Mr. C.

At this point the laundry list of "personages of note" that I have driven has grown rather lengthy with names of various VIP-status. I never know who is going to be impressive to someone. Some get reverential over Avril Lavigne or Rupert Murdoch. When I was telling my cousins some of my past clients, it was Michael Chiklis ("You drove Mackey??!!") that earned me major props.

Myself, there has to be some sense of accomplishment or hefty body of work to earn awe. A sense that the person has impacted the culture or history. Sure, it's a kick to drive someone like Tim Robbins, Carrie Fisher or Mark Grace (or share lunch, as was the case with Grace). But to get actually awestruck requires more gravitas.

So a very telling anecdote about this happened a few years ago taking someone to the 2003 Emmy's. Because of my passenger's stature and age, I was allowed to park behind the Shrine closest to the exit. The faces hurrying past me were who one would expect: Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert.

Yet it was my own passenger who I excitedly called friend and fellow driving veteran Derek Lewis about. After I told the name, he chuckled.

"Steve, you are the only person I know who would get excited to be driving Walter Cronkite."

You're damn skippy I was.