IT WAS TOLD TO ME ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO AND REITERATED SINCE,that when it comes to autograph collecting, be very glad to have what you have received, and be glad they (the celebrities) gave you anything at all. Though I can appreciate and understand that logic, there is a big difference at being happy for receiving an autograph, but not always happy for the autograph received. Often, the reality is that, at best, signatures can be rushed, sloppy, signed over other signatures, upside-down, smudged, inconsistent to previously signed signatures, initials only, autographed in dark areas, different this decade from last, different today than yesterday and different still from what you may receive tomorrow. Or, they might be the most beautiful example of an artist’s penmanship you can ever hope to receive. In the case of the band, Eagles, I find the signatures that I have received which started as far back as 1986 and continuing to the present day, to be all the above and much more. Not to single any one member out more than the other(s), I have received autographs from each all the while: pen in one hand-drink in another; pen in one hand-girl in another; pen in one hand-cigarette in another; looking left-signing right; walking foreword-signing turned backwards; on the hood of a car; from the window of a car; from a slow moving car; walking to a car; at a golf course; at a television filming location; at an airport; at a restaurant; at a bar; at a hotel; feeling happy-visibly upset; sober and wide awake; a bit tipsy and slightly incoherent; up to and including sitting comfortably at a table awaiting the next piece of memorabilia handed to them in an office style setting or prearranged autograph signing. The band Eagles are no different basically than any other band when it comes to signing autographs. Between the years of 1986-2000, I tracked them down and chased them down, more so, than any other band within my museum and have collected a fairly large supply of autographed memorabilia. Though not at all easy then, some will tell you it’s almost impossible now. I do not know what this bands policy presently is or isn’t when it comes to signing autographs, however, I do know as I personally witnessed during what I refer to as “The Solo Years” up to about 1994, each of these 7 members were signing anything and everything, as often as they were found and given, and as much as I would ask of them to sign (on most occasions). Sure, it took some trickery and payoffs of many event passes. Sure it took some ethics that I now would no longer take part in or encourage anyone else too either. Yes I paid through the nose for some very expensive “meet and greets” and access into areas that I probably should not have ever been at. I have also probably have been asked, “What are you doing here?” and “How did you get in here?” more times by these members, than you will today hear an Eagles song on the radio on any given day. However, if I wanted the autograph, that’s just how it was way back then. Yes, Don Henley’s management team “asked” me off his Beverly Hills business property in 1993. Yes, Don Felder in 1994 did have me served a court order/restraining order. Yes, I was “detained, though just briefly” by the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre Security on May 27, 1994, opening night of their tour (but still very much attended the show). Yes, I was “asked” to check out from the Newport Beach Four Seasons Hotel by their Security Manager Mr. Smokey Wendell on the same opening night of the Yes, I did travel to the states of Washington, Oregon, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah and Arizona to obtain their signatures over 30 years (and had incredible and enjoyable success). Yes, many of the “stories” that have been spread about how I obtained the 500+ signatures I have by these 7 members have some basis of truth, though most that I have heard, and even read, are wildly exaggerated. Most encounters were actually very pleasant. With respect to the many ways I obtained these signatures, is it any surprise that, though many of the signatures in my collection do follow a pattern of what may be called “a consistency of signature”, it is an unrealistic and unreasonable expectation that every signature over this 30 year period (under some of the most improbable means of obtaining them) would all fall within what many wish would be continued "consistency." My collection, and this website, exist
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