Almost Famous

I'm tired. I have to finish a couple of article assignments before my trip. The one I just emailed in was about a $7 million home for sale in Summit, NJ. I loved a lot of the details when I toured the estate--especially the custom-built, marble-topped dressing room table with 20-plus drawers for your every silk scarf and necklace, and the old wine cellar, with labels dating back to 1931. Oh, if those walls could talk.

But back to Almost Famous. Have you written to famous people? I have.

In elementary school, I wrote to Mary Garber, a sportswriter at the Bergen Evening Record. Women's bylines in newspapers were rare back then. I told her I wanted to be a writer too. She sent me back an encouraging letter. I got all excited when I saw the envelope with the Record return address.

It gets better. At my first real job, working for the magazine's fashion editor [who insisted on putting her dirty coffee cups in her "out" box tray for me], I wrote to Joan Didion. I had read her books of stories, and one was about her young daughter Quintana Roo's birthday party. I loved that it went into great detail, even mentioning the flavor of ice cream served. I felt like I was there.

I was in awe of Ms. Didion's writing, and wrote her a letter to tell her that, citing specific examples. I told her I wanted to be a writer, too, but was working as an editorial assistant in the fashion department of a women's magazine. Somehow, filling out messenger slips and booking Friday manicure appointments for my boss did not seem like a promising route to writerdom--I guess that's why I reached out to a famous writer. So I could keep my dream alive.

The letter was returned undelivered to my desk. I stuck it in a manila envelope and mailed it again, somehow targeting Joan Didion, c/o the right publishing office that time. They forwarded my letter to Ms. Didion--in California, I think.

I got a letter back. I've misplaced it now, but I bet it's somewhere in my piles of paper. It was handwritten, and Ms. Didion remarked on how hard I had tried to reach her. She said that she had worked at Vogue as a young writer. "Keep writing," she said.

And I have.

P.S. I think I've fixed my comment function on this blog so it's easier to comment now--please try it. I would love to know what you're thinking. Thanks!