I cannot begin to tell you all how incredibly excited I am about the situation right here in my very own neighborhood!
Now let me preface this post with some tidbits of information for you. I am no stranger to brushes with fame.
I was on a hotel elevator in New York in 1970 with my grandmother. She was taking me on a trip to Europe (along with my local pal, Susan S. and HER grandmother!) and we were leaving New York the next day. The elevator stopped and Doc Severinsen got on with us!! I was all of 16 years old at the time and just thought I had died and gone to Heaven! A celebrity. Right there with us on the elevator. Sigh.
On that very same trip, we were in the lobby of our hotel in Venice, Italy when Perry Mason himself (!) came walking through the door. Yep. Raymond Burr walked right through the lobby and was VERY kind to the two spinster sisters who were traveling with our group who leapt through the air with the greatest of ease to approach Mr. Burr and fawn over him. He was quite gracious and I'm sure they told that story many times over the years following.
My celebrity brushes abruptly quit for some time after that. While I am not really enamored with celebrity and definitely would not go out of my way to FIND a celebrity, I did occasionally wonder if, while living in Austin, I might accidentally brush up against fame. There are a number of celebrities residing there, after all.
Then I was spending a little shopping time at my favorite Chico's store at 6th Street and Lamar in downtown Austin. I was in a changing stall and heard a distinct "buzz" going through the store outside the wall. I finished my change and stepped out to see how things looked in the giant wall mirror just outside the changing stalls. As I was determining whether or not I could hide enough in that particular outfit, Sissy Spacek walked out of a stall door to view her potential outfit in the same wall mirror. As we stood and viewed ourselves, I determined to take this opportunity to actually SAY something! (I was too young and too unsure of what to say when my previous brushes with celebrity had presented themselves!) After all, I had seen a number of Ms. Spacek's films and I really did have respect for her as an actor. I looked at her and commented, "I don't want to bother you but I do want to tell you I have really enjoyed your body of work over the years." That was all I wanted to get out and I expected nothing from it. She looked directly at me, smiled a big ol' smile that threatened her very tiny frame, and said, "Well, THANK Yewwwwwwwwwwwwww" with that incredibly West Texas accent that turned "you" into a magical, multisyllabic, musical moment. :) I was so glad I had said something.
Oops! I digress. Okay. Here is the neighbor news.
This past Friday evening, the spousal-unit and I decided we would eat out rather than cook in. We don't do that terribly often but we were just being lazy. As we exited the driveway, I noticed a neighbor's house that is across the street and one house north of ours had what appeared to be a sign out front. Now, I KNOW who this neighbor is and I KNOW she is not planning to sell the house nor has she had any work done that a provider might want to acknowledge with signage in her front yard. I could not imagine what the sign might say. When we were directly in front of the house, it was very clear then what honor had befallen her. This signage has moved my lovely neighbor, Marty, to a level of fame unparalleled in this town except by those who have been so honored in the past! One of Marty's and my mutual friends, Faux Auntie Jo to me, was so enthralled by this event, she called while we were out dining to inform me that the signage had gone up and to tell me that SIX (count them, SIX!) Gardenettes were in attendance when the photo for the local newspaper was taken!!! Well... I guess I should show you what I'm talking about since some of you probably don't have exposure to this kind of fame where you are.
In all fairness, I want you to take a look at this lovely front yard with lavender crepe myrtles blooming, maroonish loropetalum shrubs mingled with other green shrubs, and the amazing variety of white/green, pink/green, and other caladiums that are edging the front walk. After blazingly hot temperatures and a serious lack of June rainfall, this yard is an oasis in the neighborhood... heck... in the whole TOWN! (And no, those aren't tire tracks running across the front yard... they are shadows from the wires on the utility poles along the street.)
So... all I can report to you, dear Blogging Buddies, is that sometimes fame is right there in front of you. Quit looking for those plain old celebrities who really have nothing to offer other than their charm and good looks. They are a dime a dozen, I tell you!! Watch for those secret celebrities who are in front of your nose. They are the ones who will bring you joy.
Now... although I had planned to end this post here, I was rummaging through the local Sunday paper in the event the "official" photo had made it into today's paper. It had not although the scanned item below did catch my eye. Ya' just gotta' love it, don'tcha?!?!?!?!?!? It made me laugh and I hope it brings the same to you.
The caption reads:
"This sign appeared on North Pine street. Apparently, the person who put up the sign was forced to amend it after the first version caused some question in the mind of readers."
Until next time...
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