Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[JenCarroll]

Let me quote you this cherished exchange from a family funeral:[Distant relative I've never met, who has no idea what to make of me] Wow, listen to her talk.[my ever-supportive mother] I know. Her writing sounds just like that, and people read it, which I don't understand.

You crack me up. :D Edited September 28, 2015 by JenCarroll

[Lemur]

Jon Bon Jovi buying corn muffins for his wife at the Acme (that no longer exists) on Monmouth Road in Deal, NJ.

 

Bruce Springsteen re-roofing South Side Johnny Lyon's house in Ocean Grove on a weekend to avoid getting Historic Preservation approval.  

 

(I've actually run into both of these folks and their assorted family members and friends quite a bit as I live in the area.)

 

Terry Bradshaw wandering around J&R Music World in Lower Manhattan the day his morning show got cancelled.

 

Willem DeFoe standing in line behind me and my sister to get a slice of pizza at a hole-in-the-wall pizza place in Greenwich Village.

 

Juliana Moore and her black dog perusing hand-made jewelry at a street fare.

 

And I once bummed a cigarette off of a young senator from Illinois who was on a speaking touring during campaign season ...

[JenCarroll]

Looks like I may be traveling to Rogers, Arkansas sometime in the near future. Whee.

[Happyfatchick]

I'm going backwards, having already named my celebrity brushes... Wellfleet and Nextiteration, your comments that I remind you somewhat of Erma Bombeck landed on my heart and exploded like something warm and welcome. There could be NO HIGHER PRAISE that that!!!!! Thank you EVER so much!!! I've always wanted to write, always. I loooove to write. (And I loved Erma - I still quote her! "I've never had the ability to stand in front of the freezer at 6:00 in the morning and know what I'm going to be hungry for at 6:00 that night".) Alas, I don't have the mental capacity to make characters breathe and talk and move about in a fictional way. The only stories I have are the ones I see in real life - and EVERYTHING is a story to me. Things that someone else can see and live through (and never have it register as noteworthy) are STORIES to me. Real life, at the cash register in Kroger, it's a STORY.

When my father died 3.5 years ago, we all determined that my mother (Alzheimer's) HAD to be kept in her home, that she would fare better, be healthier and die happier surrounded by loved ones, and by her own belongings. Once that determination was made, my brothers explained why THEY couldn't move in and take care of Mama, but that SOMEbody needed to. At the time, I owned a store (cute little fru-fru place where I sold handbags, diaper bags, towels - pretty much anything that could be embroidered). I hired a sitter for Mama and tried to maintain life. Turns out (obvious to all within a few short months) that it needed to be ME. Nobody was going to take care of Mama and NOT take advantage of US except me. I also owned a house that I loved. Long story short, we remodeled my moms basement, rented out our house and closed the store. Mama was now mine. I only lived that nightmare 6 months - through 2 basement floodings, a pipe burst upstairs and flooded us from above, the 40 year old well dried up and DIED, living with Jaba the Hutt in "maybe" 500 square feet, my dogs were absolutely COVERED (and miserable, even SICK) from flea infestation...it was HORRIBLE. Truly the closest I've ever been to losing my mind. Even now, I can't believe I did it. But THAT would have been the time to start a blog. Talking about the sacrifices families make for one another, living with Alzheimer's up close and personal. I was so close to a breakdown then that I couldn't wrap my head around starting a successful blog. My daughter set one up for me, showed me briefly how to do it...and I just never did it.

I'm healthier now, we've rearranged our lives and have been ENORMOUSLY blessed with a full-time sitter who lives in with Mama. I survived!!! But I still think that blogging would be the perfect outlet for me - the person who gathers stories like other people gather lint on black pants. But successful blogs have a theme. I just like the randomness of life in general, and don't know how to pitch that on a blog.

Oh, but thanks again SO MUCH for the comments, you made my day, my week and maybe my year!

[questionfear]

Looks like I may be traveling to Rogers, Arkansas sometime in the near future. Whee.

YOU NEED TO VISIT THE DUGGARS!

 

My best friend and her wife were just in Arkansas, and I was very sad they did not heed my advice to try to rescue a Duggar. 

[JenCarroll]

YOU NEED TO VISIT THE DUGGARS!

I know, I know. At least drive by the TTH, right?

