Tonight my buddy from back East stopped by after his training session, and we went out to the pier for dinner. We walked up and down the entire pier, searching for the perfect food. After reaching no decision whatsoever, we spotted The Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean slowly making its way south. My buddy ran over and snapped a bunch of shots, while I looked on, sans camera (the Lumix is in Hong Kong with my soul).
The sun had set, and we walked on, determined to pick the restaurant of perfection. We walked south, to the very end of the pier. What's there? Why, it's Delzano's By The Sea. And what was happening behind Delzano's? Why, complete mayhem!
It turns out that Johnny Depp is signing autographs and posing for pictures, having just wrapped a day of shooting for Pirates III. Again, my buddy had his camera, so he snapped some shots. Me? Nothin'. No video camera, no still camera, not even a sketchpad. Not a sausage.
So I just stared at Johnny Depp for a bit, watching him do the movie star thing. He was about thirty feet away, smiling, being totally cool with the fans, who seemed to be acting pretty cool, considering who they were talking to. No raving or gibbering chimps, just regular folks who walked up, one by one, to get a minute or two with Johnny Depp. And he responded so well to them, very humble, very natural, very sweet. He absolutely seemed like a nice guy, like a guy I would enjoy talking to.
Now I'm back home, blogging from the library, listening to Tom Petty on the stereo, recounting the story with my bud. And this is my thought: It was just ok. I wanted it to be more, I wanted to freak out like I would have five years ago. But I didn't. And not because I've been here long enough to become jaded. Instead, it's clear to me that my priorities have changed. While watching this young man who happens to be the hottest movie star in the world right now, I just missed my wife and kids. They would have loved to have seen Johnny Depp, would have loved to been together to share in the moment. Had we all been together, maybe it would have been cooler. But my wife is in Hong Kong and my kids are with their father and Johnny Depp's just not as cool as my family.
The Gift
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[Christmas, 1965 or thereabout]
The boy was very young; perhaps 7 or 8 years old. He loved everything about
Christmas - the lights, the music, Santa ...
11 months ago
9 Comments:
That last line was sweet.
Thanks, Anonymous!
I just can't get over the fact that you were that close to Johnny Depp. I'm drooling from the east coast, can't you tell?
Lovely, lovely post :)
Thanks Katie, I sincerely appreciate the praise. In fact, you will go into the book as the first complete stranger who praised my writing to my face (monitor/keyboard/whatever).
As for Johnny Depp, he really did seem like a very nice man. Maybe it is because I am a fan of his craft, but when I was near him (sorta), there was this vibe, like if I were closer I would have invited him to our house for Sunday dinner.
Also, yeah, I admit it, he's just as handsome in real life. There's no denying it. And he's not movie star handsome either, like some other folks. Johnny Depp is handsome, yes, but it's an acceptable, reasonable amount of handsome, not way over the top, like it's fake. Johnny's got a regular look about him, like you could picture him as an ordinary guy in town, like Gilbert Grape.
Would your friend consider sharing his pictures. I was able to take several of the ship and a few of some of the characteres. I only seen Johnny when he was taken out in the car and was not able to get a picture. Would love to have a picture of him for my granddaughter that is 13th.
Thank you
Martha.Mcinnish@Honeywell.com
Martha, I'd be happy to. As soon as my friend gets them developed and digitized and sends them to me, I'll send them to you.
Obviously this goes for anyone else. :-)
Hey Stu, would your friend also consider sharing his pictures with me? I'm like, an huge fan of POTC...who isn't? Heh. I go to San Pedro High School, so I live right in Pedro, and as soon as I heard about this, I got real excited that their actually having a shooting for Pirates III here. I saw the Black Pearl today, and that was really cool. Thats about it though...but anyway, I'd be reeeaaallly interested in seeing the pictures. My E-mail address is Garrett4Christ@hotmail.com and I'm 18.
Thank you!
Garrett,
Sure, absolutely. As soon as I get them, I'll post a blog entry about them, and anyone who wants can email me and I'll email them back with all the pics. Please note, as it was a film camera, we have no idea how they came out. They may all be lame. We'll see.
Hi, my name is Laney & I love PotC!!!! Love your post! I am stuck in TX with no hope of ever getting to the coast. I would love to see your friends pics! My email address is sparrows.strumpet@yahoo.com.
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