Have you ever shared a meal with a famous person you had not met before?

@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
September 3, 2011 5:12am CST
I have had this happen on two occasions. I'm not talking about people like famous entertainers, although they certainly would count. And I'm not talking about political funder raisers where you are at one table in a large room with many tables and the famous person is not at your table. I'm talking about people who are famous among a certain group of people -- writers, religious leaders, artists, musicians, sports figures, anyone whose name may be recognized by people all over a country or in many countries of the world. I'm talking about sitting at the same table with this person to eat a meal, and be able to actually talk to them. The first of my occasions happened when I was working at the Christian Bookstore. While I was there I had occasion to meet several famous people and help them -- people like Pat and Shirley Boone who lived nearby and often came into the store. But that doesn't count, since I never ate a meal with them. No, my big day came when one of my very favorite Christian authors had a booksigning at our store, and the publisher included me, with a bit of prompting from my boss, in a lunch date with Edith Schaeffer, the wife of Francis Schaeffer. They founded the well-known L'Abri ministry in Switzerland that has spread throughout much of the Christian world. It was a brief lunch, but the conversation was personal, and Mrs. Schaeffer was showing us pictures of her grandchildren as we shared this time. She acted like any proud grandma would act. She talked about her family. The second time I ate with a celebrity of the book world, it was a totally unexpected thing. I was at the burial service for my children's natural grandfather. He had been instrumental in helping us adopt our children and had become like part of our extended family. Before the service, everyone was standing around at the cemetery talking, and I was meeting people. One of them happened to be Ray Bradbury, the famous science fiction writer. I hdd seen him at bookseller trade shows signing his books, but that doesn't really count as meeting someone. I was very surprised when, after the service, he invited all the members, of the family, including us, out for dinner on his tab, in Marina del Rey on the coast of California. It was quite a drive as everyone tried to keep up with his limousine and not get lost. We finally got to the restaurant and we all sat around a large table and talked to each other. It was kind of embarrassing that I had to tell him I'd never read one of his books, but he said if I don't read any others, I should read the Martian Chronicles. Sadly, I have to admit I still haven't read it. I'm just not really into science fiction. I read in the paper that he died not long ago. And I felt I was fortunate to have spent some time talking to him. Have you ever shared a meal with a well-known person? Will you tell us about it?
2 people like this
2 responses
@francesca5 (1344)
3 Sep 11
sort of. i used to be in a political party and one day me and a friend had been canvassing, and we went and had a meal afterwards with a friend of his in the party, who was a young struggling actor. a few years later he appeared in a well known tv programme, but that was afterwards, not at the time!
1 person likes this
3 Sep 11
perhaps, but i am more proud of the meals i have shared with the destitute than the ones with a celebrity, to be honest!
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
3 Sep 11
Hey! A person remains who he is all his life. There are probably a lot of people who could look back and say "I knew him when." All of our presidents and congress people had people who knew them before they had those offices. Actors had classmates and friends as they were growing up. There may be people who could say "Ronald Reagan saved my life," because he worked his way through college as a lifeguard. One thing I have learned is that celebrities are really just people who have name recognition.
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
3 Sep 11
Wow, that's impressive...I would have to say that when it comes to dining with someone famous, the closest I came was a meal with a Women's Aglow speaker after the meeting..One, who probably wouldn't say she is "famous" actually lives in the next county from me and she is on my FB. Plus, there is a Sukkot conference going on in October and I know she will be there along with another FB person I feel is well known, the wife of one of the speaker who passed away this year. I never had a meal with her, but at the last conference I was at, was her wedding and it was awesome..:)
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
3 Sep 11
Many of the Aglow speakers and others very prominent in various ministries qualify, in my opinion, as famous. Many of these people have appeared in the media in some form, and are known outside, as well as inside, their own communities. People like James Dobson, Elisabeth Elliot, Chuck Swindoll, etc would qualify, even though their names may only be recognized by Christians who have heard them speak or read their books.
1 person likes this
• United States
3 Sep 11
I never had the pleasure of meeting Dobson or Swindoll, but I never heard of Ms. Elliot, is she new? Or am I that out of touch???lol