Veteran actress, Brooke Shields, was co-hosting the Today Show this morning when I happened to glance at the screen.  Still very good looking, Shields, who began her career at the age of 12, is no longer a kid, in her mid-40's, twice married, with children of her own.  Seeing her took me back to one of my crazier pr experiences.  One in which both she and Prince Albert of Monaco very much figured.

It was in the early 80's and my pr firm was representing the brand new, very up-scale Bonaventure Spa and Resort in Broward County.  Bonaventure was proudly sponsoring the Princess Grace Tennis Tournament, a major fund raiser held annually by the Monacan royal family for some charity that slips my mind at the moment.  The really big deal was that Prince Albert, Grace Kelly's son himself, was coming to the resort to preside over the event.  Big excitement.  Big possibility for national and even international publicity for my client.

Someone in my office watched a TV show where 19 year old Brooke Shields was interviewed.  One of the questions she was asked was "Who would you most like to meet?"  Her answer? You guessed it. Prince Albert of Monaco!  OMG, a double whammy for my client. . the hot young actress and the hot young prince.

Contact was made with Brooke's agent who just happened to be her mother and arrangements were finalized for both of them to arrive at the resort.  The actress came with her mother.  The prince arrived with an entourage that included two body guards, a well known pro football player, and two  "royal groupies", one more super sophisticated and ultra sexy than the next.

Albert, who was rather short and not terribly good looking, did us the favor of posing for photos with Brooke. The moment the photographer finished, he smiled briefly and hightailed it back to his entourage.  To say that he was uninterested in the extremely tall, surprisingly unsophisticated, teen age actress, was the understatement of the year. 

Poor Brooke. She was totally devastated at the obvious brushoff, actually to the point of crying.  That's when her mother, a dominating presence if ever I met one, suggested that a few hours in the plush new Spa might make her feel better.  But she mustn't go there alone.

"You have got to be kidding," I spluttered, when the client informed me that I was the one chosen to accompany the actress.  "Go!" he commanded, "and for God's sake, try to make her feel better. This was your idea.  Now take care of it."

That's how I ended up, wearing nothing but a towel in the ungodly hot suana at Bonaventure Spa, sitting next to a sniffling, equally naked Brooke Shields, trying to convince her that Albert was no big deal.  Had I known at the time that she would soon meet and marry Andre Agassi, she might have felt a helluva lot better.

Watching her this morning on the Today Show I was pretty sure she has long since forgotten the incident.  Me?  I'll never forget it.
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Photo caption:  Did I mention she was tall?????

Oprah has nothing on me. . . .

The People Page of today's Miami Herald has an article on "The Estefans get Oprah-ed".  I'm not sure I've ever watched Oprah's new cable network, but I do have my own memories of Gloria and Emilio, and the article got me to reminiscing.

Today, the couple are important members of South Florida's philanthropic community as well as active partners in the Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins.  But when I first came in contact with them they were none of the above..  It was the mid-80's and the musical group called The Miami Sound Machine was yet to make a name for itself or its lead singer.  As a matter of fact they were simply one more name on the list of local bands I would consider hiring for the many different events that my pr firm was constantly staging for our various clients.

The Miami Sound Machine was being touted by Emilio himself in those days, and the going rate was $200 for a 2 hour gig.  I remember very well one real estate client for whom we were planning the opening of a new community who nixed hiring them as "Too expensive!"   I believe I found that client another group that only cost $175.

My next contact with both the Estefans came in early 1991.  The couple were already pretty famous as the forefront of crossover Latin-flavored music into the pop music scene when Glorida was seriously injured in an accident when her tour bus was rear ended by a huge semi-tractor   Her very serious back injuries were treated by the University of Miami's famed Dr. Barth Green and through that successful relationship both Gloria and Emilio became benefactors of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, founded by former Miami Dolphin Nick Buoniconti and his son Mark..

Our firm had been hired to do publicity for the Miami Project's "Wheels Across America" fund rasing project with Andrea actually going out on the road periodically to handle press for a young wheelchair-bound man who was wheeling his way from California to New York City.  It was a highly successful fund raiser and we continued to do pro bono work for the Miami Project on several occasions.

One such occasion was a call to handle the making of several PSA's (Public Service Announcements) in which Gloria Estefan, who had experienced the real possibility of paralysis when she was so badly injured, had volunteered to serve as spokesperson.  Our office wrote the script for the announcements and worked with the film crew to set up an area in Emilio's private recording studio where the PSAs would be filmed.

Gloria could not have been more cooperative or easy to work with.  When she finished filming the  spot we had prepared, she turned to me and said "Why don't we also do this in Spanish so you can air it on Univision?"  I thought it was a great idea but mentioned that it might take me a little time to find a translator for the copy.  Her answer?  "No problem.  I'll translate it for you."

Needless to say, I was thrilled and the entire filming was wrapped up in another hour.  As we left  the Estefan's building one of the camera men came up to me and asked who translated the script into Spanish.  I could tell by the look on his face he wasn't happy with the translation and I asked why.

"The worst Spanglish I ever heard," he said with a grimace.  "We don't talk that way in Argentina."  That's when this "gringo" learned that being Latin doesn't always mean you speak Spanish quite the same way.  Yes, she's very Americanized, but Gloria is definitely Cuban and proud of it.  She and Emilio are a remarkable couple. I'm proud to have also worked with them.

So there, Oprah!
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Surfing the radio waves. . .

Tuesday mornings at WLRN Public Radio always make me smile.

To start with, when I arrive promptly at 8am I am greeted in the entrance lobby by a larger-than-life cardboard cutout of Big Bird.  I have no idea why he's there but he does brighten the morning. (See photo for how big Bird really is!)

Next I climb the stairs to the second floor sound studio where I will spend the next two hours cutting, editing and reading the day's Miami Herald to the visually impaired.. On my way, I pass the open door to Joseph Cooper's office.  WLRN followers know Joseph as the station's premiere on-air interviewer of all sorts of celebrities and interesting people.  This morning as I pass his door, I hear Joe's phone ring.  The familiar baritone voice answers thusly: "Bates Motel.  Norman speaking."   This time I burst out laughing.  Can't imagine what the person on the other end of the line had to say to that opening.

Once upstairs, I enter my studio and settle in with my scissors and newspapers along with my special reading partner, Marianne.  Within a minute or two I know I will be warmly greeted by one of the stations most loved staff members.  This one has four feet and lots of white fur and goes by the name of Daisy.  She will lavish me with kisses and tail wags until her human, Wanda Stiles, shows up, and they both move on to the day's business. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Daisy has her own talk show. She certainly knows her way around the station.

Are you getting the feeling this is a most unusual work place?  After some three years of volunteering here I've gotten to know many of the regular staffers and on-air personalities.  I actually play "Words With Friends" on my iPhone with Mario, the head of Radio Reading Services.  He's a tough competitor.  WLRN's building is in downtown Miami.  It's an interesting millieu that I would probably never have had the opportunity to get to know if the significant other hadn't been doing school tours through the station for many years and suggested I audition for the reading job.  (Yeah, I passed.  On the first try, too.)

I guess what I'm doing here is recommending volunteering as a meaningful way to spend retirement years and even before retirement if you can find the time..  Doesn't matter where or what you choose to do.  I find it very rewarding.  I think you will too.
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