Funny you put it that way, I had a similar feeling... -When I first met Jon his hair was already pure snow-white... -It took several days before I could 'accept' that he was the same 'lord' of a man who I used to watch, slackjawed...
He and Ian Paice married sisters... One return trip from the US (one of several in rapid succession) I wanted to 'smuggle' back a somewhat heavy gear-headed DC motor to make an EMT plate remote, but didn't want it to 'tear up' any of my luggage. Ian was about to throw out a large-ish suitcase -which had his initials on it. -He suggested that I take his case back with the motor in, and since it was about to be thrown away anyhow, it didn't matter if it got banged-up. -I was going to toss it once back home.
My mum was out of town for a month, so I'd agreed to stay at her house for the 2 weeks, water the plants, feed the cat, etc. -Since she'd lost her key recently, the locks had been changed, so she left a copy of the new key with the next door neighbour, and since this was a 'terraced' row-house, the front door was about four feet from her own.
I climbed out of the cab from the airport, knocked on the neighbour's door with the suitcases on my mum's doorstep, and 'Madge' (the neighbour) came to the door. -After a minute or two's chatting and catching up, she glanced at the large suitcase and said "You know, I used to know someone who had a case
exactly like that one... -Same initials and everything... -Mister Paice, it was."
Since Ian Paice never lived within a hundred miles of my mother, I was flabbergasted that it turned out that she indeed did clean house for the Paices a few years earlier, when the case was new. -She knew Ian, Jon and Roger, as well as their wives, -though she did confide in me that she thought the music was a bit loud!
Bizarre.
Anyhow... "the Plate remote worked, we found the M&M's, and Ozzy went on and did a
great show!"
Keith