Before my sister had her first baby she, of course, had a baby shower. Our chain smoking neighbor was in attendance and brought some nice gifts. One of the gifts was a previously used stuffed animal. Later in the day when my brothers, their friends and I came back we discovered this gracious gift. It was a hand-me-down that had been used by another child. I picked it up and noticed that it smelled deeply of cigarettes and immediately knew who had given the gift.
On the spot I developed a character named Secondhand Scruffy. He was a stuffed dog with long human arms that would awaken when parents left and offer the children various tobacco products. I named him “Secondhand Scruffy” for two reasons. First because he was a hand-me-down and second because of the secondhand smoke that had filled him with his odor. I think my sister threw the toy away. Just recently I got around to drawing a picture of Scruffy, enjoy.
Today being Tuesday September 11 is a good chance for me to post something inspired, in part, by a previous Tuesday September 11. In 2001 I was fairly fresh back from a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My younger brother was preparing to go off to a mission in Switzerland when he drove from our old home in Texas up to Utah to see me and other people before he left. While he was staying with me I gave him a lot of things to take with him, mostly luggage and clothes. When he was heading back to Texas he blew a hole in the side of his engine just outside of Albuquerque on I-40. He hitchhiked into town and called our mother who had contacted someone in Albuquerque who could help and then got a plane ticket home for my brother. When the friend from Albuquerque drove my brother back to his car to tow it back into town, my brother was relieved to see that the tarp he had draped over his luggage in the cab of the little truck was still there. When he opened the driver side door and moved the tarp he found his luggage had been stolen and the passenger window had been broken out.
Fast forward a couple of months to when my brother was set to leave the Missionary Training Center (MTC) for the church. I was in the airport terminal in Salt Lake where my brother would take off for Dallas and then on to Switzerland. I finally spotted him heading toward the escalator. When he got to me he said that the girl behind the counter just told him that one of their (American Airlines) planes had just crashed into a building in New York. The picture that came to my mind was a small commuter with engine troubles losing control and hitting a building. I said, “You don’t say that to someone who’s about to fly” and kind of shook it off. A few minutes after 7:00 MST My brother and I then saw Joseph B. Wirthlin, who had a grandson going to Switzerland too. My brother and I kinda wandered over towards him. As I stood up to wander over that way though I thought I heard the woman who was watching the television, that I had been ignoring, say, “A second plane?” but I ignored it as it wasn’t clear if that is what she had actually said and I was very preoccupied. It seemed like just a couple of minutes before they called for boarding his flight. My brother got in line and I figured it was a good time to say good-bye. I told him I’d see him later and told him to “have fun” then walked away a little and watched him walk towards the jetway.
I then went out to my car and very quickly drove back down to my place on very clear and empty roads while not listening to the radio, but to the CD “The Pleasure and the Greed” by Big Wreck (still remember small details, as I am sure everyone else does). When I got home I was feeling good and picked up the old guitar to play a bit. I had played half of a song when mom called me and asked, “Did your brother’s plane take off?” I said, “Yes” and my mom was very disappointed. I said, “Uh, that’s a good thing ma. He’s on his way to you” (she was in the DFW airport waiting to see him on his layover). She then unknowingly quoted something that was amusing to me for only the next few seconds. It was from “Independence Day” and it was “David, haven’t you been watching?” She then said, “Turn on your TV.” As I got to my living room I asked, “What channel?” and the wall of normalcy was ripped away from me when she said, “It doesn’t matter.” As soon as the TV came on I saw smoke coming from both towers. My mother then said that they had also hit the Pentagon and may have more planes out there. Which brought my mind back to my brother. I hung up and started trying to call the MTC but couldn’t get through. I then just stared helplessly at the TV for the next 45 minutes or so while both towers collapsed.
As it turns out my brother’s plane had only made it to the end of the runway before being turned around. He was brought back to the MTC for another week before he was able to leave when flights were allowed again.
