We arrived 12:15pm, and secured our place in line. Phyllis went off to find a book for her grandson, and came back with a smile. “Goodnight Moon” was the book she later had autographed by Sela herself!!

We waited patiently, and Sela arrived a little late, but the crowd was excited none-the-less. The line moved nicely. She took the time to greet each person, and you could see her take them in as she smiled pleasantly at each fan. Phyllis went first, with her books in hand. Phyllis gave her a donation toward the Hope Village Foundation, and Sela graciously accepted and shook her hand. Sela took extra time when inscribing Goodnight Moon, which was such a cool thing. Then it was my turn, and since I knew our time would be too short, I brought a letter expressing my thoughts, instead. She remembered me from the day before (!), and smiled and said “Welcome back!” I brought along a couple of blow-ups for the pictures taken the day before (which Wolf Camera processed in a record 30 mins!), and she signed them both - one for me, and one for Phillip. When she saw the older Hollywood Reporter (with Rick & Lily on the cover) I‘d brought, she didn’t realize it was from Season 1, but put her “Sela Ward“ on it as well.

 

Then we moved on, making room for the others waiting patiently. Both excited with our signed books, we looked at what Sela had written in the little children’s book. “To Reagan, Love Sela. - ‘Sweet Dreams.’” Her signing this little momento that instantly reminded us of O&A was awesome.

We met Howard and took pictures again, plus we saw Sela’s children running around, when they weren’t sitting by her side. I never could get a family picture, as others were in the way, but it was so nice to see them all together. And the children looked older than what you see in her book.

After about an hour, the line had thinned out, but we hung around hoping to talk to her a little more. I got back in line when things were really quiet with Lynette (from Australia) on the phone. When I got up to Sela, I told her “this call’s for you.” It was so sweet, as Sela talked to her for probably 5 minutes. (Aussie, I’ll send you the bill. Grin) While she was talking, she still posed for pictures, signed a few books-- truly a multi-tasking mom!

Her assistant Jackie was always nearby, answering phone calls, and corralling the children as needed. Howard was The Dad, buying books for Anabella and Austin. At one point, Anabella sat next to her mom, and wrote on a piece of paper, perhaps signing autographs like her mama. J

We sat on a nearby bench, just watching Sela at work. They brought her tons of books to autograph, now that the customers were all taken care of. At that point, she looked up at me, and asked “Marc, why don’t you come over and talk to me? I’ll have to jet soon.”

Wow!! I was delighted, and asked a few questions:

“Would you consider doing another season of O&A?”
“That’s not up to me.”

“Do you have any idea what Season 4 would bring?”
“No, I don’t,” she replied sadly. “They simply hadn’t written that far ahead.”

“Did R&L move to Australia or stay?”
“I think they should have gone.”

“Why do you have smaller parts in movies?”
“Because every time I’ve done one, I was also involved with tv projects.”

“We want to see you as the main character, like Lily was for O&A… Have you spoken with Billy recently?”
“Yes, I got a message from him about a week ago. He attended a function in N.Y.”

“Did you know Meredith Deane was coming to your book signing in N.Y.?”
“Yes, I did. She was so sweet.”

“Would you do a comedy?”
“Yes.”

“What kind of show would you like to do?”
“I want to do a 30 minute show, where I have to work one day a week!”

“Do you watch all the episodes like we do, or just follow the scripts?”
“I watched the episodes in the beginning, but later I watched the dailies.” [Dailies are rough edits of the work filmed for that day.]

“Was working with Audrey Anderson (Carla) in “The Badge” intentional? Was there a reason?”
“It was purely coincidental. And it was nice.”

“Will your next movie, coming out next summer, be in theaters or sent straight to cable?”
“It will be in theaters.”

“How did you enjoy your bowling interview?”
“It was a creative way to do one,” she said, her eyebrow raised. “I had no idea I would actually have to bowl!!”

Sela genuinely thanked me for what I did during the campaign. She looked me directly in the eyes, and my brain kept saying “This would be a great picture!” but I tried to focus on the moment and enjoy it for what it was - sincerity and appreciation. I told her that I felt badly that we were so busy trying to save the show while she was going through so much. She seemed to understand that it was a tough time for all of us. She thanked me for the goodies I brought her the day before, and shook my hand.

Phyllis and I discussed our reactions to meeting her. Phyllis was shy, not wanting to be a bother. I wanted to make a real connection, something worthwhile and memorable. Instead, I felt like I got to meet my favorite actress, and that was that. I didn’t get a giddy high, or feel like it was this incredible moment. I would have preferred to sit down somewhere, share a cup of coffee and just talk for 15 minutes. Something that wasn’t overshadowed by distraction. But then again, I’m really glad I went. She took the time to meet her fans, and I was one of them. She remembered me the next day, and invited me over to join her and ask any questions I had. How great is that? J

After every book in sight was signed, she stood up on her high-heeled boots, and in those 30 seconds, my perspective changed. She was real, standing in front of me. She had on a blue scarf, and she looked great. She looked me right in the eyes again, and shook my hand.

Then she had to leave, as she was involved in an event tonight relating to In Style. And Sunday, they catch a flight to their next destination.

And then she was gone.