I've actually been there a number of times since my life-long best friend moved out there for her (now ex) husband's job about 25 years ago. But I haven't been able to go for a while now, with one thing and another -- I think it's close to a decade since I was there. Most of her family ended up in the area and now her father is in hospice. I'm of course going to go for his funeral whenever that happens. I've known him nearly my whole life, he was practically another father to me. So that's depressing, waiting for someone to die. Only now it turns out that my friend is having serious issues with her very difficult 22-year old son. Like, she may need a restraining order -- that level of difficult. I think I can help her out with advice and support from here with Skype and everything, but she was hinting that maybe I should come to her.

Traveling is really, really hard for me due to lower back problems and severe arthritis in my hips, and I'd have to fly coach (because there's basically no other option on the little jets that go out there) which I generally avoid like the plague. Everyone hates those seats, I assume, but for me they're torture devices. Last time I had to sit in one, I was crying in pain the entire way from Houston to New York. I don't want to do that twice, and I can't just go out there and stay until her father dies. Apart from the fundamentally gruesome nature of a plan like that, it could be anytime from next week to next year. I'm not willing to move in with her for the duration, you know? I feel sort of selfish, but sometimes you have to put your own well-being first. This may be one of those times.

It's funny, I've actually never spoken to this friend about the Duggars. We always have so many real things to talk about. But I should purpose to ask her what she knows about them.

Edited September 28, 2015 by JenCarroll

[magpye29]

Happyfatchick said:

 

But successful blogs have a theme. I just like the randomness of life in general, and don't know how to pitch that on a blog.

 

That's your theme.  Call it something like "Where the Day Takes Me" or "Random Acts of Life" and run with it!  (Says the woman who could only manage one blog post every six weeks or so, mostly lists of whatever I'd read the previous month.)  Your theme could be very loose and lightly-structured.  Seriously.  Even if you just cut and pasted some of the wonderful stories you've shared with us, you would have an awesome blog!  I vote go for it.

[Missy Vixen]

Okay. I hope it's permissible to talk about this here since we can't talk about it on the Duggar forum.

 

Whitney Thorne. OMG. And here we go.

I'm about her size IRL. Yup, I'm very large. And I really wanted to like her. After all, people are fat for many, many reasons, and it's not just because "they can't put down the fork". It is what it is. Whitney makes me grind my teeth, however. It seems I'm not alone. I realize that her grating persona is helped along by reality show producers who are interested in showing her in the worst light possible to drive ratings, but WOW.

 

I would rather die than get on-camera and cry because people hurt my feelings. If she wants to be big, fat and fabulous, OWN IT. Every time I see her on TV, she's either obnoxious or pathetic. And loud is not the new good. The whole "boo hoo hoo, people are mean to me..." -- AND? The only way to make any bully stop is to fight back. They give up and go pick on someone else that won't defend themselves.

 

I realize I'm terminally cynical, but what did she think was going to happen with this show?

[Wellfleet]

Okay. I hope it's permissible to talk about this here since we can't talk about it on the Duggar forum.

 

Whitney Thorne. OMG. And here we go.

I'm about her size IRL. Yup, I'm very large. And I really wanted to like her. After all, people are fat for many, many reasons, and it's not just because "they can't put down the fork". It is what it is. Whitney makes me grind my teeth, however. It seems I'm not alone. I realize that her grating persona is helped along by reality show producers who are interested in showing her in the worst light possible to drive ratings, but WOW.

 

I would rather die than get on-camera and cry because people hurt my feelings. If she wants to be big, fat and fabulous, OWN IT. Every time I see her on TV, she's either obnoxious or pathetic. And loud is not the new good. The whole "boo hoo hoo, people are mean to me..." -- AND? The only way to make any bully stop is to fight back. They give up and go pick on someone else that won't defend themselves.

 

I realize I'm terminally cynical, but what did she think was going to happen with this show?

 

Totally agree. TLC promoted this show showing Whitney as a I'm-big-but-I'm-also-fabulous-and-I-don't-care-what-people-think type. Then they do a 180-degree change - for the sake of ratings IMO - and show her emotional at every "Fatso" comment.

[Julia]

I think what bothers me the most about their strategy is that they can't find the thoughtful evangelical, the overweight woman who's a stylish lawyer (I know a few), the marginalized group who are living their separate lives with dignity and circumspection, or the polyamorous family who have chosen as partners and equals to have that relationship. It's got to be the extreme, freaky people, so they can get the audience of people who think all those stuck-up people are laughing at them *and* the stuck-up people who are laughing at them because they think all this is the punchline to some mean socioeconomic joke.

 

I just feel like the real freak show at TLC is far away from the cameras.