Now in order to understand somethings in what I present below you need to understand a basic tenet of LDS belief. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we believe that people can only be held accountable for what they know. If someone is ignorant of something they cannot be condemned for what they do regarding that item. We believe that once someone knows something that they are then accountable for that knowledge and what they do with it. Whether a person takes a piece of knowledge and uses it to better their lives and the lives of those around them or if they ignore or misuse the knowledge they have they will be rewarded or condemned accordingly.
With all of that in mind I present the song I wrote for my brother at that time. I-40:
And now it’s time to calm down, calm down now.
They’ve taken everything, everything I gave you.
I know that you’d broken down, broken down alone.
And when you weren’t around to defend your ground, they came.
Don’t let them go away.
Today was to be a great day, you’d go away and learn.
But you never left the ground, they hurt that town away.
Don’t let them go away.
And life is stolen everyday.
Don’t let them go away.
The main point is telling him to go teach people to either open their eyes or bring them condemnation based on their, now informed, personal choices. It uses very extreme cases of people choosing incorrectly against things that I think they probably were already fully knowledgable of since stealing and killing are obviously wrong. I like to think that if more people had greater knowledge this world would be a better place and that very few would choose the low road if they knew more, but if they do they will have justice done to them. So don’t let them go away without the knowledge of what is true and right.
“Brothers and sisters, we live in sobering times. Now let’s get to work.” — President Gordon B. Hinckley
My father’s family usually has some kind of reunion on the 4th of July. In the year that my oldest child was first in existence for the 4th, my uncle called my brother and invited us to go. My brother covered his phone microphone and asked me if we wanted to go. I wasn’t feeling like it that day and told him to say “no” and give any reason he wanted, which would have included possibly just blaming me for no one going. What happened next is one for the history books.
He uncovered the phone and said, “No we’re not going to make it. Dale has to take his baby to a baby’s first 4th of July meeting.” Everyone in the room started to laugh at him as it was the most ridiculous excuse ever made up by anyone. After he hung up I said, “Well with an excuse like that, now we have to show up.” And we went to the reunion. In honor of my brother now having a son and with it being his first 4th of July I thought it would be a great time to whip this up:
It is often very fun to write a letter to a company about their products or services. I once wrote a sweet letter to Charmin about a way they could save money by making rectangular sheets instead of squares. Sadly I do not have a copy of that letter or their reply which was very interesting.
Most recently I have written a letter to McDonalds about a problem I have had a couple of times at one of their establishments. Here it is:
Somebody who handles the drinks wears a ton of hand lotion. When I take a drink a smell like musky mouse urine wafts up in my face and overwhelms the taste of my drink. Normally I like the taste of mouse urine, but in this case the added moisturizers left on the cup get all over my hand and make me smell like fufu too. It is bad enough walking through a door after such a person has gone through leaving a mess of fairy snot on a door handle, but it is a whole new level when you feel like you are drinking it. Please tell the employees that lotion is something to be washed off of their hands along with the mucus, sebum, urine and excrement.
I am still waiting for a reply and will update this post with it if I get one.
If you know anything about me then you know that I enjoy a good debate, with the caveat that I enjoy a good debate that is free of logical fallacies. I like to debate for several reasons such as; it might change my mind on a given topic if I am incorrect in my current position, it might help someone else change their mind on a subject (yeah right), it helps everyone involved know where the other person is coming from and I gain more knowledge when I do it. I would feel comfortable saying most people do not share my view. Most people do not enjoy having their world view questioned as I do. I like to question all views respectfully and assess their merit. Such debate and questioning usually occurs, for me, in a one on one situation. Last week I found myself in a situation with several people making points at and even attacking me while I presented fact after fact shutting them down. Needless to say I was in hog heaven.
