Only two times in my life have I been truly star struck by a telephone call, and one time just took me plain off guard. The first time I felt star struck by the phone was years ago when Ben Kingsley called me looking for a hairdresser for his wife, and the second time was today when Barbara Walters called me to see if I was bringing rollers to do her hair on Thursday. I startled myself when I returned Penny Marshall’s assistant’s call, and Penny Marshall answered my phone call herself.  I found giving Ben Kingsley a scalp massage and doing his makeup in a private room less intimate than his unexpected phone call while parallel parking my car in front of Bourgeois Pig in Hollywood. I know when I run the blow dryer through Barbara Walters’ freshly washed hair in her private hotel room, I’ll feel right at home. When she trusts me to apply her makeup and prepare her to face viewers across the world, I know I will be calm and confident. But when I reached for my phone this morning and heard that Barbara Walters distinct familiar voice right there in my living room, speaking through my cell phone, I couldn’t help but get overwhelmed with disbelief. I shared the voice with my husband. “Barbara Walters just called me!” I said. She was right there in our house. She could practically see me with no shoes on, dishes on the counter, and my daughter’s books spread across the floor.

It’s a weird thing when a celebrity calls your cell phone. My cell phone is like a part of my family. Actually, it might be even closer. I take it everywhere with me. In fact, there is rarely a moment we are apart, and if by chance I forget it, panic ensues. I am very attached. So when a celebrity calls my cell phone, I almost feel like they know me.

I used to have Ben Kingsley in my cell phone address book. It was fun to scroll through my address book and see his name fly by. Yeah, Ben Kingsley is in my address book, I used to show off to my self.  I don’t have that cell phone anymore. You better believe Barbara Walters is in my new one now.