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The next thing I know, I am in front of St. Francis Hospital with my very new friend, Martha, as they are cutting the ribbon for the new emergency room and it is the year 2000. Now, I'm a big fan of Catholic hospitals, but not so much so that I'd go to every wing opening. I need more than that to bring two very small children, one being a screamer for 23 of every 24 hour cycle. That 'more' was finally getting to meet someone I obsessed over as a child. That someone was WILLIAM SHATNER. Yes the-Will-iam-Shat-ner. His friends call him Bill.
Well, we'd all been waiting for quite some time for Bill to do something other than sit in a chair while pointless people spoke about pointless (heh, to ME) things. As the part I did not come for drags on, Ariel, my cryer, begins to do what she does best... shriek like she's just been ripped from my womb and thrown in the snow while a 600 watt heatless bulb shines mere inches from her face and some smelly guy flicks her in the forehead. This makes the crowd... save my Martha... move in the same fashion as the Red Sea parting. Bill looks at me and gives me a sympathetic smile while I try to bounce the voice box out of Ariel. I was like this: "YAY! My childhood sweetheart (yeah, yeah, I know... only in my own head) feels sorry for me!!! Yeah, bitches that moved away from me so Bill wouldn't think it was *your* kid... you LOST!" (*insert here me doing the universal loser sign to every other person out there as Ariel smacks me repeatedly in the face*) -- GOD, I've got this Mom thing SO DOWN! ;)
Later, we all get to go in for coffee and snacks. I don't remember how exactly, but as you hit a certain part of the line, you either got Bill's new book or you didn't. Guess who didn't? Me.
Guess who did? Martha.
That meant that Martha got to go PERSONALLY meet Bill and get her book autographed. I was so happy, so disappointed, and so jealous all at the same time. But somebody does one of the nicest things that has ever been done for me. My Martha 
gives me her book and insists I go meet Bill. I KNEW she wanted it too but she was willing to put that all aside for me, who'd dragged her 2 infants to see the guy she'd loved so much on TV for so many years as a kid. I have to selfishly admit here that I really just HAD to have that book and that moment he signed that book. I really think I should have let her have the moment and enjoy it as she'd ACTUALLY won it. But she gave it up for ME and it was during a time I honestly needed something like that. You are only going to have about one handful of people, long term like that... CHERISH THEM. If you've lost touch with them, REPAIR THAT.
So, my Ariel, my Alaina, and I got to meet my childhood obsession. I got to chat with him for about 30 seconds and then I'm ushered to the food section.
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Later, I read the book... it was decent. From there on, whenever I was sad, scared, upset, freaked, angry... Martha would send me anything she found on the internet regarding William Shatner... one of which was a two-photograph "movie" of the clip of Captain Kirk screaming, "KHHHHHHHHAAAAAANNNN!!!!!"
So maybe this isn't a story about meeting a tv/movie star. Maybe this is a story of how blessed I am to have a wonderful friend like Martha.
THANKS MARTHA!!!!!!!!!
(writer's note four years later transferring her old blog to this site -- that book disappeared much to the author's dismay... but the memory is still alive and strong. She would do almost anything to have it back again.)
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