[KenL]

I'll skip the pre-story, but I was assigned to be security for Davy Jones of the Monkees for an afternoon. He was doing a grand opening gig for a big department store opening at Westroads Mall in Omaha.

I met his limo as it pulled up, and he jumped out. Tiny guy, was a jockey at one time. With him were his wife and two kids. The kids were VERY British, in hair and clothing styles, and sort of goofy as teenagers can be. Their mom told them to be back in 90 minutes and they took off.

Mr. Jones could not have been more cordial. A genuinely nice man, and very low key. When it was time, I led him out to the stage and he climbed the steps up and before him was a crowd of about 200 middle-aged women. And it's like somebody flipped a switch and he became A MONKEE!!! It took about 8 seconds and he had that crowd completely entranced- I've never seen anything like it. He sang, he danced, he told stories, and looked like he was having a good time himself.

While he was onstage, I sat backstage with his wife. She was a lovely woman, had that British peaches-and-cream complexion, dark hair and blue eyes. She also had the biggest diamond I've ever seen, except for the Hope Diamond, on her finger. She was very pleasant, and asked about my family and my job and such. Nice.

When her husband wrapped it up, I walked them out the door to the limo, where he gave me an autographed copy of his book, "They Made a Monkee Out of Me." (And it's a very interesting read!) They climbed in and departed, and made a lasting impression on me. It was a great afternoon; I met some nice people, got a free book, and made some good money as well.

It was a sad day for me in February of 2012 when he passed away.