I See Famous People

After a hard day of shopping today, I decided to stop off in Whole Foods for a little snack. While I was upstairs reading the Rustica menu, trying to find something under $5 and less filling than pasta, I noticed a man nudging up against me. He got uncomfortably close to the point that I really hoped that it was a friend of mine. He said, "hi there" and I looked up to discover that it was Horatio Sanz from Saturday Night Live!

I guess he remembered me from a couple shoots that I did for Upright Citizens Brigade - but I was shocked! He told me that the ravioli was great and introduced me to his girlfriend. He told me that he had seen me earlier in the day walking down St. Marks. I said, "Oh, that's funny! I didn't see you." He pulled up his collar in a mock-incognito sort of way, smiled and said he had been "hiding".

Now I find this whole experience really amusing because I've been on the other end of celebrity /non-celebrity encounters where I, of course, recognized a person and said hello. This is the first time that a celeb has approached me (well, other than that time in an elevator in LA when Jamie Foxx and his friend talked to me - this was pre-Ray). He probably thought, "hey, this is weird. I recognize this girl from somewhere. I even saw her walking down the street today. I wonder how the universe allowed our paths to cross so many times - there must be meaning to this. I am going to say hello because there is something cosmic about all of this."

This is the same way people think when they see famous people: "OMG! I've seen this person, like, a hundred times before on various programs/movies/commercials/music videos and he/she has made me laugh/cry/drool in the most real, meaningful way! The universe is putting me in the same location with this person for a reason! I must say hello to them."

People in NYC and LA are always saying I saw this celebrity or that celebrity but no one really thinks or cares about the fact that sometimes celebrities are seeing YOU. In a way, BEING seen is far cooler. Especially when the celeb lets you know it.

And, BTW, after he left, I scrapped the snack idea and sat down for a nice plate of ravioli!