Inevitably Awkward

Some say it's bad to meet your heroes, that they let you down, but I'm not sure. Isn't it better to see them for who they are, living and breathing before us, than to keep them elevated in some fantastic godhood status they don't deserve or even want?

That doesn't keep us from being overwhelmed by the encounter, of course, though some folks don't seem to have that problem. Some folks are happy to talk about themselves at great length while that poor soul sits there and listens, smiling or grimacing.

Me? I usually end up saying something stupid, like, “Thank you for the words” or “Your book changed my life.” I always forget to add, “I swear I'm not psychotic, I just don't know what else to say.” I like to think that part is implied, but maybe not.

I rarely get starstruck, and when I do, it's with people that aren't necessarily all that well known outside of certain small circles. I have no clue who is big in the movies or on TV, but give me a niche writer and I'm on them like that psychotic person I swear I'm not.

(It's implied.)

Is it bad to meet your heroes? Maybe for some people it is. Maybe it's hard to see our heroes in their natural state, although even then, they're usually in performance mode. Unless you happen to catch them at dinner or something, in which case do you really want to invade their privacy? Then again, nowadays the notion of privacy is becoming antiquated, though that's a whole other terrifying rant for some other terrifying day.

When we meet our heroes, our gods, the encounters are inevitably awkward. But I'm okay with that because life is awkward. I still want to live it.