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*Sat, 4/12/08 Ok folks. The day finally came. The day I've been dreaming about my whole entire life, from as far back as I can remember. The day that makes all things possible from now on. 
On Thurs... April 10, 2008... I MET JULIE ANDREWS!!!! Did you hear what I said? I met JULIE ANDREWS!!!!!!! I came face to face with her... stood only a tables width away from her... talked to her as she talked to me... looked directly into her gorgeous, twinkling eyes as she did the same to mine... and I shook her hand. Un-frelling-believable. And yet, it happened. "What happened exactly?" you may ask. Well.... [Warning: You might want to get a cup o' tea and settle in.] Julie has written her memoirs, Home, which was released on April 1. Ever since, she's been on a country wide publicity tour, doing interviews and book signings. On April 1, I took a long lunch at work and listened to a 70 min. online interview (julieandrewsbooktour.com) with her and her daughter Emma about Home and their publishing imprint, The Julie Andrews Collection, which offers all of hers and theirs and other writers books and interactive tools for children. While listening to the interview I was browsing their website (www.julieandrewscollection.com) and saw all the appearances she's doing in the next several months, including a concert she's hosting at the Hollywood Bowl (my sister, Karen, and I have tickets already!) It also listed a book signing for April 10 at Borders Books in Westwood, which is near UCLA. Knowing a bus route to that location, I committed myself to going. I called the book store to get all the info: There would be 150 tickets handed out starting at 10am that morning with the purchase of up to 2 books per person. The signing would start at 7pm that evening. I then went online and found a JA fan forum to get insight on how early to get there, etc, from those who had attended her NY and NJ book signings. Armed with this information, I went to my boss, Matt, and asked if I could switch my Thurs shift to Sat so I could go to the book signing. He of course said yes, because I have the greatest boss in the world... and as my friend I'm sure he knew I'd never speak to him again if he said no. 
Thurs morning I got up at 3am, showered, dressed, got my stuff ready and headed for the bus. It took me 3 buses, but I made it there way earlier than I anticipated. I was aiming for 6am and got there between 4:30 and 5am. With no traffic, the buses went zoom! Luckily, when I got there, there were about 14 other crazy people camping out at the entrance to the store. Some had arrived at 2am, but most had been there for about a half hour. Naturally, I began chatting up the peeps around me, and within the 5 hours we spend in line together we bonded. That is half the fun of doing these fan events - meeting other fans and making friends. Surprisingly, we were it for the first 2 hours. A couple people came around 7am, then no one else till after 8am. So, as it turned out, there was no worries about getting tickets and we didn't have to come that early. However, we all decided that our coming early was meant to be, so that we would meet one another. We had a great time! Finally at around 9:30am the store manager came out and handed everyone a slip of paper with instructions - i.e. 150 tickets only, 2 books per person, no signing of merchandise, no photography, etc. She was very nice and grateful for our attendance and patience (knowing some of us had been there for hours.) A lady from the store's coffee shop came out and passed around little bites of muffins to everyone in line. How nice was that?! Then at 10am we were ushered in to go buy our books and get our tickets from the cashiers. It was all fairly organized. While in line I had called Karen to ask if she wanted a signed book. I had forgotten to ask beforehand. She of course said yes, so I bought my allotted two books and went home to change clothes. Since my bus trip was quite extensive and time consuming, I didn't stick around at home long. I went straight back to the store to wait it out in line again. As before, I met and chatted with a few more people that afternoon, while waiting in line for the actual signing. Also, a couple of my morning buddies joined us as time passed, creating quite a wonderful and entertaining group. We all ended up swapping email addresses, promising to trade copies of Julie stuff, and looking to see each other at the concert as well as other theatrical events. At 4:30 the store manager came to reorganize our make-shift line. The signing was taking place on the second floor, in the front corner of the music/art/media section. There was a large display set up around a little stage with a table and chair, which was all roped off. They positioned us along the side wall. We would enter the inner sanctum from one side, be ushered to the table, then exit out the other side. As 7pm got closer and closer, I started to get anxious and contemplative. It was really going to happen and I was overwhelmed with the thought - forget about processing the emotional significance of it all, just wrapping my head around it was hard enough. But I wasn't the only one dealing with deep emotions. My new friends Michelle and Paul, were also beginning to face the reality of it all. Starting at 6:30 the store managers came down the line to go over the instructions once again and start prepping the books with a blot sheet behind the designated page Julie would sign in the book, as she would be using a brown sharpie. The brown color chosen because it would go well with the coloring of the book jacket. LOL! I'm not kidding. Julie is very particular about presentation. Adorable. It was almost 7pm and we were getting worried about the crowd of non-ticket