Kind of a Big Deal...

 


Kind of a Big Deal…

I remember the first time I met a celebrity.  Bob Feller, a long time Major League Baseball Pitcher, showed up to an Arkansas Travelers Baseball game.  I stood in line to get a photo and his autograph.  I thought it was ok, but I was 10 and really had no idea who this old guy was.  I remember my dad saying, "Son, he's kind of a big deal."  Still, I had no idea what my dad meant by saying that.  Again, I was ten.

Fast forward a few years and really do not have many "brushes with fame."  In small town Arkansas, we really do not get that many famous actors or television personalities coming through to stop and visit.  I mean, we have the local celebrities that do the news and local radio stations that you can call and talk to, or run into when they are doing a remote, but you just will not find Jennifer Anniston, Tom Sellek or Antonio Banderas running around the streets of small-town USA.

Last year, COVID-19 hit and we did not get out much.  I started a radio show and a podcast in my spare time because I like to talk and meet new people.  I made some friends on Social Media and would have guests on to tell about their adventures in travel and just life in general.  It has been fun, and I have joked with co-workers about having a radio show.  They think that is recognizable, but my natural joking response is, "Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal."  We laugh about it and move on.  It is all fun and games.

One weekend, I was contacted by a couple that I watch on YouTube.  Jorge and Jessica from Live Work Wander have been on my radio show a couple times and I have followed them for several years on Social Media.  They have traveled all over the United States, Canada and Europe in several different vehicles and have documented their life on video.  I had recently started to support them through Patreon because they are a huge deal to me and I believe if they are working hard to entertain me, then I should do my part and support that work.  

Anyway, they contacted me and said they would be coming through my town on the way to Colorado to do some work on their rig.  They asked if they could stay at our house, showering, washing clothes, etc. and just hang out to rest on their way.  I was a nervous wreck.  I could not remember anyone that I had followed so closely ever wanting to stay with me.  THEY WERE A BIG DEAL to many others and me!  They did not know my wife or me. We had never met except on the video/radio show and I was so stinking excited.  They came, were so nice and we loved every minute with them.  They even agreed to do a few takes for the intro to my radio show.  I was elated and taken back.  I will never forget that time.

Yes, I have joked about being a big deal.  I really am not.  I am just ordinary me living life and doing what I love to do, but there are those out there who are.  They are a big deal in the eyes and hearts of those who make them that way.  Whether it is the news, media, Social Media or just someone in your life that you put on a pedestal for one reason or another, they are a big deal to you.  I hope you have the chance to meet them.  I hope when you spend time with them that they are not a disappointment to you.  I hope they are real, genuine, and have a love and mutual respect for those that follow and support them.  

I was not disappointed.  I was moved.  I was overly excited.  That was a weekend I will never forget.  

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