[riverblue22]

Oh, I forgot one that happened before I was born. Bob Hope was golfing in our town, on a visit. This is long before leash laws ever existed. My parents woke up Monday morning and there was their dog shaking hands with Mr. Hope on the golf course on the front page of the newspaper. 

 

Hilarious!

 

We had a beagle who used to follow the Catholic kids to school (the public school kids took a bus).  She would frequently follow them right into mass and plop down next to the priest. Back in those days no one ever considered leashing their dogs and they ran just as free as the kids did (out of the house after breakfast, back for lunch, back for dinner, and then back outside until bedtime.

 

When I was 7 I was given a quarter by Joan Collins.  I was with a bunch of kids playing in the parking lot of a hotel, and before Joan got into her limousine she came over to us and gave each child a quarter.  She was so glamorous, in her fur stole!

 

I have a celebrity non-sighting.  I had a girlfriend who had somehow managed a date with Johnny Bench.  And no surprise, she had trouble getting in touch with him afterwards (this was well before the era of the cell phone).  So one Saturday night, when the Reds were in town, we went to every single bar she could think of trying to track him down.  Alas, he was nowhere to be found.

[Wellfleet]

I'm going backwards, having already named my celebrity brushes... Wellfleet and Nextiteration, your comments that I remind you somewhat of Erma Bombeck landed on my heart and exploded like something warm and welcome. There could be NO HIGHER PRAISE that that!!!!! Thank you EVER so much!!! I've always wanted to write, always. I loooove to write. (And I loved Erma - I still quote her! "I've never had the ability to stand in front of the freezer at 6:00 in the morning and know what I'm going to be hungry for at 6:00 that night".) Alas, I don't have the mental capacity to make characters breathe and talk and move about in a fictional way. The only stories I have are the ones I see in real life - and EVERYTHING is a story to me. Things that someone else can see and live through (and never have it register as noteworthy) are STORIES to me. Real life, at the cash register in Kroger, it's a STORY.

When my father died 3.5 years ago, we all determined that my mother (Alzheimer's) HAD to be kept in her home, that she would fare better, be healthier and die happier surrounded by loved ones, and by her own belongings. Once that determination was made, my brothers explained why THEY couldn't move in and take care of Mama, but that SOMEbody needed to. At the time, I owned a store (cute little fru-fru place where I sold handbags, diaper bags, towels - pretty much anything that could be embroidered). I hired a sitter for Mama and tried to maintain life. Turns out (obvious to all within a few short months) that it needed to be ME. Nobody was going to take care of Mama and NOT take advantage of US except me. I also owned a house that I loved. Long story short, we remodeled my moms basement, rented out our house and closed the store. Mama was now mine. I only lived that nightmare 6 months - through 2 basement floodings, a pipe burst upstairs and flooded us from above, the 40 year old well dried up and DIED, living with Jaba the Hutt in "maybe" 500 square feet, my dogs were absolutely COVERED (and miserable, even SICK) from flea infestation...it was HORRIBLE. Truly the closest I've ever been to losing my mind. Even now, I can't believe I did it. But THAT would have been the time to start a blog. Talking about the sacrifices families make for one another, living with Alzheimer's up close and personal. I was so close to a breakdown then that I couldn't wrap my head around starting a successful blog. My daughter set one up for me, showed me briefly how to do it...and I just never did it.

I'm healthier now, we've rearranged our lives and have been ENORMOUSLY blessed with a full-time sitter who lives in with Mama. I survived!!! But I still think that blogging would be the perfect outlet for me - the person who gathers stories like other people gather lint on black pants. But successful blogs have a theme. I just like the randomness of life in general, and don't know how to pitch that on a blog.

Oh, but thanks again SO MUCH for the comments, you made my day, my week and maybe my year!

 

Go for it, Happy. When and if you feel right about it. You could start out by just talking about one teeny little detail or happening from your day. I think you'd be surprised at how quickly you find yourself swamped with ideas on what to write. You don't have to write War & Peace every day. You don't even have to write every day, although I'd recommend it. I like a daily blog better. If there aren't posts fairly regularly, I tend to forget about them. I prefer relatively short ones too - a few paragraphs is plenty, maybe with some photos. After all, most of us are busy people. A couple of the blogs I read regularly are weekdays only and that's cool too. We all need time off. But think about it - you'd truly be awesome.

