Keep your distance to keep your dreams.
You know what is terribly disappointing? Meeting famous people. Or even semi-famous people. I mention this not only because I lived through it this evening, but because it occurs to me now that there is big industry in this town (and on this week’s Seven) in doing just that- allowing you to brush up against or even speak with a “celeb”. But the dirty little secret of the evening is that I was not drunk. Nor even pleasantly buzzed. I know, I know, I’ve been slacking, so perhaps I deserved all that I got, after all, they say you get what you give, and the DayDrinker sans alcohol probably richly deserved being totally disappointed in an encounter with a writer whom up until the moment I actually met him face to face, I admired greatly. I was asked after I expressed my disappointment if this would change my experience of his writing, and no, I don’t think that it will, in the same way I believe people ought to have stood for Elia Kazan’s artistic achievement when he won the Oscar, regardless of his politics, I will still find this writer’s stories witty and charming, even if he, himself, was not.
But I guess that’s life, the mystery is always better than the reality. The idea of the VIP room is better than the room itself. The thought of being grown-up seems like a good one, until you realize there is no guidebook to help you muddle through, and in fact every “grown-up” you meet is really just like you and hoping desperately that you won’t figure that out.
But, as part of my jumping back into flowing or whatever, I will end on a positive note: there has been only one “celebrity” encounter that has not profoundly (or completely superficially) disappointed me: of all people, Pete Wentz, a surprisingly articulate (and incredibly short, like most of ‘em) gentleman with whom I had a brief conversation about the works of Hesse and the meaning of life… until his PR agent reminded me it was time for him to pose with his branded birthday cake. Ah Vegas. Ah “celebrity”. Ohhh cake… best idea I’ve had all day.
