Child of Vision

I did not think he could be more endearing than he came off in the documentary, but encountering Mark Borchardt in person -- I just wanted to pinch his cheeks, put him under my wing and keep him there for a while --he did not disappoint.

I, however, was so excited that I turned into a bit of an ass -- hyper enough to talk over him and say irrelevant things and at one point I even shouted out "Coven!".

Now, I have encountered some major movie and rock stars during my days in the food service and hotel business -- not to mention the many from the WWF (old school people too) and many, many NBA players.

Basketball fans would hate me because I don't follow basketball -- I worked room service for a hotel that had a contract w/the NBA, so when they played Milwaukee I often brought trays of food to their rooms and I knew not whom the tall guy -- sometimes in just a towel -- was. I did, however, learn that a lot of the players are not from America and had such heavy accents that I often gave up trying to understand what they were ordering and brought the closest thing to what it sounded like they were saying. Nothing ever got sent back -- I'm not convinced it was because I always guessed it right.

Digression and Harry Connick Jr. aside -- while spotting a famous person is cool, it's usually not something I get all hopped up about.

Rich spotted him first on our way in to the rock show, we kept refering to him as Mike and got so far into his space that we edged his buddy Dan out. We all ended up in the same beverage line and I said to Rich, "buy their drinks! buy their drinks!" And then I remembered we had the camera phone -- "We have the picture phone! Let's ask him for a picture. Do you think he'll let us take a picture? Oh, we have to get a picture."

He introduced himself and his two friends and was very gracious about letting us know he was "Mark" without making us feel bad for calling him "Mike". He was so genuine with his answers about what he's up to now. His friends were great too -- I forgot the girls' name (I'm a face person), but she hung in there for the three or four tries it took to get the picture (Rich's reminder alarm kept interrupting the process).

I'm happy to report he was drinking water and continues to write stories and work on movies -- being in them as well as making them. I wish he would publish a book already because if he writes anything like he speaks -- I can't wait.

Have you seen American Movie? This guy was the quintessential underdog battling poverty and alcoholism -- he had a dream and was getting the message that dreamers get -- "you're a fool". Lucky for us, he has the "it" factor -- he believes in himself and he's kept going. Perhaps his dreams aren't coming together as he planned, but whose do? He's in the industry and not settling for a life he does not want -- I love that.