holders that were accumulating near the signing area. Finally, some employees started telling the people to back off and open up the aisle ways. We thought they were going to tell them all to leave, but they didn't. Since we had been told countless times, all day long that there would be no photography allowed, some of us were getting pissed that these looky-loos were not being told to put their cameras away. As I didn't even bring a camera, I was more concerned by the unfairness than by any missed opportunity on my part. However, I was not about to let any negativity spoil my upcoming experience, so I tried to ignore it. 7pm arrived and no Julie, but you could tell things were happening and preparations were being finalized. The energy was palpable as we all strained our necked to try and see her coming. Finally, the air was all abuzz as she first appeared on the other side of the store. I couldn't see her at first, but then I glimpsed the top of her head. We all quietly squealed with glee, hearing and watching everyone welcome her with "hellos" and applause. We of course, started woohooing and clapping the loudest as she came nearer and nearer and finally walked up to the signing area. Cameras naturally started snapping away from the on-lookers, at which point her manager Steven allowed for five minutes of picture taking. Friend Paul quickly got out his camera and took a few shots. WOW! My heart was pounding, my head spinning. The moment was finally here! She looked AMAZING! Absolutely gorgeous in a lovely tan pants suite with a cream colored blouse. So elegant and graceful... smiling that twinkly smile of hers... waving graciously to the crowd as she passed and then settled behind the table. Her three "bad boys" were with her. Michelle clued us in that Steven was her manager. The other two guys she didn't know exactly what they did, but they are always with her at these public events, apparently. Stylist and publicist or assistant or something, I'm assuming. Anyway, the guys had the whole procedure down to an art form. Partly as protection, but also to make things go smoothly and quickly, leaving Julie the stress free job of simply signing the books and chatting with the fans. Steve met the fans at the entrance of the signing area, took their book(s) and chatted a bit with them while waiting for the previous person to get their books signed. He then ushered the next person up to the table, handing the books to the one guy standing to her left, and introducing the fan to Julie with the bit of info he had gathered while waiting to take them up to the table. The guy on the left set the books down on the table, she took them one at a time, and with the help of Steve's intro would go right into conversation with the person who was now standing before her. The fan would have a brief conversation with her while she signed the books. She would then hand the books off to the guy at her right, who would hold them out in such a way as to lead the fan off towards the exit. There was no rushing or urging from the guys, as often times it was Julie who would continue the conversation a bit longer with certain folks depending on the topic. They simply guided the flow in a gentle, respectful way, and even participated in conversations from time to time. They were all very friendly and kind. To begin with they allowed folks in wheelchairs and scooters to be at the head of the line, so that bumped us all back a bit. Also, some spots had been saved for a family of 4. They arrived around 5pm and were fun to talk to. By the time the signing began, my initial 4th spot had been pushed back to about 10. But I didn't mind. Once it got started, it all went so fast anyway. When my turn came, Steve met me at the entrance of the signing area, and took my two books from the store manager who was there helping him. She recognized me as one of the early birds. I explained to Steve that I was in line that morning by 5am. He was impressed. As he took me and my books to the table, he introduced me to Julie by telling her I had been there since 5 am. She looked at me with surprise and said, "Well, you win the prize for the earliest arrival." I didn't correct her (knowing some had been there much earlier than I). Instead I dove right in with, "Well, I've been waiting my whole life for this moment." As soon as I started to speak, gazing straight into her eyes, I choked up. She looked at me with such kindness and gratitude, knowing I meant what I was saying. Not wanting to break down any further I continued talking, to help me keep my composure. I had brought with me my copy of Mandy, the first book she'd ever written. I had it in plastic - 1. so they wouldn't think I wanted her to sign it, since that was not my intention (and against the rules), and 2. to protect it from unexpected weather. She looked at it and exclaimed with surprise and joy, "That's the first addition paperback!" Even her two side-kicks got excited, exclaiming, as one of them leaned in to view it more closely, "I've never seen that edition before!" "Wow! That's worth a lot of money! Do you realize that?" I said I did, and that's why it's in plastic! (It wasn't in plastic before I took it with me that day, but now it's staying in plastic from here on out! LOL!) While everyone was admiring the book (and while she signed my two copies of Home) I pointed out the tape on the binder as indication of how many times I had read it. I also told her that I loved the picture of her on the back and that I've never seen it anywhere except on this book. She looked at it again and said, "I believe that is a [??] photograph." I'm afraid I was not in the frame of mind to remember the photographer's name. I'm lucky to be able to paraphrase what she said to me throughout the encounter. So overwhelmed was I. 
