I had a cup of coffee with Bob Hope in 1964. It was quite a pleasant experience. I lived in a little town in the Santa Cruz mountains. Every Sunday morning, I would walk down the hill from my house, walk in the back door of the local bakery/coffee shop, and have a doughnut and coffee and visit with the baker. He'd do his doughnuts, I'd drink coffee and read the paper. There were a few of us locals that always started our Sundays like this. It was a small town thing to do. One day, it was just the baker and I, and in walked Bob Hope and two "suits." There was no doubt who he was. I've always been very comfortable around celebrities, knowing that we all put our pants on one leg at a time. No big deal. He and his associates started talking with the baker. After a couple of minutes, I turned to him, introduced myself, and asked him to be quiet as I was reading my paper. He laughed so hard his face turned red! It turned out that he was in town, village really, to buy that shop. The owner was in finacial need. Bob Hope bought the shop, kept the baker on, and nothing ever changed. The doughnuts and pastries stayed the same, the staff stayed the same, and the back door was always open at five in the morning. I think the one feeling that I remember, above all, was that this was just another guy, who absolutly loved to laugh, and was very human. I obviously recognised him, yet I had the balls to ask to be quieter ... and he loved it ... and so did I. Rest in peace. CHEERS, Bob