink, his zingers became more hurtful, and truthfully, the man scared me a bit.


To take my mind off him, I turned to the golfer and reminded and him of a magazine ad we had done about 3 years earlier. No I am not a model, I just happened to be in the right place and earned a whopping $25.00 for the shoot. The ad for Heinz Catchup did make the Post Magazine but with all my moves, it is gone. Of course he did not remember me but he did ask me to dance. This man was huge in the golfing world and is credited with making it the sport it is today. I was not aware of his marital status at the time and I said, "Sure."


"Will you or won't you?" he whispered crudely in my ear as we danced. " I'm not here long so I can't waste my time if you won't." I mean, is this guy smooth or what? Try "or what."


At first, my naivety left me confused. When his clumsy offer sunk home I just told him to look elsewhere,that I had plenty of time to"waste" on someone who mattered.


My celebrity elbow rubbing that day for lunch proved to be a huge disappointment. Thankfully the day was not over......