[Jordan Baker]

Most of my celebrity sightings have been on trips to NYC. My DD says that I have the ability to do an Exorcism-like rotation of my head when we're visiting NYC (the better to spot celebrities!). I try not to be obvious, I swear! Anyway, speaking of the Duggs, I saw Mike Huckabee walking north on Broadway as I was walking south. This was a few years ago, when he still had a show on FNC.

 

On another trip, I saw Cynthia Nixon getting off the subway. I sat across the aisle from Eliot Spitzer at a Broadway show (this was shortly after he was forced to leave office) and behind Cloris Leachman at another Broadway show.

 

And many, many years ago, I shook Ralph Nader's hand after he gave a speech at my university. I really looked up to him, and this was quite the moment . . . although my love for him took a serious nosedive after the 2000 election.

 

I was also at Disney one year when the soap stars were there. I was surprised how much smaller some of the actors looked in real life.

 

[Jynnan tonnix]

My best celebrity connections are of the "six degrees of" type...like the fact that I have a cousin (in England) whose ex-husband occasionally plays golf with Alan Rickman's brother. I have yet to figure out how to parlay that one into an actual meeting, though...

[Purpose to defraud]

Happyfatchick said:

 

That's your theme.  Call it something like "Where the Day Takes Me" or "Random Acts of Life" and run with it!  (Says the woman who could only manage one blog post every six weeks or so, mostly lists of whatever I'd read the previous month.)  Your theme could be very loose and lightly-structured.  Seriously.  Even if you just cut and pasted some of the wonderful stories you've shared with us, you would have an awesome blog!  I vote go for it.

You do write well, HFC. I'd follow your blog.

[Almost 3000]

First brush with fame - walking down Broadway on the Upper West Side of NYC in the 80's and coming towards me is Mary Tyler Moore!  It was surreal.  She was with handlers who were ushering her along - no possibility of autographs.  That opened the flood gates..... (well, being in NYC helped)  Was late to work one morning and there was a movie being shot by my subway entrance.  I new I was a jaded New Yorker when my first emotion was annoyance.  "Now I'll be late to work"...  Didn't have time to stop and shake Dick Van Dyke's hand.  Saw Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah shooting "Spalsh", but didn't know who they were until I saw the movie.  Waited on numerous soap stars.  Ileene Kristin of Ryan's Hope was super scared of being recognized.  I saw her once in a convenience store and looked twice, cause I thought I knew her.  She ran.  Worked in a chicken restaurant and waited on Amanda Bearse (All My Children) and her then live in girlfriend Sarah Bernhard.  Waited on Farrah Fawcett!  Helped Ali McGraw make a phone call when I worked for Ralph Lauren Home Furnishings.  Since I worked there, I saw good old Ralph many a time. I've been back in Boston for almost 30 years now and the only brush with fame was Hilary Clinton.  Well, Hilary Clinton's face arm and shoulder as she emerged from a limo to enter a restaurant........   Funny story.  I told my 20 something co-workers about my brush with Ali McGraw.  "Who's Ali McGraw" was the response.  Kids!

Last year I heard a familiar voice in a jewelry artsy type supply store. Turned around and it was Ali McGraw.

[Love2dance]

I don't know how to pitch that on a blog.

Oh, but thanks again SO MUCH for the comments, you made my day, my week and maybe my year!

Happyfatchick....you are an amazing writer. I don't know you, yet I FEEL like I do. I would love to read more stories about your extended family who live so close together, your crazy SIL, wonderful grandkids, living with your mom's Ilness, etc. etc.

If you ever do, please let us know where to find you.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Love2dance

[Readalot]

One time I was at Disneyland. There was this guy in line right behind me, with a lady and kids, inches away. My friend discreetly said to me "is that Slash behind you?" I slowly turned, checked him out, and told me friend "no, he's too short" (in a normal voice). Then other people started asking me if that was Slash. The this couple came over and said "omg Slash I didn't know you guys would be here today!" They talked for a few minutes and left. Them Slash and I stood next to one another not saying anything. They boarded Slash's party before us. Lol I always wondered if he heard me say he was too short.

[Satchels of gold]

Just wanted to pop and in and say today is the 8th anniversary of the day I got a mammogram that found my breast cancer. just a regular day having a routine test that changed the course of my life. Ladies please get your mammograms. This Saturday I'm running in a Komen 5k to celebrate. Carry on...

[MarysWetBar]

I went for my first mammo a couple months ago. Had always dreaded it..too many women talking about excruciating discomfort. I'm so glad i went and everything was fine so one less thing to worry about laying in bed at night. Congrats on the run,nc. .glad you are healthy now!

