Wonder

  There were two people that I met who couldn't have been more different visually.  Maybe because one was an actress and singer.  The other was a character actor known for his supporting roles.  One was rather serious, and the other was very funny.

 The first was Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on TV and put out an album of her songs.  I was living in Fort Worth, and the word got out that she was coming to Six Flags over Texas to open a new ride and sign autographs.  It was raining that day and pretty chilly, but they said she would be there rain or shine.  Since it was raining, they set up her table under a gazebo, which was not big enough for the crowd that showed up.  We were packed in there like sardines.  You couldn't breathe, and people were passing out.  When somebody did, they either fainted standing up, or they were lifted up over the heads of others to be tended to.  Children were especially affected by this crush, and they ended up on the ground to breathe.  When Lynda arrived, she was with some childhood friends from Arizona, so she wasn't paying much attention to her fainting fans.  I was wearing an old Army shirt that I had since college.  When I got up to the table, she said hello to me and I to her.  She looked at my shirt and wrote "Peace, Lynda Carter" on her photo and gave to me.  She was much prettier in person than as Wonder Woman.  We had a moment, but I couldn't hang around.  The line had to keep moving.  I got the flu from being there, but it was worth it.

 The second was M. Emmet Walsh, who was an actor in "Chattahoochee".  You may not recognize the name, but you have seen him in many movies.  He was the doctor examining Chevy Chase in "Fletch".  He was the group sergeant in "Alice's Restaurant".  He was the madman in "The Jerk".  And, many more roles.  Emmet was the ultimate character actor.  One of the things you may not know about a film set is that there is a lot of waiting around.  One might wait for the crew to set up for a scene.  One might wait, because you aren't in a scene being filmed.  One might wait just to be waiting.  Boredom can set in.  Emmet created a way to pass the time.  He gathered some of the other actors around his chair and told jokes.  Most were pretty funny.  Some were kind of dirty.  Then, he would ask the handful of people around him to tell a joke.  We would all laugh.  For a few days, I got to be in that small group of joke-tellers.  Some of our jokes were pretty stupid, but the object was to make Emmet laugh.  If you did, it was a real accomplishment.  When it was time for a scene, he would get into character and perform.  Afterwards, we would be back to telling jokes.  He helped the time to go by faster.  We loved to hurry up and wait with Emmet.  He was a cool guy.