I find the exchange interesting enough to post here. I am changing the names to cute little nicknames and I am changing the order of posts to more closely match the order I saw them in and to make more sense in displaying responses. I will also add extra commentary. It began regularly enough with a friendface friend, who currently supports the slaughter of babies at Planned Parenthood and the continued government funding of said organization, saying this:
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Sen John Kyl said (on the floor of the Senate) that “90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions.” The problem is, that number is actually only 3%. When Kyl’s office was asked to clarify, they said that his statement was “not meant to be taken as factual.” Ha ha ha ha!!!
So to rain on the laugh parade I said:
ME Sounds like a great place to cut some spending. 97% of what they do is already covered under medicare/medicaid and the other 3% “doesn’t use” federal funding anyway. Good find.
To which Friendface Friend replied:
FRIENDFACE FRIEND I think Kyl’s job would be a great place to cut some spending. Anyone who says what he said is either in it for the wrong reason or doesn’t believe that we deserve the truth. Lastly, I already knew all of the extra info you shared.
MILITANT BABYKILLER Wow, what a moron. So nice to know that idiots like that control serious issues that affect millions of lives. And all these MEN for that matter making decisions about family planning and abortion. They don’t have a uterus! I’m a little radical, but I don’t think it’s fair that men get to tell us what we can and can’t do. Sh***y men abandon their families, and aren’t left with the caring for unplanned pregnancies. If they skip out-are they judged? Not enough. MEN aren’t having to incubate a human inside them for 9 months. MEN don’t get stuck having to raise children and pay for daycare if they don’t want to. Oh, but I guess they do have the right to make up statistics.
Militant Babykiller is a goldmine of moronic points. I could go on for hours about this one post alone. Let’s just hit the highlights.
“And all these MEN for that matter making decisions about family planning and abortion. “
Whether she or anyone else likes it or not, it takes a man and a woman to make a family, with children and all the trimmings. Why would a man not be allowed to have a say in planning his family?
“They don’t have a uterus!”
This is one of the dumbest arguments for anything ever devised by anyone (more on that in my actual response to her).
“MEN aren’t having to incubate a human inside them for 9 months.”
OK so it’s alright to end the human life just because someone doesn’t want inconvenience. Thank goodness for her inconsistency or everyone would be in danger of getting killed by others who are inconvenienced in some other way. My actual response to her and Friendface Friend was:
ME First, just know I don’t care at all about Kyl. You presented a false dichotomy and I hate it when options are presented as the only ones when they are clearly not the only options. Kyl is either “in it for the wrong reason” or he “doesn’t …believe that we deserve the truth”. He might have just been ill-informed, that is a possibility is it not? You have made factually incorrect statements to me before, should you lose your job? Besides we could not save money on Kyl’s job since the people that elected him must be represented. Unless you are advocating the dismantling of our system of elected representatives and checks and balances.
I don’t have a uterus but I used to live in one. The uterus argument is one of the stupidest arguments ever. What about women who had hysterectomies? Taken further this line of logic could be used to exclude women who have never had children or even women who have never had an abortion from making any points about it. I have never murdered anyone but I will gladly tell other people not to, even without the experience of ending a life myself. If a woman doesn’t want a child we have something called adoption which is much better than killing. Or there is also not sleeping with the wonderful “sh***y” gentlemen that keep skipping out on these sluts. It is good to see though, that even though it is only 3% (according to their own numbers) Planned Parenthood is still the go-to location for slaughtering babies.
Bonus Factoid: Did you know Sanger’s first incarnation of Planned Parenthood was called the “Negro-Project” and was formed to get rid of black people?
FRIENDFACE FRIEND I didn’t present the uterus argument. So, no response there from me. Sluts is a pretty strong word, Dale. Not only promiscuous women find themselves in these situations. If he just got his info wrong, why didn’t he say that? Nope, didn’t know that about PP.
ME When was the last time you heard a politician admit they were wrong? Again I care nothing about Kyl and know nothing about him besides that he is a politician and it generally takes a certain type to be one, oh and he is a lousy fact checker. As for “slut”, tomayto tomahto.