Edited to add that my experience was rather easy at the machine. .my mom had always told me it would be easier for me with bigger boobs and it was. The tech just took over and put them where they needed to be like lumps of dough. .haha!

Direct quote from me to tech " Im gonna stop trying to hold my stomach in now, ok?"

Tech: "Absolutely, dear."

Edited September 29, 2015 by MarysWetBar

[lookeyloo]

Just wanted to pop and in and say today is the 8th anniversary of the day I got a mammogram that found my breast cancer. just a regular day having a routine test that changed the course of my life. Ladies please get your mammograms. This Saturday I'm running in a Komen 5k to celebrate. Carry on...

I'm six years in.  It does change things.

[3girlsforus]

Ok - this killed me.... :-)

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/88/b0/ba88b090779daa668af806a2bd7cd95b.jpg

[Itsnotreality]

Love that 3girlsforus! Going to save that for my kids' next "holiday celebration" at school. They are supposed to bring healthy treats, and there's always one daredevil who brings something sweet and gets everyone riled up. :)

[Wellfleet]

I think what bothers me the most about their strategy is that they can't find the thoughtful evangelical, the overweight woman who's a stylish lawyer (I know a few), the marginalized group who are living their separate lives with dignity and circumspection, or the polyamorous family who have chosen as partners and equals to have that relationship. It's got to be the extreme, freaky people, so they can get the audience of people who think all those stuck-up people are laughing at them *and* the stuck-up people who are laughing at them because they think all this is the punchline to some mean socioeconomic joke.

 

I just feel like the real freak show at TLC is far away from the cameras.

 

I think they - TLC - end up with the freaky people because they're the ones that want the $$ and the fame - and they're WILLING to be filmed, to have their lives opened up like a can of tuna etc. People who truly THINK about what it would really mean to be on TV week after week, cameras in their homes, private lives exposed etc are too smart to say "Sure, sign us up!" IMO, it really is a matter of overall intelligence - and the only ones in my book who've gone the reality route with any dignity at all are the Little Couple - and even they've filmed things I don't think I would.

[Catlyn]

GWB could win over the world one person at a time--when he talks to you, his eyes stay focused on you and it's as if you are the only person in the world and there couldn't be anyone more important than you in it.

Exactly the way Bill Clinton is. I worked for an association he used to visit when he was governor and no matter how lowly you were in the office (I was the receptionist) he would stop and talk to you and you felt you were the most important person at that moment.  Explained a lot about the scandals. Some fools actually believed it! LOL.

 

I've met George Clooney and Gordon Jump (really, he the nicest guy; I liked him a WHOLE lot better than Gary Sandy).

[Jellybeans]

No word from GEML or Wanderwoman? My roomie's chemo is brutal. If she is going thru chemo while dealing with Miss Maisie and that husband of hers... I can't fathom. I hope she checks in just to say hello.

And GEML?

[3girlsforus]

Jelly - I hadn't heard that Wanderwoman has cancer. Oh my goodness!! I am so sorry to hear that. It sounds like she's got other stuff going on too. 

I think they - TLC - end up with the freaky people because they're the ones that want the $$ and the fame - and they're WILLING to be filmed, to have their lives opened up like a can of tuna etc. People who truly THINK about what it would really mean to be on TV week after week, cameras in their homes, private lives exposed etc are too smart to say "Sure, sign us up!" IMO, it really is a matter of overall intelligence - and the only ones in my book who've gone the reality route with any dignity at all are the Little Couple - and even they've filmed things I don't think I would.

I agree.. In fact I worry about the Little Couple. They seem so sane and normal but they are willingly on TV.  They are the one family I will be crushed to find out isn't what they claim to be.

[JenCarroll]

Jelly - I hadn't heard that Wanderwoman has cancer. Oh my goodness!! I am so sorry to hear that. It sounds like she's got other stuff going on too. 

I agree.. In fact I worry about the Little Couple. They seem so sane and normal but they are willingly on TV.  They are the one family I will be crushed to find out isn't what they claim to be.

I have tremendous admiration for Jen Arnold and what she's been able to accomplish in life. And I always thought, well, those two will draw attention wherever they go, especially her, so they might as well do the show for a while. I know he had overwhelming medical bills to pay off, so that's another fair reason to give it a go. I liked that they actually kept their real jobs. But at the point where they brought the kids home, that's where they should have stopped. Or at least said, okay, annual specials only from this point on. Because growing up on reality TV never seems to work out well for anyone.

