Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

I had to pinch myself. Dame Judi Dench, one of Britain’s greatest actresses, noted for her six decade career and outstanding television, film, and stage work, gave me a slight nod and the faintest of smiles. I couldn’t believe my luck.

A half hour earlier I was fretting that the long winding line at airport security screening at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was taking too long and I was going to miss my plane and now I was trading smiles and glances with world famous Judi Dench. An eight-time Academy Award nominee, Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1998 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.

Good manners

I had just sat down at my terminal gate, trying to catch my breath, when I saw Dench pass by me and mistakenly drop a silky scarf on the ground. I reflexively picked it up and handed it to her and she returned my kindness by saying thank you and smiling at me. I said no problem and returned to my seat. I couldn’t believe that Dench would be caught dead waiting in a busy airport and traveling commercial like the rest of us schmucks, but I didn’t think too much about it.

I laughed thinking how my family would never believe me, so I pulled out my phone to try to slyly take a photo of her and then it hit me. Where was airport security? Where were the autograph seekers? Where were her handlers? Oh, I tried to pass it off, convincing myself that she was on assignment, researching a role and trying to mix with regular people? That had to be it, right?

All the world is a stage

Oh, of course, I was misguided. When I pulled up Judi Dench’s photo on Google, I realized that my Judi Dench looked nothing like the real Judi Dench. Plus, when I played back her thank you in my head, I realized that my Judi Dench had a strong midwestern accent, not a proper British one.

I put my hands up to my face and laughed at myself. Oh let me explain. I’ve spend a lot of time lately out and about and have started my own little parlor game of looking at strangers and imaging which famous person in pop culture, they most look like.

Oh, the woman who nodded to me, looked friendly enough and carried herself with a certain grace and decorum, but you really had to scrunch your eyes together to see Judi Dench. That’s okay though, I may have missed on that one, but the previous day I ate at the same restaurant as actor Kevin Costner and Vice President Kamila Harris, and sat on the plane two seats back from NBA great Magic Johnson. (The guy might not have been Magic or his doppelganger twin, but I still felt bad for him. Magic stands 6′ 9″. This guy was shorter, but he was still tall and seemed to still struggle with the plane’s tight quarters.)

Can I have your autograph?

Yea, yea, they were all make believes. My chances of ever running into Magic Johnson are pretty remote, but think about this one: the odds that Magic gets to meet me and see how wonderful I am, are pretty rare too. I kind of feel bad for the big guy. He’s missing out on his big chance.

However, I’ll make him and you a deal. If Magic ever comes to my house, I’ll break my own house rules and come out and see him unannounced. I’m always there for my adoring fans. I’ll take a selfie with him and even sign an autograph or two. Pretty magnanimous of me, don’t you think?

And oh yea, for the record Judi Dench has a soft spot for Auntie Anne’s pretzels. You know what I’m talking about: the buttery pretzels they sell in malls and airports. She couldn’t get enough of the pretzels and even went back to the Auntie Anne’s kiosk for seconds. The grand dame from York likes her Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels. Dench and old homestyle pretzels, who knew?