Having finished signing my books and passing them off to the guy on the right, who then passed them to me, Julie put out her hand to me and said something like, "I hope you're not too exhausted." I shook her hand (OMG! ... Nice, strong handshake, btw.) and said, "Oh no. I'm going to love your book." They were prepping her for the next person by this time, but she managed to stay focused on me for just a little longer... enough to say, "I hope you do. Thank you for coming." She smiled at me with such a loving expression before I walked away. *swoon* I was shaking from head to toe throughout the whole experience. My mind was whirling... trying to keep composed and not loose it, trying to be articulate and not babble, trying to stay in the moment and enjoy the experience, trying to be respectful of her time, yet taking the time to absorb everything... but clearly it all went so fast, much of it is a blur. I don't think I'll ever recall exactly what she said to me while shaking my hand. Partly because the thought going through my head at the time was "OMG! She's shaking my hand!!!" Oh well. What I am certain about is that she was sharing her concern for me and the extremely long day I was having... and hoping that it had been worth it. At least that is my impression of the moment. Without a doubt... This was the greatest day of my entire life! As we each exited the signing area, one by one, our little group all gathered to cry and hug and share the emotional aftermath for a brief moment before some of us took our leave. Paul was teary-eyed and quiet. Michelle was crying, though only after the fact. She said she made Julie laugh while giving her boxes of her favorite tea (PG tips) from London and showing off her t-shirt ("Good girls go to Heaven, Bad girls go to London.") The sweetest reaction came from a young girl from France, who was in line right behind me. She's here in the US, working as an au pair for a year. After meeting Julie she came out of the signing area just sobbing. I gave her a big hug while she cried her heart out. It was so touching. I didn't cry, though I was very much moved by my own experience as well as the others around me. However, I was extremely jazzed, to the point where I couldn't leave. I had to stay and hang onto that moment for as long as possible, watching Julie interact with others, and trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was in her presence. What made it even more surreal was that while we stood there watching her, they had a mix of her recordings playing in the background... Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Camelot, The Sound of Music... Recordings I grew up listening to for hours on end. And here I was listening to them with her right there in front of me. Wild! As the evening went on, I started to get self-conscious. I never want to be considered a "stalker". That is so not what I'm about. My concern was especially strong, as there were people there hanging around to get merchandise signed and to see if she would sign books for those who had been unable to get a ticket. It wasn't so bad until a couple of ladies started making a stink with the store managers, whining about how they didn't know they needed to get a ticket for the event. There are always a handful of people who take no responsibility for their actions or lack there of, as the case may be. The fact is, hundreds of us managed to get the information in order to get our tickets and play by the rules. Yet someone must always complain that a perfectly well organized event was not planned well enough and therefore unfair to those who didn't bother to find out all the facts and information in time to act on the opportunity. Waaah! Boohoo! Give me a break. The minute I found out about this event I was on the phone with the store to get all the info as to what to do to make sure I got to meet Julie. Period. I've managed to miss out on countless opportunities to meet her in the past, but I only have myself and bad timing to blame. I would never blame the organization for my lack of awareness. Anyhoo, the point being that, due to the bitchy ladies, Steve was brought into the discussion. The proceedings were put on hold so he could have a pow-wow with Julie and the other two guys, at the end of which it was announced that Julie would sign her book for those who had one, but didn't have a ticket. There were only about 10-15 of them. However, it was made doubly clear that she would not be signing merchandise. And yet a good 10-15 people crowded around in front of the barrier for the rest of the evening holding up their vinyl albums and stuff