Mrs. Paparazzi

I've never seen a star close up. Sure, I always thought it would be cool, but I didn't think it would have that much of an effect on me. I always pictured myself as one of those people who would respect their privacy and not make a big deal out of it.

We had a client from work come in for the Sundance Film Festival. She was renting a condo from a man that my boss knows, so it was my responsibility to take her the keys and the information for the condo.

As I was awaiting her arrival at the bottom of the escalators, I saw camera flashes dart toward the direction I was looking. I couldn't see who it was right away, but when I saw Pierce Brosnan greeting a woman and some children, I was taken aback. He stood there talking with her, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him - aside from the flashes aimed at him, there were several gasps coming from the mouths of spectators, and his name coming from everyone within those few feet around me. I heard the name "James Bond" or "007" from a handful of others all around me.

As I was standing there, dumbstruck, I wondered what I would do next. I thought, "Should I get his autograph?.... No... what am I gonna do with an autograph?.... Should I go talk to him?.... No, he's with people. I don't want to interrupt." This conversation in my head seemed to last much longer than it actually was. By the time I thought, "Oh, my camera!" He had decided where he was headed and started toward the gap between me and the person to my right. Meanwhile, I frantically dug through my purse with no luck on finding it at first, and finally pulled it out in just enough time. However, I set the zoom for when he was further away. As he moved closer, my camera followed. This shot is taken when he was literally two feet away from me.

Not exactly a glamour shot, but definitely worth sharing. I stood there afterwards thinking, "What did I just do? Why didn't I just let him be? I just added to the paparazzi mess that I don't like." I thought about it more later, about different stars. They should be able to lead their own lives without having to be watched every step of the way. Then I thought, well, they are the ones who get themselves into it. They know what goes along with stardom. But still. Just leave them alone! (As you can see, I am now a hypocrite.)

After all the hype of seeing Mr. 007, I still needed to find the woman I had the key for. Suddenly I found myself to be nervous (why? I don't know), but I tried to be as civilized as possible. She more than likely thought I was quite the weirdo, my hands actually shaking as I handed her the items I came to give her. I think I may have mumbled something to her, I'm not quite sure. I think I was friendly.

I spent the ride back to work calling my family and telling them about my exciting experience. They were all jealous. They just didn't admit it. I just can't get over how I reacted after the fact. What was that nervous shake going through me? Heaven forbid I ever see someone I really love... say, Josh Duhamel?