Lunch With A Wrestler

There used to be a popular contest back in the 1980's that the WWF promoted: "Lunch With A Wrestler." Back when I was an 11-year-old kid living in New York, I was determined to go out and chow down with Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, or any of my heros of the time. I had a subscription to WWF Magazine and would see the photos and articles of the kids who won the most memorable days of their lives hitting a restuarant with Brutus Beefcake, Billy Jack Haynes, and the Bushwackers. I used to wonder how they were able to get chosen for such a fun time, and why I never won. Nevertheless, I always submitted my entry and hoped the next kid would be me.

Well, 15 years later, I finally "won the contest" and had lunch with a wrestler! However, we were both in Minnesota, wearing business attire, and were a little older and more sophisticated. It wasn't sponsored by the WWF by any means, and it was not featured in their magazine. But I joined Barry Darsow for a business lunch at Perkins in Golden Valley. Later, we got together again to spend our lunch breaks at two other local restaurants...the New Garden Chinese Restaurant (one of my favorite restaurants) and the Robin Steakhouse, both in Robbinsdale.

The moral of the story is, if you are hoping for something, don't ever say "never" or "it's too late." As long as you are still breathing, you still have a chance. If it's suppossed to happen, you'll live to see it.

The guy who used to growl that he would kick his opponents' teeth out is actually quite a gentleman, easy to talk to, and a lot of fun to spend time with. It's always fun to get stared at by customers in the booth across the aisleway and debate over who they are actually looking at. It's also a priceless moment when the 300 lb. guy you are sitting with contemplates ordering the family-sized (which feeds four people) Wonton Soup. But the best part is catching up on life and getting feedback on everything interesting going on in life.