Extra Factoid: Did you know that until recently you could specify that pp donations could go specifically towards killing black babies only?
HOOKED ON PHONICS Does anybody know the cost of adoption in the US? I do. The going rate is 30 grand. Women keep their babies even when it is not in the best interest of the child. Friendface Friend I love you sugar for so many reasons. We agree on so much and I love the fact that you are fearless! Keep up the good work!
ME So, human life = $30,000. Got it, good to know. I know where you could give a baby away for free.
Extra Extra Factoid: Margaret Sanger on occasion referenced black people as “human weeds”, “reckless breeders” and as “human beings who never should have been born.”
HOOKED ON PHONICS Really Dale please tell me. My best friend lost her baby 3 days before her due date and would love to have one of those free babies you think are out there for the taking.
ME Learn to read, Hooked on Phonics. I said, “give a baby away”. We were talking about the slut side of things and not the adopter side. There is no reason it would ever cost someone $30,000 to put a baby up for adoption.
I later checked her and found a screaming deal on adoption starting at $4,000.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND: Jeez. I only thought it was laughable that one of our over-paid, under-qualified “representatives” was making a very erroneous statement about numbers, which were the entire point of the statement. The statement happened to be about an issue that was moments away from causing a govt. shutdown. In a situation like that, getting the numbers right is pretty important. When asked about his statement, he basically shirked responsibility. And, that made me laugh.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND This is such a sensitive issue, and everyone has their own reasons for how they feel. None are more important than another.
HOOKED ON PHONICS No need to worry! The brow beating has made me change my mind completely.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Dayna, you made me laugh out loud!
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Also, Dale, just because politicians don’t usually admit that they are wrong doesn’t mean that now wouldn’t be a great time to start….for ALL of them.
^That last one contributes nothing. Just because I can’t fly doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a great time to start.
Here’s my reply:
ME @Phonics – Oh, I didn’t think you would be able to read the brow beating.
@Friendface – Not killing people is much more important than all other reasons.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND What about women who would die if they didn’t receive said service?
ME Just as you can kill a full grown adult in self defense there are exceptions to all rules. That’s just common sense.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND: Yes, it is. It is the exception that in a black and white situation can make all the difference.
Uuuuuuh…ok…that’s a weird response.
ME All situations are black and white. Each individual one has it’s own correct answer and every subset of that possible situation has it’s own correct black and white answer. There is never a gray.
I am ok with a procedure in cases where a life is at risk, or where a crime has been committed such as rape or incest. Those are hard situations with hard decisions to be made. Much the same as I am ok with snuffing out full grown lives for self defense, war (which should only be for defense) or possibly criminal situations. Although I would prefer to not have the death penalty really.
As has been said before, in person would be a better way for such discussion and would more than make up for my non-use of emoticons. Also Kyl sounds like a real winner but if you think politicians giving fake numbers is funny, pay more attention and you will laugh your a** off all the time.
Speaking of black and white/right and wrong, apologies to {Phonics} about the “learn to read” thing. But seriously it’s called “Hooked on Phonics”. Joking joking. Apologizing starting now.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND I think there’s a gray….
MS KNOWITALL regardless of how anyone feels about abortions, they are 100% privately funded. It is, in fact, illegal to utilize any Title X funding on abortions. (and has been since 1976, I believe) And, that is all that matters when we speak of federal funding for a very important organization that is essential to women’s health.
OK, so nevermind that killing babies is wrong. “All that matters” is that tax dollars don’t pay for the slaughter. Phew.
ME @Friendface – Nope. No gray.
@Knowitall – you just reiterated my good reason for de-funding. Hooray!!!
Although you do overlook Kathleen Sebelius’ statement about all funding going to the same pot and having no guarantee that tax dollars don’t pay for abortions. Oh and you overlook the fact that killing babies is wrong.
