11.13.05
Neil Diamond Could Use A Shave
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. We’re out at the Sturgis rally and, as usual, the HD staff is up and at ‘em long before the revelers awake (and grossly sleep-deprived from late-night misbehavior) getting things prepped for another extremely long and tiring day of entertaining umpteen thousands of customers. Early birds typically show up and stand in line at the Civic Center, wanting to beat the crowds and see all of the beautiful displays before riding up into the hills. It’s always a tad uncomfortable walking past them, flashing a badge and entering the building when they can’t come in yet. Sometimes, there’s a little grumbling (Please! I just need to use the bathroom!) but not bad.
An older gal toward the front of the line was really pestering me about not allowing her into the building, but in a friendly manner. Twice, I’d come back to the front door to allow somebody from the media (or other people of “importance”) to come in. After my third time of coming to the door to allow a person to come in, the woman said, “How come you keep letting some people in and not the rest of us?” And I said, “Those are media people. They need to get their equipment set up (and gorge themselves on free donuts, coffee, etc.) before the doors are opened.” And she said, “Well that last guy you let in didn’t look like a media person.” So I cracked up and said, “Oh, how could you tell?” She said, “He’s way too scruffy and needs a shave.” And I said, “Yeah, but it’s OK. He’s in radio.” And at first I thought I wasn’t gonna say anything, but it was just too juicy to pass up. So I said, “You’ve probably heard of him. His name’s Neil Diamond.” Her eyes got huge, she let out a sad gasp and groaned, “Oh no! I was six inches from Neil Diamond and didn’t even know it! ” Judge not.
PS. Neil Diamond: Very cool dude. Bet you didn’t know he’s a very dedicated motorcyclist.