by Doug Gardner

Created on: July 16, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The air was very damp and cold that winter morning in 1992. At 8:00am, the twin-engine Cessna airplane had just barely touched down, and as it taxied to the private hanger, I could already feel the anxiety of the very busy day ahead of us. It wasn't my first time being with a celebrity, but I was still excited. It would be just Paul and me driving around the city all day, going from place to place so he could speak to large groups.

When Paul came through the doors of the hanger, he cast a movie star image, complete with shiny jet-black hair, sparkling ice blue eyes, a great smile and a statuesque athletic physique. His long black leather coat was open, showing off his expensive-looking black, gray, and white sweater. He carried four shiny black autographed baseball bats in his left hand. As he extended his right hand, his handshake was firm and confident, while he looked straight into my eyes. "Good morning Paul", I said as we shook hands and as I introduced myself to him. "Good morning to you, it's nice to meet you", he responded with a warm friendly smile. The manner in which he greeted me seemed so sincere, it was as though we've known each other for years. Yet this was the first time we ever met.

Paul, known as "Molly" or "The Ignitor", was flown from Milwaukee to La Crosse in a private aircraft so he could speak to a huge assembly of area high school students right away in the morning, then to a large group of college students at one of the city's universities. At noon, Paul was to speak to a group of 150 businessmen from the community. After lunch, we were off to two local hospitals to visit children in the cancer centers of the respective hospitals. At an evening banquet, Paul was scheduled to speak to another large group of nearly 250 attendees. And then finally, Paul would eventually speak to a casual gathering of college students before flying back home in the late evening. As Paul's personal host, this day was a marathon of sorts that I've never experienced in my life.

On the way to his first speaking engagement, Paul initiated most of the conversations as though he really wanted to get to know me. He acted as though he was genuinely interested in my family and me personally. I felt honored just to have him in my car with me. After about ten minutes of driving, it was as though he and I had done this a hundred times.

When we arrived at the first stop, we were greeted by a local sportswriter who was on the organizing committee with me and was to help

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