arrrggghhh...

did you know that dial-up sucks ass? i was in the middle of a long blog and i got disconnected. i am so freakin' pissed...

anyway...

the blog topic was 'brush with fame'

yesterday, when i arrived at my dad's hospital room, the TV was tuned to AMC and Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon was being shown. during the movie, there were small tidbits of info that were displayed at the bottom of the screen. you know, trivial facts that make the movie a bit more interesting.

well, one of the tidbits that was revealed regarded the dozens of extras that were used for the training and melée scenes. i guess the majority of the extras were thrilled just to be on the same set as the great Bruce Lee. they probably would have done the scenes for free as long as they were able to witness him directing, choreographing fights, and acting in this 1973 classic.

it made me think about how these people, even 30 years later, will always have a story about how they were extras in a Bruce Lee movie. for some, it probably was a major highlight in their lives...

i'm sure everyone has a story about a brief brush with a famous person or just a local celebrity. working in restaurants afforded me an occasional encounter with celebrities, no one major though. you know, a few Denver Broncos...Nuggets... i remember when Larry Walker had lunch at the Harvest about six years ago. there were some national heavy metal acts that played at Bangles, a couple blocks away. i met bandmembers from Badlands, Quiet Riot, and Lynch Mob. at one point in the late 80's and early 90's, these bands were actually famous around the world. mullets and teased out hair were the fashion, after all. just ask Laura... they all kept the hairspray industry rolling along.

i remember talking to local political celebrities such as Rep. Pat Schroeder and seeing then-guvn'r Roy Romer sneak to the back section for a breakfast meeting (romantic rendezvous) with his mistress, who i think was a secretary or assistant. i guess Bea Romer never thought much of the long affair because they're still married...weird...it was public knowledge; not like she didn't know.

anyway, the 'biggest' celebrity that i ever encountered was John Ritter. i remember waiting on him about five or six years ago. he was really quiet and polite. he came in at the end of brunch with his agent(?) or maybe she was a personal assistant. tipped well and left with no fanfare. i didn't even ask for an autograph. i shoulda said, "where's suzanne somers? i wanna wrap the Thighmaster i bought around her neck. i can't get my thighs to stop from flaring out...that bitch! i'll give her something to snort about."

lois has a pretty cool brush with fame...and hers was much longer than my brief encounter with the 'great' Jack Tripper. i don't remember how it came about, but seven years ago, Lois volunteered to be the chauffeur for a the VIP of the Peace Jam, which was taking place on the campus of Regis College (now University). in fact, this VIP was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. turns out it was Rigoberta Menchú Tum, the famous Quiché Maya human rights activist and 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

lois drove a huge Ford Crown Victoria, shuttling Rigoberta and her small entourage around town. they even all sat down and had dinner at the Imperial Chinese Restaurant. a good thing because all the chinese food that i've tried in guatemala and the majority of Latin America has not been very edible and very expensive ;)

okay...one last fame story. always save the best for last, eh?

the friend that we took out to dinner last week, Cindy, is an actress. she received her degree from Wright State University (in Dayton, Ohio), and has acted on and off in colorado productions for the last 20 years. she's had numerous brushes with famous people...so it's almost old hat for her. but there is one incident that was pretty wild.

when cindy was a senior in college, a small troupe of actors visited their campus. well, many drama students were paired with the actors to tour the campus for a day. cindy got this skinny, long haired actor who didn't bathe enough...but shared some really good marijuana with them...so all was forgiven ;)

anyway, they walked the school grounds, talking about their hopes and dreams. cindy was thinking of taking an internship in Houston and her stinky guest was talking about moving to one of the coasts. nothing really memorable.

well, a couple years later, while cindy was at her mom's house watching TV, a sit-com came on and cindy shouted to her mom, "THAT'S the guy that I took on campus! Wow, looks like he's made it..." thing is, cindy could never dream how BIG this guy would really make it.

the show that she saw at her mother's was 'Bosom Buddies.' and the stinky guy (with the good pot) whom she gave a tour of Wright State was none other than two-time Oscar winner, TOM HANKS. cool huh?