View from atop Shively Road, a local road to an old logging community
Living here in Northern California, (waaaaaaaaaay north, like five hours north of San Francisco and 2 hours south of the Oregon border) I don't run into celebrities too often. If I travel out of the area, maybe once in a while I might see someone famous from afar. And if I go to a concert or something, I'm in the nosebleed section because that's all I can afford. But, I decided the ones I have met face to face and conversed with - even if it was only through Facebook or email - are really nice. They are real people, just like you and me. They have to drive their kids to school. They get the flu and poison oak just like we do. So, in order to let you know who I'm talking about, here is a brief synopsis of my latest "famous people" encounters.
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Barbara T. Marshall This absolutely gorgeous-inside-and-out lady recently spoke at the North Coast Baptist Association's Women's Conference. It just happened to be held at the church I attend. Barbara is the President and Founder of
Thriving in Christ Ministries and the author of
RANSOMED... Loving yourself from the inside out. She travels internationally to speak and give seminars. It just so happens that Barbara is married to the brother of a local Baptist Christian woman. Barbara shared stories about herself that weren't too pretty. But they were stories that other women can relate to. After the conference I got a chance to talk to Barbara and discovered that we each have an oldest child that is not in the best relationship and that there are grandchildren involved. Barbara agreed to lift my daughter up in prayer and I agreed to lift hers up. She also took the time to talk to one of the youth girls in our church. She wasn't stand-offish just because she in an international traveler and speaker. She didn't talk incessantly about her book and how it would change our lives if we bought it. She is a real sister in Christ.
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Robert Elmer This author of over 50 books recently released the historical novel
Wildflowers of Terezin. I contacted him and asked if I could interview him about this newest release, thinking I
might hear from him in a month or two, if at all. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to check my email a couple of mornings later and had a reply from him. An honest to goodness, he-typed-it-himself response. I sent him some questions and he quickly responded with funny and honest answers. He's one cool dude. (If you want to read my interview with him, head over to my post at Examiner.com where I wear the hat of
San Francisco Christian Fiction Examiner.)
You know how you can follow just about anybody on Twitter? Or you can request to be a friend or fan of others on Facebook? How many of those celebrities that you follow or friend do you think actually post their own stuff? MUCH LESS, comment to you directly? I haven't done any in-depth study or anything, but my educated guess is that it's not many. Well, here are some who do. All are authors.
I know that is just a tiny little speck of a brush with the "big fish" but I'm having fun anyway. I'll keep ya posted if I have any of them over for coffee or tea. *wink*