[kokapetl]

The biggest threat to "The Little Couple" is the fact that the Arnold Klein family don't need TLC's money.

TLC seem desperate at this point. The Roloffs and the Sister Wives are still on the air by virtue of a huge Duggar sized hole in TLC's schedule. TLC have probably crunched the numbers hundreds of times weighing up the risk of potential boycotts of more Duggar programming and the risk of no one watching what they broadcast as a replacement.

[GeeGolly]

I have tremendous admiration for Jen Arnold and what she's been able to accomplish in life. And I always thought, well, those two will draw attention wherever they go, especially her, so they might as well do the show for a while. I know he had overwhelming medical bills to pay off, so that's another fair reason to give it a go. I liked that they actually kept their real jobs. But at the point where they brought the kids home, that's where they should have stopped. Or at least said, okay, annual specials only from this point on. Because growing up on reality TV never seems to work out well for anyone.

I agree. And at least they stopped filming while their kids were adjusting to their new homes.

[lookeyloo]

Saw the Klein-Arnolds on a show and they said the cameras are there for very limited periods and the rest of the time they live their normal lives. I hope that is really the truth.

[Itsnotreality]

Right before the first of the last scandals broke (hard to keep track) when the Duggars were just obscenely boring, I was picking someone up at the airport and went early because frankly I love goodbye/hello scenes at airports. The drama is just real life, great ppl watching. Would love to see a TLC show like that. Snapshots of real life, without utterly changing people's lives for being reality stars. Give them $750 for an interview. Most would say yes.

[Wellfleet]

Right before the first of the last scandals broke (hard to keep track) when the Duggars were just obscenely boring, I was picking someone up at the airport and went early because frankly I love goodbye/hello scenes at airports. The drama is just real life, great ppl watching. Would love to see a TLC show like that. Snapshots of real life, without utterly changing people's lives for being reality stars. Give them $750 for an interview. Most would say yes.

 

What a great idea! A little like Candid Camera - real people - without the setups and jokes of course. I've always thought that "reality television" should really be called "amateur television" - because it's not produced without a script, it's produced without professionals. And as is the case with TLC, on both sides of the camera.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Wellfleet

[JenCarroll]

Right before the first of the last scandals broke (hard to keep track) when the Duggars were just obscenely boring, I was picking someone up at the airport and went early because frankly I love goodbye/hello scenes at airports. The drama is just real life, great ppl watching. Would love to see a TLC show like that. Snapshots of real life, without utterly changing people's lives for being reality stars. Give them $750 for an interview. Most would say yes.

Hell, I'd do it!

[Liz Tudor]

Right before the first of the last scandals broke (hard to keep track) when the Duggars were just obscenely boring, I was picking someone up at the airport and went early because frankly I love goodbye/hello scenes at airports. The drama is just real life, great ppl watching. Would love to see a TLC show like that. Snapshots of real life, without utterly changing people's lives for being reality stars. Give them $750 for an interview. Most would say yes.

This is all very "Love Actually," one of my all-time favorite movies. I love to people watch at airports (I'm almost always in ATL for a layover). I'm most fascinated by what some people choose to wear to fly these days...everything from "rolled out of bed" to "escort meeting a client." It's a great place to have fun making up stories of what people are doing, or sometimes being in on the real thing. I'd watch that, too!

[Henri205]

Had a couple of fun ones. Sat next to Katie Couric on a flight from JFK to LHR a hundred years ago, when my company put us in first on long haul flights. She was lovely but I mostly left her alone.

Grace Slick in Carmel, CA. Just stared. Then Joan Baez, also in Carmel, I smiled, she nodded, and we chatted briefly. Lovely person.

Ultimate was Betty White at the ATT Golf Tournament in Pebble Beach. My company had a tent or something, I got to spend time with her and she was amazing. We purposed to discuss further but she was taken away. Prolly my best memory.

[Wellfleet]

Exactly the way Bill Clinton is. I worked for an association he used to visit when he was governor and no matter how lowly you were in the office (I was the receptionist) he would stop and talk to you and you felt you were the most important person at that moment.  Explained a lot about the scandals. Some fools actually believed it! LOL.

 

I've met George Clooney and Gordon Jump (really, he the nicest guy; I liked him a WHOLE lot better than Gary Sandy).

