Who would you wait out in the rain for?

[TheEqualizer]

After the Guitar Center event, I wondered who else I would wait in line for all day to see, meet, get an autograph. At first, I said no one. But after a few minutes, I realized that there is a handful. It has to be someone I feel passionate about and have a deep emotional connection with. For me, my short list of current living entertainers that I would wait 5 hrs in the rain to meet are (1) David Bowie and (2) Pete Townshend. Not sure who else makes my list in the music world.

Who would make that list for you?

Keep in mind, the intent of this list is such that you have to name someone who would command a huge line. Thus, there may be some really AWESOME people you would like to meet, but likely not require you waiting 5 hrs in line. For example, Chad Wackerman.

Back in my younger days, I did wait in the rain for a music star. It was the very early nineties and I waited by the stage door in Chicago after a Liz Phair concert. I had my pic taken with her after a soundcheck in Milwaukee. I had the pic blown up to like 8 1/2 X 11 in time for the Chicago show. I wanted her to sign it. So I stood in the rain with the pic (adequately protected). When she came out, it was raining so she hurried to her car. She saw me with the pic with just a few other people. She looked at me with a smile and said "Get out of the rain, stupid." Pretty sure there was no malice in her words but she was not going to get drenched signing my thing. I had that unsigned photo on my wall all through law school.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

It has to be an entertainer?

I would have said Coretta Scott King a couple of years ago. Alas, I've missed the boat on that one (although I have met quite a few of Dr. King's contemporaries.)

[sockii]

To this day I still kick myself for not going to NYC the day Warren Zevon taped his final appearance on the David Letterman show. He is the one "big name celebrity"-type I never had the chance to meet who I truly wanted to. A group of folks from his mailing list all were planning on gathering that day by the stage door to see him (which they did, there's some footage of it on the VH1 Special about Warren)...I almost went myself but, ironically enough, I seem to recall it was a rainy day and I decided not to at the time. Talk about a lifelong regret.

[AZPEARTPORTNOY]

Musician - Neil Peart
Actor- Burt Lancaster (yes I know he's deceased)
Actress - Sandra Bullock (yes I know I'll catch hell for that)
Historical - General Patton

Great topic eq.

[nancyrose]

Back in the early 80's, I saw Christopher Reeve on Broadway in Fifth of July. It was a bitter cold day in New York, and we left the theatre to find near-blizzard conditions outside. Well, I had had quite a thing for Superman since I was very young (ironically, it was the more awkward, nerdy but knowing Clark Kent personna who truly held my interest...but I digress!), and we decided to wait by the stage door. There were only a few others waiting, and after a short time the door was opened by Reeve himself. He looked sort of amazed that we were standing out there in what had become horrific weather, smiled at us and said "Well, you all must come in out of this storm." He escorted us backstage, had someone bring us coffee and spent quite some time talking with us. The others there were drama majors at NYU and I remember how incredibly jazzed they were that he gave so much of his time "talking shop" with them.

Many years later, I had the extreme pleasure of working closely with Chris and Dana Reeve on a project to fund spinal cord research, and he was always as gracious and lovely as I remember him at our very first meeting.

[policerule]

that is a great story nancy... they seemed like wonderful people. nice that you got to work with them.


eq - you are really making me think!


i know... no politics.... BUT,

i'd probably stand in line to meet our president if only to tell him what an idiot he is.


oooo! oooo! i got it... looking at my avatar, i would probably stand in like to meet jennifer saunders. i love her!

i would stand in line to meet stewart and andy of course. and maybe sting.

[georgygirl]

Let me think:

Who would I wait out in the rain for?

Of course SC/KK

Caroline princess of Monaco

and Jürgen Habermas.

How can you explain, 'Shadows in the rain...

[AZPEARTPORTNOY]

i know... no politics.... BUT,

i'd probably stand in line to meet our president if only to tell him what an idiot he is.


Must fight temptation, "I can learn to resist. I can learn to persist with anything but AIMING LOW".

[policerule]

sorry AZ... i have no will power. zero.

[georgygirl]

How can I forgot?



Sure I also will wait 5 hours in rain (with an umbrella) to see my lovely trio The Police...

[conroy]

Great story, Nancy!hb

[GinaSuperCat]

Only for Stewart, really...I can think of many people I would like to meet if given the chance but no one else I would subject myself to flaming buses, near-accidents, 12-bed rooms in hostels, flooding in Texas, and so forth.

GeorgyGirl: heh Habermas is not a name I was prepared to see here <grin> I went to the 25th anniversary conference for Rawl's A Theory of Justice in N. California, which was this huge event in my then-field, philosophy. There were presentations by all sorts of big names speaking about Rawls's work including Ronald Dworkin, Bernard Williams, and Habermas among others, with Rawls giving the keynote. After Habermas's lecture a friend and I went up and queued up in line to speak with him afterwards (we were just students and it didn't intimidate us that there were only recognized philosphers talking to him at the time) and by the time we got up to the front he just looked at us and walked away...it was a classic moment from the theorist of the Ideal Speech Situation and free and open lines of communication from Theory of Communicative Action hahaha...I'll never forget that...

In the realm of 'public intellectual' I would have just about given anything to meet Michel Foucault or exchange a few words with Jacques Derrida (at least I got to hear the latter give a lecture) but, alas, too late for both...

[Lynne]

[quote="GinaSuperCat"]After Habermas's lecture a friend and I went up and queued up in line to speak with him afterwards (we were just students and it didn't intimidate us that there were only recognized philosphers talking to him at the time) and by the time we got up to the front he just looked at us and walked away...it was a classic moment from the theorist of the Ideal Speech Situation and free and open lines of communication from Theory of Communicative Action hahaha...I'll never forget that...[/quote]

Oh, GSC, I love the irony here! Too funny.

I'm very fortunate to have relationships with most of the scholars in my field who I deem rain-wait-worthy, so I think my only rain-wait-worthy folks other than Stewart are the author Neal Stephenson and British comedians, actors, authors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie.

[jedsoon]

Celebrity has lost most of its meaning for me, so i can't really come up with anybody. Sometimes i do wonder what i'll say to Stewart when and if i ever meet him. I guess i will have to drop my dreaded surname for him to recognize me, and we'll go from there...

I did watch an outdoor Metallica show some years back while standing in the rain for hours, tho!

[Divemistress of the Dark]

I thought seriously about trying to crash Hunter Thompson's funeral (the one with the big Gonzo cannon). Am still somewhat sorry I didn't. My next door neighbor was an acquaintance of the man's some years ago and I really should have asked him to grease some skids for me.