Celeb Fest

Last Friday Hannah and I went to Thanksgiving Point for their "Scarecrow Festival" with my sisters and their kids. Around noon we decided to eat lunch on a picnic bench by the Information Center. While eating our lunch, we noticed a REALLY tall guy behind the info booth. I don't mean kind of tall, like 6 feet and some odd inches. I mean FREAKISHLY tall- like 7 feet 6 inches. Kind of a rude word to use, but let's face it, he's a freak. No, I'm kidding, he's just ginormous. Anyway, we also noticed that people were coming up to him, asking to take their picture with him. We knew that he must be a famous basketball player because he's just huge and I really don't think that he could be famous for anything else. Football? Na, you really can't run that fast being so tall. Baseball? ummm...no, the pitcher probably couldn't even throw the baseball that high when he was up to bat. An actor? Yeah, right. His head would be cut off in every camera shot while standing in the same room with shorter actors. Yeah....he's definitely a basketball player. But which one?


Anyway, none of us knew who he was, so we asked. If you're not big into basketball or you've never gone to the Taco Bell next to BYU and seen his posters hanging up, then you probably don't know who he is either. This is Shawn Bradly, who played at BYU and then went on to play for the Philly 76ers and the Dallis Mavericks (NBA). Look at how iddy biddy Hannah looks in his arms.

** On a side note, I've seen more somewhat famous people (in their daily lives, not in concerts/games) in Utah than I ever did living in CA. I think I saw Arnold Shwarz once in Cali driving his hummer when I was little but I also lived in Sac town, which is not really known for booming with celebs. Here I've helped Gary Coleman (who would look really funny standing next to Shawn Bradly) at Staples several times and seen Donny and Marie Osmond and now Shawn Bradly.

Anyway, the reason for this post was not really to talk about Shawn Bradly, but as I was watching him throughout lunch and a little bit afterward, I realized something: I don't ever want to be famous. Sure, I wouldn't mind looking like this:



But I certainly don't want their lifestyles. I felt bad for Shawn. He kept trying to eat his lunch and people (including us- hey I'm not going to miss a chance to get a photo with someone famous) kept coming up to him, asking him for pictures. He was so polite, too. I am such a private person and this would truly get annoying to me, and he's not even a real celebrity. I can't imagine what it would have been like if Britney Spears were there eating her lunch. There is nothing private about being a celeb. You can't even go out in public without people constantly coming up to you asking for pictures and autographs. This is something that I just don't think I would be able to handle. I wonder if this is why some celebs just can't take it and end up in rehab or killing themselves. What a hard life. I know that there are many who don't end up this way, though, and good for them. Some people would be great celebrities, and it would be great for them to share their talents with the world. But for me, I am just so grateful that I have the life that I have. My private life. And I can sit at Thanksgiving Point, eating my sack lunch, without people constantly interrupting me to take my picture.