For starters, I'm so star-struck in general that I'd be honored to sit down to dinner with ANY celebrity. (For the record, I'm talking real celebrities here. Not Jersy Shore-Kardashian-Real Housewives-Etc. kind of non-celebrity celebrities.) If I have the opportunity to eat a meal with Oprah or Brad Pitt or Judi Dench or Jim Carrey or Janet Jackson or Tony Bennett or who-the-hell-ever, I'm tucking in at that table for sure. So what if I have nothing to say to them? It's a cool, never-again kind of experience and I wouldn't pass it up, no matter who it was.
Secondly, I'm the queen of celebrity crushes. Years ago there was a Friends episode where they were talking about their "Top 5" celebrity crushes...well, I'm that girl who can never limit herself to just 5. There are way too many hotties out there on my TV and in the movies for me to limit myself to lusting after just 5. And, honestly, I can't really imagine eating dinner with any of them because I'd be too nervous to eat and I just know I'd say something totally stupid and ruin the night. Not to mention, a fantasty is a wonderful thing because it's a fantasy. I'd hate to learn that Brad Pitt chews with his mouth open or that Rob McElhenny is as horribly obnoxious as his Always Sunny character. Best to leave the hotties in Fantasyland where they'll always be hot and there will never be spinach in their teeth or inappropriate belching at the dinner table.
Well, last night it finally hit me who I'd absolutely LOVE to eat dinner with and I'm a little surprised and disappointed with myself for not coming up with him sooner. Not sure he's a true "celebrity" by definition, but he is well-known. My celebrity dinner date would be Dan Savage, of Savage Love fame.
Mr. EM and I have been reading Savage Love for years now, and we both love it. Dan is funny and smart and he offers his readers advice, acceptance and peace of mind. Of course the salaciousness of his subject matter is what draws you in, but the strength and kindness and guidance of his words is what keeps you coming back. I've always considered myself a pretty open-minded person, but at any given time I can find myself shocked by a question someone has sent in for Dan to answer...like open-mouthed, gasping SHOCKED. But then I read Dan's advice to this person and I no longer feel the shock of the question, instead I feel the uncertainty and fear of the person who asked it. As strange as this sounds, regularly reading a sex advice column has made me a more open-minded person and I have Dan Savage to thank for that. In addition to Savage Love, Dan has also written some great books and he and his partner founded the It Gets Better project. He's just always struck me as an all-around cool guy.
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Dan speak at a nearby college. I almost didn't go. It had been a long, lousy day at work and I had stayed up too late the night before and was feeling pretty tired. However, I'd never had the opportunity to see an author/journalist/columnist-type person speak before and I knew I'd kick myself if I didn't go, especially since it was FREE and only 20 minutes from my house. I chugged a cup of coffee and headed out. I'm so glad I did. In person, Dan is like Savage Love to the Nth degree, and I mean that in a good way. He just leaned on a podium for two hours, taking questions from the audience and answering them in his non-judgmental, intelligent, hilarious way. He also had a lot of incredibly kind and thought-provoking things to say and I could have sat there and listened to him speak well past 9:00 pm. I, a straight and happily-married Midwestern woman, found myself completely smitten with a gay and happily-attached guy from the Pacific Northwest. Not in a "OMG, he's so HAWT" kind of way, but in a "holy crap, I totally love and agree with every single thing he's saying and I never want him to stop talking" kind of way.
So, that's that...if I could have dinner with a celebrity, I'd be all over eating a meal with Dan Savage. I'd try to come up with a really good question to bring to the table, something that would really get him rolling and then I'd just sit back, sip my wine, nibble my food and bask in his words.
Bon Appetit, gentle readers...
2 comments:
I agree. I've read everything this man has written, listened to every word he has said.
And Bing and I incorporate it into every day conversation with each other, ie "This is part of the price of admission, baby. Deal."
We do. And so do you and your husband. Dan's right. Nothing else works. Or you end up one of those couples that everyone detests being around who bicker with each other all the time.
To sit back, sip the wine, and bask in his words - that would be the makings of a good celebrity dinner. Someone worth the time and energy, someone articulate enough to make the listening enjoyable.
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