Coulda Woulda Shoulda

There are a few celebrities I've met that I didn't get a picture with. Well, actually, there are a lot, but I'm talking about celebs I've had some sort of exchange with (say, a conversation) and then didn't get a picture. Or, I got a pic and the camera didn't work. Or, the person was in a casino (no pics allowed). Here are my top three "misses" from long ago.The first one is Luke Perry. Shortly after "Beverly Hills 90210" came on the air, I was at Disneyland with my cheer squad and we saw the cast of 90210 walking around (yes, the whole cast). I think they were on their way to a radio broadcast or something. All I know is I saw Luke Perry first and called out, "Hey, Dylan" or something, since at the time I didn't even know his real name. Yeah, nice. He stayed back and talked to me, while the rest of the cast walked on. We had a conversation about Bionic Heroes, since previously that week I'd used Dylan McKay (his character on the show for anyone living under a rock) as an example in my Honors English class as a Bionic Hero. He even knew what that was and seemed really flattered. At the time, I didn't want to bother him for a picture (what was I thinking?) or even an autograph, I just thought having the encounter was cool enough. Silly girl. A few years later I was at a Dodger game in LA and saw Jerry Seinfeld and his friend Larry Miller sneak in during the sixth inning. Jerry freaking Seinfeld!!! I went and talked to him and let's just say, he wasn't the nicest person I've ever met. Granted, I'm sure he just wanted to enjoy the game and I totally infringed upon that, but still. I really thought he was going to be hysterical. A week later I read an article about him where he said he hated when people approached him. Oops - that would've been nice to see before the game. Oh well. I did get his autograph and we did take a picture with some crummy disposable camera we'd bought at the game, but the pictures didn't turn out. The horror! Larry Miller was REALLY nice, though. He made me feel much better about bugging them. :)The last encounter was with Emilio Estevez, who was gambling at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I went and asked him why his dad and brother had a different last name (since I happen to have a special place in my heart for their last name) and he said he shared his grandfather's name. Oh. So, my sharing the same fake name as his brother and father probably didn't impress him. Hmmm. Interesting. He did give me an autograph before going back to his game, but I have no idea what to do with autographs. They seem silly to me. I'd much rather get a picture with someone than an autograph, but I guess to each his own.

Josh Brolin

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was sitting in a cheerleading competition in some random high school in LA watching my Varsity squad perform. My JV squad was too young to perform (or we weren't ready, I'm not sure which), so we were only there to lend support. Suddenly, I saw someone who looked exactly like Josh Brolin (who played Brand, the older brother, on Goonies) get up and walk outside. Although we weren't entirely sure it was him, we were willing to take a chance, so I grabbed my dear friend Katrina, yelled at our Cheerleading Gerry to follow us, and we ran out after him. He must've been walking really fast, or we took too long trying to get out of there, because he was halfway down the block before we caught up to him. As luck would have it, it WAS him and we were able to have a little photo session. Turns out, he was there to support some friends who were performing (what a loyal friend) and was just about to make his getaway on his hot stuff motorcycle before we caught him. He was really nice and genuine and I'm so glad we trusted our instincts and went after him. Gerry had her fancy camera and was able to document the experience. How freaking excited were we?!?! It was like a dream come true.