Brushes with fame...

Having grown up in a small town, and later moving to Corvallis, I can safely say that I am not exactly a friend to celebrities. Growing up I knew who the high school quarterback was, and who was likely going to be the valedictorian, but I never knew anyone who could honestly be described as "famous." I have had to settle for "brushes with fame," and most of those are indirect.

I was first awestruck at the tender age of 17 when Scott Davis (a native of my hometown of Plainfield, IL, who went on to play for the L.A. Raiders from 1988-1994) came in with his dad to the restaurant where I worked and ordered a plain double cheeseburger and a small Diet Coke. He was HUGE. Have you ever seen an NFL defensive end? HUGE. I was awestruck and blushed to match the color of the ketchup I did not put on his burger. I can hardly believe that I remember what he ordered 19 years later. Me? Dork.

Beyond that, I have often referred to celebrities who grew up in the same area I did. Lionel Richie? Right over there in Joliet, IL. Cindy Crawford? Grew up in DeKalb, IL, where I went to college. Cheap Trick? They're from Rockford, IL. Danica Patrick? Grew up in Roscoe, IL. Hillary Rodham Clinton? Park Ridge, IL. Have I met any of these people? Heck no! But perhaps they walked where I walked, or drove where I drove.

I have brought that fascination with me to Corvallis. When customers buy a book by John Krakauer, I get such a rush when I say, "Did you know he went to Corvallis High School?" Did you know that? He did! Think of that when you read his tales of survival, including Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. (What was he thinking about in class...?)

My most recent "brush with fame" had me blushing even redder than the pizza sauce at American Dream.  I went over there for a slice for lunch last week, and standing in line ahead of me was Craig Robinson, head coach for the OSU basketball team.  Normally, the sight of an OSU coach in town would not leave me awestruck.  Coach Robinson, however, is also a recently published author, hitting the talk show circuit.  Oh, and did I mention he's President Obama's brother-in-law?  The author thing is what really put me over the edge, though.  I ordered my lunch and hemmed and hawed.  I truly believe in leaving celebrities to their peace, but I really wanted him to come over to the store and sign our copies of books. I sat at a table not far from where he sat with (presumably) some assistant coaches and a prospective player.  I deliberated for several minutes, reworking various requests in my head.  Finally I just decided to screw up all my courage and interrupt him as politely as I could.  Which is what I did.  My face was bright red as I stood in front of his table and rather meekly said, "Pardon me, Coach Robinson?"  I tried to be polite, and apologized for interrupting, and mentioned I worked at the bookstore across the street, and would he mind coming over and signing our copies of his books?  He was SO NICE, and said he would stop by later.  GAH!  When I went back to the store after lunch, I was so giddy, I told my coworkers.  And then Coach Robinson did come by and signed the few copies we had in the store of A Game of Character.  (We sold two of those while he was there.)  He seemed humble, and surprised when we told him that we had sold several copies of his book.  And he said he would come back and sign more.

It occurs to me now that I will need to have him autograph a copy of the book for me.  Mica read it and said it was a wonderful book, and now I will need this tangible memento of my most recent brush with fame.  We'll have more autographed copies in soon, so make sure you stop by and check.  You never know, you may have your brush with fame right here at Grass Roots...  (By the way, have you met April...?)

See you at the bookstore!
Pamela.