October 10, 2024

Forget Jennifer Aniston & the Talent – Now I’m Really Jealous of John Mayer!

Musician John Mayer is rich, famous, talented and has dated some of the most beautiful women of our time. I forgive him for all of that.

I am however insanely jealous of John Mayer for the photograph on his new Huffington Post blog, "Why Every Snarky Blogger Should Thank Don Rickles (and What They Still Have to Learn from Him)

I’ve been thanked from the stage of the Grammy Awards, worked with movie stars, flown in a private jet, attended Hollywood premiers and just last week had Jackie Mason wave to me from a NYC diner the night before I was in the audience for Liza Minelli’s star-studded opening night on Broadway. I’ve met a number of the world’s greatest jazz musicians and have shared flights with Sam Kinison, Scott Hamilton, Bubba Smith, Jim Brown, Senator Robert Toricelli, Dave Winfield, Stevie Wonder and countless others.

One Sunday I missed the Jets game while trapped between Art Linkletter and Richard Lewis on a doomed flight that sat on a Houston runway for 4+ hours. I was dissed by Linkletter who was afraid I would sit in the seat of the woman he was chatting up and told I was hilarious by Richard Lewis after I made a very clever plate spinning reference. It was like the Continental Airlines version of the Poseidon Adventure, but with a cast of neurotic Jews.

This is all to say that I get a kick out of celebrities and have met a few in my time. As you can see in my online celebrity photo album, I am unafraid of asking for a photo – except just one time recently.

Last month, I was seated on a transcontinental flight a row in front of Mr. Warmth, Don Rickles. I LOVE Don Rickles and spent the 6-hour flight agonizing over whether I would violate the secret sacred coolness code of First Class air travel and ask Mr. Rickles to pose for a photo with me. I decided against it even after the flight attendants turned the cabin lights on so they could post for photos captured on their cellphones. I did get the chance to tell Mr. Rickles how much I enjoyed his show in Anaheim a few months ago and wished him well as he departed the plane, but I didn’t get a souvenir.

That damn John Mayer has Grammys, babes, good looks, money, talent and now a picture with Don Rickles too. I hate him!

Labels: Don Rickles, Gary Stager, John Mayer