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Has anyone ever tried mailing an item to Jimmy and asked that he autograph it? I'm thinking along the lines of a photograph or maybe one of his books. I'll never get close enough to Jimmy to ever get an autograph, but I just found an old hard cover copy of APL@50 and would love to get it autographed. I'm just wondering if it is even worth trying.

I sent an article into Dave Barry several years ago and my husband's old boss noticed my name in his book giving me credit as an "alert reader." My husband bought the book, sent it in with a short note and a stamped return address envelope. Dave returned it with a very nice note and autograph in the front of the book and I was very suprised by the whole thing at Christmas! I'd hope Jimmy would do the same for you.

Well, I am going to give it a try. I'll enclose a return mailer so at the very least maybe some staffer will return the book to me even if Jimmy does not sign it.

I want him to sign the page that has this description since it generated such an intersting thread about the meaning of the word ADIABATIC a few weeks ago. I think Jimmy's writing is at its best when he is doing descriptions like this.

"We break through the overcast at five thousand feet, and I get my first look at Costa Rica. We are flying in a long, beautiful valley surrounded by mountain peaks. Rays of sunlight shoot through breaks in the cloud cover like transporter beams from the Enterprise. A rainbow arcs in the sky to an isolated rain shower farther down the valley, and the vast Pacific peeks at us from the western horizon . . . The feel and smell of salt that accompanied us across the Caribbean is gone. Now there is a sweetness in the air that signals altitude, adiabatic cooling, and fertile fields below."

rmissbrook wrote:Has anyone ever tried mailing an item to Jimmy and asked that he autograph it? I'm thinking along the lines of a photograph or maybe one of his books. I'll never get close enough to Jimmy to ever get an autograph, but I just found an old hard cover copy of APL@50 and would love to get it autographed. I'm just wondering if it is even worth trying.

It could happen!

dnw wrote:

rmissbrook wrote:Has anyone ever tried mailing an item to Jimmy and asked that he autograph it? I'm thinking along the lines of a photograph or maybe one of his books. I'll never get close enough to Jimmy to ever get an autograph, but I just found an old hard cover copy of APL@50 and would love to get it autographed. I'm just wondering if it is even worth trying.

It could happen!

I hope it would happen...

Celebrities are real down on doing autographs anymore, sadly, because instead of appreciating and treasuring the autograph (like it sounds like you would), too many other profiteers turn right around and try to market the signed item for their own financial greed. it's a sad, cynical reality nowadays that makes the celebrities defensive, and wrecks it for so many others.

I really hope Jimmy would sign for you..

Unfortunately that was the first thing that came to my mind. I figure I am just going to have to write a sincere enough letter to convince him (or who ever opens the package) that the book will not show up on eBay the next day. Isn't that sad? We'll see what happens.

There is some good ones out there though. I got the email for Bill Goldie Goldthorpe the man who was portrayed in Slap Shot as Ogie Olgethorpe. I asked him if I sent him a Minnesota Fighting Saints Jersey with his name and number would he sign it for me. He said sure. A few weeks later I received the Jersey back along with autographed pics personalized to me. He also told me thanks so much and if it wasn't for the fans he wouldn't be where he was.

The guys who played the triplet brothers in that movie played hockey up here in Marquette years ago. They're actually two brothers and a friend of theirs. Fun movie!

Jeff and Steve Carlson from Virginia Minnesota along with Dave Hanson from St. Paul made up the Hanson Brothers. Jack Carlson
was supposed to be in the movie but got called up to the Minnesota Fighting Saints right before the movie started shooting.
Wonderful guys and willing to sign anything.

TIP:

Print out the entries to this forum topic along with your book.

Ask that he make it out to you.

Some celebrities will not sign something without personalizing it for the reasons of resale listed here.

The key to autographs is to have them make it personal, so no doubt about the intention.
I always do when I sign them, so I know they won't be sold...

When I was a kid, an autograph was something you got yourself. It was the conquest of getting next to the person and have them take the time to sign something for you. It was like proof or something. I will never understand why someone would pay for one.

surfpirate wrote:I played left field on the Key West Margaritaville Cafe's co-ed softball team for 3 games back one summer in the late 90's
(I was a *favorite customer* and was hanging around the bar when they had their first few games and were short players).
Long story short, the Cafe manager, who's name escapes me at the moment, said he'd see if he could get my copy of
A Pirate Looks At Fifty which I'd purchased in the Duval Street M'ville shop personally autographed to me from Jimmy.

