May 21, 2003 (SOLVANG, Calif.) — Reclusive pop star Michael Jackson, wearing a red-and-blue Spider-Man mask, popped into a congressman's field office seeking an answer to a critical issue.
"How come Solvang doesn't have any fast-food restaurants?" the costumed Jackson asked Steve Lavagnino, deputy director in the new office of Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Santa Barbara.
According to Lavagnino, the discussion about two weeks ago went like this:
After Jackson was told the only chain restaurant was a Subway sandwich shop, he said, "I love Taco Bell."
Solvang, about 140 miles north of Los Angeles, is a quaint village that bills itself as "the Danish Capital of America."
The 44-year-old singer then pulled his webbed-crusader disguise off his face and apologized for disturbing Lavagnino, although Jackson didn't know what kind of office he'd wandered into.
"I've seen you on TV," said Lavagnino, whose father, Larry, is the mayor of nearby Santa Maria.
"Don't believe everything you see on TV," replied Jackson, who isn't registered to vote in Santa Barbara County, but his sprawling Neverland Ranch is nearby.
After a few more pleasantries and an autograph, Jackson rode off in a black Bentley. Lavagnino's boss didn't believe his tale until he faxed him the signature.
"Elton laughed," Lavagnino said Monday. "It's very hard to top that visit. My first week in the office and I get the most famous person on the planet."
Jackson later was seen at a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut drive-through window in nearby Buellton.
After ordering two cheese pizzas, breadsticks, water and three chicken soft tacos, Jackson was spotted in the passenger seat. As his pizzas cooked, Jackson, face exposed, talked to employees and signed autographs, said Ana Torres, restaurant assistant manager.
"He was great," Torres said. "We all got his autograph. He talked to customers."
Jackson also had his son, Prince Michael, with him, she said.
"He had blond hair, he was really cute," Torres said. You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
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