Have you ever had a brush with fame, meaning a close encounter with some kind of celebrity or famous person? If so, what was your immediate reaction?  Butterflies in your stomach?  Stars in your eyes?  Shortness of breath? 
 
Well, it happened to me the other day when I was in the elevator going down to the gym when all of a sudden, the elevator doors opened….and there he was!
The face was unmistakable because of those large, round teddy bear eyes staring back at me.  It was a certain athletic celebrity who will remain nameless for now.  You would have thought that I could’ve at least managed a polite, “Hi.”  But no, not even a breath of air could escape from my throat.  All I could manage was a feeble smile and then, we passed each other!  The moment was gone, just like that!
 
I was kicking myself right afterwards!  Why couldn’t I have said something, anything, even “Boo!”  What is it about celebrities that suddenly throw us into a catatonic state?  When you stop to think about it, it’s really kind of ridiculous.  After all, aren’t celebs people just like you and me?  Maybe not exactly like you or me, but still people as human as the cashier at Safeway or the bank teller or the paper boy!  Why do we build them up and put them on some kind of unreachable pedestal? 
 
Blame it on the media, TV, the National Enquirer, or our weird obsession with wanting to know all about celebs and get up close and personal.  I think we overdo it sometimes.
 
The next time you bump into that celeb, just keep your cool, look ‘em straight in the eye, and say “Hi.”  You never know what might happen next!