Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Something a little Unexpected

Twelve years ago, Adam Sandler starred in a movie called The Wedding Singer.
I was a sophomore in high school, and we thought that movie was awe.some.

If you've seen it, you remember two things;
1) the fairly inappropriate rage ballad that Adam Sandler sings to his ex-girlfriend,
and 2) the tiny old lady that sings a rap song at the wedding.

Before you read on, it is a MUST that you go watch her, because I'm sure that you either a)need a refresher because you haven't watched that movie in over a decade or b)have no idea what I'm talking about.

Did you watch it?

Okay, read on.

The morning of the wedding, Ruth and her girls were getting their hair done at a local salon - right alongside Ms. Ellen Albertini Dow herself.

Ruth invited this darling 92-year-old to the wedding and she actually showed up - wielding an autographed photo of herself for the happy couple, nonetheless!

Mark and I approached her (read chasedherdown), introduced ourselves, and asked for a photo. She was so, so kind.

She told us she had been married to her husband for 56 years and that day was the anniversary of his death. She was missing him and made herself come to the wedding because she wanted to be around people who would lift her up.

We thanked her again and again for coming,
and she thanked us again and again for encouraging her.
My mother-in-law (who had no idea what all the fuss was about) hugged her tight and told her that she was sorry to hear about her husband. It was a very precious moment.
And here I am, holding my drink up like we are sorority sisters at a hopping fraternity party. I'm so classy. (What you may or may not know about me is that I might have a little problem with getting starstruck. I get kinda nervous and weird.)
Thank you, Ms. Dow, for sharing your time and your story with us.
It was truly an honor to meet you.

3 comments:

Brockman said...

Beck - what a fun encounter! I totally remember that little rapping old lady. She is adorable! How neat.

Joan said...

What a neat encounter! Thanks for sharing!

Tarah said...

How awesome is that!!