The Weekly Top 2 Articles in our Publication — Feb 5th to Feb 12th, 2022
A newsletter from the editor of Thoughts and Ideas, on Medium.com
Brush with greatness
This weekend, the NFL Superbowl Half-Time show is supposed to have some amazing performances by some 90’s celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
Years ago, when I worked for an airline, I interacted with tons of celebrities. It ranged from movie stars to athletes to politicians. I was ‘star struck’ by most of them.
On several occasions, I assisted former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, and I remember making a mental note that she always wore the exact same black suit whenever she traveled. I probably wouldn’t have noticed that if she was a man.
Kim Kardashian came through the terminal one year, and I was surprised to see that she was absolutely stunning in person, despite my preconceived notions about her low brow reality show.
I was frazzled when I met Jason Bateman, the star of Ozark. He was much younger back then, and his agent tried to finagle a free upgrade for him. I obliged — I was a big fan, after all.
During initial training, I was shocked to meet John Cusak and Jeremy Piven while they were boarding a flight, and I desperately wanted to get them to give me an autograph. I didn’t have any paper on me, so I handed them the clipboard that was in my hand. They both signed the first page on it and then went on the plane. A few seconds later, I realized that they had signed the flight manifest which I had to give over to the Captain.
One afternoon, I checked in former Prime Minister John Turner. He was a handsome, charming and charismatic man, and when he walked into the airport, everyone turned to look at him. After I finished with him, the next customer in line was a famous Canadian singer (who shall remain unnamed here).
“Can I ask what destination that last gentleman was going to?”, she inquired.
I thought she was attracted to him or something. “Montreal”, I replied.
She looked worried. “Oh no — me too.”
“Is everything alright?”, I asked.
“Yes, it’s OK. Can you just make sure he’s not sitting beside me?”
“Of course, ma’am”, I replied. “But may I ask why?”.
“Yes”, she said “That’s Prime Minister Turner. He’s an incredibly intelligent man. I just don’t have the energy to hold a decent conversation with him today.”
It was then that I realized that celebrities get star struck by other celebrities.
The weekly top 2 articles
Tabitha Diaz is becoming a bit of a celebrity on this publication. For the second week in a row, her excellent writing has been noticed. This week, she tells a compelling story about moving far away from home.
Our second story from last week is from a well-established Medium celebrity George J. Ziogas, who provides a fascinating exploration about the type of music to listen to for optimal productivity.
I know you’ll enjoy both of these wonderful stories!
Until next time — Have a safe and enjoyable week!
Keith