MILITANT BABYKILLER Yeah, there’s a gray. Thank goodness some people believe that or we’d all be f’d.
Uuuuuh, how exactly would we be “f’d”, genius?
BLAH GUY It’s not up to us to pass judgment on grey areas God will ultimately do that. How ever God says in the Bible that I knew your voice in your mothers womb.
If there are truly gray areas then how would a just God pass a black and white judgment on anyone? The reason He can judge is that He knows each black and white correct answer and all the facets of each situation.
ME I’d like an example of a moral situation where there is no clear right and wrong then. Show me this gray. Open my eyes to this hazy light/darkness. I hope it’s not like the gray area used to justify slavery or mass slaughter or other horrible acts throughout the ages. Gray areas are only for those trying to get away with something while their conscience bothers them.
BLAH GUY Black and white a baby does not create major organs while in the womb it’s known that when the child comes out it’s going to die immediately. I think that’s a grey area.
ME @Blah Not gray. If it is fully known that no organs will ever develop it is a very easy choice.
MS KNOWITALL so, I just read some of the thread above…and I see that you already know funding does not cover abortions, Dale. I do have to ask you this why do you assume the other 97% of the services offered by Planned Parenthood is covered by medica…id/medicare? Btw, I am speaking to PP only because you used 97%, which is only a number specific to PP, where as Title X does not only fund PP. So, please…tell me, I am interested in an off the cuff response~
ME @Knowitall – Missed your earlier question post – Quick answer: unless PP has a purple nurple service that they charge for that I don’t know about then every other service can be taken care of with insurance or medicaid or found down at free clinics all over the place. No need for special funding. Of course that need would never ever possibly exist anyway.
Also, it is currently legal for tax money to fund abortions because of the 2009 omnibus bill nullification of the Dornan amendment.
The placement of this one is strange because I read it in this order. The next section actually happened right before my last reply.
MS KNOWITALL Leaving black/white, or gray out of this….you still did NOT answer my question. I wonder why that is?? Because you’re statement was absolutely false!! The majority of PP patients are NOT eligible to be covered by medicare/medicaid darlin’! Furthermore, you are so cookie-cutter “right” in your sad excuse for a rebuttal in vomiting some bs about Sebelius, please provide proof of this statement, I’d love to see it. And, btw, if you seriously think that every single medical service paid for by the government is not completely audited you have lost your mind (which is clear in everything you say anyway). I bet you think Obama is an Alien, and his not American as well eh? hahaha…
Oh, I will shut her up.
MS KNOWITALL p.s. to be clear, I think killing babies is wrong too, I would never have an abortion. And, thankfully, believing in another woman’s choice is not contradictory to my own personal moral code.
What a stupid “moral code”. I also believe in other people’s choice. I think we should ask the babies if they would like to live or not and wait for a response. I also believe that a woman can still “choose” to murder someone because of inconvenience. I just want to live in a society where there is a swift consequence for such a choice.
ME @Knowitall Wow so much hatred and venom. All over a comment I never saw. So much ad hominem was “vomited” by your clearly, lost long ago, mind; judging by “everything you say anyway”.
Next one is out of place as well. It belongs after my “learn to read” statement but I didn’t see it til now. Seriously though, how hard is it to read what someone wrote and respond accordingly?
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Also, it is possible to make a point/statement without being derogatory.
HOOKED ON PHONICS Okay Friendface you win! Longest personal thread I have ever seen on FB. Way to GO!
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Yikes. This was not my intention. And, um, I love you all. The end!
Then I thought I would finish with these, which I think answer pretty much everything:
ME …was headed out the door earlier. I have more. ( I never quit)
Obama as an alien – Born in Hawaii, jus soli.
I also added the video evidence for Sebelius pool of funding talk. You know the BS that doesn’t exist.
