— Stevie picked me up at the airport in his light-green VW Beetle. We were both screaming and laughing – to finally meet!!
— Stevie made me a Scotch and soda within 2 seconds of me walking into his apartment.
— Stevie’s living room is a calm peaceful place with the most awesome couch known to man.
— Stevie has a cat named Big Guy (or BG) who is so shy that he stayed under the bed for the entire time I was there. On my last night in New Mexico, Stevie and I were watching a movie in the living room when suddenly … miracle … BG made an appearance. He strolled around the room, slowly, never taking his eyes off of me. Then he skulked off into obscurity again. I love BG!
— Stevie had stocked up on 3 Netflix movies – movies he knew I had never seen. Now how sweet and amazing is that?? So we had a wonderful time. We watched Dead Ringer with Bette Davis, Mildred Pierce and It Should Happen To You.
— We sat out on his amazing balcony and talked about everything under the sun.
— Oh, and back to the movies: I had never seen Mildred Pierce, something which is shocking and, on some level, (according to Mitchell and Alex) unforgivable. So we settle in excitedly. The movie starts – I see the Warner Bros. logo – and then had to say, “Wait wait wait – pause!!!” Stevie paused. I said, “I need the context behind the movie. What was going on with Joan at this point in her life … what did this part mean to her … what are the larger swirling issues of her career?” The beautiful thing was that Stevie immediately launched into a long detailed treatise about Crawford’s trajectory, and what Mildred Pierce did for her. Genius. It helps to know the backstory.
— We had a scary moment when we thought a tread had fallen off the tire. We were driving through mountains – with 100 mile vistas off on every side – with literally no street signs, no towns, no gas stations, nothing. We were afraid to even pull over. Eventually … when we reached the first “town” – which was basically a cafe and a hot springs spa … we pulled over, only to find that the tires were fine. But it was pretty hairy there for about half an hour, as we slowed down, looking at the nothingness around us and wondering: Okay. If our tire explodes … what next??
— Stevie can talk to anybody. He’s open, he’s friendly, he’s intelligent – he meets people on their level, and people just open up to him. We met so many nice people along the way.
— I have been corresponding with Stevie for 3 years now. His comments on my site have always been intelligent, passionate, interesting – I love his eye for things, his love of detail. It was a total pleasure meeting him. It was also, in a funny way, like no big deal. I have never “met” him … but I had MET him, if you know what I mean – I have lots of Internet friends like that … so when we were finally in each other’s presence it was like: Hi you! I know you! How great it is to see you in person!!
Isn’t it always kind of strange “meeting” someone you’ve been friends with over the internet for the first time. I still remember meeting you and McCabe outside of Chumley’s for the first time years ago. “Hi. Nice to meet you. Give me a hug!”
And I think “Big Guy” is the greatest name for a cat EVER.
I know – that was soooo fun, Emily. You coming out onto the sidewalk and it was like: holy crap, there you are!! I think that was the first time I met McCabe, too. Very cool!!
BG was a big fluff-ball and he stared at me with frozen suspicion and terror as he circled the room. I wanted to cuddle with him but I think he would have had a heart attack.
I am extremely jealous!
Jealous! Jealous! Jealous!
Alex – we talked about you almost nonstop!!
OK–I’m jealous.
DBW – our day will come!!
And I honestly don’t know if I will be able to call you by your real name, DBW, when we meet.
hahaha You have TOTALLY become “DBW” to me.
It was like when I met CW of “No such blog”. I know his real name now. Whatevs. He is “CW” to me.
Promises, promises. Particularly tough as I am leaving for Chicago tomorrow.
Damn!! I might be there in November!
The spousal unit allows only one debauched visit to Chicago per year.
Tears streaming down my face and a heart full of the most sparkling memories anyone could have. I love you, Sheila!
Stevie – wasn’t it a wonderful time? Thank you SO much!!!
You’re SO welcome, Sheila dear, and thank you SO much, too! It was a magical weekend.
not to mention that Stevie’s comments are almost always soooo frighteningly precise and wickedly funny…the jealousy is rampant!!!
Mitchell – You and Stevie would just love each other and would totally compete in terms of Hollywood historical knowledge.
I just loved that I NEEDED to know the larger context of Crawford’s career – and Stevie immediately complied.
I love that!!
I LOVE that your dad commented on his blog. That is so adorable.
Jen – got a wee bit choked up when I saw that myself.
The best thing about Her Redness is that she is exactly as she presents herself on the internets.
Sounds like an awesome awesome trip: a beautiful locale, a great new yet old friend, and of course, meeting Dean Stockwell.
Dan – what more could one ask for??