The Two Daniels

Maybe it wasn’t quite their 15 minutes of fame but two young Visalians, who share a first name, will settle for what they got during the last couple of weeks. And, each has something to show for their “close encounters of the fame kind.”

Daniel Benoy, a 16-year-old Mt. Whitney High School junior had his encounter with a billionaire who just happens to be his idol. And 9-year-old Daniel Sharma, a student at Hurley School, encountered a millionaire who is the idol of millions and most probably will become his favorite sports hero.

Here pholks, is what happened to these two young men who already have a good start on things to tell their future children and grandchildren!

Daniel Benoy’s encounter was the result of his father Alan’s winning a family vacation in a fund-raising raffle benefitting the Kaweah Oaks Preserve. The family selected a weekend trip to Anaheim to visit Disneyland and see a Los Angeles Dodger game. It was not until they had checked into the Merriott Hotel that the Benoys had any hind that Microsoft founder Bill Gates was under the same roof. Gates, an avid bridge player, was entered into a tournament. As Daniel tells the story, as an elevator door was opening he overheard several women talking about Gates being at the hotel for the tournament. Daniel and his younger sister, Katie, began a search of the building while their parents finished their coffee. With no Bill sighting the family was getting ready to leave the hotel when they spotted a newspaper with Gates’ photo and story about the West Coast tournament on the front page.

Another search had quick results and, thanks to mom and sis, approached Gates during a brief break in the bridge event. Gates was happy to pose for a photo with Daniel and he signed a copy of the newspaper. Several other people had their copies of Windows 98 signed by the billionaire, Daniel said.

Of course the 16-year-old Daniel was thrilled to meet his hero but he says he was really surprised to learn that Gates wasn’t “stuck up or anything” and didn’t have any body guards. “He was just like a regular guy” and very friendly, taking time to talk with people, Daniel said.

And mom Dorothy, who was the one who walked up to Gates initially, echoes her son’s assessment of the Redmond, Washington based computer genius and financial wizard. “He was just so nice and accommodating to people,.” she said, adding that he took her children a little while to get their feet back on the ground.

And guess what Daniel wants to be? “Either a computer tech or a member of a SWAT team.”

The other close encounter, for young Daniel Sharma, son of Visalia Dr. Dinesh Sharma, took place in Michigan during a family visit with grandparents. Daniel encountered Tiger Woods, probably the most recognized person on the planet, while attending the Buick Pro-Am. Daniel had his Michigan State football along with him and had it signed by Davis Love III who agreed to get Tiger to sign it also. As Tiger passed by on the 15th hole, Love tossed the pigskin to Butch Harmon, Woods’ playing partner who tossed it to Tiger. After signing the ball, Woods, at the urging of the gallery, threw a pass back to Love.

There may be a quite a few golf gloves, bags and balls and caps with Tiger’s autograph. But pholks, I guarantee young Daniel Sharma is one of a darned few people in the whole wide world with a Tiger Woods autographed football.

So even though these two young Visalians may still have their individual 15 minutes of fame somewhere in the future, they already have some pretty impressive memories. And they have proof to show those kids and grandkids who might otherwise be a little skeptical.