Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not really interested in meeting celebrities I admire or have infatuations with anymore. That way I’ll never be disappointed when they turn out to be everything I’d hope they wouldn’t.
I played inside the world of the music business for several years and met my share of famous people and even worse, those who thought they'd achieved higher levels of fame. Ninety percent of the time it was an utter disappointment. The ones you expected to be really nice were assholes and the ones that looked like they would possess that "I'm cooler than you so kiss my chest" attitude, were actually quite nice.
With all that said, I couldn't turn down my chance to meet my favorite literary word slinger - David Sedaris. Until now, I've missed every opportunity to meet or hear him read aloud. Now was my chance, as he was coming to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
Like any geek, I sweated over what I would say once in front of him. Funny enough, he spoke of the awkward conversations and random questions that fans offered up at book signings. He said that some folks get so nervous that they ask questions like, "Do you like hot dogs?" And for some reason, this reminded me of Mitch Hedberg joking about his meeting with Peter Frampton. "Hey Frampton! Do you like toast too?"
The more Sedaris spoke of the crazy things people say to him, the more worried I became. What the hell was I going to say? I kept looking at my friend Ryan sitting next to me with vexation. After reading from several works, Sedaris offered the audience a chance to ask questions. One girl asked if he'd ever considered turning his stories into plays. That's when the light bulb went off. I did that! In a recent performance class, we adapted a couple of his stories into plays. I would tell him about it, that's what I do. That was my in.
After the show, Sedaris was signing books in the lobby. From what I could see, he looked more excited to meet his fans than the other way around. Palms sweating, I stepped up to the table with nervous apprehension. As I told him of our adaptations, he started asking me lots of questions, spawning what I thought to be an amazing conversation. I was too afraid to look at those behind me, as I knew the herd of eager fans were getting restless.
After chatting a few minutes, he finished writing in my book and said thank you for the compliments. Just as I was turning to walk away, he asked, "Sara, come back. I have something for you. I found this while I was in Brazil recently and have been looking for someone cool to give it to and I think I'd like you to have it."
Rummaging through his satchel, he pulls out and a large sticker (almost like a bumper sticker) that read 100% Jesus. I looked at him and we exchanged grins.
Walking to the car, Ryan asked me what he wrote in my book. In all my excitement, I forgot to look! I opened the cover and it read,
Sara, your story touched my heart. Love, David.I suppose meeting someone you really admire is worth the risk. Sometimes.
If a band is going to name themselves fun., then one would hope they live up to the title. I believe they do. Nate Ruess (The Format), Andrew Dost (Anathallo) and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), who are collectively known as fun., released their debut album "AIM and IGNITE" last week.
