Tag: Matthew Modine

Seeing Stars…

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Yesterday’s Matthew Modine sighting turned out to be but the kick-off to a plethora of Real Live Celebrity sightings. (And the RL’s are ever so much perkier than the alternative). 😉

Thanks to Regency historical author, and Lady Jane Salon co-founder, Maya Rodale who asked me along as her guest, I attended the twenty-fifth anniversary of “A Gala Evening of Readings” hosted by Literacy Partners. For the past thirty-five years, Literacy Partners has provided “hope and opportunity for adults who cannot read” in the form of free adult and family literacy programs reaching more than 25,000 disadvantaged New Yorkers.

Held in the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the evening was “gala” indeed, the guest list studded with stars, the plaza outside a veritable red carpet Who’s Who of Manhattan socialites and celebrities from the news media and literary worlds, all decked out in designer duds. Note: We didn’t look any too shabby ourselves but since shutter-bugging didn’t seem to be quite the thing, you’ll have to take my word for it).

At the pre-program cocktail reception, Yours Truly, along with Maya and our mutual friend, Scandalous Woman Elizabeth Kerri Mahon jostled for vino and noshes with celebrity attendees including Martha Stewart (she sat two rows behind us in the auditorium later), Tommy Tune (“Jenny, Jenny…”), Barbara Taylor Bradford, Barbara Walters, and Barbara Goldsmith to name but a few. (And yes, that’s a lot of Bab’s).

The main event featured readings by Barbara Walters (who read the prologue from her recent memoir), Marie Brenner (author and writer-at-large for Vanity Fair), Christopher Buckley (son of the late William F), and David Wroblewski (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle).

Sarah Lindsey, Rob of Romantic Times BOOKREviews, and Hope share the love at the May Lady Jane's.
Sarah Lindsey, Rob of Romantic Times BOOKReviews, and Hope share the love at the April Lady Jane's. Photo courtesy of Rob, RT Mag.

In like support of literacy and general feel-goodness, I hope anyone in the New York area, or in town for Book Expo America will join us for the June 1st Lady Jane’s Salon. We’ve just added a fourth fab author to our line up. Talented historical author, Diane Gaston will join Amanda McCabe in reading from their anthology, The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, May ’09, a featured book for Harlequin’s Diamond Anniversary.

Diane Gaston. Photo courtesy of www.dianegaston.com.
Diane Gaston. Photo courtesy of www.dianegaston.com.

As always, the proceeds support Maya’s charity, Share the Love, which reaches out to groups serving women-in-transition as they work to build hopeful, independent lives.

Hope

Live from New York–Real Live Celeb Sighting

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Okay, I just all but brushed shoulders with Matthew Modine (“And the Band Played On,” “Gross Anatomy”), one of my all-time favorite actors, and I’m just un-cool enough to hop online and report it.

I say “all but” because at six feet four he stood head and shoulders above me. I was dashing out to pick up my morning cuppa–okay, more like my afternoon cuppa but well, I am a writer–when I saw two men walking up Broadway toward me. The one was tall, good looking (make, that hot or better yet, sizzling), and wearing this uber cool turquoise tapestry vest over a white cotton tee, a look that seemed a lot more California than New York. The other guy was…well, don’t ask me. I’m sure he had a great personality.

And then I realized just who He was.

Like two ships sailing past one another in the night, Matthew and I brushed by. He never broke his stride or his conversational train-of-thought. I, on the other hand, was likely bug-eyed and slack-jawed, in the throes of a full-on Fan Girl Moment. But props to me, at least I was cool enough not to invade his personal space. I mean, it is Manhattan, not LA.

And Manhattan is well, pretty great. We city dwellers may live in apartments the size of the average workplace cubicle, but really, when the city is your oyster (shell), how much personal space do you need? Every time you walk out your building, there’s this amazing, butterflies-in-stomach feeling that something wonderful, magical, may just be around the next corner. It’s sort of like living if not in a fairytale then certainly a romance novel. You may have to slug through sidewalks stacked with garbage and wait in line with your fellow 1.2 million “neighbors” for just about everything but somehow that’s okay because you know, just know, there’s going to be something positive, something wonderful waiting at the end of it all, so long as you remember to believe.

Happy Monday,

Hope