Meeting Celebrities

A few days ago, a good friend blogged about a her experience meeting Nick Hornby, one of her literary idols. My sister also recently met David Sedaris, who proceeded to complimented her hair and butter her up in general. He even went as far as to say he'd be interested in her if he wasn't gay!

I love hearing these stories. Authors, musicians and artists have the unique ability to impact and influence from afar. I would cherish being able to tell Eddie Vedder how his music impacted me. Or shooting the breeze with the Beastie Boys. I say this not because these figures are larger than life, but for the exact opposite reason. They are just people. The only difference is I feel that I already know them through their art.

Unfortunately, I do not have any celebrity stories to match. On the funnier side, I do have five quirky encounters with fame to share:

1. Frankie Muniz (that guy from Malcolm in the Middle) budged in front of me in a club line up. Unimpressed.
2. Danny Devito was dancing up a storm a few feet away from me at Phish's Coventry festival. He really is as short as he looks.
3. A friend and I saw Howie Day sitting in his car after a show. He refused to acknowledge that we were there, which we took full advantage of by taunting him. I thought that he was a bit of an ass. In this case, so was I.
4. It is a long story, but I gave Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace a Ferrero Rocher chocolate in the middle of a concert at GM Place. He then proceeded to put it into his pocket for safe keeping, presumably forgetting about it. I'm sure the warm, gooey after-math was not appreciated.
5. I've saved the most embarrassing for last. In grade nine, a friend and I won a radio contest that included a private lunch with Creed. Scott Stapp didn't even show, instantly making things less interesting. I'm sure that the other three band members couldn't wait to finish the small talk we put them through!