Dargo
Like a bad penny...
I see that Jack Palance passed away yesterday. He was an incredible man. I happened to meet Jack and sort of got to know him over a couple of days during the summer of 1979; or was it 1978. 
Anyway, I spent that entire summer living in San Diego. The apartment I shared with a friend was walking distance from Balboa Park. I met Jack when I was chasing a frisbee and literally ran smashing into him. 
All I knew was that I was not watching where I was going and I thought I'd just killed this "old guy". To my surprise, the "old guy" sprang back up and apologized to me for clobbering me, saying he was chasing a frisbee and not watching where he was going! Needless to say, a long conversation ensued. After introductions, I had no idea who "Jack Palance" was, and he seemed to be thrilled by that fact. We discussed jogging at one point and he invited me to run with him the next morning because he had a "absolutely fantastic" place to run on the beach. Although the guy was old, (I was 17 and he must have been about 60) he was much bigger than I was and was kind of scary in a certain way. But, I definitely didn't get any sense that he was a weirdo or something, so I took him up on his offer.
We met the next morning and he took me on a 7 mile run that ended on Black's Beach. I don't know if it's still there, but if you know what it is, you can imagine how much I liked it as a young teen!
After the run, the old guy took me by his place on the way to taking me back to my rented apartment. The "old guy", Jack, had a rather nice place in San Diego, but said he really didn't live there. I sensed that he must have had some money, but had no clue to who he was until I told him that I needed to get back to my apartment because I needed to call my mom back home (remember, no such thing as cell phones back then). Jack insisted that I go ahead and use his phone although I kept saying that it was long distance. It was when talking to my mom that I told her that I was calling from the home of a new friend I'd met a few days before. When I told my mom his name, she obviously thought I was kidding. I actually still didn't get it and, to prove to my mom I wasn't lying, put Jack on the phone with her.
Needless to say, my mom was in shock. Apparently she recognized his unique voice right away. He assured my mom that he'd get me to my apartment safely and that he was only in town there for another day or so. Later that day Jack took me and the friend I was sharing an apartment with to some extremely wild party town just south of the border in Mexico. I'm too tired right now to recall the name, but I'm sure most will know of the town I mean. I saw some things at some "adult" shows there I still can't believe!
Holy cow man! I don't know if that place is still the same, but it was incredibly wild. Jack knew his way around and absolutely nobody messed with him. I figured that Jack must have been a real movie star like my mom said since lots of people knew him there.
I had no money, but Jack insisted on buying my friend and I some gifts for the trip. I got my mom some stuff and I got a poncho at a shop there. I'd never seen bartering before then, and loved watching Jack really get into the bartering with the merchants. From what I could tell, he had plenty of money, but just loved the bartering process. I still have that poncho somewhere and I think my mom still has a picture I got her there that Jack wrote a quick note on and signed for my mom. I got sick at the customs stop getting back into the states but, again, Jack got us through with his "connections" without much delay.
I haven't thought much about those few days in about a quarter of a century now. I just thought I'd share them since I saw that Jack passed away and recall that time fondly. Other than sharing a room with "Rudy" (the guy who wrote the book about his Notre Dame experience - yeah, him) for a couple of weeks long ago, Jack is about the only "star" I've really met; not counting just shaking hands in a crowd. Jack was a great guy and seemed to enjoy being treated just like anyone else. It never struck me as odd that a guy in his 60's was playing frisbee or that he could run 7 miles at a brisk pace with a 17 year old. Thinking back, he was obviously in great shape. Oh well, he was a great guy. May he rest in peace.
Anyway, I spent that entire summer living in San Diego. The apartment I shared with a friend was walking distance from Balboa Park. I met Jack when I was chasing a frisbee and literally ran smashing into him. All I knew was that I was not watching where I was going and I thought I'd just killed this "old guy". To my surprise, the "old guy" sprang back up and apologized to me for clobbering me, saying he was chasing a frisbee and not watching where he was going! Needless to say, a long conversation ensued. After introductions, I had no idea who "Jack Palance" was, and he seemed to be thrilled by that fact. We discussed jogging at one point and he invited me to run with him the next morning because he had a "absolutely fantastic" place to run on the beach. Although the guy was old, (I was 17 and he must have been about 60) he was much bigger than I was and was kind of scary in a certain way. But, I definitely didn't get any sense that he was a weirdo or something, so I took him up on his offer.
We met the next morning and he took me on a 7 mile run that ended on Black's Beach. I don't know if it's still there, but if you know what it is, you can imagine how much I liked it as a young teen!
After the run, the old guy took me by his place on the way to taking me back to my rented apartment. The "old guy", Jack, had a rather nice place in San Diego, but said he really didn't live there. I sensed that he must have had some money, but had no clue to who he was until I told him that I needed to get back to my apartment because I needed to call my mom back home (remember, no such thing as cell phones back then). Jack insisted that I go ahead and use his phone although I kept saying that it was long distance. It was when talking to my mom that I told her that I was calling from the home of a new friend I'd met a few days before. When I told my mom his name, she obviously thought I was kidding. I actually still didn't get it and, to prove to my mom I wasn't lying, put Jack on the phone with her.Needless to say, my mom was in shock. Apparently she recognized his unique voice right away. He assured my mom that he'd get me to my apartment safely and that he was only in town there for another day or so. Later that day Jack took me and the friend I was sharing an apartment with to some extremely wild party town just south of the border in Mexico. I'm too tired right now to recall the name, but I'm sure most will know of the town I mean. I saw some things at some "adult" shows there I still can't believe!
Holy cow man! I don't know if that place is still the same, but it was incredibly wild. Jack knew his way around and absolutely nobody messed with him. I figured that Jack must have been a real movie star like my mom said since lots of people knew him there.I had no money, but Jack insisted on buying my friend and I some gifts for the trip. I got my mom some stuff and I got a poncho at a shop there. I'd never seen bartering before then, and loved watching Jack really get into the bartering with the merchants. From what I could tell, he had plenty of money, but just loved the bartering process. I still have that poncho somewhere and I think my mom still has a picture I got her there that Jack wrote a quick note on and signed for my mom. I got sick at the customs stop getting back into the states but, again, Jack got us through with his "connections" without much delay.
I haven't thought much about those few days in about a quarter of a century now. I just thought I'd share them since I saw that Jack passed away and recall that time fondly. Other than sharing a room with "Rudy" (the guy who wrote the book about his Notre Dame experience - yeah, him) for a couple of weeks long ago, Jack is about the only "star" I've really met; not counting just shaking hands in a crowd. Jack was a great guy and seemed to enjoy being treated just like anyone else. It never struck me as odd that a guy in his 60's was playing frisbee or that he could run 7 miles at a brisk pace with a 17 year old. Thinking back, he was obviously in great shape. Oh well, he was a great guy. May he rest in peace.
