A Week in Review August 27

Hello! I'm adding the date in this week's header so that you'll know that this is a new entry, and not the same week in review that's been here for two weeks now. Where have I been? I don't know, but let's do A Week in Review

Osmond Mania
I’ve had a story to tell for more than a week and am just now getting to it! The Osmonds were at my store Saturday the 14th for a signing. No, not Donny and Marie, Jay and Wayne, who have both written books. And David Osmond came with them; he’s someone’s son (we still don’t know whose), and he’s recorded a new cd. My friend MH (initials) thinks that David is “dishy”, and I suppose she’s right.

The celebrities were scheduled to arrive at noon. Women started lining up at 10, right when we opened. I’ve seen these women before – in fact it was the last time we had Osmonds at the store. They stake their claims first in line, and then give instructions on how an Osmond event should be handled. You might think, at first, that they’re the group’s managers or at least family or friends, but who they really are are over-aged, crazed fans that’ve followed the Osmonds around since 1972, and that’s way too long. One woman actually brought photos of herself at other signings to share with Jay and Wayne. Another talked to our manager about a “gt” she’d just been to with Donny in Las Vegas. He didn’t know what a “gt” was. It’s a get together, of course. Oh yes, of course. He didn’t mention the fact that you have to buy tickets to those. She didn’t get a personal invitation.

By about 12:30 we had a group of 15-20 women swarming the table, and they stayed put for the full two hours. Really. It was nice to have people there (it’s always awkward when an artist comes in for a signing and then sits there with no one to talk to), but the same group for two hours? How crazy is that? Even after the Osmonds left they stayed – basking in the glow, I guess.

MH told me that morning that the cooperate office wanted us to take good care of David Osmond, and since she is in charge of these signings, she felt responsible for making his stay a pleasant one. She even made him a gift basket. I was working the back register while the celebrities and fans mingled, and she came back to tell me a story that started with, “So, I was feeding David Osmond a roll…”

“What?!” Followed by loud laughter for several minutes.

“No, I mean I was bringing him a roll.”

Still laughing, ten days later.

But it was a weird day. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had started feeding him a roll. She would have fit right in with the crowd. By 2:00 we were all feeling a little weird and pretty creeped out. We just walked around in a daze wondering what kind of parallel universe, where the Osmonds are still super cool, we’d fallen in to. It was weird, and creepy. It’s a strange thing, celebrity. It makes people act in all kinds of strange ways, and I don’t really know why.

An Event of Another Kind
We had our annual summer social with the COB on Wednesday. It was very nice. MH (of roll-feeding fame) went with me. I tempted her with the opportunity to meet Elder Holland. There is a member of the Twelve responsible for every division of the COB, and Elder Holland is ours, and I’m very glad. We had dinner, and some entertainment from a group called Blue Harmony that was quite good, and then Elder Holland spoke to us for about 30 minutes. He didn’t have anything written down; he just talked about missionary work and a little bit about his calling as an Apostle, and about all the work that there is still to be done. It’s hard now to retell it all, but he said some things about the natural tendency to feel like you’re not enough, and realizing the full potential our lives and this work, and about so often being surprised by it all. His words really touched my heart. I felt a much needed boost of confidence, and some motivation to do more. It’s good when those two things can come with a healthy balance. I do love Elder Holland.

Wipeout
Here’s something else I love, and it’s not connected to my previous story at all. There’s a tv show on ABC on Thursdays called Wipeout, and it’s my new guilty pleasure, only I don’t feel guilty about it, and instead of a pleasure it’s a gut-ripping laugh fest. You know how people falling down are always funny? Well this is falling down times 1000, and it’s ok to laugh because they volunteered! And they know that a wipeout is coming their way. The commentators are good, too. It’s a full hour of no-brain laughter, and I’m using it as my weekly therapy treatment. Here’s a clip if you’re interested.

I think that’s it for this week. Thanks, as always, for being my other form of therapy.

You are loved.