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I was staying at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis in early March. Coming back from dinner, I saw a crowd of people standing around the side exit. I asked what was going on, and someone replied, "Samuel Jackson is doing a movie."
I race up to my room, grab a pen and a napkin, and come back down. I sneak under the security ropes (much to the chagrin of the security … Read more »
J'ai heurté quelqu'un, et, avec un bruit d'avalanche, toutes nos courses sont tombées par terre: les petits pots, le chocolat, le thon en boîte, sur le carrelage.
"Oh, pardon," ai-je dit.
"C'est rien—je vais ramasser."
Je me suis baissée pour faire un petit tas de mon butin. En relevant les yeux, j'ai vu une main saisir un paquet de pâtes. Le glisser dans un sac en cuir. La boucle en argent est restée … Read more »
It was a warm day in New Orleans. Mardi Gras had the streets full of mischief and fun. Most of the day's harshness had passed, and the sun was setting beneath the horizon. I was drifting down the crowded streets of the French Quarter with a few friends.
We were chatting and taking in all the sights our eyes could handle. My focus was ahead of me. The sounds and smells … Read more »
I met Christopher Reeve at a water-conservation rally in NYC back in college. "I'm the hugest Superman fan," my best friend awkwardly gushed, leaving me red-faced.
Reeve smiled and thanked us, then went on to congratulate us on our environmental work. He struck me as being very tall and possessing a sort of grace that is indescribable.
A few weeks later, he suffered a tragic spinal-cord injury, but his perseverance allowed … Read more »
It was my curiosity that drove me out of my office that dreary day in 1993.
I worked as a congressional page for then-Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-WA). Based on Capitol Hill, I manned the phones in his Steering and Policy office.
On this day, I'd heard that First Lady Hillary Clinton would be appearing in Statuary Hall—a round room, filled with statues, into which my office door opened. So, … Read more »
During an opening-night Hollywood party for some world-premiere play, I glanced over toward concessions and saw someone so alluringly familiar. It drove me a little crazy that I couldn’t remember who it was, particularly because I had just had a conversation with a friend about fading memory.
When I was younger, I used to make endless fun of my parents for forgetting names and dates, and with the arrogance of youth, … Read more »
As a U.S. Army draftee, I’d been assigned to SHAPE Headquarters in the autumn of 1957, serving as chauffeur for Air Vice Marshal Hector McGregor of the Royal Air Force. The hours were long, but he considered my needs and respected my service. I enjoyed the privilege of meeting famous generals and even a United States president—Dwight Eisenhower. I knew several general officers and enjoyed a mutual … Read more »
Yup, this is a true story, and that was almost the headline six years ago when Dave, a friend from North Carolina, came to spend the weekend in New York with me.
His only request was "to see everything in Home Alone." So there we were in the middle of NYC, at a traffic light between two large trucks. Dave in the back, Terry in the front, and me … Read more »
I have been to the mountain top....
I mean it—I’ve just gotten back from seeing my buddies in BTO (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) perform at a big concert over in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I got to sing onstage with them!
I’m not lying. I really did get to sing onstage with them. OK, maybe it wasn’t with all of them, but there were actual witnesses who will testify that I … Read more »
The fountain behind my summer-dressed friend chased the humidity away with sprays of fresh! Oh, the feeling of breezy drizzles of water quenched my skin's desire as I was already holding a bottle of Aquafina. The Aquafina was lonely and wanted the ever-prized New York falafel, a dish simply amazing with stir-fried lamb, veggies, and yellow rice.
So I granted the wish of the humble bottle. I boxed my way around … Read more »
Detroit's chic Rattlesnake Club called to me for chef Jimmy Schmidt's cuisine and a nighttime view of the Detroit River. What brought Alice Cooper there, I don't know. But when I spotted him across the dining room, I knew what to do.
I called my waitress over and instructed her, "A Pepsi to Mr. Cooper with my compliments."
It was delivered, and the waitress pointed out the kind donor. Alice Cooper … Read more »
I had won tickets to sit in the VIP area of a Pearl Jam concert in Camden several years ago. While Iggy Pop opened, Eddie and other members of the band sneaked into the empty row behind us.
He was suffering from a cold, and was coughing and snuffling a lot. Suddenly, as he leaned forward to get up and return backstage, he sneezed right onto my head. He apologized.
It's … Read more »
My mom, dad, best friend, and I were waiting in front of the Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, California, for the Keane concert that night. We got there hours before the concert so we could get good seats. The tour bus was parked right in front of where we were sitting.
We were waiting, in the broiling sun, for the clock to strike 7:00 when we saw Tom Chaplin walk … Read more »
"That guy looks familiar," I said to Mike.
"It's Elvis Costello," deadpanned Mike, clearly more versed in the ways of celebrity sightings. I've lived in New York for a decade, but when it comes to spotting stars, I'm the worst. I never recognize anyone. Not Susan Sarandon, just steps in front of me on Fifth Avenue, when my friend pointed her out. Not Michael Stipe, right over there in … Read more »
I swear on my auntie's clarinet that high school band nerds, besides participating in band camp every summer, also do fun things, believe it or not—like take band trips out of town. For a stranded teenager, these trips were the highlight of the school year.
Of the four band trips I made during high school, the one to San Fransisco was probably the best of them all. A gaggle of nerdy … Read more »
It was one of those summers in which residents born without the desert-dweller gene would flee the city like so many citizens in Godzilla's wake.
Being 14 then, my best friend and I had already planned our summer, and it expressly involved going to Las Vegas's only water park every day for as long as we could barter passage with our parental units.
On this day, we had noticed some rather serious … Read more »
The day I rented my live/work loft in Soho, consummating a lifelong dream to live in New York, I saw David Carradine walking down West Broadway. It seemed like an omen of glamorous days ahead for me.
But New York was—like New Jersey and Maryland and Florida had been before it—just another place where I worked too many hours a week and had a semi-acceptable relationship with someone who had less … Read more »
In the summer of 2002, I was working at a record store in Santa Monica. After a long day of having customers complain about our strict return policy, I stomped down to the local convenience store for some post-shift cigarettes.
It was busy, and Aziz (the clerk) was working his immigrant ass off for a couple of bucks to send back to the old country. The door alarm kept dinging over … Read more »
I was flying from STX to MIA. It was the mid-1980s. I got bumped up to first class. A woman sat down with me. We spoke of mothers and self. We shared our hearts in abundance. A sweet love formed between us. Sisters in the Earth's blue atmosphere.
After some hours, we shared names. I am Vicki Marsh; she was Marianne Faithfull. "Wow, wow, wow, wow," I said. We … Read more »
I was at Film Forum and had seen Natalie Portman and Gael Garcia Bernal in the crowded lobby before we took our seats. My male friend swooned a little. After the movie, I made my way to the narrow bathrooms and knocked into Portman with my bag while we were negotiating the area around the sink. Apologies were exchanged, and I went off into the night.
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