Celebrities

Most of you who have come into Jake's have noticed the pictures that we have put up on one of our walls. They are pictures of celebrities who have eaten at Jake's, one of our cater jobs, or that I have just met somewhere in Central Oregon. All of which have given me permission to place them on my wall.

But reading a post from BOR the other day brought back memories of others that have been in but are not posted on the wall. Others such as LL Cool J, Tommy Lee, Boston (I do have one of their guitar pics posted however), Ernest Borgnine, Inner Circle, and my personal favorite, Willy Nelson. When we were a truck stop, I am sure that their were more than that, however, as you never knew who all came through in the middle of the night.

Tommy Lee was in a few times and the waitresses said that he was very friendly and animated and all around him enjoyed him very much.

Inner Circle were there one morning as I arrived at work. I sat out back and talked with a couple of them after they had eaten and were waiting for their bus to be serviced. I had no idea who they were but noted that they had Jamaican accents and I had a friend from Jamaican. I asked them if their band was famous and they said, "No, we are just a band.". I had fun talking with them as the sun was rising and when they got on their bus and drove away we all waved and said our goodbyes.

A week or so later, I was driving my Jamaican friend around and asked him if he knew of a Jamaican band that had passed through. "The symbol for their band was a circle with stick people inside of it.", I told him. My daughter screamed from the back seat, "Dad, that is Inner Circle.". "Who are they?", I asked. "They are the ones who sing "Bad Boys".

But my very favorite was Willy. He came and sat at the counter. He was singing that evening in Sisters. The waitress came and got me and told me that they thought Willy was there and asked if I could check and find out for sure. I grabbed a pot of coffee and started his way. As I stood in front of him pouring, I asked him if I could ask him a question. He looked up and in a voice that is so unmistakable said, "I am not him. I just look like him. I am a truck driver. I drive a truck.". I knew right then that he did not want to be bothered . He probably just wanted to get away on his own from all of the craziness. I told him that he would not be bothered. He looked up and me, winked, and said, "Thanks.". I walked back to the waitresses and said. No, its not him. That guy is a driver and his truck is sitting out back.