I want to thank you for being patient with me, I have been working out of town and took a much needed break, so this post is a couple of weeks late. I am also having some computer problems, so I will post the photos for this post on Part II of My Adventures with Steve Irwin.
I was surprised to find out Steve's people were trying to track me down to come to the Oprah Show when he was making an appearance. He wanted to use Bubba for the show. When I met him for the first time at her studio I could tell he was a real guy, very personable and fun. He asked me the important questions, Bubba's statistics and what he could do with him on stage, very thorough. His enthusiasm was real, he was the same guy off camera as on. During the show, he engaged Oprah with so much information, he was able to convince her to hug Bubba. Even Oprah was surprised she did it! I was later told by someone on her staff that she that she had a photo of her and Bubba hanging in her office along with people who had been on the show.
The show went so well, I was asked by Steve and his manager to come over to the Rainforest Cafe for a media blitz to promote his upcoming summer movie opening. On arrival, it took 3 tables to put Bubba on for photos to meet the press. He started moving but followed my command to lie down. Steve and his manager observing, were blown away that Bubba complied. Steve asked me "Crikey, how did you train the bloke"? I gave him the cliff notes and soon after, they asked me if I would be willing to bring Bubba to LosAngeles for Steve's movie premier!
The next day, I received a call from MGM with my flight details, but there were loading and temperature control issues on a commercial flight, but they said they would work it out. The next call from MGM was telling me they hired a private jet to take my son, myself and Bubba to California! My first meeting with the pilot named Phillip was funny, he was very nervous to have a gator on his plane. After all, Sheryl Crow had just exited his jet. I assured him Bubba would be the best passenager he ever had. As we descended into LA, he came back and told me I was right about Bubba, he said he had flown some crazy passengers. He had called ahead to the airport letting them know who and what was on board. When we arrived, all the VIP'S were on the tarmac waiting to take photos with Bubba in front of Steve's MGM jet. (Steve's jet was emblazoned with a giant crocodile the entire length of the jet, with Croc Hunter on the tail) All of a sudden, the pilot loved having flown Bubba the Alligator!
