Living here in San Diego, I have had occasional run-in with local celebrities. Don’t believe me? Well, I spoke with Tony Hawk (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 era!) at Pizza Port. I got a fist bump from one Mr. Bill Goldberg at a Fatburger.  And there was the time I saw Dave Mustaine at a… wow, it just hit me I meet a lot of folks at food joints.
 
To keep the theme going, I’m going to talk about the most impactful and painful interaction I had with himself, Rob Halford! If you are unaware of the name, let me give you the details. Rob Halford is the lead singer of the heavy-metal legendary band Judas Priest.  The Hellbent for Leather vocalist  can hit notes that can pretty much crack glass. If there was a “Mount Rushmore of Metal,” his face would be most mountainous! His presence on stage would be so captivating that there were VHS study tapes on how to mimic his style. Get it? Right.

So, that's Rob Halford and I met him on a fated Thursday afternoon a couple years back. On my usual breakfast burrito quest, I found myself stunned midway in the door. Like a light in the dark, my vision tunneled to the lightning bolt tattooed to the side of his head. It was then that I knew it. The man I idolized growing up was right in front of me. This was my chance to thank this man for a lifetime of music and shake his hand. And in my mind, this was going to be so smooth. Instead it went something like…
 
“Hey Rob!” I blurted out. Calling him out by his first name like I see him every day.
 
He turned around, “Oh hello” responding back politely.
 
“What are you doing here?” again blurting out.
 
“I’m going to get a taco” he said… still politely.
 
“Cool…yeah.” Slight 30 seconds of awkward silence.
 
I then turned around and left. No conversations. No handshake. Worst of all, no breakfast burrito. If you meet your hero, you might want to practice before you say something.

But in the meantime, blast some Judas Priest!!