Close Encounters

ONLY IN NEW YORK: Anderson and Me
By: Dean P. Wrzeszcz
11/20/2008

"Do you ever see famous people?" Every time I have a guest in New York, they ask that question. Especially when they're visiting from my quasi-Midwest hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. They don't quite absorb that sharing a city with the rich and renowned is part of living in Manhattan. Not only is it gauche to gush over celebrities, but it's also sort of an unspoken rule that we civilians respect their personal space.

When my sister-in-law made the popular inquiry upon her recent arrival, I replied, "Yeah, sure, I see 'em all the time." Her eyes widened with anticipation, like a child waiting to see what surprise Daddy had brought her from his long trip away. When I couldn't deliver a specific list of movie and TV stars, she pouted with disappointment.

I failed to tell her forgotten tidbits of my brushes with celebrity, like the story of Hilary Swank's reaction when someone took her turn in line at my local Whole Foods.

"Hey, I was next!" she shouted.

I laughed aloud. Swank turned, smiled at me, and said, "Well, I was."

When I passed her on my way out, I wanted to tell her that she might be internalizing the aggressive roles she's played on screen, but fearing she might punch me, I settled for, "I love your work."

When I told my older brother in South Carolina, who lives to play golf and to watch endless reruns of "Law & Order," that I saw Sam Waterston, he said, "Tell him when you see him again that he's really great and he's my favorite."

"Oh, I'll be sure to tell him," I said, as if Sam and I were on speaking terms.

Out-of-towners just don't get it. I don't walk around with an autograph book, waiting for the next time I see that leading actor on "Law & Order" or that Sexy couple in the City that I frequently pass in Greenwich Village. Most of us in the city are sophisticated. We're sympathetic to the difficulties stars have maintaining privacy in their public life. We realize they want to live with the same freedom as the rest of us. New Yorkers appreciate anonymity, and we value each other's breathing room.

Later that day, I saw Anderson Cooper in my Chelsea neighborhood. His gym is right down the street from mine. We headed for the same subway station. Standing on the platform with him, I couldn't help but smile to myself, knowing we were traveling together, maybe even getting off at the same stop. I wanted to ask him something clever about his day, like "How's the news?" After all, we were fellow journalists; simpatico, if you will.

When our train arrived, we boarded the same car. The camera is kind to Cooper, but it can't compete with these gay naked eyes. He looked so cute and preppy, his white oxford button-down shirt a perfect match for his silver-white hair and white face. The blue jeans he wore provided nice contrast. I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, so I tried being circumspect when I stole looks. As we approached the Columbus Circle stop, Anderson approached and engaged me with his true blue eyes, uttering something into my ear.

I thought I had noticed a connection earlier, but I didn't expect him to be so forward.

"What?" I said coyly, leaning against the exit door.

"Is this 50th Street?" he asked. What a line!

"No, it's 59th Street," I said with confidence.

"Oh!" he said, no doubt impressed with my expertise on subterranean New York. Before we had a chance to continue our banter, he jumped off the train. He probably had a deadline to make for his TV show.

"I love you!" I blurted out as he exited.

"Thank you," he said. The doors shut - just when he was going to return the sentiment! Pressing my face against the window as my train left him behind, I watched his blue and white figure get smaller in the distance.

When the girlfriend of my nephew's friend from Tennessee was visiting last week, we went grocery shopping at the Gourmet Garage in the Village, and she asked me the predictable question about celebs. I wanted to set her straight from the start. "Please, if we run into Sarah Jessica Parker, just be cool and follow my lead."