Hi everyone,

Thanks for your comments about my Diana Ross post last week. I realized that what happened wasn't really as much of a reflection on Miss Ross as it was about her organization, from her security, to her PR firm, to her personal assistant. Maybe they just didn't inform her as well as they should have.

But I must say that last night made up for that. Aretha Franklin, who, sadly, is battling a brave fight with pancreatic cancer, was holding a huge bash to celebrate her birthday. According to the press, Ms. Franklin had complete control over this event, from the items used at the party to the specifics of the minibus that she chartered from her home in Detroit to her party here in New York. Guests were rumored to include a who's who of pop culture, such as Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and some woman named Oprah.

Due to Ms. Franklin's legendary status, and more specifically to the fact that I was not sure if I would ever get the chance to meet her at a later point, I decided that some way, somehow, somewhere, I would obtain her autograph last night. The articles also reported that before the event, Ms. Franklin was going to attend the Broadway production of "Driving Miss Daisy" starring James Earl Jones. Therefore, I assumed that the theatre would be my first stop. But it was 5:15 when I left for the theatre district-WAY too early to wait for someone who was not actually in the play.

The good news was that I had seen paparazzi pictures earlier this week of Ms. Franklin at the Ritz-Carlton, so I headed to the hotel in hopes of snatching that signature. Now, I've waited at hotels for celebrities numerous times. But I have never seen the mix of autograph collectors and paparazzi that I saw yesterday at the Ritz. At about 5:45, the hotel doormen told us to stand back as a black SUV pulled up right in front of the door. We all knew that this would be "the moment". And just a few seconds later, accompanied by her bodyguards, was an almost unrecognizable Aretha Franklin. She has lost a huge amount of weight due to her illness, and while she SOUNDED like she was in good spirits, her face sure didn't look it.

It was only about 25 feet from the door of the hotel to the door of the vehicle. But while Ms. Franklin was walking these steps, my fellow autograph collectors were IN HER FACE. "Over here!" "What about me?" How rude! What about a simple "Happy birthday Ms. Franklin, how are you feeling?" as I attempted to say? Before she could even get to anyone's items, Ms. Franklin's bodyguards brought her into the car and slammed the door shut.

This normally is a sad end to an autograph collecting experience. However, the Queen of Soul then rolled down her window and waved her guards over. The guards informed the 10 of us waiting that they would accept our items, one at a time. We handed our items and Sharpies to the guards to give to Ms. Franklin, who then signed everything we had for us! And it wasn't a scribble either! On my index card she wrote: "Best, Aretha 2011" with a smiley-face caricature in the first "A".

While I must say that I am appalled by the behavior of some of my fellow collectors, and particularly the press waiting outside the Ritz-Carlton yesterday, I still must applaud Aretha Franklin and her security team for handling this like troupers. They were all very calm and made sure that everyone was accommodated.

Long live the Queen.

Bye for now,

David