These fleeting moments can come at any time of life, they can come often or hardly at all!

Moments when you felt on top of the world.

Moments when you felt that you had “made it”.

15 minutes of fame, was an expression coined by Andy Warhol.

15 minutes, meaning the fleeting nature of fame.

Four stories of my “15 minutes of fame”.

THE HOME RUN

I was 11 years old. It was the day of the school softball game against a rival school. I was the last one to be chosen to play for my school. Probably, because of my mediocre softball skills!

Our parents were invited and of course some pupils from each school. A large crowd of onlookers!

So, it was the last of the ninth inning and I came up to bat. I saw the long faces of my team-mates. They were thinking they wish someone else was up to bat. Someone who could hit!

The score was 0-0!

I was nervous but I tried not to show it. I took a couple of practice swings, like the pros. On the first pitch I swung with all my might and connected.

The ball flew out of the infield into the outfield and fell between the left fielder and the center fielder. They both were running after the ball, it went all the way to the barrier.

I was running around the bases as fast as I could, yet it seemed like slow motion!

The center fielder finally ran down the ball and threw it back to the infield, but by that time I had crossed home plate.

Bedlam broke out!

All my team-mates were jumping up and down and patting me on the back. All the parents were clapping and cheering. I had won the ball game and I felt 10 feet tall!

My accomplishment was reported in the school newspaper. It was a great day!

TOP OF THE CLASS

I was 15 years old and I was the only one in the class to get 100% on a big Latin exam. The teacher told me to stand and take a bow. The 30 students in the class and the teacher gave me a round of applause. I was ecstatic!

LOCAL FAME

I was 30 years old and getting married in Rothwell, in 1969.

When I came out of the doors of the Parish Church with my new wife for the picture taking, a huge cheer went up from the assembled crowd. People were sitting on the walls around the Church. I was gob-smacked! It seemed like the whole town had come out to see what this American looked like that was marrying a local girl.

The crowd was cheering and clapping. A reporter from the local paper was taking photos. I felt like a Rock Star! It was reported in the local paper. It was like a Royal wedding!

TEN-PIN BOWLING STAR

I was 69 years old and I bowled my highest game ever. Now, a perfect game is a 300 score, that’s 12 strikes in a row! I had bowled 8 strikes and 4 spares which gave me a 235 game! I felt invincible throwing the ball that day!

When the game finished, I had a crowd around my alley, all clapping. It was a great feeling!

The management of the alleys gave me a printout of my game and a voucher for 3 free games. No newspaper story this time!