Frith O’Steen

Ok, so I am a BIG geek and like to write fan letters on occasion. As I  mentioned in a earlier post, I have become addicted to the author Christopher Moore and have been going through his books this year like a big cube of  Diet Pepsi on a 102 degree day in the East Bay. I wrote to him last night, as an appreciative fan would, and he wrote me back the same night! Here is my prized email correspondance with the writer himself:

(my letter first):

Subject: the thanks of a stay-at-home-mom

Dear Christopher Moore (or whoever reads this, if you have some special
person who reads these and screens them for you, whatever),

I just wanted to thank you for writing a large number of damn funny
books. I (as my subject line would suggest) am a SAHM, with a 11 month
old son who I love dearly but who tends to turn my brain to mush by the
end of the day. To keep my sanity, I read every day when I take him to
the park, and after a friend recommended that I read “Lamb”, I became
addicted to your novels. They are intelligent, silly, imaginative, and
very hard to put down! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that
whenever I think I’ll lose it if I listen to “Old McDonald” one more
time, I simply look forward to catching up on my latest Christopher
Moore and I’m able to hang in there a little bit longer.

Very much anticipating “The Stupidest Angel”!

Sincerely,

Frith O’Steen
Pleasant Hill, CA

(his response):

Dear Frith,

Thanks for the sweet letter. I’m glad my books are keeping you sane. Wish they were doing the same for me. (Kidding.)  Anyway, what you do have to look forward to is the whole Green Eggs and Ham years. After you’ve read The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Horton Hears a Who about a bazillion times, you’ll start thinking in Seussian.

Best,
Christopher Moore

So - How stoked am I that he wrote back? That’s pretty awesome, I have to say. It leads me to reflect on other positive celebrity encounters I have had, and so I will now stroll down memory lane for a moment (join me if you dare, or have nothing better to do)…

1992 - For my birthday, my friends treat me to $2 tickets to a campus comedy show featuring two new guys who are starting out on Saturday Night Live. Never heard of them before (this is 1992 remember), but they’re named Adam Sandler and David Spade. Adam Sandler does his song about the lunch lady, and the audience (including my friends Kay and Janet and I) think he’s hilarious and cute (well, this was a while ago). Afterwards, they announce they’ll be in the lobby to meet people and take pictures etc. Ok, so we turn into major groupies and take all sorts of photos with Adam Sandler, including sitting on his lap (heh). My friends then insist that we invite him to Denny’s with us, where we are headed to get a free meal for me, the birthday girl (remember when Denny’s still did that?). Didn’t expect him to actually accept, but he made an effort to come find us outside afterwards and tell us nicely that his manager wanted to go get some more substantial food but thank you for the offer anyway! So polite to us obnoxious 19 year olds! The interesting thing was, NO ONE wanted to talk to David Spade that night. He wasn’t funny, and I’m the only one I saw who went up for a picture with him (and then his eyes were closed - lame). I really didn’t think he’d ever make it in show biz, but it shows you how wrong I was. I’d argue that Adam Sandler’s movies make much more money than Spade’s commercial gigs, but at least he’s working. 

 1998 - I am a huge fan of the comic strip “For Better or For Worse“. For those who don’t really read it, or think it’s just another ‘Family Circus’ kind of deal, you may want to try checking it out for a while. I really like strips where the characters evolve over time (age in real time, like us) and have ongoing storylines (not like serial strips like “Mary Worth“, but strips like “Doonesbury“ which I have read since I was in the second grade, and is another AMAZING strip). Anyway, the kids of the main character in FBOFW are around my age (a little younger), and I feel kinda like I grew up with them. Lynne Johnston, the artist and author, writes things both poignantly and humorously, and often hits home with some of her simpler storylines. In early 1998, her main character Elly’s mom was very sick and then passed away. This was the same time (within days) that I lost my grandma, Cholly. The strips she wrote during those days struck a huge chord with me - it sounds weird, but I felt they were written FOR me. Anyway, I wrote to Lynne Johnston to tell her just that, and to thank her. Didn’t expect any response at all. And yet the next day she wrote a short and personal note sending me her condolences. Very very cool. So if anything else, read her strip because she is a cool person. And she’s Canadian (and Canadians are cool).

