Having been a volunteer at the Festival of Books several times over the last thirteen years, I tried something completely different this year; I was a golf cart driver for the celebrities. If you know me in the least you know I’m extroverted, but driving the celebrities brought a minor case of butterflies, as I wondered if I would reach my destinations without getting lost on the massive campus of UCLA.
My first assignment brought former mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown, with former Los Angeles Times bureau chief Bill Boyarsky, to my six seated golf cart. The three quarter mile trip went off well, as I drove like I knew where I was going. The hardest part was crossing the aluminum footbridge, with only inches of clearance on either side of the golf cart. As we arrived at their building, the fans were already flowing into the hall, so I was only able to shake Bill’s hand and bid them a farewell.
Upon my return to the staging area, I was told not to cross the footbridge with the golf cart, as it could collapse.
As I waited for my next assignment many famous writers checked in at the Faculty Building, Tom Hayden, Arianna Huffington, Eric Spillman, and Kevin Roderick. And of course I had to say hello to my favorite blogger, Kevin Roderick.
When I was asked if I would drive Tommy Lasorda to his event, I responded with a loud YES! Tommy’s manager requested that I pick him up at parking lot 2, which is down the hill from the faculty building, and naturally we headed over to lot 2. As we rounded the corner and approached the parking structure, we could see Tommy limping up the hill, with perspiration flowing down his face, remember we had a record heat wave last Saturday. Tommy was a bit upset with his manager, but that quickly faded and he was his jovial self once again.
As we proceeded to Tommy’s building, the fans were waving and calling out his name along the way. Before reaching his building, we passed his book signing area, where a crowd about two blocks long had already formed. Tommy Lasorda is just as popular today as when he was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While cooling off with a few bottles of ice cold water a familiar looking golfer strolled out of the writer area, and when I took a closer look I discovered it was none other than our publisher, David Hiller. I ran over to David, placed my head on his shoulder and had a colleague snap a picture, isn’t that just like me.
Somehow in all the excitement I failed to capture a photo of Times volunteer Nico Smedley, Nico pointed out my error regarding the lack of a pool table at the square back in March.
Several times I attempted to visit the Kevin Roderick forum, but was called away as I neared the entrance. When I finally found the spare time to get back to the hall, the forum had just ended with the crowd exiting the building. But I was able to cross paths with David Markland, and chat with him for a moment before returning to the staging area.
All of the volunteer drivers are employees of Los Angeles Times, and I highly recommend to my colleagues to volunteer for the next Festival of Books, as I found it highly rewarding and exciting.
My first assignment brought former mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown, with former Los Angeles Times bureau chief Bill Boyarsky, to my six seated golf cart. The three quarter mile trip went off well, as I drove like I knew where I was going. The hardest part was crossing the aluminum footbridge, with only inches of clearance on either side of the golf cart. As we arrived at their building, the fans were already flowing into the hall, so I was only able to shake Bill’s hand and bid them a farewell.
Upon my return to the staging area, I was told not to cross the footbridge with the golf cart, as it could collapse.
As I waited for my next assignment many famous writers checked in at the Faculty Building, Tom Hayden, Arianna Huffington, Eric Spillman, and Kevin Roderick. And of course I had to say hello to my favorite blogger, Kevin Roderick.
When I was asked if I would drive Tommy Lasorda to his event, I responded with a loud YES! Tommy’s manager requested that I pick him up at parking lot 2, which is down the hill from the faculty building, and naturally we headed over to lot 2. As we rounded the corner and approached the parking structure, we could see Tommy limping up the hill, with perspiration flowing down his face, remember we had a record heat wave last Saturday. Tommy was a bit upset with his manager, but that quickly faded and he was his jovial self once again.
As we proceeded to Tommy’s building, the fans were waving and calling out his name along the way. Before reaching his building, we passed his book signing area, where a crowd about two blocks long had already formed. Tommy Lasorda is just as popular today as when he was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While cooling off with a few bottles of ice cold water a familiar looking golfer strolled out of the writer area, and when I took a closer look I discovered it was none other than our publisher, David Hiller. I ran over to David, placed my head on his shoulder and had a colleague snap a picture, isn’t that just like me.
Somehow in all the excitement I failed to capture a photo of Times volunteer Nico Smedley, Nico pointed out my error regarding the lack of a pool table at the square back in March.
Several times I attempted to visit the Kevin Roderick forum, but was called away as I neared the entrance. When I finally found the spare time to get back to the hall, the forum had just ended with the crowd exiting the building. But I was able to cross paths with David Markland, and chat with him for a moment before returning to the staging area.
All of the volunteer drivers are employees of Los Angeles Times, and I highly recommend to my colleagues to volunteer for the next Festival of Books, as I found it highly rewarding and exciting.
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