On Saturday, I was waiting for Shirra to bring the kids down the block to where I had parked when I spotted Laurie Berkner. Laurie is perhaps the most popular singer of children's music these days, judged by her connection with cable TV's Noggin, where she's seen in various capacities thruout the day. As it happens, we knew her when: Back in 2000, she performed at Fiona's 4th birthday, and in the next two years, she played at two more parties; the final one she did as a favor, coming out to Brooklyn for what would be her last private gig of the sort. We've been big Laurie fans, so Maeve has gotten to enjoy her music even without getting to see her live... until Saturday. While I reintroduced myself to Laurie and her bandmate Susie, Shirra and the kids appeared. Maeve's reaction was to hold her hands in front of her huge grin, much as Shirra did years ago when she met her favorite baseball player, Dave Winfield, on our 1990 trip to see the Chicago White Sox at old Comiskey Park. Winfield chatted with us for a bit and then posed for a picture with his arm around Shirra. Her only word for about 90 minutes was 'Omigod.' Maeve managed to say hello and chat amiably despite her obvious glee.
Yesterday I was shopping for some cycling stuff in advance of the unicycle race I'm participating next summer. While in the store, I noticed Matthew Broderick enter with a very nice bike that he needed to drop off for a friend. We got to chatting -- about my geared unicycle and other unicycle-related things -- and ended up talking for about 20-30 minutes. It was nice to see what a down-to-earth guy he is, and I'm sure he appreciated my relative normalcy; that is, I didn't ask for an autograph or any other nod to his fame. I'm like that, in part, because of growing up in a city inhabited and visited by so many superluminaries. It's still fun to spot -- or chat with -- a famous person, but after awhile, you get the feeling that it's an everyday occurrence.
I've always joked about the fact that people stare at me when I unicycle down the street, and that goes for celebs. So when I've crossed paths with someone famous, I have always joked not that I saw so-and-so but that so-and-so saw ME. The list of stars who have seen me unicycle includes David Bowie and Iman, Mick Jagger, the late Tony Randal (who used to live on my mom's block), Billy Baldwin and Chyna Phillips (who used to live in my mom's building), and a few others. Oh, and Bill Clinton (in Martha's Vineyard). I like to think that they go home to their significant others and say, "You'll never guess ...."
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