Sebelius BS –
Government meticulously auditing –
I also threw in a shot at the original post. I know that technically Kyl was wrong with his numbers, but he may have wanted to say this:
Anyone who actually knows that a “troll” is not someone who comments and shares opinions about something, but rather, is someone who posts things that can evoke an emotional response and detract from a discussion will see the huge irony from Troll Lady.
HOOKED ON PHONICS I thought of it as poking the bear myself.
ME So…Party at Friendface’s house?
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Party at my house. The only rules are that elephants have to talk to donkeys, and vice versa. And if you are neither donkey or elephant, you’re responsible for drinks.
LATE FOR THE SHOW Ok. Killing is evil. So let’s save lives and money by pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
ME I am neither an elephant or donkey but I don’t drink. Anybody like milk? We can do the gallon challenge.
@LATE – Iraq/Afghanistan – Amen!!!
I hate the assumption that I am a Republican because I hold certain views. And I hate that one might assume that I want our troops to be in Iraq or Afghanistan because of my views on slaughtering babies. I also don’t like political parties and will probably never join one.
ENTERTAINED LADY Thanks for the entertainment!!
“BOOM WINNING” GUY Wow Friendface… You should start a blog.. Have a feature column for Dale.. Kind of like Andy Rooney. I think he’s great.
That was the last I saw of it for a few days until I went back to it for writing this up and saw the following:
KILLING BABIES IS FUNNY GUY Just think… if Planned Parenthood had aborted John Kyle, I wouldn’t be reading this awesomely long thread.
You also wouldn’t be reading it if they had aborted you. Don’t make it right.
FRIENDFACE FRIEND Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Thanks, KBIFG, I needed that.
Oh yeah LOL!!! All the people who never got a chance to breath think it’s real funny too.
CROWDED MASS MURDERER the population continues to grow, why would anyone cut spending at PP? I am ProChoice, If I were rich, I would be a philanthropist and donate money for women who can’t afford abortions.
If I were to reply to the new statements I might say this:
ME Some groups of people hold no value for the human lives of other groups. Some people look down on the infidels, some on the Jews, some on those with different skin color and some people don’t value the lives of anyone of an opposing view. Other people don’t value those who have yet to make their own choices and voice their own opinions. Each of these are human lives and each contribute to the population that “continues to grow”. Why pick the most innocent and fragile group of these to slaughter en masse? Because it’s easy? Because the others have been tried before? Who else can we destroy to make some more elbow room in this crowded place, as though we can currently barely breath or move about? Expand your list to really solve this problem, you philanthropist you.
If you can’t tell I am very passionate about some things and I have facts and principles to back me up. Roe v. Wade is the Dred Scott case of modern times, as it is so blatantly against the principles of our nation’s founding.
Inviting someone over to dine with you is a tradition that stretches back thousands of years into human history. There are some moments in dining history that boggle the mind and can be quite entertaining for years to come. Take a journey with me whilst I fill you in on three strange situations. Do not try these at home kids.
I love to make people who work as cashiers laugh. I use a lot of spur of the moment stuff and a few tried-and-true bits to accomplish this. I have been trying for years to get a particular joke to land at the grocery store. I am happy to announce that this morning at around 6:43 success was achieved.
Ok, yesterday I said we were going over the best, but I was wrong. Now we will look at the best. Don’t let the title mislead you, I didn’t come up with all of these by myself. A couple of them were invented by and with friends quite a few years ago.
Lampshademan
Once again as a bored young man grabbed a lampshade, a trenchcoat and a golf club and made up a superhero. Lampshademan. Bad guys can never find him when he stands in a corner or next to a couch. Apparently it must have either been a very popular thing to mimic or it is just so obvious and easy to come up with, because there are all kinds of fools posing as Lampshademan throughout the internets.