2004 - My sister Katil is working in NY for 6 months, filling in for a woman on maternity leave. She’s living in the city, so how could I pass up an opportunity to travel there and stay in a real Manhattan apartment and see the sights? The sights, of course, HAD to include a trip to the “Today Show“ to see my everyday companions and good buddies - Katie, Matt, Al and Ann. So…I had been taking note of how someone gets to actually be on camera during the plaza segments, and a baby is usually a slam dunk. Well, hello? Decker was 6 months old at the time and I happen to think he’s pretty cute (I better, I’m his mom!). It didn’t matter that it was around 29 degrees and that we had to set out at about 6 am from my sister’s place to get to Rockefeller Center in time for a good spot - we were determined! So my mom, Katil, Tully, Decker (dressed in about 8 layers including a snow suit like the Michelin Man) headed over and found a great spot by the window of the studio. Mostly due to the fact that it was a) February, not a real tourist month, and b) early, and c) freezing (literally - it even started to snow on us later that morning!),  we figured our odds were good. Sure enough, at 7:30 am, here comes my man Al Roker, to interview Decker and talk to us! I had practiced what I would say in the mirror, so I wouldn’t get too nervous if he spoke to us! :)  I even managed to sneak in a “Hi Sean!“ as they turned away from us. To watch the clip, you can go to Decker’s website (http://decker.osteen.info) and download it. Al is really nice and I was SO psyched to have gotten to talk to him on national tv!!

Well, Sean joined us a week later in the Big Apple, and I was determined once again to get Decker on tv! I thought, “hmm…they might recognize him in his snow suit, so I better put him in something different to increase our odds“. I dragged Sean out in the cold (although not QUITE so cold) dark morning air, and we once again found a great spot by the studio window. But - uh oh - there was another baby there! And he was wearing an “I Love NY“ t-shirt! Never fear though - we made friends with the nice teamster-cameraman, and next thing you know,  Decker’s on tv again! This time I made Sean hold him up and do the talking, as I thought Al might remember the insane mom in the turquoise windbreaker and not come up to us - Sean did great, and we have a video clip for that as well! (same website). Ok, so Al’s talked to us and I’m thinking, “Wow, it can’t get any better than this!“. THEN - Katie Couric comes out, and goes over to the other baby! I’m thinking - “Hey, hey! My baby is over here! Come talk to us!“. But you can’t be too pushy - makes you look desperate. :)   She does her spiel, the camera turns off and she’s moving towards the door to go back inside, and on the way sees Decker and asks if she can hold him! Can she hold him? Omygosh are you kidding?! So I’m babbling away at her about how much we love her and watch her everyday, and she’s joking around with Sean about having babylust (Sean: “Uh oh!“ (laughs), Katie “Oh don’t worry, that dog don’t hunt no more!“), and Decker is being a 6 month old kid, which means he’s arching his back and trying to pull away (yikes!). Luckily Katie thought it was really funny and asked if we wanted to take some photos with her and Decker. She was SO gracious and nice, and it was the greatest experience meeting her!

Lastly, for 2004 - In June I go to lunch with my dad, Decker, and my sister Tully in SF. She works right up the street from the Embarcadero, and we eat at the Ferry Building and then are walking back past Justin Herman Plaza when we spy a small camera crew across the street. Curious to see if it’s local news, or what, I look closer and realize it’s Tony Danza! I start elbowing Tully and whispering “It’s Tony Danza! It’s Tony Danza!“. Suddenly, a producer type person (not sure what they were exactly) comes up and asks me if I’d like to meet Tony Danza. YES! Of course! So, he leads me and Decker over (Tully and Dad declined, and chose to sit and watch while laughing at me and calling Katil) and tells us that Tony is starting a talk show in the fall and is going around to different cities to ask folks what they’d like to see on a talk show. Given that Tony is wearing roller blades as he is filming this, I take a guess that it’s gonna be a light-hearted show like “Ellen“ rather than “Oprah“. So Decker and I sign some forms that allow us to be used on TV, and then we get led over the man himself. Now, I have to say - Tony’s gotta be in his 50s and you know what? He looks good! Seriously! A little more silver on top, but still fit and trim - good for him. Anyway, he asks me about Decker, and I tell him that I loved “Who’s the Boss“, and then I get really cheesy when he asks what kind of show I’d like to see, and I tell him that as a stay at home mom, I’d like something upbeat that I can watch with my son, maybe with music so we can dance around while I clean house (right). No idea if it will air or not, but it should be on ABC this fall, so if you watch channel 7, maybe you’ll see us! I want to say that Tony Danza was really nice and very friendly, and I wish him the best because he seemed very sincere with us. (Well, as sincere as you can get in that situation).