I forgot all about it ..... but some 4 months later .......... my book arrived in the mail with a personal note from Jimmy and
inside the cover it read ... "To Bob, Best Wishes, Jimmy Buffett".

Pretty darn cool.
Oh ... and I went 4 for 4 one game for the Margaritaville team vs. their arch-rivals Sloppy Seconds (Sloppy Joe's bar staff).

Nice...

I've heard if you mail items to an address in Key West, which I don't have, and include a self-addressed return envelope eventually you'll get whatever it is you want autographed back with Jimmy's autograph. I've never tried it. Personally, if I'm going to get someone's autograph I'd at least like to be in the same zip code when they're signing whatever it is I want them to sign. But that's just me.

That being said, good luck. I hope you can get the autograph.

LIPH wrote:I've heard if you mail items to an address in Key West, which I don't have, and include a self-addressed return envelope eventually you'll get whatever it is you want autographed back with Jimmy's autograph. I've never tried it. Personally, if I'm going to get someone's autograph I'd at least like to be in the same zip code when they're signing whatever it is I want them to sign. But that's just me.

That being said, good luck. I hope you can get the autograph.

I'm with you on that. Of the 8 items I have autographed by Jimmy, 7 were signed in front of me
and the only one that isn't is the one I described above.

For the same reason, I like having the autograph personalized in some way whenever possible, e.g. "To Bob", etc.,
which devalues the item for eBay-ish resale (no problem),
but increases it's personal value to me.

surfpirate wrote:

LIPH wrote:I've heard if you mail items to an address in Key West, which I don't have, and include a self-addressed return envelope eventually you'll get whatever it is you want autographed back with Jimmy's autograph. I've never tried it. Personally, if I'm going to get someone's autograph I'd at least like to be in the same zip code when they're signing whatever it is I want them to sign. But that's just me.

That being said, good luck. I hope you can get the autograph.

I'm with you on that. Of the 8 items I have autographed by Jimmy, 7 were signed in front of me
and the only one that isn't is the one I described above.

For the same reason, I like having the autograph personalized in some way whenever possible, e.g. "To Bob", etc.,
which devalues the item for eBay-ish resale (no problem),
but increases it's personal value to me.

The next time you get something autographed by Jimmy, get him to autograph it to Debbie.

surfpirate wrote:

LIPH wrote:I've heard if you mail items to an address in Key West, which I don't have, and include a self-addressed return envelope eventually you'll get whatever it is you want autographed back with Jimmy's autograph. I've never tried it. Personally, if I'm going to get someone's autograph I'd at least like to be in the same zip code when they're signing whatever it is I want them to sign. But that's just me.

That being said, good luck. I hope you can get the autograph.

I'm with you on that. Of the 8 items I have autographed by Jimmy, 7 were signed in front of me
and the only one that isn't is the one I described above.

For the same reason, I like having the autograph personalized in some way whenever possible, e.g. "To Bob", etc.,
which devalues the item for eBay-ish resale (no problem),
but increases it's personal value to me.

The next time you get something autographed by Jimmy, get him to autograph it to Debbie.

He didn't personalize this for me.

Left Field ParrotHead wrote:

surfpirate wrote:I played left field on the Key West Margaritaville Cafe's co-ed softball team for 3 games back one summer in the late 90's
(I was a *favorite customer* and was hanging around the bar when they had their first few games and were short players).
Long story short, the Cafe manager, who's name escapes me at the moment, said he'd see if he could get my copy of
A Pirate Looks At Fifty which I'd purchased in the Duval Street M'ville shop personally autographed to me from Jimmy.

I forgot all about it ..... but some 4 months later .......... my book arrived in the mail with a personal note from Jimmy and
inside the cover it read ... "To Bob, Best Wishes, Jimmy Buffett".

Pretty darn cool.
Oh ... and I went 4 for 4 one game for the Margaritaville team vs. their arch-rivals Sloppy Seconds (Sloppy Joe's bar staff).

Nice...

Ha! That's funny. Now if Jimmy would take up ice hockey and put together a team...

I had read several places that the way to get to Jimmy is through the Margaritaville in Key West. So being the shameless hussy that I am I sent a couple of fan letters to that Margaritaville. It was about 4 or 5 months letter that I got an autographed picture back from Key West. It's a stock picture, but it is personalized. So that is where I am going to send the book and see what happens. I thought I would also send the thread with the discussion about adiabatic to show that this was going to be a keepsake for myself.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.