Celebrity Autographs And Celebrity Addresses

The autographs that 9-year-old Daniel Gamlin collected from Wachovia Championship golfers remain missing.

But about a dozen people contacted the Observer after reading Thursday's story explaining how the book disappeared after the boy passed it to golfer Vijay Singh.

They offered replacement autographs, memorabilia, even extra tournament tickets.

"Oh, my goodness. That is so sweet," said Andrea Gamlin, Daniel's mother, when told of the offers. "See, it is a great world."

A retired golf pro in Pinehurst said he'd give Daniel a signed photograph of Singh.

A man offered the autographed pass from last year's event that he had been keeping tucked in a drawer.

Someone else who had been getting autographs at the same time as Daniel offered to give him the hat he'd covered with signatures.

And it wasn't just the golf fans who came forward. A man and his nephew decided to offer one of three footballs signed by Panthers players.

Another man offered his whole autograph book filled with years worth of NASCAR stars he met while working for the Earnhardt family.

"It drives me crazy when I read these stories," Frank DeFeo said. "This? I know I can help."

For the Gamlin family, Thursday was filled with reminders about how many people are kind, the family said. Earlier in the week, they'd been thinking about those who take autograph books from 9-year-olds.

Andrea Gamlin said she awoke Thursday to her radio alarm at 5:45 a.m. As the haze of sleep dissolved, she realized the voices were talking about her son.

Her husband, David Gamlin, went to the dentist later in the morning and heard his son's story on a different radio station as he got his teeth cleaned.

Daniel heard all the buzz at school.

"I was, like, the popularest kid," he said. "One of my best friends asked like four or five questions."

He said it's not every day you're in the newspaper. The only person he knows who he thinks might have been in the newspaper before is former Hornet Muggsy Bogues, whose basketball camp he attends.

The attention extended beyond classmates' questions, phone calls and offers of autographs.

Someone even offered Daniel two tickets to Thursday's rounds at the Quail Hollow Club. The gift was tempting.

"But Danny's got to go to school," his mother said in the morning. "Tuesday was his reward day."

He had already missed an entire day of third grade at Charlotte Jewish Day School to attend the golf tournament as a reward for good grades.

The family decided it wouldn't be right to miss another day of school. They also said they plan to turn down all the offers of others' memorabilia.

"It just didn't feel right to take something that they treasure, that they got, to make him feel better," David Gamlin said. "I don't want to feel like we are taking advantage of anyone else."

"The whole thing is that Daniel just wanted his book back," his mother said.

But late in the day, they got an offer they couldn't refuse. A man from Young Ford worked some connections and secured them two weekend tickets. A tournament organizer landed them a third for Saturday.

There wouldn't be any school that day.

It wouldn't interfere with Mother's Day on Sunday.

And they could bring the whole family, including Z.J., Daniel's 8-year-old brother, who couldn't go Tuesday because he has special needs and falls too far behind every time he misses school.

Daniel said he's glad his brother can go, too, because he thinks Z.J. will like the tournament, especially the flavored ice you can eat there.

And he plans to create a new autograph book Saturday -- but with a new strategy so he can hold on to his treasure.

"This time I'm going to try not to go for the big players," he said.