I found
David Sedaris almost a dozen years ago, when I worked in a library in New York.
After reading the first book I knew I had to go find every other thing he'd
ever written. I've been a fan for a very long time.
So when the
opportunity came my way to see him perform in person of course I jumped on it.
It was the autumn of 2013 and I took my 22 year old daughter because she would
often read his books too, when I'd check them out from the library. Being a
core writer for GeekMom.com, I wrote a post about my love of Mr. Sedaris's
work, and in return was comped some pretty sweet tickets, just a few rows back
from the stage. It was like having him in my own living room.
The best
part of the night, however, was about an hour before the show. The promoter
kindly let daughter and me meet up with Mr. Sedaris, for a mini meet and greet.
I asked him to sign my artificial leg, the one I have been collecting
signatures on for several years now. He also signed the book I brought from
home. We had a quick, fun chat, then the interaction was over. We left with some pretty great memories to store in our memory banks.
This year I
noticed he was headed back to Denver. I emailed my kindly rep and she confirmed
that he'd be stopping in the Mile High City on his massive book tour. I wroteanother post for GeekMom, this time about how much I appreciate the way he so
casually references prosthetics in his essays, making my life feel a bit more
normal. Once again I found tickets with my name on them, waiting at Will Call.
This time
around daughter no longer lives locally. Hubby and middle son are spending the
week in Utah. Oldest son is also residing in another state. It was down to
youngest son. Fourteen year old Sam. Who had never read a single thing written
by Mr. Sedaris, except for the essay I read to him every December, about
holiday traditions in other countries, called "Six to Eight Large Black
Men". It is our version of The Night Before Christmas, just a bit rougher
around the edges. And much more likely to induce a few good belly laughs.
In trying to
sell the idea to Sam I said I had great tickets to a cool author's night in
Denver. In a really cool old theater. Down on 16th Street Mall, where there
were lots of fun stores we could poke around in beforehand. In fact, we might
even splurge and get dinner somewhere downtown. I figured food speaks to the
most reluctant teen boy.
"So
what's it going to be like?" he asked.
"Well,
David Sedaris writes funny essays, about his life," I replied. "He
will read some from his books and then answer questions from the audience at
the end. And it's funny. I promise."
"So,
he's like a stand-up comedian?"
"Well....kinda. Something like that..."
We left the
house at 5 pm, allowing plenty of time to run some errands, then find parking in downtown Denver before the show. We picked up our Will Call tickets about 6:40
then stood on the sidewalk out front, trying to decide if we should walk around
the outdoor mall area for a bit, until it was closer to the 7:30 show time, or
just go ahead and find our seats.
Surprisingly,
Sam wanted to go ahead and go in. What a
lucky decision that turned out to be.
As we walked
into the lobby I noticed a woman who seemed to be my rep, my favorite rep, who
continues to get me these sweet tickets to amazing shows. I waited for her to
turn around to make sure it was her, and started to walk her way, intending to
thank her for this latest set.
She turned around.
The man with her turned around too. It was David Sedaris himself. It took me a
second to realize it was him. I just wasn't expecting to casually run into him
in the lobby. After our eyes met, his gaze quickly looked down and saw my leg.
He looked back up and said, "Hey! I know you!"
It was one
of those hard to comprehend moments.
"Yes,"
I said (I think....it was all kind of a blur).
"You
signed my leg last year." I then whipped out the small manila envelope I
had in my hand and pulled out the picture I'd had printed earlier that day.
It's a picture of my signed leg, next to the signature page on my book where
he'd also signed. My plan was that 'just in case' I had the opportunity to get
a signature, I'd get the picture signed, then frame that picture to hang in my
home office. It's much easier than displaying the actual leg.
I couldn't
have imagined we'd accidentally run into him in the lobby.
He
graciously signed my picture and as he looked over at Sam, he stuck his hand
out. "Hi! What's your name?" he said.
Sam
hesitated, in the way you do when you're so flustered you can't even remember
basic facts about yourself. "Sam", he finally said. When asked how
old he was, Sam managed to do the math correctly.
David then
said, as he laughed, "Oh Sam! You need to do that again! You need a
stronger hand shake than that!"
They shook
hands again, playfully, but much more seriously this time on Sam's side. David
chatted with Sam for a minute, telling him to be sure to check in with him
after the show, come to the front of the line, because he had a special gift
for him.
I had just
been telling Sam, on the drive to Denver, how Mr. Sedaris is known for bringing
small gifts to give the teens who are dragged along to his shows. I truly
believe he's seriously under-estimating how much those teens love his shows,
especially the dirty jokes part. But the kindness is appreciated.
Sam promised
Mr. Sedaris he would come see him after the show, at the signing table. And
then my kid who had informed me in a very strict voice on the drive down,
that there was NO way we were waiting
for any signatures or any schmoozing after the show, was dedicated to meeting
up with his friend David as soon as the show was over.
No matter how long he
had to wade through the crowds who were exiting the theater.
Since we
were a bit early, and still floating a bit from our accidental encounter, Sam
and I had nearly an hour of great chat time. We talked about a wide variety of
topics, while we lounged in our seats, watching people slowly file in. It was
one of those magical hours that you treasure when you're a mom to teens,
especially teen boys.
The tickets
were not as close to the front as the last set, but they were perfect. My seat
was on the aisle, where I could stick my left leg out into the walkway. It's
the seat I pick when I get my first choice at every event, so I can stretch out
my artificial leg, when it's feeling a bit cramped during the course of the
show. And since Sam had met with Mr. Sedaris before the show, seeing him
clearly during the reading wasn't nearly as important.
After a lot
of laughing and a lot of great essays, the show was over and the crowd worked
their way to the exit. Sam helped me up the sloped aisle, which is a tricky
thing for me to navigate, especially when I'm forced to 'shuffle' with the
crowd. I'm not great at shuffling, or slopes, so together they are my nemesis. It
was nice to be able to hold onto my baby boy's arm for stability, and as he
helped me physically up the aisle, he helped me mentally once again try to
grasp that this five foot ten inch kid is my baby, all grown up. Another
treasured mother/son moment.
Just as
promised, when Sam approached the table, Mr. Sedaris noticed him and stopped
his book signing rhythm. He paused the next person in line and turned his full
attention to my boy, who was beaming. "Oh good! You're here!" he
said, as he reached under the table for his personal bag.
"Sam,
do you ever dress up?" I thought it was a reference to the fact Sam had
worn his favorite t shirt and hoodie to the show. But instead it was the
deciding question for which gift he gave Sam.
In the end
Sam ended up with a small business like card that has tiny lettering on it. All
it says is "Stop Talking". He and Sam laughed about all the
situations Sam could use it in, and Mr. Sedaris acted like he had all the time
in the world to give my boy.
As we exited
the theater I didn't want it to end. The perfect night out with my boy.
Another
amazing meet up with one of my favorite authors. A beautiful cool night in
downtown Denver, after days and days of rain and snow. I walked as slowly as I
could down the sidewalk towards our parked car.
Sam fell
asleep on the drive home. We chatted a little, but being a teenage boy, he
wasn't prepared to analyze every single thing he did and didn't like about the show. The one thought he kept coming back to was, "I wonder what prize he
would have given me if I said I DO dress up sometimes..."
It's a question
that will plague him for a very long time. Or at least until he has a chance to run into his friend David again.
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