And suddenly I was a 14 year old fanboy
On Christmas Eve, while walking around San Francisco by the Westfield Center at Powell and Market, my wife suddenly pointed at someone who had just walked by us and said “Allan! That’s…the person…you know…the nurse from TV!”
Now, I watch a lot of TV. But there aren’t many medical shows that I watch, which meant ER. And if it was a nurse, that meant Linda Cardellini (wikipedia link, too), who plays Samantha Taggert (and was also great in Freaks and Geeks back in the day).
Suddenly, in a flash, I was 14 years old. I was jogging back to see if it really was her. As she and presumably her family struggled through one of the dumb “hinged in the middle” doors at the shopping center, I moved through another, conveniently turned to my right and verified that it was her.
Now, lest anyone think I turned 100% into a 14 year old and/or a crazed fan, I realized that she was doing some last minute shopping with people that I could only presume were her family (she’s originally from this area), so I just kept going, exited the building, and walked back towards my wife and in-laws.
I am not one to get caught up in seeing “famous” people. I had a very calm and collected conversation with Dave Matthews while on the main floor of the Oakland Arena back in 1998 (Halloween show that year, approaching their peak performance level as a band). I have hung out at the Fillmore Theater after shows with artists. I also haven’t met that many people from TV, music, movies, etc, either, but am not usually one to go all gah-gah over such occasions.
But that was fun and kind of cool, I have to admit. I really thought she was a great addition to the cast of ER (and I have watched every season of that so I am rather committed to the show). And yes, I felt like a 14 year old fanboy.
The only saving grace was that I was wise enough to let it alone and not turn into a crazed fan when she was probably with her parents doing xmas shopping…