Brushing By for a Friday Five

OK... no real time to post, but can't resist a fun topic at my favorite web ring! Thus I give you a hasty, unedited RevGalBlogPals Friday Five, on the topic "Brushes with Greatness."

1. Tell us about a time you met someone famous.
"Met" is perhaps too specific a word :), but I did once wear the garments of a (sort-of, in some circles) celebrity. I was working in a bridal shop with in-house alterations. The alterationist was very, very good and word must have gotten around. The shop was 30 minutes from Denver, where many other bridal shops with alterationsts were available to the stray, time-pressed alt-rock musician/ performer... but those stores aren't part of my story.

A band by the name of REM came to Colorado for two nights one fall, and bassist Mike Mills ripped his bedazzled stage suit while performing in Denver on Night One. A roady or an intern or a tour employee somehow suggested they take the pantsuit to this great little place in Boulder where repairs would be swift and proficient. And that is how I happened to show up for work one day to find mild-mannered Patty Elliott, seamstress extraordinaire, sniffing what looked like a royal purple matador's jacket with heavy gold embroidery. ...It smelled like celebrity, you see. And vaguely like sweat.

The jacket was rather slim in the shoulders and, being for a man & all, it had no, um, boob room. That meant many of the girls on staff couldn't slide it on or button it. I, however, being the shape of your average 12-year-old boy at the time, had no trouble fitting into the famous musician's jacket. ...And damned if that gaudy thing didn't look GOOD.

So what were we to do but dress me up in the jacket AND pants (rip already repaired), and stage a photo session at the three-way mirrors outside the bridal dressing rooms? We got the Polaroid camera (this was the pre-digital age, and the instant shots helped girls decide which dress looked best, or gave them something to take back to their friends/ family). I got dressed. (The legs were a little long, but I like working the flare.) I struck what I hoped was an appropriate air guitar pose and felt the music... it was GREAT! I asked for one close up of the jacket lining, where "Mike Mills" was embroidered under the pocket. Brilliant! Then it was time to sneak me downstairs, Elvis-undercover style, since we had a customer. Somewhere, though, in a small and tasteful photo album much too bourgeois to hold these glimpses of my rock-star soul, the images rock on.

2. Tell us about a celebrity you'd like to meet.
Hmmm... Billy Graham was the first name that came to mind. And I've never even seen a Billy Graham crusade or read one of his books. I think it's the man's larger-than-life but still-very-authentic presence that somehow attracts me. He has the Spirit, no? Also, Sandra Bullock would make a fun lunch date in Austin.

3. Tell us about someone great who's *not* famous that you think everyone oughta have a chance to meet.
My friend Nancy Grant is uber-cool. She has this diva kind of thing going on but is also the most loving and giving and affirming person. Every young person who needs just an extra nudge to say "you're OK; you're special; you're going to be fine" should hang with Nancy.

4. Do you have any autographs of famous people?
Nope. I used to have a Tyler Wildcatters baseball signed by (pre-game enteretainer) The Dynamite Lady, but that wasn't exactly a hotly traded item. The Wildcatters were about a single-A team that didn;t last long. Ah, but it was fun while it lasted!

5. If you were to become famous, what would you want to become famous for?
Being understanding. Bringing people together. Writing nice words. Oozing faith.

Bonus: Whose 15 minutes of fame was up long, long ago?
Must we limit ourselves to 1?! Paris Hilton comes to mind. Jeffrey from Project Runway. Anne Coulter. Nancy Grace. Screechy people and vapid people and just plain nasty people are off my cool list for good, I think.