So … those are my major celebrity encounters. After reading them again, I come away with two conclusions:

1. Despite the stuff said about them in the media, most celebrities are really nice in real life.

2. I really am easily star struck. Yeesh. (But’s it so fun!)

On one final note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIL!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my fellow bridesmaids, Jen Beck, sent along the following website. I have to state unequivocally that the dress I wore for Rebecca’s wedding would NOT go on this site, but it is so worth a visit if you could use a very good giggle. Especially check out the category “ugly shoes” and then read the last story about the cake.

www.uglydress.com

Enjoy!

Two bits of fun news from friends and family:

My very good friend Kay is pregnant! I talked to her last night and she and her husband Thor are expecting in February. Of course, true to form they let us know through a hilarious short movie trailer that Thor put together, and when I watched it I started shrieking when I realized what it was! (Glad I was here alone - well, Decker was here, but he can’t tell anyone how silly I looked). I am SO excited for them. Their child is going to be absolutely crazy (in a good way) - there’s no way you could combine Kay and Thor and get anything else! :)   I am so psyched for them and this new chapter - it’s going to be busy but wonderful.

And…my brother-in-law Ryan got engaged to his girlfriend Amanda over the weekend! They are a really fun couple and seem so perfect for each other - looking forward to the wedding in the coming months!

Decker and I took Katil to the airport this morning to drop her off for her business trip to NY. Boy, she’s traveled a lot this year! She spent Jan-May in NY filling in for someone in the east coast office, and then got promoted and now has subsequently traveled all around Asia and now back to NY for 10 days. It’s a good thing I like her, because the farthest my job ever sent me was Arizona. Afterwards we went and met up with Sean at his new office, and went to 4th St for coffee and juice. I felt like we were playing hooky, even though I don’t technically “work” (as in no official paycheck) anymore, but being out in the middle of the morning getting a treat felt indulgent all the same! Sean’s new space is very cool, and I’m happy he has somewhere to get away from us.

Ok, I know that technically it’s still summer for 2 more months, but the back to school commercials are getting me in a retrospective mood, like it’s already fall and I should look back on my summer and account for how I spent my time. At first, it sort of seems like a bit of nice but boring blur:

Typical summer day in the life of Frith - feeding/changing/bathing/playing with Decker, talking him into going down for a nap (twice a day still, yay!), taking him for a walk (well, I walk, he rides) in Walnut Creek, feeding/changing/playing with Decker, putting him down for bed. (Btw, Sean has been an active role in this too - I gotta give shout-outs where they’re due).

Nice, but sounds sort of uneventful, yes? But I started thinking about all the cool things I got to do so far this summer, and my life feels much more exciting (at least to me!). So, here’s a summary of things I’ve done over the past couple of months:

* Painted the living room with Sean - finally! We lived here 4 years before we got around to it! A nice warm yellow color, and Sean put up crown molding and we got real grown-up furniture for the entertainment center (bless IKEA) and everything. My friend Rebecca gave us feng shui tips for the room - apparently our money and love corners were cluttered.

* Speaking of Rebecca, probably the highlight of the summer for me was her wedding on July 31st! It’s going to be weird for me to start calling her Rebecca Evans instead of Rebecca Pitt (although really, unless you are addressing an envelope, who really calls their friends by their full names?). The wedding ceremony was beautiful - very personal, and they got to be married by Rebecca’s friend and mentor from SLO. It was really neat to see the community of friends and family who were there - at one point during the toasts, Rebecca asked everyone who had volunteered and helped her and Todd with the wedding to please stand up, and about half the room stood up! I also have to say, her dress was gorgeous and she did indeed look like the pretty pretty princess (espcially with her tiara). Much fun!

* Went to Salt Lake City - Yup, traveled there once again with mom and my sisters. Had a very nice visit with family and friends. Took Decker to a really neat playground at Liberty Park, created during the Olympics. It’s made specifically for kids of all abilities, and Decker had a blast. There’s a “racetrack” you can follow (like a ski race, only all flat), and there’s a section where you “slalom” and there are cowbells you can clang by pulling a string. Decker fell in love with these!

* Went to the Barenaked Ladies concert - Ohmygoodness I do so love BNL. They threw a really good show, and I went with Sean, mom, dad, Katil and Tully. The funniest part was the final number, where they did a very Busby Berkeleyesque dance number with shopping carts, choreagraphed and all! Alanis Morrissette played after, but she was very loud and angry, and not being in a loud and angry mood ourselves, we left.

And I’ve read some very good books. I really recommend Christopher Moore - he’s funny and strange, and now I have to wait till December for his next one! rrrrrrrrrrrrr…