Ice Breaker – Encounters with Famous People
After the last few posts, we need to lighten it up a bit. It’s that time of the week…time for an ice breaker question! For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m throwing out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: Who is the most famous you have run into face to face? Tell us about the experience.
My Answer: Here you go….
I know I’ve run into a few ‘famous’ people, but the only one that comes to mind today is Garrison Keillor. He is the host of A Prairie Home Companion, a weekly radio show that airs on NPR. I grew up listening to the show with my parents every Saturday night. I think they especially found the show amusing because of the shows focus on Minnesota/mid-west humor.
A few years ago, my wife and I were celebrating one of our anniversaries with a get away weekend to Ocean Grove (I’ve blogged about OG before). This beach town is known for its Assembly Hall which hosts weekly concerts and events. The weekend we were down there, A Prairie Home Companion was doing their weekly radio show from the Assembly Hall. Naturally, I was curious to see what was going on, so my wife and I grabbed some ice cream and took a stroll around the Hall.
To my amazement, we ran into Garrison Keillor. We said hello, and I asked if I could shake his hand. As I went to shake his hand I had ice cream dripping from my hand. I’m not sure if I licked it off or wiped in on my shorts, but it didn’t matter at the moment since I was meeting the man whom I grew up with every Saturday night in our kitchen or living room. My parents would be jealous for sure. Mr. Keillor, in his red running shoes, jeans, and blue blazer, had to be caught off card by this fan who was covered in ice cream. But he didn’t miss a beat. He was as friendly as could be expected. I told him that my parents had introduced me to him on the radio, and we wished him well for the evening’s show.
As my wife and I walked away, we couldn’t help but chuckle at the awkwardness of the meeting. We still talk about it when we head over to Ocean Grove for our summer time visits to the Jersey shore.
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….