Last week Craig and I were having dinner with our great friends, the Dezeeuw's. We shared great conversation and during the course of the evening, I happened to mention that I saw on the library website that Andrew McCarthy would be doing a presentation about his book, The Longest Way Home, this week.
Little did I know that Jen was a fan of Andrew McCarthy, as well. She, too had just seen an article in the paper about his coming to the Springs. Since we both grew watching his movies from the 90's--Pretty in Pink, and St. Elmo's Fire among others--we were thrilled to find out we both wanted to attend this event.
After toying with the idea of going, we firmed everything up on Sunday. We arranged to attend the meet and greet session before his presentation which allowed us the opportunity to get some great photo ops, including the one above. I must admit that I didn't realize he had become an author or that he now works regularly for National Geographic Travel as a writer. He also mentioned that he is dabbling in directing. His latest is a series on Netflix that will air this summer called Orange is the New Black.
I was so impressed by how personable he was. Not to mention how I saw so many of the mannerisms that I remember from his early movies. The smile, the way his hands move, and how he puts them in his pockets. Even his hairstyle is the same.
It was so thrilling to be able to meet him in person, have our photo taken with him and listen to the journey he has been on to find himself. When I asked him where his favorite place to travel too was, he said it was the Saraha Desert. When I asked why, he said because there are very few people there. I laughed because I can completely identify with this. So many times in my life I have felt this need to be alone. To disengage myself from those around me. In fact, I have been struggling with this part of my own identity lately, so to hear him speak about his own struggles was so inspiring. God works through so many avenues and I never would have guessed some clarification would come through this one.
The best part of the evening was hanging out and chattin' it up with my dear friend. We don't see each other nearly like we used, and I really miss that. This is the part of living in the city that I miss the most. The relationships. Yes, I love my alone time, but the connections we make with others is equally as important.
This was the premise for "Andy's" entire journey. Making connections with the people he meets throughout his travels has allowed him to grow over the years. His fear of all things has been lightened and he understands that many of our world's problems would be alleviated if we simply open our minds to the wonders that can be experienced when we allow ourselves to become vulnerable.
By the way, he referred to himself as Andy a few times throughout the evening, so I couldn't help using it, too! It made him even more personable.
Jen, I can't thank you enough for going with me. The memories we made from this experience will be ones that last our lifetime!