 

Huge WKRP in Cincinnati fan here, Catlyn. I'd love to see Netflix or some cable channel bring that back to syndication. Some of the best comedy writing on TV at that time - and sharp, subtle performances. I was always surprised more of that cast didn't go on to bigger and better things. Maybe they just weren't into the fame thing...

[kalamac]

Back in the day when I was a deli girl in a supermarket, Aussie newreader Georgina McGuinnes used to shop where I worked. She never said please, or thank you, and her kids were always playing up.

And she was always wearing that same of shade of pink lipstick that she wore on air, that didn't suit her.

[Julia]

Huge WKRP in Cincinnati fan here, Catlyn. I'd love to see Netflix or some cable channel bring that back to syndication. Some of the best comedy writing on TV at that time - and sharp, subtle performances. I was always surprised more of that cast didn't go on to bigger and better things. Maybe they just weren't into the fame thing...

There's a woman who just got bounced from this season of Project Runway who looks uncannily like Bailey Quarters. I was so hoping we were done with the seventies. Although given her age, she could be bringing back the nineties seventies revival, I guess.

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway/designers/lindsey-creel

[ChocolateAddict]

The only real brush with fame that I have had was meeting the then Prime Minister John Howard when he came to my primary school.  It was very exciting because we had police and photographers everywhere but we were warned not to annoy any of the security personnel.  We had a special assembly where he was opening our new school hall and while I didn't have a speaking part, I got to shake his hand.  Unfortunately, it was my brother who managed to get his mug in the paper! 

[Catlyn]

Two other people I met: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Eddie Albert.  If JFK Jr. didn't have such a widely known face, I probably wouldn't have known who he was. Very quiet, polite; not arrogant at all and nothing you would expect a well-known Kennedy to be. He just sat in the waiting room for his appointment, while I had one annoying staff member keep hanging around the desk, loudly whispering, "Is that him; is that HIM?"

 

Eddie Albert was very nice.

[Purpose to defraud]

Exactly the way Bill Clinton is. I worked for an association he used to visit when he was governor and no matter how lowly you were in the office (I was the receptionist) he would stop and talk to you and you felt you were the most important person at that moment.  Explained a lot about the scandals. Some fools actually believed it! LOL.

 

I've met George Clooney and Gordon Jump (really, he the nicest guy; I liked him a WHOLE lot better than Gary Sandy).

Please, please more about Gary Sandy. I always thought he was hot in his tight jeans. But I'd like to know if he was a jerk.

[Catlyn]

It's been years, so I'm not sure on details, but remembered him as a jerk. We had a reception and they were there to help draw attention that our Annual meeting would be held in Cincinnati that year. They were serving Cincinnati Chili, and Gary acted like it was beneath him. Gary would only talk with the VIPs and was just jerkish to the rest of us, while Gordon would talk to anyone and everyone about anything. Gordon truly was like his character, very nice and unassuming.

[Missy Vixen]

 

 

I agree.. In fact I worry about the Little Couple. They seem so sane and normal but they are willingly on TV.  They are the one family I will be crushed to find out isn't what they claim to be.

 

I feel the same. I realize that the Arnold-Kleins aren't perfect, and that's what makes them charming. I would happily watch footage of the kids drawing on their driveway with colored chalk, for instance. What a nice (and relatively normal) family.

 

I have wondered, however, if they are counting the cost now that the kids are older. I was relieved to learn that they stepped away from filming while Bill was recovering from his surgery. TLC has now brought in the additional "little people" family, which makes me think that Bill and Jen are contemplating cutting back to a couple of specials a year and exploring other opportunities, for instance. They don't need the money. Being famous is really, really fun until some nutty woman thinks it's appropriate to find your house, ring the doorbell and expects to talk with you (and your kids). Their kids, their extended family and their privacy is much more important than any reality show.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Missy Vixen

[kokapetl]

The only real brush with fame that I have had was meeting the then Prime Minister John Howard when he came to my primary school. It was very exciting because we had police and photographers everywhere but we were warned not to annoy any of the security personnel. We had a special assembly where he was opening our new school hall and while I didn't have a speaking part, I got to shake his hand. Unfortunately, it was my brother who managed to get his mug in the paper!

