Starstruck...

I met Ben Stein yesterday.

He was in town speaking to the incoming freshman class at the local university, then he took time to do a book signing at Hasting's here in town, and then on to the neighboring big city to do a fundraiser of some kind of other.

Now, I live in a SMALL town in Texas. Yes, we do have a University (part of the Texas A&M University system) as well as a pretty well known Museum (if you travel in museum circles), and a nearby canyon (2nd biggest in the U.S.) that boasts the longest running outdoor musical anywhere in the world, I guess. But we are still a small town - pretty much just a small spot on any road map - not something you'd detour to drive through. The most famous local person we have is probably Terry Funk. If you don't follow pro wrestling, you might have seen him in movies such as Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze and Beyond the Mat by/with Sylvester Stallone. But I digress.

I happened to find out about Mr Stein's presence in town quite by accident (I evidently spend WAY TOO much time sitting in here in my ofc on the internet and not in listening to local radio or tv news - the only tv I ever watch anymore would be BB5 and Joan of Arcadia - if it's not daytime during week and my youngest is watching PBS or Disney). I was surfing the 'net for some information a friend asked me to check out about Clay Aiken's upcoming performance here being cancelled, and I came across the entertainment news that Ben Stein was here - TODAY - and I hadn't any time to spare!!

I'm definitely NOT prone to bouts of hero worship or celebrity stalking - I generally tend to drift the other way - and have only made exceptions so far for 3 people: Elton John, Cher, and now Ben Stein. (My sister and I paid an excessive amt of money to see Elton John in concert a few years ago - I consider it well-spent - and a friend and I tried for DAYS till we finally won tickets to see Cher - oh c'mon - it was CHER for pete's sake and I grew up in the sixties/seventies!!!) Hell my dad grew up with Jimmy Dean (the sausage guy) and I don't even make the trip home when he's at my folks' visiting unless my mother insists!!!

Anyway - I really was interested in going to the book signing and getting his autograph. I love the fact that there is someone out there who doesn't sink to political mudslinging tactics and can still point out the bias and outright dishonesty of the liberal, leftwing, bleeding heart, finger-pointing, name-calling, yellow dog democrats and hollywood hate mongers. Whew, that felt good to say!! He just sits there and calls a spade a spade and un-skews the numbers and the polls and puts them back in their proper perspective. I like that. So I called my mom and my oldest friend and said "Hey! Ben Stein's in town today - wanna go to Hasting's at 2:30 to meet him?" Never mind the fact that I had to tell my mother who he was - what got her hooked was that he was a speech writer for Nixon. Of course, after we got there she said "Oh! NOW I know who he is!"

The real point I had in writing about him is this: Ben Stein is a gracious person. When we arrived at the book signing (nearly an hour after it started because I was running late as usual), there was still a small line - which I was actually GLAD to see because there really weren't many cars in the parking lot outside). Word inside the store was that when the signing started (and it may have actually started earlier than scheduled), the line wound its way around and in/out of the shelves and aisles of the entire store. Mr. Stein's "people" had originally said "Ok, you can have him for 30 minutes, tops" (he had yet another speaking engagement scheduled later that afternoon), but Ben said "No, I'll stay here as long as I need to - no problem!" I learned this in talking to one of the Hasting's media/publicity people who had been with him all day. How nice. In all, he was there nearly 2 whole hours from the scheduled start of the event at 2:30, longer if you consider one of his staffers told me they got there around 1pm - wow.

He had a firm, genuine handshake for everyone who came through the line, and asked most people about themselves - not just how to spell the name for the autograph, but what they did for a living, about their families, etc.... He even stood up and hugged more than one person, was nice enough to pose for pictures, and my mother said she heard him tell one young girl (who, by the way came in as Mr. Stein was on his way out the door - he took time to stop and talk to her and put his arm around her and hug her) that he would pray for her and her family. Of course, when it was MY turn, all I could think to say was "We really appreciate your being here" - how lame is that?? I had a friend from Orlando who wanted me to ask him when he planned on challenging "that pussy Alex Trebek" (his words, not mine), and to tell him he had $100 on him (Ben). But I couldn't even go there. He asked about my daughter (the two-year-old was with me, but had fallen asleep and was in the arms of my friend, Michelle - who I introduced as the designated baby holder.) I am such a putz.

So, thank you, Ben Stein - for treating us with respect and for looking us in the eye and meeting each one of us more the way you might at an intimate cocktail party - as people you were interested in - rather than as curious onlookers, or fans looking for a small brush with celebrity.

By the way, I have been reading his book - which I truly WAS interested in doing before I knew he was in town - this way I just managed to actually go out and BUY it AND get it autographed! It is pretty good - I'm just getting into it, but I am really looking forward to every page and to finding out what it might be that he and his co-author believe average American Patriots can do to restore our country to greatness - and I believe that he will say we must begin AT HOME to stop bashing our country and our government and stand united against the rest of the world. ...osm