The Day I Met Carrie Fisher

Tonight I saw Carrie Fisher's one-woman Broadway show, WISHFUL DRINKING, and it was excellent. Hilarious, honest, scathing and definitely worth seeing. But after the show is when things got really interesting....

As we exited the theatre (Studio 54, natch), we passed the stage door and contemplated waiting for her to come out so we could try to catch a close-up glimpse. We hemmed and hawed and were actually about to decide to leave, when suddenly..... she appeared! Just like that, I was just a few feet away from the woman who, once upon a time, donned a gold bikini and provided me with my six-year-old self with my first-ever feelings of.... well, I wrote enough about that a couple of entries ago. Granted, she's now 53 years old and has been through literally a lifetime of craziness, addictions of all kinds, etc.... but dammit, she's still PRINCESS FREAKIN' LEIA... and at that moment, I was more starstruck than I've ever been in my life.

Now, at this point, things started to move really fast and it's all kind of a blur. But to make what could be a very long, rambling story short: I MET CARRIE FISHER. Told her that the show was great. Handed her my Playbill, which she signed (with a Sharpie that she had on her, nice). Wanted to tell her that I've been a fan since I'm sure she can imagine when, but wussed out. Instead asked if I could take a picture with her, and she graciously said yes. Put my arm around her and smiled a huge, goofy smile as she put her head on my shoulder. I repeat: PRINCESS LEIA'S HEAD WAS ON MY GOD DAMN SHOULDER. Excuse me as I let that sink in a little more....................... nice.

Despite the fact that I was pretty much floating on air at this point, I managed to thank her and then moved out of the way so others could have their moment. Tried to save the picture on my cell phone and realized it was in "Send" mode, so frantically tried to send it to my girlfriend, Rachel (who, bless her heart, indulged my ridiculousness the whole time), to ensure that everything saved properly. While this was happening, heard Carrie Fisher ask someone if they had an extra cigarette. Looked up and realized that she was asking RACHEL, who gave her a cigarette AND a light. So not only did I meet & interact with Princess Leia... but SHE BUMMED A SMOKE OFF MY GIRLFRIEND! So surreal and so amazing.

And, well, there you have it. Carrie Fisher, thank you for being so nice even though you must have known exactly why I was there and why I was so excited to meet you. You are awesome! Gotta wonder, though... if I had been brave enough to say, "I love you," would she have replied, "I know?" I'd like to think so... :)