Friday Five Meme: Brushes with Greatness

1. Tell us about a time you met someone famous.

I went to a book-signing for one of Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy mystery series, set in Crozet, Virginia. I have a corgi dog, and a corgi (Tee Tucker) is featured in the series. I had read Ms Brown’s “Rubyfruit Jungle” as part of my Women’s Studies class at university, and enjoyed the Mrs. Murphy series. I brought copies of my favourite two from the series and bought a copy of the new book for her to sign. I told her I had read “Rubyfruit” in college, “more years ago than I want to think about.” She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Honey, I WROTE the book, and I know how long ago that was.” I also mentioned to her that I had lived near Crozet and had in fact enjoyed many a Crozet pizza; also that I had a corgi. She signed one of the books to my dog, by name, and one to my mother, as I asked, and one to me, telling me, “You KNOW Crozet Pizza!” I was very impressed with the way she took the time to chat with people, and make sure they had a connection with her, but was also very open and down-to-earth. She is who she is, take it or leave it.

2. Tell us about a celebrity you'd like to meet.
Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama for noble reasons. For fun, Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Degeneres, Melissa Etheridge, kd lang, Megan Mullaly, and Bruce Springsteen (in no particular order). Mandela and the Lama are obvious—two of the greatest workers for spirituality and human rights the last fifty years have seen. I think it would be fun to have dinner or go to a party with Ellen and Megan—they just seem like fun people. Melissa, Bruce and kd are people who have a lot to teach me about tapping that creative vein in my heart. And Mariska just ‘cause (smirk).

3. Tell us about someone great who's *not* famous that you think everyone oughta have a chance to meet.

Christian de la Huerta. He’s a writer, Breathwork practitioner, and retreat leader. He’s written a book, “Coming Out Spiritually,” that encourages gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people to claim their spirituality in the face of those who would deny it, and offers descriptions of various alternate pathways to traditional religion, but which can be practiced alongside or as part of traditional organized religion (breathwork, meditation, yoga, etc.). He’s a warm, supportive man, and I am proud to count him as a friend.

4. Do you have any autographs of famous people?
I used to have one of Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction writer.

5. If you were to become famous, what would you want to become famous for?
For my integrity—that I stood up for what I believed was right, spoke out for that belief, and that I was not afraid of the consequences.

Bonus: Whose 15 minutes of fame was up long, long ago?

Paris Hilton. Tom Cruise, and Mel Gibson. Get over yourselves, people!