I hope that when I become famous, I will remain humble.
That is what I have been thinking since my 60th birthday party this past summer. In anticipation of this day, I had gone online to find the addresses of all the celebrities who shared my birthday year. Turns out there were a good dozen, including Katie Couric, Steve Harvey, Vanna White, and Ray Romano. Then there is Frances McDormand, she of Coen Brothers fame, and, more recently, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. We actually SHARE a birthday!
I did what anyone of my generation would do: I wrote each of the stars a letter (wishing them a happy birthday), included a self-addressed stamped envelope and asked him/her for an autographed picture.
To my great disappointment, not ONE celebrity replied. Not even my birthday twin, Frances.
So that is why I ask you to remind me to be humble when I become famous. Because if I were famous and some 60-year-old lady wrote a nice "happy birthday" letter and a request for an autographed picture, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, well, I would do at least that much. Maybe even include a “happy birthday to us” card to boot.
Is it because these people of fame are too famous or too busy, or too overwhelmed with requests? Or is it because they really don’t need anyone reminding them that they are turning 60 years old, and in fact, not only is their fame fleeting, their very lives are moving toward the end game, just like the rest of us?
Then, out of the blue, and six months after my birthday, my faith was restored. I received a large envelope postmarked “Salt Lake City, Utah”. I knew right away who this was from: Donny Osmond. Yes, Donny and I both turned 60 in 2017, and he was willing to acknowledge it. He signed his picture with “best wishes”. It turns out that Donny is the nice guy he portrays. I mean, signing a picture to have your publicist stick in a self-addressed stamped envelope might take up to five seconds, but heck, at least he did it. And those five seconds made him a much nicer, indeed, more humble man than Daniel Day-Lewis or Matt Lauer (but now we actually know that Matt is not such a nice guy). So now I love Donny.
I recently took part in a volunteer training. The icebreaker was to say which concert you would most love to attend. Answers included “U2”, “Imagine Dragons”, “Kelly Clarkson”, and all the usual greats. Although I would really prefer to see Bruno Mars, I felt I owed it to Donny to name him. And so, I did, demonstrating that I was a 60-year-old woman in a room full of 20-somethings, and I really was as geeky as they believe their mothers (and grandmothers) to be.
At least I was humble enough to do it.