I Met The REAL Carson King Over The Weekend
Working in television and radio, I've been very fortunate to meet some pretty cool people over the last 20 years. That is by far the best part of the gig. This last weekend was extra special, when I was able to meet Carson King.
King was in Cedar Rapids to be a part of the Bret Michaels "Hometown Heroes" concert at the U.S. Cellular Center. He was honored with the rest of the heroes from Eastern Iowa in a small ceremony before the concert.
Meeting a "celebrity" is always weird because you never know what you're going to get. I've had mostly good experiences over the years, but there have been a few bad ones too. I'm here to tell you, meeting Carson King was one of the best, hands down.
We first met at the pre-party backstage. He met the fans, took pictures, signed autographs and acted like a normal person. He didn't have to act like a normal person because after all, he's Carson King!
He could have had his publicist with him and he could have traveled in a limo. He could have put a time frame on his visit and had a list of demands for the promoter, but he didn't. He was just a normal guy from Altoona, that helped raise over $3 million dollars for the Children's Hospital in Iowa City.
He showed up to the party with his father. EVERYONE wanted to talk to him and I lost track after about 50 or so people asked him for a photo. He never told anybody no. He took photo after photo and just smiled. That's the kind of guy Carson King is.
When I asked if he wanted to say a few words on stage, he seemed surprised that I asked him. He was very humble, very chill, and just a down to earth super cool guy.
At the end of the night, he was trying to leave but people kept asking for photos. Again, he never said no to one single person. He smiled until the last photo was taken. I'll be honest, I'm not sure how he did it!
As he left I walked with him from the venue and to his car. I thanked him for everything and asked if I could get the number to his "handler" for a future interview. He said he didn't have one and told me to send him a text. We exchanged numbers and I left thinking, what a great dude!
So on behalf of all of us here in the great state of Iowa, thanks for being a great representative, Carson King.
And thanks for being you.