I Had Lunch With an Oscar Winner

And to think that when I got up this morning, I was just excited that not only did I not have to worry about packing a lunch, but I was going to be eating at Top of the Market, one of the better seafood places in San Diego. Our conference is here next year, and we'll be one of the host stations, so the boss and I were meeting with the guy who plans the whole thing.

Top of the Market is right on the water, between the Midway and Seaport Village, with a great view of whatever aircraft carriers are parked at North Island (today: The Stennis, The Washington, and a secret one covered in tarps or something. Maybe the soon-to-be-decommissioned Kittyhawk?) It's also next to the giant statue, "Unconditional Surrender", sometimes colloquially known as "The Kiss." This was the first time I had seen the statue in person. I had heard about how polarizing it was, and wasn't sure what to think of it. I am a huge supporter of public art, and actually appreciate art that's occasionally controversial and thought-provoking, and get annoyed when people want to immediately take stuff down just because it's "ugly." Well....it's ugly. What it represents (the jubilant kiss between a sailor and a nurse at the end of WWII) is beautiful, euphoric, and American. And don't get me wrong, I am NOT on the side of taking it down. Keep it up, talk about it, create more art, discourage everything always being in bronze. But man. That thing is tacky.

Oh, did you want to hear about the Oscar winner? Well, I had the foresight to consume 3 glasses of lemonade within the first hour of lunch. I excused myself to visit the ladies lounge and did a double-take (a sly one, as I am very subtle, like a secret agent) when I floated past Ms. Meryl Streep. MERYL STREEP!!!! There she was, with her messy ponytail, and her lavender-tinted glasses, looking and sounding exactly like Meryl Streep! And look, she's eating seafood too! And sharing a basket of bread with normal looking people! I played it cool, until I got back to my table and announced her presence in an exaggerated stage whisper. Don't worry, she didn't hear me, she was on the other side of the room. Although I was admonished by our waitress to leave Meryl (that's what I call her) alone. Yes, thank you, I know.

Alas, I was not able to get any sort of surreptitious picture of her, but I think we all know what she looks like. So here's a picture of a pensive Samuel pondering his very first swimming lesson.