Bucketman/Todd Pail
Todd Pail was in a horrible accident on a school trip, which fused a bucket to his head and gave him the ability to throw bucket lids at evildoers. That’s when he became Bucketman. Bucketman is, of course, in alliance with Lampshademan which might have to change since Lampshademan has become so overdone and lame. This one was dreamed up and modeled after my friend Brandon, who previously did some posts here and I consider him one of the funniest people I know. He would eat buckets of ice cream and then put them on his head while holding the lid as a weapon
Pillowhead
Originally wore his underwear on the outside but cleaned up his act for the kids. You could punch pillow head all you want and he would just lay back in comfort. Until, of course, his pillow shifted and you actually began to hit his face. He is also in alliance with Lampshademan and Bucketman.
Milkjug
This superhero is fortified with vitamin justice and calcium. When creating this superhero we tried to make a Milkjug mask but it was really sharp around the edges and would have mutilated your face to wear it around. Milkjug rounds out the crime fighting quartet with the aforementioned heroes.
Mansquatch
Since Lampshademan is kinda lame I came up with this one a few years ago. Instead of putting something on his head Mansquatch just takes off his shirt and shoes to transform into a crime fighting juggernaut. At times he can get cold or be embarrassed if he fights crime at a formal event, but it is worth it. He has also had issues fighting crime at 7/11s and fast food joints. He wants to be in alliance with the others but has not had the chance to communicate with them in years.
Well there you have them, some heroes. Hopefully Superhero week has been as magical for you as it has been for me. If you have made up your own superheroes or anything like that, let me know about it below.
As you may be aware I enjoyed annoying my art teacher in high school. One thing that anyone who has taken an art class has had to do is to draw a still life scene. In our class the teacher loaded a table in the middle of the room with fake fruit, plants, random junk and bovine skeletons. She had spotlights shining onto the subjects. We were told to select three items from the scene to draw. As you might guess this was my selection: Continue reading “Still Life”
Many people freak out when someone famous gets near them. I have never envied the famous when it came to privacy or the ability to do things in public. For this reason I am pretty sure that I will never meet anyone famous.
I have been around when famous people have been around and people have swarmed them. Such a scene always drives me away as I would like to not be a person who is bothering someone else so much. This behavior will help guarantee that I never meet famous people.
My claim to not ever meeting famous people comes with some caveats. The first caveat is that I have some famous cousins that I have met at family reunions and get togethers. I met Cleon Skousen (Political and Religious author) at the Skousen family reunion in 1994. At the same function I ran across Bart Oates and his brother Brad who both played in the NFL (Bart won the super bowl the season after that). I met Dale Murphy (Outfielder for the Braves, Phillies, Rockies and two time National League MVP) and have seen him at many family funerals. I don’t count these as meeting famous people because they were really just meeting family who happened to be well known.
The next caveat is meeting someone who is not really that famous or at least not in your area. I met one of the greatest musicians of all time, but his fame is overwhelmingly had only in Canada. Ian Thornley (formerly of Big Wreck) did a show which I attended. His band was the opener and afterward they said they would be in the back of the club to sign stuff and hang out. I could not resist of course since he and his band were the entire reason I had come to the show. I went back and had them sign a CD while the headlining act played. Myself and my friends along with 2 other people were the only ones back with them. It was strange because they had put on a really good show that the crowd enjoyed but since they were not famous no one cared too much beyond the occasional passerby saying “you rock” or something like that. I felt like a silly teenage girl talking to Ian, since I had heard his music in high school and thought it was amazing. Since he was not being swarmed by others because of his lack of huge gigantic fame in my area I consider this one just hanging out after a show with someone who is famous elsewhere in the world. When I write it out I guess I have met a famous person, just mildly famous, and I was not annoying about it.
I can’t believe I almost totally forgot about meeting a famous person under perfectly normal and non-teengirl screamer way. I have met and chatted with LaVell Edwards twice. Once at the aforementioned football camp where I was told that I could be an All-American tight end. The second time was in 1998 when he noted that I must be the one that gets all the groceries in the family since I was so much larger than my uncle. Those were both full fledged meeting a famous person and I cannot find a way to excuse it away.
