Hope,
Diana Gabaldon, Charyl Lady
Hope Not
considering myself one to be starstruck, I had pretty much
decided to go with my natural instincts and just let it all
hang out where Diana was concerned. Luckily Kiltboy made his
appearance and I was not obliged to actually let anything of
mine hang out. Whew! What Im
really getting at here is, its my belief that since
were all naked under our clothes, and most of us have
some cellulite to hide, I feel its my responsibility,
as a person with some cellulite to hide, to respect any
famous person I might meet by treating him or her as I would
any other person I might meet. Now, keep in mind, I have met
several hundred famous people in the last thirty-two years,
so Im an old pro with the celeb set. *snort*
Hmmmmm
Ok, Oprah has met several hundred famous
people, Ive met Oprah and so
by
association
that six degrees of separation
theory
are you buyin my logic here? Alrightly
then, maybe not
So back to not being starstruck then,
hmm? Weel, I
figured out we, MacHosers, had differing opinions in regards
to partying with Diana when Judie and I were talking, with
great anticipation, about the still upcoming events in
Surrey. Judie mentioned that she sure hoped we wouldnt
all get too drunk and make complete fools of ourselves in
front of Diana. I, in my usual is she serious or is
she kidding manner said, Damn, I think it would
be a hoot if Diana got drunk and made a complete fool of
herself in front of us! Judie was mortified that I
would even venture to jest about such a thing! *g* Of
course, already having Kiltboy up my sleeve (yeah, I wish!)
I knew somebody would be making a fool of themselves, it
only remained to be seen who. So let us,
now, skip ahead to that most magical of moments when Ms.
Diana Gabaldon appeared at our door. At this point, I must
admit that I really wasnt paying a grand amount of
attention to our esteemed guest when she first arrived,
having the knowledge that Kiltboy had to be hot on her
heels. As a matter of fact, Im still amazed that they
didnt share an elevator up! Oh, wouldnt that
have been a wall to have been a wee fly upon? And of course,
once Kiltboy did make his entrance I was rather
preoccupied
. ahhh
. held enrapt, would, I
suppose, be a more accurate description! Once
Dancing for Dollars ended, well jeepers, I
really felt it was only my duty to get acquainted with
Kiltboy while the other ladies were chatting with (grilling)
Diana. I certainly didnt want the poor lad to feel
snubbed, ye ken? And so it came
to be that Kiltboy and I were talking (Okay, he was talking.
Of what I canna say since I was much too busy ogling his
bod. After all when will I get the chance to ogle with
impunity, again?) when my greatest party fantasy came
true
. Can you just picture it? Youre standing in
a lovely hotel suite talking to Mr. Hunk-o-rama, (who just
happens to be the only man in the room) when a best selling
author, (who just happens to be your favorite author) seeks
you out and wants to join in your conversation! How
flattering can one moment be? So there we
were. Diana, Kiltboy and ME! Diana stood politely listening
to the conversation for a minute or so before jumping in
with a few comments of her own. We talked about this and
that; her flight, the room, she asked Kiltboy a few
questions etc. Kiltboy reciprocated by asking Diana about
her book. Seeing his curiosity as an open
invitation, Diana launched into a detailed account of
Claires first meeting with BJR, Dougal and the
Highlanders in the cabin etc. etc. I soon
recognized that glazed-over look to Kiltboys eyes, but
wasnt paying much attention to his boredom factor, my
own attention being rather held enrapt (for the second time
that evening.) This time, of course, by a masterful
storyteller who was getting so excited with the telling of
her tale that her speech became slurred, as often happens to
a child who cannot relay a turn of events quickly enough.
(It surely couldnt have been Dianas one glass of
wine that was responsible?) I, being more excited than
Diana, was finding her display extremely entertaining.
Kiltboy on the other hand, was finding her display extremely
pathetic, until
. It suddenly occurred to him that he
might get a beefcake job out of the famous
author. Hey,
maybe I can be the model for your second book cover?
he suggested with great enthusiasm. To which Diana barely
beat me to saying FIFTH! And, theyre NOT that
kind of books! I had the distinct impression she too,
had a real struggle keeping herself from adding you
numbskull! Kiltboy did have the grace to look mildly
abashed by Dianas remarks. *snort again* Poor lad, put
in his place by a bunch of crazed women! As the evening
went on, I all but forgot about trying to treat Diana as a
normal human being, mostly because she is a normal human
being! I found her very warm and real and I soon found
myself sitting back just enjoying the pleasure of her
company, absorbing how very much she loves Jamie and Claire,
how they really live for her, just as they do for me. Before
meeting Diana I was nervous and afraid, not of meeting
someone so famous and talented, but I was terribly afraid
that meeting Jamie and Claires creator would
dehumanize them, afraid that I would hear Dianas voice
with each word I read, afraid that the luster would be gone
and the story wouldnt be the same. In the weeks
that followed, I purposefully avoided even looking at the
stack of books next to my bed, not to mention the other
stack of books next to my computer, and the daily quote
became something I had to scan past very quickly. My fear
gnawed at me, until I knew it was time to face my fears and
put my DG meeting to the test. Since Voyager
seemed to be getting quite a lot of discussion on the board
and was also very prominently featured in a recent trivia
game, and since I was having trouble answering the
questions, much less participating in the conversations, I
decided a reread was due. I admit freely to having read
certain key scenes several times, but have read
Voyager, in its entirety, only once
Waaaaaay back last
summer! So, a few days ago, I took a leap of faith and
began. He was dead. Oh God! I was so afraid. So
afraid my beloved story would not be the same, but this was
a test and a journey to be traveled, so I continued. And in
all honesty, it is not the same. But for some inexplicable
reason and to my complete amazement, I found it to be
better. Far better than I could have ever believed was
possible! This I knew to be irrevocably true when, without
consulting me, I found tears slipping, unguarded down my
face by the time I had read not halfway down page
two. Epilogue: I am now happy
to report, that in all my anticipation to see Jamie and
Claire reunited when reading Voyager for the first time, I
missed a great deal of what lead up to their reunion. And on
this second reading, I have thus far, had the great pleasure
of reading quite a bit of it as if for the first time
.
and how sweet it is! *g*