Part I
In the company of Mr. del Torro
I once saw Benicio del Torro in a vintage clothing store in Portland. Before, I had read in the paper that he was filming "The Hunted" in Portland, and apparently they were scouting the area for a Benicio look-alike to work as his stand-in. I remember browsing the racks and noticing a guy who looked to be your typical, trendy, downtown Portland fellow. I remember glancing at him and remembering the article I'd read in the Oregonian about the search for a stand-in, and I thought, "Wow-- HE should be Benicio del Torro's stand-in!!" Something must of registered in my mind when I noticed the gentlemen was escorted by two other individuals: one cautious, hefty, serious looking fellow in black, the other a professional looking woman. Then it hit me: It's Benicio with his body-guard and his stylist! When I noticed some other shoppers staring at him too, my inclinations were confirmed. It was funny-- I wanted to say hi to him, but what i could I say? "I like your movies, I'm a big fan"? No, that wouldn't work--I've never even seen his movies... therefore I couldn't technically say I was a fan. When I realized i had no valid reason for disturbing the guy's shopping trip, I decided to keep my distance. However, as we drove away and past the store's open doors, I did yell out the window "Benicio!!!" What can I say? Not my finest moment... I was in high school. Needless to say, he never calls, he never writes...
Part II.
Frederica??!!! THE Frederica????
Another famous encounter was a couple of years ago with Frederica Mathewes-Green. I was a freshman in college, and had just recently been chrismated. I had heard that Frederica was coming to campus to speak about icons, and I was so thrilled!!!! You gotta understand-- anytime I encounter someone who is Orthodox at my school (which happens very rarely)I go crazy! It's strange... I'm like a foreigner living in a strange land, and when I meet or encounter "one of my people," I'm like a happy, bumbling little kid on Christmas morning. ANYWAYS, it was the day of the her speaking engagement, and I was walking across campus. Suddenly I saw Frederica emerge from one of the buildings, chatting with a professor. Recognizing her, I sort of hurriedly scooted my way over to her, probably interrupted her conversation, and with sheer amazement, I sputtled something along the lines of, "Hi, I'm Orthodox." Yeah, intelligent. So so smooth. Anyways, she was sweet (if not a bit startled) and smiled widely, "Oh! Well glory to God! That's great." I have no idea what I said next, probably nothing intelligable... But it was very cool. I enjoyed attending her two speaking engagements on campus, and an additional one that was held at another parish in the area.
Part III.
Elder Paisios and the post-Paschal blessing
I think there's something so amazing about meeting new Orthodox brothers and sisters. This past year, I happened to meet two more Orthodox girls on campus. One was a newly enrolled freshman who only stayed one term (I guess I can't blame her entirely... ;D), the other was a prospective student who was just visiting campus with her dad. At that time, a print of mine was hanging in a tiny gallery in the art building, where I was having class. It was a linocut of Elder Paisios. I was walking by the gallery, when another student caught me saying, "Here she is!" Inside, looking at the print was a girl and her dad. The gentleman looked at me and asked, "Do you know who this is?" referring to Elder Paisios in the print. I confirmed that I was Orthodox and yes, I knew who Elder Paisios was. I quickly discovered that they too were Orthodox! It was very, very cool. They were instant kin, it seemed! That's the way it always seems to be when meeting Orthodox individuals outside of the setting of church. We started talking about Pascha, which had just taken place just days before. We hugged and exclaimed, "Christ is Risen!" to one another after we had talked for a while and had to part ways. I gave them a copy of the blessed Elder print, and they were very appreciative. I'm not sure if the girl is coming to my school in the fall or not, but if she does, I'll be waiting!!!
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