I saw Opposition Leader Kim Beazley at my school at least one, I saw the "chair sniffer" at work, and I saw Paul Keating in parliament during question time in 1992. I also saw mayor Bloomberg leading the St. Patrick's day parade in NYC, he's really short and his plastic surgeon chopped off too much of his nose. Edited September 30, 2015 by Kokapetl

[Missy Vixen]

I've met famous people before but now I spend 90% of my time with the other romance authors. If you admit to reading romance, if I've met your favorite author, I'll tell you all about it. ;-)

 

Here's a story that may amuse her readers. Romance publishers throw huge parties for their authors at our annual conference, which changes locations each year. The last time the conference was in San Francisco, I was invited as someone else's guest to the Harlequin party. The party was held at the Ritz-Carlton. Picture 500 authors, a few husbands/boyfriends, and all the drinks and dim sum you could hold. The DJ had everyone up and dancing. I still remember his comment: "I didn't think all these women would dance together." Uh, when you've had a few martinis and you're with your best pals, it's time to get your dance on...

 

I was standing in the bar line waiting for another martini when Nora Roberts (leading the conga line) passed. She stopped to do The Bump with me. And I am still sorry I do not have a picture of this.

[Julia]

I've met famous people before but now I spend 90% of my time with the other romance authors. If you admit to reading romance, if I've met your favorite author, I'll tell you all about it. ;-)

 

Here's a story that may amuse her readers. Romance publishers throw huge parties for their authors at our annual conference, which changes locations each year. The last time the conference was in San Francisco, I was invited as someone else's guest to the Harlequin party. The party was held at the Ritz-Carlton. Picture 500 authors, a few husbands/boyfriends, and all the drinks and dim sum you could hold. The DJ had everyone up and dancing. I still remember his comment: "I didn't think all these women would dance together." Uh, when you've had a few martinis and you're with your best pals, it's time to get your dance on...

 

I was standing in the bar line waiting for another martini when Nora Roberts (leading the conga line) passed. She stopped to do The Bump with me. And I am still sorry I do not have a picture of this.

 

I have to admit, I rarely read romance, and of the romance I do read, a lot of it is non-traditional. But I've had a few romance authors on my flist, and I've heard enough about the issues Nora Roberts has thrown her weight behind in the Romance Writers of America that I'm really impressed with her.

[Missy Vixen]

I have to admit, I rarely read romance, and of the romance I do read, a lot of it is non-traditional. But I've had a few romance authors on my flist, and I've heard enough about the issues Nora Roberts has thrown her weight behind in the Romance Writers of America that I'm really impressed with her.

She totally rocks. She is a great spokesperson for our genre, as well as being warm and friendly in person. Unless you're an author who wants to sit on her ass and bitch about "the muse". She has no patience with other authors who want to complain about the fact they're not producing. And she will tell you about it, too. One of her famous quotes: "I can fix a bad page. I can't fix an empty one."

 

My other Nora Roberts story. I was alone in an elevator at the first national conference I attended. It's terrifying. There's 2200+ people there. For those who work alone and are somewhat shy, all those people (and everyone knew everyone else) -- I wanted to hide. She stepped onto the elevator, glanced at my nametag, looked me in the eyes and said, "What are you working on?" If anyone had the right to act like a snob or ignore the newbie in the corner, it was her. In other words, she didn't know me, but she made the extra effort to talk with me a little.

 

More romance author scuttlebutt. EL James has shown up at a few of our conferences. She registers under an assumed name. She's not well-liked, and it has nothing to do with the sheer amount of money she's made. She's unfriendly and has been arrogant.

[Tabbygirl521]

I met Mark Harmon once, long ago at a fund raiser. My husband, who can and will talk to anyone, knew I had had a huge crush on MH in his Flamingo Road days. So he strongly urged me (I.e., gently pulled me over) to talk to Mark. I felt way too shy, but Hub assured me I would kick myself later if I didn't do it. So I let him drag me. Mark Harmon is EXTREMELY NICE and friendly, and I have a very fond memory of him and my husband sharing a laugh, with their identical smiley blue eyes. Where was my damn camera when I needed it??

[emma675]

 

Here's a story that may amuse her readers. Romance publishers throw huge parties for their authors at our annual conference, which changes locations each year. The last time the conference was in San Francisco, I was invited as someone else's guest to the Harlequin party. The party was held at the Ritz-Carlton. Picture 500 authors, a few husbands/boyfriends, and all the drinks and dim sum you could hold. The DJ had everyone up and dancing. I still remember his comment: "I didn't think all these women would dance together." Uh, when you've had a few martinis and you're with your best pals, it's time to get your dance on...

I don't read romance, but this sounds freaking amazing.

 

And isn't EL James the author of that 50 Shades of Grey crap? I couldn't even get through the first half of the first book in that trilogy, it was so awful.