Every once in a while, this job has perks beyond my wildest dreams. Tonight was most certainly one of those rare nights. The event was local, and at first seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary--take a few hundred photos of convention goers with some Hall of Fame baseball players. If I sound a slightly blasé about the whole scene, it is only because I find that the nonchalant attitude is best for celebrity situations such as these. It helps to focus the mind in order to better deal with large and potentially unruly crowds. One must not let the light of celebrity shine so bright as to distract one from the job at hand, that's what I always say. Or at least that's what I would say if I were to author a Miss Manners book. But I digress, please forgive me. So, the event is a convention and the entertainment is six Hall of Fame baseball players, two of whom we have been assigned to photograph with adoring fans or folks completely out-of-the-know but who believe they should get their photos taken because everyone else seems to think it's very important. People can be so sheepy sometimes...good thing we were only taking pictures and not, say, shaving heads. We'd have lots of baldies if that were the case. Again, I digress. Ok, so we're preparing to meet our assigned players when all of the sudden Wally the Green Monster walks in. Let me tell you, this is the kind of celebrity I get excited about! I mean, the guy is famous! He's all over the TV during home games and people flock to see him at public appearances. Wally is quite the legend and here I am standing right next to him!! Perhaps I feel some sort of costume character kinship with my past experiences as an Easter bunny and a lobster, I really can't say for sure. No matter. The point is that Wally was there and I was excited in a Christmas morning type of way, seriously thinking that it couldn't get any better than that. Little did I know, the best was yet to come. A few minutes pass and my nerves calm a little bit from all the excitement of my green furry friend just in time for our baseball players (or personalities as they prefer to be called) to show up. My co-worker TJ and I stroll on over to our spot to discover that our personality is Carlton Fisk. Now of course I know the name, and I know that he's famous, but other than those two facts I really have no idea who it is I'm meeting. He seems like a nice guy, kind of quiet, but happy to chat with fans as if they are all his long lost friends. I was actually pretty impressed with how personable he seemed, but I suppose this is just one of my celebrity stereotypes being blown to bits. The entire event only ran two hours and during that time it was my responsibility to take full camera chips to our printers, replace them with empty chips, rinse and repeat. The entire walk was probably only about 50 feet one way, but when you do it at high speeds while ducking and weaving through crowds of people, it truly became a feat of strength and endurance to last a full two hours. At 7:45 we shut down our booth to let the men leave for the night, but right before we left, Carlton asked if we wanted to get a picture with him. I have a dad, how could I not possibly want a picture with Carlton Fisk?? So I go ahead and grab TJ's picture first then step up for my turn with the legend. Perhaps it was his appreciation for my speed walking skills that caused the next great event of the night, or just the mere fact that there was a tall blonde standing next to him. I can't say for sure exactly, but what I do know is that before I had time to sing Sweet Caroline, the great Carlton Fisk had me in a bear hug. This wasn't just any bear hug either. This was a bear hug from a man who, even at a more mature age, clearly has not lost much of his former strength and probably could have squished me if he tried. It was so surreal and unbelievable that I couldn't help being starstruck for a few moments, realizing that I had just received possibly one of the best souvenirs from a great former player on one of my favorite teams. I started tonight with a Green Monster Encounter and ended it with the best Hall of Fame Hug ever. How can I not love my job?
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