The following story was shared by JW (thank you!)
This happened about 10 years ago. I was at a Microsoft event in Redmond. You know how it goes: about 1,000 geeks in an auditorium watching PowerPoint presentations about the next best thing. I forget if it was about Windows or Office. One of those two.
In any case, I was getting bored, so I took a break to visit the restroom. As I was zipping up, I remembered that Microsoft always puts out a nice array of snacks, and decided to walk around to see if I could find something to eat.
I walked down the hallway and spotted a half dozen or so workers setting up a snack bar. It was the usual fare: soft drinks, fancy coffee drinks, cookies, muffins, chips, etc. It wasn’t officially open, so I casually walked by, hoping to snag a cookie while nobody was watching.
I saw a big oatmeal raisin, and just as I was about to grab that sucker, it disappeared. I looked up, and Bill Murray beat me to it. Now, I wouldn’t be too shocked to see Bill Gates steal my cookie, but I was not expecting Bill Murray. He looked at me and said, “This one has my name on it, bud.”
We chatted a bit, and it turns out he was in Redmond to visit an old friend, and he wanted to check out Microsoft.
A week later, I received an overnight delivery of two dozen oatmeal raisin cookies, sent anonymously. I don’t think they were from Bill Gates.
That’s super awesome.
He could have looked the guy up while he was there, or asked someone else to do it for him. If Bill Murray wants to reach out and get in touch with someone, I’d imagine he can do it. (Like in this story: http://www.billmurraystory.com/2013/prince-mission-impossible/)
If more folks were like Bill….this world would be flush with wonderful, odd, happiness
So, he asked you for your address?!
I think a lot of people don’t realize that many of those kinds of conventions require people to wear some sort of badge, or identification. Usually with your company or press info etc.
I’ve been reading a few of these stories, and they sound like things he’d do, from what (very) little I know him, just from his movies and SNL skits. He sounds like he likes to have fun, and likes to share.
I would think that there are a lot of not-so-fun things about being a major celebrity; it’s neat that he finds a way to play with that, in a way that the people he runs into can enjoy.