Generous helpings for Theo's lunches
It may have cost them $32,100 to have lunch with former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, but it doesn't come with any guarantees that he'll spill the beans, we're told. When the bidding in the auction to benefit the Home for Little Wanderers climbed to $16,000 before yesterday's noon deadline, the baseball whiz decided to offer two lunches to the highest bidders. One anonymous bidder won lunch for $16,100 and another for $16,000. ''We're absolutely overwhelmed with the generosity of both the winning bidders and by Theo and Paul Epstein," the Home's CEO Joan Wallace-Benjamin said of the brothers. The lunches will take place at The Fireplace in Brookline and UpStairs on the Square in Cambridge. The auction also included a set of hospital scrubs signed by locals Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey and the rest of the cast of ''Grey's Anatomy" that fetched $621. The auction raised about $40,000, although the final tally was not complete.
And yesterday ex-Sox pitcher and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and his wife, Jennifer, stopped by the Home for Little Wanderers to help sort gifts for the agency's annual holiday gift drive.
Romney, Kerry don’t see eye to eye
After a Globe Santa event at the Boston Harbor Hotel yesterday, Governor Mitt Romney was put on the spot about Senator John Kerry's criticism of him for not signing a regional greenhouse gas agreement. When CBS4's political wag Jon Keller asked Romney about Kerry's comments, Romney reiterated his position. He added: ''John Kerry is a fine person. I'm afraid he's not terribly well-informed of my views." After Keller continued pressing the governor about his relationship with Kerry, Romney said, ''I haven't seen John Kerry in a little while. . . . I wasn't his biggest fan in his race for president. I'm glad he's a senator, not a president." Keller then referenced the famous bury-the-hatchet round of drinks shared by Kerry and former Governor Bill Weld, who ran against Kerry for Senate in 1996. ''We probably won't be sharing a beer, but perhaps a glass of chocolate milk," Romney said, laughing. Keller asked, ''Or diet Vanilla Coke?" ''Ah, I prefer the Cherry Coke now," Romney said, then corrected himself, adding, ''Yes, I've gone from vanilla to cherry; it's a higher sweetness content, I think."An alumnus gives back
Ronald A. Matricaria, a 1966 alum of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, made his alma mater and its supporters very happy on Saturday night. At the school's annual black-tie gala, it was announced that Matricaria, former chairman and CEO of the Minneapolis-based St. Jude Medical, had donated $5 million to the school. It is the largest donation in the school's history. The school's new $37 million Academic & Student Center will be named after Matricaria. . . .''Irving Berlin's White Christmas" costar Kerry O'Malley returned recently to the American Repertory Theatre, from which she graduated in 1993, to speak to the students about her career and check out the production of ''Three Sisters."
Ringing up a rumor
Cohasset's Kate Bosworth, who'll be seen next as Lois Lane in ''Superman Returns," and her beau Orlando Bloom, 28, have sparked rumors they have become engaged to be married, after perusing London jewelers last week. Bloom and the 22-year-old Bosworth have had a two-year on-and-off relationship since meeting while filming an ad for The Gap. British newspaper The Sun quoted an onlooker as saying: ''They were picking out engagement rings and she was trying them on. They popped into lots of flash jewelers on New Bond Street. . . . They had huge smiles on their faces and were kissing and cuddling."Arroyo plays again
Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo continued his local tour with a rare open ''Mix Lounge" hosted by FM radio station Mix 98.5 last night at the Prudential Center's food court. After his performance Arroyo planned to sign copies of his CD ''Covering the Bases." . . . After the Celtics take on the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 27 at the TD Banknorth Garden, popular rockers the All American Rejects will give a postgame concert. One ticket will get fans into both events. Scott Helman of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
