checklist

I've definately met some interesting people in my life. I've even met some interesting famous people. Of those famous people, about 90% of them are pretty obscure, but it was still cool to meet them. Here's a list of who I remember

1. Pope John Paul II-I've actually had the honor of meeting him on 3 separate occassions. The first (1991) was the most memorable. The second (1993) was notorious because of the milk incident. The third (2000)was low key and somewhat sad because by this point his health was starting to get the better of him.
2. Paleontologist Robert Bakker-(c1988) My Dad took me with for a book signing of The Dinosaur Heresies.
3. Paleontologist Phillip Currie-(1994) My Dad and I were both going through a dinosaur obsession phase mostly due to Jurassic Park. We actually arranged dinner with Dr. Currie not far from his excavation site in Drumheller, Canada.
4. Paleontologist Jack Horner (1998) Again, my Dad and I were tooling around in Montana, stopped by Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman and just asked if we could meet Dr. Horner. We chatted for a few and got his autograph.
5. Paleontologist Paul Sereno (c1997) My family attended a lecture by Dr. Sereno at the Field Museum in Chicago discussing his latest find, the Herrerasaurus.
6. Author Garrison Keilor (c1989) My aunt is a massage therapist and Mr. Keilor was one of her clients. We were in town visiting here in Milwaulkee and she brought us out to dinner with him. I remember him making a remark about how hard it must be for me to eat apples since I had just lost my two front teeth.
7. Dr. Carl Woese-(2004)As a grad student, my Dad worked in his lab in the 70s. Later on Dr. Woese found the third branch of life: Archaea. As a regional director for the Dad's association, my Dad recruited Dr. Woese as keynote speaker for the Dad's Day Weekend Dinner. He rode shotgun in my jeep. The doorknocker on Dr. Woese's house is in fact engraved with the word "Archaea."
8. Former IL (1997)Gov. George Ryan-Our 8th grade trip to the state capital was capped when my buddy Ben arranged for our class to go into the then secretary of state's office. Ben was his paperboy and he lives on the same block as him. We all got pictures with the SoS and an Illinois Blue Book.
9. Dr. Patch Adams (2003)-Dr. Adams came to be a guest in residence at my former dorm Allen Hall. I was a desk clerk at the time and I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions and get an autographed copy of his book.
10. Gary Rydstrom (1998) My parents and I attended a lecture by this guy. He's a sound designer at Skywalker Sound and has worked on the Star Wars prequels, Jurassic Park, Pixar films and T-2.
11. Joel Weissman-(2002) U of I alum, and journalst on the PBS show Chicago Tonight. I actually bumped into him in New Orleans when U ofI went to the Sugar Bowl.
12. Ron Santo-(1991) Cubs Convention