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My Embarrassing Celebrity Encounters
Three Times I Met a Celebrity and Did Something Embarrassing
Have you ever met a celebrity and said or done something embarrassing? Join the club! In these cases, my brain ran off just when I needed it the most.
Ray Bradbury
I once attended a talk from Ray Bradbury (yes, THE Ray Bradbury) with my father. We were fortunate to get to attend — and I’m grateful that my father was willing to drive me to Johns Hopkins after a long day at work to see Ray Bradbury.
Because Dad was always punctual, and because I was nervous, we got there about an hour before the talk started. So we were very close, probably in the first or second row. Talk about a great view! I read from his latest anthology, The Toynbee Convector, while we waited.
The talk was amazing! Dad stayed awake the whole time even though he’d endured a full day of work that day. (He joked that he didn’t dare fall asleep because Ray Bradbury was looking right after him.) But everybody paid attention. This was Ray Bradbury!
He talked about the future — but more importantly, the past and the present. This was in the late 1980s, and Ray Bradbury predicted that one day, fans would be able to pool their resources together and have movies made of their favorite stories. People chuckled at this prediction. I stared at him in wonder at the idea and hoped and wished it would come true. Wherever he is, I’m sure Ray Bradbury is laughing at those doubters now.
At the end of the talk, audience members were allowed to go up and meet Ray Bradbury. We were told we could get only one item autographed. So I waited in line with my copy of Something Wicked This Way Comes. My mind was full of things I wanted to say. After all, it was Ray Bradbury! Right there before me. Looking just like his cover photos!
Then, it was my turn, and he was looking at me. Ray Bradbury was looking at me! And waiting for me to speak. So I handed him Something Wicked and said, “It has to be this one.” And all other words fled my brain.
After I got the book signed, I walked away. And no doubt Ray Bradbury looked at me and thought, “What in the world?!”