begging for her to sign them. Pathetic, selfish and thoroughly annoying. That's when I was more than ready to get the hell out of there, but Michelle (who had stayed too, offering to give me a ride home) was able to ignore the negative energy better than I was, and she wasn't ready to leave yet. Good thing too, as Blake Edwards and a few of their kids (and possibly an older grand-kid) arrived about that time. What a treat! Poor Blake. He's become a little old man with a walker. So sad, though I'm sure his mind is as sharp as ever. As Michelle observed and informed me later (I had walked away from the crowd by that point), Julie completely transformed when she saw him. Michelle said it was so lovely to see that familial, personal side of Julie, even if it was just a glimpse. From where I stood I did manage to note Julie lovingly instruct Blake, "Come sit next to me, darling." So cute! They got him a chair and he sat at the end of the table while she continued greeting the fans and signing. Their two youngest daughters, Amy and Joanna sat on the little platform behind Julie. (I only saw one of them, but Michelle assured me they were both there.) Two other women I didn't recognize sat on the floor next to Blake. One looked like she could be a granddaughter, while the other looked Emma or Jennifer's age. I know she wasn't Emma, so it could have been Jennifer. However, I wasn't able to see her face clearly enough to be sure. Whoever she was, she caught my eye as she sat there on the floor, hands under her chin, watching Julie. There was such love and joy in her eyes. Blake too seemed please by the attention being given to Julie, and presumably what was being said to her at the table. It was so cool to watch her doing her thang, surrounded by her loving family. I was impressed by the customer service the store managers and Julie's manager provided throughout the evening. She went over time with the ticketed people, so to then add the additional 10 at the end... it wouldn't have worked had it not been so well organized. Plus she didn't seem that tired and had maintained her generous and giving spirit throughout the event. She especially loved the kids. There were two young girls in line with us who sang for her. It was so sweet, and Julie was very encouraging to them, saying what lovely voices they had, etc. Also, at one point, Steve's son arrived, who go a huge hug and an excited "Hello!" from Julie when she saw him. There was also a lovely greeting given to a woman, a former assistant I think I heard someone say, who had gotten a ticket and was standing in line with the rest of us waiting her turn. That was impressive as well. All in all, watching Julie with the fans and her family and the people she works with, I got the impression that she is the real deal. There is so much love and respect and professionalism surrounding her. And I honestly think that is starts with her. She's been doing this her whole life. She knows what's what, and she attracts the very best in people... the unfortunate, but expected greedy fanatics not withstanding. Finally, at about 9:30pm the last person in line was taken care of and the entourage packed up and moved out. We all applauded and thanked her as she was escorted back to the green room, and Michelle and I promptly left. I was utterly spent, but it was all worth it. What A Day! There was a heartfelt "goodbye, see you soon" with Michelle after a nice follow up chat on the drive home, but once inside I promptly crashed. It wasn't until the next morning that it all hit me on an emotional level. I missed my bus and had to wait a half hour for the next one. So while standing there at the bus stop, listening to my ipod with 4 Julie cd's on it, I started going over the previous days events in my head, visualizing Julie at the table, remembering our conversation as best as I could... and then thinking about how much Julie has been a part of my life... all the ways she has effecting me... all the hours of joyous listening to her recordings, watching her movies and tv appearances, seeing her performing live in concert, sitting 11th row Orch at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago to see her performing live in Victor/Victoria, reading her books... wanting to be as much like her as possible... acting, singing, writing... She's been inspiring me my whole life, and now I've met her. I stood there at the bus stop crying for about 20 minutes. Anything is possible. I've met Julie Andrews. My #1 dream has come true. On to making the rest of my dreams a reality! Huzzah! ~S |
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